The 2008 Tim Anderson Award goes to.....

[OpIv37]

Everyone on this board has different opinions. Usually, when a player is mentioned, some on this board come to his defense and some attack his play. Occasionally, though, a player is SO BAD that Bills fans on this board (and everywhere else) come to unanimous agreement. The first player to play so poorly that it unified this entire board was Tim Anderson. So, I hereby announce the creation of the Tim Anderson award, to be given annually (perhaps more often if necessary) to the Bills player who receives the most universal criticism.

And the 2008 Tim Anderson Award recipient is..... none other than Melvin Fowler.

Congrats, Melvin! Now get your fat ass to the bench and let Preston, Whittle, or an old rusty refrigerator a chance. They can't possibly be any worse.

[TEtoLeeTD]

us fans have a mysterious hatred toward melvin.

every "expert" and bills writer says he is a good player and he doesnt deserve the bashing he gets.

i guess we are missing something??

[raphael120]

Our whole Oline is looking like a bunch of fat slobs lately. You'd think with so much weight to throw around they'd be better at run blocking. Someone needs to get the memo to the o-line that JUST eating without lifting weights is not how it goes. Lift some weights and get some muscle underneath that blubber.

[raphael120]

us fans have a mysterious hatred toward melvin.

every "expert" and bills writer says he is a good player and he doesnt deserve the bashing he gets.

i guess we are missing something??

Point to me one single article that says Melvin Fowler isn't a waste of space.

[Lexwhat]

Everyone on this board has different opinions. Usually, when a player is mentioned, some on this board come to his defense and some attack his play. Occasionally, though, a player is SO BAD that Bills fans on this board (and everywhere else) come to unanimous agreement. The first player to play so poorly that it unified this entire board was Tim Anderson. So, I hereby announce the creation of the Tim Anderson award, to be given annually (perhaps more often if necessary) to the Bills player who receives the most universal criticism.

And the 2008 Tim Anderson Award recipient is..... none other than Melvin Fowler.

Congrats, Melvin! Now get your fat ass to the bench and let Preston, Whittle, or an old rusty refrigerator a chance. They can't possibly be any worse.


:rofl:

This is brilliant !!!

[OpIv37]

us fans have a mysterious hatred toward melvin.

every "expert" and bills writer says he is a good player and he doesnt deserve the bashing he gets.

i guess we are missing something??

Everyone who posts on this board, regardless of their level of football knowledge, can see how bad Fowler is.

Look at Mahdi's article about the Rams game. If the guy is getting pushed so far into the backfield that his ass is hitting the RB, there's no possible way he's doing his job.

[Lexwhat]

us fans have a mysterious hatred toward melvin.

every "expert" and bills writer says he is a good player and he doesnt deserve the bashing he gets.

i guess we are missing something??


I have made it a point to watch him closely (no homo) this season.

I haven't missed anything. He SUCKS.

[Mahdi]

Our whole Oline is looking like a bunch of fat slobs lately. You'd think with so much weight to throw around they'd be better at run blocking. Someone needs to get the memo to the o-line that JUST eating without lifting weights is not how it goes. Lift some weights and get some muscle underneath that blubber.
I used to think the same thing,,, That our whole line was playing badly... But I re-wound the game several times on each play to see who was making their blocks and it seems that on most plays the other four on the line are doing their jobs. Dockery had excellent blocks against the Rams. Im still amazed that one player is messing up the run game. But if you think about it... If a C misses his block or gets pushed back... no matter which direction the run goes its going to affect the play. Like I said... Fowler actually gets pushed in to our Rbs several times. And even though our Rbs dont go down it destroys the timing of the rest of the blocks. Dockery is in position to make a block 3 yards down field but since the run is delayed the LB makes the play 1 yard downfield and Dockery is out of position. 1 player CAN destroy a play.

[trapezeus]

i think Felvin Mowler is going to run away with this. if he doesn't someone is going to have let us down big time.

