"Mort" at it once again

[TheBlackMamba]

Mort was on the Howard and Jeremy morning show this mourning talking about the bills. he didnt miss the oppurtunity to drop his pal tom donahue's name. he was asked if the bills need a "true football guy" in the front office and his response was "they had one in tom donahue".

[PromoTheRobot]

He was a complete failure, but at least he was a "football guy." Whatever. This ponderous.

 

PTR

[Jerry Jabber]

2001: 3-13

2002: 8-8

2003: 6-10

2004: 9-7

2005: 5-11

 

Wins: 31

Losses: 49

 

Great record that a "true football guy" Donahoe had with us.

 

Mort is a dumb ass!!!

[Buftex]

TD had his problems, but I really think we would be in better shape right now, if he was with the team...I haven't seen much since, to make me feel like we are in better shape....it seems our atttention has been diverted from wanting a winning football team, to wanting a team that Buffalo, and the owner, can afford. I am thinking this team will have to go through another FO change, or at least another coaching change, before it has a chance to field a viable football team.

[WVUFootball29]

TD had his problems, but I really think we would be in better shape right now, if he was with the team...I haven't seen much since, to make me feel like we are in better shape....it seems our atttention has been diverted from wanting a winning football team, to wanting a team that Buffalo, and the owner, can afford. I am thinking this team will have to go through another FO change, or at least another coaching change, before it has a chance to field a viable football team.

 

Any chance we can give Russ s full offseason before we run him out of town too? Better yet, to make the list shorter, lets think of who we don't want to run out of town

[Endzone Animal]

Donahoe? Somebody here actually misses Donahoe, and thinks the Bills would have been better off keeping him?

[Buftex]

Any chance we can give Russ s full offseason before we run him out of town too? Better yet, to make the list shorter, lets think of who we don't want to run out of town

 

 

Sure, there is a chance...we don't really have a choice do we? Not trying to run anyone out of town, Russ is likely doing the best job he can, with what he has to work with. But, I think one of the problems with this franchise, post TD, is that they are not in touch, or connected, with the rest of the leauge. TD was. You think Russ Brandon could lure someone of the caliber of Dick LeBeau to Buffalo?

[Dark Fan]

Mort was on the Howard and Jeremy morning show this mourning talking about the bills. he didnt miss the oppurtunity to drop his pal tom donahue's name. he was asked if the bills need a "true football guy" in the front office and his response was "they had one in tom donahue".

 

Don-a-hoe = JP Losman. I'll throw in Mike Williams for flavor. Nuff said.

[RayFinkle]

Can anybody honestly make an agruement that Mort is WRONG about anything he has said about the Bills at this point? Seriously, some of you guys need to hike your skirt up and move on.

[BuffaloWings]

Don-a-hoe = JP Losman. I'll throw in Mike Williams for flavor. Nuff said.

I'll still go on record that Mike Williams was NOT a bad pick. It seemed like the right pick to make because we needed to beef up the line at the time. It isn't Donahoe's fault that he couldn't stay on the field, so I don't put that one on him.

 

I do blame him for JP, Willis McGahee, trading our #1 to the Patriots* for Bledsoe, not re-signing Pat Williams or Antoine Winfield, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, and then trying to build the lines (save for Mike Williams) with second-rate talent because they were cheaper.

[drinkTHEkoolaid]

2001: 3-13

2002: 8-8

2003: 6-10

2004: 9-7

2005: 5-11

 

Wins: 31

Losses: 49

 

Great record that a "true football guy" Donahoe had with us.

 

Mort is a dumb ass!!!

 

as terrible as he was dealing with the fans, as abysmal as his overall record shows, as bad as his decisions were.... he DID give us our only winning record this decade..... i'm just saying that how BAD things really are

 

 

[BuffaloWings]

Can anybody honestly make an agruement that Mort is WRONG about anything he has said about the Bills at this point? Seriously, some of you guys need to hike your skirt up and move on.

To me, it's not necessarily that he's not wrong...just that he insists on hyping up a guy whose tenure here was a failure. If he was so good of a "football guy", then he should have another job by now.

[Arkady Renko]

To me, it's not necessarily that he's not wrong...just that he insists on hyping up a guy whose tenure here was a failure. If he was so good of a "football guy", then he should have another job by now.

 

It's a Ralph Wilson conspiracy. Everyone knows how the rest of the NFL pretty much takes their direction from the oldest owner who is also from a small market.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I'll still go on record that Mike Williams was NOT a bad pick. It seemed like the right pick to make because we needed to beef up the line at the time. It isn't Donahoe's fault that he couldn't stay on the field, so I don't put that one on him.

