Frez Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Profootballtalk.com DONAHOE ADMITS FAILURE By releasing quarterback Drew Bledsoe, Bills G.M. Tom Donahoe has done that which few men of his position ever will do. Admit failure. How else can the three-season Bledsoe experiment be described? Serenaded by a marching band upon his arrival in Buffalo nearly three years ago, the guy for whom Donahoe would have given up even more than a 2003 first-round draft pick had a fast start to the 2002 season, and then reverted to the same mediocre-to-at-times-above-average form that prompted the Patriots to bank their future on a sixth-rounder who came off the bench when Bledsoe suffered a franchise-altering lung injury during the 2001 season. The practical consequence of the impending Bledsoe release is that the Bills are the first team to not have anything to show for a 2003 first-rounder. Every other guy drafted in round one two years ago is still with the team that drafted him (even though there are some turds, such as Saints defensive tackle Jonathan Sullivan). (Editor's Note: The other team holding a bag of air is the Dolphins, who gave up their 2003 first-rounder as part of the Ricky Williams trade. Although the Fins still have an $8.6 million judgment against Williams for his premature retirement, the practical value of that award is, roughly, a bag of air.) As one league insider told us, other first-rounders of recent years who are still on their original teams "are being kept around to save face. At least Donahoe is admitting his mistake by releasing [bledsoe]. However, [Donahoe] should come out front and center, in the media, publicly, just like he did when he was selling the goods and say he screwed up. But he won't." Even without a marching band to see Bledsoe out of town, the import of the move is clear. The Bills wasted a first-round pick on a guy who failed to come close to living up to the shameless hype that Donahoe engineered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 If three years is an expiriment.. I'd hate to see what a full fledged commitment looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 There was no 'shameless hype' whatsoever......and there's no reason Donahoe should have to make any public statement over any perceived failure on his part. He tried to bring us a Pro Bowl caliber QB to lead our team to the Super Bowl. Most of us thought the move was great at the time. Any jerkoff who wants to bash TD for the Donahoe thing can - at the same time - talk about the new stud RB he fleeced ATL for, the Pro Bowl players he's picked up like Takeo Spikes and Sam Adams.....the Pro Bowl players he's drafted like T.Henry, Nate Clements, and Terrence McGee.......the #2 ranked defense he's built.....on and on. To call TD out on a move that most everyone thought was great at the time is stupid. I'm so sick of people thinking that they can use hindsight and pick and choose what moves were good and what moves were bad. TD has balls, and he not only makes good decisions, he takes good risks. That doesn't mean he's required to be right about every one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ya win some, ya lose some. anyone care to review the defense TD built? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary owen Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I've had some complaints about Ol' Whitey myself, but I can't bring myself to read ANY garbage posted on Profootballtalk.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 There was no 'shameless hype' whatsoever......and there's no reason Donahoe should have to make any public statement over any perceived failure on his part. He tried to bring us a Pro Bowl caliber QB to lead our team to the Super Bowl. Most of us thought the move was great at the time. Any jerkoff who wants to bash TD for the Donahoe thing can - at the same time - talk about the new stud RB he fleeced ATL for, the Pro Bowl players he's picked up like Takeo Spikes and Sam Adams.....the Pro Bowl players he's drafted like T.Henry, Nate Clements, and Terrence McGee.......the #2 ranked defense he's built.....on and on. To call TD out on a move that most everyone thought was great at the time is stupid. I'm so sick of people thinking that they can use hindsight and pick and choose what moves were good and what moves were bad. TD has balls, and he not only makes good decisions, he takes good risks. That doesn't mean he's required to be right about every one. 242872[/snapback] My beef with TD isn't really player choices. Some were good, some were bad...so it goes. But his sticking with GW was inexcusable - a situation that even the most casual of fans in Buffalo and in other NFL cities saw, and one that was 100% correctably by TD - and he did not take action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Look a little lower: The Broncos want only a second-round or third-round pick for DE Trevor Pryce. I'd gladly give up a 3rd for Price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stussy109 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 The sportswriter is a moron... How many Bledsoe jersey's did Wilson get paid for. How many home game sell-outs were there. From a business standpoint, getting Bledsoe was an excellent move. Remember, priority numero uno besides wins is $$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawnboy1977 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 The sportswriter is a moron... How many Bledsoe jersey's did Wilson get paid for. How many home game sell-outs were there. From a business standpoint, getting Bledsoe was an excellent move. Remember, priority numero uno besides wins is $$$ 242904[/snapback] Like TD said, he brought respectability back to the team. We were 3-13 the year before guys, going nowhere. When Drew signed, it was a ray of sunshine. It gave our team a glimmer of hope and brought us out of the dungeon which we might have stayed in for a few years without that season. I know, we never made the playoffs with Drew, but maybe some guys like Adams and Spikes might not have come here unless we had a high profile guy like Drew leading the team. Crazy but a theory. Frankly look at what TD has done. Draft wise, 1st round. 