Bills radio (Mike Schopp is awful)

[OCinBuffalo]

I was driving with my parents on a long trip today.

 

I casually turned on the WGR app and hooked my phone to my speakers, just to observe what would happen. Why not a little experiment/trolling? They don't usually listen to WGR in the afternoon due to work, etc. I said nothing at all, because I didn't want to bias their response to being exposed to 3.5 hours of Mike Schopp.

 

The results were as expected. On every commercial break they were completely refuting 10 minutes Schopp rambling with 1-2 sentences. There was no screaming and yelling, just cold hard refutation, until hours 2.5-3.5, when Schopp basically repeated everything he had already said. Then the screaming began.

 

A few examples:

1. To the 20 minute, and ongoing "throw it down the field" Schopp premise....

"We threw it down the field 3 times to Watkins for 157 yards against the Jets. That's 50 yards/throw. In fact, Watkins almost had a 1000 yard season." And, "If this guy thinks throwing long passes automatically means wins, then Jemarcus Russel is a HOF QB, and Randall Cunnigham was better than Jim Kelly." (Btw, my response is: Marrone was the OC for the Saints, who threw the ball down the field all the friggin time on their way to winning the SB. Of course he can "change" when he has a Drew Brees" )

 

2. To the "we can improve our red zone stats....by throwing into the endzone from the 25 yard line" premise...

"Explain how scoring from the 25 improves our red zone stats?

 

3. To the hilarious "Why did Marrone call the owner, and have Russ Brandon call Doug Whaley....isn't that a chain of command problem?" premise...

"Apparently this guy has never managed a crisis, which makes sense, since his job is the least critical thing I can imagine." And, "If this guy worked for me, and was screaming about protocol not being followed, when we just lost a key person unexpectedly, and now have to quickly prepare for the media scrutiny to come, he'd be fired on the spot."

 

There are many, many more. I heard the word idiot, moron, and others that will get the @#$ treatment here, used to describe Schopp.

 

But most telling? I heard: "This entire show is merely an echo chamber for idiots." That's my favorite.

 

Brian Koziol finally broke up the fun, for me, when he came on to do the Sabres pregame. In all cases, my little focus group of 2, found Schopp's entire show to be absurd.

 

At the end, all I said was: "This is why I call this nuance-free radio. This is radio for the dumbest, pretending and wishing it was for the smartest". My parents agreed that this is the best way to characterize it.

Edited December 30, 2014 by OCinBuffalo

[gomper]

I was driving with my parents on a long trip today.

 

I casually turned on the WGR app and hooked my phone to my speakers, just to observe what would happen. Why not a little experiment/trolling? They don't usually listen to WGR in the afternoon due to work, etc. I said nothing at all, because I didn't want to bias their response to being exposed to 3.5 hours of Mike Schopp.

 

The results were as expected. On every commercial break they were completely refuting 10 minutes Schopp rambling with 1-2 sentences. There was no screaming and yelling, just cold hard refutation, until hours 2.5-3.5, when Schopp basically repeated everything he had already said. Then the screaming began.

 

A few examples:

1. To the 20 minute, and ongoing "throw it down the field" Schopp premise....

"We threw it down the field 3 times to Watkins for 157 yards against the Jets. That's 50 yards/throw. In fact, Watkins almost had a 1000 yard season." And, "If this guy thinks throwing long passes automatically means wins, then Jemarcus Russel is a HOF QB, and Randall Cunnigham was better than Jim Kelly." (Btw, my response is: Marrone was the OC for the Saints, who threw the ball down the field all the friggin time on their way to winning the SB. Of course he can "change" when he has a Drew Brees" )

 

2. To the "we can improve our red zone stats....by throwing into the endzone from the 25 yard line" premise...

"Explain how scoring from the 25 improves our red zone stats?

 

3. To the hilarious "Why did Marrone call the owner, and have Russ Brandon call Doug Whaley....isn't that a chain of command problem?" premise...

"Apparently this guy has never managed a crisis, which makes sense, since his job is the least critical thing I can imagine." And, "If this guy worked for me, and was screaming about protocol not being followed, when we just lost a key person unexpectedly, and now have to quickly prepare for the media scrutiny to come, he'd be fired on the spot."

 

There are many, many more. I heard the word idiot, moron, and others that will get the @#$ treatment here, used to describe Schopp.

 

But most telling? I heard: "This entire show is merely an echo chamber for idiots." That's my favorite.