Donahoe picked a total BUST at #5 overall. Despite what is written here, scouting reports at the time were critical of Mike Williams' work ethic. His line coach at Texas even tried to diffuse that by saying Mike was just a "fun loving guy", "had a big sense of humor", but he'd be able to flip a switch once he was in the NFL and work hard to prove himself. It never happened. Williams was a huge kid that was coddled through UT and never learned how to work his nads off. Tom Donahoe and the Bills scouts are 100% to blame for taking Ralph's money and not being able to see through the fun-loving teddy bear good guy image and see that the guy had no drive to become a great NFL player whatsoever.

I do blame him for JP, Willis McGahee, trading our #1 to the Patriots* for Bledsoe, not re-signing Pat Williams or Antoine Winfield, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, and then trying to build the lines (save for Mike Williams) with second-rate talent because they were cheaper.

Donahoe's key failure was the Bledsoe deal though in my mind. He helped division rival New England achieve dynastic status for a player that he only got minimal service for before kicking to the curb and another spin of the QB roulette wheel. They failed to use the leverage they had at the time of the trade to get Bledsoe's contract restructured (bad front office work there) and got rid of the QB that should've been playing while they found a younger viable replacement. I'd like to know if Mort knows something about how the Bledsoe run ended -- one can speculate that Ralph demanded that Bledsoe be cut or rework his deal because of his huge backloaded contract and "doink!" ending to his last campaign. Or, one can guess that Donahoe made the call trusting that his green head coach Mularkey would be able to turn Losman into an NFL QB with a wave of a magic wand or something.

[thebandit27]

Don-a-hoe = JP Losman. I'll throw in Mike Williams for flavor. Nuff said.

 

Perhaps there's more to be said than you think...

 

Donahoe actually drafted quite a few good players during his time here:

 

Nate Clements - Pro Bowl CB

Aaron Schobel - Pro Bowl DE and 2nd in AFC in sacks since 2003

Travis Henry - Had 2 1300+ yard seasons in Buffalo and 1 in Tennessee

Jonas Jennings - Started at LT for 4 seasons in Buffalo and 3 in San Francisco

Josh Reed - Bills' only effective 3rd down target

Coy Wire - Looks fine starting at SS in Atlanta

Justin Bannan - Gets plenty of playing time on league's No. 2 overall defense in Baltimore

Willis McGahee - Had 2 solid seasons in Buffalo, currently being phased out in Baltimore.

Angelo Crowell - Looked like he was becoming a very solid 4-3 OLB before being marooned on IR this year

Terrence McGee - Pro Bowl kick returner, certainly not a No. 1 CB but serviceable as a No. 2

Sam Aiken - One of the league's top special teamers

Lee Evans - Since 2001, no player has more TD catches of over 40 yards

Roscoe Parrish - Outstanding kick returner, could be utilized as a weapon if the Bills had a decent QB and offensive coordinator

 

He also signed Jason Peters and Jabari Greer as UDFAs.

 

Drafting wasn't Donahoe's problem (except maybe at QB). His downfall was that he couldn't pick a coach.

[Stevie Ray]

Regardless of Donohoe's tenure here, we DO need a TRUE football guy running the operations here. Sorry, Russ has done a decent job, but his background is marketing and I would assume he's leaving the real football decisions to the committee of DJ, Modrak and Guy. So far, those results have not been impressive.

[Buftex]

I'll still go on record that Mike Williams was NOT a bad pick. It seemed like the right pick to make because we needed to beef up the line at the time. It isn't Donahoe's fault that he couldn't stay on the field, so I don't put that one on him.

 

I do blame him for JP, Willis McGahee, trading our #1 to the Patriots* for Bledsoe, not re-signing Pat Williams or Antoine Winfield, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, and then trying to build the lines (save for Mike Williams) with second-rate talent because they were cheaper.

 

 

You see, that is the problem that TD, Marv Levy and now, Russ Brandon will always have. Because of the financial constraints put on the franchise (whether necessary or not is another debate, the constraints exist), the Bills will always be trying to shore up their deficencies with second-rate talent. At least when TD signed the second-rate talent, he didn't pay them like first rate talent. TD's successors have plunked down some pretty heavy cash for guys who likely don't deserve the salary they are making, and likely never did. Nobody was knocking down the doors to Langston Walkers' house, begging him to sign...TD paid little for "projects". Most of them didn't pan out. But, you can't expect much better results.

 

As for not signing Antoine Winfield...remember, that is how the Bills operate. They don't normally re-sign their own, particularly if they are considered amongst the best FA's at their position on the given year.

