My beef with Teflon Tom

[Typical TBD Guy]

...I just have to get it off of my chest. Bear with me, please:

 

1. Hiring Gregg Williams.

2. 2002 draft, day 1.

3. Not outright releasing Drew Bledsoe after the 2003 season.

4. Not making the playoffs in 2003 or 2004.

5. Not respecting the kicker position in football.

6. Overpaying for guys at certain positions - Troy Vincent at FS, Teague at C, MW at RT, Villarial at RG, Prioleau and Wire at backup SS, etc...

7. Building a team with the stars focused at the LB and offensive "skill" positions rather than upfront on the OL and DL.

8. Already being at the salary cap limit for 2005, only 2 years following the period where we were unofficially out of "salary cap jail."

 

To be fair, there is a lot of good that TD has brought to the Bills. I'm not going to bother with that whole list - since this is meant to be a TD-bashing thread - but most notably I'm happy with his past 2 drafts and with his outstanding job in marketing the Bills in such an economically depressed area.

 

But back to the negatives, I guess I'm just not at all happy with the way this offseason is going - no, not because we didn't resign JJ and PW (I fully understand and agree with those decisions) - but because we don't have any money to address the OL like I thought it was going to finally be in 2005 after 10+ years of subpar Bills play at this position...

 

As of now, this is (probably) our starting front 5:

 

LT: Teague

LG: Gandy

C: Tucker

RG: Villarial

RT: Williams

 

WTF??? The whole left side is atrocious, from Teague on over to Tucker. Certainly not adequate for a team wanting to play "smash-mouth" football and to block for a rookie QB. Unless there is somehow more free agent improvement along the front lines of our offense, you can look to a lot more league-leading zero-to-negative yard carries for Willis in 2005.

 

I can already see the replies - if any - that may follow:

 

1. Kelso, you're an idiot.

2. Kelso, you think you're smarter than TD and McNally?

3. Kelso, why is your helmet so !@#$ing huge?

4. Kelso, have some patience. The offseason is still young.

 

But before sending such replies, ask yourself this:

 

If you're so sure that TD knows what's best for our team, then why haven't we made the playoffs since he got here? And why did other teams like the Eagles, Vikings, Chargers, and Jets make the playoffs in 2004 with a fraction of our payroll?

 

So isn't it possible that TD is not making the best decisions for our Bills, with respect to the other 31 GM's in the league that could have been doing a better job in the past 4 years for Mr. Wilson?

 

Just some thoughts from an idiot fan,

 

-KH

[jahnyc]

I agree with you. I would also add the following three points:

 

1. TD had an opportunity to build the team from scratch (both in terms of players and coaches). It has been four years and we have not reached the playoffs. This is the bottom line.

 

2. We have made some good free agent acquisitions, but our talent from recent drafts is still not good enough. Too many marginal selections (Denney, Wire, J. Reed, Bannan etc.).

 

3. I am worried about some of our current contracts. For example, is the Williams contract standard for a very high first round pick or were these escalators unusual? I also find it odd that Clements, in the last year of his contract, suddenly get bumped up to $6 million per year (what were the benchmarks in his contract, were they unusual?). These contracts are really starting to hurt us.

[San-O]

I agree with you completely. I just don't understand why TD refuses to

address the O-Line. Read a statement by some coach a few years back,

basically a great RB can't make an inferior O-Line look good, but a great

O-Line can make a subpar running back look great.

 

TD is taking this team nowhere slowly.

 

Didn't realize we were in that bad of cap shape already. MW is really

killing us.

[Steven in MD]

...I just have to get it off of my chest. Bear with me, please:

 

1. Hiring Gregg Williams.

2. 2002 draft, day 1.

3. Not outright releasing Drew Bledsoe after the 2003 season.

4. Not making the playoffs in 2003 or 2004.

5. Not respecting the kicker position in football.

6. Overpaying for guys at certain positions - Troy Vincent at FS, Teague at C, MW at RT, Villarial at RG, Prioleau and Wire at backup SS, etc...

