1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 This coming draft there is no more important attribute for a prospective Buffalo pick than whether they love to play the game of football or not. We've seen Brad Butler retire early in his career, we've seen Mike Williams basically retire right after he was drafted, and we've seen players on the current roster with clear signs of not giving a "you know what"... Here's my list of players that I think love to play the game and a list of players that have either proven they don't have the appetite for the NFL or they need to get religion real quick or get lost... Look like they love playing football... Byrd Corner Evans Fitzpatrick Florence Harris Jackson Johnson Kelsay Levitre Lindell McGee McKelvin Moorman Neslon Owens Posluszny Reed Schobel Scott Stroud Williams Wilson Wood Don't look like they love playing football... Brohm (sorry, I know he just got here but his slow development is a red flag about commitment to me) Edwards Chambers Denney Ellis Hardy Lynch (crashed to the ground after such a promising start) Maybin (he does get a rookie mulligan, but still makes the list until proven otherwise) McCargo Mitchell Parrish Whitner This is just my opinion from a far away observer and I'm sure I'm wrong on a few players on both lists. But with the regime change, my hope is that there is a clear objective to only look at players who love the game. Here's to the Buffalo Bills attempt at drafting only those kind of players from this year forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 my cats breath smells like catfood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 my cats breath smells like catfood. It's an big issue with this team jackass. A huge reason why they suck so badly. A couple of years ago, I remember being mocked when I started a thread about my problem with Trent Edwards' obssession with playing golf and questioned why a guy that young wasn't in Buffalo during the offseason working out and watching film. Anybody want to disagree with me now about Trent's lack of love for the game???? FYI, those who can not learn from history... Whitner over Ngata McCargo over Mangold Hardy over anybody Maybin over Orakpo ...are doomed to repeat it over and over and over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 This coming draft there is no more important attribute for a prospective Buffalo pick than whether they love to play the game of football or not. We've seen Brad Butler retire early in his career, we've seen Mike Williams basically retire right after he was drafted, and we've seen players on the current roster with clear signs of not giving a "you know what"... Here's my list of players that I think love to play the game and a list of players that have either proven they don't have the appetite for the NFL or they need to get religion real quick or get lost... Look like they love playing football... Byrd Corner Evans Fitzpatrick Florence Harris Jackson Johnson Kelsay Levitre Lindell McGee McKelvin Moorman Neslon Owens Posluszny Reed Schobel Scott Stroud Williams Wilson Wood Don't look like they love playing football... Brohm (sorry, I know he just got here but his slow development is a red flag about commitment to me) Edwards Chambers Denney Ellis Hardy Lynch (crashed to the ground after such a promising start) Maybin (he does get a rookie mulligan, but still makes the list until proven otherwise) McCargo Mitchell Parrish Whitner This is just my opinion from a far away observer and I'm sure I'm wrong on a few players on both lists. But with the regime change, my hope is that there is a clear objective to only look at players who love the game. Here's to the Buffalo Bills attempt at drafting only those kind of players from this year forward. I don't know where you are getting that certain players don't like football. You're making some huge assumptions. I can see your point on guys like Ellis and McCargo but I really have no idea how you figure the other players don't like football. Whitner, Mitchell, Lynch (say what you want but he always plays hard), and Maybin show the most enthusiasm during games of anyone on the team. Edwards was doing military workouts and meeting up with Evans to throw routes in the offseason. The results didn't show through, obviously, but it's a big leap to say players don't love the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Easy there 1billsfan. Jackass? You have the ability to determine whether I am a jackass just like you can tell which Bills players "Love to play football". Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 I don't know where you are getting that certain players don't like football. You're making some huge assumptions. I can see your point on guys like Ellis and McCargo but I really have no idea how you figure the other players don't like football. Whitner, Mitchell, Lynch (say what you want but he always plays hard), and Maybin show the most enthusiasm during games of anyone on the team. Edwards was doing military workouts and meeting up with Evans to throw routes in the offseason. The results didn't show through, obviously, but it's a big leap to say players don't love the game. Edwards left Buffalo and went to the golf course full time the offseason after replacing Losman midseason. That was a huge red flag for a guy so young in the gills. I actually think that Edwards hates football and secretly wishes he were a pro golfer or baseball player. I really hope they get rid of him. Whitner's a poser...all bark, no bite. That's not a guy who has an appetite for NFL football. Mitchell? He was a tossup, probably should have left him off both lists. Lynch is a guy with huge talents who for whatever reason just up and left the reservation. He had the love early on, but is clearly off his game. That's why I question his heart for the game. I did give Maybin a pass, but thought he deserved a mention that all eyes are on him this year to prove he isn't just a cheerleader with pads on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalonian-at-Heart Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 This coming draft there is no more important attribute for a