GG Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 I respectfully disagree. Those first two seasons he rebuilt the team, which was obvious considering they went 3-13 in 01. But beginning with the McGahee pick in 03, he began stocking this team in a haphazard way. He hit on some UFA's in Fletcher and Spikes, but coming off the 8-8 season in 02 he selected another RB (after taking Henry in the 2nd of 01) with a first rounder. To me, that was where things were spinning out of control. Going with Evans was a fine pick in 04, but there were bigger needs elsehwere. In 05, he used his top two picks on a small WR and TE. Again, there were more pressing needs elsewhere. Please read up on the history of the Bills before inserting your opinion. Donahoe's mission was clear from day one and that was to reconstitute the Steelers run during his tenure there. In his view, high draft picks were to be used for skill positions and the rest of the team could be filled with good coaching and players buying into the system. case in point - look at the similarities of Steelers' drafts in his tenure vs Buffalo's. You can toss 2001 out as a getting to know you period, but 2002 onward is as clear of his blueprint to mold the team. That's why you have high draft picks for QBs & RBs. That's why he commanded his coaches to get rid of coordinators who weren't buying into the system. There was reason to his madness. Unfortunately, he was wrong in many of his decisions, but it's ridiculous to say that he didn't have a vision for the team he was trying to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Here's what is written about these nuggets from around the NFL: The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Wow, what great sources! What the hell keeps Pro Football Weekly.com from completely making this crap up?? "speaking on the condition of anonymity"....isn't that nice? Well I heard from an expert source, speaking on the condition of anonymity of course, that both Bill Cowher and Scott Pioli are coming to Buffalo to replace that idiot Russ Brandon and his idiot coach DJ next season. There, I now have as much credibility backing up my story as PFW.com has. What ever happened to real reporting in the media?? They aren't writing an article that should have two sources to confirm it first they are merely quoting a anonymous guy. If it weren't for anonymous sources a lot of stories would never have been broken. This isn't a story it's just a comment. The guy who said that is an idiot. Brandon sat in on player evaluation meetings from the very beginning of his joining the Bills and he asked questions and learned. Is he the best guy out there? Most definitely no. He is however better than some of the guys in the league. Also, he is just looking at talent to get his impression of a kid and I'm sure Modrak and the scouts are more respected to him. The guy who said this is probably a scout for Detroit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Please read up on the history of the Bills before inserting your opinion. Donahoe's mission was clear from day one and that was to reconstitute the Steelers run during his tenure there. In his view, high draft picks were to be used for skill positions and the rest of the team could be filled with good coaching and players buying into the system. case in point - look at the similarities of Steelers' drafts in his tenure vs Buffalo's. You can toss 2001 out as a getting to know you period, but 2002 onward is as clear of his blueprint to mold the team. That's why you have high draft picks for QBs & RBs. That's why he commanded his coaches to get rid of coordinators who weren't buying into the system. There was reason to his madness. Unfortunately, he was wrong in many of his decisions, but it's ridiculous to say that he didn't have a vision for the team he was trying to build. This doesn't actually jive with the data. Here are the number of first day draft choices by position for the Steelers while Donahoe was part of the action there. 8 WR 7 OL 6 DL 5 LB 3 DB 2 RB 2 TE 2 QB The WR position was hit regularly, but the Steelers had a significant number of busts there. Jeff Graham, Andre Hastings, Charles Johnson, Will Blackwell, and Troy Edwards. Other than WR, the Steelers focused on the OL and defensive front seven and hit very good to superior talent regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Please read up on the history of the Bills before inserting your opinion. Donahoe's mission was clear from day one and that was to reconstitute the Steelers run during his tenure there. In his view, high draft picks were to be used for skill positions and the rest of the team could be filled with good coaching and players buying into the system. case in point - look at the similarities of Steelers' drafts in his tenure vs Buffalo's. You can toss 2001 out as a getting to know you period, but 2002 onward is as clear of his blueprint to mold the team. That's why you have high draft picks for QBs & RBs. That's why he commanded his coaches to get rid of coordinators who weren't buying into the system. There was reason to his madness. Unfortunately, he was wrong in many of his decisions, but it's ridiculous to say that he didn't have a vision for the team he was trying to build. Donahoe so wanted to continue his legacy in Buffalo that the Bills went with a HC familiar with a 4-3 as opposed to a 3-4. That is a huge change in defenses, in that 3-4 DL must be bigger at stopping the run. 4-3 DL aren't as big, but should be quicker. Additionally, Pittsburgh rarely makes big trades and UFA acquisition. Yet TD went out and traded for Bledsoe, signed TKO, LFB, and you could argue signing a RFA in Lindell. That directly contradicts what the Steelers do in building their team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 This doesn't actually jive with the data. Here are the number of first day draft choices by position for the Steelers while Donahoe was part of the action there. 8 WR 7 OL 6 DL 5 LB 3 DB 2 RB 2 TE 2 QB The WR position was hit regularly, but the Steelers had a significant number of busts there. Jeff Graham, Andre Hastings, Charles Johnson, Will Blackwell, and Troy Edwards. Other than WR, the Steelers focused on the OL and defensive front seven and hit very good to superior talent regularly. Before this degenerates, let me clarify that when I say high draft picks, I'm referring to the first round and second round if you're among top 15 picks. Then it's a totally different drafting outlook, and very similar to Bills' drafts at the top picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Donahoe so wanted to continue his legacy in Buffalo that the Bills went with a HC familiar with a 4-3 as opposed to a 3-4. That is a huge change in defenses, in that 3-4 DL must be bigger at stopping the run. 4-3 DL aren't as big, but should be quicker. Additionally, Pittsburgh rarely makes big trades and UFA acquisition. Yet TD went out and traded for Bledsoe, signed TKO, LFB, and you could argue signing a RFA in Lindell. That directly contradicts what the Steelers do in building their team. What in the world are you talking about? The coaches decide on the scheme and it was Greggo's decision to abandon the 3-4, not TD's. But when it became apparent that Greggo's guys weren't getting the job done, he parachuted in Gilbride & Lebeau. As for building the team through the draft vs FA or trades, even you can appreciate the difference of building a team for which a foundation exists compared to trying to build a winner in three years. The trade for Bledsoe made perfect sense to Donahoe, as he lived through the Pitt QB nightmares after O'Donnell left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Before this degenerates, let me clarify that when I say high draft picks, I'm referring to the first round and second round if you're among top 15 picks. Then it's a totally different drafting outlook, and very similar to Bills' drafts at the top picks. Thanks for the clarification. Of course, the Steelers don't draft in the top of the order much regardless of who's in their front office. Odd thing about successful franchises, that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 what is the quote even talking about? Is Russ on the road at bowl games scouting? or on the road with the team?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Thanks for the clarification. Of course, the Steelers don't draft in the top of the order much regardless of who's in their front office. Odd thing about successful franchises, that. For a while there, we didn't, either ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 It's actually a pretty good feature. I've come across some good stuff there over the past couple of years that proved to be true. It's anonymous so that people can be candid! Also, journalism is built on anonymous sources. Anonymous sources yes but not anonymous sources collected by anonymous collector. If you have any validity or ethics as a reporter you put your reputation on line backing your anonymous sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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