Marv is doing the right things

[Mister Defense]

He does not re-sign once excellent players if they aren't cutting it anymore.

 

He doesn't join in bidding wars, even for the best Bills players, if they cost more than they are worth.

 

He drafts well, getting NFL ready players when needed, ones with character.

 

He has improved their offensive line, which will enable Losman to have a more productive year. He can become an excellent quarterback in 2007. Having played in this offense for a year, and, now, with more time to throw, Losman will progress faster than we expected.

 

He has assembled a coaching staff that teaches the players, makes them better, and treats them with respect. This coaching staff is also good at game planning and making adjustments.

 

And Marv has people around him who also have confidence that doing these things will create a winning team, and then, a great team.

 

The last time this kind of foundation was being layed for this team was in 1987 and 1988. Marv is building the same kind of team. (It may be more difficult than it was then, because of free agency, but every team is playing by the same rules.) In 2 years, this will be an excellent team, may be one this year. Thanks, Marv.

[richNjoisy]

He does not re-sign once excellent players if they aren't cutting it anymore.

 

He doesn't join in bidding wars, even for the best Bills players, if they cost more than they are worth.

 

He drafts well, getting NFL ready players when needed, ones with character.

 

He has improved their offensive line, which will enable Losman to have a more productive year. He can become an excellent quarterback in 2007; having played in this offense for a year, and, now, with more time to throw, Losman will progress faster than we expected.

 

He has assembled a coaching staff that teaches the players, makes them better, and treats them with respect. This coaching staff is also good at game planning and making adjustments.

 

The last time this kind of foundation was being layed for this team was in 1987 and 1988. Marv is building the same kind of team. (It may be more difficult than it was then, because of free agency, but every team is playing by the same rules.) In 2 years, this will be an excellent team, may be one this year. Thanks, Marv.

 

 

If you are posting this in reponse to the very negative comments coming from the out of town media (particularly ESPN), then I am with you.

 

But, the jury is truly still out on a few of your points. Yes, Marv didn't overpay for Fletcher or Clements as the Redskins and 49ers did respectively. The coaching staff is clearly the best the Bils have had since Marv's days. I agree that he drafted well last year but we should assess this by watching them play for at least one more year (but, it is my expectation, that the 2006 draft will eventually be rated one fo the best in Bils history round-for-round). As to the offensive line, this is one place where the pundits are (mostly) blasting the Bills decision to pay so much to Dockery and Walker. Again, we need to see them play to see if they give JP more time to throw and open up holes for whomever is carrying the rock.

 

I certainly am content with what Marv has done this offseason and if I have to choose whose opinion to trust (Mortenson/Kiper or Marv's), I think I will trust Marv.

 

RichNJoisy

[BuckeyeBill]

I am a person (and there are many like me) who believes that the most important part of a team are the lines. People like Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish can run as fast as lightning, but if nobody blocks for them, what's the point. Offensive line is the most important and therefore, logical to get the best players available even if you overpay for them.

 

The same goes for the defensive line and is why I don't have any problem with Marv overpaying for Kelsay. He will do the same for Schobel soon too (we'll see).

[richNjoisy]

I am a person (and there are many like me) who believes that the most important part of a team are the lines. People like Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish can run as fast as lightning, but if nobody blocks for them, what's the point. Offensive line is the most important and therefore, logical to get the best players available even if you overpay for them.

 

The same goes for the defensive line and is why I don't have any problem with Marv overpaying for Kelsay. He will do the same for Schobel soon too (we'll see).

 

 

 

Schobel was signed to a five-year contract extension on Sept. 8, 2004 The contract was worth about $23 million, including a $6.75 million signing bonus, which locked him up through the 2009 season.

[tombstone56]

WHILE everyone wants to be in the super bowl this year MARV needs to get players that have the team

 

attitude not a me attitude ... the purge is close to over i think,,,,but get a few more players our

 

linebacker play last year was non existant ,,, you dont go to playoffs when your db s are the ones making

 

tackles on running backs we turned over the secondary last year , our d-line is going to have aa fresh face

 

adding walker and mccargo being heathly williams will be better and both are bigger according to

 

reports both are at 310 lb range,, our ol ine is there we need 1 mlb playmaker (willis)!!!!!,, 1 olb

 

playmaker, (bradley,black,pos,spann)???,,1 te threat (boss,spaeth)???,,, 1 rb (turner,leonard)???.. am i

 

wrong??? ...IN MARV I TRUST..!!!