[Thurmal]

Fowler is the obvious choice, but a good runner-up...Robert Royal.

He isn't terrible, but is there a Bills fan on Earth that feels anything more than indifference towards this guy. I personally get nervous just seeing him trying to catch and then run with the ball.

[shelby]

Royal is streaky. He was great against Seattle, if i recall correctly.

Op, :brilliant:....i agree Fowler deserves this honor!~

[cocamide]

McCargo?

[hydro]

McCargo?

Little early you think? Fowler has been terrible for 2 full seasons.

[OpIv37]

McCargo and Royal are good runners-up, but Royal can be considered mediocre and McCargo shows flashes of competence. I think McCargo would easily win "most disappointing" based on how he was obtained.

[Mr. Pink]

Fowler won this award last year too...so it's no surprise he's the front runner this year too.

[patmoran2006]

hahah...
I agree. Honors have to go to McCargo though.

Funny, I was ready to label Kyle Williams-- Tim Anderson Jr before the season started. Jesus Christ was I wrong.

FU THOUGH. Unlike some of you mofos, at least I will admit when im wrong about something.

[Dr. Lecter]

FU THOUGH. Unlike some of you mofos, at least I will admit when im wrong about something.

http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/showthread.php?t=162364


:D C'mon over to the darkside!

[Dr. Lecter]

Royal and McCargo make occassional plays and are competent.

Fowler is not. Preston played better than Fowler in the pre-season. Get him in there.

[Griff]

Royal and McCargo make occassional plays and are competent.

Fowler is not. Preston played better than Fowler in the pre-season. Get him in there.

and thats just terrible

[Bravo82]

Fowler is the obvious choice, but a good runner-up...Robert Royal.

He isn't terrible, but is there a Bills fan on Earth that feels anything more than indifference towards this guy. I personally get nervous just seeing him trying to catch and then run with the ball.

agreed. but royal is what he is. mccargo on the other hand was supposed to be a stud, and we all see how he turned out. on a side note for being starters, i have yet to see someone wearing either a fowler, royal, or mccargo jersey..

[bigbub2352]

Melvin Fowler is the weakest link by far on this team, he consistently gets blown off the ball and has no push at the point of attack cloggin up his guards and causeing problems for the RBs to go between the tackles, he also afftects the lead blockers such as FB because he cant get the guy out of the whole forcing the FB to find an alterantive whole
This gives time to the LBers to stuff there gaps causing us to have running problems as well,
Fowler also contributes to terrible blitz pick up calls at the Line, hence why guys are free up the middle to Trent
Fowler leaves and we replace him with a high C pick or a FA who is better and stronger at the point of attack our team gets that much better
a close second is John McCargo he plain sucks this year

[Mahdi]

McCargo?
McCargo??? Uhhh no... McCargo has been entrusted since week 2 in very critical times in the game. Several times I have seen him and Spencer Johnson on the field together at crucial points in the game and the run D didnt lose a step. McCargo has played very well. In fact all our DT have played a lot and played well. There has been no drop off watsover when John and Spencer go in.

[Pinkerton Security]

the great thing about this year is that there IS no tim anderson. Even role players like Scott and Jon Corto are contributing in some way, be it special teams or specific packages. I really cant think of any guy who is literally just wasting a roster spot. Fowler is terrible and thats the truth, but he is at a different level than Anderson because hes actually SUPPOSED to be good because hes a starter. Fowler is a slightly below average center. anderson was just terrible and didnt deserve to be in the NFL, IMO.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

Op, you gotta back up a step.

You've got a good idea, and a worthy namesake for the award.

But at this point in the season...just open it up to nominees.

Fowler definately deserves a nomination.....and it is well received.

But let's get some other worthy candidates on the ticket!


PS: I personally think Robert Royal is a very good tight end. I think he's pretty athletic, and could be a dangerous weapon if we used him more.

