BAD DECISIONS LEAD TO MORE BAD DECISIONS

[st. pete gogolak]

The principal argument made by the four or five apologists who supported the Kelsey extension (that number may be down to zero after watching him play the last couple of games), was that there wasn't much downside to the extension. If he was cut next year, it would "only" cost the Bills $2.4 million. That argument misses the point. The point is that bad decisions by the Bills lead to more bad decisions down the road. There're about a million examples of this but here's an easy one.

 

- The galactically stupid decision to bring Marv Levy back as GM leads to the horrendous hiring of Dick Jauron.

- Those hires put Levy and Jauron in the draft room for the DB-heavy '06 draft (Whitner, Youbouty, Simpson in first

four rounds - not to mention megabust McCargo) and the disasterous '07 draft (Lynch, Poz, Edwards and Wright).

- The moronic decision to extend Jauron after his club beat up on a couple of patsies during the '08 season, led to

the decision not to fire Jauron after the '08 season, despite the most monumental collapse in team

history.

- That decision put Jauron in the draft room for the '09 draft and undoubtedly contributed to Aaron Maybin being a

Buffalo Bill.

 

And so it goes. The point is that the Kelsey extension was dumb and that dumb decision may result in someone making another stupid decision later on - passing up a quality LB in free agency or passing up a quality LB in the draft. It's got to stop. Waive him after the season's over and let's move on.

[Gabe Northern]

- The moronic decision to extend Jauron after his club beat up on a couple of patsies during the '08 season, led to

the decision not to fire Jauron after the '08 season, despite the most monumental collapse in team

history.

- That decision put Jauron in the draft room for the '09 draft and undoubtedly contributed to Aaron Maybin being a

Buffalo Bill.

 

 

Great point about Jauron being in the draft room for Maybin signing.

 

I think he gets disproportionate blame for that pick, as Modrak was the one who preferred him to Orakpo, but we probably would have taken Cushing if Jauron had been canned at the end of 2008.

[Dr. Trooth]

Agree. Extending Kelsay was dumb. Had the Bills let his contract expire, their ain't no team dumb enough to sign Kelsay at what he's being paid now. Granted, he does have value at DE in a 4-3, and some team might be dumb enough to sign him for $3M, which I believe would be about $725K too much.

 

Not a good decision

[clearwater cadet]

The principal argument made by the four or five apologists who supported the Kelsey extension (that number may be down to zero after watching him play the last couple of games), was that there wasn't much downside to the extension. If he was cut next year, it would "only" cost the Bills $2.4 million. That argument misses the point. The point is that bad decisions by the Bills lead to more bad decisions down the road. There're about a million examples of this but here's an easy one.

 

- The galactically stupid decision to bring Marv Levy back as GM leads to the horrendous hiring of Dick Jauron.

- Those hires put Levy and Jauron in the draft room for the DB-heavy '06 draft (Whitner, Youbouty, Simpson in first

four rounds - not to mention megabust McCargo) and the disasterous '07 draft (Lynch, Poz, Edwards and Wright).

- The moronic decision to extend Jauron after his club beat up on a couple of patsies during the '08 season, led to

the decision not to fire Jauron after the '08 season, despite the most monumental collapse in team

history.

- That decision put Jauron in the draft room for the '09 draft and undoubtedly contributed to Aaron Maybin being a

Buffalo Bill.

 

And so it goes. The point is that the Kelsey extension was dumb and that dumb decision may result in someone making another stupid decision later on - passing up a quality LB in free agency or passing up a quality LB in the draft. It's got to stop. Waive him after the season's over and let's move on.

 

Great Post, well thought out. This team is so screwed up it seems hopeless. I don't know if it was the players, past coaches, present coaches. The only thing for sure is that they need help, and a bit of luck.

[starrymessenger]

The only semi-cogent argument I have heard for extending Kelsay, one specifically endorsed by Buddy, is that a young team needs veteran leadership and the young ones need to understand what the team expects both on and off the field. In a sort of contradictory vein, the aside often repeated by apologists for the move is that he can have his a$$ cut at any time and it won't cost the Bills much money. Well I think I remember a veteran leader who exemplified all the core values the team could endorse. In addition, unlike Kelsay, he was a superior player. I mean London Fletcher. I guess the only difference then, outside of on the field performance, is that Fletcher would have cost more money. So really its maybe just about money.

