The Real problem with Buffalo

[Frez]

Tom Donahoe's ego and unwillingness to make a change when needed. I don't think he really knows how to select the correct talent to build a winning team. To many misses and not enough bullseyes.

 

 

Donahoe needs a serious evaluation at the seasons end. He knows how to fill the seats but he can't build a winner from what I've seen so far. I challange you Mr. Donahoe to make us fans look stupid.

[BuffaloBob]

Tom Donahoe's ego and unwillingness to make a change when needed. I don't think he really knows how to select the correct talent to build a winning team. To many misses and not enough bullseyes.

Donahoe needs a serious evaluation at the seasons end. He knows how to fill the seats but he can't build a winner from what I've seen so far. I challange you Mr. Donahoe to make us fans look stupid.

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That should be easy, he need merely hold up a mirror.

[Frez]

That should be easy, he need merely hold up a mirror. 

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Good one Bob.........but numbers tell it all.

 

 

Donahoe is 17-34

[Ray]

Donahoe's major bad decision was GW as the first head coach. The DB trade was a very good move at the time. If you forget we had just had the Flutie/Johnson debacle and went 3-13--yep 3-13 and were awful. There were no other decent QBs in the league out there and we got DB who had a good first year and a lousy second year. We'll see what he does this year and if he stinks we have Losman for next year.

Donahoe also drafted and brought in players who made up the 2nd best D last year and a very good one now. We all thought after the salary cap jail we were in that it would take 3 years to get out. Well we are in year 4 so let's see how we do.

[Simon]

I don't think he really knows how to select the correct talent to build a winning team......He knows how to fill the seats but he can't build a winner from what I've seen so far.

 

That'd be a great post if you discount the fact (which once again you have) that his career record as a GM is over .500. And that even includes the 3-13 year he absorbed with John Butler's mess, while also discluding two Stillers teams that posted 13-3 and 10-5-1 records with rosters he assembled. Darn those pesky facts again.

Actually, if you were to count only each of the teams he had actually assembled, his career record as a GM would possibly be the best of any GM in the salary cap era. Kind of like his draft run from 88-98 is probably the best in the history of the NFL

So even though he's done as good of work as anybody ever has, we should just go ahead and dump him for somebody you can't even name.

Brilliant.

 

Donahoe is 17-34

 

Donahoe is 38-12

 

Those two statements are equally factual.

Which is to say that both of them are complete and utter bullshlt.

[Bill from NYC]

That'd be a great post if you discount the fact (which once again you have) that his career record as a GM is over .500. And that even includes the 3-13 year he absorbed with John Butler's mess, while also discluding two Stillers teams that posted 13-3 and 10-5-1 records with rosters he assembled. Darn those pesky facts again.

Actually, if you were to count only each of the teams he had actually assembled, his career record as a GM would possibly be the best of any GM in the salary cap era. Kind of like his draft run from 88-98 is probably the best in the history of the NFL

So even though he's done as good of work as anybody ever has, we should just go ahead and dump him for somebody you can't even name.

Brilliant.

Donahoe is 38-12

 

Those two statements are equally factual.

Which is to say that both of them are complete and utter bullshlt.

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But Simon, at some point, he has to be held accountable for Mike and Greg Williams. These were not minor setbacks.

MW is going to cripple the salary cap of the Buffalo Bills football team for at least another two seasons. Denney is another horror show, and he traded up to get him. His first draft was good. The rest have been suspect at best. Although I readily admit that it is FAR too early to judge the latest one, we ARE a team with no wins, a shabby OL, and no first round pick in 05. Sad indeed.

[Simon]

But Simon, at some point, he has to be held accountable for Mike and Greg Williams. These were not minor setbacks.

GW was ugly but it really only cost us one year of underacheivement. The rosters we had his first two years were JButler specials and we had no hope of reaching the postseason. Even last year with competent coaching we were likely no better than a wildcard one/done team.

Implying that a single draft pick (which the jury is still out on) is some sort of major setback for an organization is not something I can even consider remotely realistic.

