Who really won the TH derby?

[Ramius]

The guy is dumb - hence Tuna cut him. He can carry the rock and run thru the holes. That's all we need from a backup.

 

Additionally, Shaud Williams showed some skills last year and can backup - even tho he is very small.  And don't forget that Gates has the size of back we are looking for - but he's a question mark because he split the load in college so much, so durability may come into play.

 

All in all I like what I see with our RBs

384965[/snapback]

 

Was gates ever hurt in college? Im wondering why you are questioning his durability just because he split carries?

[AJ1]

That's where you're wrong.  As far as i'm concerned, Travis Henry left the team last offseason, the day that willis proclaimed himself ready to practice.  Remember two years ago how travis said he'd get 2000 yards??  Remember how friggin hard that guy ran up the hole??  You saw zero of that talent last year with willis breathing down his back.  Talent is only half the issue.  One can only look as far as RJ for that.  I saw RJ, as i saw travis as being extremely talented at their position, but look what happened when real life took over??  RJ sucked, and so did travis (to a lesser degree of course).  Travis couldn't handle that willis mcgahee was the real deal.  He didn't have it in him to shake that when he got on the field.  That's why he tripped against oakland.  That's why he didn't get into the end zone that same game.  That's why he simply couldn't gain sh-- on the ground.  I'm glad he's gone, and i'm more glad he went to a hated team.

 

In travis' defense though, he was a workhorse for his first 3 seasons here.  That dude ran hard, never complained about injury or anything, and simply gave it all.  Unfortunately though, we weren't seeing his true colors.

384908[/snapback]

 

The Bills did a great job in shipping Henry south. Your theory is that Henry's ego is so fragile that he couldn't muster a challenge to WM. Mine is that he has suffered a precipitous loss of ability. In either case, the Bills win by trading this 24 carat fool for something of value.

[nick in* england]

Was gates ever hurt in college? Im wondering why you are questioning his durability just because he split carries?

385219[/snapback]

Yeah I am questioning his ability to step in and be a more regular player if Willis goes down.

 

I like Gates size and style - but with having split carries there remains a question mark over his ability to carry the ball 15+ times per game if needed for a prolonged period.

[Dennis in NC]

a guy who signed an extention with the bills, ...

 

then he is benched for that unproven, not even 100% healthy RB. its no wonder hes mad. he knew that when we used a 1st rounder on McGahee that he was done in buffalo. and he didnt want to be a backup. so he wanted to be traded to a team that wanted him.

 

he wasnt sitting on the sidelines saying i hate this team.

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A guy who begged for an extension because he spent all his money unwisely.

 

Traded to a team that WANTED him? Can you picture Shirley Temple here with that pouty look? "Oh I'm ever so mad at that mean Mr Donahoe! How can he treat me this way? Drafting a better player at MY position? I'm so mad!"

 

Travis' expression on the sidelines said "I hate this team" more than any words could express.

 

I'd prefer a player who will COMPETE HARDER, not get mad.

 

I think the Bills mental toughness quotient went up a notch when Mr Henry got his wish to be traded.

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

While all questions of who won are ultimately decided by what happens in real life, this is a legitimate question in terms of us iutside oberver's guesstimates on the relative talent level of the players involve in the deal.

 

However, even beyond our sense of how good a player is, this situation is even more random and hard to really predict because of the import of the injury element to this deal and that even TH himself acknowledges that he is a #2 at TN.

 

The irony is here is that if TN is lucky and Brown proves to be healthy they lose big time on this deal because they gave up a #3 for a player who will sit on the bench. As TH was acquired by TN to back-up the oft-injured Brown and Jax wanted him to back-up Taylor due to the prognosis he received, there teams winning or losing may actually be determined by the performance of a player other than TH.

 

With that huge caveat this is my sense of how things likely sit for each team.

 

TN- They are a winner in thid deal for the short-term but a loser likely in the long-term.

