Gabe Northern

Maybe the drafting of Wood and Levtire would have lit a fire under their butts as well. How would Dockery have performed while being pushed by Levitre for playing time? I have a feeling the potential embarrassment of being benched for a rookie would not have been met with shts and giggles.

Dick Jauron is a clown. But the wins and close games were a reflection of his philosophy of playing not to lose. It was a brand of football where the team tries not to beat itself with turnovers or taking risks on offense. Defensively, the aim was not to give up big plays, but instead force the opponent to drive methodically down the field. We could win 5 games this year and be a much better team that's better positioned to compete for the playoffs (and more) in 2011. Don't let unrealistic expectations prevent you from appreciating what is being built this year.

Are you guys familiar with Football Outsiders? Not exactly morons like Mark Schlereth and Charles Davis repeating observations someone else made about teams they've never watched. I get the anger on this board about the ESPN/NFL network talking heads commenting on the Bills when they know nothing about our roster, scheme, etc., but we should also accept the fact that this team has got a lot of holes. 5-6 wins is pretty reasonable baseline estimate given offseason loss of best receiver, new defense, likely loss of best pass rusher, etc.

In a discussion with Tim Graham, Lee Evans said the debacle of 2009 "started with the Peters thing," but called Walker's release the biggest stunner of them all. I actually think it started with the release of Derrick Dockery. He WAY underperformed his contract. No doubt his signing was one of the reasons John Guy was relieved of his duties. But did he deserve to be cut? Only if you're looking to save money and don't care about roster quality. They owed him less than $5 million in 2009. In 2008 Dockery had 2 miserable games everyone remembers (Miami and NE to end of the season). But the rest of the time, he was an average LG, who typically provided a nice push in the run game. If he simply repeated his 2008 season, he would have been our best lineman for last year at least until Levitre's play picked up at the end. Back in DC, he had another solid season. I regret the signing as I'm sure all of you do. But did you don't get a do-over. The choice was between keeping him or going with Kirk Chambers and Seth McKinney as your interior depth. Some liked the move because of the "message it sent," but what was the message? After refusing to pay Peters and cutting Walker rather than paying $3 M to a back up, the message seemed to be we think we can plug rookies and veteran minimum scrubs in at any position. And that was proven false by the O-line's performance. Cutting Dockery actually compounded the initial mistake of signing him to a $49 million deal in the first place and was the first step down the path towards disaster that was the 2009 season.

Harrison didn't log a ton of snaps that game. He had 2 series and I stand by my assessment, having just rewatched the NFL network coverage on TivO.

first, watch the game rather than breaking out the stat sheet. He was beaten or had to hold on every play. (no sack doesn't mean you didn't get by your man). Secondly, do you NOT think that performance sealed his benching? Pure coincidence in your mind? Thirdly, James Harrison was emblematic of the 3-4 edge rushers he'd face all season in our division.

Trent handled things terribly last year, but try to appreciate what went down. First, they traded their pro bowl LT. Then instead of coming up with a legit plan b they pretended 375 lb L Walker could match up with 3-4 ROLBs. After reviewing the Pitt film where Walker held or got beat by James Harrison every play, they benched and then cut him. Then they insert a first time O coordinator and eliminate QB position coach. Then, butler goes down and instead of getting a legit RT like Runyan they grab someone off of a practice squad. Did I mention that rookie guards were brutal to start the season? I really have to empathize with someone who quit in that situation. Don't condone it but when I'm at home saying WTF as a fan, I can only imagine what starting qb is thinking.

the writing has been on the wall since the draft. Yod think that people who post on message boards would be a bit more attuned to the way the team communicates through the Buffalo News and other house organs. Now Jimbo is just confirming what anyone who closely follows the team has known for three months: barrng a remarkable breakut camp by Brohm or a total meltdown by Trent, Edwards is the starter in 2010. Get behind him. Th guy's got skills. We'll never know how much of 2009 was him and how much was the impossible position he was places in if we don't gve him a chance under a sold offensive mind. The people on this board that want to place 100% of the blame on Trent are completely unreasonable. Some guys enter the league great but most need to be put in an environment where they can succeed. Hope that's Trent in Gailey's quick slant passing offense

I agree with posters that 1. These guys don't know a thing about teams like the Bills and parrot other commentators. 2. This roster is shaky and it's not so unreasonable to think we're headed for a top 5 pick. Rip ESPN all you want. They deserve it. But don't think they're ignorance means our squad is looking good for 2010.

This is so annoying. Dick Jauron played not to lose. Whether factually true or not, these claims about keeping it close in the fourth quarter don't matter because they reflect a failed philosophy.

Cut in favor of someone with a weaker arm? Don't mistake confidence/mental problems for a bad arm. Trent is a prototype QB. http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/06/25/1094...p-decision.html

Felser employs the same technique as message board posters seeking to defend the FO. Claim "some people wanted X" then detail how X sucks and/or isn't as good as whomever was chose (at much less cost) instead of X. This was just used by a poster with respect to Charlie Whitehurst.

Obviously too early to reach definitive conclusions but things do not look good. For whatever reason, people discount the fact that he was not moved to LB last year, but after all of the injuries we had, wasn't it a horrible sign that Scott filled in at ROLB rathern than Maybin? The guy really has never done anything but chase down Big 10 QBs for 10 games in the fall of 2008. There is a reason some teams don't take "tweeners" high. They are too small to play end but may not have the chops to play LB, with all of the responsibilities and reads involved.

My guess is that Toronto gets the additional home game and the home preseason game rotates.

Jon Beason went well before him as well.

