I see a difference

[Needle]

This is football.

 

Jordan Matthews may sound great in front of a camera. I'll take Sammy Watkins and his play on the football field ANYDAY over Matthews.

I'm not going to pretend that Sammy isn't a special player but you continue to act as though Matthews couldn't hold his jock.

1. Sammy hasn't produced a single more productive season,in the three years they have been in the league together.

2. Jordan Matthews and Zay Jones are both more talented than you care to admit too. They arent stiffs and they are young.

3. The trade had everything to do with managing cap space and allocating value to positions. Nothing wrong with not wanting to spend your big money on WR.

 

You dont have to agree with it but it could work to our benefit.

[The Frankish Reich]

Exactly.

 

And ask T-Bomb if he thinks Kaepernick is well spoken.

Hey T-Bomb.

 

Is Kaepernick well spoken? How about Cornel West? Eldridge Cleaver? Chuck D? Bob Marley?

I ran into Cornel West at Disney World a couple summers ago. It was 95 degrees, 90 percent humidity. Typical Orlando in July. Cornel was wearing his signature black suit. Gotta hand it to the guy. That's commitment. And he actually seemed to be having fun too. And Zay Jones appears to be articulate, bright and clean and a nice looking guy* to boot.

 

* Joe Biden, 2007, re: candidate Barack Obama.

[The Frankish Reich]

With all due respect, the IQ curve of this team took a dramatic upturn long before the McBean era.

 

 

 

 

But then they had to go and spoil it all by replacing the brain trust.

 

[Jauronimo]

 

I guess specifically to reply to that, my take would be:

 

Hogan was/is never going to be a #1 WR, so who cares how intelligent/non-intelligent he is, he's a specialist type player not one of the backbones of an offense. Watkins, Matthews and/or Jones are or will be #1's, that's what I am comparing.

 

Peterman is not the starting QB, nor will he be unless Tyrod has a serious meltdown this season, so at the moment, he is not in the conversation that pertains to how well this team does this season. Maybe he does fit into the paradigm shift OBD is going for, but in terms of this season, no.

 

And as far as Wood goes, I think to play OL positions a player has to be more cerebral by default, plus I guess I never really watch the OL interview videos, I tend to gravitate towards QB and skill positions.

 

And I guess if you're saying that these threads don't start with white players as the subject, well, teams in the NFL don't have very many white players at skill positions. If the Bills had traded away a white #1 WR with Sammy's skillset and drafted a white WR like Jones and traded for a white WR like Matthews, then maybe we could be comparing that situation and the thread would be about white guys...

Well spoken or not is an issue depending on talent? Well that is just confusing. And on what planet is the 3rd WR in Philly and a rookie who hasn't played a snap yet #1s?

 

You could not twist and contort anymore if you tried. Its amusing.

 

I don't know where this thread goes next, but I'm pretty sure it ends with you telling us about your black friend that even came over for dinner once.

[BillsFan4]

I don't normally pay too much attention to player interviews during pre-season, but I am noticing a difference between the McBeane players and previous regimes' players in terms of speaking ability. Two players in particular that strike me as better speakers are Zay Jones and Jordan Matthews. I know this doesn't mean they are more intelligent, therefore they will be better players, but I can't help but feel that way when I hear them speak.

 

It's a far cry from listening to Leodis talk.

 

In fact, there was a Bills CB a while ago who had one the best/most awful quotes ever, something along the lines of "we has to better preparate ourselves" Wish I could remember who it was, think he played in the early 2000's.

 

It might be wishful thinking on my part that this translates to more wins, but I like the shift in types of guys the Bills want to fill their roster with.

 

I see a lot of differences in the way this new regime is doing things, but when talking about the players I see a difference in the type that they are acquiring too. What I've really noticed is the difference in character and attitude.

 

Every players they've brought in (Hyde, Poyer, White, Jones, Dawkins, Matthews, Gaines etc) seems to really have a team first (as opposed to "me first") mentality. I have heard almost every single one of those guys say something about not caring what their role is and just wanting to do whatever the team needs to win games (or some similar sentiment). All have had glowing reviews as to what type of teammates they are. Like Matthews, who was willing to stay after practice every day to work with one of his teammates (and I've heard similar stories about others they've brought in as well). All seem to be very hard workers too, and it's not like they're crappy players either (as is sometimes associated with hard working, team players...lol).