7. Building a team with the stars focused at the LB and offensive "skill" positions rather than upfront on the OL and DL.

8. Already being at the salary cap limit for 2005, only 2 years following the period where we were unofficially out of "salary cap jail."

 

To be fair, there is a lot of good that TD has brought to the Bills. I'm not going to bother with that whole list - since this is meant to be a TD-bashing thread - but most notably I'm happy with his past 2 drafts and with his outstanding job in marketing the Bills in such an economically depressed area.

 

But back to the negatives, I guess I'm just not at all happy with the way this offseason is going - no, not because we didn't resign JJ and PW (I fully understand and agree with those decisions) - but because we don't have any money to address the OL like I thought it was going to finally be in 2005 after 10+ years of subpar Bills play at this position...

 

As of now, this is (probably) our starting front 5:

 

LT: Teague

LG: Gandy

C: Tucker

RG: Villarial

RT: Williams

 

WTF??? The whole left side is atrocious, from Teague on over to Tucker. Certainly not adequate for a team wanting to play "smash-mouth" football and to block for a rookie QB. Unless there is somehow more free agent improvement along the front lines of our offense, you can look to a lot more league-leading zero-to-negative yard carries for Willis in 2005.

 

I can already see the replies - if any - that may follow:

 

1. Kelso, you're an idiot.

2. Kelso, you think you're smarter than TD and McNally?

3. Kelso, why is your helmet so !@#$ing huge?

4. Kelso, have some patience. The offseason is still young.

 

But before sending such replies, ask yourself this:

 

If you're so sure that TD knows what's best for our team, then why haven't we made the playoffs since he got here? And why did other teams like the Eagles, Vikings, Chargers, and Jets make the playoffs in 2004 with a fraction of our payroll?

 

So isn't it possible that TD is not making the best decisions for our Bills, with respect to the other 31 GM's in the league that could have been doing a better job in the past 4 years for Mr. Wilson?

 

Just some thoughts from an idiot fan,

 

-KH

263679[/snapback]

 

I agree....The majprity of folks here believe TD can do no wrong....we shall see what happens this off season.

[PromoTheRobot]

I agree....The majprity of folks here believe TD can do no wrong....we shall see what happens this off season.

263709[/snapback]

There is always a group of fans who want to run everyone out of town every year if we don't win the Super Bowl. Fortunately, there are a minority...a minority you seem to belong to.

 

I have lived in New England for the last 10 years. I would watch and listen to fans of the Boston Red Sox every year demand that the manager be fired for incompetance. How many mangers did they have before they finally won the big one? Jimy Williams? Joe Kerrigan? Grady Little? Terry Francona was declared an idiot just weeks before the playoffs. A few fans think he should STILL be fired!

 

I raise this point because making frequent changes is counter-productive. If we get rid of Donahoe, who do you hire? What quality GM would want to work for a revolving door franchise?

 

Is TD perfect? No. Has he made mistakes? Sure. Has he made good moves? Absolutely! Most of the complaints I read about TD are all made with the benifit of hindsight anyway. Fans always think the right move is as obvious as the nose on your face. But all you have to do is read the posts in this forum to see how wrong fans can be.

 

PTR

[Yoho]

There is always a group of fans who want to run everyone out of town every year if we don't win the Super Bowl.  Fortunately, there are a minority...a minority you seem to belong to.

 

I have lived in New England for the last 10 years.  I would watch and listen to fans of the Boston Red Sox every year demand that the manager be fired for incompetance.  How many mangers did they have before they finally won the big one?  Jimy Williams? Joe Kerrigan? Grady Little?  Terry Francona was declared an idiot just weeks before the playoffs.  A few fans think he should STILL be fired!

 

I raise this point because making frequent changes is counter-productive.  If we get rid of Donahoe, who do you hire?  What quality GM would want to work for a revolving door franchise?

 

Is TD perfect? No.  Has he made mistakes?  Sure.  Has he made good moves? Absolutely!  Most of the complaints I read about TD are all made with the benifit of hindsight anyway.  Fans always think the right move is as obvious as the nose on your face.  But all you have to do is read the posts in this forum to see how wrong fans can be.

