Why was Sammy Watkins a bust?

[BADOLBILZ]

 

 

Watkins was one in a long line or talented 20 year olds drafted onto the rudderless ship that was the drought Bills.

 

They developed bad habits in a losing culture.   

 

Some went on to more success elsewhere and looked back on their Bills tenure as a real wtf experience.   

 

Watkins was not one of those who had more individual success elsewhere because he tore his body up training hard instead of smart.   

 

Similar thing has been going on with the Sabres for the past decade.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

1 hour ago, mushypeaches said:

Let us vow to never ever again trade a future 1st round pick just to move up and draft a WR

Especially considering the ones that were available afterwards. (The list will make you nauseous)

[Billl]

He wasn’t a bust at all. He had a 9 year career with 5400 yards, 34 TDs, and was the leading receiver in the 2019 postseason en route to a Super Bowl. He was a good player who was overdrafted. 

[HOUSE]

His dream was to play for the Miami Dolphins .

Bad Karma 👎 

[corta765]

23 minutes ago, Billl said:

He wasn’t a bust at all. He had a 9 year career with 5400 yards, 34 TDs, and was the leading receiver in the 2019 postseason en route to a Super Bowl. He was a good player who was overdrafted. 

 

For the Bills and what they paid/expected/draft position he was a bust. In the NFL he was a productive player who had a solid career.

[BADOLBILZ]

17 minutes ago, Billl said:

He wasn’t a bust at all. He had a 9 year career with 5400 yards, 34 TDs, and was the leading receiver in the 2019 postseason en route to a Super Bowl. He was a good player who was overdrafted. 

 

 

He wasn't overdrafted based on his talent, though.........he was an extraordinary talent with no limitations in terms of skill/talent.

 

If he had been drafted into a winning culture with leadership at his position and subsequently stayed healthy he would have been a perennial All Pro, IMO.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find a worse situation for a young WR than the one Watkins was plugged in to.   

 

That said........the Bills should have stayed put and drafted Aaron Donald.........he was the best defensive player in that draft by A LOT and I didn't think there was any stopping him whether he played inside or out.

 

Back then, the Bills drafted like fans though.........always for immediate need.   Stevie Johnson out........Sammy Watkins in.

[TBBills Fan]

1 hour ago, boyst said:

What's a Drexel?

[BillsFanForever19]

There were the injuries. But the bigger problem was that he struggled with substance abuse issues and wasn't mentally approaching the game the right way.

 

Beane takes flack for putting so much emphasis on character and work ethic. But Watkins is proof that you can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have your head screwed on straight - it won't matter.

[dave mcbride]

15 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

He wasn't overdrafted based on his talent, though.........he was an extraordinary talent with no limitations in terms of skill/talent.

 

If he had been drafted into a winning culture with leadership at his position and subsequently stayed healthy he would have been a perennial All Pro, IMO.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find a worse situation for a young WR than the one Watkins was plugged in to.   

 

That said........the Bills should have stayed put and drafted Aaron Donald.........he was the best defensive player in that draft by A LOT and I didn't think there was any stopping him whether he played inside or out.

 

Back then, the Bills drafted like fans though.........always for immediate need.   Stevie Johnson out........Sammy Watkins in.

When he was healthy in his first couple of seasons, he looked every bit as good as early years-OBJ and Mike Evans. In this game -- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201601030buf.htm -- he essentially handed Revis Island precise directions to the proverbial glue factory. He was uncoverable in that game and was the best player on the field by a LOT. He cost the Jets the playoffs (along with a classic Fitzpick to Leodis in the EZ late in the 4th).

Edited June 11 by dave mcbride

[GoBills808]

I didn't watch a ton of him at Clemson

 

But in the pros he looked like a Reggie Bush type where the athleticism to dominate college kids just doesn't translate to the pros. Succeeding in the NFL takes a lot more than just unique physical abilities

[HardyBoy]

2 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

There were the injuries. But the bigger problem was that he struggled with substance abuse issues and wasn't mentally approaching the game the right way.

 

Beane takes flack for putting so much emphasis on character and work ethic. But Watkins is proof that you can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have your head screwed on straight - it won't matter.

