I need to get a few football related items off of my chest

[Pride]

One thing I have observed for the better part of a month has been everyone's willingness to jump all over Terrell Owens and his contract dispute. Now, I will start off by staying that I hate TO. I dont respect him as a person.... but at the same time, he is a big time player. The truth is, it woudlnt matter who we were talking about here, because my problem is with the principal.

Many of you are angry that he is holidng out for more money. He signed a contract, and should play it out. I 100% agree with that. However... a lot of you are also quick to say that Mike Williams should take a pay cut since he has not performed well enough to make 8 mill this year. That is a hypocritcal line of reasoning. Contracts worth both ways. The players should honor a contract even if he is worth more than it... and the team should honor it even if the player is not worth it.

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Ok, point 2. We as billszone members constantly talk about players who are out of the game for more than a year. QB's RB's WR's etc... Any mention of a player coming back after 2 years (ricky, boston, etc most recently), we immediately throw out the "He hasnt played in 2 years... he's gonna suck!"

Well... those same people are trying to push Henry (who, for the most part hasnt played in 2 years) onto teams looking for a #1 RB. At the same time, we are hypocritical saying that we would never want TH to be our starter, but yet fully expect other teams to accept him as theirs? Either he is good enough to start in the NFL or he is not. My personal opionon is that he is a lower half back... meaning there are at least 15 RB's better than him. But some of you are trying to pawn him off as this great RB who just lost out to an even better RB.

Fact is, TH was never that good. He's great between the tackles... but any play that requires speed and agility.. forget about it. Throw in his fumblitis, and you have a middle of the pack back who is only good enough for a backup role... which is what he has right now.

Ok, I'm done.. flame away!

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I think that a lot of Bills fans get caught up in name recognition/reputations and the media. It isn't a bad thing, it is just the way they follow the team. They hear some knucklehead say something on the radio and they take that opinion. If a guys name comes up as someone they have heard of they jump all over the player. "We should sign him", etc. The LJ Shelton saga is the best. One day, we need to trade TH for him now, etc.

[OpIv37]

Good comparison between MW and TO. We just have to hope that MW would rather help the team by making a lot of money and winning than making a ****load of money and losing.

As far as TH goes, I never had a problem with him as a starter because of the way he plays. It's jus that Willis is better, plain and simple. For the most part, I think Henry has improved on the fumbles. His durability is definitely in question. As far as not playing, I don't think he should be compared to Ricky Williams. At least Henry was on the team, around football, working with trainers, etc. He may have been injured, but at least he was taking care of himself and absorbing the game. The only thing RW was absorbing was THC into his bloodstream.

[lordofgun]

I blame the players union for giving the owners all the leverage in contracts. They're only guaranteed one way, not two ways, so to say contracts go both ways is not quite accurate.

The collective bargaining agreement that the players agree to allows owners to get rid of players or insist they take a paycut. It does not give the players the right to chop up a contract, however.

Sorry, but the players were stupid enough to agree to it. The richest league in the world is the only one that doesn't guarantee player contracts (besides the NHL), and the players were ok with that apparently.

[feelthepain]

One thing I have observed for the better part of a month has been everyone's willingness to jump all over Terrell Owens and his contract dispute. Now, I will start off by staying that I hate TO. I dont respect him as a person.... but at the same time, he is a big time player. The truth is, it woudlnt matter who we were talking about here, because my problem is with the principal.

Many of you are angry that he is holidng out for more money. He signed a contract, and should play it out. I 100% agree with that. However... a lot of you are also quick to say that Mike Williams should take a pay cut since he has not performed well enough to make 8 mill this year. That is a hypocritcal line of reasoning. Contracts worth both ways. The players should honor a contract even if he is worth more than it... and the team should honor it even if the player is not worth it.

------------

Ok, point 2. We as billszone members constantly talk about players who are out of the game for more than a year. QB's RB's WR's etc... Any mention of a player coming back after 2 years (ricky, boston, etc most recently), we immediately throw out the "He hasnt played in 2 years... he's gonna suck!"

Well... those same people are trying to push Henry (who, for the most part hasnt played in 2 years) onto teams looking for a #1 RB. At the same time, we are hypocritical saying that we would never want TH to be our starter, but yet fully expect other teams to accept him as theirs? Either he is good enough to start in the NFL or he is not. My personal opionon is that he is a lower half back... meaning there are at least 15 RB's better than him. But some of you are trying to pawn him off as this great RB who just lost out to an even better RB.

Fact is, TH was never that good. He's great between the tackles... but any play that requires speed and agility.. forget about it. Throw in his fumblitis, and you have a middle of the pack back who is only good enough for a backup role... which is what he has right now.

Ok, I'm done.. flame away!

Good post!!!