[Ray]

I agree he is making the right moves and he does see the big picture. Good attitude, guys who want to be here and love football. Bring in team oriented guys and a team oriented coaching staff. From all accounts (except TKO and Williis) the atmoshere at OBD is great. The guys like each other, the coaching staff and they work hard. Californian JP was back in Buffalo at the end of Jan to start working again. Let's see how this draft goes and that will tell alot next year. Marv likes his O and D lines.

[SlamnSam]

Marv is doing what he's paid to do, and that is to get this team ready to sell. Mort usually has some inside information and it makes sense that a team has decided to spend to the cap. This team may do well but the writting is surely on the wall. If this wasnt true then the whiner wilson would have already called foul play with the media. Like Ralph said "enjoy the team while its here"

[Beerball]

He has not (at least apparently) addressed those players who should be extended now if at all possible (Evans definite yes, JP?).

 

Yes he's extended others, but the longer he waits the more $$$ it's gonna cost.

[The Dean]

Marv is doing what he's paid to do, and that is to get this team ready to sell. Mort usually has some inside information and it makes sense that a team has decided to spend to the cap. This team may do well but the writting is surely on the wall. If this wasnt true then the whiner wilson would have already called foul play with the media. Like Ralph said "enjoy the team while its here"

 

 

So, was the Kelsay signing or the Dockery signing the BIG move toward selling the team?

[JoeF]

So, was the Kelsay signing or the Dockery signing the BIG move toward selling the team?

 

You just don't get it....these were fake out moves to make you believe that Ralph is truly commited to winning.

 

Signing three young lineman (1 DE, 2 OL) entering what are normally the 3 or 4 best years of their career and making decisions to purge a running back who didn't want to give his best; a cornerback who cost more than both young OL combined and two warrior LB's who are great but past their prime is a total give up and move to LA move.

 

I can't believe how dense you are...gosh...

[The Dean]

You just don't get it....these were fake out moves to make you believe that Ralph is truly commited to winning.

 

Signing three young lineman (1 DE, 2 OL) entering what are normally the 3 or 4 best years of their career and making decisions to purge a running back who didn't want to give his best; a cornerback who cost more than both young OL combined and two warrior LB's who are great but past their prime is a total give up and move to LA move.

 

I can't believe how dense you are...gosh...

 

 

I stoopid!

[stinky finger]

I am a person (and there are many like me)

 

/quote]

I did not know Ohio was the mecca for experimental cloning. How do I know you're the "real" BuckeyeBill?

[apuszczalowski]

WHILE everyone wants to be in the super bowl this year MARV needs to get players that have the team

 

attitude not a me attitude ... the purge is close to over i think,,,,but get a few more players our

 

linebacker play last year was non existant ,,, you dont go to playoffs when your db s are the ones making

 

tackles on running backs we turned over the secondary last year , our d-line is going to have aa fresh face

 

adding walker and mccargo being heathly williams will be better and both are bigger according to

 

reports both are at 310 lb range,, our ol ine is there we need 1 mlb playmaker (willis)!!!!!,, 1 olb

 

playmaker, (bradley,black,pos,spann)???,,1 te threat (boss,spaeth)???,,, 1 rb (turner,leonard)???.. am i

 

wrong??? ...IN MARV I TRUST..!!!

I wouldn't say 1 MLB and 1 OLB, I would just say 2 very good LB's in general, they can move one of the existing LB's to MLB (Isn't it Crowell who has played there before?) So getting Willis would be great, but if it doesn't happen its not something to jump off a cliff about

 

The TE threat is going to come from whats existing, probably Cieslak/Royal (DJ already said their production lacked because the gameplan required them to help block due to the o-line, and they plan to have them in alot more receiving situations this year). Maybe this is the year Everett shows what he's got (if anything)

 

There is definitly a need for atleast 1 top notch RB to be the 1a guy, they are not going to have any kind of running game if A-train is the #1 guy

 

Add the possibility of getting a WR to compete for the #2 spot and this team will be in pretty good shape for this season and may be in serious contention for a playoff spot

[Pyrite Gal]

My immediate thought was to contrast your perspectives on what makes Marv a good GM with the performance of the ol' GM TD in the same areas:

 

* He does not re-sign once excellent players if they aren't cutting it anymore.

