List of whipping boys we should have kept

[GrudginglyPessimistic]

A post elsewhere on the Board looking for an off-season list of worst Bills ever got me thinking what the list is of players who became whipping boys of the fans and local media whom we woulda/shoulda/coulda kept might be.

 

My sense of the archetype player of this type would be Glenn Parker, LT who became the target of most prominently The Coach on WGR who simply hated on Parker (leading to various me-too tirades of folks on TSW. I think the Parker bleatings get special note because not only was his cut specifically advocated, but the Bills gave in to this pressure and cut Parker who then signed with NYG and played a prominent role in helping that team to the SB.

 

To make matters worse, the fellow whose name escapes me that the Bills put in his place turned out to be simply putrid (again despite The Coach having identified him by name as the better player who was wiling on our bench while Parker played.

 

In order to offer up some potential discussion, I am putting on this initial list (with many blanks to solicit suggestions) there is a case to be made that though the Bills relented to popular demand and traded Willis McGaghee, he did make the Pro Bowl for the Ravens once liberated from the Bills mismanagement which for some perverse reason never seemed to employ WM as a pass catcher despite our obvious need for an additional receiving threat and WM having some success in that area even here. It can certainly be argued he deserved whipping badly with his career as a Baby Daddy, but he is a pretty good example of a player whom the Bills did not utilize in a manner which he then did successfully elsewhere.

 

So please, who are other players whom folks think were unpopular whipping boys here who once liberated from our so-called braintrust emerged as productive players.

 

QB -

RB - Willis McGahee

RB

WR -

WR

TE

LT - Glenn Parker

LG

C- Dusty Ziegler I think deserves note as a player we shoulda kept as OL was worse w/o him

RG

RT

DE -

DT -

NT -

DE

OLB

ILB

ILB

OLB

CB- some might argue we woulda/shoulda signed Winfield well before he hit FA but I think we used his $ for Milloy

CB

SS

FS

K- There was a fellow we cut who then became quite the accurate kicker but I cannot remember who. also Christie

P

[dhg]

Rueben Brown is the first guy that comes to mind for me.

[Bill from NYC]

I'll say it....Wade Phillips.

[silvermike]

I forget now - did the fans want Reuben out of town or was that only Gregg Williams' crusade?

[3rdnlng]

A post elsewhere on the Board looking for an off-season list of worst Bills ever got me thinking what the list is of players who became whipping boys of the fans and local media whom we woulda/shoulda/coulda kept might be.

 

My sense of the archetype player of this type would be Glenn Parker, LT who became the target of most prominently The Coach on WGR who simply hated on Parker (leading to various me-too tirades of folks on TSW. I think the Parker bleatings get special note because not only was his cut specifically advocated, but the Bills gave in to this pressure and cut Parker who then signed with NYG and played a prominent role in helping that team to the SB.

 

To make matters worse, the fellow whose name escapes me that the Bills put in his place turned out to be simply putrid (again despite The Coach having identified him by name as the better player who was wiling on our bench while Parker played.

 

In order to offer up some potential discussion, I am putting on this initial list (with many blanks to solicit suggestions) there is a case to be made that though the Bills relented to popular demand and traded Willis McGaghee, he did make the Pro Bowl for the Ravens once liberated from the Bills mismanagement which for some perverse reason never seemed to employ WM as a pass catcher despite our obvious need for an additional receiving threat and WM having some success in that area even here. It can certainly be argued he deserved whipping badly with his career as a Baby Daddy, but he is a pretty good example of a player whom the Bills did not utilize in a manner which he then did successfully elsewhere.

 

So please, who are other players whom folks think were unpopular whipping boys here who once liberated from our so-called braintrust emerged as productive players.

 

QB -

RB - Willis McGahee

RB

WR -

WR

TE

LT - Glenn Parker

LG

C- Dusty Ziegler I think deserves note as a player we shoulda kept as OL was worse w/o him

RG

RT

DE -

DT -

NT -

DE

OLB

ILB

ILB

OLB

CB- some might argue we woulda/shoulda signed Winfield well before he hit FA but I think we used his $ for Milloy

CB

SS

FS

K- There was a fellow we cut who then became quite the accurate kicker but I cannot remember who. also Christie

P

 

 

We should have kept Travis Henry. He produced for us even with a limp leg. He then went on and reproduced some more and more and more.

[Jerry Jabber]

I disagree about McGahee. McGahee does have some talent, but I wouldn't put him in the Top 20 of RB's in the league. He has an attitude problem and was almost out the door in Baltimore. McGahee went down easy upon contact with a DB. So, I'd rather have Lynch over him.

 

Here's my list:

 

DT - Pat Williams

QB - Doug Flutie - wish we kept him over Johnson. Flutie would have been a nice stop gap at QB until the Bills could have drafted a replacement.

CB - Antoine Winfield

Rueben Brown

Travis Henry

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

K- There was a fellow we cut who then became quite the accurate kicker but I cannot remember who. also Christie

 

I think you're thinking of Shayne Graham, who stunk for us as a part-year player during the 3-13 season, but has gone on to be a solid kicker for the Bengals.

[Armchair GM]

A post elsewhere on the Board looking for an off-season list of worst Bills ever got me thinking what the list is of players who became whipping boys of the fans and local media whom we woulda/shoulda/coulda kept might be.

 

My sense of the archetype player of this type would be Glenn Parker, LT who became the target of most prominently The Coach on WGR who simply hated on Parker (leading to various me-too tirades of folks on TSW. I think the Parker bleatings get special note because not only was his cut specifically advocated, but the Bills gave in to this pressure and cut Parker who then signed with NYG and played a prominent role in helping that team to the SB.