[TedMock]

Great points, Pride. I actually agree 100% Mike Williams actually turned in a very good year last season, so hopefully he is "worth it" to all the doubters after this season. Again, great post.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

Only issue I have with your way of thinking, Pride, is that I am pissed about TO's thinking that he should have a fair contract restructured after only 1 year playing in that contract. Now if TD wanted to restructure MW's contract after one year, I would find that ridiculous too.

What get's people (myself included) is a guy wanting a restructure so soon after fighting to get on a specific team. That's bull****. That's like Eli Manning demanding to be restructured this year after the Giants jumped through hoops to get him.

ON your other point. I don't honestly feel Henry is worth more than a 4th rounder at best. Holding out for anything more is futile, in my opinion.
Putting the shoe on the other foot....if we were RB shopping, would we want to give up anything more than that for Travis? Too many question marks in my opinion.

[Tatonka]

how can a guy who had 1400 yards two seasons in a row be considered a back up? i think he is definately a starter.. especially with 32 teams in the league.

[Stewie]

That is a hypocritcal line of reasoning. Contracts worth both ways. The players should honor a contract even if he is worth more than it... and the team should honor it even if the player is not worth it.

Sorry dude but contracts most certainly do not "work both ways".

The contract works the way it is written, pure and simple. NFL employment contracts are written that a team can terminate a contract, and that players cannot. If players don't like this, they need to bring it up to their union during negotiations for the next cba. Until then, that's the way it is.

Saying it "works both ways" is just plain wrong.

[Mudflap1]

Mike Williams shouldn't take a paycut. But he should restructure for the benefit of the team. This way he doesn't take a paycut, but the Bills don't take as much of a hit.

About Henry, agreed. The longer the Henry thing goes, the less value he may have in the market. At the end of last year he was a guy who was good, but then lost his starting job to a better player, and got injured. If this prolongs into next season, his time away from those 1,400 seasons only grows and grows. That being said, Shelton got cut, so Henry for Shelton wouldn't have worked out anyway. But the sooner TD can get value for Henry and ship him out, probably the better.

Jon

[Crisis]

Henry hasn't played in 2 years? He started last year for some games.

[LarryBoy]

First, I agree, TH aint all that great, he has enough to be a starter somewhere, but theres alot better. Plus instead of going after an average TH, most clubs would rather roll the dice on a rookie with potiential and less injuries.


Now, about TO...I dont agree...I guess I just get tired of multi-millionares complaining that they are worth more, that goes not just for TO and not just for football. If a contract is written that way for both sides, ok, if not TO should shut his lip and get on the field.

Not to mention that maybe hes one of the best WR's ever, but 1/2 the clubs would pass on him then have his cancer in a locker room, thats gotta lower his value.

[mybills]

how can a guy who had 1400 yards two seasons in a row be considered a back up? i think he is definately a starter.. especially with 32 teams in the league.

better yet..somebody who fumbled 6-7 times and STILL got over 1400 yds.
I don't understand the downplay of his performance as a Bill.

[K-Gun]

One thing I have observed for the better part of a month has been everyone's willingness to jump all over Terrell Owens and his contract dispute. Now, I will start off by staying that I hate TO. I dont respect him as a person.... but at the same time, he is a big time player. The truth is, it woudlnt matter who we were talking about here, because my problem is with the principal.

Many of you are angry that he is holidng out for more money. He signed a contract, and should play it out. I 100% agree with that. However... a lot of you are also quick to say that Mike Williams should take a pay cut since he has not performed well enough to make 8 mill this year. That is a hypocritcal line of reasoning. Contracts worth both ways. The players should honor a contract even if he is worth more than it... and the team should honor it even if the player is not worth it.

I disagree to a certain extent. When we picked Big Mike we were forced to give him a certain contract based upon his draft position.

With the cap, and being forced to dole out contracts without any guarantee of return, I think it is at least reasonable to ask a player, who counts 9 million against the cap, to work something out for the team.

The fact is, the only way to build a “dynasty” in the NFL these days is to follow BB’s example in NE.

You have to get a bunch of pro-bowlers together who are more concerned with winning a championship then with getting a huge payday.

I don’t know if Teddy Bruschi will look back with regret in 25-30 years, knowing he could have 15-20 million more in the bank. But that was the price of his Super Bowl rings.

IMO, with a salary cap in place, the player union should sit down with the league and devise a pay scale based upon performance. It would need to be massively complicated, but it would work out so that a minimum salary would be in place, and then each player received compensation based upon the year’s performance. It would just be sweet if hold out’s and *****ing players were a thing of the past. The best QB gets the most cash, all the way down the line. It may be totally impossible to do in reality, but in a perfect world, a yes, in a perfect world.

[HAMMER]

better yet..somebody who fumbled 6-7 times and STILL got over 1400 yds.
I don't understand the downplay of his performance as a Bill.

Me either, he was a stud for us and still can be for any team that will utilize him. Gilbride never used TH enough, especially as a receiver out of the backfield. Buffalo needs to keep him here through his contract as insurance. Many players aren't happy with their situations, it's tough schnit, get to work!