Jackson upset is not good

[apuszczalowski]

What kind of little baby do you think Jackson is?

 

He's a professional, and he's a grown ass man. He doesn't need a group hug just because they are giving the kid more carries.

 

Give me a break.

Apparently he does

[GG]

Jackson is the one being ridiculous here. Amplified by Bucky Gleason, who LOoooves this sort of thing. Nothing seems to make Bucky happier than to take a small story, make it huge, and hope that it affects the team in such a way that it makes his coverage of it appear revelatory and insightful in hindsight. Bucky thinks that this is his job. It's not. Bucky should try to model his career after Paul Hamilton, a true pro. Bucky tends to act like a pissed off fan who snuck into a reporter's job.

 

When faced with bad news, the best thing to do is to shoot the messenger. The bad news will then go away.

[Bill from NYC]

If Fred was a first round pick, most of this board would be running him out of town for his 1,000 yard seasons, much like was done to Henry, McGahee, and Lynch.

 

Fred's a good back. But the reason he gets so much love from here is mainly because he's a UDFA.

 

I'm not so sure it works as you describe.

From what I see, fans give extra room to first rounders in order to not face the ugly fact that one of them is a bust. Players such as Whitner and McKelvin were given a lot of slack by fans in terms of their performance vs. their draft slots.

 

Then again, there were others (McCargo, Flowers, and Maybin) who never produced anything at all, ever.

 

The good news is that I totally expect Dareus to finally break this alarming trend.

[Mike in Syracuse]

Fred's pissed off, and he has every right to be. He has held it in his entire career and has always been the good soldier, model citizen and model teammate and consummate pro. He's probably sick of getting crapped on, both by earlier staffs and this one, and more important the bean counters.

 

BUT...

 

The least of our worries is Fred Jackson. He will always play 100% on game day and he will produce. I think Gailey should have explained his thoughts to Fred a little earlier than this afternoon, but the fact is that Fred will be ready to play, and will play with everything he's got. He was pissed earlier in the game, but was furious when Donald Jones his teammate got hit, then ran like hell on his next carry. He may be furious at the Bills, too, but I doubt very much he will be a distraction. It's pretty much a non-issue, unless other players have less enthusiasm for the franchise because of the way the front office treats a warrior.

 

Do you really think there are other teams out there that think "holy crap, that Fred Jackson is an amazing running back, we HAVE to stop him". I think RB's are a dime a dozen and what Fred does is what's expected of any RB in the league. I get that he's a good team guy and that he's played hard for the Bills but lets not forget, this guy couldn't make another team and spent years playing in Europe. He's been a star here because we've had a series of 1st round disappointments. If Lynch wasn't such a inconsistent psychopath he'd still be here and still be the #1 guy.

 

RB's are the most easily replaceable commodities in the NFL. Everyone's acting as if Jackson is Thurman 2.0 and he's not. He's good, but he's exceedingly average. Spiller has not lived up to his pick but he needs touches. Every time Spiller touches the ball he's got a chance to taking it to the endzone. The same thing was true of Parrish but he toiled in anonymity until Gailey figured out how to use him.

 

If Fred's upset that he's not being handed the #1 title, then there's one thing he can do. Go out there and prove that he deserves it. Competition is what makes good football teams great. If Jackson is being pushed by Spiller it's going to make him even better. Crying to the media about being disrespected is childish.

 

What is not discussed is the manner that Gailey elevated Spiller to the starting line up. It certainly looks like Fred got wind of it like the fans did.

 

You can use whatever logic you want in rationalizing the irrational move to move Spiller to No. 1. But the way it was handled was amateurish. Your starting players need to know where they stand.

 

So take Lee's trade, Levitre's merry go round, and Freddie's demotion, one more inexplicable move and Chan can say good bye to that locker room and Bills be on track to challenge Detroit for THAT record.

 

 

 

.... and Andrew Luck enrolls in graduate school.

 

Gailey wanted to give Spiller carries with the 1st unit. Is he supposed to sit down with Fred over dinner and break the news to him? This is a !@#$ing football team, one that's underachieved for a decade, and we're worried about players getting their feelings hurt. Jackson needs to man up.