 

TD tended to do some good things in this area as well, though in part it was the enforced cap hell that caused him to be quite draconian in cutting ties with players who once did a good job for us but were essentially done as players (Fina for example).

 

However, there were a few glaring examples of players he cut with little financial gain for us where we he could find no good replacement for them and they went on to do OK in their new situations. One example is Ruben who was wash cap wise for us to cut and our OL problems are legend and he went on to help his team to the SB. Another is Steve Christie who TD cut with a small cap benefit and stupidly said good kickers are a dime-a-dozen as we went through several. Also the cut of Henry Jones had us releasing a player who was clearly done, but his cutting him after resigning him was poor cap work and then we went through a too lengthy phase which saw us with worse than nothing at SS.

 

As far as Marv, the jury remains out on whether some of his cuts cannot cut it anymore and also what we are doing to improve at MLB so we will see.

 

* He doesn't join in bidding wars, even for the best Bills players, if they cost more than they are worth.

 

TD also worked to avoid bidding wars though his method of doing this was sometimes to would do this by overpaying a player like Milloy who was not worth the amount he was paid in terms of production but the market did create a situation where there was a limited supply of safeties and ample demand in the form of two bidders with tons of cap room (the Bears if memory serves me correctly and the Bills using the money TD had set aside to conclude negotiations with Winfield.

 

Its too early to tell with Marv whether he has an overall strategy which makes actions like letting NC go rather than signing him early was a better way of avoiding a bidding war.

 

Overall, everybody wants to avoid a bidding war its how you do this determines whether a GM is good or not.

 

* He drafts well, getting NFL ready players when needed, ones with character.

 

TD seemed to have overarching strategic problems because he was insecure but with the gross exception of the 2002 draft I do not think his drafting was that horrendous and actually he was able to use a very crafty ability to read the market well and pull off maneuvers like tagging PP for a draft choice and listening to his docs to make a surprising pick of WM that I tend more to question whether he made good hiring decisions to train OL players well or good management decision as he extended Bledsoe and then forced JP forward as real problems.

 

As far as Marv so far his 06 draft looks like it may be one of the best ever by the Bills but it is way too early to draw any final conclusions,

 

* He has improved their offensive line, which will enable Losman to have a more productive year. He can become an excellent quarterback in 2007. Having played in this offense for a year, and, now, with more time to throw, Losman will progress faster than we expected.

 

TD try to build a good OL but I think he failed miserably at this by making a bad HC hire who in turn hired his buddy Vinky and then the equally inexperienced Ruel who were completely unsuited for the OL building strategy of training late drafted talent to play OL. He tried but failed.

 

TD did finally get his act together by hiring JMac and Marv is smart enough to give him the tools to work with but the jury is still out until we see how the FAs do this season.

 

 

* He has assembled a coaching staff that teaches the players, makes them better, and treats them with respect. This coaching staff is also good at game planning and making adjustments.

 

This was TDs big mistake as I think he was mostly motivated either conciously or unconciously to never again hire an HC who could run him out of town.

 

So far so good with Jauron.

 

And Marv has people around him who also have confidence that doing these things will create a winning team, and then, a great team.

 

We'll see.

[Mister Defense]

My immediate thought was to contrast your perspectives on what makes Marv a good GM with the performance of the ol' GM TD in the same areas:

 

Yes, lots of questions so early in his tenure. A good comparison. The big difference between the two is that Marv has a clear philosophy that he follows. We saw it when he coached here and we see the same thing now, and all great coaches have a sound one, a vision that guides them. Donahoe's was less secure, less defined. I hope he succeeds now, though.

 

I think that Marv will ansswer your questions the next two years. He will be consistent and logical as he learns by doing and from others.