 

Brian Koziol finally broke up the fun, for me, when he came on to do the Sabres pregame. In all cases, my little focus group of 2, found Schopp's entire show to be absurd.

 

At the end, all I said was: "This is why I call this nuance-free radio. This is radio for the dumbest, pretending and wishing it was for the smartest". My parents agreed that this is the best way to characterize it.

 

This post has all the elements of a 1st ballot Hall of Fame post!

 

Bravo!

[OCinBuffalo]

This post has all the elements of a 1st ballot Hall of Fame post!

 

Bravo!

Thanks.

 

I was asked to post more on the football board. This is my response to those requests.

[inkman]

 

Actually Sal is on a track to do national TV. He is past WGR's level now.

Cool. I won't have to hear him anymore.

[Tintonfallsbillsfan]

This post has all the elements of a 1st ballot Hall of Fame post!

 

Bravo!

 

agreed now send it to WGR

 

Never punt, Throw the ball down field , new way of doing thing, then repeat it twenty times a day and you too can have a job at the bills flagship station

[bbb]

agreed now send it to WGR

 

Never punt, Throw the ball down field , new way of doing thing, then repeat it twenty times a day and you too can have a job at the bills flagship station

 

Let's not actually talk about what's going on. Let's discuss some far fetched plan that we're going to be "smarter" than everybody else................He has a total one track mind.

 

And, I don't get the idea that the running game doesn't matter. How could it not?

[34-78-83]

agreed now send it to WGR

 

Never punt, Throw the ball down field , new way of doing thing, then repeat it twenty times a day and you too can have a job at the bills flagship station

So true Lol

[jester43]

No one pays us to express our opinions unlike the folks at WGR. They are routinely touted as experts in all things that are Buffalo sports.

 

they are? who has said that? overreact much??

 

They are a bunch of radio guys who cover our teams and (on a good day) have some opinions on stuff. They don't have to be "right" on every single topic to be good at their jobs. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they didn't. But thread after thread after whiny, bitchy, catty thread about them, for the life of me....i CANNOT figure out what the BFD is about what is opined by these radio guys! 8 pages of this only happens when people either (a) take it all way too seriously, or (b) need to get a life.

 

It is just mind-boggling how wadded up some of you guys get and how far some of will you go to make them seem incompetent. I wish i could pore through these boards and appoint a WGR "genius-for-a-day" from the stadium wall. This lucky sage could straighten everyone out, refute all the inadequacies and avenge all the indignities heaped upon the Bills/Sabres organizations and their fans by these evil men at this radio station.

 

Now that would be some entertainment.

[34-78-83]

they are? who has said that? overreact much??

 

They are a bunch of radio guys who cover our teams and (on a good day) have some opinions on stuff. They don't have to be "right" on every single topic to be good at their jobs. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they didn't. But thread after thread after whiny, bitchy, catty thread about them, for the life of me....i CANNOT figure out what the BFD is about what is opined by these radio guys! 8 pages of this only happens when people either (a) take it all way too seriously, or (b) need to get a life.

 

It is just mind-boggling how wadded up some of you guys get and how far some of will you go to make them seem incompetent. I wish i could pore through these boards and appoint a WGR "genius-for-a-day" from the stadium wall. This lucky sage could straighten everyone out, refute all the inadequacies and avenge all the indignities heaped upon the Bills/Sabres organizations and their fans by these evil men at this radio station.

 

Now that would be some entertainment.

 

I hear ya ... I think the reason is that there is really no other option for Bills post-game coverage and day to day coverage... The ultimate solution here would be to get some competition for WGR for the day to day stuff with some more reasonable hosts... Maybe even some that know a bit about the sport outside of mathematics. More guys like Sal.

[bbb]

I hear ya ... I think the reason is that there is really no other option for Bills post-game coverage and day to day coverage... The ultimate solution here would be to get some competition for WGR for the day to day stuff with some more reasonable hosts... Maybe even some that know a bit about the sport outside of mathematics. More guys like Sal.

 

That's my frustration. I really want to hear good Bills talk after a game. There used to be two options, at least. I hear it when Sal gets on after S&B, but while they are on it's just "will Mike blow up at this caller" cringy stuff.

[PromoTheRobot]

they are? who has said that? overreact much??