 

A lot of them remind me of Kyle Williams type players TBH. They all seem the type that will buy in to what a coaching staff is trying to do and give 100% effort all the time. None seem the type that would complain about a scheme or the way they're being used in that scheme.

I'm hoping it makes it more likely that these high character guys are also the type (like Kyle) who will really buy in to the city of Buffalo & the Buffalo Bills - the types of players that are more likely to buy in to one team and want to stick with that team for most of their careers. I have no idea if any of these players are like that or not, but it seems like a higher possibility than with certain other types of player personalities...

 

I remember a quote from McDermott when he was first hired - he said when a team fires their coach/GM (etc) it means that the team is "sick". That there's problem(s) somewhere in the organization, and like when you're sick, you have to identify the problem and then take the needed action to address it.

It makes me wonder if he identified some of the player personality types (as well as team building/camaraderie) as one of the problems here (looking at what's happened in recent years, it doesn't seem to be that big of a stretch...) and wanted to be sure to bring in a different type of player to help with starting to build the base of this team/culture.

 

 

I have no idea if their plan will work, only time will tell. But they definitely have a clear vision and seem to be doing their best to execute it. That's better than what I can say for previous regimes, where it was much harder to distinguish any type of real vision for the type of team they wanted.

Edited August 24, 2017 by BillsFan4

[uticaclub]

The only difference, that I see is, you are exactly the same as you used to be

[re enlightener]

I used to make fun of the Ellis Lankster interview too, and Im ashamed of myself for doing so. Im pretty certain it was later revealed he had some sort of learning disability, and he was also clearly nervous. We need to be better than this.

hes a stutterer but repeats "like um", not a learning disability, i dont feel bad or good about it, he was a good kid happy to make a play, not every one is a genius, otherwise id make a lot less money. But the op os making a fair point about intelligence, like the kind we had early 90s

[T-Bomb]

 

And on what planet is the 3rd WR in Philly and a rookie who hasn't played a snap yet #1s?

 

Oh my GOD, one of them will be the #1 WR on this team right???

 

You seem to have some sort of axe to grind, go grind it somewhere else.

 

Maybe you're just so butthurt about Sammy you need to lash out...

Edited August 24, 2017 by T-Bomb

[3rdand12]

I see a lot of differences in the way this new regime is doing things, but when talking about the players I see a difference in the type that they are acquiring too. What I've really noticed is the difference in character and attitude.

 

Every players they've brought in (Hyde, Poyer, White, Jones, Dawkins, Matthews, Gaines etc) seems to really have a team first (as opposed to "me first") mentality. I have heard almost every single one of those guys say something about not caring what their role is and just wanting to do whatever the team needs to win games (or some similar sentiment). All have had glowing reviews as to what type of teammates they are. Like Matthews, who was willing to stay after practice every day to work with one of his teammates (and I've heard similar stories about others they've brought in as well). All seem to be very hard workers too, and it's not like they're crappy players either (as is sometimes associated with hard working, team players...lol).

 

A lot of them remind me of Kyle Williams type players TBH. They all seem the type that will buy in to what a coaching staff is trying to do and give 100% effort all the time. None seem the type that would complain about a scheme or the way they're being used in that scheme.

I'm hoping it makes it more likely that these high character guys are also the type (like Kyle) who will really buy in to the city of Buffalo & the Buffalo Bills - the types of players that are more likely to buy in to one team and want to stick with that team for most of their careers. I have no idea if any of these players are like that or not, but it seems like a higher possibility than with certain other types of player personalities...

 

I remember a quote from McDermott when he was first hired - he said when a team fires their coach/GM (etc) it means that the team is "sick". That there's problem(s) somewhere in the organization, and like when you're sick, you have to identify the problem and then take the needed action to address it.