[theanswer74]

McCargo??? Uhhh no... McCargo has been entrusted since week 2 in very critical times in the game. Several times I have seen him and Spencer Johnson on the field together at crucial points in the game and the run D didnt lose a step. McCargo has played very well. In fact all our DT have played a lot and played well. There has been no drop off watsover when John and Spencer go in.
Sort of like this? John McCargo definitely gets the Tim Anderson award against the Rams. Nothing like being driven out of your hole and having a guy run for a TD. McCargo should try OL, he creates huge holes.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80b36a2a

[tat2dmike77]

Melvin flower is still alive

[SABURZFAN]

the entire OL gets this award.

[Griff]

Op, you gotta back up a step.

You've got a good idea, and a worthy namesake for the award.

But at this point in the season...just open it up to nominees.

Fowler definately deserves a nomination.....and it is well received.

But let's get some other worthy candidates on the ticket!


PS: I personally think Robert Royal is a very good tight end. I think he's pretty athletic, and could be a dangerous weapon if we used him more.

hes a pretty average all arounder with solid hands, he is much better than he was when we signed him.

Hardy at this point is a nominee. After that "what we signed him for" catch in Jacksonville, he's pretty much been the suck.

[Mahdi]

Sort of like this? John McCargo definitely gets the Tim Anderson award against the Rams. Nothing like being driven out of your hole and having a guy run for a TD. McCargo should try OL, he creates huge holes.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80b36a2a
He didnt get pushed around on that play... The Defensive call took him to his right and then the run went backside.... Has nothing to do with McCargo getting beat. He held his ground. If anything a LB missed his assignment followed by a safety taking a bad angle.

And even if for argument's sake he did get blown up... u think Albert Haynesworth doesnt get blocked occasionaly? The point is that so far this season McCargo has been given a lot of playing time and has done well with it overall... one play doesnt define his play thus far.

[yordad]

How freakin' hard is it to snap a freakin' ball? Gez, lets grab the biggest guy at the local super market. No not really, but dang, how is Preston not better?

Teach McCargo to snap! Put Chambers in there! Put Chambers at LT and move Peters in there (OK, maybe a little overboard)! But really, the Bills are fairly good at recognizing when a player can make the field somewhere else (Wilson, Peters, Whittle, Wire, Corto)

Seriously, this is the weakest part in the entire offense.

[theanswer74]

He didnt get pushed around on that play... The Defensive call took him to his right and then the run went backside.... Has nothing to do with McCargo getting beat. He held his ground. If anything a LB missed his assignment followed by a safety taking a bad angle.

And even if for argument's sake he did get blown up... u think Albert Haynesworth doesnt get blocked occasionaly? The point is that so far this season McCargo has been given a lot of playing time and has done well with it overall... one play doesnt define his play thus far.

Sure, the coach told him to get pushed to the other side of the field creating a huge hole.

McCargo gets blown up TOO often for a guy that doesn't play much.

[yordad]

On the flip side, the Tim Anderson award should actually go to a guy that you look at and say "How the heck did he make the roster?" or, "How the heck is that guy STILL on the team?"

If Fowler is starting, maybe the award should go to his backup. :idunno:

[yordad]

Maybe you could give Fowler the "Robert Royal Award" for "How the heck is he still starting?" Or maybe you could call it the "Larry Tripplett Award".

[yordad]

I think the "Tim Anderson award" should go to Ryan Neill. I mean, how the heck did he get on our roster? Well....

The Bills had Mike Schneck, who was a very reliable long snapper. He actually made the Probowl in '05. Hardgrove, the DE, ran into some off field problems and got suspended for the first part on '07. So the Bills were thin at DE, and they thought Al Wallace, a FA pickup, could fill the void.

Well, Wallace got injured, and I think it was in the last preseason game of '07. The Bills didn't want to go into the season with so few healthy DEs. Neill was a long snapper, and DE.

So.... the Bills cut the leagues best longsnapper during final cuts. And then kept Neill for the job, because he had added value as the last DE.