 

They are a bunch of radio guys who cover our teams and (on a good day) have some opinions on stuff. They don't have to be "right" on every single topic to be good at their jobs. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they didn't. But thread after thread after whiny, bitchy, catty thread about them, for the life of me....i CANNOT figure out what the BFD is about what is opined by these radio guys! 8 pages of this only happens when people either (a) take it all way too seriously, or (b) need to get a life.

 

It is just mind-boggling how wadded up some of you guys get and how far some of will you go to make them seem incompetent. I wish i could pore through these boards and appoint a WGR "genius-for-a-day" from the stadium wall. This lucky sage could straighten everyone out, refute all the inadequacies and avenge all the indignities heaped upon the Bills/Sabres organizations and their fans by these evil men at this radio station.

 

Now that would be some entertainment.

 

You have to remember this thread started when Schopp declared he'd rather see the Bills be annihilated than beat a half-hearted Pats team. It's not a matter of being right or wrong, just being a d-bag.

 

My comment (that you quoted) was in response to Pasta Joe asking if having a legit opinion requires one to have played or coached football, and how such a requirement would shut down TBD. I responded that people commenting on TBD are not paid to be experts like the hosts on WGR, where those hosts are touted as experts by the stations own big-voiced promo guy.

[Cmmd Ackbar]

But guys 'Food Draft' and 'Actor Draft' were so amazing. As was that time they talked about olives for about half an hour. Amazing radio.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Cmmd Ackbar

[jester43]

I hear ya ... I think the reason is that there is really no other option for Bills post-game coverage and day to day coverage... The ultimate solution here would be to get some competition for WGR for the day to day stuff with some more reasonable hosts... Maybe even some that know a bit about the sport outside of mathematics. More guys like Sal.

Sal's good, Schopp's good, Bulldog's good...Howard Simon used to NOT be good... until he had a pulse and an opinion. Now I can listen to any of them, and it's all good. Just have something to say and a reason why you think so. If you ask any more than that you're just looking for someone to validate your own opinions.

 

I go to games and drink beers and have these same conversations and everyone is having fun bickering and letting each other think what they think. But not here...not when it comes to media guys! Everyone is accused of gross incompetence, and having secret agendas....just for making the same points that get made in parking lots among friends as they drink and laugh and sing the shout song together. But yeah, the media guys need to be thrown over Niagara Falls.

 

For the love of god is it all really that serious?

[metzelaars_lives]

Everyone on this thread needs to get over themselves once and for all. Yes the guy talks about analytics and not punting fairly regularly. We've established that. Well for one he's right about the not punting as much thing- which I thought was fairly academic until this thread when everyone was all, "hell yeah I applaud Marrone for punting on 4th and 1 from the Patriots 40 in a meaningless game with a chance to seal the game- we won the game damn it." But what no one is able to understand is that he talks about Buffalo sports for over 20 hours week. What new and earth-shattering topics did you want him to talk about? And when they try and have fun and do something non-sports related (which all other respected sports guys have been doing for quite some time- Bill Simmons, Dan Patrick, et al), someone starts a thread bashing them for that.

Edited December 30, 2014 by metzelaars_lives

[QB Bills]

Wow...lots of crybabies on this board. Just don't listen if it bothers you that much.

 

Truth is, he's very good at what he does. Easily the best on that station. I would never call in to the show as I don't need to hear the sound of my own voice on the radio, but I agree with a lot of what he says. Even on things I don't, he provides good entertainment value.

 

And I find that a lot of what he says is the harsh truth and people just don't like to hear it. He's not paid to be a cheerleader. He gives credit where it's due, but nobody acknowledges it. He's been singing the praises of the defense all year, as they've earned it. He calls out the offense and the offensive philosophy, as they've earned it also.

 

You may not believe it, but people in Buffalo are spoiled when it comes to radio when you compare it to the stooges we have here in Toronto. We have two 24-hour sports radio stations and they are filled with people on par with the likes of Paul Hamilton (uninformed dinosaur) and Chris Brown (and his rose-coloured glasses).

[bbb]

Sal's good, Schopp's good, Bulldog's good...Howard Simon used to NOT be good... until he had a pulse and an opinion.

 

I don't listen very much in the morning, but it does seem that somebody told Howard to quit being so bland and acting like he's a million years old when I've listened lately. I thought it was just me.