It makes me wonder if he identified some of the player personality types (as well as team building/camaraderie) as one of the problems here (looking at what's happened in recent years, it doesn't seem to be that big of a stretch...) and wanted to be sure to bring in a different type of player to help with starting to build the base of this team/culture.

 

 

I have no idea if their plan will work, only time will tell. But they definitely have a clear vision and seem to be doing their best to execute it. That's better than what I can say for previous regimes, where it was much harder to distinguish any type of real vision for the type of team they wanted.

I like this post. Gets to the real paradigm shift.

and yes the Bills have been unhealthy for quite awhile

[SoTier]

Plenty of guys with talent, smarts, and maturity. I'm not sure why people argue as though it is one or the other.

 

The same tired debate rolls on. Look around the league and you will find these types of players everywhere. Our biggest problem in this drought is QB for sure but we also never seem to get a Larry Fitzgerald.

 

We had a possible Larry Fitz and we traded him away. That's the biggest reason for the drought ... the Bills FO disinterest in keeping the good/great players it drafts and develops. The list of ex-Bills who went on to Pro Bowlers, All Pros, and key players on perennial playoff/ or Super Bowl teams is so long it makes you sick to read it. It seems every year, one ex-Bill or another makes a name for himself in the post season. Watch Stephon Gilmore join Chris Hogan in helping the Patriots run wild in the AFC again this year.

[Mad Mike]

ONE (and fifteen) BUFFALO!

[Chicken Boo]

Its not a derogatory term.

 

The next time someone starts a thread commenting on how Nathan Peterman and Eric Wood are so well-spoken will be the first time.

But they don't hear you though.

[Jauronimo]

 

Oh my GOD, one of them will be the #1 WR on this team right???

 

You seem to have some sort of axe to grind, go grind it somewhere else.

 

Maybe you're just so butthurt about Sammy you need to lash out...

One of them will be a "#1" on this team by default. So much for talent being the determining factor in your "well-spoken" argument.

[YoloinOhio]

Agree with the OP. I noticed this starting with the signing of Micah Hyde.

[BillsFan4]

I like this post. Gets to the real paradigm shift.

and yes the Bills have been unhealthy for quite awhile

Thanks man. I know tend to post some long winded stuff, so I wasn't sure anyone actually took the time to read it. lol

 

There's definitely been a paradigm shift, as you so elegantly put it. It's clear to see.

 

And yeah they've definitely been unhealthy for a long time now (I loved that quote of McDermott's btw). Changes were definitely necessary. So far from what I can tell, everyone in the organization seems to be on the same page and that's a great step in the right direction.

 

I really want to see what it looks like to see a coach/GM get the time to actually execute their plan/vision. That's something we haven't seen in a long time either. I want to see some continuity for a change. Bad teams stay bad by constantly changing coaches and visions.

Things don't happen overnight. It took McDermott until year 3 in Carolina to get that defense really playing at an elite level.

[3rdand12]

 

We had a possible Larry Fitz and we traded him away. That's the biggest reason for the drought ... the Bills FO disinterest in keeping the good/great players it drafts and develops. The list of ex-Bills who went on to Pro Bowlers, All Pros, and key players on perennial playoff/ or Super Bowl teams is so long it makes you sick to read it. It seems every year, one ex-Bill or another makes a name for himself in the post season. Watch Stephon Gilmore join Chris Hogan in helping the Patriots run wild in the AFC again this year.

whom was the Larry Fitzgerald clone you speak of?

One of them will be a "#1" on this team by default. So much for talent being the determining factor in your "well-spoken" argument.

I am fine with two 1B's or 3 2A's.

 

How long has it been since Bills had a Go To Rec?

Stevie?

Spreading the ball around is much harder to defend. If all the players are on the same page and into their playbooks, in tune with Tyrod Bills could make a go of it with middlin' receivers and TEs and those that get out of the Backfield

Agree with the OP. I noticed this starting with the signing of Micah Hyde.

Team leaders. Not rah rah guys, need to be a Coaches right hand..

Gotta have smart and eloquent Coaches as well. ha ha. I mean ones that convey the message well

[26CornerBlitz]