BillsCelticsAngelsBama Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 I heard Modrak was responsible for the Raiders drafting Heyward-Bey and Janikowski Sarcasm without wit or humor is never a good combo.
Jerry Jabber Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 A scary thing about Maybin is that Reggie Torbor, a guy we just picked up a few weeks ago is already getting more reps with the starting unit that Maybin. I know the Bills plan on using Maybin in obvious pass rushing situations, but I hope he's not a bust considering he was the Bills top draft pick from a year ago.
Red Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Listen: None of us know for sure the extent of the role Modrak played in the Bills drafts. For instance, is he told by the coaching staff to look for a player that has X, Y, and Z and find the best one available? In that case, does the coaching staff and overall philosophy not deserve the brunt of the criticism? Or, is there someone running the show who has got an rift w/someone else, or financial concerns, or basically just political infighting inside OBD? My understanding is that the Bills front office was a joke, namely because of guys like John Guy, Jim Overdorf, Tom Donahoe, (sadly) Marv Levy and maybe Tom Modrak. This is a complete 180 for me on Modrak. In January I wanted him gone along with Guy. Guy is gone and we got Whaley from the Steelers. Nix was promoted/ brought in from the Chargers. Believe me, I know the Bills stats on draft picks this past decade. Like the 1 where between the years 2001-2005, we picked some 50 players and only 6 of them were with the team last year. That is horrible. Those years provide the depth and talent for the team we should have now. There should be mature veterans, at all positions from those drafts. Or the stat about how this decade, out of all of our 1st round picks (12?), only about 5 are still with the team, but McCargo is probably gone after this camp and who knows if Lynch will be traded? So, not only has our drafts these past 10 years not produced in terms of player volume, but it has also sucked in terms of getting true talent in the 1st round- arguably the round when the pick should be a player who can instantly contribute. How much of that is Modrak? I don't know. How much of what Modrak has done, has been what he has been told to do?
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Um, no, he really hasn't. Just as quick proof that you're wrong, Donahoe was GM in Buffalo till 2005. Do you somehow think that Modrak, the assistant GM, was controlling Donahoe? Just wrong. In organizations, different people are assigned different tasks. Is every mistake made by a company the fault of the CEO?
mike oxhurtz Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 A scary thing about Maybin is that Reggie Torbor, a guy we just picked up a few weeks ago is already getting more reps with the starting unit that Maybin. I know the Bills plan on using Maybin in obvious pass rushing situations, but I hope he's not a bust considering he was the Bills top draft pick from a year ago. In the words of Ron Simmons: "DAMN!!!"
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Uhhhhhh, no he hasn't. You had the GM's and Wilson's daughter's input. Last year, 2009, is when he was allowed to have more input into what went on behind the scenes. Modrak has been in charge of the entire college scouting operation since 2002 in his role as Assistant GM. He was promoted to VP, College Scouting where he retained the same responsibilities. This debate is so incredibly stupid. The roster sucks. He has repeatedly misgraded players. Do you believe he was overruled on every selection?
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Blaming one guy for the drafting troubles of the Bills is very near sighted. It was a bigger problem. It was very well known that there were alot of voices in the draft room of the Buffalo Bills. Modrak, Ralph, GM, and the coach. How they came up with a decision on players is unknown. Nobody on this board knows. Based upon various conversations that Nix and Coach Gailey have had with the Media about the draft and free agency it's pretty clear that the buck stops with Buddy Nix. He is making all the decisions. This years draft was the first time in forever where i felt like the Bills had a plan going into the draft and they executed it. Whether or not it was a good plan is yet to be seen. I like the players they got however. Believe me -- I'm not blaming one person. At no time have I suggested that eliminating Modrak would solve all of our problems. But it would be a start. That's for certain. You simply cannot fail at your job so regularly and be retained without having negative implications for the health of the organization.
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 How much of that is Modrak? I don't know. How much of what Modrak has done, has been what he has been told to do? We know that he was the employee chiefly responsible for player evaluations and recommending players to be drafted. We know that the team has a surfeit of talent and has not produced a legitimate pro bowler since he arrived (Schobel was 2001; McGee was special teams). His drafts neither uncover reliable starters at the top of the draft, or surprises in later rounds. With all of this information, why do you think he should be retained? You don't want to blame the team's failure all on him? Neither do I. All I want is some accountability for failure.
