The Buffalo Bills are apparently desperate to find any motivation they possibly can to invigorate their talent-thin crew, plastering a soft quote from New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur throughout their building this week.
“I would never comment on how in the mix anybody was. I think that’s behind-the-scenes. That doesn’t do anybody any good,” Shurmur told reporters. “But I can comment on what we thought of him. We thought he was a big, strong thrower. A guy that had a chance to be a starter in the NFL, and he has been for them. I think he’s made steady improvements. He’s a very strong-armed guy. He’s helped them win some big games already. Just like any young player, you see where he’ll make mistakes and then correct them.”
Somehow, some way the Bills and Allen took, “big, strong thrower” and potential NFL quality starter — the elite of the elite — to mean something negative.
How they rationalize that, we may never know, but on Wednesday, the quote lined every single television in their building.
After being made away of Shurmur’s praise comments, Allen brushed them off and didn’t return said praise fire.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Allen said, via Newsday. “I wasn’t trying to make everybody like me or fall in love with me. Luckily the Bills had different thoughts and different plans with me. And luckily I ended up here.”
So, there you have it — that’s what the Giants have to look forward to on Sunday. They will square off against a team and quarterback so desperate to motivate themselves that they take offense to the suggestion that Allen has an impressively strong arm and so much talent he was viewed as one of the 32 most elite quarterbacks on the planet.
How dare the Giants be so vile, disgusting and offensive. Or something.
