mcgahee NOT as productive as thomas in 1st 2 years

[ajzepp]

I saw almost every game TT every played.....I think Willis will be a very good back for us, but he's not TT.

[Pyrite Gal]

No snit, no revelation there.  Observed and noted  for years.

 

However, WMG's level of performanc can be found in the FA market on the cheap; getting 70 - 80 yards per game out of a pedestrian rb these days is as simple as falling off the proverbial log...spending a #1 on this guy was a huge dice roll. It came up craps.

689652[/snapback]

 

While WM's per game rushing average during the last half of the Bills offensively imploded season might be found by falling off a log at the height of the FA market (do you consider by the way the major scratch laid out to buy the services of FA's like Alexander and James to be falling off a log, and if not what specific FAs and the amount of cash they cost are you talking about?), I really doubt you are not silly enough to make grand football decisions based on 8 games worth of performance.

 

Let's look at this another way that fully includes all the facts. What specific FA RBs which can be found as simply as falling off a long not only sport WM's pedestrian 3.9 yd/carry career rushing avg. AND have scored 17 TDs in that time, AND have racked up well over 2000 yards rushing, and even have caught about 50 passes in his 2 year career.

 

I actually doubt there are very many FA RBs who have amsassed comporable stats over the 25 gamess WM started in his career or even if you looked at their production over the full 32 games of the last two years.

 

 

Given the fullness of your claim it would seem you would be able to name available RBs the Bills should have purchased in FA as simply as falling off a log. I'm sure you can do this but there is no way you would make such a broad claim if you merely were making this judgments on 8 games or so of results rather than more reasonably looking at the last two years.

 

I think TD did roll the dice when he bucked the NFL wisdom and chose WM in the first. The upside of doing this was clear if WM had actually recovered from what seemed to be a career ending injury, taken over the starting RD job, made it an easier matter to trade TH and the Bills has gotten a first day pick for him. Perhaps this upside might have been obtained if WM rushed for over 2000 yds in his first two years.

 

However, his yds/carry was only 3,8 and even though a majority of the backs in the top 10 rushers on NFL.comm were no higher than 4.3, I guess if WM did not prove to be Shaun Alexander we crapped out.

 

Geck I here we could get Antowain Smith.

[cantankerous]

Some of you make me sick. Some of you should find a new team to root for, because bashing all our players is really getting old to the REAL fans.

[Dibs]

Some of you make me sick. Some of you should find a new team to root for, because bashing all our players is really getting old to the REAL fans.

689912[/snapback]

 

Did you know that in Australia the term root is slang for !@#$?

 

i.e. I got a root last night.

i.e. I'm absolutely rooted.

 

Just thought you'd want to know.

[ConradDobler]

Joe Cribbs

689257[/snapback]

 

Cribbs, like Thurman, also ran behind a pretty good OL made up of Devlin, Borchardt, Grant, Jones and somebody else (cough). He hit the hole quickly, but if he was even touched behind the LOS he often went down in a heap. Did have a pretty over-the-shoulder catch 'n run from Fergy in the flat, though. Still liked Robb Riddick better, even though he never came close to the production Cribbs had.

 

Cribbs:

 

Season Team Games Rush Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Fumbles Points

1980 BUF 16 306 1,185 3.9 11 52 415 8.0 1 16 72

1981 BUF 15 257 1,097 4.3 3 40 603 15.1 7 12 60

1982 BUF 7 134 633 4.7 3 13 99 7.6 0 5 18

1983 BUF 16 263 1,131 4.3 3 57 524 9.2 7 6 60

1985 BUF 10 122 399 3.3 1 18 142 7.9 0 5 6

 

I believe that he spent '84 in the USFL under the influence of Jerry Argovitz, the Svengali dentist from Houston (his agent) who was later indicted for also being a part owner of a USFL team.

 

Not to muddy the waters too much here, but the above is another reason that Ralph had the cheap tag put on him. Cribbs would make contract demands, and the Bills would agree, then Argovitz/Cribbs would raise the ante. This went on until the Bills said Enough! and Cribbs went to the USFL, and Ralph got called cheap. It went this way with Kelly and Cousineau, too IIRC.

 

Edit: Cousineau went to the CFL.

[Dibs]

Cribbs, like Thurman, also ran behind a pretty good OL made up of Devlin, Borchardt, Grant, Jones and somebody else (cough). He hit the hole quickly, but if he was even touched behind the LOS he often went down in a heap. Did have a pretty over-the-shoulder catch 'n run from Fergy in the flat, though. Still liked Robb Riddick better, even though he never came close to the  production Cribbs had.

 

Cribbs:

 

Season Team Games Rush Yds    Avg  TD  Rec Yds    Avg  TD Fumbles Points

1980      BUF    16    306  1,185 3.9    11  52    415    8.0  1      16        72

1981      BUF    15    257  1,097 4.3    3    40    603    15.1  7      12        60

1982      BUF      7    134    633  4.7    3    13    99    7.6    0      5        18

1983      BUF    16    263  1,131 4.3    3    57    524    9.2    7      6        60

1985      BUF    10    122    399  3.3    1    18    142    7.9    0      5          6

 

I believe that he spent '84 in the USFL under the influence of Jerry Argovitz, the Svengali dentist from Houston (his agent) who was later indicted for also being a part owner of a USFL team.