Anyways, Neill want on to pretty-much suck at it, and he is still below average. In fact, in the Raiders game, it took a stellar catch-and-set by Moorman just to make the game winning Lindell FG possible.

I mean, how does this last-minute fill-in still have the job practically 2 years later?

Or, maybe Preston should get the "Tim Anderson Award". Dang, how long you gonna hang around? I mean, yeah, your versatile, if by "versatile" you mean "sucks at everything". Whittle too, for that matter.

[Mahdi]

Sure, the coach told him to get pushed to the other side of the field creating a huge hole.

McCargo gets blown up TOO often for a guy that doesn't play much.
DL dont just charge straight ahead on every play,,, sometimes they crash right, sometimes they crash left, sometimes they stunt. On that play they entire line was crashing right McCargo held his gap like he was supposed to... Jackson cut it back where there was supposed to be backside help from the Lbs but it didnt happen.

McCargo gets blown up too much? Since when... the defense has played great against the run and McCargo has played a role in that.... dont just make baseless claims. Watch the second half of the game and youll notice McCargo played a role in keeping Jackson to 11 yards in the second half.

[Block "O"]

Bill fans making fun of Bills players :rolleyes: Count this season ticket holder out.

[yordad]

Bill fans making fun of Bills players :rolleyes: Count this season ticket holder out.What.... you can't like them AND want to upgrade them all at the same time? You act as if we wouldn't rather they just magically improve.

[OpIv37]

Op, you gotta back up a step.

You've got a good idea, and a worthy namesake for the award.

But at this point in the season...just open it up to nominees.

Fowler definately deserves a nomination.....and it is well received.

But let's get some other worthy candidates on the ticket!


PS: I personally think Robert Royal is a very good tight end. I think he's pretty athletic, and could be a dangerous weapon if we used him more.

Good point.

I hereby withdraw the Tim Anderson Award from Melvin Fowler.

However, I am now accepting nominations, and I'll open it up by nominating Melvin Fowler.

[casdhf]

You should just name it the Melvin Fowler award.

[theanswer74]

DL dont just charge straight ahead on every play,,, sometimes they crash right, sometimes they crash left, sometimes they stunt. On that play they entire line was crashing right McCargo held his gap like he was supposed to... Jackson cut it back where there was supposed to be backside help from the Lbs but it didnt happen.

McCargo gets blown up too much? Since when... the defense has played great against the run and McCargo has played a role in that.... dont just make baseless claims. Watch the second half of the game and youll notice McCargo played a role in keeping Jackson to 11 yards in the second half.

Stop defending the guy, you have no clue what your talking about.

The defense crashed right? Give me a break. lol.

There is no defense in the world that will call for the DT to be driven down the line and to the sideline.

[TEtoLeeTD]

Point to me one single article that says Melvin Fowler isn't a waste of space.

pick up a bills digest sometime. chris brown doesnt understand where all the hate for fowler comes from.

[OpIv37]

pick up a bills digest sometime. chris brown doesnt understand where all the hate for fowler comes from.

Chris Brown isn't a journalist. He's a blogger paid by the team to walk the company line.

[Block "O"]

What.... you can't like them AND want to upgrade them all at the same time? You act as if we wouldn't rather they just magically improve.

Oh like Youboty who I have supported from day 1? But if the front office listened to the brilliant fans we would have traded him to the Browns for a 7th round pick and a bag of balls in training camp.

[Ingtar33]

us fans have a mysterious hatred toward melvin.

every "expert" and bills writer says he is a good player and he doesnt deserve the bashing he gets.

i guess we are missing something??


this expert -doesn't and never- liked him.

[jamze132]

I think we should posthumously award it to Chris Watson as well.

[Michael82]

I really hope that they start giving Duke Preston more reps in practice and let him start after the bye week. Melvin Fowler isn't just bad with the block, he has also done a horrible job calling the line adjustments at C too. :ill:

[Mahdi]

Stop defending the guy, you have no clue what your talking about.

The defense crashed right? Give me a break. lol.