 

PTR

263728[/snapback]

 

Promo- you were wise on Rocketship 7 and you are wise now. Did Commander Tom make mistakes? Of course he did? My God, even Jingles made the occasional error in helping Santa. Did Jungle Jim do no wrong? It is easy to look back and suggest that Irv Weinstein could have passed on one less fire story. But, at the time, it seemed right. Thanks for the input and may you remain well oiled.

[Typical TBD Guy]

263728[/snapback]

 

I give TD 2 more seasons to make the playoffs (which is very generous). If he can't do it, I want him out of here unconditionally.

 

Can we all agree on that? Or do we have to make more excuses as to why this franchise has become the Bengals of the 21st century?

 

Many think the worst thing about TSW is the ignorance and impatience of the "new-age" posters. In my opinion, it's the !@#$ing complacency of the older fan base. Too bad the least complacent around here tend to get banned, because right about now this board could use some more frozen water and some more hard drinks...

[jarthur31]

..... but because we don't have any money to address the OL like I thought it was going to finally be in 2005 after 10+ years of subpar Bills play at this position...

 

As of now, this is (probably) our starting front 5:

 

LT: Teague

LG: Gandy

C: Tucker

RG: Villarial

RT: Williams

 

WTF??? The whole left side is atrocious, from Teague on over to Tucker. Certainly not adequate for a team wanting to play "smash-mouth" football and to block for a rookie QB. Unless there is somehow more free agent improvement along the front lines of our offense, you can look to a lot more league-leading zero-to-negative yard carries for Willis in 2005.

 

 

 

 

-KH

263679[/snapback]

 

 

Yea right! I don't know where you've been bub but it's all Drew's fault!

 

Oh and JP will make this line better.

[Mark VI]

Some of your points are valid and TD isn't above criticism at all. He'll feel the heat if the Bills do not produce. The Cap age makes roster shuffling a given and it's critical to hire the right Coach and a good staff. He blew that the first time around and did much better with Mularkey and this stable of asst.'s. The draft is always a dice roll and signing Free Agents can be tricky, unless you insist on overpaying like some GM's.

 

I wasn't pleased at all in 2003 but can see far too many positives from the 2004 season to carry a cynical view into 2005. This is the best this team has looked in several years and TD is still working on plugging a few holes right now. It's the time for optimism and improving the roster. Setting lineups now and passing judgement is completely silly when the Free Agency period is 3 days old.

[ajzepp]

Some of your points are valid and TD isn't above criticism at all. He'll feel the heat if the Bills do not produce. The Cap age makes roster shuffling a given and it's critical to hire the right Coach and a good staff. He blew that the first time around and did much better with Mularkey and this stable of asst.'s. The draft is always a dice roll and signing Free Agents can be tricky, unless you insist on overpaying like some GM's. 

 

I wasn't pleased at all in 2003 but can see far too many positives from the 2004 season to carry a cynical view into 2005. This is the best this team has looked in several years and TD is still working on plugging a few holes right now. It's the time for optimism and improving the roster. Setting lineups now and pass judgement is completely silly when the Free Agency period is 3 days old.

263774[/snapback]

Very well said......the team is on the upswing, even (or especially.....depending on your point of view ) with a change at QB. The Pats are weaker, the Dolphins will likely be better, yet still inferior to us......and I still think we're better than the Jets. I cannot imagine us missing the playoffs this year.

[Fan in San Diego]

Your being overly negative.

 

This team is on the upswing and Drew Bledsoe made put alot of pressure on this O-Line by not being mobile.

 

I think with JP scrambling more, there will be less stunts and blitz's which will take pressure off the o-line to pass protect for ever and a day against heavy blitzing.

 

This is going to be an exciting year ! I think playoffs are possible with JP. Someone also mentioned the other teams are falling back a bit as well. I think NE will crumble this year with the coaching staff changes and some FA losses.

