Here is all the news that’s fit to print for this week thus far:
Gilmore Contract Issues: When I was greeted by this tweet from Stephon I had a good chuckle:
I'm just here so I won't get fined 😏
— The Gilly Lock (@BumpNrunGilm0re) June 13, 2016
I think it’s a fair trade. No deal is done, so Stephon isn’t risking an injury for the sake of being “all in” while also being present and un-fineable. On the other hand, going to the Bills’ website you’re greeted with this gem of a headline:
Up next on the "not All In" watch, Stephon Gilmore! pic.twitter.com/vrLmyWNige
— Joe (@BuffaloWins) June 14, 2016
It’s not even that far into it and the rhetoric is starting. With Gilmore, you know the market – if you didn’t want to retain his services you could’ve traded him, or extended him early or done a host of things to prevent this from getting to the point you’re calling him out (passive aggressively) on the team website.
The double whammy for this, especially after Mario Williams’ scape-goating is that these are two of the quietest dudes on the team. So when Gilmore says point blank I’m going to let my agent handle it, that’s all he’s gonna say. Remember the insanity that overtook some when Dareus dared suggest the Bills were playing during his contract negotiation? With Stephon’s silence words can now be inferenced, much like Chris Brown is doing in the article on bb dot com, which is pretty silly to me.
Karlos Weight Gain: So a funny thing happened in between the end of the season and mini-camp; Karlos Williams’ partner gave birth to a baby and he gained sympathy weight. While in the real world that’s just something you run off and worry about later, for an NFL player that’s no bueno. Williams is slated to get a lot of work as the #2 back behind LeSean McCoy, so if he can’t get his weight under control by the season he may find himself as number three back. To me, this is a non-issue if he goes into the season in shape and ready to rock and roll. In the interim, jokes will fly however, so good luck with that Karlos!
It’s also interesting to juxtapose the fact that Rex’s healthy living has been negatively impacted by the presence of his brother Rob. Gaining 15 pounds after having been a slim, trim, buff, cut, ripped, chiseled and jacked coach post surgery has to give him a little sympathy for Karlos, right?
Also – I owe you a soft drink of your choice if you can tell me where that “slim, trim…” line came from.
Jim’s Ultimatum: Never one to shy away from legend/superfan status, Jim Kelly went on the Jim Rome show and said that this’d be Rex’s last year if he fails to make the playoffs. While I am of the opinion that 3-4 years are the best way to go with evaluating a head coach, Rex’s napalming of the team puts me in a very weird place. After talking as big as he has and doing all of the things he’s done in the name of saving the Ryan family name, getting a coach that’s just competent without the craziness is attractive. After all the work to convert the team to a 3-4 from a 4-3 I shudder to think of yet another scheme change though.
On the other side of this we get the yearly Jim Kelly commentary on the team/player/coach. I find it funny that we didn’t hear him defend Mario (even though he plowed him out of the super blizzard and became hunting bros or whatever) but we have heard him on Tyrod several times and now on Rex. Jim’s a good dude and he has done a lot to help a lot of kids through his charity and his family has fought more than most have had to. But, c’mon Jimbo let’s let a few mics go unspoken into, shall we?
That’s it thus far for the week. If there’s anything of note that comes out of mini-camp over the next few days bang it here and we’ll have it covered. In the interim, look for an article by moi on the wrestling tip – in particular the WWE Cruiserweight Classic competitors – and after the conclusion of the series, Stephie is going to have a review for the 30 for 30 OJ series.
Excelsior.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