[thewildrabbit]

The principal argument made by the four or five apologists who supported the Kelsey extension (that number may be down to zero after watching him play the last couple of games), was that there wasn't much downside to the extension. If he was cut next year, it would "only" cost the Bills $2.4 million. That argument misses the point. The point is that bad decisions by the Bills lead to more bad decisions down the road. There're about a million examples of this but here's an easy one.

 

- The galactically stupid decision to bring Marv Levy back as GM leads to the horrendous hiring of Dick Jauron.

- Those hires put Levy and Jauron in the draft room for the DB-heavy '06 draft (Whitner, Youbouty, Simpson in first

four rounds - not to mention megabust McCargo) and the disasterous '07 draft (Lynch, Poz, Edwards and Wright).

- The moronic decision to extend Jauron after his club beat up on a couple of patsies during the '08 season, led to

the decision not to fire Jauron after the '08 season, despite the most monumental collapse in team

history.

- That decision put Jauron in the draft room for the '09 draft and undoubtedly contributed to Aaron Maybin being a

Buffalo Bill.

 

And so it goes. The point is that the Kelsey extension was dumb and that dumb decision may result in someone making another stupid decision later on - passing up a quality LB in free agency or passing up a quality LB in the draft. It's got to stop. Waive him after the season's over and let's move on.

 

Thanks Ralph...

[Dan]

The only semi-cogent argument I have heard for extending Kelsay, one specifically endorsed by Buddy, is that a young team needs veteran leadership and the young ones need to understand what the team expects both on and off the field. In a sort of contradictory vein, the aside often repeated by apologists for the move is that he can have his a$ cut at any time and it won't cost the Bills much money. Well I think I remember a veteran leader who exemplified all the core values the team could endorse. In addition, unlike Kelsay, he was a superior player. I mean London Fletcher. I guess the only difference then, outside of on the field performance, is that Fletcher would have cost more money. So really its maybe just about money.

How was Buddy supposed to extend Fletcher?

 

You're comparing apples to oranges trying to equate one FO's decision-making process with a previous one's.

[Sisyphean Bills]

The only semi-cogent argument I have heard for extending Kelsay, one specifically endorsed by Buddy, is that a young team needs veteran leadership and the young ones need to understand what the team expects both on and off the field. In a sort of contradictory vein, the aside often repeated by apologists for the move is that he can have his a$$ cut at any time and it won't cost the Bills much money. Well I think I remember a veteran leader who exemplified all the core values the team could endorse. In addition, unlike Kelsay, he was a superior player. I mean London Fletcher. I guess the only difference then, outside of on the field performance, is that Fletcher would have cost more money. So really its maybe just about money.

I think it was all about money. My hunch is some chuckle-head in the Front Office in charge of contracts with the initials Jim Overdorf pulled up his Visicalc spreadsheet on his TRS-80 and realized that Kelsay being listed as an OLB now meant that he could be paid less than if he was listed as a DE, as he was his entire career prior to this training camp. Realizing this was a win for his profit-sharing, he went to work and hammered out a deal through TC and pre-season and got it signed in September. Which only makes the Bills look like morons, because Kelsay is quite simply a terrible OLB.

[starrymessenger]

How was Buddy supposed to extend Fletcher?

 

You're comparing apples to oranges trying to equate one FO's decision-making process with a previous one's.

Of course Buddy could not extend London Fletcher. Did not say or imply that he could. Ralph Wilson did not want Fletcher because his contract was up and he was going to have to pay to keep him. Ralph Wilson likes Kelsay and thats the real reason he got an extention. Its not so much Buddy I'm talking about as the Buffalo Bills. The point remains that if the Bills (not necessarily Buddy) really wanted quality veteran leadership, Fletcher was a better candidate for an extension than Kelsay. BTW out of respect for Buddy I prefer to interpret his statements re Kelsay along the following lines "Look, we all know the guy's a bum but the old man likes him, we can cut his a$$ anytime, he will never reach his incentives of course (cause hes a bum, like I just said)and he won't cost us much money or interfere with our development program, so lets just put this behind us and get on with it."

Now, if you disagree with that and prefer to take Buddy's comments literally, which out of respect for Buddy I personally won't do because I think he is smarter than that, think about the consequences to the Bills, specifically, that the man who will be presiding over football operations, likely the next three drafts and free agency, actually believes that Kelsay is a good player. After the last ten years I just cant let myself go there.