[GG]

If Fred is average, why has he outplayed Bills' RBs drafted in the Top 15? So far, Fred has outlasted & played better in the last 4 years than McGahee & Lynch, and so far is light years ahead of Spiller.

 

If Fred's upset that he's not being handed the #1 title, then there's one thing he can do. Go out there and prove that he deserves it. Competition is what makes good football teams great. If Jackson is being pushed by Spiller it's going to make him even better. Crying to the media about being disrespected is childish.

 

 

 

Gailey wanted to give Spiller carries with the 1st unit. Is he supposed to sit down with Fred over dinner and break the news to him? This is a !@#$ing football team, one that's underachieved for a decade, and we're worried about players getting their feelings hurt. Jackson needs to man up.

 

Newsflash, professional athletes are human and have feelings that are ruffled when their job is taken away by an incompetent. Double that feeling in any industry where stars are paid significantly more than your average bear.

 

Don't know what you do for a living, but even at my job, if something like this happened without an explanation, the entire floor would be infected with the insubordination disease for at least six months.

[Mike in Syracuse]

If Fred is average, why has he outplayed Bills' RBs drafted in the Top 15? So far, Fred has outlasted & played better in the last 4 years than McGahee & Lynch, and so far is light years ahead of Spiller.

 

 

 

Newsflash, professional athletes are human and have feelings that are ruffled when their job is taken away by an incompetent. Double that feeling in any industry where stars are paid significantly more than your average bear.

 

Don't know what you do for a living, but even at my job, if something like this happened without an explanation, the entire floor would be infected with the insubordination disease for at least six months.

 

He's been a star here because we've had a series of 1st round disappointments.

 

A little perspective is in order here, people have their jobs taken away every day in the real world. People are promoted, demoted, suspended and fired. Most won't earn what Jackson does in their lifetime. Jackson wasn't fired and sent to the street with his stuff in a box. He's being a child!

 

I work in sales and marketing. It's either eat or be eaten, there's no crying to the media We don't have the luxury of worrying where we're slotted. We either perform or look for a new job. There is no gray area................

Edited August 23, 2011 by Mike in Syracuse

[GG]

A little perspective is in order here, people have their jobs taken away every day in the real world. People are promoted, demoted, suspended and fired. Most won't earn what Jackson does in their lifetime. Jackson wasn't fired and sent to the street with his stuff in a box. He's being a child!

 

That's quite the leap of logic. Jackson makes more than what many people make in their lifetime? Good one. Too bad Jackson's peer group isn't the soup kitchen, but 1,500 of the most athletically gifted men in the US. By that measure he's underpaid and being demoted to 2nd string was a slap, especially when your contract has riders in it for starts & carries.

 

But go ahead, keep defending this Mickey Mouse organization. It needs fans like to you accepting the commitment to mediocrity.

[MDH]

This. It's apparent that the "Legend" of Fred Jackson is bigger than the player himself.

 

Reading some of the rants here about how "disrespected" he is (so much disrespect that they dumped Marshawn Lynch for him), it seems like many believe that Fred is the second coming of Jim Brown.

 

To me, he's an average RB and his numbers reflect that. His red zone numbers are downright pedestrian. He's a good grinder but the type of RB that is "franchise"? No, he is not.

 

The guy averages 4.4 ypc behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. He's a tough runner who rarely goes down on first contact, he's got good hands and he's very good at blitz pickup. He's not a superstar but he's above average. If he didn't consistently have to share the load with 1st round backs whose coaches felt that they should get touches do to where they were drafted Jackson could put up numbers that would get him noticed.

 

The bottom line is that the Bills should have never even drafted Spiller. It was a horrible pick at the time and it remains a horrible pick. Add this situation to the Levitre one to the Evans one and it seems like things are spiraling a bit out of control and the season isn't even upon us.

[Fixxxer]

I love Jackson but he's wrong for going in public about it. What's the point of going to a reporter and tellings his feeling are hurt, no matter how right he is? This sends the message that he might not be team player (don't believe that's the case), he thinks Spiller is a bad player or tammante and he undermines his own coach.

