Donahoe news........

[millbank]

I think this more a signal to team that Tom Donahoe does have Coach Mularkeys back, it was not but a last few weeks many talking of how Coach Mularkey just a lackey and seeming lap dog for Mr. Donahoe, a man Mr. Donahoe can get to do his bidding with very little actual say about team. Such a relationship naturally can cause a lack of respect in the room, cutting a player by all reports who was a well liked guy but also a guy who like to play pranks and joke around. That the Coach staff removed such a guy from the room of a 0-4 team is a good way to tell them the fun is over and the coach has control or room they need not look over his back to Tom Donahoe. If the case is coach Mularkey was given the space by Mr. Donahoe to do this, it’s a good sign he has grown and learned and perhaps a head coach who will have respect of team rather than thought of a functional intermediary. imo

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

Finishing and cliffnoting the above post which I inadvertently sent before I was done:

 

Cliffnotes begin The problem in my mind is that TD has seemed to be motivated by saying NEVER AGAIN to himself in terms of hiring a man (Cowher) as HC who can then fire him. He avoided candidates his first time around (definitely Marvin Lewis and seemingly John Fox) who might be good but he couldn't control and hired GW who might be good but whom he could control. Further, he seemed to allow GW to make bad decisions over his recommendation and allo his HC to make his own bed which the HC bore the blame for when they failed rather than asserting his GM authority and sharing the blame if things went south. Cliff notes end

 

In the end (which we are quickly nearing) TDs big mistake in my mind was hiring an HC he could beat if it came down to that instead of more aggressively weighing in with what he thought was the right thing to do.

 

Specifically, I think TD has done a great number of things right:

 

1. His fiscal prudency did deliver us from cap hell and into a good cap position a year if not two years earlier than should have been expected.

2, He has overseen huge improvements in the business side of the Bills organizartion ranging from moving us into the 20th century (finally) in terms of ticket sales, working with the Business Backs the Bills effort to secure seat sales and the team remaining here as long as Ralph is alive at least. The move to St. John's Fisher, the capturing of SHOUT as a house organ, andthe development of partnership deals are also big pluses on the business side and as long as he does a good job of sucking up to Ralph may even allow him to survive a horrendous onfield record.

3. He has attracted and captured some great FAs to the Bills at exceedingly reasonable contracts despite Buffalo not being an economic hotbed. This includes not only talented players like Spikes who could have gone anywhere but players like Adams who filled a clear need for us, had something left if he chose to extend himself and signed here for less than he could have gotten elsewhere.

4. Handled the draft well enough if not extraordinarily though outcomes of careers remaain to be seen. I think the complaints of some fans about the Bills recent drafts havwe not been supported by evidence which should be there. Granted, the Bills draftees in the first round have not turned out to produce like Bruce Smith or Peyton Manning, but declaring TD a loser as a drafter is not supported either because his picks have not turned out to be Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith either. It cannot be credibly claimed that TD has led great drafts, but I have seen unconroverted the claim that Bills recent picks have stuck in this league as players and been starters for our less than productive team in numbers which exceed the NFL average.

One can make the subjective claim that Williams, Reed and/or Denney were highly selected busts, but objectively it is still a couple of years too early in their careers to make this conclusion. Futher Reed and Williams production as rookies and Denny improving friom just plain bad to OK simply means that though it is not unfair to declare them disappointing it is too early to declae them busts and there is a very reasonable potential for both Reed and MW to produce good careers as players when they look back in a decade and even the possiblity that Denny may do so (though this will need a lot of work I do not see happening). Any credible indictment of TD as a drafter needs to start with an objective demonstration which should be there if he is that bad of players being selected by him who are beate out by FAs, I have not seen this yet. Any subjective poor assessment which ignores an objective showing needs to recognize good progress and production by players such as Clements, Henry and Schobel along with their failings.

5. Interesting and inventive cap management has been a TD hallmark. I remain impressed with his negotiating ability which has gotten good deals and delivered drated players o camp genera

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

generally on time. I think most fans over-value the draft which actually looking at the Pats example is an important augment to building a winning team rather than the centerpiece. Seymor was a great high draft pick but this iwinner was built by picking up many cap cuts in 2001, FAs like Harrison and late draft picks like Brady rather than 1st day draft picks.

At any rate these good things have not produced good production as TD has made fundamental failures in hiring an HC