Whats your honest take on McGahee?

[X-Era]

Im a fan of anyone who goes to 2000 yards as fast as he does behind our o-line but I do also have some question marks on him. Lets look at pluses and minuses:

Pluses:

1) Size- lets face it some of the smaller RB's suffer against bigger players and have to rely on there moves to prevent tackles rather than being able to power through them. Now, it was a ton of fun to watch Thurman squirt through a big mess in the middle for lots of extra yards. Willis certainly has the size. I guess Id rather have ths ize to blast through tackles which would seem to be a more likely thing to be able to do than running around them.

2) Stiff arm- Im not sure there is a better stiff arm guy in the league than Willis. There might be but I cant remember seeing it.

3) Receiving- Willis has been very good at this this year. Remember Darrick Holmes? it was either him or Travis that didnt do this well. I cant remember off hand. Its nice to have our RB be a receiving option as well, just another facet to our game.

4) Ball carrying- One thing thats nice compared to say Travis is that Willis doesnt fumble alot. Its obvioulsy a critical thing when they turn it over.

5) Durability- I dont think he has gone down on an injury since he came back from the knee. He has taken lots of hits and keep coming.

Minuses

1) Speed- I have to say that Willis hasnt impressed with his speed. He hasnt out run anyone that I know of. Id like to have a homerun hitter. A guy that if sprung into the secondary will beat anyone on the field in a flat out run.

2) Break tackle ability- I still feel as if Willis goes down to easy. He seems to go down on the first hit sometimes and I can remember one play where he got tackled by an undersized DB by the feet.

3) Vision- its a bit of a puch at this point. I have seen him make good moves and pick his holes. But, he also has ran right into tackles other times as well.

Overall, I think he is a proven young player. Im not sure he is worth top 5 pay. But, he is proven. I think the bigger question is can he be replaced with equal or better talent? Im not sure I see that without spending alot of money. Shuan Alexander, Edge sure, buth are equal or better. But, both also would command more money than Willis. I dont think Willis will holdout in my opinion, but who knows. Now, if we get a shot at a guy in the draft who may be a better option, maybe we take em. However, theres only 1 guy in this draft thats worth it and that would be Bush. We aint gonna get em.

I think Willis would benefit from a change in o-line schemes. I like what Denvers done and feel zone blocking would really help a guy like Willis. He could pick his holes and would get to be at full speed by the time the tackler got there. I could see him breaking more tackles at full speed.

Your thoughts? Is he THE guy we need for the next 5 years at RB or do we need something better?

[Bill Brasky]

who cares if he's over 2000 yards... he hasn't helped us win or close out games. that's all i care about.

[Mudflap1]

What's your honest take on McGahee?

He doesn't have half of the talent, potential, good attitude, charm, fashion sense, hair, or pride that J.P. Losman has!!

Seriously, I think he's all talk. Good player, doesn't back it up in crunch time, at least not yet.

Jon

[X-Era]

What's your honest take on McGahee?

He doesn't have half of the talent, potential, good attitude, charm, fashion sense, hair, or pride that J.P. Losman has!!

Seriously, I think he's all talk. Good player, doesn't back it up in crunch time, at least not yet.

Jon

I honestly cant disagree that he hasnt stepped up in big games yet.

[Dantheman1280]

I think he is a really good young player, but he does not want to spend his career with a losing team. So he isn't giving his best effort in hopes of being traded when he holds out for a big deal.

[wchutalkinboutwillis]

The biggest concern I had with McGahee last year is the same I have this year...He simply does not have break away speed. He may have had it at Miami U but it's clear that he has now lost it. When you analyze it, he really doesn't run all the different than Travis Henry. I will say this... it seems that Willis had a lot more outside runs last year that were highly successful. It hasn't been the same this year as most runs have been predictably through the tackles. I will also add that Travis was more utilized as a receiver. As I write this, it really proves that there is a major problem with the management/coaching staff. I don't know what to think anymore.

[BADTHINGSMAN]

who cares if he's over 2000 yards... he hasn't helped us win or close out games. that's all i care about.

Couldnt agree more..

This Self-proclaimed best RB in the league isnt even a top 5 back.. When McGahee's contract is up he is as good as gone..

[STAMPY]

All hype... hasnt even broken one over 40 yards still. All i heard was about his gamebreaking skills.

[chubluv]

who cares if he's over 2000 yards... he hasn't helped us win or close out games. that's all i care about.

He hasnt been given the chance by the coaches. Hes hardly ever in there on 3rd down. The play calling is horrible.

[sdbillsfan2]

Maybe it's just me but I don't see him having much of a heart for the game ! (alot of show and no much go)Willis is for Willis and the team comes in second. Maybe it's something about players from today's "U" !!!! I don't think he's half as good as he and his agent think he is!