There is no defense in the world that will call for the DT to be driven down the line and to the sideline.
To the sideline??? What are you watching... McCargo moved laterally to the right as did the rest of the DL...not just him... and he doesnt get pushed back at all. And seeing as how the OL didnt have outside leverage on McCargo the only explanation for the fact that he is moving to his right is that he did that voluntarily. Either that or he was pulled to the right which would be holding.

[Mr. Pink]

I'm not an expert like Ingtar is but...

I didn't like the guy out of college when Cleveland drafted him, didn't like the stupid hype they gave the bum, liked him less when I saw him play in his first preseason with the Browns. Laughed when they drafted Faine the next year. Laughed that they traded him to Minny and got something for him.

That's where the laughing ended...I cried, a little, to myself, the day the Bills signed him.

Now, when a running play gets blown up, I don't even need to see the play to know Melvin got his ass manhandled as per usual.

Thankfully after this year he won't be here anymore...at least I hope.

[Lexwhat]

I'm not an expert like Ingtar is but...

I didn't like the guy out of college when Cleveland drafted him, didn't like the stupid hype they gave the bum, liked him less when I saw him play in his first preseason with the Browns. Laughed when they drafted Faine the next year. Laughed that they traded him to Minny and got something for him.

That's where the laughing ended...I cried, a little, to myself, the day the Bills signed him.

Now, when a running play gets blown up, I don't even need to see the play to know Melvin got his ass manhandled as per usual.

Thankfully after this year he won't be here anymore...at least I hope.


I'd cry, a little, if they gave Fowler a 4 year contract extension worth $38 million.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Whether you call it the "Tim Anderson Award" or the "Chris Watson Award", it pretty much amounts to the same thing. The question is, what are your criteria for the award?

One of the most important is whether this is an award for poor play that has really hurt the team just this year or whether it is an award that means that the Bills should get rid of this player because he has played so poorly consistently?

If we are talking about poor performance that has hurt the team this season, but the player gets a chance to stay with the team and redeem himself, it would seem to me that it would be impossible not to at least nominate Jason Peters.

In addition to missing the first game and causing the team to have to reshuffle its offensive line and play a back-up in that game, Peters has been a very large reason why the Bills have been so awful on offense early in the games that he has played in and had to come from behind in those games. No one on the offensive line has given up more sacks or been responsible for more turnovers than Peters. He has gotten as many penalties as any other offensive lineman in those games.

Against the Rams--the third game he has played since ending his holdout--Peters was responsible for blowing up no fewer than five plays in the first half, including the sack, the penalty, pressure resulting in a hit on the QB that caused an incompletion, and obvious missed blocks on running plays.

Now, Peters has played much better in the second half of these games, particularly the fourth quarter of the last two games. And, we all know that he has the talent and potential to play well enough to be an elite LT in the NFL. So, he is probably going to get better as the season goes on and the Bills are not going to get rid of him--because it is extremely hard to find someone like Peters who has the potential to be an elite LT.

But, just based on his play (or lack of play) in these first four games of the season, Jason Peters has been as bad or worse than anyone on the roster who has play significant minutes.

On the other hand, if we are taking a longer term view in making this award, I would have to agree that Melvin Fowler is the Bills' weakest overall player and most deserving of being replaced. Although, considering that Duke Preston hasn't played all that well in the times when he has replaced Fowler in the line-up, Preston also deserves some consideration for this as well. As bad as Fowler has been, Preston hasn't been any better from an obvious standpoint and the coaches don't think that he has done well enough in the things that we fans can't see or don't know about to play Preston over Fowler--so how bad does that make Preston?

I can make a case in defense of the other candidates who have been named in this thread: Rob Royal and John McCargo.

Royal is who he is and, while he isn't the type of tight end that a lot of Bills fans think the team should have, for the most part he has done what the coaching staff wants him to do and is the kind of TE that they want. He has been a target in the passing game when the defenses that the team has faced have let him be one, particularly against Seattle. With Oakland and St.Louis blitzing a lot, the Bills have had to keep him in to help the offensive line in pass protection more in recent games, negating him as a factor in the passing game except on a few occasions. And, his blocking has been pretty decent.