[todd]

I guess it's all how you look at it. Some people have a bad taste in their mouth because he did a few things right out of the gate:

 

1. Purged popular players to fix the cap.

2. Got rid of the little prick flutie.

3. Decided to keep Rob "China" Johnson.

 

Overall, I think your issues with TD are valid, however, there's a few I disagree with. You've got to evaluate someone in the context of what they were trying to do.

 

>1. Hiring Gregg Williams.

 

I don't have a beef with hiring him. I have a beef with not firing him earlier.

 

2. 2002 draft, day 1.

 

Give me a break. Mike Williams played well last year. Coy Wire is an amazing special teams player. You can't hit on everything, and if you'd care to look at TD's draft record overall you might have a different opinion. But my issue with this, and your criticisim, is that you pick out tidbits instead of absorbing an entire tenure.

 

3. Not outright releasing Drew Bledsoe after the 2003 season.

 

Right. And pick up who? What would have been the plan?

 

4. Not making the playoffs in 2003 or 2004.

 

I guess TD shares part of the blame for this, but so does the rest of the team. And do you think if we released Bledsoe, we would have even been in position to get to the playoffs? Look at the big picture of what you are pissed about, and you'll see that if you create scenarios with what you coulda woulda shoulda done, we probably wouldn't have been in position to be in the playoffs, anyway. Think about it.

 

5. Not respecting the kicker position in football.

 

Agreed. I hate lindell. However the Moorman pickup was outright brilliant. Look at the big picture.

 

6. Overpaying for guys at certain positions - Troy Vincent at FS, Teague at C, MW at RT, Villarial at RG, Prioleau and Wire at backup SS, etc...

 

Whatever. I don't think Teague, Vincent, Villarial OR Williams are overpaid. Sorry, but criticism of what Williams is getting paid shows a complete lack of understanding regarding how draft signings work. Think about it. You are slotted in salary AND bonus at #4 and you can't do a damn thing about it. Your criticizm is starting to get a little unwarranted to say the least.

 

7. Building a team with the stars focused at the LB and offensive "skill" positions rather than upfront on the OL and DL.

 

Really? So signing Sam Adams and drafting / resigning Schoebel is ignoring the DL? Really? I find that facts disagree with your perception of reality. Drafting an OL in the first round ignores the line? Hiring McNally ignores the line? Give me a break, man. Additionally, I don't think you can critisize a defense ranked top 5 in the NFL for two years running.

 

8. Already being at the salary cap limit for 2005, only 2 years following the period where we were unofficially out of "salary cap jail."

 

Um, there's a difference between being under the cap and over. You lack of understanding regarding contracts and cap is getting funny. Do you remember that when Donahoe got here we were over the cap by like 20 million and only had 40 player counting toward that number? We couldn't even field a friggin team! Dude, get a clue. We have room to sign anyone worthwhile that we want. Cut Wire, and there's our space. We can do whatever we please when it comes to signing players, because we can field a full roster and we're still under the cap.

 

Of course Steven in MD agrees with you. He's still pissed about the salary cap purge. He thinks that having 40 players signed and you're still over the cap is a workable situation. If this is the type of "knowledge" you have agreeing with you, you might want to check the "facts" you are basing your opinions on.

 

TD isn't perfect, and I don't like being out of the playoffs, but he's done some great things while he's here that far outweigh any misses he's had.

[obie_wan]

I can see you complaining at the end of the month, when most of the FA's are signed, but now?

Its only three days into Free agency, and while I'll agree im skeptical of TD and him upgrading the offensive line, but Gandy is definitly an upgrade over Tucker at LG.

Now, if you say our O-Line ends up how you think it will, I will rave just as much.

I'd be satisfied with an Offensive line like

 

LT:Shelton

LG:Gandy

C:Teague

RG:Villarrial

RT:Williams

263757[/snapback]

 

just wait until Jason Peters starts at LT to prove Teflon Tom is a master as finding diamonds.

