BuffaloRush

Here's a question, that I am sure many people can relate to. I'm wondering if you have ever gotten into a fight defending the Bills. Personally, I have gotten into many verbal fights that occasionally ended with pushing, shoving, or a thrown drink here or there. In high school, this happened quite a bit. I used to have a Buffalo Bills Starter jacket (which ironically is now worth a lot of money) and it was great to wear it to school when the Bills were winning. Not so great on Monday after a Super Bowl loss. I remember getting teased really really bad the day after Super Bowl 27. Mind you, this was in Western, NY but I think people had started to turn on the Bills for losing. The problem is that many fans were jumping on Dallas Cowboy bandwagon and wearing those annoying dark blue and silver poofy Starter coats. Sorry to any Dallas fans, but those guys were just jerks. The irony of those kids from the blue-collar city thinking they were rough and tough Cowboys. Anyway these were the days when kids were allowed to be bullies. There was a lot of bullying going on and school just accepted it as part of the high school experience. And wow was I bullied after the Bills Super Bowl loss and it started immediately - like right when I walked into school before the first period began. It got so bad, I finally stood up to one fat blonde haired kid with the Cowboys Starter coat and told him to shut the f up. I think his name was Randy. This was around a crowd and he was embarrassed, so he challenged me to fight in the gym at 2:30. I didn't want to fight because I knew I'd lose, but something inside me wanted to fight for the Bills. By the end of the day, word really began to spread throughout school and everyone was asking me if I really was going to go through with it. I told them yes. I remember walking down the halls with my Starter jacket. Several teachers heard of the fight too and they made not attempt to stop me. In fact, several male teachers shook my hand and said "good luck." When I got to the gym, I saw Randy waiting for me on the bleachers. There must have been about a 100 people waiting. I ran over the bleachers and we started trading punches on the bleachers. We fell over a few times, as it's easy to trip over the steps. I took a few good shots but gave some back too. But the fight stopped when we backed up to the edge of the bleachers I picked Randy up and suplexed him over the guardrail onto a plastic table. The table didn't break but it did tip and he kind of skidded right off it. Everyone cheered. Randy's pride was kind of wounded and he pretended that he was hurt worse than he was to get out of the situation. He limped away pretending he hurt his knee when people congratulated me. They did not sing the "Shout" but they damn well should have. The worst part about this was, I think the gym teachers were still in their offices hanging out. They were too damn lazy to get off their ass to try to stop a fight after school. Oddly enough, no one was ever disciplined or even questioned about the event. There were a ton of people there, so the adults and teachers had to find out about but no one cared to do anything. "Boys will be boys" I guess. But them 'Dem Boys (Cowboys)....F Them. That's really the last major physical confrontation I've had, but it's a great memory defending the Bills against a bandwagon, trash-talking Cowboy wannabe fan. The Bills did not win the Super Bowl that year, but I sure won the fight.

First off this is an AWESOME F’N topic. Thank you for posting. My favorite memory is the Comeback but your write up was much better than mine would be. New Year’s Eve this year was a lot of fun. I remember being really nervous that the Bills would lose the game at Miami and then was shocked to see Cincinnati win to get us in the playoffs. I was with my family and we were all celebrating. But a more obscure pick for me was opening game in 1996 when the Bills played the Giants in Buffalo. My dad wasn’t a huge football fan, but he always liked the Bills as they were the hometown team. We didn’t always watch games together on a Sunday afternoon, but this was a SNF game on TNT so we watched. I remember watching the Bills pull off the win in OT on a Steve Christie FG. We were high flying and celebrating. Not really the most memorable game, but certainly a great moment! Moments like these are great examples of why we hung around during that terrible 17 year stretch.

This only bodes well for the Bills IF NYG doesn’t take Darnold. They are rumored to be interested in Jim. Drafting Darnold all but ensures that QB’s are going 1-3. It forces the Bills to trade up to #5 to get Mayfield or Rosen

Ok yeah I do agree. Butler was really bad with managing the salary cap.

I can tell a huge difference. They were better by a million times - how’s that for analysis!?!? what I’m saying is production is production. Lonnie was not the best but he was productive enough to warrant his value as a 2nd round pick.

No ego here....someone asked me to stop and I’m just saying, the responses had been good. People read these threads and a few even sent me props. I only have two other GMs and then I will be finished, so relax. The beat goes on. Interesting I didn’t realize this. He could have used a hit in the 2000 draft because it’s one of the worst Bills drafts of all time. Aside from that Butler was pretty consistent in the draft. You could argue that overall he was more effective than Bill Polian, who missed quite frequently. Polian has much bigger hits and even a couple HOF’ers on his resume.

