Jacksonville and Rob Johnson

[GG]

JB mentioned something about dancing a jig if Mcelroy was still on the board when we picked...We chose Eric Moulds instead---at #23...guess it worked out okay for us...Mcelroy was chosen 11 spots later by the Cardinals...no great memory--just google skills... 

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Google or not, the '96 draft is probably one of the deepest in a long memory.

 

McElroy may have been a smoke screen by Butler, but he was rated a Top 5 pick on every pre-draft board, until he just fell out of the 1st round completely.

 

The funniest thing about that draft, was Jets picking #1 and when their turn in 2nd round came up, Richie K took a whole 15 seconds to get the card to the podium. The J-E-T-S fanatics are going wild, ESPN is confident that the pick is McElroy, because he was a "no brainer" at that spot and Jets needed a RB. Jets' selection....

 

WR Alex Van Dyke..... who had as stellar a pro career as McElroy.

 

You had to work really hard to blow a draft pick in '96.

[Bill from NYC]

Google or not, the '96 draft is probably one of the deepest in a long memory. 

 

McElroy may have been a smoke screen by Butler, but he was rated a Top 5 pick on every pre-draft board, until he just fell out of the 1st round completely. 

 

The funniest thing about that draft, was Jets picking #1 and when their turn in 2nd round came up, Richie K took a whole 15 seconds to get the card to the podium.  The J-E-T-S fanatics are going wild, ESPN is confident that the pick is McElroy, because he was a "no brainer" at that spot and Jets needed a RB.  Jets' selection....

 

WR Alex Van Dyke.....  who had as stellar a pro career as McElroy.

 

You had to work really hard to blow a draft pick in '96.

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What made that pick even more insane was the fact that Kotite had already picked a wr (Keyshawn) with the first pick!

 

Poor Kotite was a literal laughing stock. I am told on good authority that he got the job because he chased Mr. hess around and kissed his behind. Mr. Hess even cut his vacation short to sign Kotite after he got fired from the Eagles.

 

The Philly fans were jubilant to get rid of him. As I recall, he went 8-8 with a team full of superstars.

[The Jokeman]

Like I said, Jones isn't an NFL caliber tailback.  As a FB, it's a different story.  But regardless of whether they trade for Travis or not, going into the season with major uncertainty surrounding Taylor's knee or HOPING that Jones can be an NFL tailback, would be stupid.

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The Jags have other options aside from Jones. Those two are LaBrandon Toefield (who started ahead of Domanick Davis at LSU) and rookie Alvin Pearman, who I was calling for the Bills to draft as a backup/change of pace back to McGahee.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

The Jags have other options aside from Jones. Those two are LaBrandon Toefield (who started ahead of Domanick Davis at LSU) and rookie Alvin Pearman, who I was calling for the Bills to draft as a backup/change of pace back to McGahee.

Toefield is at best (and he's not even that good at that) a 3rd down back. As for Pearman, he could be good, but he's an unproven rookie. Let me ask you, would you as a fan REALLY want to see your team, one that you thought should have made the playoffs last year and expect them to get their THIS year, go into the season with a guy who should be playing FB, a not-so-good 3rd down back, and an unproven rookie, while HOPING your star RB can make it through the season? I wouldn't.

[The Jokeman]

Toefield is at best (and he's not even that good at that) a 3rd down back.  As for Pearman, he could be good, but he's an unproven rookie.  Let me ask you, would you as a fan REALLY want to see your team, one that you thought should have made the playoffs last year and expect them to get their THIS year, go into the season with a guy who should be playing FB, a not-so-good 3rd down back, and an unproven rookie, while HOPING your star RB can make it through the season? I wouldn't.

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Sure if I were a Jags fan I'd want more security at the position but as a Bills fan if we trade them Henry wouldn't we be in a similar situation?

 

As to use your words with our players:

 

Let me ask you, would you as a fan REALLY want to see your team, one that you thought should have made the playoffs last year and expect them to get their THIS year, go into the season with a guy who should be playing FB (Joe Burns), a not-so-good 3rd down back (Shaud Williams/ReShard Lee), and an unproven rookie(Lionel Gates), while HOPING your star RB(Willis McGahee) can make it through the season? I wouldn't.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Sure if I were a Jags fan I'd want more security at the position but as a Bills fan if we trade them Henry wouldn't we be in a similar situation?

 

As to use your words with our players:

 

Let me ask you, would you as a fan REALLY want to see your team, one that you thought should have made the playoffs last year and expect them to get their THIS year, go into the season with a guy who should be playing FB (Joe Burns), a not-so-good 3rd down back (Shaud Williams/ReShard Lee), and an unproven rookie(Lionel Gates), while HOPING your star RB(Willis McGahee) can make it through the season? I wouldn't.

The Bills and Jags have 2 different scenarios. For starters, Willis isn't coming off recent knee surgery and there aren't concerns he'll miss the season (and as far as I'm concerned, his chances of getting injured are the same as any other starting RB on any other team). In addition, there is a very real possibility Travis might sit-out the first 10 games, making him a potential backup moot for 5/8 of the season.