 

MW is going to cripple the salary cap of the Buffalo Bills football team for at least another two seasons

 

How on earth can you say that when you are constantly lamenting our failure to cripple our salary cap by giving a huuuuuge portion of it to a single player like Pace, Ogden, etc.? And while Mike Williams has yet to be all we hoped for, he hasn't been anywhere near as bad as many continue to try and make him out to be.

 

Denney is another horror show

 

Nonsense. He's essentially playing his first year of NFL ball and has been pretty effective as a DE on one of the league's best defenses.

 

His first draft was good

 

No, his first draft was absolutely freaking spectacular, the best of '02 and one of the very best in the entire league over the last 3 years.

As for assessing his other ones(which it may still be too early for), I think maybe you should compare them to other teams' drafts instead of some dream draft which nobody could ever hope to measure up to.

 

we ARE a team with no wins, a shabby OL, and no first round pick in 05

 

I disagree that our OLine is shabby as they have played pretty well so far in a very tough situation to open the year, not to mention protecting Bledsoe may very well be the toughest task in the NFL.

And I think first round picks are overrated, with only like 50% ever actually panning out. Besides our 2005 1strounder is already on our roster getting an important year of experience.

 

Don't let yourself fall in with the hand-wringers Bill. We are not in that bad of shape.

 

Cya

[Bill from NYC]

GW was ugly but it really only cost us one year of underacheivement. The rosters we had his first two years were JButler specials and we had no hope of reaching the postseason. Even last year with competent coaching we were likely no better than a wildcard one/done team.

Implying that a single draft pick (which the jury is still out on) is some sort of major setback for an organization is not something I can even consider remotely realistic.

How on earth can you say that when you are constantly lamenting our failure to cripple our salary cap by giving a huuuuuge portion of it to a single player like Pace, Ogden, etc.? And while Mike Williams has yet to be all we hoped for, he hasn't been anywhere near as bad as many continue to try and make him out to be.

Nonsense. He's essentially playing his first year of NFL ball and has been pretty effective as a DE on one of the league's best defenses.

No, his first draft was absolutely freaking spectacular, the best of '02 and one of the very best in the entire league over the last 3 years.

As for assessing his other ones(which it may still be too early for), I think maybe you should compare them to other teams' drafts instead of some dream draft which nobody could ever hope to measure up to.

I disagree that our OLine is shabby as they have played pretty well so far in a very tough situation to open the year, not to mention protecting Bledsoe may very well be the toughest task in the NFL.

And I think first round picks are overrated, with only like 50% ever actually panning out. Besides our 2005 1strounder is already on our roster getting an important year of experience.

 

Don't let yourself fall in with the hand-wringers Bill. We are not in that bad of shape.

 

Cya

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Although I am soothed by your optimism, with all due respect, I infer that not all of it is rational. Where do I start?

 

1) As "great" as you proclaim the 02 draft to be, Clements is showboating and missing plays. Travis fumbles, and cannot block nor catch. Jennings wants out. Schobel is good, but I want more from him.

 

2) Please, for me , do not mention MW in a sentence with two Hall of Fame LTs. MW is an out of shape, head case RT, who I wish would be tried at LG. The way his contract was structured, according to BuffaloBob, (a seemingly very good source), is crippling. His salary is only 726,000 next year. It will cost millions of cap dollars to cut this blob. Again, this was a NUMBER FRICKEN FOUR!!! Certainly, you are not pleased with this pick, are you?

 

3) Protecting Drew is such a tough task because this OL already made sure he was half dead. Again, 110 sacks in 2 seasons plus 2 games. How many other hits? This OL has itself to blame.

 

4) As for the first rounder in 05, how DO we improve this OL? McNally? Drew has already been sacked what, 9 times in 2 games? Thanks Coach. But seriously, don't you think that we need to devote high picks to cure this ill?

 

5) What about MaGahee? Why is he not in there? Henry is missing blocks, batting up passes for ints, averaging 3 yds per carry, and he hasn't even started fumbling the football yet. Why again did we pass on Steinbach (sic) if we are not to use MaGahee when our "feature" back is floundering?