So, while I think that the Bills should look to get a TE who can stretch the field and be more of a threat in the passing game, I think that there is a place for Royal on the team.

As for McCargo, he has been a disappointment as a # 1 draft pick, but, as has been acknowledged here, he has also shown flashes of very good play, making or setting up some big stops. He just hasn't done enough for a guy who obviously has the talent to make those kinds of plays. However, some of this could be attributed to the fact that McCargo intentionally put on weight this offseason (he reported at over 310 lbs.) and discovered in training camp that the extra weight had slowed him down too much and had a negative impact on his stamina. Additionally, even though this is his third season, because of all the time that he missed his rookie season with his foot injury, McCargo is still relatively inexperienced.

Considering all of this, I wouldn't be ready to give up on McCargo or give him this award just yet. However, he would be someone who I would have to say should be kept in mind as a possible candidate for this award if he doesn't take a major step up in his game after this season. But, I wouldn't like to see the Bills cut ties with him just yet.

There are other players that I have seen who have been inconsistent and made some really bad plays at times (ie Ko Simpson has been caught way out of position in pass coverage on more than one occasion, Donte Whitner has whiffed on a couple of tackles, Dockery and Butler have been bad at times, etc.), but I have also seen each of them make some very good plays as well.

Right now, though, if we are looking at the long-term, IMHO the Bills have to look at upgrading the center position and it is the play of Melvin Fowler and, to only a slightly lesser extent, Duke Preston that makes them my prime candidates for this award.

However, if I had to name the Bills' worst player in the starting lineup over the course of the first four games of this season, that award IMHO would have to go to Jason Peters. Especially because we all know that he is capable of playing so much better than he has thus far.

[Dr. Lecter]

Stop defending the guy, you have no clue what your talking about.

The defense crashed right? Give me a break. lol.

There is no defense in the world that will call for the DT to be driven down the line and to the sideline.

That play was not really McCargo's fault.

Regardless, while he has not played much he has made some plays. There are people here who can have differing opinions without the old "You don't know what you are talking about" line. McCargo was also double teamed on that play. Whitner would have made the tackle, but Spencer Johnson was pushed into Whitner, taking him out.

If you want to blame somebody, blame Johnson.

[trapezeus]

another 101QB rating day with 2 fumbles, 5 sacks, and a general cluelessness to him and i'm nominating JP.

[theanswer74]

I have to go with Melvin Fowler and Derrick Dockery.

2 experienced offensive lineman should not allow a guy to come unblocked, especially when the run is coming right at that guy.

One thing about Fowler is he normally is only getting run over by DT's, if he starts having communication problems with Dockery, then there is no reason why he should be out there. The one good thing I hear about Fowler is that he makes great line calls.

[patmoran2006]

keith ellison is picking up steam.

[madness]

Chris Brown isn't a journalist. He's a blogger paid by the team to walk the company line.

That's just downright rude. Of course he has to walk the line given the situation but show me a journalist that doesn't have to submit his work to a higher power and I'll show you a freelancer or a "blogger" working for a rinky-dink website.

Out of all the official journalist for NFL teams, he probably has one of the longest leashes and he also goes out of his way to give Bills fans news practically 365 days a year, which you won't find on a majority of NFL sites. I've also seen NFL teams employ 2-4 guys while CB is the editor of the Digest, team yearbook and is responsible for all written and video content on the website. The guy works hard and doesn't deserve the disrespect that gets thrown at him from Bills fans. All he is doing is trying to share his passion with every other Bills fan. No matter how much he walks the line, you have to respect that.

Bills’ writer walks fine line (http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/billsnfl/story/432168.html)

[billsburgh]

McCargo and Royal are good runners-up, but Royal can be considered mediocre and McCargo shows flashes of competence. I think McCargo would easily win "most disappointing" based on how he was obtained.
Would that be the Mike Williams or Erik Flowers award?

