Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

[G. Host]

Donahoe IMO made a major blunder taking the chance that Williis would be a player of the level of LaDainian Tomlinson or Marshall Falk in his prime and I thought so when we took him (I was at draft party when they did this and defense coaches did not appear very happy and were very surly).


How much better, if you think it would be better, if Bills had spent the draft pick on a player who would have been productive that rookie season of Willis and kept Travis Henry as primary back? It depends on whether Donahoe would have picked a productive player in that draft other than Willis and it is 50/50 in my opinion. He picked some gems and some duds and some in betweens drafting in the first round.

[LtBillsFan66]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

All hindsight.

[patmoran2006]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

One of the worst draft moves in recent history..

Buffalo would be much better for several reasons.

1) They could've drafted Eric Steinbach instead and they needed a guard at the time as well.
2) Travis Henry has proven to be better and more reliable than McGahee.
3) IF we still had him today, obviously Lynch didn't have to be the pick, and we could have a shutdown corner (Revis) or legit #2 WR (Bowe, Meacham) to go with Pos
4) Not to mention the chemistry issues that McGahee brought to the team over the past two seasons, as well as the black eye he attempted to leave on the city upon his departure to Baltimore.

(and for the record; if Donahoe was that INSISTENT on taking a RB in round 1 of the 2003 draft, Larry Johnson went to KC 4 picks after we took Willis)

[Goobylal]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

Well, the Titans had Henry and let him walk after a 1,200 yard season.

[Bills232]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

I never understood it at the time..


Henry was young, and coming off a 1400+ yard season..

Donahue was an egomaniac... He always wanted to try and outsmart everyone...

[TigerJ]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

As Billsfanone stated, "All hindsight." IIn retrospect it's easy to see that McGahee was a wasted pick. I try not to spend too much time lamenting "woulda. coulda, shoulda," though.

[STAMPY]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

90 percent of you guys ripped on travis at time of drafting of willis. He isn't a playmaker waaaaaaaah. he fumbles too much waaaaaaaaaaaaah. he can't catch waaaaaaaaaaaaah. NOW you say it was bad move after the fact. funny stuff

[G. Host]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

I have been wrong before as I was regarding Mike Williams but not with Willis. I said it was a wasted pick when we took him and said that he wouldn't be playing first year no matter what he and his pimp claimed and I was right - that is not hindsight.

My question was more related to whether the RB shuffle hurt Buffalo or did not make a very much of a difference.

[HAMMER]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

We gave up Travis and a first round pick, yes it sucks. Oh wait, now we had to spend another first round pick for a RB. It really sucked. I for one was furious as I loved Henry. Water under the bridge, let's hope our two new backs make us forget all about it.

[Elminster]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

It was a poor pick at the time, IMO...and it's still a poor pick. At worst, you figure we spend a 1st-round this year on Lynch because Travis starts running out of gas on us suddenly, but even then....we're spending that 23rd pick on some one else. I know it'd be pretty nice to have Dallas Clark in a Bills uniform, eh? THAT'S hindsight...but saying the McGahee pick wasn't wise...really isn't. Because it was strange at the time....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_NFL_Draft

[Don't Panic]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

I was a Henry fan as well, but let's not forget that this guy has been suspended for drugs and has definitely peaked as a RB. I remember a time when we felt we got a great deal out of the Henry trade because he was suspended and we were getting ready to use the pick we got for him in the draft... funny how the passage of time flips that on its head. Henry will probably be productive for the Broncos, but I think Lynch has the ability to be a better all around back.

[YardRat]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

I'm not so sure I would consider this a case of hindsight being 20-20. I was at that draft party also, and it wasn't just the coaches that were surly. The vast majority of the fans in my section were puzzled at best, and most were upset with the pick.

If anything, I think many fans could point to TD and justifiably claim "I told you so".

[Jan Reimers]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

One of TD's many blunders. But hindsight is always 20/20. We need to move on.

[X-Era]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

Donahoe IMO made a major blunder taking the chance that Williis would be a player of the level of LaDainian Tomlinson or Marshall Falk in his prime and I thought so when we took him (I was at draft party when they did this and defense coaches did not appear very happy and were very surly).


How much better, if you think it would be better, if Bills had spent the draft pick on a player who would have been productive that rookie season of Willis and kept Travis Henry as primary back? It depends on whether Donahoe would have picked a productive player in that draft other than Willis and it is 50/50 in my opinion. He picked some gems and some duds and some in betweens drafting in the first round.

I have to agree.

I dont think Levy would have kept Henry either though due to the whole sex with an underaged girl incident. Also, he had fumbling questions.

But if you look at his running, he a solid starter. He wont beat anyone deep, but he will drag several tacklers to get extra yard that often move the chains.

I really liked his run ability.

Lynch has the same tackle breaking but adds better vision, speed. He can slash you where Henry would have to shake tackles.

[theanswer74]

Re: Would Bills had been better off keeping Henry

No way Henry sticks in Buffalo after being suspended 4 games for drugs. He was already in the NFL drug program before we traded him and had off the field problems as well.

It is odd that teams just keep getting rid of him after he finishes top 10 in rushing.