Bob in STL

You seem to think that any GM could could Super Bowl with Manning? Look at the number of Pro Bowl players that Colts had those years and almost all were drafted by Polian. They made it there 2 times and they had to get past NE and Pittsburgh to do that (the three best teams were all AFC). Just two years ago they had a shot at an undefeated season with an unproven coach at the helm. A coach, I might add, that is a far cry from Belichek, Noll, Shula, Gibbs, Johnson or even Levy. Please remember that Miami won ZERO SBs with Marino and they had Don Shula as their coach. Fouts never won a SB either. Same with Esiason, Tarkington, etc. I agree that Polian should retire on top.

Well uh er, Mr. Wilson, I am sorry you never heard of me before but I will do my best to improve this defense sir.

Yes all of our recent GMs - Donahoe, Levy, and Brandon/Jauron, and Nix have all done a better job of finding UDFAs then they have at finding impact players in the first 3 rounds. Maybe that is why UDFAs do so well in Buffalo, the competition here sucks? Maybe that is why we have not made the playoffs in a decade and why we have no pro bowl players? Thanks Mort.

The topic was let go for peanuts: Fred Smerlas -left as a free agent and was past prime. I actually wish we would have kept him, i think he would have help in SB 25. