mannc Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 The New Year is approaching ... what is your opinion on the ONE WORST Front Office move of this decade? My pick .... Willis McGahee ... 2003 draft section #23. We passed on:Larry Johnson (#27), Dallas Clark (#24), Rashean Mathis (#39), Anquan Boldin (#54), Osi Umenyiora (#56), Lance Briggs (#68), Jason Witten (#69) Ok. so hindsight is 20/20 and we didn't know these guys would be good... but did we really need a RB??? Travis Henry in the preceding year (2002) had 1,438 yards and 13 TDs... in fact in 2003 (while Willis was on IR) Henry had: 1,356 yards and 10 TDs. Once Willis was in he struggled to do what Henry already had done .. 2006 Buffalo Bills 990 yards 6TDs 2005 Buffalo Bills 1,247 yards 5 TDs 2004 Buffalo Bills 1,128 yards 13 TDs So essentially, we gave up a 1st round pick... sat on him a year... and he gave us a little less than what we already had. I know there are probably worse ones out there... guys who didn't even make it as starters...but this one still burns me for some reason. McGahee certainly was not a good pick, but it doesn't even crack the top 10. He was a decent starting running back for the Bills for a couple years, then we got two 3d round picks for him (and a 7th, as I recall). The worst move, by far, was trading up for JP Loserman. Not because he was worse than Mike Williams, McCargo, et al, but because (a) we traded up for him, which is nearly always a mistake and (b) the franchise wasted three years trying to find out if he could play. With Williams and McCargo and the other non-QB failures, it was apparent relatively early on and, at any rate, having one lousy lineman doesn't ruin your team. Having a putrid QB who gives away the ball does.
BADOLBILZ Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Firing Wade Phillips. Wade Phillips is not a good head coach, and in itself trying to get a better coach was by no means a bad idea. But I actually agree with you because it was a move which facilitated so many of the bad ones after it. Firing Phillips opened the door for Gregg Williams which lead to the release of Ted Washington and the dismantling of the 3-4 defense which was the identity of the team. Yeah, they had cap problems but those were overstated. it took them several seasons of drafting and expensive free agent moves to re-tool their attack to a 4-3 and return that defense to success... something that could have been accomplished with little effort at all had they retained big Ted and the 3-4......years and money that should have been spent addressing the sickly offense which had been mostly a liability since Kelly retired. Still, that doesn't really excuse anything after the hiring of Levy. The past few years have been a complete nightmare of boring, losing football.
seannc Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 I've got to throw in signing both Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker to massive contracts when most other teams probably wouldn't have signed them for the veteran's minimum salary.
billsfan89 Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 I've got to throw in signing both Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker to massive contracts when most other teams probably wouldn't have signed them for the veteran's minimum salary. Dockery was a sought after free agent but the Bills paid wayyyyy too much for him. I think what the Bills paid was at least 33% maybe even twice what the next closest offer was.
Kipers Hair Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 So many....but, I am going to stick with this opinion held since last April - God's honest truth - in my opnion - taking Aaron Maybin when we did with all of the needs we had....There were some real players on the board when we took him, but Maybin...a classic tweaner type at a place where we should be taking a solid 10 year pro...WTF? I know, way too soon to determone this....but mark my words, he will NEVER live up to the billing of a player taken where he was and we will watch in admiration and contempt the many players we passed on have nice careers...I spit on you Modrak!
BamaBills Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Suprised noone has brought up TO yet *rolls eyes*
NewEra Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 For me the worst was letting Pat Williams go after the 2004 season. I'll nominate a few others: trading a first rounder to the Pats for Bledsoe, trading up in the 2004 draft for Losman, drafting Whitner in 2006 instead of Cutler or Ngata, drafting a lazy RT over McKinnie, Butler's entire 2000 draft, I can go on and on with examples of this franchise's incompetence... what he said. 1--Pat Williams. 2--Then drafting Mike Williams over McKinnie. We'd have McKinnie at LT and Peters at RT (because he wouldnt have wanted to be paid like a LT because he wouldnt have been one) 3--Drafting Whitner over Ngata. Ngata + Stroud. sounds to me like we'd be tough to run on. But we can't stop anyone.
Giaimo25 Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 1. Coaches2. Antoine Winfield 3. Nate Clements 4. Pat Williams 5. Trading up for Rob Johnson trading up for rob johnson???? didnt we pick him up for $25 mil from the jags because he had 1 good game playing for them??
Bills!Win! Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 What is our FO's dumbest move of the decade? Your answer: The whole 2005 draft/off-season
Bufcomments Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Letting Pat Williams go was the biggest mistake they made in the last 10 yrs. He even said so himself. He called the Bills front office dumb back then and it remains that way. He wanted to stay in Buffalo I heard from one of his boys. Tom Donahoe set this ogranization back and we haven't recovered, That maybe a very very close second.
reddogblitz Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 1. Benching Doug Flutie in Music City Forward Lateral Game 2. Cutting Drew Bledsoe and promoting JP Losman as starting QB after team won 8 out of last 9 with Drew. Talk about taking the air out of the ball. We had some serious mojo working with the 2004 team. I looked forward to building on it. 3. Hiring and not firing Dick Jauraon 4. Not hiring a real coach since Wade left 5. Not being able to find a real QB since Drew left.
reddogblitz Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 So many....but, I am going to stick with this opinion held since last April - God's honest truth - in my opnion - taking Aaron Maybin when we did with all of the needs we had....There were some real players on the board when we took him, but Maybin...a classic tweaner type at a place where we should be taking a solid 10 year pro...WTF? I know, way too soon to determone this....but mark my words, he will NEVER live up to the billing of a player taken where he was and we will watch in admiration and contempt the many players we passed on have nice careers...I spit on you Modrak! Not sure. All I heard on here last April was "we need a pass rushing end". Maybin was supposed to have the fastest first step in the history of the football. I say give him another year or so and some playing time to say he's a bust. But there were some good tight ends and other defensive linemen out there.