H2o Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Modrak has been in charge of the entire college scouting operation since 2002 in his role as Assistant GM. He was promoted to VP, College Scouting where he retained the same responsibilities. This debate is so incredibly stupid. The roster sucks. He has repeatedly misgraded players. Do you believe he was overruled on every selection? That's just it, I don't believe that he had the final say or even a majority say in who got selected for that matter. I think he just gathered information that he presented to all. We all know that Donahoe was a complete egomaniac and called the shots. We all know that people were hugged up on Marv's every thought because he was Marv Levy. Finally, I think they just allowed Dick to basically dig his own grave around here and that he did. Modrak steps up to the plate in '09 with no GM and helps to lead the charge of restoration because his words/thoughts actually carried some weight. Do you honestly believe they went by only what he (Modrak) wrote about every player in college football (virtually impossible to grade every player by oneself) for every draft since 2002? This debate is so incredibly stupid.
JohnC Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 In organizations, different people are assigned different tasks. Is every mistake made by a company the fault of the CEO? The CEO is not always directly responsible for every mistake made by the underling. That doesn't excuse him from being accountable, especially when he hires the underlings. It is not unfair to say that the Bills franchise has been dysfunctional for an extended period of time. It is not unreasonable to call it organizational failure. Without a doubt the caliber of ownership is a major contributor to the disorder within the ranks. Under Nix, we know who is making the personnel decisions: He is. He hired Whaley, the HC and kept Modrak in place. There is a semblance of order within the football operations and there is a coherency to his decisions. For the first time in a long time I sense a level of professionalism and competency in the way the franchise is being run.
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 This debate is so incredibly stupid. This is what's stupid: In what other world would stakeholders of an organization make excuses for an employee so closely tied to the failure of his operation? People make excuses in every direction: it was Donahoe micromanaging, it was Ralph meddling, it was deference to Levy (who never made a single pick). Now it's not Modrak's fault because his scouting team below him did most of the player research!?!? What the HELL is going on!? A person was hired 8 years ago to run a certain facet of an organization. Bosses have come and gone during this time, but that person has stayed in charge of that division throughout. Throughout that time, the performance of the division has been consistently bad. At what point do you pull the plug?
Meark Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Due to the fact that the earliest you can meet your criteria is the 2005 draft, I'll go back a little further & although 2 of the 3 are now gone, 9 years later, I've got a pretty good 1st three rounders for a team in an earlier draft. I'm sure there are others, but I chose one that produced 3 for 3 Pro Bowlers: 2001 Carolina Panthers. 1) Dan Morgan 7 years with Carolina 2) Kris Jenkins 7 years with Carolina still in the league with the Jets 3) Steve Smith in his 10th season with Carolina. I said over the past 5 years.. You picked one year that happens to be 9 years ago which isn't even close to what I asked. I asked because I wanted to see consistency of the top 3 picks over multiple years all working out to be good players. Fine.. lets look at the next few years for the Panthers then.. since this was your example.. 2002 draft 1st. round 2002 Julius Peppers - yup, good pick, pro-bowl - win 2nd round 2002 DeShawn Foster - didn't play in 2002 and marginal impact after, released in 2008.. Bust 3rd round 2002 Will Witherspoon - started mid 2002 and has been a starter ever since - win 2003 draft 1st round 2003 Jordan Gross - instant starter and has ever since - win 2nd round 2003 Bruce Nelson - played two years and it out of the league from injuries - bust 3rd round 2003 Mike Seidman - Appeared in 12 games was 3rd on depth chart and it out of the league from injuries - bust 2004 draft 1st round 2004 Chris Gamble - instant starter -win 2nd round 2004 Keary Colbert - filled in as 2nd receiver first year.. never turned into an every down player and is no longer playing - bust 3rd round 2004 Travelle Wharton - started after 5 games and has been a starter since - win So this is just 4 years vs 5.. don't have the time to keep going.. As you can see of the 4 years they had 8 wins and 4 busts.. The point is no team has been perfect in their drafts.. Players turn into busts for many reasons.. and it can't be predicted..
