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]

All hindsight.

[patmoran2006]

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]

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

[Bills232]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[X-Era]

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]

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.

[Pinkerton Security]

IN HINDSIGHT (what we cant talk about things that happened before now), I remember thinking it was a very strange pick. I liked Henry and loved how hard and physical he ran, and always fell forward for that extra yard or two, even if he was held up by 2 DTs. The guy was the strongest guy on the team, from what I've heard. I cant say I wasnt excited about the McGahee pick, but also a little perplexed. I just never thought it was gonna turn out the way it has.

[gr8slayer]

There was no way of knowing that McGahee was going to just sit down and stop playing in '04.

At the time it was a great move letting Henry walk because McGahee looked like was a top tier back.

In retrospect it was a bad choice.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

Hard to say---if Travis had another solid year, he might have demanded too much $ on an extension, and we might have let him walk anyway.

Opportunity cost is very difficult to calculate in the NFL, because we might have picked a different guy with Willis' pick and had that guy get injured, or not fit into our system, etc. It's a huge crapshoot, and I think at the time it made more sense than it does now. If Mularky had not screwed Willis up two years ago, and had other factors gone our way, we might be very happy to be extending Willis at this point, rather than trading him. Also consider that we did get compensated quite fairly for him when we traded him, and this allowed us to trade up to get Poz, and we might get another good player next year too.

Overall, I am not upset at the way it all shook out. Could have been a lot worse.

[DraftBoy]

When we made the pick I was extremely excited about having a two headed running attack, but then the divide started and Henry was let go. He is not a dominant back, but one of your run of the mill back whose gonna get you betwee n 800-1200 yards right now. He's not a game changer and thats what Donahoe, I, alot of fans, and apparently Marv want at RB. McGahee was that in college now in the pros he's been far from it. We'll see if Lynch is that guy.

[gr8slayer]

When we made the pick I was extremely excited about having a two headed running attack, but then the divide started and Henry was let go. He is not a dominant back, but one of your run of the mill back whose gonna get you betwee n 800-1200 yards right now. He's not a game changer and thats what Donahoe, I, alot of fans, and apparently Marv want at RB. McGahee was that in college now in the pros he's been far from it. We'll see if Lynch is that guy.
More like 1200-1700 yards now that he's a Bronco.

[streetkings01]

More like 1200-1700 yards now that he's a Bronco.If they give him the ball enough, he could get 2,000 yds!

[Bert102176]

I was always a big fan of Henry when he was here and wish we coulda got him back

[BillsFever21]

We still wouldn't have seen the playoffs over that span and whatever player we would have drafted that year(Steinbach or Clark) we still wouldn't have them today because they would not have stepped up and paid the money for them and would've been on a new team this season.

There is a reason the Titans did not keep Travis Henry. He is a good back but not great. He isn't a gamebreaker. His only good season since leaving was last year and his character isn't very high. He screwed a 14 year old girl and also failed a piss test. He also had a gambling problem.

It's easy to say now that McGahee wasn't the back to keep. The year we got rid of Henry McGahee tore it up and played his way into the starting lineup. After that season just about everybody around here thought McGahee was the next big thing and Henry was a waste and McGahee was also much younger. Stick to one opinion and quit changing in hindsight.

McGahee is a better player then Henry and he will prove it in Baltimore this year. He wouldn't have worked out in Buffalo though because he didn't like it here so it was wise to trade him this season. Henry will have a productive year because he is in Denver but every RB they throw in there looks better then they reall are. Look at Quentin Griffith when he was starting in Denver. He had a great season but he still sucked and has never been heard of since leaving Denver. I don't even think he's in the NFL anymore. He's playing in NFLE.

[The Answer]

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.

Henry was and still is a stud, regardless of his problems with underage minors - and there was no need to take a running back with so many other holes to fill after the 2002 season.

~The Answer

[acehole]

Eveything is as it should be......
T edwards would have never been drafted by us if Henry was still here.
.....and the player next year...

[Philagape]

If McGahee had played the way he was expected to, it would have been a good move. His performance alone is the reason it did not work. What Henry has done before and since is irrelevant.

[Mad Bomber]

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?

I was hoping that we would pick Dallas Clark, who ended up being drafted with the very next pick by Indy. We needed a TE (and STILL do). I was shocked when we picked McGahee.

[PromoTheRobot]

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.
The concept is idiotic. What guys like Dr.Z are saying is the Bills should never try to replace a mediocre player because the new player may not pan out. Is that the recipe for a Super Bowl? Give me a freakin' break. I'm not saying the Bill s made the smartest personel moves the last 7 years but to say we should do nothing is is downright moronic.

PTR

[G. Host]

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.
Henry had resolved the fumbling issue by the time he was cut; I used to call him "Oh Henry!" earlier in his career. And the sex with an underaged girl has been shown many times to just a misjudgement not an attempt at child bait - Henry did not know and they represented themselves as and looked like adults.

I feel it was a shame for Henry for while he did not seem too bright he had been a Bills fan.

[mikemac2001]

I liked henry but didnt like his fumbles...he did improve on it in his last season...but he was never a gamebreaker i thought mcgahee was gonna be that but never was so in hindsight the pick sucked obviously but hey thats then this is now