Fake-Fat Sunny Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Let's start with assumption that you too would have taken WM with our #23 pick in the 2003 draft when he dropped to you (one could propose some fantasy world drafts where you never would have taken TH in 2001 or, done something different at tackle than take MW in 2002, or packaged the #23 with whatever and moved up, but lets forget those and focus on the reality that TD made decisions about that correctly are being judged right now). If you think TD deserves no praise for getting a TN #3 for TH what would you have done differently? The live options among TD's choices appear to me to have been: 1. Hang onto TH and force/allow him to be a #2 this year. I think we could have pulled this off because I do not think that if TH wanted a big contract in the future he would have had no other choice than to take the peace branch that TD left out there for him to make peace, come back and wait for his chance to increase his value if he came in for WM, or to simply leave as an FA if WM remmained healthy. I think we could have pulled this off, but it would have taken some work by MM which I am glad they can now devote full attention to getting better. I think TH would almost certainly have walked as an FA and we would have gotten nothing. Some may advcate this because they are so concerned about WM going down and they do not see Lee.Wiilams as a reasonable alternative, but I think folks are happy because the trade beats this alternative. 2. Trade TH for a player this year. I think this option is better than the draft pick next year but it seems like what this would have meant in reality is trading Henry for Shelton and TD made one great call in that it is now clear that if we wanted Shelton we could have had him for no trade resource and that actually the Bills' braintrust did not want him (paorbably because his ankle injury is worse than talked about). I think that this alternative is far better than a TH/Shelton deal and I have not heard of any other real possibilities. Yeach it is a negative that we did not get resources this year for Henry, but in that vein it is a negative that we did not get Jonathan Ogden for him. Neither the Ogden deal or trading TH for value this year appear to have been a real possibility. 3. TD was being greedy and should have traded him to TN when Reese offered a 5th rounder. Yeah right. You want me and John Clayton to buy what bridge from you. 4. We should have cut TH because no team will trade for this bad player. Yeah right. Do you write for Pro Football Weekly. Perhaps you have some other alternative which either is not the height of fantasy land and if so I and ohers would love to hear them. However, it only takes comparing what TD got to reality to be pretty happy about this trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gantrules Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 I never would have drafted Willis McGahee so I guess I can't reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 I never would have drafted Willis McGahee so I guess I can't reply. 383397[/snapback] Who would you have drafted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gantrules Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Dallas Clark. He would have gave us a blocking option at TE plus some immediate dividends for Drew after losing Centers in the short passing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Frenkle Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 The silence from wannabe GMs everywhere is deafening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Frenkle Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Dallas Clark. He would have gave us a blocking option at TE plus some immediate dividends for Drew after losing Centers in the short passing game. 383403[/snapback] Assuming he could have stayed healthier here than he did in Indy. I'd take McGahee over Clark every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Assuming he could have stayed healthier here than he did in Indy. I'd take McGahee over Clark every day of the week and twice on Sunday. 383437[/snapback] Especially on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gantrules Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I hope it works out well for both parties, but all I'm saying is that we possibly could have won with Drew if we played to his strengths. No sense in beating that dead horse and now TD has to stay the course on what he's building. Is it a good move? Sure, why not. Get the "problem guy" off the team, but honestly the guy wasn't a problem until McGahee got here. Did McGahee outplay him? Absolutely, for this year, but the guy didn't get a shot to prove his worth. Now, he's expected to come back and win the job back from McGahee that was rightfully his before his injury. The fans fell in love with McGahee and Travis knew he wasn't going to be the guy anymore so I can understand his hard feelings. It's really a shame that it had to come to this. But, it did and now it's over. Like I said I hope it works out for both parties and both backs have career years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 I don't understand why you TD apologists have to make everything so black & white. You want to draw battle lines like we're pro wrestlers: "You're either a Face or a Heel on every topic". I happen to think there is too much TD worship on this board because our record during his tenure sucks, and that's ultimately how a GM gets graded. He hired a clueless stiff for a Head Coach and traded for a crappy QB. Doesn't mean that the guy can do nothing right or that I have a problem with the way the whole Henry thing went down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 I don't understand why you TD apologists have to make everything so black & white. You want to draw battle lines like we're pro wrestlers: "You're either a Face or a Heel on every topic". I happen to think there is too much TD worship on this board because our record during his tenure sucks, and that's ultimately how a GM gets graded. He hired a clueless stiff for a Head Coach and traded for a crappy QB. Doesn't mean that the guy can do nothing right or that I have a problem with the way the whole Henry thing went down. 383859[/snapback] As one who views virtually all issues as being defind in shades of gray rather than the you are either for us or agin' us that seems to be popular in today's culture I agree that folks paint this as too black and white. However, I would spread this too defined view of things as being the province of TD bashers as well as TD apologists. I think any rational person has to acknowledge that the W/L under TD and the team's failure to make the playoffs while he has been GM is a flat-out record of failure for him in the area which most likely counts most to us fans. However, i think the rational person also has to admit that TD is on a roll of positive actions right now that to my mind ha its roots in the positive things he has done from the start that are part of the mixed bag (He blew it when he hired GW bigtime, but like it or not on his watch we escaped cap hell at least a year if not two earlier than many observers predicted, he has attracted and kept a good tea, led by Modrak, he has been a good negotiator of salaries and attracted folks like Spikes and Adams to come here at reasonable deals. Clearly the Bledsoe acquisition failed miserably after a promising start, but really since the trade of Price and his ripoff of AT to draft WM and the decision to let GW go, the ultimate result remains inadequate because we once again failed to make the playoffs, but we did finally amass a winning record,, TD is on a roll! I think the context to consider the TH deal within is that of a positive streak which I hope continues and see us make the playoffs (at least). If one agrees that an accurate assessent of TD is not either totally good or totally bad, then I think that one also needs to acknowledge that the good part of his work is defined by more recent events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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