BuffAlone Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 RIP Tom. Once a Bill,always a Bill. Condolences to his family
Kirby Jackson Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) I disagree with that too. To me Modrak was at the end of a long successful career when he came here. He openly admitted that he did not want to put the time in to be a fulltime GM at this stage of his career. I don't even believe he lived here. I agree with Rico, a lot of successful men have walked thru One Bills Drive over the last 2 decades, & have left with there reputations in ruins & never experienced the success they had elsewhere here. I come up with one conclusion from that. Ralph & Rusty were/are the real problem. RIP Tom. Not that this is the place but to clear things up Modrak was 100% responsible for all drafts from Donahoe to Buddy Nix. I know that for a fact (with John Guy in charge of the pro side). There is no such thing as "a Marv Levy draft" or "a Russ Brandon draft." The scouts all worked for Modrak or Guy and they called the shots. Edited April 12, 2017 by Kirby Jackson
YoloinOhio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Posted April 12, 2017 @buffalobills The Bills family remembers longtime VP of College Scouting Tom Modrak, who passed away at 74. Heartfelt statements: http://po.st/scms/OrMCe04Lcp0lOFmbAiE_1u_0w1KYQLx66RAjUma9oEoKOXiPTYHAtra0t8fEWUuIHS0K8J1vZrQlOAo/aM7gc2
eball Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Not that this is the place but to clear things up Modrak was 100% responsible for all drafts from Donahoe to Buddy Nix. I know that for a fact (with John Guy in charge of the pro side). There is no such thing as "a Marv Levy draft" or "a Russ Brandon draft." The scouts all worked for Modrak or Guy and they called the shots. Thanks for clarifying, I did not know that. RIP to Mr. Modrak, but he certainly didn't further his legacy in Buffalo.
YoloinOhio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Posted April 12, 2017 @mikerodak Statement from Bills director of player personnel Jim Monos on the death Tuesday of Tom Modrak http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0643810036082022293-4
May Day 10 Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Modrak was the guy they threw under the bus for Levy and Brandon, while Buddy Nix could buy them more time.
Buddo Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 One thing I do remember about Modrak, is that he persuaded Marv to wait an extra round to take Kyle Williams, not because he didn't want Kyle, but because he 'knew' he would still be available. I think he was highly knowledgeable, and a pretty decent talent evaluator, but like others have been, he was rather led by the nose at times, in regards of what different HCs wanted. While he may have pretty much run the draft board in his time with the Bills, he didn't actually have the 'final' say on picks. I'm pretty sure that Jauron had a veto built into his contract, and the earlier anecdote shows that Marv could pull rank on him, if he wanted to. I'd say his best work was behind him, when he joined the Bills, yet I also don't think he was as much at fault for some of the poor drafting we saw, in his time here, as many would have it. Regardless, RIP Mr. Modrak
Andrew Son Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 RIP. Last real GM this team had... RIP, Tom. Stick to Pats* history, WEO. Tom was never Bills GM
26CornerBlitz Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 R. I. P. with condolences to his family and friends. @viccarucci Statement from #Bills coach Sean McDermott on the passing of Tom Modrak.
Gordio Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Not that this is the place but to clear things up Modrak was 100% responsible for all drafts from Donahoe to Buddy Nix. I know that for a fact (with John Guy in charge of the pro side). There is no such thing as "a Marv Levy draft" or "a Russ Brandon draft." The scouts all worked for Modrak or Guy and they called the shots. I still blame the whole thing on Rusty.
Kirby Jackson Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 One thing I do remember about Modrak, is that he persuaded Marv to wait an extra round to take Kyle Williams, not because he didn't want Kyle, but because he 'knew' he would still be available. I think he was highly knowledgeable, and a pretty decent talent evaluator, but like others have been, he was rather led by the nose at times, in regards of what different HCs wanted. While he may have pretty much run the draft board in his time with the Bills, he didn't actually have the 'final' say on picks. I'm pretty sure that Jauron had a veto built into his contract, and the earlier anecdote shows that Marv could pull rank on him, if he wanted to. I'd say his best work was behind him, when he joined the Bills, yet I also don't think he was as much at fault for some of the poor drafting we saw, in his time here, as many would have it. Regardless, RIP Mr. Modrak Again, I don't want to get into this all here but that's not really the case. Marv slept through the draft meetings (literally). He wasn't scouting or making decisions. Neither was Brandon. They had the title but not the power. The personnel decisions ended with Modrak and Guy (with a lot of input from the scouting staff and coaching staff).
RyanC883 Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 RIP. Way too young to go. Prayers for him and his family.
Peevo Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Mike Williams, JP Losman, Aaron Maybin, Donte Whitner, John McCargo, CJ Spiller, Torell Troup, Leodis McKelvin, James Hardy, Chris Kelsay, Josh Reed, Ryan Denney. Woof. Just awful 1st and 2nd round picks. No wonder we've sucked for so long. Even the ones that were "good" were extremely questionable. Sad news to hear, regardless. Totally agree. How many of these players even played through their rookie deals with the Bills? Can anyone remember anything of substance McCargo, Maybin, Troup did on the team? I'm seriously asking. I cannot think of one play. Hardy had, what, 10 career catches as a Bill in two seasons? I know, Troup had a severe, life threatening back injury. I get it. But man, so many wasted picks. Yeah, I guess it's sad a 75 year old man is gone or whatever. I've buried at least 4 close friends that never got a whiff of 30. So I'd say 75 is a pretty good life.
Gordio Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Again, I don't want to get into this all here but that's not really the case. Marv slept through the draft meetings (literally). He wasn't scouting or making decisions. Neither was Brandon. They had the title but not the power. The personnel decisions ended with Modrak and Guy (with a lot of input from the scouting staff and coaching staff). I still blame the whole thing on Rusty.
YoloinOhio Posted April 12, 2017 Author Posted April 12, 2017 Apparently he was just diagnosed with a neurological disease in December
Rico Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 I still blame the whole thing on Rusty. You can't soar with the eagles when you're hanging with the turkeys.
Mr. WEO Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 RIP, Tom. Stick to Pats* history, WEO. Tom was never Bills GM Look up....something just flew over your head...... Not that this is the place but to clear things up Modrak was 100% responsible for all drafts from Donahoe to Buddy Nix. I know that for a fact (with John Guy in charge of the pro side). There is no such thing as "a Marv Levy draft" or "a Russ Brandon draft." The scouts all worked for Modrak or Guy and they called the shots. Thanks for stating this Kirby.
JohnC Posted April 12, 2017 Posted April 12, 2017 Again, I don't want to get into this all here but that's not really the case. Marv slept through the draft meetings (literally). He wasn't scouting or making decisions. Neither was Brandon. They had the title but not the power. The personnel decisions ended with Modrak and Guy (with a lot of input from the scouting staff and coaching staff). Didn't he do most of his work from his home in Jacksonville? Which is somewhat odd. Whaley is an immensely more accomplished pro scout than John Guy. With Guy's job poor performance his longevity with the organization indicates how archaic and frozen this franchise was. I have recently been critical of Whaley. But in my mind he represented the line of demarcation from the old world to the modern era. Marv Levy was a wonderful person with a distinguished coaching career. Wilson's hiring of Levy was an irrational act that set this franchise back. I say this respectfully because of his recently passing but Modrak's work with the Bills wasn't very impressive. Some of the downturn in his performance had to do with the backwater franchise he worked with. I can say the same thing about Tom Donahoe who I was very disappointed in. Working in Buffalo was a challenge for anyone to maximize one's talents.
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