 

Poyer almost drank himself to death while a member of the bills...I don't think addiction is a matter of character, certainly not in all cases and I'd argue not in most cases, but obviously there is a chicken and egg thing, but so much of it has to do with attachemnt and stuff that happened before you were even like 3 years old.

 

You're dealing with emotions that both society has taught you that as a guy you are not allowed to have or something is wrong with you, and potentially an attachment style that prevents you from feeling safe in trusting other people to be able to express those feelings/not feel massive internal shame because of those feelings that you're not even consciously aware of.

 

I'm not even talking about athletes, just regular people...those people turning to substances to help quiet those unconscious feelings and having that turn into an unintentionally destructive pattern of behavior where suddenly you're addicted to a substance, food, avoiding closeness with others, or just sitting on the couch and not being active/not taking care of your body. It can be insidious and the more you try and change it, the more it smashes into those toxic subconscious behavior patterns and it ensnareds you like one of those finger traps.

 

Add to that the absolutely insane external pressure these guys are actually under and how people blame them for their lack of happiness and being blamed for losing someone a bet or fantasy.

 

Anyway, I don't even think you said that addiction was a character issue directly, but the two words were close enough together in your post that I felt it was good to mention and that therapy is a really good thing and can be helpful for people and there are patterns of behavior that seem like they are so entirely unique to you, but then you realize the therapist has seen similar patterns over and over and over again and it's just a reasonable and understandable response to circumstances, but once you are aware it's a pattern you can think if that's really what you consciously would like to do and even if you can't stop yourself, you can at least start being mindful and taking small steps to make big changes.

 

Lol, that was a lot of words! Also, I'm not saying we need to excuse bad behavior, just there is nuance and there is also a huge opportunity for a franchise to be able to understand that nuance and help people become the best versions of themselves both on and off the field, because that can be how you find some diamonds that others have thrown out, or maybe see that some of the sheen that people can see is actually fake and there are genuine concerns below the surface that are deep character concerns that maybe are so deep seeded they would destroy a locker room

[Mike in Horseheads]

6 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

I didn't watch a ton of him at Clemson

 

But in the pros he looked like a Reggie Bush type where the athleticism to dominate college kids just doesn't translate to the pros. Succeeding in the NFL takes a lot more than just unique physical abilities

I think his biggest issue was Tyrod. He always looked deflated as Tyrod ran around in circles as a million Bills fans yell "throw the fuking ball Tyrod!"

[90sBills]

1 hour ago, Billl said:

He wasn’t a bust at all. He had a 9 year career with 5400 yards, 34 TDs, and was the leading receiver in the 2019 postseason en route to a Super Bowl. He was a good player who was overdrafted. 

One could argue that KC overpaid for him with that contract. 

[BillsFanForever19]

45 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:

 

Poyer almost drank himself to death while a member of the bills...I don't think addiction is a matter of character, certainly not in all cases and I'd argue not in most cases, but obviously there is a chicken and egg thing, but so much of it has to do with attachemnt and stuff that happened before you were even like 3 years old.

 

You're dealing with emotions that both society has taught you that as a guy you are not allowed to have or something is wrong with you, and potentially an attachment style that prevents you from feeling safe in trusting other people to be able to express those feelings/not feel massive internal shame because of those feelings that you're not even consciously aware of.

 

I'm not even talking about athletes, just regular people...those people turning to substances to help quiet those unconscious feelings and having that turn into an unintentionally destructive pattern of behavior where suddenly you're addicted to a substance, food, avoiding closeness with others, or just sitting on the couch and not being active/not taking care of your body. It can be insidious and the more you try and change it, the more it smashes into those toxic subconscious behavior patterns and it ensnareds you like one of those finger traps.

 

Add to that the absolutely insane external pressure these guys are actually under and how people blame them for their lack of happiness and being blamed for losing someone a bet or fantasy.

 

Anyway, I don't even think you said that addiction was a character issue directly, but the two words were close enough together in your post that I felt it was good to mention and that therapy is a really good thing and can be helpful for people and there are patterns of behavior that seem like they are so entirely unique to you, but then you realize the therapist has seen similar patterns over and over and over again and it's just a reasonable and understandable response to circumstances, but once you are aware it's a pattern you can think if that's really what you consciously would like to do and even if you can't stop yourself, you can at least start being mindful and taking small steps to make big changes.