 

He should have pulled his HC aside after practice and ask for an explanation of his situation.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Fixxxer

[Fan in Chicago]

A little perspective is in order here, people have their jobs taken away every day in the real world. People are promoted, demoted, suspended and fired. Most won't earn what Jackson does in their lifetime. Jackson wasn't fired and sent to the street with his stuff in a box. He's being a child!

 

I work in sales and marketing. It's either eat or be eaten, there's no crying to the media We don't have the luxury of worrying where we're slotted. We either perform or look for a new job. There is no gray area................

Not quite. A few days back, when Chan said that Rinehart has earned the right to play with the 1's to see if he is better than Levitre, I was okay with that. In this situation, CJ has been annointed the #1 (or so it seems) with no real reason for FJ's demotion. If Chan instead had said that he will give both of them equal time with the 1's for the rest of the pre-season and then make a decision about who starts as #1 in the regular season, I would be fine with that. But CJ has shown little so far. I liked some brief flashes in the Denver game, but FJ still outplayed him. So, what has CJ shown that merits his promotion ? I think irrational moves like this could cause locker room strife.

[SDS]

That's quite the leap of logic. Jackson makes more than what many people make in their lifetime? Good one. Too bad Jackson's peer group isn't the soup kitchen, but 1,500 of the most athletically gifted men in the US. By that measure he's underpaid and being demoted to 2nd string was a slap, especially when your contract has riders in it for starts & carries.

 

But go ahead, keep defending this Mickey Mouse organization. It needs fans like to you accepting the commitment to mediocrity.

 

Other than Tim, was there someplace else where is was reported that Fred was demoted? I didn't see it. Chan was pretty quick to renounce that idea in the video, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.

[nodnarb]

When faced with bad news, the best thing to do is to shoot the messenger. The bad news will then go away.

 

It's not even news. Every single team, every season, has a good guy on it who feels underappreciated. Many team have bad guys who feel underappreciated.

 

Gleason merely amplified an ordinary story into crisis, which is what he loves to do.

[Mike in Syracuse]

That's quite the leap of logic. Jackson makes more than what many people make in their lifetime? Good one. Too bad Jackson's peer group isn't the soup kitchen, but 1,500 of the most athletically gifted men in the US. By that measure he's underpaid and being demoted to 2nd string was a slap, especially when your contract has riders in it for starts & carries.

 

But go ahead, keep defending this Mickey Mouse organization. It needs fans like to you accepting the commitment to mediocrity.

 

Name for me the other starting RB's in the NFL that Jackson is clearly ahead of. He's average...nothing more, nothing less.

 

While your at it, show me where ANYONE in the Bills organization said he's the #2 RB. Until Gailey says he's #2 everyone needs to relax.

[....lybob]

A little perspective is in order here, people have their jobs taken away every day in the real world. People are promoted, demoted, suspended and fired. Most won't earn what Jackson does in their lifetime. Jackson wasn't fired and sent to the street with his stuff in a box. He's being a child!

most of those people complain and vent in the real world - Anyone good in sports ain't doing it just for the money they want to compete at a high level both as a team and as an individual, sports are suppose to be a meritocracy where performance equals position and pay Spiller is being bumped up because Nix and Chan have to justify using a 9th overall pick on the guy, and what is the penalty for speaking out getting traded? if I'm a 30 year old RB I wouldn't mind getting traded off a team that plans on competing some time in the future.

[Ramius]

I'm not so sure it works as you describe.

From what I see, fans give extra room to first rounders in order to not face the ugly fact that one of them is a bust. Players such as Whitner and McKelvin were given a lot of slack by fans in terms of their performance vs. their draft slots.

 

Then again, there were others (McCargo, Flowers, and Maybin) who never produced anything at all, ever.

 

The good news is that I totally expect Dareus to finally break this alarming trend.

 

Not sure what board you were reading. Whitner got bashed on a daily basis his entire time here, and McKelvin has ben getting slammed all the time since he fumbled in newengland* 2 years ago.

 

There's no defending the Bills piss-poor record of drafting over the last decade. But, the biggest problem is that there are a lot of fans who don't judge a player's absolute ability, but rather judge them relative to how/where they were acquired.

