Bills trade Sammy Watkins to Rams for CB Gaines, 2nd rd pick

[Paulus]

First comparing Sammy to Julio, now comparing him to Eichel. This thread has gone full retard.

Really? Trading talent for picks and getting poor value on those picks is pretty asinine. The Bills' FO is once again "smarter" than everyone else, only in thier heads.

[4merper4mer]

Diego Ferrari was a thug, whaddya talkin' about?!!!

Ferrari was added in 29. Geez.

[26CornerBlitz]

[Big C]

 

Think it's pretty clear that if Sammy loses the dreads he'll become truly elite.

[QCity]

 

 

I assure you, I've seen the numbers before, for what would seem like a thousand times. Are you aware of the 8-game streak in 2015? I was referring more to the injury situation, as I believe someone sarcastically said if Eichel gets hurt again he should be traded.

[26CornerBlitz]

 

 

I assure you, I've seen the numbers before, for what would seem like a thousand times. Are you aware of the 8-game streak in 2015? I was referring more to the injury situation, as I believe someone sarcastically said if Eichel gets hurt again he should be traded.

Well all three are similar in that they are great players who were drafted high and have dealt with injury issues.

[Paulus]

 

 

One of these had a better QB, too.

[BillsFan4]

Comparing Sammy to Eichel just isn't comparing apples to apples IMO.

 

Hockey is a completely different sport than football.

 

Eichel plays the equivalent position (franchise center) to a franchise QB in football. Sammy is like an elite winger in hockey - they're great to have but don't necessarily win you championships. They can help, but you can win it without them. You need an elite franchise #1 center and an elite #1 defenseman in hockey. I don't think you need an elite WR to win a Lombardi in football. Especially when you don't yet have a QB who has proven he can get that elite WR the ball... sure they help. But they're nowhere near as important a position as a franchise #1 C in hockey.

 

The draft is completely different in hockey, too. You need to have a top 2-3 pick to get game changing difference maker type players on the level of Eichel. Amazing players rarely fall in the NHL draft. Where as in the NFL great players are found through the first 1-2 (even 3) rounds every year. You don't need a top 3 pick to find this edifference makers.

 

Now I get Sammy is a rare talent. Trading him away sucks. But it's still not comparable to what Eichel means to the Sabres IMO. You are talking about a 19yr old who has already shown to be a top 10 player in the NHL. While Sammy has that potential he has not yet shown it, and it doesn't help that he doesn't have the QB to help him along with that. Eichel doesn't need a QB to show it, though. He can do it on his own, and there lies another difference between the two sports.

 

Oh, and the fans had absolutely nothing to do with Sammy getting traded. We didn't run him out of town. Management decided to move on.

[Best Player Available]

Heard he was a locker room cancer. As you need to not just be classy on the field. But off it. And in the locker room.

Link? or did you hear this from your local stoned bartender?

Edited August 12, 2017 by Best Player Available

[nucci]

This was my first thought about the trade. Beane and Opie are trying to change the culture and only have high character players and not that Sammy wasn't, but he isn't shy about speaking his mind (wow, a WR?!!!), and they are only interested in player with the same kind of mindset, both of which Matthews and Gaines have the reputation for. What isn't clear is if this strategy of all character players has ever worked on any team in any sport in history.

This is football. You're not going to get many high character players. Kelly, Thurman, Reed , Bruce were not high character players when they arrived....drugs, drinking, bar fights......trading Watkins is ridiculous

[Bill_with_it]

Hey they play a game, not perform " rocket surgery" as Yogi Berra would say. Probably had diction on his phone. Probably didn't go to the kind of schools most of us went to either. We don't watch the NFL because they are a bunch of Rhodes Scholars. Seriously I see worse spelling and grammar on this board daily from people who supposedly are much better educated than SW. kind of odd to hate on a player for grammar.

 

Oh. It must be true then.

Sammy Watkins was a Communication major at Clemson. To suggest he wasnt or didnt have an opportunity to learn how to use proper English/punctuation and forming basic sentences is a very poor excuse. He chose not too and literally looked as if he hadn't received a day of education; couple that with an immature reaponse, and you have what is a true look at an unfiltered and immature Sammy Watkins.

I disagree. Never saw anything or heard any interview where he came across as anything approaching that. Many players do frequently , I see it all the time on ESPN etc. never saw it with Sammy.

You must have found a couple of rocks to live under. This is just one statetment that he gave:

"That's what I get mad at," Watkins said, "when I don't get looked at. I can look at film and his eyes go straight that way and I'm not getting looked at, at all. That's when I get frustrated. When I have one-on-one coverage, go to me. I don't care what's going on over there. I don't care if he's open. When I get one on one, just target me."

 

That shows selfishness, putting yourself before the team, and immaturity for not keeping this stuff in house via the coaching staff.

[Wayne Cubed]

@adamschefter

Rams GM Les Snead said LA is interested in signing WR Sammy Watkins to a long-term contract, though the two sides are yet to discuss a deal.

[nucci]

Sammy Watkins was a Communication major at Clemson. To suggest he wasnt or didnt have an opportunity to learn how to use proper English/punctuation and forming basic sentences is a very poor excuse. He chose not too and literally looked as if he hadn't received a day of education; couple that with an immature reaponse, and you have what is a true look at an unfiltered and immature Sammy Watkins.