 

Lol, that was a lot of words! Also, I'm not saying we need to excuse bad behavior, just there is nuance and there is also a huge opportunity for a franchise to be able to understand that nuance and help people become the best versions of themselves both on and off the field, because that can be how you find some diamonds that others have thrown out, or maybe see that some of the sheen that people can see is actually fake and there are genuine concerns below the surface that are deep character concerns that maybe are so deep seeded they would destroy a locker room

 

No, I'm definitely not correlating alcohol and substance issues with character.

 

There are plenty of good people out there that addiction has gotten it's claws into. There's also functioning addicts, like Poyer that you mentioned and Von Miller that are able to still put in the work and be mentally in the game.

 

Unfortunately, it didn't seem that was the case for Watkins. His demons, whether it be addiction or trauma (which surely led to addiction) had their claws in him too deep. He was talented enough to still play at a moderate NFL level, even with the things he was dealing with. But he was never able to live up to the expectations on pure talent alone.

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2889029-what-sammy-watkins-believes

Edited June 11 by BillsFanForever19

[BillsFanForever19]

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Watkins was one in a long line or talented 20 year olds drafted onto the rudderless ship that was the drought Bills.

 

They developed bad habits in a losing culture.   

 

Some went on to more success elsewhere and looked back on their Bills tenure as a real wtf experience.   

 

Watkins was not one of those who had more individual success elsewhere because he tore his body up training hard instead of smart.   

 

Similar thing has been going on with the Sabres for the past decade.

 

I don't disagree that Sammy was Drafted to a team that was, as you say, "a rudderless ship" that was wasting his talent.

 

But he spent ages 25-29 playing with Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Aaron Rodgers in winning cultures. 

 

If it was just a matter of Sammy being in the wrong place, he'd have lived up to expectations in one of those places and would still be playing instead of bouncing around and being out of the league before he turned 30. There was a lot more to it than just being Drafted to the wrong team.

Edited June 11 by BillsFanForever19

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

2 hours ago, Magox said:

Injuries, headcase and he wasn't committed.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, julian said:

This is the on point.

In more ways than one. 🤔

[Roundybout]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

When he was healthy in his first couple of seasons, he looked every bit as good as early years-OBJ and Mike Evans. In this game -- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201601030buf.htm -- he essentially handed Revis Island precise directions to the proverbial glue factory. He was uncoverable in that game and was the best player on the field by a LOT. He cost the Jets the playoffs (along with a classic Fitzpick to Leodis in the EZ late in the 4th).

 

He showed his true potential against Kansas City in 2015, IMO: 

 

 

[Rampant Buffalo]

Is Sammy Watkins a case of Torrell Troupe writ large? Torrell Troupe was an NT that the Bills picked in the second round. Rob Gronkowski went one pick later. Troupe got hurt. The coaching staff pressured him to play through his injury. That made the injury significantly worse, thereby ending his career. If Troupe had been allowed the time to properly heal, he might well have been a solid asset to the team.

 

Sammy Watkins also played through an injury, in this case to his foot. I don't know what role, if any, the coaching staff had in that decision. The foot injury severely altered the trajectory of Watkins' career.

 

I would also add this. Tyrod Taylor didn't always do a great job scanning the field. There were times when Watkins was wide open, waving his arms, and Tyrod would throw it to some other target instead. Someone not nearly as open as Watkins. Greg Roman's offense prizes a QB's running ability. If you're selecting your QB on the basis of his 40 time, you're not always getting the best pure passer. Kyle Orton had some good games as a Bill, but other than that the Bills had pretty much nothing at the QB position during Watkins' pre-injury years.

[transient]

2 hours ago, Sharky7337 said:

Because he was taken out of his element from the planet of lizard people and expected to play on a primitive space rock lacking heat lamps and infested with apes and a greater gravity.

I think Doug Whaley said it best (surprisingly enough); “This is the game of football. Injuries are part of it. It's a violent game that I personally don't think lizard people are supposed to play."

[SirAndrew]

He lacked the drive and ambition to be great. I think a lot of the injury issues were a result of it.