 

In the short-term, Brown appears to be a more talented RB than TH, but he has been seriously injured each year he played and even broke a bone in his hand in limited contact drrill this off-season and simply cannot be counted upon. TN really helped themselves in the short-term by getting a former Pro Bow back-up at RB behind a seemingly even more talented injury prone player, In addition, to greater security, competition is good and they will have better competition at RB. Even better for the short-term by trading a future draft pick for a player this year TN has pulled a "Bledsoe" by getting 05 production at no 05 cost.

 

In the long-term however, though they acquired a low cap hit player this year in Henry, the deal was not contingent (as the Jax deal apparently was) on TH resigning, and TH is in a relatively strong negotiating position as TN has spent to get him and if they do no deal and he walks it is not good for them. If Brown gets hurt before a deal is done TH is totally in the driver's seat. In the long-run I would be very concerned about TH's past history of injury. He is a young player, but RB is a bruising position and his running style has been one where he gets punished.

 

I for one do not share the TH performance worries that have been a part of many posts as I think he was a productive player for the Bills and can be one for TN, but I worry about his health and do not think they made a good deal. Given that '05 appears to be a cap hell year for them with little chance of positive W/L anyway, I think that they have made a mistake doing a deal which pays off most for them in the short-term if they have bad luck with Brown's injury and will likely not pay off well for them in the long-term at all.

 

Jax I think is obviously the same today as the were last week so it is hard to call them losed. However, since all signs point to Taylor not bein able to be effective or possibly even suit up this year at all and there being little out there on the market they can get in terms of productive RBs, they appear to have lost the ipportunity cost game. They may now be forced to jump even higher than a too high cost for TH to give Sea or the Colts enough ti pry away Alexander or James.

 

The Bills I think are either clear winners or really big winners in this deal. They had a player who left his town and said he would never play for the Bills again. They managed to convert this into a 3rd which I think is a clear win . Even if TH had come back (as I think he would have if TD had decided to keep him he had no real choices but to suck it up and play as holding out, trying to get 6 to qualify for a year or simply punching the clock would have so undermined his ability to get a big contract he would have little choice but to play hard) it would have been a distraction. If he stupidly decided not to come back or to truly bcome a cancer then the Bills would have been better off getting nothing for him but instead they got a 3rd.

 

The Bills can still end up being hurt by not having a former Pro Bowler at #2 if WM goes down and neither Lee nor Williams can answer the call, but overall I think the Bills are clear winners here.

[envirojeff]

canser is a strong word for a guy who signed an extention with the bills, then the bills go out and use their 1st round pick on a RB. hes not happy about it, but plays the season, through injuries, and plays well.

 

then he is benched for that unproven, not even 100% healthy RB. its no wonder hes mad. he knew that when we used a 1st rounder on McGahee that he was done in buffalo. and he didnt want to be a backup. so he wanted to be traded to a team that wanted him.

 

he wasnt sitting on the sidelines saying i hate this team. he was relaxing at his house during the offseason. we ALL knew he would be traded this off season. anyone who said diffrently was only saying that to gain leverage in trade talks. he wasnt gunna be a bill this comming season. the only real argument is whether the bills got enough in the trade. not whether trading henry was a good or bad.

 

hes not a canser. things happen the way they did, cus thats how things work in the NFL. hes a good RB, who thinks hes a starter, and wants to be a starter.

 

K. Johnson when he played for the bucs was a canser. T. Henry was not.

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1.) I believe that on draft day when WM was picked, Henry became a CANCER on this team.

 

2.) By all accounts WM was a gamble, why should he be scared of an injured RB? What if they had picked up a healthy one?

 

3.) Sure anyone would have been mad about being taken out of the line-up, but you wouldn't fight for that job??

 

4.) So you think that He's not a cancer, if the trade never happened and he held out - you wouldn't call that being a cancer??

 

 

Jeff

[jarthur31]

He couldn't survive as the backup here and I don't think he signed there to play the backup either. But I smell trouble there already cuz I doubt Brown will want to be the backup now.

[cåblelady]

Travis won.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Travis won. 

Depends on the contract he signs.

[EndZoneCrew]

Bobby Abreu