2001, Instead of Kenyatta Walker he Takes Nate Clements, now a pro bowler, cosider one of the best at his position 2002: Instead of Bryant McKinnie, he take Mike Williams. MCKinnie held out for most of his rookie year and has yet to show the potential that made him the top OT prospect out of college. Williams has had some dominating stretches 2003: The coup of coups, McGahee with a shocker in round 1 after basically stealing 1st round pick from ATL for P Price 2004: Instead of taking Will Smith we take Lee Evans and make a steal for JP. Now, the jury is still out, but Evans has shown he can be a star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 People still go to profootballtalk.com? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 The view in this column does seem ratber half-brained in that ignores several points of broader context as stated above (ex. if one wants to broaden the assessment of TD from simply the Bledsoe move to a broader discussion of his 2003 drafting why he somehow never gets to commentary on McGahee choice seems odd, add to that TD showed great acumen in passing on taking Kelsay with his first pick which few would have complained about and he got him anyway with our second pick, also the bonus to the business side and fan excitement after a 3-13 season was clear and Bledsoe was a part of that). However, simply sticking to the on-field stuff I think that the big Bledsoe mistake was not in giving up the 2003 pick but in resigning him instead of cutting him after he sucked in 2003. Perhaps its just because I value the draft fairly little (its important but just another method of acquiring players that actually has far less import and provides less value than good FA moves) but I view the sum total with Bledsoe after two years as a wash (great 2002 and sucky 2003) and the Bills should have just cashed it in and cut him at that point. Perhaps the real debate here is one of how valuable the draft is or not. Between the crapshoot of choosing collegians as to whether they will be good pros and the potential for injury to wipe out good assessment wotk, I find it neither extrordinary or a big thing even if the 03 1st round maneuvers had been a total bust, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 What's really amazing is that at the end of that article, they want Tom Donahoe to stand up in front of the media and say it was a bad move. Why? What could that possibly accomplish besides making everyone involved look bad. Bledsoe's been released. That's an admission of failure with as much ballyhoo as ever. We don't need to wipe it in his face - Drew's, if nothing else, a class guy. Has any GM every gone up there and said "I apologize to the fans for making a bad decision?" Ryan Leaf? Rick Mirer? No! It's just not how the game is played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderweb Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ya win some, ya lose some. anyone care to review the defense TD built? 242879[/snapback] Is that you Mr. Fiedler? Looking for work? Quite an overhaul of the defense by any measurement. I'd look back on our Defensive and ST stats from 2001 & 2002, but that would be like sticking needles in my eyes. Good point about the "D". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I've had some complaints about Ol' Whitey myself, but I can't bring myself to read ANY garbage posted on Profootballtalk.com 242880[/snapback] Agreed. I know that scouting/drafting/free agency is all an incprecise science. I actually think TD has been a succcess thus far. Sure we have a sub .500 record, but we have certainly had plenty to keep us interested, year round, since TD has been here. Whereas John Butler was a sentimental softy, to a fault (still think the guy has been unjustly villified by the Bills faithful), TD is at once a shrewd bottom-line shark of a businessman, and a riverboat gambler. My biggest gripes with him are the seemingly unnecessary gambles (cutting Bledsoe, when you really didn't need to, to little benefit of the team), not the bad picks. I think the JP move sets us back some, but all and all, this team is on the rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loadofmularkey Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ProFootballTalk.com is the most tremendous piece of crap on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Todd Marinovich Tony Mandarich Phil Dokes Now THOSE were wasted #1 picks. DB wasn't THAT bad, and he at least helped put some fannys in the seats at the Ralph. So, he wasn't a TOTAL waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsGuyInMalta Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Ahhhh Florio strikes again...every time anyone uses his little blog (thats all that site is, his own little ramblings with NO proof behind them), he gets himself a chubby. PFT.com is easily the worst football related site on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Williams has had some dominating stretches 242938[/snapback] He has? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(2).thumb.jpeg.6e78fe3142ec9e6bfedbf027610db26f.jpeg)
Recommended Posts