Like I said, Lonnie is not a perfect player but when you look at his production as a TE that was taken in round 2, I would say that he is a passable hit. Who is “him?” Are you referring to me? i don’t disagree with what you wrote about Butler but this is only rating him on the job he did with the draft. You said Butler did a good job so we are in agreement.

Bill “The Ultimate Social Justice Warrior” Barnwell

It’s a very popular thread. Also there’s only 2 more GM left. Sorry to the old timers....um, I mean experienced members.... I will not be going back to the 1960’s Totally different criteria, because draft picks are different entities than assets acquired from trades. But to answer your question, overall Bledsoe was Miss. He did have his moments and made one Pro Bowl but I don’t think the Bills got the QB performance that they expected or an appropriate return for the #1 they gave up. This can be quantified both in individual stats and overall team record.

I probably watched almost every game he played in. Look, I’m not saying that Lonnie Johnson was an All-Pro. I might have thought he was a bust before digging a little deeper. Did the Bills have higher hopes for him? Probably, but when you consider where he was drafted in 1994 and the production that he delivered as a starting TE, I think you can marginally say that the selection was a hit. Your argument that he was playing with Hall of Fame talent is hollow as well. Is Brent Jones any less of a TE because he played on a team of HOF’ers? How about Jay Novacek? Oh and by the way, Lonnie had more catches that those two did for a few years.

Old enough to know Lonnie was a marginal hit

Right because a fan’s memory and opinion trumps any sort of quantitative data. I deal in facts and not emotions and based on those fans Lonnie is a very marginal hit based on a decent amount of production for a 2nd round Tight End

Yes I am analyzing performances properly. It’s all about putting the performance through the lens of their fit and performance for the Bills. Todd Collins was a QB picked in the 2nd round. We can agree he was a MISS correct? But if you look at the season he had for Washington in 2007, does that make him a hit? Hell no. Also you clearly had a bias against Lonnie Johnson. As I said, the numbers show he was a productive player and that can’t be disputed. Your take that Lonnie underachieved is an opinion, that’s fine. But don’t try to pass your opinion as it’s a fact. How do you quantify “terrible blocking” or “bad route?” You can quantify “drops” but you have chosen not to. The difference is I have the data to explicitly show that he was a decent TE. It surprised me.

No my brother that was an error. Butler had a total of 78 picks, He had 30 hits and 48 for a total of 38%. Butler was an effective GM when it came to the draft

His percentage is greatly helped by the fact he was GM for just two drafts, and one of those drafts was actually pretty solid. Polian missed quite a bit, though hit some home runs too. Also remember this is just evaluating the draft, not their entire stint as GM. Nope it does not... what kind of math are you doing? Sammy Morris = JAG. Especially when he was a Bill The data says otherwise...

This is spot on. Lonnie was inconsistent but that doesn’t change the fact that he was fairly productive at TE for the Bills and that’s a fact

Pucillo is close but Meeks is a straight up MISS

Ok I get it but take a look at Lonnie’s stats. 3 straight years as starter with almost 50 receptions. Much better production than Jay Riemersma most seasons and about the same as Charles Clay. It’s not a home run but overall I’m giving him a hit. Sammy was a close call but I don’t feel he did enough with the Bills....I’m not considering his work on other teams. It’s based on what he did with the Bills It truly is a crap shoot and success is sometimes all about finding the right fit. But it’s clear some draft classes are way stronger than others

Thank you and good catch. Should not make a difference in the overall rating 6th round draft pick. Started almost two season and was a capable backup the other two. That’s a hit for 6th round. H-I-T

Ok fine....but he still was the GM during those years. So his name stays on the list Nope I received lots of good feedback. 2 more GM’s left Yeah but I’m only evaluating the draft picks.

It’s a great move for JM. His value tanked after last season. He’s putting himself in a great season to have a bounce back year and get PAID in 2019

HAHA not - 30 hits out of 78 selections. Still at 28%, his percentage would still put him at #1. I will make the edit

It is so nice to hear that. I get a lot of complaints from members who want to defend former GM's. I just call it like I see it, and I'm glad to know that you like these reviews. FACT: Russ Brandon was the acting GM during the 2008 and 2009 NFL Draft. Anything else is strictly rumor and innuendo. Prove me otherwise with actual primary source documents

Beane is friends with McDermott and McDermott made the actual draft picks. Maybe it was Beane's plan all along!

Cue the Whaley apologists. Someone once told me "Doug had a strategy, it was win-now and that's the best plan to win in the NFL" . LOL