I think we unloaded Abraham at the right time. He was good. I do not think he ever reached his full potential. I also think he thought only of himself too much. I do not think Abraham would have made it as a Mangini guy. Plus, if we are going to pay somebody $8.3M/yr, they really need to be in every game playing hard. I know, somebody is going to jump on and say, what about Chad. Chad did what he had to. He gave himself the best chance at a continuing future by reworking his deal and trying to be prepared. I know it can all change in a play, but the guy did do what he had to. Abraham was never going to bend one iota on anything. Except when he was hurt. He needs at least 2 to 3 weeks to recover from a hangnail. Look at him this year. He has his cash, but has taken almost 1/2 the year off. Sounds familiar, doesn't it. I do not care how good somebody is, we do not need people like this on this team. Abraham or Bruce Smith in his prime? - I am no Bills fan, but Smith was infinitely better than Abraham ever will be.
Bottom line, Chad showed up in those playoffs and played with a torn shoulder. Risked his career, opened himself up to criticisms of "noodle arm" and "not a big game player", etc, but he was our best shot so he was out there. Maybe Abraham was a different situation in that less than 100% he wouldn't have been a factor, but bringing Chad into this conversation, in my opinion, only makes Abraham look worse by comparison. Let's not also forget Abraham's "flu" that kept him out of the Oakland playoff game in 2001 (Jan 02), while the Raiders were shredding our secondary with no heat on Gannon. That's three playoff appearences while Abraham was on our team, two of which he didn't play in.
That is why I did mention Chad. We could also start to put Curtis in there, too. Curtis always played with pain, especially the last couple few years. You are right, Chad always tried even if he knew he was not going to be effective, he still tried.
His flu is what killed him in my eyes, Injuries, nobody really knows except maybe the doc, the coach and the player, and if the player is worth his salt, he wants to play through injuries, anything to contribute to winning...The tummy ache ended my admiration for Abe. Even if he is sick, he pulls a double team and possibly allows someone else to make a play. F-Abe, I dont miss him, he never would have hacked a Mangini camp.
Honestly who really cares about Abraham anymore? The man is a one dimensional sham, who basically conned his way to a big payday. So what if he's a pass rushing demon? 6 games into a season and the guy only has 3 quarters and 25 snaps to his name? And on top of this is very likely to miss even more time? The Hell with John Abraham, lets talk some Nick Mangold.
Fine I will bash him for his attitude about that day! What he said in the press was something like he is " not playing so he protects his contract situation". We'll I am a jets fan and I do not want to hear our best player saying in the public that he is only out for himself. That sort of stuff kills team unity!