[jahnyc]

I think we all need to be objective about TD's tenure as GM, and I don't think it is unerasonable to be critical about some of his draft picks, acquisitions and coaching choices. He has had time, the resources and the control to get this team to the playoffs. To this point, his efforts have not resulted in that goal. Maybe we are on the "upswing," but after four years of not making the playoffs under TD's watch, reflection, analysis and criticism are justified. In this context, a review of TD's efforts can not be interpreted as impatience or ignorance.

[IndyMark]

With all due respect I would like to refute your points one by one with data, but that would validate your points. And while you probably firmly believe you have "supported" your points, you would be wrong. Your bias is so strong that you do not see that you submit partial and excerpt type points to your arguments.

 

First and foremost, calling the Bills the Bengals of the 21st century pretty much sums up your view and the quality of your analysis, both of which are, what we call in the research industry "weak" or not worthy of refute.

 

Nice try in drumming up a conversation though, it certainly caught my attention, but so do chimpanzees ripping off body parts.

 

Well done. But relax, it is only March, early March at that.

 

You are no idiot though, I really like your submission early on in your post to help show that you "know" how people will respond. A bit of machisimo, no?

[cale]

I like Todd's analysis - great work, Todd. But I have to say - I'm on Kelso's side. The reason is this - the big picture - as you say Todd is this. If Teflon Tom (I'm liking that title more and more every day) is that if he was managing your mutual fund, you'd have his head.

 

Great peaks every once in a while but overall your ROI is flat to underachieving. As the GM, he is ultimately responsible. One of his main strong points is supposed to be talent evaluation in the draft. Though they aren't total disasters, I think overall, they've been average. When you look at how NE, Baltimore, Tenn., Pitt - conspicuously productive, Jaguars, Texans and I think the most steady Panthers - that reputation has taken a beating.

 

Where he's excelled in terms of talent evaluation is the "roll your dice, high stakes" variety. I have no problem with the Bledsoe signing, Losman trade, McGahee (in hindsight, still not sure if it was the best decision at the time) draft. However, I would argue that the reason, we needed to pull those high risk, high return shenanigans was due to a bed of his own making.

 

More importantly the everyday bread and butter lower draft choices have not been as productive as his rep led us to believe.

 

The salary cap is being used as an excuse for everything these days. But IMHO TD is overly frugal. I think the Jennings thing isn't a bad loss. But one of the things about O-line play is consistency. I fear our O-line is in rebuilding mode - again. I wished they had gone after Price. The Gandy signing is good - but he has been injured. So I'll wait on passing judgement.

 

The Holcomb signing is brilliant - I'm still surprised he wanted to come here. But again, I'd argue that the need to sign him was another domino falling as a result of an earlier screw up. To me not seeing that RJ was a bust much earlier was a huge friggin domino. I liked the Bledsoe signing but letting people like Centers go and not adding a reliable TE to the mix was a *HUGE* mistake - given the circumstances.

 

Is all this hindsight? You bet. But that's TD's job. But again no one is holding him accountable. The only place where his performance counts, at least to Ralph, is that the Bills are more profitable now. I think RW should move TD to marketing and let Modrak do everything with regards to personnel, draft etc.

 

Charles

[ajzepp]

I guess it's all how you look at it. Some people have a bad taste in their mouth because he did a few things right out of the gate:

 

1. Purged popular players to fix the cap.

2. Got rid of the little prick flutie.

3. Decided to keep Rob "China" Johnson.

 

Overall, I think your issues with TD are valid, however, there's a few I disagree with. You've got to evaluate someone in the context of what they were trying to do.

 

>1. Hiring Gregg Williams.

 

I don't have a beef with hiring him. I have a beef with not firing him earlier.

 

2. 2002 draft, day 1.

 

Give me a break. Mike Williams played well last year. Coy Wire is an amazing special teams player. You can't hit on everything, and if you'd care to look at TD's draft record overall you might have a different opinion. But my issue with this, and your criticisim, is that you pick out tidbits instead of absorbing an entire tenure.

 

3. Not outright releasing Drew Bledsoe after the 2003 season.

 

Right. And pick up who? What would have been the plan?

