In Case You Didn't Read It

[LifetimeBillsFan]

In case you decided not to read my article that is currently posted on the BZ front page--which was written two weeks ago now--because it was too long, I made the following prediction in the article with regard to players, like Bennie Anderson, who were choosing to skip the OTAs:

"....After seeing the changes that Levy has already made to the Bills’ roster and the general tone of the new regime at One Bills Drive, it was rather surprising to see that so many of the Bills’ veteran players chose to skip Coach Jauron’s second mini-camp. But, after last season, perhaps it is not entirely unexpected that some in the Bills locker room might feel that they could show such disrespect to their new coach and GM. Yes, the OTAs are voluntary for the veterans, but, with the coaching staff trying to install a new offense and a totally different defense, the Bills and their fans might well expect that the team’s “core veterans” and many of the team “leaders” would go out of their way to make their presence known and not skip what is just the second of the OTAs. While the fact that they did not do so cannot, by contract, be held against them, it is certainly not a positive sign of their willingness to make sacrifices for the team or buy into what the new GM and head coach have in mind. No doubt this has been noticed and it is likely that there will be more familiar faces leaving Buffalo before and after this season...."

Of the veteran players who have missed two or more weeks of OTAs, Bennie Anderson was the most expendable and the first to go (two others, Fletcher and Vincent are already unlikely to be with the team next season as well), perhaps as a message to the others (Schobel, McGahee, Villarial and Clements--Clements and Villarial may go after the season also) that their absences have been noted by the coaches and management. Looking at it from this perspective, the cutting of Bennie Anderson and its timing is not nearly as surprising as it may have appeared to some when it happened. I am curious to see how Schobel and the others respond.

(BTW: ICE, you see, I didn't entirely disagree with you about what should/would happen to guys who skip the OTAs, I just see the Bills being more subtle about it, for various reasons (not the least of which is the fact that Vincent is the President of the NFLPA), than the Bears were in handling their players.)

[Jan Reimers]

Obviously, Bennie Anderson needed to be there, working his fat butt off and showing the coaching staff that he really wanted to improve after last season, to have any shot at making the team this year.

I'm not at all surprised that he's gone. But I am surprised at the apparent lack of dedication being displayed by some of the so called veteran leaders.

[Goobylal]

It's possible that the signings of Gibson, Reyes, Fowler, and the drafting of some OL revealed the handwriting on the wall for Anderson and Villarrial, who also hasn't shown up to most of the OTA's and who IMHO is on the decline. If this is a rebuilding year of sorts, better to get-on with the future.

[HHURRICANE]

It's possible that the signings of Gibson, Reyes, Fowler, and the drafting of some OL revealed the handwriting on the wall for Anderson and Villarrial, who also hasn't shown up to most of the OTA's and who IMHO is on the decline. If this is a rebuilding year of sorts, better to get-on with the future.

If this isn't another very obvious reason to start Losman this year than I don't know what is. This team last year was very polarized and people like Holcomb, Moulds, and Fletcher didn't help. Let's rebuild with the future!!

[patmoran2006]

I read the entire article.. I thought (think) it's pretty much right on the mark, as usual.

I think everybody is jumping the gun with Fletcher. I don't think he's at the end of the line in Buffalo.. I think he's going to get an extension, and maybe it happens before this summer is over.

With Villarrial, I think he starts here one more year and then he's done, same with VIncent.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

There are two guys in this group of veterans that I am willing to give a "pass" to, if it turns out that their absences were for the reasons that I think that they might be:

Villarial--When the Bills had their first OTA after Jauron was hired (the one before the rookie orientation session OTA) that almost everyone attended (including Villarial), I saw a mention on the BB.com website that said that the Bills did not want Villiarial to do as much work in practice this year as in the past because they want to keep him fresher over the course of the season and hope it will help him to avoid injuries that have plagued him in the past. If that it the case and he has worked things out with the coaching staff to do that by not showing up at some of these OTAs, then I don't see him having a problem with the coaches and I don't have a problem with him because he knows the way Jauron works and, being around as long as he has been, he should pretty much know what he is doing. Also, his absence give McNally a chance to get in extra work with some of the younger guys who could use the extra reps. I'm not sure whether Villarial will be around next year or not: while he is in the last year of his contract, I think, and pretty old, it is possible that they may want to keep him around as an older back-up next season as they try to work in someone new at his position if they can re-sign him cheap (McNally has had some success in the past with older guys taking over in this manner when younger guys weren't ready yet and may see using Villarial in that way).

Fletcher--I speculated in a couple of previous posts that Fletcher may be missing these sessions because he has known and worked out with Whitner in the past and, since Whitner and Youboty were forbidden to come to the OTAs because of how late Ohio State's finals were, Fletcher may have gone back to Ohio, with the coaching staff's blessings, to work with the two of them to help them get up to speed and ready to step right in when the come to their first OTA sessions. If this was the case, again, it would not be a problem with the coaching staff and I wouldn't have a problem with Fletcher's absences, either because they would be for the benefit of the team. However, it would be an entirely different story, in my eyes, if that were not the case and Fletcher's absences were for personal reasons and not done with the blessing of the coaches, especially because he has been such a leader for the defense and will need to be even more of a leader for the team this season. It will be virtually impossible to find out what was the case, though, because, if Fletcher did miss the OTAs to help Whitner and Youboty, Fletcher and the Bills will hardly want to advertise that they did this to circumvent the NFL's rules. So, we'll just have to wait and see. And, here again, I think that whether Fletcher's absence was with the blessing of the coaches or not could have a major impact on his future with the Bills.

As for the other players, the one that worries me the most is Schobel. He's got a long-term deal with the Bills and will be a key to the success of this defense, so he's an important piece of the Bills' future. I can't understand why he has missed so much of the OTAs. The interesting thing is that there has been no mention of Schobel's reasons or comments about him by the coaching staff in any of the reports that I have read. In Willis McGahee's case, the Bills have made it clear that they are not happy with him skipping the OTAs. I'm less concerned about Willis, though, because IMHO he has been trying to talk his way out of town already so I don't see him being with the Bills long-term and, in my view, it is easier to replace an unhappy, underperforming RB than it is a pass-rushing DE who can get you 10-12 sacks a season or more.

[BillsFever21]

This is Bennie Anderson we're talking about. He is a worthless bum. He probably wasn't gonna make the team anyway.

When they cut a good productive player who missed OTA's then you may be on to something. We lose nothing in cutting Bennie Anderson.

He sucks and Reyes will be starting. Behind him there are younger players they wanna try and develop instead of wasting that roster spot on Bennie Anderson.

[ICE74129]

This is Bennie Anderson we're talking about. He is a worthless bum. He probably wasn't gonna make the team anyway.

When they cut a good productive player who missed OTA's then you may be on to something. We lose nothing in cutting Bennie Anderson.

He sucks and Reyes will be starting. Behind him there are younger players they wanna try and develop instead of wasting that roster spot on Bennie Anderson.

How about when we elect not to re sign a veteran AND cut a couple and or trade one or two?


Its going to happen. If Marv and DJ are running this right it will