 

Pat Williams was let go becuase the perception was that he was "done", and he ddin't fit the mold of players that the coach at that time wanted for his defense. The "done" perception was pretty common. If you can, go back to the archive from TBD, Williams had become the poster child for everything "wrong" with the Bills defense at that time. He was considered by most of the stalwarts here to be a "fat ass" who took plays off. I remember personally getting into it with a few people, stiill here, when I posted that letting Williams go was a big mistake. Most saw it as a good move at the time.

 

As for the draft picks you mentioned, I think only JP Losman is a true bust, or mistake, amongst the moves you mentioned. McGahee wasn't likely worth a #1 pick, but he is hardly the most un-productive first round pick in franchise, or leauge, history. He has been a moderately successful NFL player. I dont think there was really anything wrong with the Bledsoe trade at the time. The move invigorated the franchise, which needed it, and Bledsoe had his moments, particualrly early on.

 

What I will concede was TD's biggest failure, was selecting head coaches. I would like to be able to blame that entirely on Ralphs unwillingness to pay competitive wages for established coaches, but, I think this falls more on TD. His ego is what got him in trouble in Pittsburgh. He and Cowher clashed often. TD, I believe, was looking for coaches that could operate under his thumb.

 

What seems to be lost in all the criticism of TD, is that he was inheriting a franchise that had been doing things one way, pretty successfully, for about 15 years, under Polian/Butler. Once that era was over, the owner wanted to do things differntly. I think that money became a much bigger concern with Ralph, once the TD era began. Ralph spent in the 1990's trying to get that elusive ring...in the new century, it seems Ralph reeled things in a bit. TD was the guy hired to lay the groundwork for that. It takes some time to make such drastic changes.

[THE GASH STATION]

I don't take Mort personally anymore...he is hated universally and recognized as a piker.

From Deadspin last week :

 

" Browns at Eagles: Chris Mortensen reported this week that the Browns COULD pursue Marty Schottenheimer IF Romeo Crennel ends up being fired. Note the use of “could”. You know who else they could pursue, Mort? F^%$ING ANYONE! Holy s$%t. He could have reported the team COULD try and court f^%$ing Hoyt Axton for the job and it would have been just as legitimate. Hey kids, want to be an ace journalist like Mort? Just follow these steps:

 

1. Think of possible scenario

2. Think of possible scenario resulting from possible scenario

3. “Report” that possible second scenario could take place

 

Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Wait a second. That’s not reporting. That’s just a giant pile of speculative bull sh--.” Ah, true. But now that Mort has reported it, that speculation is OFFICIAL. It’s not just some dips*&t blogger pulling s*&t out of his a$$. It’s a seasoned reporter pulling s**t out of his a%$. You see how much more credibility the speculation has now that it has the backing of a lazy corporate monolith that’s given up on having any remote semblance of journalistic standards? "

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

I don't take Mort personally anymore...he is hated universally and recognized as a piker.

From Deadspin last week :

 

" Browns at Eagles: Chris Mortensen reported this week that the Browns COULD pursue Marty Schottenheimer IF Romeo Crennel ends up being fired. Note the use of “could”. You know who else they could pursue, Mort? F^%$ING ANYONE! Holy s$%t. He could have reported the team COULD try and court f^%$ing Hoyt Axton for the job and it would have been just as legitimate. Hey kids, want to be an ace journalist like Mort? Just follow these steps:

 

1. Think of possible scenario

2. Think of possible scenario resulting from possible scenario

3. “Report” that possible second scenario could take place

 

Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Wait a second. That’s not reporting. That’s just a giant pile of speculative bull sh--.” Ah, true. But now that Mort has reported it, that speculation is OFFICIAL. It’s not just some dips*&t blogger pulling s*&t out of his a$$. It’s a seasoned reporter pulling s**t out of his a%$. You see how much more credibility the speculation has now that it has the backing of a lazy corporate monolith that’s given up on having any remote semblance of journalistic standards? "

 

The sad thing is, that's true of almost every single "journalist" working for ESPN. It's all about speculation and sensationalism. Just yesterday, they reported on the front page of espn.com that Rafael Furcal had signed for 4 years and 40 millions dollars with the Braves. Oops, they were wrong. He signed for 3 years and 30 million with the Dodgers. But it doesn't matter if they're wrong, because they pretty much represent a monopoly in the sports journalism world.

[Steely Dan]

To me, it's not necessarily that he's not wrong...just that he insists on hyping up a guy whose tenure here was a failure. If he was so good of a "football guy", then he should have another job by now.

 

'Nuff said.