 

My point is Bro, that it all is adding up to a mess, and someone has to be accountable. Why not TD?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Don't let yourself fall in with the hand-wringers Bill. We are not in that bad of shape.

 

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So tell me then, fearless leader...When does this team actually WIN a game?

 

I'm willing to take odds it won't come till their fifth game.

 

They will lose next weekend and lose BIG.

 

Oh, and BTW, you conveniently neglected the single largest problem of the TD era:

 

LACK OF DIVISION WINS.

 

The Bills haven't been a force in division since Butler's and Wade's second to last season. Sure, those teams were going nowhere in the long run, but neither is this one.

[Simon]

As "great" as you proclaim the 02 draft to be, Clements is showboating and missing plays. Travis fumbles, and cannot block nor catch. Jennings wants out. Schobel is good, but I want more from him.

 

Clements is also one of the best covercorners in the world and misses a hell of a lot fewer plays than most NFL starters.

Travis certainly has his warts(like almost all backs) but he runs like a wildman and was a steal in the 2nd round.

Jennings will go wherever the money is. And that has nothing to do with the fact that he was an outright steal on draft day.

You want more from a young DE than continued improvement and double digit sacks every year? Do you want him to also catch bad guys when he's not continually improving his game?-)

 

His salary is only 726,000 next year. It will cost millions of cap dollars to cut this blob. Certainly, you are not pleased with this pick, are you?

 

It doesn't make one iota of differrence how cutting him would affect the cap because the Bills are not going to cut a bluchip LT who is now getting his first real NFL coaching.

btw, I saw Orlando Pace get beat more in 60minutes of football today than I've seen MWilliams get beat all year. I'm certainly not saying that BigMike is better than Pace (because he isn't and never will be) but I think sometimes you hold guys you don't like to standards that are unfairly high, i.e. perfection.

And while Williams hasn't been as good as I'd hoped (his feet really nedd work) he has played a hell of a lot better than most people are giving him credit for.

 

Protecting Drew is such a tough task because this OL already made sure he was half dead. Again, 110 sacks in 2 seasons plus 2 games. How many other hits? This OL has itself to blame.

I think protecting Drew is so tough because he's a huge target, has poor pocket presence, is terribly immobile and makes awful decisons with the ball.

And both Drew himself and the former staff have to take a significant amount of credit for the pounding Bledsoe's taken the last couple years.

Besides I think he's been half dead for almost 10 years now;-)

 

As for the first rounder in 05, how DO we improve this OL? McNally? Drew has already been sacked what, 9 times in 2 games? Thanks Coach.But seriously, don't you think that we need to devote high picks to cure this ill?

 

This line is already improved. Of those 9 sacks I bet you can only put 2-3 of them on the OLine (you can thank our backs and Drew for the majority) and that's against two teams that are bringing serious weaponry on their DFronts.

And I don't think high picks is the big answer. That only gives you a 50% chance of solving a problem that involved 3-4-5 guys. Donahoe has been proactive and invested quite a few chips in adding Jennings, Vilarial, Williams, Teague, Smith, Price, etc. And now that they are getting pro coaching for the first time, we're alredy starting to see good results. I'm not prepared to call this OLine a failure until "they" give me a reason to. Getting a reason from writers, fans or even previous OLines isn't enough to make a decision.

 

What about MaGahee? Why is he not in there?

 

I don't know why he was used so sparingly vs Oakland but that was not Donahoe's decision. The only thing our RB situation has to do with Donahoe is that he has managed to find a bunch of good backs like he did in P'burgh.

 

My point is Bro, that it all is adding up to a mess, and someone has to be accountable. Why not TD?

 

I don't think it's adding up to a mess at all. I think we've already seen great improvement in this team and really think the '04 Bills would absolutely beat the dogshlt out of the '03 Bills.

And if somehow it does all go to pieces, I don't think the answer is to fire an historically succesful GM after only 3-4 years on the job. One of the keys to success is patience and going off half-cocked, firing people every time they make a questionable decision is not going to take you anywhere but backwards.

 

Cya

[Simon]

So tell me then, fearless leader...When does this team actually WIN a game?