Fair points. Florio points out ways guys can get their name in the mix for jobs when they aren't really strong candidates. Basically, my impression is that Modrak serves as a source for Pasquarelli and then Pasquarelli returns the favor by mentioning Modrak as a candidate for GM jobs. People then point to the fact that Modrak is mentioned as a candidate for a GM job to bolster their case that he's a top personnel guy who could get another great job in a second. That's why I included that link -- the case that Modrak is a strong football guy is based on rumor and innuendo. While we don't know who precisely is responsible for each and every pick made over the past 9 drafts, one does not need to rely on rumor or idle speculation to say that Tom Modrak is in charge of the draft, since that's he's responsibility within the organization.

I had always thought these were CYA leaks from Modrak, but you raise a great point.

Not sure if this is directed at me, but this is not true. We have been deficient in coaching, pro personnel, and draft in that order. We had enormous pro personnel problems over the years, as everyone knows. Terrible free agent signings at the top end (Dockery) and bottom end (Reyes, Andersen, Hangartner, Mel Fowler) of the pay scale. What happened? We fired John Guy and got ourself a real up-and-comer in Doug Whaley. We're much better off now. Coaching? We got a top-10 (maybe top 5) offensive coordinator as head coach. Might work, might not, but we're a hell of a lot better off now than we were 12 months ago. All I am arguing is that Tom Modrak deserves the same treatment, as his body of work in his area (the draft) is nearly as bad as those who've been fired for failures in other areas.

Philly fired him (for whatever reason) and have done quite well since then in his absence. Here's the point: People want to absolve Modrak of all responsibility for the 8 years of drafting failure at the Bills but, in the next sentence, point to the success of the Eagles as a sign that he's a great football guy who really knows his stuff. If you accuse me of heaping too much blame on Modrak for the Bills' troubles, shouldn't you think twice about the credit you're giving him for the success he enjoyed at previous jobs?

Links below. A key argument from Modrak defenders is that he's a solid football man who's been approached for jobs from other teams. Therefore, the Bills should feel lucky to have him and no matter how bad his drafts have been. This argument may have been a reasonable one 9 years ago, but that's no longer the case. The shine has come off this turd in a big way. Tom Modrak was forced out in Philly in 2001. Modrak used reporters to plan stories about team's interest in him. Read down to the Modrak portion of this PFT post. Modrak was going to get fired in 2006, when Jauron stepped in to vouch for him.

Love this one. After your robust critique of news articles and related information as not being credible, you basically embrace nonsense spread by Tom Modrak's agent. Could he get a job? Sure, at much less senior level. First, Tom Modrak was forced out in Philly in 2001. The Eagles' Super Bowl team was three years removed from his time there, with significant roster turnover during that period. McNabb and Dawkins the only remaining players on 2008 NFC Championship game team from Modrak's tenure and the team remains exceptionally talented now with ZERO players from his era. Modrak was in a good situation, was forced out, and the team has not missed a beat. Secondly, Modrak is better playing the media game than he evaluating players. Read down to the Modrak portion of this PFT post. I know people may not like Florio, but prior to his hitting the "big time" his blog was the best thing to read on these issues. He'd spend all day talking to agents of players, coaches, and front office types about who was who's source, what's really going on in a job search, etc. Modrak played that game well and kept his name in the mix for GM openings even when he wasn't getting called for interviews, or was only interviewed because of the "buzz" created by a story. Modrak was going to get fired in 2006, when Jauron stepped in to vouch for him. He should have been fired April 25, 2010.

This is what I mean about needlessly argumentative. How could anyone reach a common understanding when you disregard news articles as a legitimate source of information? Reality? Your arguments depend on disregarding A) His title and job description. B) The fact that he is the person put forward by the team to discuss draft strategy before and after the draft. C) Articles from reporters like Tim Graham that speak directly to picks Modrak has made. It is well known that he wanted Cutler in 2006 and he leaked to the press that he wanted Cushing last year (you reference this). Whenever he's been overruled, he's immediately leaked it to the press so as to insulate himself from criticism.

look if you want to be needlessly argumentative and dense, you've succeeded. What you haven't done is provide any reason why the person running the draft shouldn't be held responsible for the results. Tom Modrak is regularly cited as the architect of Bills drafts since 2002. Was he overuled from time to time? Sure. But to be so dense as to absolve him of primary responsibility for this roster makes no sense. If you want to defend failure, be my guest, but I am going to hold the person responsible for he draft responsible for the draft and not brainstorm reasons why it was everyone else's fault except for the guy who's been there throughout.

More about McCargo pick I posted on earlier. He was also source of 1st round grade for Losman (Pasquarelli article from 2004) and Poz. http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/i...ve-to-be-better But he's the "scapegoat." Not in the sense of the actual definition of the word, where, you know, someone is sent packing and blamed for things that were not his fault. Just the new definition of "scapegoat" where a guy sucks at his job, builds a horrible roster, serves as a source of frustration to fans, and is defended lustily because we don't have a live cam into the draft war room.

"Modrak, the Bills' vice president of college scouting, has overseen the last seven Bills drafts." How Do you know Fox Sports News? Were you in room when guys were drafted? What terrible reporting. They base their conclusions on the guy's title and specific job description as provided by the organization? Ridiculous. Another thing that's weird is that the media always seems to interview Tom Modrak before and after the draft? Since we have no idea what his role is, I wonder if all of these interviews are randomly assigned to people within the organization and he just keeps getting selected to do them? Very weird. http://www.buffalobills.com/media-lounge/v...c3-15c85f93f327 http://niagara-gazette.com/buffalo-bills/x...-draft-luncheon http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/sports/x1804947188 http://www.wgr550.com/pages/6872227.php?