Willis to start

[drnykterstein]

stats for the year look pretty much the same too....

86613[/snapback]

Sorry i dont look at stats. I watch the games and how the runners run.

 

Did Willis gain more yards on that play than he should have? Yes

Did Henry run right into the pile and not gain a yard, nor try to make a second push? Yes.

Did I see both of these things happen multiple times? Yes

 

I choo-choo-choose Willis McGahee

[Generation ME]

Oh No ! How will this damage TH's psyche ! ( picture a think cloud over his head with an acorn in the middle ) .

 

Hey MikeG. Did you even watch the game. ? TH ripped off a couple of longer runs late in the 4th when the Bills were 14 down and the Ravens were playing the pass. When it counted, he had 5 carries for 6 yards. Nice try. An immense failure all season.

 

Stats = fantasy football

[Campy]

does anyone truely believe that our problem is who is "running" the ball? 

86529[/snapback]

I appreciate your your point Mike, but I think Willis has a tendency to pop an 8 or 13 yard run with more frequency than TH - and I'm no TH basher, it's what I've seen.

 

He also has that "thing" that some backs do to take a negative play and pick up 3 yards, something that TH, unless he can run over the guy, just doesn't have. Travis just isn't as elusive. WM's also a better technicial pass blocker, and his blocking reads are superior. He's also much more slippery in the open field on dump offs to the flat.

 

It's no coincidence that the O is more productive (look at the 2nd half of the last two games) when WM's on the field. The difference between 2nd and 2 and 2nd and 12 is huge.

 

I'm still a fan of TH's, but right now, WM is better suited to help our offense.

[MikeG]

have YOU ever watched a game the last three years??? don't question me about watching games. Henry had a reputation for NEVER going down on the first hit and breaking more tackles than most backs in the league.. have you watched a game the last three years??? he ALWAYS fights for more yards, you can't pick out two or three times when the line doesn't open a hole and henry gets stuffed, that happens to McGahee too, did you watch the games?? you must have a selective memory... I'll send you copies of all the games from the last three years if you want to really watch them with an open mind this time, I have all of them. If you truely watch the games, not with your "I want Willis to be good" glasses on, but watch them like a football fan, you will see that Willis misses holes or "dances" around a little too much, isn't explosive and really hasn't done anything that Henry wouldn't have done with 90% of his touches this year... it just happens that he was in. Everyone is taking me the wrong way, I'm not saying I don't want McGahee to be good... I think he will be GREAT, but this year we need both of them and McGahee won't be "his old self" until next year... ask Ed. James about knee injuries and how long you REALLY need to be back 100%. Just be realistic, don't say things like McGahee is awesome and always has leg drive, he doesn't, if you hit him in the shoulders, yeah he drives the pile... if ANYONE comes near his legs he gets scared and stops moving. I don't blame him, I'm just pointing it out. Watch the tapes, it's all there.

[Rico]

have YOU ever watched a game the last three years???  don't question me about watching games.  Henry had a reputation for NEVER going down on the first hit and breaking more tackles than most backs in the league.. have you watched a game the last three years???  he ALWAYS fights for more yards, you can't pick out two or three times when the line doesn't open a hole and henry gets stuffed, that happens to McGahee too, did you watch the games??  you must have a selective memory... I'll send you copies of all the games from the last three years if you want to really watch them with an open mind this time, I have all of them.  If you truely watch the games, not with your "I want Willis to be good" glasses on, but watch them like a football fan, you will see that Willis misses holes or "dances" around a little too much, isn't explosive and really hasn't done anything that Henry wouldn't have done with 90% of his touches this year... it just happens that he was in.  Everyone is taking me the wrong way, I'm not saying I don't want McGahee to be good... I think he will be GREAT, but this year we need both of them and McGahee won't be "his old self" until next year... ask Ed. James about knee injuries and how long you REALLY need to be back 100%.  Just be realistic, don't say things like McGahee is awesome and always has leg drive, he doesn't, if you hit him in the shoulders, yeah he drives the pile... if ANYONE comes near his legs he gets scared and stops moving.  I don't blame him, I'm just pointing it out.  Watch the tapes, it's all there.

86643[/snapback]

The operative word is had.

 

GO WILLIS!!!

[34-78-83]

Is it because of the Flutie / Johnson debate that we all (well not all but most) feel we must completely polarize ourselves to the point that if we like one guy at a position, we must hate and ridicule his counterpart? Just wondering....

 

btw. I like them both but agree that Willis is the better option now. I choose not to throw away all the heart and effort and production TH has given us since his arrival and simply throw him out like yesterday's news. And I still like Willis. Imagine that !