[turftoe]

Marv has done a lot of good for this team and I'm glad he is back. He did, however, make a mistake by promising not to franchise Clements. We could have tagged and traded him for at least a first rounder.

[BillsVet]

If the main thing to being an NFL GM were to acquire high character players while assembling a player friendly coaching staff, Marv's the GM of the year.

 

However, the criteria for winning football games goes beyond this. Teams need to be both prudent and take calculated risks in free agency. This year, Buffalo had 3 signings, 1 major, and a medium and small one. I think we upgraded the OL, but failed to make any other positions much better. Some might think it irrational to say we didn't spend enough, but the team had opportunities to acquire moderately priced free agents for depth and perhaps starting needs. The front office decided against it. I have to assume they feel they have the roster already close to where it needs to be or will be significantly upgraded on draft day. I'm not putting much into the 6/1 cuts.

 

Another GM criteria is drafting well. All of us know the draft is the foundation of good football teams. Free Agency alone cannot do it. But this year, we're forced to have a stellar draft. If we cannot improve the LB, RB, and perhaps CB and DT slots, it's going to be a long year. Cash to the cap absolutely necessitates drafting well each year, particularly rounds 1-3. To miss on a pick is doubly worse because we're not going to allocate too much in free agency every year like we did this year. I believe Free Agency provides the players you need at the moment to make the team better. Naturally the price for these guys is super-high and is something of a penalty for failing to draft well. Still, FA and the draft combined can make for good teams. The draft alone cannot do it.

 

Marv and the rest of the braintrust made decisions to let some name guys go. Pyrite is correct in saying we cannot judge those moves just yet. We'll have to wait and see. But, a lot of experience and talent did leave the team. Next year will tell us how much their depatures hurt.

 

Marv is gambling that getting rid of WM and Takeo while letting NC and LFB go in FA won't be too much to overcome for 2007. My concern is with who replaces them, not with simply allowing those guys to go. The Bills are heaping a lot of hope onto the backs of Youboty, Ellison, McCargo and perhaps Preston. These are question marks in varying degrees. Even if 2 of them play well, I doubt all 4 of them will.

 

In a perfect world the Bills would be a little more secure in positions like CB, LB, DT, and maybe RG entering draft day. Marv and to a greater degree guys like Overdorf, DJ, and Modrak make the decisions by consensus. There is a chance they could be wrong. There is a chance their plan could be right. It's simply too soon to tell.

 

Finally, some will disagree with this, but I think our front office could be a little more savvy on draft day and use more guile when it matters elsewhere with personnel. Everyone in the league interested in Turner is waiting SD out, but as we near draft day, we'll see who has the most moxie. I just don't think they'll acquire Turner and pay him his money. It's not their nature to invest in areas like this when defense is a huge priority.

 

As for Marv's GM abilities, if draft picks need 2-3 years to be completely judged, so too does a new GM. It's only fair.

[The Dean]

If the main thing to being an NFL GM were to acquire high character players while assembling a player friendly coaching staff, Marv's the GM of the year.

 

However, the criteria for winning football games goes beyond this...

 

As for Marv's GM abilities, if draft picks need 2-3 years to be completely judged, so too does a new GM. It's only fair.

 

 

You are totally correct about holding off on the evaluation of Marv for another year or two. But, I think it's OK to make an evaluation of how he's done so far:

 

Marv took over a team that was in total shambles: dissension in the locker room, QB situation totally screwed up, a 5-11 team that lost 6 of their last 7 games, and the HC (who Marv was willing to keep) quit.

 

Marv (and his team) proceeded to make several decisions that were widely derided: Hired Juron as HC, drafted Whitner at #8 and named JP as the starting QB in preseason. Let's take a quick look at last year's Bills draft, shall we?

 

1 8(8) Donte Whitner S Ohio State STARTER and VERY productive. One of the top rookies in the NFL last year

1 26(26) John McCargo DT NC State STARTER (rotational) in 2007

3 6(70) Ashton Youboty CB Ohio State STARTER (probable) in 2007 (last year should be discounted) Worst scenario Quality Depth

4 8(105) Ko Simpson S South Carolina STARTER

5 1(134) Kyle Williams DT Louisiana State STARTER (rotational)

5 10(143) Brad Butler T Virginia Depth

6 9(178) Keith Ellison OLB Oregon State STARTER (probable) in 2007

7 8(216) Terrence Pennington T New Mexico Quality Depth (in round #7)

7 40(248) Aaron Merz OG California Who?