 

4. Not making the playoffs in 2003 or 2004.

 

I guess TD shares part of the blame for this, but so does the rest of the team. And do you think if we released Bledsoe, we would have even been in position to get to the playoffs? Look at the big picture of what you are pissed about, and you'll see that if you create scenarios with what you coulda woulda shoulda done, we probably wouldn't have been in position to be in the playoffs, anyway. Think about it.

 

5. Not respecting the kicker position in football.

 

Agreed. I hate lindell. However the Moorman pickup was outright brilliant. Look at the big picture.

 

6. Overpaying for guys at certain positions - Troy Vincent at FS, Teague at C, MW at RT, Villarial at RG, Prioleau and Wire at backup SS, etc...

 

Whatever. I don't think Teague, Vincent, Villarial OR Williams are overpaid. Sorry, but criticism of what Williams is getting paid shows a complete lack of understanding regarding how draft signings work. Think about it. You are slotted in salary AND bonus at #4 and you can't do a damn thing about it. Your criticizm is starting to get a little unwarranted to say the least.

 

7. Building a team with the stars focused at the LB and offensive "skill" positions rather than upfront on the OL and DL.

 

Really? So signing Sam Adams and drafting / resigning Schoebel is ignoring the DL? Really? I find that facts disagree with your perception of reality. Drafting an OL in the first round ignores the line? Hiring McNally ignores the line? Give me a break, man. Additionally, I don't think you can critisize a defense ranked top 5 in the NFL for two years running.

 

8. Already being at the salary cap limit for 2005, only 2 years following the period where we were unofficially out of "salary cap jail."

 

Um, there's a difference between being under the cap and over. You lack of understanding regarding contracts and cap is getting funny. Do you remember that when Donahoe got here we were over the cap by like 20 million and only had 40 player counting toward that number? We couldn't even field a friggin team! Dude, get a clue. We have room to sign anyone worthwhile that we want. Cut Wire, and there's our space. We can do whatever we please when it comes to signing players, because we can field a full roster and we're still under the cap.

 

Of course Steven in MD agrees with you. He's still pissed about the salary cap purge. He thinks that having 40 players signed and you're still over the cap is a workable situation. If this is the type of "knowledge" you have agreeing with you, you might want to check the "facts" you are basing your opinions on.

 

TD isn't perfect, and I don't like being out of the playoffs, but he's done some great things while he's here that far outweigh any misses he's had.

263798[/snapback]

 

In the words of 'Emeril'........BAM!!

[Poeticlaw]

...I just have to get it off of my chest. Bear with me, please:

 

1. Hiring Gregg Williams.

2. 2002 draft, day 1.

3. Not outright releasing Drew Bledsoe after the 2003 season.

4. Not making the playoffs in 2003 or 2004.

5. Not respecting the kicker position in football.

6. Overpaying for guys at certain positions - Troy Vincent at FS, Teague at C, MW at RT, Villarial at RG, Prioleau and Wire at backup SS, etc...

7. Building a team with the stars focused at the LB and offensive "skill" positions rather than upfront on the OL and DL.

8. Already being at the salary cap limit for 2005, only 2 years following the period where we were unofficially out of "salary cap jail."

 

To be fair, there is a lot of good that TD has brought to the Bills. I'm not going to bother with that whole list - since this is meant to be a TD-bashing thread - but most notably I'm happy with his past 2 drafts and with his outstanding job in marketing the Bills in such an economically depressed area.

 

But back to the negatives, I guess I'm just not at all happy with the way this offseason is going - no, not because we didn't resign JJ and PW (I fully understand and agree with those decisions) - but because we don't have any money to address the OL like I thought it was going to finally be in 2005 after 10+ years of subpar Bills play at this position...

 

As of now, this is (probably) our starting front 5:

 

LT: Teague

LG: Gandy

C: Tucker

RG: Villarial

RT: Williams

 

WTF??? The whole left side is atrocious, from Teague on over to Tucker. Certainly not adequate for a team wanting to play "smash-mouth" football and to block for a rookie QB. Unless there is somehow more free agent improvement along the front lines of our offense, you can look to a lot more league-leading zero-to-negative yard carries for Willis in 2005.