[MikeG]

Campy... well said, and I will agree with like 95% of what you posted... finally an intelligent poster

[Guffalo]

here are the stats from sunday's game... looks pretty similar to me

                              att.    yrds  avg.    long    TD

Willis McGahee          16  58  3.6  15  0

Travis Henry            7    27    3.9    19    0

86611[/snapback]

I agree, they are running about the same, Im not so sure I want Willis starting yet, he still seems tentative hitting the holes.

[Fan in San Diego]

Good news ! Now if we can just hear that Drew has been benched in favor of either Shane or JP.

[flomoe]

Personally, I don't care who starts at Running Back for Buffalo, as long as they move the ball. With that said, the offensive (actually has two meanings here) problems that the Bills have been hobbled with this year, last year and even the year before have nothing to do with who is carrying the rock!! Just in case you might have forgotten, TH was the one who piled up some pretty impressive numbers last year with a line that actually is worse than this years. Even going back a couple years, the offensive line was fairly weak and TH still was able to put up over 1200 yards on the ground. I'm not saying that Travis should still be the starter on this team, I'm just pointing out the facts that it isn't Henry's fault that the offense is awful.

If any one move was being made on the team that actually deserves serious board time in here, it should be the move that JP is the new quarterback and Drew is moving to 3rd string. DB, IMO, single handedly has taken this team from being a team rebuilding, to a team with so much potential, to a team that just plain sucks!!!!!! I've always given Drew the benefit of the doubt but after every game this year, I look back and think, anyone could have done that, he is nothing special so why is he even here. It's time for change and it should be at the QB position first and foremost!!

[Like A Mofo]

If you truely watch the games, not with your "I want Willis to be good" glasses on, but watch them like a football fan, you will see that Willis misses holes or "dances" around a little too much,

 

 

THIS IS HIS 2ND START!!!

 

 

2ND!!!!!!!!!!!

[Indy Dave]

Let's just say for a minute that Willis starts Sunday and then goes on to start every game from now until 2010. Let's also say that Travis Henry doesn't get a meaningful carry the rest of this season, gets traded in the offseason, and never plays for or against the Buffalo Bills the rest of his career, however long that may be.

Is there any reason that ANY of you should be ripping Travis Henry? Say what you will, but the guy has been a pretty good football player for us the last three years, particularly the last two. His shortcomings have been discussed ad nauseum on this board, and the blame that guy has received this year, and in years past for that matter, has been nothing short of ridiculous. The guy has been a warrior and when he's been on the field, he has given nothing but his best effort. And he's been productive too.

 

Right now, Willis is the better back. Who knows if that will be the case a week, a month, a year, or five years from now. But if Willis continues to be our starting running back, and Henry is a backup or gets traded eventually, I'd like to thank Travis for the way he played each week. Let's not forget that the guy was the only bright spot for our entire offense during an entire (2003) season despite playing with injuries that keep most of today's players out of the lineup, especially in the midst of a terrible season like we were going through.

 

You have to make a long list before you can rank Travis Henry on a list of problems that continue to plague this organization over the last few years.

[KurtGodel77]

Travis has been a decent back the last few years, but I haven't seen him really take control of a game when the defense was defending against the run. Over the last few years we've passed a lot more than we've run, leading defenses to defend against our pass first.

 

This year is different, because we are now a running team. Teams are stacking the line against the run, and Willis has handled the situation better than Travis has.

[kasper13]

Willis said he was starting. The Bills "brain" trust hasn't said anything in regards to who is starting. What does that mean anyways? Is Willis going to start the game and play one series and then Henry plays a series? Is Henry going to be the 3rd down back? Is Willis going to play the entire game and TH will sit on the bench? Lots and lots of questions and no answers. I hope Willis starts Sunday and plays the entire next 10 seasons.

[Guest Guest]

i'll say it again:

 

we have to trade Henry at the end of the season. unless Mularkey can convince him to shut up and be happy as a back-up, which i think TH has already said he wont.

 

therefore, we need him to be worth something. what can you get for a 500 yard back-up running back? forget "FIRST ROUND PICK" that i hear people talk about. I guess we COULD get a decent lineman, or a 4th round pick. I'd take the lineman, but what team has an abundance of good lineman that they'd be willing to trade for a running back who needs good lineman blocking for him?

 

I'm a big fan of both WM and TH, and at this point would rather see WM run the ball, but if you're talking about whats best for the bills, we need TH to get some numbers.

[BILLS4LIFE]

http://www.wgr550.com/fullstory.php?id=0563

86465[/snapback]

 

 

Good. Its about time.