Buftex Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Not sure. All I heard on here last April was "we need a pass rushing end". Maybin was supposed to have the fastest first step in the history of the football. I say give him another year or so and some playing time to say he's a bust. But there were some good tight ends and other defensive linemen out there. Not to keep repeating myself, but since nobody responded the first time: I have seen every game this year. What am I missing? Why does everyone seem convinced that Maybin is a bust? I don't think he has been allowed to play near enough (with all that front line talent on the roster in front of him) to make such a claim. Does anyone, at this point, trust that this coaching staff is putting its' best players on the field every week? Are they putting their squad in the best position to win every week? Who was the last player who has improved under the current coaching staff? Let's let Maybin play for someone other than Jauron, before we crucify this kid. What little I have seen of him, it is apparent that he is athletic. Remember when Bennett came to Buffalo? It was about 6 games into the season....he hadn't practiced, didn't know the defense. Yet, Marv put him in during pass rush situations, and he absolutely wreaked havoc on Elway and the Broncos... why can't the current Bills staff find any way to use their #8 pick, to help contribute to a win? Success breeds more success, they say...
Buftex Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Many moves were made with the best of intentions, looked somewhat good at the time, & just didn't pan out. However, extending Bledsoe after his horror show 2003 season was ridiculously DUMB. Ah Rico...Bledsoe was still the best QB available to the Bills at that time... All of the things being mentioned as "dumbest move" are valid, but most are only dumb in retrospect... hiring Marv Levy as GM was far and away the dumbest move of the last decade, and it will have repercussions for some time. I don't blame Marv, and I still love the guy, but his tenure as GM was a disaster, and anyone with a brain in their skull knew it would be, when it was announced...
sharper802 Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Pat Williams was 32 when he left the Bills. How often do you see the Patriots pay big money to a FA over 30? The Vikings got lucky Williams stayed healthy(perhaps with the help of steroids). The FO made the correct decision on Williams. I believe hiring Marv Levy as GM was the worst decision of the decade. As stated above his draft moves or lack there of, poor FA decisions, and choice of Jauron have destroyed this franchise. While one may argue these moves were made by Mordak and Guy it was still Levy who was GM and ultimately responsible for this debacle. Levy's one decent move was swindling Ozzie Newsome in the McGahee trade - only to foul it up by trading away the pick to move up and draft McCargo. In defense of Tom Donahoe, Mike Williams was a consensus top 5 pick and was badly needed. Donahoe's undoing may have been his first decision - the choice of Greg Williams followed closely by these awful draft choices - JP Losman, McGahee, and Parrish. However he brought Lee Evans, Jason Peters, Jabari Greer, and got a first round pick for Peerless Price(only to squander it on McGahee).
rcatty Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Either you have a good football guy running things or you don't. Marv was a disaster as a GM, and, at best a mediocre coach. With the talent he had he should have won at least one championship. Do you think for a moment we would be in the shoes we are in if we had Jimmy Johnson running things? Polian? Get a guy from Texas that grew up thinking that football is the only thing in life. They eat, drink, and sleep football. They can spot talent from a mile away, and they know how to win. And, by the way, they aren't educated at Yale, or Harvard, and they aren't known for their gentleman like personalities. They are sons of b*****s, and do it with a kick in the ass, or out the door. If you don't prefer Texas, you can look at the pictures of a Lombardi, or a Saban for a reasonable alternative ! I can just see Jimmy Johnson drafting Roscoe Parrish in the second round, with the horrible offensive line that we had!
Nuncha Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 trading up for rob johnson???? didnt we pick him up for $25 mil from the jags because he had 1 good game playing for them?? Johnson came in as a free agent from Jacksonville. Dumb move indeed.
Nuncha Posted November 4, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Either you have a good football guy running things or you don't. Marv was a disaster as a GM, and, at best a mediocre coach. With the talent he had he should have won at least one championship. Do you think for a moment we would be in the shoes we are in if we had Jimmy Johnson running things? Polian? Get a guy from Texas that grew up thinking that football is the only thing in life. They eat, drink, and sleep football. They can spot talent from a mile away, and they know how to win. And, by the way, they aren't educated at Yale, or Harvard, and they aren't known for their gentleman like personalities. They are sons of b*****s, and do it with a kick in the ass, or out the door. If you don't prefer Texas, you can look at the pictures of a Lombardi, or a Saban for a reasonable alternative ! I can just see Jimmy Johnson drafting Roscoe Parrish in the second round, with the horrible offensive line that we had! Jimmie Johnson was NOT a great coach...by the way, where is he today? He had the benefit of how many number 1 draft picks on the Dallas teams he coached? They guy even admitted to watching the Bills walk through before one of the superbowls. He's a JOKE. He didnt do SQUAT in Miami, and if he was such a great coach he woudn't be an NFL analyist right now. Talk about mediocre coaches...he is the king of mediocrity. Marv was a damn good coach...he made it to 4 straight superbowls...who else has done that? Not even the mighty patriots have made it to four straight.
Recommended Posts