 

I can already see the replies - if any - that may follow:

 

1. Kelso, you're an idiot.

2. Kelso, you think you're smarter than TD and McNally?

3. Kelso, why is your helmet so !@#$ing huge?

4. Kelso, have some patience. The offseason is still young.

 

But before sending such replies, ask yourself this:

 

If you're so sure that TD knows what's best for our team, then why haven't we made the playoffs since he got here? And why did other teams like the Eagles, Vikings, Chargers, and Jets make the playoffs in 2004 with a fraction of our payroll?

 

So isn't it possible that TD is not making the best decisions for our Bills, with respect to the other 31 GM's in the league that could have been doing a better job in the past 4 years for Mr. Wilson?

 

Just some thoughts from an idiot fan,

 

-KH

263679[/snapback]

 

I want to start off I agree with Points 1,2,3,4 & 5 and now for my Disagreements:

Let me ask you how is 2.5 mil a year too much to pay for any STARTING OL, Are you paying attention to any of these players salaries you have listed in Point 6 as well as the comparison of salaries in the leaugue. Coy is only makin 1.5 mil over 4 years rember all deals are back loaded, for the peole who dont have a clue of what that means is when we sign a player the first and second year salaries are extremely low to hel in thos years and then acclerate into larger salaries as they go into the final 2-3 years of their contract. Also, we all thought Prioleu was great at his posititon and TD did to and decided to lock him up that year instead of watching his value increase. Im actually still quite loss on how he lost his starting job and I think hes still a qaulity back. As far as Wire maybe they need to put him back to his natural position of LB. However, I strongly agree with you and everyoneelse when it come to the sick salary we are paying Williams.

 

On point 7 i dont see where your going with this I am a believer of the 3-4 which has all the focus on LB they are the playmaker and the tacklers I would rather have my money there then on the DL. Especially since LB can bring the BLitz and pick off the passes. And the offensive line who says we need STARS what were they before they were stars just offensive lineman trying to get good at their Job. Stars cost mega money especially on the lines so if you want all our money to be tied up in 9 positions of 22 starters we would be consitient losers year in and year out.

 

On point 8/ I dont see your meaning here either. We are out of salary cap Jail, We are not at the cap we are about 5 mil under it and we only lost 2 key- 3 players from a team that is picked in the top 5 of teams that could be the next Superbowl Champions. We dont need any big time players with a big time salary we need good players for depth at a reasonable salary. He has done a great job with the cap but as much as I want to Scorch TD for some of his moves the only one I could really love to nail him for is the 9 mil to Mike Williams. His signing of Holcomb at 1.4 mil a year for a back up is sooooo much cheaper then Losman at abck-up or Bledsoes 4 mil at back up.

 

The answer to the play off question is quite simple if you watched any games last season DREW, DREW, DREW rember especiallt the last game against Pitt we win JETS are out and we are IN, ALso if he could have played better against ne twice, oh and dont get me satarted on his lost of mental capacity against the Ravens.

 

If i have a good assement of JP as I think I do, You are going to see games soo much more competetitive with fewer 3 and outs. If he can carry 20% more of the drives that Drew was great for 3 and out it also improves our defense when there rested their unstopable and thats when the meaning of a good offens= a great defense.

 

Sometimes we think man we didnt make the playoffs we have to make some huge siginings. FIrst huge signing takes huge money we dont have enough to go around. Second why dont you really look at our roster, look at the players at certain positions and then think what was our problem last year. First problem was the immobility and lack of escability and the inability for the screen passes by DREW. Drew makes a line look worse than what it is and also makes us soo damn predictable. Why did mcgahee and travis get soo many negative yards because the defense knew we were running the ball because we lost our trust in Bledsoe last season. By annointing Losman the starter our offensive line immeadately improved. It also put us back to a youthful movement losman, evans, mcgahee so it improves us now and well into the future. So tell me where is TD going wrong HOnestly, not for our dislike for his moves.

