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When Buffalo Bills General Manager Buddy Nix was hired to rebuild the Buffalo Bills in 2010, he made a statement that Bills fans would need to exhibit some patience, because the rebuilding effort would take about three years to complete.The goal of Nix…
You may find it hard to believe, but through the first seven games I really can’t find anything wrong with the way Chan Gailey is coaching. He puts together some solid offensive gameplans. He doesn’t take dumb timeouts (a la Dick…
According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, former Buffalo Bills defensive end/outside linebacker Aaron Schobel is expected to officially retire (again).
After being released by the Bills so he could go after a chance to win a championship, or whatever exactly it was that he was in search for, the star defensive lineman is apparently ready to call it quits.
We’ll believe it when we see it.
Everyone knew Schobel was “pulling a Favre” and didn’t want anything to do with training camp. Plus, his disdain for Buffalo’s losing ways also was getting in the way of his desire to continue playing.
There have also been reports that Schobel is simply tired of the grind and would rather eat freely and balloon to 270-plus pounds instead of training hard to stay at his current playing weight (which is about 245 pounds).
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Talks broke down between Schobel and the Houston Texans, and many believed it had something to do with Schobel wanting more money than what was being offered.
While we should never take retirement lightly, we’re still banking on Schobel playing in 2010, although not necessarily from start to finish. He’s still fairly young for a defensive lineman and can still have a major impact, especially on a contending team.
Stay tuned, as this story has changed its tune about three or four times since retirement buzz emanated from Buffalo following the end of the 2009 NFL season.
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According to reports, former Buffalo Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel has officially announced his retirement from the NFL.
Since the Bills were expecting this move, they released the two-time Pro Bowler earlier this month on August 4. Based on a phone interview with The Associated Press, he was contemplating retirement since the end of last season.
“I really didn’t have a lot of fun playing last year,” he said. “The passion wasn’t there, so it was time. I took as much time as I felt I needed to make the decision, and I think I made the right one.”
Schobel has played nine years in the league, registering 78 sacks during that span. That total ranks him second in Bills history behind Hall of Fame great Bruce Smith, who had 171 of his 200 career sacks with the team.
Typically, players decide to retire when they are met at crossroads and their play is beginning to decline. On the other hand, that wasn’t the case for Schobel as he racked up 10 sacks last season.
Therefore, many have been speculating whether or not he would be interested in playing for the Houston Texans, who are much closer to his home in Columbus, Texas.
“The decision came down to whether or not I wanted to play. I didn’t really feel like I wanted to do it,” he said. “A lot of people probably think I’m crazy, but whenever you feel like it’s time, it’s time.”
By opting to retire, he left a lot of money on the table. He had four years left on a seven-year contract extension worth $50.5 million that he signed back in 2007.
“It’s always hard to pass up money, but there’s more to life than that,” Schobel said.
He said his final decision was an outcome of several factors, including his family as well as his physical and mental strength.
“It wasn’t just the physical part, but the mental part, too,” Schobel said. “After the Bills released me, I weighed all my options and I just decided that at this point, this is what I wanted to do.”
Barring the unlikelihood of a Brett Favre-like saga, Schobel’s decision is the final chapter in a successful NFL career. I’ve always enjoyed watching him play, and I wish him the best of luck moving forward with the remainder of his life.
Note: Information from an ESPN news report was used in this article.
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All of the so called “analysts” have been crushing Buffalo for releasing Aaron Schobel who is an “8-12 sack guy” as Peter King of SI called him. Sure, the Bills could have waited until a team wanted him and get a draft pick, but when the guy is openly pondering retirement, you have very little room to ask for much of anything besides junk.
And I am going to bet he does not want to learn a 3-4 defense, so I am not sure why the Patriots or Texans are even pondering him. Schobel has been the rock of the Buffalo Bills D-line the past nine years and has a huge contract.
Why would he suddenly be considering retirement at age 32?
32 year-old rich defensive ends do not suddenly ask themselves if they want to retire, but rather he does not buy into the new system.
It is either that or he wanted out of Buffalo period, regardless of what he was getting paid.
Whichever way it was, he did it kindly enough to make it seem like he was legitimately pondering retiring from Buffalo instead of demanding a trade or release. Buffalo needed to move on and when it becomes public knowledge that he might be pulling a Brett Favre and trying to hold your team hostage, you cannot get anything for him.
So in a way he did screw Buffalo, but there was no tear. But Nix knew either way, they were going to lose him for nothing.
So in an effort to start erasing this past horrid decade of Buffalo Bills football, he decided to just cut him which in my mind is the 100% right move. Nix and Gailey need to move this franchise forward away from the 2000-2009 era of football and by just removing one of the cornerstones of that era without waiting for an actual decision from him is the correct step forward.
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