[frank74]

besides his stiff arm which is pretty deadly, he reminds me of antowain smith. his longest run this year is 27 yards? i think willis is average.

[Talonz]

Has he even stiff armed this year? I don't remember once?

[MarvLevy]

Willis is a great player but is not the type of person/player you would be proud to say is on your team. Therefore, If he did leave when his contract was up I wouldn't be too upset. I think good rb's can be found over and over in the draft. It's the offensive scheme that makes them productive.

[MarvLevy]

Sometimes Willis hardly gets carries. I can recall some games when he didn't even get 15.

[venis2k1]

4 Tds in 12 games is not what i call the best back in the league... or even an average back in the league.

[GBS 18]

i have to admit i was all for willis when we drafted him. But if you look back and think of the way we ran a pro bowl running back (travis henry) out of town when the guy played injured all the time for us and still gave us all of his effort, and we replaced him with a cocky a-hole who is a very talented player but just doesnt give a ***** about anything but money and publicity....then i really start to hate Willis

[Bmax]

good back.. still has alot ot learn as a person and football player.. his comments indicate that...I think he is still learning what to say and when to say it ...

It would help if he had a better line and a coaching staff who just gave him the ball inside the 20 more.. That in a nutshell is why the bills are bad in the red zone.

They just can't seem to get runs of 5 or more yards inside the red zone which is vitual to scoring in the red zone

Bmax...

[patmoran2006]

I honestly don't think you can give McGahee an honest evaluation until he's part of an offense consisting of a head coach and offense coordinator who put constructing a real game plan ahead of trying to prove how good their grades were in school.

Willis has showed what he's capable of doing. 9/100 yard games and 16 TD's in his first 15 starts?

[ParanoidAndroid]

I honestly don't think you can give McGahee an honest evaluation until he's part of an offense consisting of a head coach and offense coordinator who put constructing a real game plan ahead of trying to prove how good their grades were in school.

Willis has showed what he's capable of doing. 9/100 yard games and 16 TD's in his first 15 starts?

Welcome to The Zone!

I agree that he's not getting a fair shake this year and it has to do with several things. O-line, coaching, and the ocassional lack of effort are the biggest ones in tht order.

Also...A word to the wise...You better get rid of that avatar before the TOS gods get a hold of you.

[dolphinssuck]

WM is hands down 1 of the top backs in the NFL and has not been able to reach his potential due to no line! He is pretty durable and has really had no signs of problems with his knee! He does lack the speed but hes still a good back behind a poor O line and for anyone to say hes not that good of a back needs to take that in consideration. Willis will be in the league along time and a force but if Buffalo does not get him blocking a the holes needed to run the ball then his career will be tainted and he'll be considered a under achiever and I hate to say it but if this does not happen I wouldnt blame him if he looked for another team!

[MarvLevy]

what would shawn alexander do in buffalo and what would willis do in seattle?

[Kerr]

I'd rather have rw.

[djjimkelly]

my honest take is that this guy is working behind a piece of crap o line not to mention our best run blocking lineman doesnt play anymore. any real evaluation of mcgahee is impossible id like to see what this guy could do behind the chiefs o line or someone who was actaully decent

[ZEUS]

So far, too much talk and not enough walk. In his defense there has been some games when he did not get the ball like he should have. Due to some really strange play calling:wtf: I think his agent sucks and is going to create a problem. Also, I think he's passing his time in Buffalo, doesn't want to get injured. So that he can be "the best back in the league" in Tampa or Miami.

[dolphinssuck]

I dont ever see him in Miami they have Ronnie B now and hes a good back! Tampa? maybe more likely than Miami! Hopefully though the problems the Bills are having will be fixed and he will stay because tgat would be a trmendous loss if he left!

[Billsrock4life]

he is a extremely talented back...strong fast and he hits the hole hard.....
that is when he has a hole the oline neds sum upgrades they need to stop drafting recivers n get sum oline

[Mr. Cynical]

This is now a very important question. I can't watch the game today but by the stats it looks horrendous.

Now, I know our oline is complete garbage, so I'm sure this is 99% of the reason. That, and the crappy playcalling as well.

But.....

I have noticed in other games where even in those few occasions he had a hole and made it into the secondary that he was getting caught pretty easily. If this is because he is still not 100%, then that's fine. But if this is as good as he is going to get, we may want to think about trading him. I HATE to say that....and I'm not sure that's the right thing...but once TD is gone I don't want to hang on to any players because of sunk cost. We have to move forward, and if that means dumping everyone on the roster then so be it.

Again, I don't know which direction he will head and I honestly think until he has 1 more offseason to get healthy AND until he gets an oline better than the local high school AND a coach that calls non-idiotic plays, it's hard to make a judgement.