[The Jokeman]

The Bills and Jags have 2 different scenarios.  For starters, Willis isn't coming off recent knee surgery and there aren't concerns he'll miss the season (and as far as I'm concerned, his chances of getting injured are the same as any other starting RB on any other team).  In addition, there is a very real possibility Travis might sit-out the first 10 games, making him a potential backup moot for 5/8 of the season.

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I'm not saying I wouldn't move Travis, just that prefer having a more proven backup behind McGahee is all. Amos Zereoue is still available and is a worthy back IMHO.

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

2) i believe that belichec snookered TD.  TD HAD TO HAVE A QB to wear the new uniform and regenerate the bills fan base.  TD gave up the farm for a statute - mostly because of the pressure of NOT having a qb to sell tickets.

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I understand that the conventional wisdom is that BB snookered TD with the Bledsoe trade, however, i think that an examination of the facts reveals that the conventional wisdom at least does not tell the whole story and in fact is simply flat out wrong if it wants to give BB credit for winning two SBs thanks to TD trading a 1st for Bledsoe.

 

Definitely BB made the correct choice in sticking with Brady as his QB and letting Bledsoe go. However, this is a different thing than giving credit for the two SB wins under Brady's guidance to TD for making this trade.

 

Brady was the guy to keep and would have been kept regardless of whether NE got a 1st for Bledsoe as Brady was the obvious choice whether one got a 1st, a 2nd or simply cut Bledsoe. If one wants to deliver credit to TD for delivering NE the SB wins, one has to make the case that the 1st round draftee that NE got from Buffalo in exchange for DB was the cause of NE's SB wins. Ty Warren the player acquired for Bledsoe finally became a solid starter for NE on the DL in 2004, but no one would mistake TD as furnishing NE with a stud gamebreaker with this pick.

 

Instead a fact-based assessment of this trade show NE getting raped in this exchange in 2002 rather than the Bills.

 

It is simply a reality in terms of on the field production that we desperately needed a QB in 2002. The choices were the failed non-choice of keeping RJ in the job, relying on the proven back-up at best AVP as the starter, or getting one of the available QBs which was probably Chris Chandler or Rodney Peete.

 

Even for those who knew Bledsoe was at best on the backside of his career, he was a very reasonable acquisition for the Bills to make in terms of upgrading the position and given that BB's negotiating price was 2 1st rounders in exchange for Bledsoe a 1st was not an extraordinary price in comparison to what BB was asking.

 

In terms of on the field results, it is actually hard to see the Bills realistically doing any better than the Bledsoe on field performance in 2002, He set numerous single game and season records at QB in terms of on field production, he led a Kevin Killdrive O which proved effective until KG stupidly refused to vary his approach as teams got film on it and BB provided a roadmap on how to take advantage of Bledsoe.

 

Even still the Bills produced the second best turnaround in record ever in the NFL moving from 3-13 to 8-8 and Bledsoe played a key role in this production. He not only complete 110 passes to Pro Bowler Moulds, called plays and handed off to Pro Bowler Travis Henry and completed 94 passes to Reed (which TD steered into tagging Price to get McGahee) but Bledsoe even was honored with a reserve Pro Bowl nod which I think he deserved with his play (if you think he sucked and did not deserve this then what AFC QB would you pick for the Pro Bowl instead?).

 

All of this comes even before one calculates in the fan excitment and ticket sale excitement that made Bledsoe an excellent business pick-up for the Bills in addition to his very good on field performance in 2002,

 

All of this comes even before you assess the impacts of this trade on NE. Quite frankly I think they were doomed in 2002 whether they traded Bledsoe or not as even if they cut him his cap hit would have accelerated and this was a major reason why this team won SBs in the 2001 and 2003 (and 04) seasons but these wins bookended NE even failing to make the playoffs in 2002.

 

However, the facts are the facts and it was NR that got raped by the results of this deal in 2002 not the Bills.

 

One can and should look further than this one year to accurately assess this deal. Bledsoe was so horrendous in 2003 and Ty Warren was acquired for Bledsoe (with NE actually giving up even a little more value to switch picks with the Bears and draft Warren) but did nothing that in total it is reasonable to view this deal as a wash (though in my view the Bills experienced such a turnaround that they then squandered that the Bills were probably still ahead when assessing this trade in a vacuum without considering GW being a disaster with or without Bledsoe and NE being an SB winner in 2003 with or without Warren).

 

My sense is that the Bills should have cut Bledsoe after the 2003 season and comfortably could have considered TD making the deal a wash. The benefit of turning this team around on the field in 2002 (and at least at the ticket window in 2003) easily made this a wash for the Bills in comparison to having been able to draft the equivalent of a Ty Warren level player in 2003.

 

One can make woulds/coulda/shoulda considerations that are based on where we might be if we had Ty Warren to fill in for Phat Pat. However, this theoretical discussion quickly lapses into unreality as we likely would have had to have used the #14 pick for a QB in 2003 (or an earlier pick as I doubt we would have gone 8-8 with Chris Chandler, Rodney Peete or AVP at QB in 2002).

 

Trading for Bledsoe and his play at a critical time in 2002 was easily worth a future 1st round choice in my book and I do not think BB snookered TD at all. If you believe this I think you are ignoring the beneficial parts of Bledsoe's ultimately inadequate play for the Bills and you value Ty Warren far to highly.