[Astrobot]

Fred started last week and will likely start the season as the #1 back. Chan said as much in his post practice press conf, he feels both are #1 backs but Fred is ahead of CJ right now. They gave CJ the start in a worthless preseason game to get him some time with the first team offense. Perhaps Fred shouldn't be so sensitive.

 

^^^^^This. Jackson has something like a 6 ypc average in preseason so far. No way they don't use his talent. They're giving Spiller a chance to work on stuff so they have a 1-2 punch when the season starts. Jackson will start Day 1.

[Coach Tuesday]

Name for me the other starting RB's in the NFL that Jackson is clearly ahead of. He's average...nothing more, nothing less.

 

While your at it, show me where ANYONE in the Bills organization said he's the #2 RB. Until Gailey says he's #2 everyone needs to relax.

 

Is he paid more than Spiller? If not, doesn't he have a legit gripe?

[GG]

Other than Tim, was there someplace else where is was reported that Fred was demoted? I didn't see it. Chan was pretty quick to renounce that idea in the video, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.

 

Uhm, front page of TBD?

 

The latest jolt came last Thursday, when he was told that former first-round pick C.J. Spiller would be starting in front of him against the Denver Broncos in the second preseason game. Jackson wasn't on the bench for long Saturday, but he was still angry and confused about the decision after practice Monday.

 

Which brings us to the biggest problem that Galey has on his hands - losing control of the locker room. There certainly seems to be a lot more confusion among the players what the coaches expect and how they go about it. It does not sound like a unified locker room that will be willing to push the limit when they fall behind by more than one score. But it's just a guess on my part.

[K-9]

Is he paid more than Spiller? If not, doesn't he have a legit gripe?

 

You make an interesting point that hasn't been made yet. That is, can it be possible that Freddy is just resentful of NOT being paid like the number 1? The more I think about it the more I think that's the case.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Cash]

I think there is something to that if you want the cynical take. Otherwise you want to see what your #1 can do.

 

 

 

I don't think Spiller has been as big a disappointment as Maybin, Quinn or Tebow. He shows flashes of talent. Often times its a poor decision on field that keeps him from breaking one big. So if CJ has to learn the game, he isn't going to learn it from the bench.

 

Everyone is acting like Freddie's been benched. Spiller is just getting a few more reps in preseason.

 

PTR

That's because he was benched. (In only one game so far.) Had Gailey done the more common preseason move of starting Jackson, but taking him out after a few plays so that Spiller could get a lot of time with the 1s, I doubt Jackson would've been upset. But that's not what the Bills did. They benched Jackson in favor of Spiller, and that's specifically why Fred Jackson is upset. And despite the vast gulf between their current abilities as NFL RBs, Gailey praised Spiller's performance in the Denver game, and currently says that they're both #1 backs, and that Jackson is "slightly ahead." We're reading between the lines a bit, and thinking that it looks like either Gailey or someone above him wants Spiller to start, and is probably going to make that happen.

 

What is not discussed is the manner that Gailey elevated Spiller to the starting line up. It certainly looks like Fred got wind of it like the fans did.

 

You can use whatever logic you want in rationalizing the irrational move to move Spiller to No. 1. But the way it was handled was amateurish. Your starting players need to know where they stand.

 

So take Lee's trade, Levitre's merry go round, and Freddie's demotion, one more inexplicable move and Chan can say good bye to that locker room and Bills be on track to challenge Detroit for THAT record.

 

 

 

.... and Andrew Luck enrolls in graduate school.

Both Jackson and Levitre expressed confusion over a lack of clear communication from the coaching staff. Not a good sign. Plus, haven't all the Gailey boosters been talking up what a great culture he's instilling in the team, and how that leads to winning, etc.? I don't know about that. What kind of message does it send when Fred Jackson works hard and performs well, only to be benched for a #1 pick who continues to underperform? Now, if it winds up only being 1 preseason game that he gets benched for, Gailey can do some damage control, and probably everything will be fine. But if Spiller starts the regular season opener, what message does that send to the rest of the team?