[Moose]

I can already see the replies - if any - that may follow:

 

1. Kelso, you're an idiot.

2. Kelso, you think you're smarter than TD and McNally?

3. Kelso, why is your helmet so !@#$ing huge?

4. Kelso, have some patience. The offseason is still young.

263679[/snapback]

 

You forgot this one: Kelso, save your postage!

 

I do concur with you on some of those points. There are a couple of general beefs I have with Donahoe, namely his arrogance (sprinkled with defensiveness) and his seeming failure to understand or appreciate the Buffalo fans. I'm also not fond of the drastic changes that he spearheaded in altering both the uniforms and the overall character of the team. [The Bills used to have a tough, blue-collar reputation; now I see players huddling on the benches in front of the heaters looking colder than the Dolphins players on the opposing sidelines! They are a far cry from the "Relentless" days.] You can argue that much of this can be attributed to the changing nature of the game as a business - but this is all happening under Donahoe's watch and IMO he takes some of the blame.

[Typical TBD Guy]

With all due respect I would like to refute your points one by one with data, but that would validate your points.  And while you probably firmly believe you have "supported" your points, you would be wrong.  Your bias is so strong that you do not see that you submit partial and excerpt type points to your arguments.

 

First and foremost, calling the Bills the Bengals of the 21st century pretty much sums up your view and the quality of your analysis, both of which are, what we call in the research industry "weak" or not worthy of refute.

 

Nice try in drumming up a conversation though, it certainly caught my attention, but so do chimpanzees ripping off body parts.

 

Well done.  But relax, it is only March, early March at that.

 

You are no idiot though, I really like your submission early on in your post to help show that you "know" how people will respond.  A bit of machisimo, no?

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I can tell you probably work in the "research industry" (i.e., academia?) as you say, because of the obvious tone of arrogance in your response. Do you address all other lessers in your life in this manner, as well?

 

To complain that my post wasn't backed well enough in research is ridiculous, given that this was written on a Friday night and on a football message board where people are generally allowed to give their honest opinions about their favorite team.

 

Yes, it is true. I gave a complete list of TD's negatives without providing a complete list of his positives OR without providing the circumstances surrounding each of his negatives.

 

But I did so intentionally. Why give a complete list of TD's positives? I had already stated that this wasn't even the purpose of my thread, since accolades thrown to TD can be found in virtually every other thread around here.

 

And why should I give the circumstances surrounding each of TD's bad moves? You can do that for any bad GM; there's almost always a reason to be provided that can justify why any of those GM's did anything. But at some point the excuses need to stop, and you have to look at the cold hard results - otherwise there would never be a changing of the guard for any NFL GM position.

 

Speaking of the cold hard results, here's the record of the Bills in the 21st century:

 

2000: 8-8

2001: 3-13

2002: 8-8

2003: 6-10

2004: 9-7

 

That, my friends, is as I said, "Bengals-esque." Oh right, I forgot the 9-7 record. Nevermind that we went 5-7 outside the pathetic NFC West... I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Only 5 other NFL teams have had a playoff drought as long or longer than we have. Since 1999, there have been plenty of teams who have recovered more quickly from salary cap jail and who have made the playoffs with a payroll much less than the cap limit.

 

But go ahead. Keep bringing the excuses. In 2005, it will be that we had a rookie QB, and yes, technically you can't disagree with that, right? That's an understandable excuse, right?

 

And in 2006, a bulk of our defensive stars will be eligible for free agency, and we probably won't have the money to resign or replace them... so our defense in 2006 will be bad. So there's the potential explanation for 2006!

 

Well, enough of this "rant." I apologize for not writing a well-backed 10 page academic essay analyzing TD's reign as Bills GM. In the meantime, I promise to post less about my GM concerns and post more about how delicious this Teflon Tom Kool-Aid tastes. Nothing controversial from me anymore. No more arguments. I only want to make friends from now on. We just signed QB Kelly Holcomb? Outstanding! Never mind LT! Mike Gandy was once a third round draft pick?! Superb! Put him in at LG immediately!