prospective Buffalo pick than whether they love to play the game of football or not. We've seen Brad Butler retire early in his career, we've seen Mike Williams basically retire right after he was drafted, and we've seen players on the current roster with clear signs of not giving a "you know what"... Here's my list of players that I think love to play the game and a list of players that have either proven they don't have the appetite for the NFL or they need to get religion real quick or get lost... Look like they love playing football... Byrd Corner Evans Fitzpatrick Florence Harris Jackson Johnson Kelsay Levitre Lindell McGee McKelvin Moorman Neslon Owens Posluszny Reed Schobel Scott Stroud Williams Wilson Wood Don't look like they love playing football... Brohm (sorry, I know he just got here but his slow development is a red flag about commitment to me) Edwards Chambers Denney Ellis Hardy Lynch (crashed to the ground after such a promising start) Maybin (he does get a rookie mulligan, but still makes the list until proven otherwise) McCargo Mitchell Parrish Whitner This is just my opinion from a far away observer and I'm sure I'm wrong on a few players on both lists. But with the regime change, my hope is that there is a clear objective to only look at players who love the game. Here's to the Buffalo Bills attempt at drafting only those kind of players from this year forward. I agree with C. Biscuit. How have you determined who and who doesn't love the game? It looks like you've picked the players you like and said "they love football", and then picked our low performers and said "they don't like football". What you need to do in order to justify your argument is to evaluate all the other 31 teams and come up with a list of love/don't love players on those teams. Then we need to determine where the Bills rank in the "don't love" category. Then we can start to have a conversation about how this is a direct correlation to our performance over the last decade. In other words; I'm skeptical you will be able to ever prove the point your trying to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I think this is an EXCELLENT question. And the answers are of no little importance. If a player doesn't play with passion, if he's unwilling to play the game for "free" as they say, then I have to question what motivates him as a player. If a player can't make the year long commitment and sacrifice to his craft then I'm not sure he's truly dedicated to being the best player he can be. I've noticed a LOT of nonchalance out of many of these players over the years. Unbelievable. Regardless of the money they make. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Easy there 1billsfan. Jackass? You have the ability to determine whether I am a jackass just like you can tell which Bills players "Love to play football". Amazing. Sorry, but your reply was so amazingly worthy. We're all just Bills fans here trying to give input on what's been broken for the past 10 years. "Love of the game" is a valid point of contention regarding this team and the players they either select or get rid of going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 I agree with C. Biscuit. How have you determined who and who doesn't love the game? It looks like you've picked the players you like and said "they love football", and then picked our low performers and said "they don't like football". What you need to do in order to justify your argument is to evaluate all the other 31 teams and come up with a list of love/don't love players on those teams. Then we need to determine where the Bills rank in the "don't love" category. Then we can start to have a conversation about how this is a direct correlation to our performance over the last decade. In other words; I'm skeptical you will be able to ever prove the point your trying to make. It's merely an opinion from the observations of a single Bills fan. I'm not the arbiter of who love's the game or not, but I can have and share the opinion of who I think love's the game or not based on what I've seen as a Bills fan watching them play or not play. Sports radio personalities and callers questions players' fortitude all the time so there's no reason why this can't happen on a message board. Players can turn the love around. I never thought I'd put Kelsay on that "love to play" list, but I think his love got rededicated after an offseason of constant beration by fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFLstyle Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Yeah, I don't agree with this at all, how can you claim to know who loves playing football or not? I agree with you on Trent Edwards, I think it's a career for him, and I mean it's a career for everyone but some people have football in their veins, for Trent I honestly think he doesn't care. But I can't say for sure. Mitchell loves football, I'm almost positive that he loves the game and he loves being a part of it. Same with Donte Whitner, Lynch, and Maybin. Also, I see no evidence that Parrish, Chambers, Ellis, Denney, Brohm, or Hardy don't have a burning passion for the game either. Seems to me like you're going by performance on the field. Parrish is just a guy who's trying to get on the field. Doesn't mean he doesn't love football. But some of those guys you list as saying love football are questionable, what makes you think they love football, what have the done to show they love football? In my personal opinion, I don't think Schobel's done anything to prove that he loves the game...has he? In fact he wants to retire, and he's not exactly over the hill. He's getting up there, but he's not there yet. What makes you so sure about all these guys? The ONLY people I'd agree about all of this with you is that McCargo and Trent MIGHT NOT care, and for all we know half the guys on the list of players who you say do care might just be there to collect a paycheck and can't wait to retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFLstyle Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 It's merely an opinion from the observations of a single Bills fan. I'm not the arbiter of who love's the game or