 

Not to muddy the waters too much here, but the above is another reason that Ralph had the cheap tag put on him. Cribbs would make contract demands, and the Bills would agree, then Argovitz/Cribbs would raise the ante. This went on until the Bills said Enough! and Cribbs went to the USFL, and Ralph got called cheap. It went this way with Kelly and Cousineau, too IIRC.

689919[/snapback]

 

Hmmm, looks like either he got injured in the USFL or he 'hit the wall'. Either way in hindsight it looks like Ralph was wise not to pay him too much.

[ConradDobler]

Hmmm, looks like either he got injured in the USFL or he 'hit the wall'.  Either way in hindsight it looks like Ralph was wise not to pay him too much.

689920[/snapback]

 

He had 3 more years after Buffalo:

 

1986 SF .......... 14 152 590 3.9 5 35 346 9.9 0 5 30

1987 SF .......... 11 70 300 4.3 1 9 70 7.8 0 1 12

1988 IND/MIA.. 13 5 21 4.2 0 0 0 0.0 0 1 0

[jdellapelle]

this whole mcgahee is antowain smith is ridiculous! mcgahee has just as much size but way better acceleration and burst not to mention elusiveness for 235+lbs. while mcgahee is not a 4.3 guy anymore he is 4.4 and still has the ability if given some space and decent blocking to go the distance, dolphins, rams and seahawks games in 04 to giver proof. i think willis will lose 20 lbs and go baclk to 220-218 and be much more conditioned with a extra step so lets all just wait and see i remember when this guy came out, he was supposed to be oj with better size or another bo jackson. lets give the kid some holes and then i'll talk.

[tennesseeboy]

Actually the interesting thing about this debate for me is we gave up a first round pick to get a guy who is not much better than the halfback we already had playing. Willis has a lot to show us in the near future to make that a worthwhile decision. I sincerely hope he does.

[makbeer]

Actually the interesting thing about this debate for me is we gave up a first round pick to get a guy who is not much better than the halfback we already had playing.  Willis has a lot to show us in the near future to make that a worthwhile decision.  I sincerely hope he does.

689954[/snapback]

 

A pick at the end of the first round to replace a guy with severe fumble and character problems isn't so bad. Compare it to taking BMW #4 overall, for example.

[tennesseeboy]

A pick at the end of the first round to replace a guy with severe fumble and character problems isn't so bad. Compare it to taking BMW #4 overall, for example.

690003[/snapback]

I'm still hoping to eat my words when WM makes all pro. What I'm saying right now is that he is not better than the guy he replaced and I can' think of a lot better ways we could have used that draft choice. He isn't as bad a pick as Mike Williams because he wasn't the 4th overall. However from a performance point of view he isn't much better than Mike Williams.

[Pyrite Gal]

Actually the interesting thing about this debate for me is we gave up a first round pick to get a guy who is not much better than the halfback we already had playing.  Willis has a lot to show us in the near future to make that a worthwhile decision.  I sincerely hope he does.

689954[/snapback]

Even I who was a Travis defender do not have the temerity or insanity to claim that he is anywhere near as good an RB as WM. WM is not god's gift in RB form (and saying he is better than Henry is not saying that for those who would attempt to attack this argument by assuming some bizarre extreme endorsement of WM),

but:

 

if TH had finished in top 10 rushers last year

if TH had gotten more yards rushing his first two seasons than any other RB in Bills history

if TH had the stiff arm WM has

if WM also got suspended for substance abuse

 

or if he was much better than WM than him simplyreceiving 40+ passes his best year to WMis receiving 28 his best year

 

then there might be a case that TH was a better RB for the Bills or would theoretically be better know, but these things are not true and the case TH would be better for us than WM is way thin at best.

[34-78-83]

I'm still hoping to eat my words when WM makes all pro.  What I'm saying right now is that he is not  better than the guy he replaced and I can' think of a lot better ways we could have used that draft choice.  He isn't as bad a pick as Mike Williams because he wasn't the 4th overall.  However from a performance point of view he isn't much better than Mike Williams.

690007[/snapback]

 

But he IS better than the guy he replaced, even if only considering ball handling skills.

[finknottle]

Actually the interesting thing about this debate for me is we gave up a first round pick to get a guy who is not much better than the halfback we already had playing.  Willis has a lot to show us in the near future to make that a worthwhile decision.  I sincerely hope he does.

689954[/snapback]

 

To me, even more important is this fact: we gave up a first round pick for a runningback who we knew would contribute nothing for a year. We were willing to part with a first round pick and pay him 5 years of salary for only 4 years of productivity. When the dust settles on this contract and we can look at his numbers we have to ask ourselves if we got *5* years worth of first round productivity.

[Coach Tuesday]

Willis should be voted out of office in the November elections. He is a spoiled incumbent pork-serving corrupt hack who is a disgrace to his office.