[yordad]

Oh like Youboty who I have supported from day 1? But if the front office listened to the brilliant fans we would have traded him to the Browns for a 7th round pick and a bag of balls in training camp.Im thinking the Youboty case is a little different then the Royal or the Fowler case.

[yordad]

That's just downright rude. Of course he has to walk the line given the situation but show me a journalist that doesn't have to submit his work to a higher power and I'll show you a freelancer or a "blogger" working for a rinky-dink website.

Out of all the official journalist for NFL teams, he probably has one of the longest leashes and he also goes out of his way to give Bills fans news practically 365 days a year, which you won't find on a majority of NFL sites. I've also seen NFL teams employ 2-4 guys while CB is the editor of the Digest, team yearbook and is responsible for all written and video content on the website. The guy works hard and doesn't deserve the disrespect that gets thrown at him from Bills fans. All he is doing is trying to share his passion with every other Bills fan. No matter how much he walks the line, you have to respect that.

Bills’ writer walks fine line (http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/billsnfl/story/432168.html)Your link actually proved Ops point.

[OpIv37]

That's just downright rude. Of course he has to walk the line given the situation but show me a journalist that doesn't have to submit his work to a higher power and I'll show you a freelancer or a "blogger" working for a rinky-dink website.

Out of all the official journalist for NFL teams, he probably has one of the longest leashes and he also goes out of his way to give Bills fans news practically 365 days a year, which you won't find on a majority of NFL sites. I've also seen NFL teams employ 2-4 guys while CB is the editor of the Digest, team yearbook and is responsible for all written and video content on the website. The guy works hard and doesn't deserve the disrespect that gets thrown at him from Bills fans. All he is doing is trying to share his passion with every other Bills fan. No matter how much he walks the line, you have to respect that.

Bills’ writer walks fine line (http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/billsnfl/story/432168.html)

Chris Brown is not without value. He is very close to the team and provides frequent updates. At times, it seems Brown is the Bills clearinghouse and information is released to the public through him first.

But he does not have nearly the autonomy of a real reporter. Yes, those guys have editors and bosses too, and aren't 100% free of interference from higher-ups. The difference is that if Melvin Fowler sucks, a reporter for ESPN or the Rochester D&C or the Buffalo news is free to say that he sucks. Chris Brown, however, has to toe the company line and say "I don't know why Melvin Fowler isn't appreciated by the fans, he does a good job."

If you want the most up-to-date news from the Bills, by all means read Chris Brown's blogs and articles. If you want objective analysis or unbiased opinions, read something else.

[madness]

Chris Brown is not without value. He is very close to the team and provides frequent updates. At times, it seems Brown is the Bills clearinghouse and information is released to the public through him first.

But he does not have nearly the autonomy of a real reporter. Yes, those guys have editors and bosses too, and aren't 100% free of interference from higher-ups. The difference is that if Melvin Fowler sucks, a reporter for ESPN or the Rochester D&C or the Buffalo news is free to say that he sucks. Chris Brown, however, has to toe the company line and say "I don't know why Melvin Fowler isn't appreciated by the fans, he does a good job."

If you want the most up-to-date news from the Bills, by all means read Chris Brown's blogs and articles. If you want objective analysis or unbiased opinions, read something else.

I agree with that. The only problem is that there is very little objective analysis and unbiased opinions from the majority of today's journalists. :ill:

[elltrain22]

Not only a great idea, (great name) but also a very good choice. Fowler is a fat piece of crap. I might also include Keith Ellison on that list too.

[PECKERWOOD]

Fowler is somewhat serviceable, my vote goes to McCargo. We traded up to get this bum? Having him on the roster pisses me off more than anyone else. We brought in a backup from another team and he STILL beat out McCargo, unacceptable, he would still even be considered a bust if he was a 7th round pick.