BoondckCL Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Hah, blaming Bledsoe for the current state of the Bills is probably the dumbest reason I've heard yet...and I've heard some pretty stupid ones. Had we never cut peerless price loose I think the bills wouldnt have taken a step backwards after an 8-8 season. I know Price wanted big money, but we could have at least kept him around for another season with the tag instead of trading him for WM who contributed nothing to the following season. I still think wasting a number one pick on WM knowing that he wasnt going to play was a big mistake. I'll retract that statement though should WM decide to get his ass in gear on the field this year and finish in the top 5 rushers. You have to blame Ralph wilson and Tom Donahoe for the current state of the Bills. Its not a cop out. Its called poor management. TD neglected the lines and spent more time and money on skill position players and luxury picks, i.e. McGahee and Parrish. I also think that it was a huge mistake to not wait until the 2nd round for Losman. Now, I'm a Losman supporter, but I still didnt see him as a 1st rounder, and even if we didnt get him, we would have had a shot at Matt Schaub, who I still think would have been the better choice to backup Bledsoe. My beef with Wilson is letting TD talk him into another inexperienced HC after the Gregg Williams bust, but I can understand it...TD is pretty persuasive and Ralph isnt as sharp as he used to be (Is it Monday?). Poor management yields poor results in any business and football is no exception. 610250[/snapback] The Packers seemed to think that Losman was worth a first round pick, seeing as they were on the verge of choosing Losman as Favre's successor. Another thing is that TD was hiring weak coaches so that he would not have to worry about being muscled out of the position of GM like he was by Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. I guess SB XV showed everybody who the real genius was in Pittsburgh (TD or BC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 So the Packers get Losman and Rodgers has the chance of slipping to us in the second...not seeing the downside there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoondckCL Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 So the Packers get Losman and Rodgers has the chance of slipping to us in the second...not seeing the downside there. 610253[/snapback] Rodgers was drafted last year and Losman the year before. Rodgers is also regarded as having a weak arm that is not able to throw the deep out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Ugh...you're right..brain fart. Now I know its going to be a long night.....only 5.5 hours to go!!! Now I cant think of the other QB that I meant to say....wasnt Schaub even though he was the next one taken and that was in the late 3rd round Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoondckCL Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Ugh...you're right..brain fart. Now I know its going to be a long night.....only 5.5 hours to go!!! Now I cant think of the other QB that I meant to say....wasnt Schaub even though he was the next one taken and that was in the late 3rd round 610256[/snapback] Yeah Schaubb was there really late into the draft, but i don't think it's going to be that long of a night for you cause i am going to bed. And i would have to agree with the Schaubb comments. I think he is one of the better quarterbacks picked that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I have been thinking about this and i was just wondering, what do you think was the key to Buffalo's destruction over the past few years? Don't just say something like Donahoe or any of those cop outs. I was thinking of something like draft classes by the Bills, free agent acquisitions, so on and so forth. 610182[/snapback] Butler driving us into cap hell and his last draft. He knew he was leaving and screwed us best he could on the way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Also some to blame goes to Donahoe for letting him go and to us fans. YES, WE are also contributors. After Bledsoe's terrible season in 04 everyone in Buffalo wanted him to leave because we thought he was washed up. We in a sence persuaded Donahoe and Ralph to get rid of Bledsoe. Now look at our mistake. If we only thought a little back then then maybe we would have had a playoff season last year and we wouldn't have this Qb controversy that were having now. Maybe instead of blaming the qb we should have thought about the people who are trying to protect the Qb. 610215[/snapback] Ah, yes! Someone said it. It's the Fans. Poor ol' weenie beenie Tommie DonnaHo had a pwobwem in dealing wiff us. We are sooooooo powerful and he cared soooooo much about pleasing us - he wouldn't even let in derogatory signs at the Ralph. Instead of crying "Oh, the humanity!" as I reach for my sword to fall on, I turn and say to you... Take that bullhsit for a !@#$ing hike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Butler driving us into cap hell and his last draft. He knew he was leaving and screwed us best he could on the way out. 610283[/snapback] thats another great point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinky finger Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Don't just say something like Donahoe or any of those cop outs. 610182[/snapback] Oh. So you're really looking for the 2nd biggest reason why we've tanked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I,ve said it before, I think the biggest thiong that crippled this team was the broken leg of JP. If his leg is not broken, he starts in week 5 or 6 of 04, of which we were all thinking was a lost season anyway. So he loses a few maybe, but also gets to beat up on those weak teams, maybe giving him much needed confidence. Or he sucks it up, runs for his life, and convinces TD that its not the QB, its the stinkin line that sucks. Maybe more focus placed there as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I have been thinking about this and i was just wondering, what do you think was the key to Buffalo's destruction over the past few years? Don't just say something like Donahoe or any of those cop outs. I was thinking of something like draft classes by the Bills, free agent acquisitions, so on and so forth. 