Kyle Williams: Officially Retires

[ExWNYer]

1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said:

He couldn't wait till halftime?

 

I see what you did there...?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 12/28/2018 at 11:29 AM, BADOLBILZ said:

Watching McDermott get totally outclassed on the sideline by Belichick for the 4th consecutive time on Sunday my thought turned to Kyle Williams seeing that and figuring winning next year seems too unlikely to make all that hard work worthwhile.    That was a BAD loss.   Wouldn't be surprised if that tipped the scale.

 

I think it's far more likely that he thought about it hard last year because of his family, and realized this year he was losing a little bit, so it was time to move on.

 

If watching a Bills coach get totally outclassed by Belicheck tipped the scale, that poor scale would have been upended 3 years back when Sexy Rexy took over for Schwartz and demoted our defense from 4th to irrelevant.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 12/28/2018 at 5:31 PM, BillsEnthusiast said:

 

Can you politely can it for just a little while while we celebrate Kyle's career? 

 

This x1000, please.

Somewhere else.  Not here right now.

[KD in CA]

7 hours ago, Rico said:

Yes, I was in LA that day and that game was very painful to experience, worst time I've ever seen the Bills live.

My lasting memory of the 2017 season though will be McD breaking the drought in his very 1st year as coach.

 

 

Oh, that's a painful memory for the angry mob here on TSW (we don't have a catchy name for them like they do for 'Team Stormcloud' on the Sabres board), who have much bigger fish to fry (McD and Beane) than celebrating making the playoffs after 17 years!

 

 

Thanks Kyle...you'll be missed!

Edited December 30, 2018 by KD in CA

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

11 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

If the moderators wanted a "send your well wishes only with no associated critique's of Bills management" thread then they could have designated one..........those kinds of things have been done before.

 

I don't think anyone wanted a "well wishes only" thread, diverging opinions on KW and why he retired etc welcome.

 

I for one hoped that people would respect the topic enough to more-or-less stay to it and not diverge into general discussions that are taking place in half a dozen other threads.

 

A bunch of pruning has been done.  I'm sure I pruned something  I shouldn't have and left something I shouldn't have but that's Life with the Shears.

 

Please more or less keep to the topic of KW, his play, speculation on why he retired - but when it diverges to general discussion of McD's coaching, other players, a specific game with no mention of KW...

 

....Somewhere else.  Not here, please.

 

 

[Green Lightning]

9 hours ago, JohninMinn. said:

In the history of retirements never was a player more overrated than Kyle Williams. It's ridiculous.

No good is going to come if you keep eating paint chips.

[Livinginthepast]

End of era. Thank you Kyle for being a class act and solid, dependable player. Glad that he made it to the playoffs and too bad that a guy with his work ethic didn't experience more success because of the ineptness of the Bills management through much of his tenure here. You will be missed!

[Stank_Nasty]

6 hours ago, stony said:

No no no no.  Through any objective lens, he's actually underrated given the shitstorm he weathered in Buffalo for 13 years.  It's damn impressive he managed to get into 5 pro bowls during a period the Bills were virtually anonymous from a national perspective.  

I was just chatting today with somebody about this. He was a cowboys fan. He was the one that actually brought it up.... can you imagine the buzz from the media and send off a player would get from around the league  if they played for the cowboys or the Steelers or pats and they were 5 time pro bowler that played with said team the whole 13 years of their career? 

 

 

[IgotBILLStopay]

14 hours ago, JohninMinn. said:

In the history of retirements never was a player more overrated than Kyle Williams. It's ridiculous.

Huh? Opposing view points by fans are a great feature of message boards but.... every once in a while there will be an exception. At least say why you think he is overrated - back it up with something.

 

Even without considering any any stats - When your teammates want you on that wall and voted you captain, when your coach publicly lobbies to have you play one more year, when opposing coaches speak glowingly - these facts about KW95 should make someone pause before calling him overrated. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by IgotBILLStopay

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

9 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

   

 

Johnny Manziel will never forget Kyle.

Manziel = ‘JohninMinn.’?  ?

Edited December 30, 2018 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[GaryPinC]

20 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

No "let's start" by building an ENORMOUS 10 story straw man argument to make it look like BADOL is being critical of Kyle in all those ways!

 

NOTHING I said in this thread is in any way, shape or form critical of Kyle Williams. 

 

 

 

 

 

What you are doing is theorizing his rationales for playing this season and retiring while ignoring everything about how the man operates and what he stands for.

 

Your theories are most likely wrong, because as per my previous post, Kyle has demonstrated in many ways he doesn't act noticeably on your ascribed level.  While highly competitive, winning (at least short term) does not appear to be his primary motivation.