 

Everyone on this thread needs to get over themselves once and for all. Yes the guy talks about analytics and not punting fairly regularly. We've established that. Well for one he's right about the not punting as much thing- which I thought was fairly academic until this thread when everyone was all, "hell yeah I applaud Marrone for punting on 4th and 1 from the Patriots 40 in a meaningless game with a chance to seal the game- we won the game damn it." But what no one is able to understand is that he talks about Buffalo sports for over 20 hours week. What new and earth-shattering topics did you want him to talk about? And when they try and have fun and do something non-sports related (which all other respected sports guys have been doing for quite some time- Bill Simmons, Dan Patrick, et al), someone starts a thread bashing them for that.

 

I, and I'm in the vast minority here, like the non sports related stuff - usually more than when they're talking sports. But, my complaint is the post game show. It's just frustrating - at a time when you really want to hear Bills talk and not petty garbage.

[BuffOrange]

I don't see how being a coaching assistant bolters credentials in discussing the pro game. In fact, I think it's completely overblown. Sal is underwhelming like most of the gr staff. He is a homer who got his dream job rubbing elbows with the jocks he adores. It is impossible to listen to him without constantly hearing about his son, Syracuse, or twitter. Horrible radio.

 

Joe B reminds me of the dude in the student council in hs that doffs the suit every day to look the part but does little to hone his craft. Take some speech lessons and writing courses, Captain Equivocation. Belongs in Elmira for seasoning.

 

Captain Equivocation

"That's not to say that..."

"I wouldn't necessarily go as far..."

Hearing him just now talk about "not being overly impressed" with Bryce Petty is so him in a nutshell.

 

Wow...lots of crybabies on this board. Just don't listen if it bothers you that much.

 

Truth is, he's very good at what he does. Easily the best on that station. I would never call in to the show as I don't need to hear the sound of my own voice on the radio, but I agree with a lot of what he says. Even on things I don't, he provides good entertainment value.

 

And I find that a lot of what he says is the harsh truth and people just don't like to hear it. He's not paid to be a cheerleader. He gives credit where it's due, but nobody acknowledges it. He's been singing the praises of the defense all year, as they've earned it. He calls out the offense and the offensive philosophy, as they've earned it also.

 

You may not believe it, but people in Buffalo are spoiled when it comes to radio when you compare it to the stooges we have here in Toronto. We have two 24-hour sports radio stations and they are filled with people on par with the likes of Paul Hamilton (uninformed dinosaur) and Chris Brown (and his rose-coloured glasses).

 

+1. Philly is brutal as well.

[gomper]

Wow...lots of crybabies on this board. Just don't listen if it bothers you that much.

 

Truth is, he's very good at what he does. Easily the best on that station. I would never call in to the show as I don't need to hear the sound of my own voice on the radio, but I agree with a lot of what he says. Even on things I don't, he provides good entertainment value.

 

And I find that a lot of what he says is the harsh truth and people just don't like to hear it. He's not paid to be a cheerleader. He gives credit where it's due, but nobody acknowledges it. He's been singing the praises of the defense all year, as they've earned it. He calls out the offense and the offensive philosophy, as they've earned it also.

 

You may not believe it, but people in Buffalo are spoiled when it comes to radio when you compare it to the stooges we have here in Toronto. We have two 24-hour sports radio stations and they are filled with people on par with the likes of Paul Hamilton (uninformed dinosaur) and Chris Brown (and his rose-coloured glasses).

 

We're spoiled? LOL

 

So, you'd rather listen to a morning show where one guy has no personality and the other uses obscure stats and Twitter to fill out segments because they don't know how to do a good show?

 

Or an afternoon show with a condescending prick and his partner who sounds like a marble-mouthed wino..

 

over Bob Mccown?

 

I think you're spoiled.

[Nitro]

Being an Ex-Buffalonian living in the Midwest, i listen to WGR on line. Schopp and Bulldog are pompous wind bags. What is worse is some of the callers they put on the air. It makes me cringe but that is sports talk radio. The sports talking heads I listen to in Indy are annoying too. It is the way of the industry,

[Big Hurt]

I am too a hater of Schopp because of his negativity after the Pats game. I thought he was running a funeral service. So what the Pats winning streak again AFC was broken? He cared about it more than Bellichick. Maybe he should be a Pats fan. Often time he rambled on and on about the same thing, like when he spent the whole show promoting Jay Cutler. If any caller told him that Cutler was a loser, he would blast them away. I rather listen to Murphy, Joe B, or Sal.