Thursday, June 7, 2001

Carolina signs RB Richard Huntley

PFW: What are your thoughts on the Panthers’ signing?

Buchsbaum: Basically, he’s a lot like what they already have at running back with Tim Biakabutuka and Adrian Murrell. They’re very gifted, natural runners who are unreliable. You never know when they’ll be effective or when they won’t. They have a tendency to fumble. They can look great at times, awful at other times, and you also don’t know how durable they will be — especially Biakabutuka, but Murrell sometimes and Huntley as well. It’s almost duplication, but possibly if you go with the hot hand each game, you could get effective results. Huntley, most people thought, was headed to Miami, but he didn’t want to go there knowing he’d just be a backup. With the signing of Huntley, former Bills RB Antowain Smith becomes the No. 1 back there. Smith could be a steal for a team that takes him and uses him correctly. By that I mean Smith is the type of back who, if you’re going to use him as part of a rotation where he’s getting 6-8 carries a game, he’s almost worthless. On the other hand, if you’re going to use him as your heavy-duty runner, similar to Tyrone Wheatley in Oakland, he could be very effective and have the type of career for his new team that Wheatley has had for the Raiders.

Buchsbaum comments on some of the attitudes in the game

Buchsbaum: The NFL must cringe every time they see Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal, the new, hip stars of the NBA, selling jerseys like mad, getting tremendous publicity and getting a tremendous following from the younger generation. What they are seeing now, because of that, is that so many of the younger stars are starting to live similar lifestyles. That, to many people in the NFL and many old-timers, is an affront. Players are supposed to be dedicated people who are willing to pay the price year-round, not people who pay the price during the season and then do everything they can to get as much joy out of life during the offseason, with little regard for anything else, including the possibility that it will cost them by running down their bodies. Another thing that seems to be breaking down in pro sports now is the team personality. Now you have more "me, me, me" players and players who think of themselves, with the No. 1 thing being how well they are taken care of and how much they are having a good time. And yet another factor is the players that vanish on teams during the offseason, such as WR Ike Hilliard. The Giants gave Hilliard the option of getting a shot for his toe, seeing how well it came along and telling them, or having surgery right away. Instead, he stayed out of touch with them and avoided all their calls and now that he has to have the surgery, apparently, he will probably miss the start of the season. If I were the Giants, and I’m not, I might even be tempted to cut the player, depending on how his contract reads, because of the way he treated the team and his teammates, with such little respect. On the other hand, Jessie Armstead, who was supposed to be a team leader and great team man, for the umpteenth time is demanding his contract be renegotiated, and he is staying away from the Giants’ minicamp. You know, this type of behavior is becoming more and more prevalent, and I just don’t think it’s any good for the game, and I think it’s setting a very poor example for the young people of America.

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2000 - 2001 Season