 

In no way did I say you were critical of Kyle Williams and ironically ( but unsurprisingly) that is the only straw man argument here.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

Today could potentially be the last Bills game for a lot of important Bills veterans. Certainly Kyle, possibly Shady, maybe The Lorax, could be Hughes and definitely Clay. Might be a bittersweet day here. Hopefully Shady, Hughes and Alexander come back for at least 1 more. I feel like there’s a pretty good chance all of them are gone.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

20 hours ago, JohninMinn. said:

In the history of retirements never was a player more overrated than Kyle Williams. It's ridiculous.

Time to ‘get serious’, John.

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

Today is not about wether or not Kyle is slightly overrated. Kyle is this generations Bill. The guy the fan base can most identify with. He certainly was a big time over achiever and brought a toughness and passion for Football that can’t be ignored. He is now a major part of this organizations history and will absolutely be on the wall of fame. Today is just about saying goodbye and thank you to a guy who gave his all to a team we all love. Wether or not you feel like he was ever really a great player is a conversation for another day. Let’s jist let today be and give the guy a respectful send off.

[BillsFan4]

I can’t believe today is the last time I will ever get to watch Kyle Williams play football in a Bills jersey. 

 

 ☹️

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice article on Kyle by Eric Wood. Athletic sub. needed -

 

https://theathletic.com/738976/2018/12/29/wood-paying-tribute-to-kyle-williams-the-heart-and-soul-of-the-bills-before-his-last-nfl-game/

 

Found this part interesting - 

 

Quote

Kyle was good for one or two really good fights a year that never went public. A lot of people pegged me as the fighter on the team, but Kyle had a trigger. We would sign a free-agent offensive lineman with fresh legs in the middle of the season. A good mid-season NFL practice is one where nobody hits the ground or gets twisted up. Some young guy would try to impress his way off the practice squad or into the starting lineup by taking a defensive lineman to the ground in practice. Kyle would not put up with that for a second. That new guy would pay the price.

 

Much is made of how classy Kyle is as a teammate and captain and how he has the young guys over to his house for dinner and welcomes you with open arms.

But Kyle is also mean. That’s one of the traits that makes him great on the field. He’s a mean player. A lot of offensive linemen caught his wrath over the years, and I don’t think he ever lost a practice fight. He would get a guy on the ground pretty quickly, and we would have to pull him off.

 

Edited December 30, 2018 by BillsFan4

[Capco]

I have friends who are fans of other teams.  Many of them not only know of Kyle Williams and respect him, but also wish they had a guy like that on their teams.  

 

He's cemented his place as one of my favorite Buffalo Bills and I hope he gets into coaching later in life.  He's a natural leader of men and an excellent mentor.  

[Bronxbomber21]

On 12/28/2018 at 9:27 AM, TigerJ said:

I'd like to see him get into coaching.

I was thinking the samething. Is there any way he stays on as a Dline As. Coach we can really use his help coaching up the young D tackles.

[dgrochester55]

On 12/29/2018 at 1:24 PM, Bob in STL said:

 

2006 Draft Class.  We have had much worse, this draft is not horrible at all.  Kyle alone makes it good. 

 

Whitner is a lightning rod on this board but he played a lot of games and did well, despite being picked 20 slots too soon and being crucified for it.  McCargo was a bust, Yobouty a nothing.  Brad Butler was looking very good until injury cut his career short.  He was on a similar path as Kyle.  Keith Ellison did a decent job too. 

 

We got some games out of Simpson, Merz, and Pennington.  I have seen much worse, 

 

1	8	Donte Whitner	SS	Ohio State
1	26	John McCargo	DT	North Carolina State
3	70	Ashton Youboty	CB	Ohio State
4	105	Ko Simpson	FS	South Carolina
5	134	Kyle Williams	DT	Louisiana State
5	143	Brad Butler	T	Virginia
6	178	Keith Ellison	OLB	Oregon State
7	216	Terrance Pennington	T	New Mexico
7	248	Aaron Merz	G	California

 

Whitner would have been a good second or third round pick, but underachieved as a top 10 choice.   Not completely his fault, but still a bad pick.   Valid point on Butler who I forgot about, but he was looking like a possible long term starter before he decided to retire for politics.    Ellison started for awhile but it was more by default than merit. 

 

You are right in that compared to other recent Buffalo drafts, this isn't as bad, but easily a forgettable draft if not for Williams.   Buffalo does get a decent draft grade on this on Williams alone though who actually outlasted most of the 1st rounders that year.

Edited December 30, 2018 by dgrochester55

[CoachT]

Zay jones went and got the ball back for kyle