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There is no place in the sports world where fans commit bigger overreactions to mediocre player departures than in Buffalo.
Former Buffalo Sabres goalie Martin Biron was revered before leaving the Sabres to make way for Ryan Miller. A lot of people didn't like that move, but in hindsight, I think it might have been the right one considering Miller has won a Vezina Trophy and Biron can't even hold onto a starting job.
The most recent case of overvaluing a player has occurred following the departure of former Buffalo Bills linebacker Paul Pozlusny, who signed a six-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The contract is reportedly worth $45 million.
Seven million dollars a year- the Jaguars are nuts.
Pozlusny is a fan favorite and from all accounts a great guy off the field, but let's talk for a second about what he's done on the field. Linebackers have to possess top-notch reaction speed. Things happen so fast in the NFL and if a guy is a step too late the opposition is usually celebrating a touchdown.
To say that "Poz" lacks the speed, quickness and reaction time to be a game changing inside linebacker is an understatement. If you watch Bills' football, you already know that he is consistently late to the ball and is synonymous for being the best post 10-yard tackler on the team.
Whether he's too slow or just doesn't make the right reads, he doesn't have the type of impact on a game that a great NFL defense needs from its top linebacker. The Bills lose games for a lot of reasons and I'm not going to try and tell you it's because of one thing, but their inability to stop the run has plagued them throughout their playoff drought.
The argument a lot of people seem to be making is that, while Pozlusny may not be a great player he's the best the Bills have at the position. Nothing could scream loser mentality like this point of view.
In football, the directive of the general manager and his staff is to improve the talent on the football team. Keeping a guy around and paying him top dollar because he's at the top of the crap pile is a sure fire way to continue the losing trend year after year.
The Bills went 4-12 last season and if the team continues to make poor decisions when resigning its players [look up Chris Kelsey's contract], the losing will continue.
Pozlusny is not only an average player, but he has been a proven injury liability since he played at Penn State. When you pay a player big money in the NFL, it makes a lot of sense to make sure that player is going to play in the majority of your team's games. Every time Pozlusny hits the deck fans immediately wonder if the linebacker is headed back to the injured reserve.
Last season the Bills had one of the top defensive tackles in the NFL in Kyle Williams. Typically having a guy up front as talented as Williams allows an inside linebacker to have more of an impact.
Pozlusny was fourth in the NFL with 104 total tackles last season. That's pretty impressive right? Well the Bills' defense ranked last in the league in rush yards allowed per game, giving up a whopping 169.6 per contest. What does it matter racking up all those tackles if your team can't stop the other team from running the ball down your throat?
Would it have been nice if the Bills could have kept Pozlusny? Of course it would have. He meant a lot to the fan base and was a solid player, but to break the bank for a guy who isn't even considered to be in the top 10 players in the league at his position is irresponsible and one of the reasons the Bills haven't played in a playoff game in over a decade.
Sometimes the best thing a team can do is let a player walk. If it's the jersey you're worried about, guess what? The team just released new ones. So go out and spend the $60 to get a new one and be thankful your team is trying to spend its money wisely for a change.
Email: matthew.parrino@ubspectrum.com
