As Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Bean and coach Sean McDermott keep stressing extra draft picks as the winner of the Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby trade, other sports analysts disagree. The ESPN show “Pardon the Interruption” (PTI) had plenty to say about the Watkins release this past Monday. When show host Michael Wilbon was asked if the Watkins trade was a smart move, he stated that the Buffalo Bills do not know what they are doing. Here is more of the of went down during PTI.
Wilbon goes off on Buffalo
As stated on the New York Upstate website, Wilbon said about the Watkins trade, “If you want to win now, and you've got LeSean McCoy, and you can put Sammy Watkins out there and sort of spread the field, why would you trade to get a defensive back and a second- round pick?”
The Bills swapped Watkins for the mediocre cornerback E.J.
Gaines. Wilbon then discusses the lack of consistency for the Buffalo Bills’ franchise and the fact that they have gone through several coaches in a decade.
These coaches have included Doug Marrone, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey, Mike Mularky, Rex Ryan, and Greg Williams. The average coach stay has been about three years. Within past the ten years, the Bills have only posted one winning record. In 2014, they ended up at 9-7. That was the year that the Bills’ gave up some draft picks and moved up the board to select Watkins in the first round. Many people questioned GM Doug Whaley losing so much to get Watkins.
Sammy Watkins is a play maker
In his time with the Bills, Watkins has posted some decent numbers.
According to NFL.com, in 37 games with Buffalo, he has close to 2500 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. With an average of 16.1 per catch, it is easy to see why PTI’s host Tony Kornheiser feels that Buffalo screwed up by letting Watkins walk.
Reiterating Buffalo is messing things up, Kornheiser stressed Watkins' pure talent and said, “I know he has trouble getting onto the field.
But I would think that he's a threat in a passing game. . ."
The deep threat is something that Buffalo is sorely missing right now. Watkins’ speed and ability to get open was a plus for quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who excelled at the long ball. Buffalo gained wide receiver Jordan Matthews in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he fractured his sternum in the first 15 minutes of Bills’ practice this past Sunday.
Bills management is unsure if Matthews will be ready for the first game of the regular season. That leaves Anquan Boldin, Andre Holmes, Corey Brown, and Zay Jones.These guys are shorter pass receivers; the shorter passes something that Taylor struggles with.
Can the Bills’ get it together and post a winning record this year? Losing Sammy Watkins, the newest Los Angeles Ram does not improve their chances. Fans can see what the Bills offense is like without Watkins when they play the Philadelphia Eagles this Thursday in a pre-season game.