I'm willing to take odds it won't come till their fifth game.

They will lose next weekend and lose BIG.

Oh, and BTW, you conveniently neglected the single largest problem of the TD era:

LACK OF DIVISION WINS.

 

I have no crystal ball and no idea when or how many they'll win. I just know I like the kind of physically tough team that the Bills are continually trying to create because its the kind of team that historically wins ballgames. I'm not ready to scramble off that path because we're in a rough patch right now.

And I don't think we're going to lose BIG to anybody this year. We don't play the kind of high risk ball that leads to blowouts.........for either team.

As for the division wins, when we start to win (geesus I hope its soon) we'll win everywhere, including inside the division.

Cya

[_BiB_]

Could still go 14-2....

 

They just have to take what they got and use it to win. Other teams do it, look at Jacksonville. Get the best out of what you got. The Bills don't seem to be going there. Bledsoe is punch drunk, I haven't seen any extra effort out the O since maybe the middle of last season and the D puts up good stats, but folds when the pressures on.

 

There's enough talent there, especially in this era of free agency to go 11-5, 10-6. No one not in pads is taking charge and making these guys play. Professional athletes in this day and age are by large, weak spirited. Yes, there are the exceptions-but someone needs to take these kids and make them do.

 

That, to me, is the problem with the Bills.

[Buftex]

I always thought the McGahee pick was f***kin stupid. I don't feel any different abou it now. I like the fact that TD is very pro-active as a GM, but I agree, I am starting to have serious doubts that he is the best evaluater of talent. Beyond Henry, Clements, Mike Williams, Jennings and Schobel, none of TD's draft picks have really had much of an impact. Keep criticizing John Butler, but as far as picking talent, I feel he was far superior to TD thus far. In Butlers' days, the philosophy was to pay your own FA's. TD's approach is different, and he seems to prefer utilizing free agency to building throught the draft. He may still prove successful, but so far his most positive impact has been keeping the team in good financial shape. If I am Ralph Wilson, I am happy. As a fan, I think it kind of sucks! What ultimately drove the Steelers to fire TD was his battle of egos with Cowher. Maybe old Mr Rooney wasn't so dumb, and picked Cowher for a reason.

[Fan in San Diego]

3) Protecting Drew is such a tough task because this OL already made sure he was half dead. Again, 110 sacks in 2 seasons plus 2 games. How many other hits? This OL has itself to blame.

 

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How about Drew taking some responsibility by actually trying to evade a tackler. He just stands there and gets sacked. If you drw a 3 foot circle around Drew's feet he rarely ever steps out of that circle. DE's can rush for that spot and find Drew standing there. The guy needs to move around and buy some time until a WR can get open.

Yes it would be better if we had the great wall in front of Drew but sheesh the guy can try and evade a tackle cant he?

[njsue]

Good one Bob.........but numbers tell it all.

Donahoe is 17-34

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When Tom Donahoe first took this team under his wings. THE BILLS TOTALLY STUNK.

 

We all knew that it would take a while for him to build this team back up to its winning capabilities.

 

SO QUIT WITH NUMBERS. GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING WHEN HE CAME TO THIS TEAM.

[Nanker]

Although I am soothed by your optimism...

 

My point is Bro, that it all is adding up to a mess, and someone has to be accountable. Why not TD?

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Uh, here's your answer Bill –

It's the fans' fault.

It's not Drew, not TD, not Travis.

It's not Ralph, the coaches, nor the offensive Offensive Line.

It's not the underachieving receivers, nor Lindel, and certainly not Denny or Kelsay.

 

It's the fans who don't just know in their hearts that this team will win every game.

It's their fault. Nobody elses.

Can't be anybody else to blame 'cept the fans (and of course the officials).

The players, front office and coaches are blameless. Always have been, always will be.

 

We're simply not rooting hard enough!

So, if you don't want to root for what's running around in red white and blue this year, (or for the last half dozen years) you're outta luck. You've got no one to blame except you and me and any other fan that can't see this sack of grunt for the unhearlded champions they really are. B)

[BillnutinHouston]

Tom Donahoe's ego and unwillingness to make a change when needed. I don't think he really knows how to select the correct talent to build a winning team. To many misses and not enough bullseyes.

