BuffaloRush

I think Jackson might be the most surprising QB in the draft

Yeah you are right but Tyrod has hung receivers out to dry too. I will say, he seems to have done better with ball placement the past season

Shocking but I agree with @26CornerBlitz. It is very much a valid comparison

Good for him. For whatever reason he could not stay healthy in Buffalo. Maybe it’s the placement of some of Tyrod’s passes...regardless I don’t fault the Bills for moving on from him. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery

This is an interesting question which transcends football really. It’s an overall style of leadership from a management perspective and which one works best within an organization. Marrone and Rex do have two different management styles for sure. In the past both styles have been effective but a lot depends on a variety of factors. With that being said, I think what hurt Rex the most in Buffalo wasn’t his “player’s coach” mentality. It was more of an overall lack of preparation, organization, and player accountability. If these areas were stronger, whether he was a buddy or a tyrant to players wouldn’t really matter much. Marrone on the other hand did seem to be prepared and organized. Acccountability was a question at time with him. I probably would take a Rex IF he was better prepared and organized. But if he wasn’t I would want Marrone

No problem, I get that this is a message board and any disagreement or ball-busting comes with the territory. Again, I’m not at all alluding that Polian was a better GM than Russ or Marv Levy. I obviously wouldn’t say he was better at drafting either. I was surprised with how many swings Polian and had and how many times his picks didn’t really pan out. Of course, as I stated, he did have some huge hits and also usually drafted well in the high rounds. But I think it just goes to show how much of a crap shoot the draft really is. I would evaluate other teams GM’s too but don’t really follow other teams as closely to have an accurate idea

Because he’s in the Hall of Fame, I can’t go back and review his drafts and comment? Please. Again the point here, Polian made some great picks. He also missed quite a bit more than some would think.

29 years of fanhood and ZERO class. Get over youself, fanboy If you spent as much time reading the original post, as opposed to insulting me, you’d see I never once said Polian was an inferior GM. I just said he had a lot of draft picks and missed quite a bit. That can’t be disputed.

Yes Chris Hale was a huge success in the NFL. A pick that defines a GM. (Eye roll) Many problems with your analysis. If you want to define a successful pick based on games started or games played it is very short sighted. As is giving a GM credit for a hit of a player based on his career outside of the Bills. You have to consider context. By your definition Todd Collins in the 2nd round would be a hit, despite the fact he was a huge disappointment for the Bills. I’d suggest the only FAIL is your logic - and your attempts to put down someone just because you are personally hurt they don’t share the same opinion. I stand by my analysis and will continue...

I was going through old Bills videos on YouTube and came across this Karlos Williams highlight reel from his rookie year. DAMN what could have been. This video reminded me of how awesome this guy was running out of the backfield. At times in 2015, you probably can argue that he was more effective than Shady who was trying to shake a hamstring injury. His numbers were damn good for a #2 RB, and they are even more impressive when you consider he played in just 11 games. I know that he gained a lot of sympathy weight while his girlfriend was pregnant during the '16 off-season and returned to camp way out of shape. He allegedly wasn't following the diet and training program suggested by the team's S & C coaches and a result he was cut...never to play another NFL down. And how he's suspended for substance violation and couldn't play even if he wanted to. This is probably the biggest case of wasted potential I've seen from a Bills player - maybe ever. To have such a big rookie year, only to fade into obscurity is truly a tragedy. He could have been a great running back.

This is odd considering he did say at the combine that he would consider “all options” to explore a trade up. I think there quite a bit of posturing with this statement, though Beane has been a straight shooter so far.

I have discussed this already. I define a hit as a player who meets or exceeds what you’d expect from their draft value. A 7th round hit would be a player who makes significant contribution on both offense or defense and yes occasionally starts. The problem with trying to quantify it, is that everything is situational. There is no set formula. If you read my review of Russ Brandon, Demetrius Bell was a 7th round pick that I would consider a hit. He was by no means a star, but he did start a few years for the Bills at an average playing level. He exceeded his draft status. This isn’t hard. it seems like some don’t like the fact that I don’t consider fringe players like a Chris Hale or Mark Pike hits. Or they don’t like the fact that I pointed how on Polian missed quite a bit in the draft. As a result other take passive cheap shots and say “write in your personal diary.” Thats fine because I knew these lists would spark a lot of conversation. I can only imagine when I analyze Doug Whaley - one of the most polarizing figures in Bills history

I agree that he’ll probably end up in Minnesota. But for the Bills, the best option would be Cousins signing with Denver. They likely would be interested in trading down and picking up two starters ona rookie contract in the fist round plus more

Are we really going to split hairs over Mark Pike? Give me a freaking break. These ratings are what they are and I stand by them. Sorry if you disagree but as I stated earlier what someone considers “success” is arbitrary. Jaime Mueller never lived up to a 3rd round draft pick status. Though I think you can make an argument. I just say no way chris Hale!?!? Come on now. Problem is people are too liberal with assigning a “hit.” Just because you recognize a Bills player by name, doesn’t mean they were a great draft pick.