[BillsVet]

The principal argument made by the four or five apologists who supported the Kelsey extension (that number may be down to zero after watching him play the last couple of games), was that there wasn't much downside to the extension. If he was cut next year, it would "only" cost the Bills $2.4 million. That argument misses the point. The point is that bad decisions by the Bills lead to more bad decisions down the road. There're about a million examples of this but here's an easy one.

 

We're frequently told that things will change or have changed. Have they really? It's the same decision makers up there, except now it's Buddy and Chan out front rather than Marv/Smithers and DJ. As long as RW is picking the GM's and the only one authorized to fire anyone, nothing changes.

 

I was a proponent of hiring a consultant to find the next GM/HC rather than entrusting that function to Mr. Smithers. Predictably, the search was a huge tease and we're left with a massive rebuild which the owner assures us will take 3 years. This for a team looking at 11 straight seasons without a post-season and have lost 99 games since 2000.

 

What really gets me is how RW is still micro-managing personnel. He demanded Lynch in 2007 after McGahee made his comments, he liked Edwards when it was clear he'd lost the locker room in 09, and finally it wouldn't surprise me that he wanted to keep Kelsay for his ability to provide post-game comments.

 

RW will never understand that paying a little more to front office types would win a lot of points across the league and result in better draft picks and more wisely spent UFA dollars. But, it's a business and that sort of thing would only hinder the bottom line Littman is striving to achieve.

Edited October 22, 2010 by BillsVet

[Dan]

Of course Buddy could not extend London Fletcher. Did not say or imply that he could. Ralph Wilson did not want Fletcher because his contract was up and he was going to have to pay to keep him. Ralph Wilson likes Kelsay and thats the real reason he got an extention. Its not so much Buddy I'm talking about as the Buffalo Bills. The point remains that if the Bills (not necessarily Buddy) really wanted quality veteran leadership, Fletcher was a better candidate for an extension than Kelsay. BTW out of respect for Buddy I prefer to interpret his statements re Kelsay along the following lines "Look, we all know the guy's a bum but the old man likes him, we can cut his a$ anytime, he will never reach his incentives of course (cause hes a bum, like I just said)and he won't cost us much money or interfere with our development program, so lets just put this behind us and get on with it."

Now, if you disagree with that and prefer to take Buddy's comments literally, which out of respect for Buddy I personally won't do because I think he is smarter than that, think about the consequences to the Bills, specifically, that the man who will be presiding over football operations, likely the next three drafts and free agency, actually believes that Kelsay is a good player. After the last ten years I just cant let myself go there.

Do you have any factual information to back that up? Or is a complete fabrication much like your interpretation of Nix's comments.

 

And when you're talking about why Nix extended someone and then present that other players should have been extended, without mentioning another GM's name, yes, you're implying that Nix should have extended Fletcher. Or at the very least suggesting that the Bills had the same philosophy to building a team back then that they do now. And there's no evidence of that.

[starrymessenger]

Do you have any factual information to back that up? Or is a complete fabrication much like your interpretation of Nix's comments.

 

And when you're talking about why Nix extended someone and then present that other players should have been extended, without mentioning another GM's name, yes, you're implying that Nix should have extended Fletcher. Or at the very least suggesting that the Bills had the same philosophy to building a team back then that they do now. And there's no evidence of that.

Following what I think was Fletcher's last game as a Bill (in any event after the close loss to Vince Young & Tennessee)Fletcher was interviewed and asked specifically about the chances of his remaining a Bill. He said that his folks were having discussions that involved "Mr Wilson" and he said that he hoped "Mr. Wilson" would understand that as a player he (Fletcher) only had so many chances to look after himself and his family i.e. he needed to be paid, having proven his value.

Now as football fans we are for the most part interested observers and outsiders. That means that we have to piece together what information we have and try to fashion logical conclusions based upon all we know - what players said, whats reported in the media, what we observe to be a course or pattern of conduct on the part of management/ownership. You can call that fabrication if you like. I prefer to call it an informed guess or a speculation. All of us, perhaps you excepted of course, do it because that is all we can do.

But lets have it your way - yes, I am so compltely non compis mentis that I believe Buddy Nix should have extended Fletcher, even though he was not in a position to do so at the time. Furthermore, the Bills back then had no interest whasoever in having players who represented quality veteran leadership on the team, and, last but not least, we will take Buddy's comments at face value: he firmly believes Kelsay is a good football player. Feel better?