Donahoe needs a serious evaluation at the seasons end. He knows how to fill the seats but he can't build a winner from what I've seen so far. I challange you Mr. Donahoe to make us fans look stupid.

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Frez, I am starting to agree with you. All I see from TD is an intense need to buck the traditional wisdom of the NFL, to prove he's smarter & more cutting edge than everyone else. We (& Ralph) are the ones paying the price for his "genius".

 

I also did not like the McGahee pick. The Bills have played 18 games since that pick, and all we have to show for it is a handfull of carries for about 30 yards? That does not cut it in my book. I also do not project him to be ever back to his pre-injury form. That pick was simply playing Russian Roulette with the franchise.

[BuffaloBob]

You want more from a young DE than continued improvement and double digit sacks every year? Do you want him to also catch bad guys when he's not continually improving his game?-)

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ROTFLMAO!!

 

Simon, that was hilarious and a great point, too! God I needed that this morning!

 

 

It doesn't make one iota of differrence how cutting him would affect the cap because the Bills are not going to cut a bluchip LT who is now getting his first real NFL coaching.

btw, I saw Orlando Pace get beat more in 60minutes of football today than I've seen MWilliams get beat all year. I'm certainly not saying that BigMike is better than Pace (because he isn't and never will be) but I think sometimes you hold guys you don't like to standards that are unfairly high, i.e. perfection.

And while Williams hasn't been as good as I'd hoped (his feet really nedd work) he has played a hell of a lot better than most people are giving him credit for.

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Very true Simon. I like Bill, but he has become compulsive on this issue. He is as obsessed with Mike Williams as Foxboro Mike is with Bledsoe!

 

And if somehow it does all go to pieces, I don't think the answer is to fire an historically succesful GM after only 3-4 years on the job. One of the keys to success is patience and going off half-cocked, firing people every time they make a questionable decision is not going to take you anywhere but backwards.

 

Cya

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Simon, this is the key. There is NO patience in this fan base whatsoever. It is much easier to simply ignore the monumental task that it was to right this ship from the mess in which Butler left us and scream about the record and look for someone to blame that we aren't contenders yet. The other thing people cannot separate is this season from the last year and a half. Yes we are 0-2 so far when we could just as easily be 2-0. Yes the offense is still struggling but NOT for the same reasons they have under the previous coach.

 

This offense is NEW. It needs time to be honed a bit and to get everyone in synch. That is the way it is. You change coaches, install a new offense and it takes a little time to get it firing all cylinders under live competition with defenses that are gameplanned against you. As much as Bledsoe has struggled under the old regime, he has improved his efficiency already this year. This offense is on the verge of breaking out with a dominating performance.

 

I still believe that the Bils are going to come out and whip New England this week, and they will score points doing it.

[Cobra]

Is their fans!

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

JB did a good job of keeping Free agents happy that were originally signed by Polien. JB was a very good scout, but I don't think he was that good of a GM. In the end though in order to keep the long time Bills here, he overpaid and got out of Dodge just before the ship sunk. Butler/Polien also had a number of bad first round pick; Flowers A DB last name was Williams in early 90's (can't recal lhis first name??

 

Actually as I'm writing this I think the entire problem the bills are having is with guys named Williams!

 

Keep criticizing John Butler, but as far as picking talent, I feel he was far superior to TD thus far.  In Butlers' days, the philosophy was to pay your own FA's.  TD's approach is different, and he seems to prefer utilizing free agency to building throught the draft. 

 

What ultimately drove the Steelers to fire TD was his battle of egos with Cowher.  Maybe old Mr Rooney wasn't so dumb, and picked Cowher for a reason.

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Pittsburg did pretty well with him there as far as having a talented team. So I'm not totally convinced he can't pick talent. His choice of Gregg Williams certainly didn't work too well, but can't fault too many others. I find it funny to how people are complaining about Mike Williams pick. If he hadn't picked him or BM (who's not exactly lighting things up) he would have been ripped for that too.