The circumstances were much different. First off it was Donahue who dealt him and Levy who re-signed him sonyiu are talking to different administrations. Plus the “Price tag” for Peerless was very low after disappointing years in ATL. Not the case with sammy

That is fine - I just have a bit of a different view. Like I said, it’s an arbitrary subject. I do feel you have to look at where a player was drafted to determine how successful of a pick they were. If if you are drafting in the Top 10, you need that player to be in Top 5 at their position. If you draft a WR 3rd overall and he puts up average numbers as a starter, IMO that is not good value. I also don’t feel that you can give a GM credit for a pick, after that player leaves the organization. You reference Whiter - that’s a perfect example. He was an average starter for the Bills. Most of his success came after he left the team. You can give credit to Levy for a performance on a team other than the Bills. Of course, this is just my own personal take. I am sure everyone’s criteria would be difference . Absolutely these are all great points. Despite these, he still made some excellent picks. On the other hand, he also missed quite a bit too

This is excellent context and I agree with many of your points. In my original post, I mentioned that Polian made many other great moves outside of the draft. I agree that Polian was instrumental with other draft picks, however I’m sticking to only assessing GM’s given the time that they had the official title. I know that Russ Brandon had limited input with the draft when he was GM, but I’m evaluating Russ Brandon as GM since he held the title in 2008 and 2009. The point about 12 rounds vs 7 rounds is valid. I don’t think it’s fair to discount any portion of a draft, as both good and bad players were selected after the 7th. Where I disagree if your assessment of what makes a player a successful pick. You have to think there’s a certain ROI on each player drafted. For instance if you draft a player in the Top 10 of Round 1, you expect them to play at a Pro Bowl Level. That’s why I’m not giving “hits” to a player like Ronnie Harmon for instance. He played 4 years with the Bills and was a nice pass catching RB. But is that really 1st round value? I don’t believe it is. It’s not surprising that there’s disagreements with this list. What makes a draft pick successful is very subjective. This is my list sorry but I don’t agree. I think that you are being was to generous in terms of constituting a “hit.” Also how can Tasker be a “miss” when he was never drafted by the Bills? Like I said, Pike is a close call It’s nice to see that you have different ideas though. Maybe you can start your own draft evaluations too.

He was a good ST player, though I’m not really giving hits for ST’s

From what I’ve read, there is serious consideration with Nathan Peterman as QB in 2019 while a rookie develops. The Bills think highly of him

This year is a bit of an outlier. Don't be fooled - it's still a QB league. I think coaching played a huge part in Philadelphia's success this year. Pederson and Reich were smart enough to coach to design an offense that appeals to what Foles does well - as opposed to having him run "their" offense. Philadelphia gave up over 500 yards in the Super Bowl. If anything their offense WON the game for them Take a look over the SB champions the past 16 years. You'll notice a trend that a Hall of Fame QB (or close to it) has won it almost every season. QB's win championships....not defense XXXVI 02-3 2002 New England Patriots BRADY 20–17 St. Louis Rams Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana XXXVII 01-26 2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers JOHNSON 48–21 Oakland Raiders Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California XXXVIII 02-1 2004 New England Patriots BRADY 32–29 Carolina Panthers Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas XXXIX 02-6 2005 New England Patriots BRADY 24–21 Philadelphia Eagles ALLTEL Stadium Jacksonville, Florida XL 02-5 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers ROETHLISBERGER 21–10 Seattle Seahawks Ford Field Detroit, Michigan XLI 02-4 2007 Indianapolis Colts P. MANNING 29–17 Chicago Bears Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida XLII 02-3 2008 New York Giants E. MANNING 17–14 New England Patriots University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona XLIII 02-1 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers ROETHLISBERGER 27-23 Arizona Cardinals Raymond James Stadium Tampa Bay, Florida XLIV 02-7 2010 New Orleans Saints BREES 31-17 Indianapolis Colts Dolphin Stadium Miami, Florida XLV 02-6 2011 Green Bay Packers ROGERS 31-25 Pittsburgh Steelers Cowboys Stadium Arlington, Texas XLVI 02-5 2012 New York Giants E. MANNING 21–17 New England Patriots Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, Indiana XLVII 02-3 2013 Baltimore Ravens FLACCO 34-31 San Francisco 49ers Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana XLVIII 02-2 2014 Seattle Seahawks WILSON 43-8 Denver Broncos MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey XLIX 02-1 2015 New England Patriots BRADY 28-24 Seattle Seahawks University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona 50 02-7 2016 Denver Broncos P.MANNING 24-10 Carolina Panthers Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, California LI 02-5 2017 New England Patriots BRADY 34-28 Atlanta Falcons NRG Stadium Houston, Texas LII 02-4 2018 Philadelphia Eagles FOLES 41-33 New England Patriots US Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota

Right I can agree with you. He was also involved in many under the radar personnel moves that really helped the team. He also assembled a very good team to help him including his successor John Butler. He just missed quite a bit in the draft and that I didn't expect to see

OK I agree with you there

I do see your point. As I stated given Pike's 7th round status, it's very close. Rolle was really a 3rd string Tight End that gained notoriety for being an end zone target. But he was more or less a novelty. Even if I do consider them to be "hits" it doesn't change Polian's score much

He did not draft Jim Kelly and technically Terry Bledsoe was GM when Bruce was drafted. He certainly did draft Thurman. Probably his best pick ever

I do remember that Whaley was highly regarded when he came to Buffalo. In the end though, it certainly did appear that Whaley was in over his head as GM. I do think that he has a valid point about the rest of the group not being qualified and not being good candidates for GM