610182[/snapback] Too many first-rounders spent on QBs, both before and during Donahoe's tenure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 It was really a combination of Donohue and Williams. The ripping apart of the defense and switch from a 3-4 to 4-3 without the personnel to accomplish the switch was what set us on a fast track to destruction. Quarterback roulette with Flutie and Johnson doomed the offense over time. Failure to realize the need to keep or acquire a first rate offensive and defensive line was the worst long term mistake. Taking Bledsoe and never developing a "Bledsoe offense" when we had him. Letting him go when we didn't know what Losman could do was bizarre. Really there were a lot of very bad decisions that fall at Donohoe's feet. Williams and Mularkey were very poor coaches so they must accept some of the blame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 My top 5 would be (in order of biggest contributor): John Butler: First and formost, he took a proud franchise and buried it. Then split. Ralph Wilson......for firing Wade Phillips. (he should have put on the damn headsets). Tom Donahoe.....for having bad drafts. Mike Williams, Trading up to get Ryan Denney, I still like McGahee, but he drafted him when they had a productive Travis Henry and desperatly needed help on the OL. For letting Pat Williams go. For signing Bennie Anderson. He made a nice deal unloading Peerless Price for a 1st round pick, and we were all very excited to get Drew Blesoe at the time, but niether of these deals in hindsight have panned out. And I haven't forgotten that he pulled the team out of "Cap Management Hell" that John Butler put the team in.....but after 6 years and no playoff appearances....it wasn't enough. Eric Moulds/Trey Teague: Why? The offense has NO veteran leadership. These two guys are the veterans on this roster. Teague has never showed leadership,...which is a MUST for the Center.... and Moulds has grumbled a bit, plus the whole benching fiasco. Achillie: His heel took Spikes out for the season, and he is a difference maker. London Fletcher played like a man possessed down the stretch but Spikes is the leader of the defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Butler driving us into cap hell and his last draft. He knew he was leaving and screwed us best he could on the way out. 610283[/snapback] didn't see your post befor i put mine up....i agree....Butler really buried this franchise. which is a the one thing i salute Donahoe for. he came in like the big bad sheriff and had to make some very tough decisions that had to be made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven in MD Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Not to cop out and just say Donahoe, but instead look at his "moves" I think getting fancy with the Mcgahee pick is indicative of the problem. TD believed in selecting the best talent, and not addressing the needs. If you look at his free agent signing, most (not including Spikes and maybe Fletcher) were in areas where they did not have a need, but he saw a star on the decline who he thought could resurrect their career in Buffalo...I just think he showed poor judgement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 The short answer is that it was TD's refusal to properly address the OL, do a better job of retaining some of our key free agents (e.g. Pat Williams), and trying to be too cute with some of his moves. But in the longer haul, it was a chain reaction... starting with the trade for RJ. Remember that the trade for RJ took place shortly AFTER the acquisition of Flutie. In hindsight, we should have kept Todd Collins on the roster and let him and Flutie duke it out. Of course, I don't think anyone on the team at the time realized how good (or even adequate) that Flutie would be -- at least for one year. We would have kept that #9 overall pick, which turned out to be Fred Taylor. (We wouldn't have drafted Taylor... more likely Tra Thomas.) Not only did RJ turn out to be a waste of valuable cap space and draft picks, but the controversy and feud that developed between him and Flutie is what ultimately led to Wade's demise. (I'm not excusing Flutie's role in this either.) Well, that and the Touchdown Throw Forward, which led to its own sad chain of events... Since TD wanted to go younger and felt no obligation to the previous regime's mistake(s), he chose RJ over Flutie. The result was a 3-13 season and Alex Van Pelt starting by late season. That led to the Bledsoe trade (which I still maintain was not a total mistake), which led to the Price franchise tag and trade, which led to the drafting of McGahee. Although McGahee wasn't a "bad" pick, it was an unnecessary pick -- as Travis was coming off a 1400-yard season. We've also seen since then how EASY RBs are to acquire. And I'm saying that now knowing that Willis has been able to make a near-full recovery from the knee injury that had him fall so far in the first place. Imagine what we'd be saying if this hadn't been the case. It simply was not a risk worth taking. TD also made the mistake of allowing so many key contributors on offense to walk out the door that off-season. As a result Drew regressed badly in 2003, which led to the hysteria to land a first-round QB in 2004. Clearly the verdict is still out on JP, but if TD doesn't make that move to trade up and get him, then Drew is still here in 2005. And who knows what our season may have been like last year. But then again, maybe it would have meant another year of MM and TD... Like I said, a chain reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Ralph Wilson......for firing Wade Phillips. (he should have put on the damn headsets). 610374[/snapback] Right person, wrong firing (Polian). Though technically you should blame Littman... Though if you limit it to the last few years then the answer is obviously ICE. The Bills made a sharp decline into the crapper after his half hour pre-game "heart-to-heart" with TD... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mile High Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Ralph Wilson and Tom Donahoe. How could anyone state otherwise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 the big problem was TD either didn't have or wouldn't stick to a strategy. he brings in GW (who is clearly a great D guy and a decent players coach, but lacked as a head coach) and then allows a green and terrible staff to be built around him (obviously TD protected himself with young coaches, but he should have forced SOME king if decent vet staffing to start with). he traded for bledsoe, drafted reed, henry, and williams and ended up with a great O for 02. he then dismantles it, goes heavy on D in FA, and lets the O walk and drafts another RB and another 2nd round DE (his thrid in a row) so he seemed to have his o set at skill positions anyhow, but then he goes after a new QB, RB, and 3 new WRs (evans, evrette, parrish). the bottom line is he didn't know what steps he would take to get the bills to where he thought they should go. he stumbled around and put cash and picks into nothing. this also showed in his coaching moves. he is just a good contract guy but a terrible GM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 The fans are primarily responsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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