 

Also, JP is now considered to be the Bills starting QB w/o question.

 

Did these moves work? Well, the Bills improved to 7-9. Great? Far from it. But, they were in the playoff hunt until their 30-29 loss against the Titans in Week #16 and won 4 of their last 7 games including impressive victories against Miami and Jacksonville. One of their 4 losses in this stretch was a very tight game against San Diego.

 

So...going into this year, Marv (and his team) has improved the team's performance overall, has them improving as the year progressed, has established his #1 QB and has a VERY young team, with 5/6 of his 2006 draft choices contributing during the season.

 

OK, let's look at this off season.

 

Lost:

Nate was lost to FA. It sucks, but it was not unexpected. He could have probably traded him last year for something (not much, likely), but that would have left last year's team in a lot of trouble. Marv used the vet (in a contract year) to help this team of very young players win, at least, a few games.

 

Spikes and Fletcher are gone. Both getting older and, potentially declining. Spikes recovering from a serious injury and Fletcher smaller than what they would like for the T-2 defense.

 

MaGahee gone. Malcontent RB moved at his request.

 

 

Gained:

Three offensive linemen to shore up a VERY weak unit. Two are sure starters and one is reasonable quality depth. A unit, once the Achilles' heel of the team, just might be this year's strength.

 

A quality DT for the rotation. Walker is at least as good, probably better, than anything we have at DT now.

 

Two 3rd round draft picks (one this year, one next). Given Marv's the quality of Marv's 2006 draft, I'd say that's a big gain for the Bills.

 

So, with FA signing still active, trades (perhaps) to be made, the 2007 draft yet to come as well as the possible signing of June 1st and training camp cuts, is there a reason NOT to be positive about Marv's job-to-date?

[BillsVet]

You are totally correct about holding off on the evaluation of Marv for another year or two. But, I think it's OK to make an evaluation of how he's done so far:

 

Marv took over a team that was in total shambles: dissension in the locker room, QB situation totally screwed up, a 5-11 team that lost 6 of their last 7 games, and the HC (who Marv was willing to keep) quit.

 

 

I'd go along with everything you've said. Marv took over when the team was at probably the lowest point it could get. Well, almost. It wasn't 1984, but we had a coach resign who had pretty much lost the team. The 2005 draft produced practically nothing (at least yet) and the GM who'd just been fired was about as arrogant as they come. Dissension was universal among the fans. And they'd just finished their fifth season without a playoff appearance

 

In light of these facts, Marv and company have rehabilitated the image of the team from the depths we experienced at the beginning of 2006.

 

As for records, one thing I'll say is that 7-9 remains more than I expected last season. I firmly believe in expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Last year 15 NFL teams were either 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7. How's that for parity? So, with that in mind, 7-9 is about average in this league. The key will be improving and not regressing in 2007. I'm not one to look down the road until 2008 and hope for domination. This team should have higher goals this year.

 

The only issue I have is with the 2006 draft. Sure there's Whitner and Simpson guaranteed starters. McCargo and Youboty, the other 2 Day 1 selections have large question marks on their backs. They have a lot to prove and I'm not ready to call them starters and significant contributors. Kyle Williams has overachieved his way into the NFL, but his position as a solid rotational DT is also questionable. Ellison will likely start, Pennington, Butler, and perhaps Merz provide depth. Let's give that draft class another year. There are too many question marks remaining.

 

In today's NFL, a team can go from zero to hero in 2 seasons. I hope what Marv's doing will allow us to be that.

[alg]

One thing that may get overlooked, at least from a personal perspective, is this:

 

I like my team, the Buffalo Bills, more then I did before Marv came back. Not just in terms of performance. I feel I have a team, for the first time in awhile, that is actually a team with an identity. And a team who's character/personality I can get behind even more. I like what I see, and that alone gives me more hope.