 

To make matters worse, the fellow whose name escapes me that the Bills put in his place turned out to be simply putrid (again despite The Coach having identified him by name as the better player who was wiling on our bench while Parker played.

 

In order to offer up some potential discussion, I am putting on this initial list (with many blanks to solicit suggestions) there is a case to be made that though the Bills relented to popular demand and traded Willis McGaghee, he did make the Pro Bowl for the Ravens once liberated from the Bills mismanagement which for some perverse reason never seemed to employ WM as a pass catcher despite our obvious need for an additional receiving threat and WM having some success in that area even here. It can certainly be argued he deserved whipping badly with his career as a Baby Daddy, but he is a pretty good example of a player whom the Bills did not utilize in a manner which he then did successfully elsewhere.

 

So please, who are other players whom folks think were unpopular whipping boys here who once liberated from our so-called braintrust emerged as productive players.

 

QB -

RB - Willis McGahee

RB

WR -

WR

TE

LT - Glenn Parker

LG

C- Dusty Ziegler I think deserves note as a player we shoulda kept as OL was worse w/o him

RG

RT

DE -

DT -

NT -

DE

OLB

ILB

ILB

OLB

CB- some might argue we woulda/shoulda signed Winfield well before he hit FA but I think we used his $ for Milloy

CB

SS

FS

K- There was a fellow we cut who then became quite the accurate kicker but I cannot remember who. also Christie

P

 

Marcellous Wiley (Sp)

[KOKBILLS]

I'll say it....Wade Phillips.

 

Exactly...

 

One of the most overlooked stupid moves...Did not need to happen at all...He may not be the Best HC out there but he was more than fine for Buffalo...Give him the horses and he's going to win more then he loses...In 8 Years as a HC he's finished 9-7 or better 6 times...Plus The Bills Defenses under Wade were always formidable, especially at Home...

 

Shoulda kept Ol' Wade...

[mike oxhurtz]

Exactly...

 

One of the most overlooked stupid moves...Did not need to happen at all...He may not be the Best HC out there but he was more than fine for Buffalo...Give him the horses and he's going to win more then he loses...In 8 Years as a HC he's finished 9-7 or better 6 times...Plus The Bills Defenses under Wade were always formidable, especially at Home...

 

Shoulda kept Ol' Wade...

 

If we're gonna go that route, then the biggest name of all that we should have kept is Bill Polian. Good job Ralph for screwing that one up

[silvermike]

I don't know if I'm reading the original poster wrong, but I think there's a difference between players we lost and should have kept (some of which the fans were begging to see kept around), and losing players at the end of a year or two of mistaken fan/media hatred. That's the story of Glenn Parker. They didn't just cut him for a rookie, they cut him after Chuck Dickerson spent two hours a day blaming him for everything wrong with our offense.

 

TBD whipping boys like Travis/Willis fit the deal, although both of them also spent some effort getting their own tickets out of town. If Donte Whitner leaves town after this contract and becomes an all pro, he'd belong on this list.

[trigger]

Funny how absence makes the heart grow fonder. Bills fans couldn"t wait to get rid of Wade ("Son Of Bum") and felt justified and/or vindicated when he was finally gone. I vividly remember all the talk about his refusal to wear headphones and his resemblance to an Alzheimer"s sufferer on the sidelines. Talk about superficial. The problem was that Bills fans were spoiled with success for around 15 years and Wade was seen as the benefactor of savvy management and was basically acting as a caretaker of the team. I always thought he got a bum (no pun intended) deal in Buffalo and the dismal performance of the team since his departure is not wholly coincidental.

 

 

 

Exactly...

 

One of the most overlooked stupid moves...Did not need to happen at all...He may not be the Best HC out there but he was more than fine for Buffalo...Give him the horses and he's going to win more then he loses...In 8 Years as a HC he's finished 9-7 or better 6 times...Plus The Bills Defenses under Wade were always formidable, especially at Home...

 

Shoulda kept Ol' Wade...

[Mr. WEO]

I disagree about McGahee. McGahee does have some talent, but I wouldn't put him in the Top 20 of RB's in the league. He has an attitude problem and was almost out the door in Baltimore. McGahee went down easy upon contact with a DB. So, I'd rather have Lynch over him.

 

Here's my list:

 

DT - Pat Williams

QB - Doug Flutie - wish we kept him over Johnson. Flutie would have been a nice stop gap at QB until the Bills could have drafted a replacement.

CB - Antoine Winfield

Rueben Brown

Travis Henry

Winfield--great tackler in run coverage. Mediocre pass coverage-at best. Easily replaced.

 

London Fletcher, but he wasn't really a scapegoat. Everyone said he was too old. How long ago was that? He was not easily replaced---look at the crew we're looking forward to now........

[Hossage]

Justin Baanan, He was cheap. Jim Leonard. Honestly, we could have kept Bledsoe.

[mike oxhurtz]

Justin Baanan, He was cheap. Jim Leonard. Honestly, we could have kept Bledsoe.

 

I agree about Bledsoe. We should have kept him for another 2-3 years. Even though Bledsoe regressed, he was still better than any QB the Bills had this past decade.

[4BillsintheBurgh]

I think you're thinking of Shayne Graham, who stunk for us as a part-year player during the 3-13 season, but has gone on to be a solid kicker for the Bengals.

Actually I was thinking Gar-wy Anderson.

[RyanC883]

If we're gonna go that route, then the biggest name of all that we should have kept is Bill Polian. Good job Ralph for screwing that one up

 

 

+1. No doubt about it. One of the best GM's ever.

[PS 56]

+1. No doubt about it. One of the best GM's ever.

 

 

Ditto that one. Man what a bone headed thing it was to get rid of him.

[Rob_not_Rian_Lindell]

TKO

[DDD]

I'll say it....Wade Phillips.