not, but I can have and share the opinion of who I think love's the game or not based on what I've seen as a Bills fan watching them play or not play. Sports radio personalities and callers questions players' fortitude all the time so there's no reason why this can't happen on a message board. Players can turn the love around. I never thought I'd put Kelsay on that "love to play" list, but I think his love got rededicated after an offseason of constant beration by fans. Also, how does "constant beration" by fans rekindle a player's love for the game? If I'm a professional athlete, angry fans isn't going to make me love football. Maybe it'll motivate me to prove them wrong, MAYBE, but more likely than not I just won't care. It certainly won't make me love football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Sorry, but your reply was so amazingly worthy. We're all just Bills fans here trying to give input on what's been broken for the past 10 years. "Love of the game" is a valid point of contention regarding this team and the players they either select or get rid of going forward. I agree to disagree. You can't determine love by effort alone. Talent has a bigger role. Greed as well. Face it once you sign a contract you aren't playing for "love of the game". I can assure you I didn't wake up this morning and go to work because I love selling Health Insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsRUs Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I don't think talent should be equated with love of the game. You can love the game all you want...but if you don't have enough talent at this level it will not result in performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Yeah, I don't agree with this at all, how can you claim to know who loves playing football or not? I agree with you on Trent Edwards, I think it's a career for him, and I mean it's a career for everyone but some people have football in their veins, for Trent I honestly think he doesn't care. But I can't say for sure. Mitchell loves football, I'm almost positive that he loves the game and he loves being a part of it. Same with Donte Whitner, Lynch, and Maybin. Also, I see no evidence that Parrish, Chambers, Ellis, Denney, Brohm, or Hardy don't have a burning passion for the game either. Seems to me like you're going by performance on the field. Parrish is just a guy who's trying to get on the field. Doesn't mean he doesn't love football. But some of those guys you list as saying love football are questionable, what makes you think they love football, what have the done to show they love football? In my personal opinion, I don't think Schobel's done anything to prove that he loves the game...has he? In fact he wants to retire, and he's not exactly over the hill. He's getting up there, but he's not there yet. What makes you so sure about all these guys? The ONLY people I'd agree about all of this with you is that McCargo and Trent MIGHT NOT care, and for all we know half the guys on the list of players who you say do care might just be there to collect a paycheck and can't wait to retire. I never claimed that I know for sure, that would be a looney tunes statement. I clearly said that it was my opinion based on my observations as a Bills fan. So let's debate, why do you think that it's unfair to say that Ellis and Hardy don't have a love and passion for the game? Do you think they've been trying hard to play on Sundays? I could be completely off base on my assumptions with these two players (since they don't play) but I don't think I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I agree to disagree. You can't determine love by effort alone. Talent has a bigger role. Greed as well. Face it once you sign a contract you aren't playing for "love of the game". I can assure you I didn't wake up this morning and go to work because I love selling Health Insurance. No, no, no, no, no. A thousand times no! Love of the game is clearly evident by players carrying pom-poms on the sidelines, doing paid-for-appearance events at gas stations, bookstores and shopping mall openings. Jumping up and down in a group while building to a crescendo a NSFW Chant like . Clearly Wood doesn't love the game, because he didn't just rub dirt on his leg and go back into the Jax game. Oh, and tweeting - a football loving player always tweets to his twats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Also, how does "constant beration" by fans rekindle a player's love for the game? If I'm a professional athlete, angry fans isn't going to make me love football. Maybe it'll motivate me to prove them wrong, MAYBE, but more likely than not I just won't care. It certainly won't make me love football. I think that kind of scrutiny and embarrassment could light a fire under a player who was drained of his passion by a passionless head coach. Something happened with Kelsay because he looked like a different player last year. He was brutalized by the fanbase last offseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Would YOU love the game if you played for Dick Jauron? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 No, no, no, no, no. A thousand times no!Love of the game is clearly evident by players carrying pom-poms on the sidelines, doing paid-for-appearance events at gas stations, bookstores and shopping mall openings. Jumping up and down in a group while building to a crescendo a NSFW Chant like . Clearly Wood doesn't love the game, because he didn't just rub dirt on his leg and go back into the Jax game. Oh, and tweeting - a football loving player always tweets to his twats. You are wise beyond your years Mighty Nanker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Don't look like they love playing football... Lynch (crashed to the ground after such a promising start) The Lynch hatred on this board is beyond ridiculous. Now the guy doesn't even like playing football? Pathetic thread. p.s. this goes double for Whitner. Whitner doesn't like to play football? Let me guess, because he was picked at #8 instead of Ngata?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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