 

You must have found a couple of rocks to live under. This is just one statetment that he gave:

"That's what I get mad at," Watkins said, "when I don't get looked at. I can look at film and his eyes go straight that way and I'm not getting looked at, at all. That's when I get frustrated. When I have one-on-one coverage, go to me. I don't care what's going on over there. I don't care if he's open. When I get one on one, just target me."

 

That shows selfishness, putting yourself before the team, and immaturity for not keeping this stuff in house via the coaching staff.

Is it selfish when Odell Beckham says he wants to be the highest paid player in the game? Do you recall Andre Reed complaining he wasn't getting thrown to enough? Thurman complaining he wasn't getting the ball enough? Every great player wants the ball. Your criticism of Watkins being selfish is wrong

[Bill_with_it]

Is it selfish when Odell Beckham says he wants to be the highest paid player in the game? Do you recall Andre Reed complaining he wasn't getting thrown to enough? Thurman complaining he wasn't getting the ball enough? Every great player wants the ball. Your criticism of Watkins being selfish is wrong

So when Watkins tells the media he cares about the status of no one else on team whether or not that other player is wide open, whether or not Sammy isnt the number one read on the play he wants the qb to not listen at all to the offensive coordinator/head coach for the sole purpose of making a player look good at the hands of the team. Its a blatant and immature stab at the offense, the head coach, and the organization. Every great player doesnt say screw whatever the coaches have planned, the routes progressions of every single player whether open or not, I ME want the ball at the expense of the entire team, win/loss record, and offensive system/play calling for the sake of one player who just so happens has shown that his body is capable of remaining somewhat healthy. In a profession where your health and ability to be a team player is critical.

[Coach Tuesday]

 

It's the grammar that pisses me off more than anything, there.

Also - I don't think it was "injuries" per se. I think it was controllability, including with respect to his training and workout regimen. Sammy refuses to take direction about how to prepare his body during the offseason and, combined with the explosive way he plays, it results in significant wear and tear on his lower body. I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet, that the new training staff already had become exasperated by Sammy's lack of buy-in to their strength and conditioning program.

 

Still hate the trade, though...

[NoSaint]

So when Watkins tells the media he cares about the status of no one else on team whether or not that other player is wide open, whether or not Sammy isnt the number one read on the play he wants the qb to not listen at all to the offensive coordinator/head coach for the sole purpose of making a player look good at the hands of the team. Its a blatant and immature stab at the offense, the head coach, and the organization. Every great player doesnt say screw whatever the coaches have planned, the routes progressions of every single player whether open or not, I ME want the ball at the expense of the entire team, win/loss record, and offensive system/play calling for the sake of one player who just so happens has shown that his body is capable of remaining somewhat healthy. In a profession where your health and ability to be a team player is critical.

You are being very dramatic

 

Every great player wants the ball when they have a highly favorable matchup. Highly successful teams tend to embrace that a great player in a favorable matchup is the number one goal of the offense.

[Coach Tuesday]

You are being very dramatic

 

Every great player wants the ball when they have a highly favorable matchup. Highly successful teams tend to embrace that a great player in a favorable matchup is the number one goal of the offense.

 

And he was right - and his comments were a natural and foreseeable result of horrid planning by Whaley and Brandon, squandering high draft capital to bring in a puzzle piece that couldn't properly be used because there wasn't a foundation in place, i.e., a competent QB and an offense that would maximize the talents of a WR with his skills.

 

Whaley was an absolutely horrible GM.

[NoSaint]

 

And he was right - and his comments were a natural and foreseeable result of horrid planning by Whaley and Brandon, squandering high draft capital to bring in a puzzle piece that couldn't properly be used because there wasn't a foundation in place, i.e., a competent QB and an offense that would maximize the talents of a WR with his skills.

 

Whaley was an absolutely horrible GM.

Again, dramatic.

 

Any qb could have used the resource. Even if not maximizing its potential 100%, simply prioritizing him in the scheme would've done wonders.

 

I'd say even more than qb the Whaley-marronne disconnect the wider ownership-front office disconnect that created the front office--coach disconnect is where the talking point lands. We've seen what Sammy can do with Tyrod and it was special.

[Coach Tuesday]

Again, dramatic.

 

Any qb could have used the resource. Even if not maximizing its potential 100%, simply prioritizing him in the scheme would've done wonders.

 

I'd say even more than qb the Whaley-marronne disconnect the wider ownership-front office disconnect that created the front office--coach disconnect is where the talking point lands. We've seen what Sammy can do with Tyrod and it was special.

 

"Could have used the resource" is a red herring when you consider the resources they gave up to get Watkins. They undermined their opportunity to build the proper foundation to make that trade successful.

[Bill_with_it]

You are being very dramatic

 

Every great player wants the ball when they have a highly favorable matchup. Highly successful teams tend to embrace that a great player in a favorable matchup is the number one goal of the offense.

Im not the one that stated i didnt care if another player on my team was open when im not and i want the ball. Sammy was the one that stated that. We arent talking about favorable matchups. Because he wouldnt have stated he wanted the ball regardless of the whether or not another player was open. To insinuate or determine his motive in any other fashion than the words the player stayed would make you a mind reader.