Yes, the Bills have found themselves in the midst of another Twitter battle.
Former Bills’ LB Darryl Talley engaged in a war of words with outspoken (and soon to be exiled) QB Vince Young. Talley tweeted the following: “Just ran into Vince Young. Had no idea who I am. Not ok. Hey young fellas. Know ur football history. It’s called respect. Also will make u a better ball player.”
Most of his Twitter followers contested his opinion, in saying that VY was a youngster when Talley played and it shouldn’t be held against him. To this, Talley replied: “Y’all aren’t getting my point. Be respectful of those who came before you & demanded changes so u could colect the check ur getting.”
In typical Young fashion, he responded by saying he knew exactly who Talley was, and that his grandma was a big fan of his. Talley traded the last barb, saying that Young was only proving his point.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Talley introduced himself to Vince and Young simply didn’t recognize the name. Hurt and embarrassed, Darryl probably went on a mini-rant regarding his 1st tweet topic. Being notoriously immature and not taking to coaching on or off the field, Vince probably blew him off or said something close to what he told Coach Fisher before their blow out.
Darryl is one of my favorite Bills of all time. Being 19 I wasn’t really old enough to watch him play live, but I’ve spent most of the last 13 years watching old game tapes and highlight films. The guy was an instinctive player that was the heart of that D. He was also the guy that had the most influence on Bruce Smith’s maturation, in my opinion.
That all being said, Talley was under appreciated by his peers and the country while he was playing. Talley even used to refer to himself as Rodney Dangerfield for getting no respect. (Only 2 Pro Bowls, with one of them only coming after a dominating playoff performance. Are you kidding me?!?) The chances a childish 27-year-old QB would have heard of a LB that spent his career under the radar isn’t very likely.
I agree with what Darryl was saying about players knowing NFL history. I doubt it necessarily makes them a better player, but I feel that players that know the game are guys that love the game and will want to work harder to be successful in it. One of the most important qualities a player can have is a passion for the game. It makes destroying one’s body and mundane repetitions/film studies worth it and even exciting to some. If there was a study, I’d be willing to bet that a great percentage of the league’s elite talent love the game of football and at least have a working knowledge of NFL history.