Logical Reasoning Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 After many years of Tom Modrak being in the organiztion and playing a vital role in our NFL Draft. I just fail to understand why he is still in the Bills organization. The Bills have had several blunders in the draft and in my opinion it continues. Last year taking Aaron Maybin over Bryan Orakapo DE was obviously not a swift move and it was easy to realize from the onset that choosing a undersized Maybin was a bad selection when Orakapo was the consensus best DE in the draft by a good margin. Modrak has been a key to why the Bills pick who they do and this year choosing a RB over a OLT or QB was highly questionable in many fans and experts alike opinions. These are just two of many examples of his poor contributions to our drafts. Greg Williams wanted us to draft a QB that was available when the Bills made their first round selection when he was the head coach here. That QB is playing for New Orleans Saints now and is wearing a Super Bowl ring already!!!!!!!!!! Modrak didn't agree with Greg Williams and we all grew to despise Williams as a head coach. Looks like we despised the wrong guy! I am trying to remember when they took Mike Williams as OLT and if Tom Modrak was here at that time? I believe he was, and what a great (not) pick that turned out to be with the 4th overall selection in the draft. My vote is yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Put it up on a banner for all to see!! Tom Modrak must go!!! Then maybe we'd draft a franchise QB for once instead of resorting to a 7th round pick to select a QB. I hope this topic is a little different than what's been up and running lately as it's sure boring being a Bills fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2010 Bills prediction 5-11 I think that Maybin was a bad choice but Wood is a beast, Byrd is solid, Nelson was good for a forth rounder. I think your message is a bit impulsive and extreme. Tone it down just and come up with a better arguement.
Alaska Darin Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 A scapegoat? He's been running our drafts since 2002 and has been promoted for his efforts. How does this qualify as a scapegoat? Really? Were you in the room when the picks were decided on? Yeah, didn't think so. How in the world are fans content that this guy is still in charge of our college scouting operation? The number of misses has been mind-boggling. Unless you know EXACTLY what Modrak's responsibilities are, then you have absolutely no business judging whether he's very good at evaluating college players or not. AND YOU DON'T.
Ramius Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Modrak has been in charge of the entire college scouting operation since 2002 in his role as Assistant GM. He was promoted to VP, College Scouting where he retained the same responsibilities. This debate is so incredibly stupid. The roster sucks. He has repeatedly misgraded players. Do you believe he was overruled on every selection? Yeah. Because we all know that a player's potential and abilities when he is drafted remain the same, and that coaching (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with player development. Every player drafted into the NFL will perform exactly the same regardless of the situation they are in.
MRW Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 This is what's stupid: In what other world would stakeholders of an organization make excuses for an employee so closely tied to the failure of his operation? People make excuses in every direction: it was Donahoe micromanaging, it was Ralph meddling, it was deference to Levy (who never made a single pick). Now it's not Modrak's fault because his scouting team below him did most of the player research!?!? What the HELL is going on!? A person was hired 8 years ago to run a certain facet of an organization. Bosses have come and gone during this time, but that person has stayed in charge of that division throughout. Throughout that time, the performance of the division has been consistently bad. At what point do you pull the plug? I don't delude myself into thinking I have a say in the management of the Bills. Ultimately I don't care if they have Tom Modrak, Bill Polian, or Peter Pan guy in charge of scouting, I care about the results. Since Donahoe was canned the Bills have suffered from a lack of organizational structure, and I'm hopeful that that is changing. If the players we drafted this year stink, I know who I'll hold responsible - Buddy Nix. And it won't matter to me if he made bad choices all on his own or based on bad advice from Modrak. If Nix thinks that Modrak can be a valuable contributor to scouting, it's his call.
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Really? Were you in the room when the picks were decided on? Yeah, didn't think so. Unless you know EXACTLY what Modrak's responsibilities are, then you have absolutely no business judging whether he's very good at evaluating college players or not. AND YOU DON'T. We do know what his responsibilities are. Why do you think he's the one fielding questions about draft plans at the annual luncheon? Look at the way he answers questions about moving up, who they're targeting, etc. Look at his answers with respect to why they took players in press conferences after the draft. Do you not know his responsibilities within the organization? Is that the source of confusion here? This "we don't know for sure what he does" line of reasoning is beyond absurd.
Thoner7 Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 I'm sorry but wasn't Mike Williams regarded as the best LT coming out of the draft???? Get a clue!!! If the "experts were that good don't you think they be on a team picking the drafts???? Their not experts, they are analysts!! Taking CJ was/is the perfect pick for the Bills. I guess all other teams sucked to because what pick were the other qb's???? The one with the most downside by all the "experts" went first. I agree and do us a favor and STFU No he wasnt. That was Bryant McKinnie
Gabe Northern Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 "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?
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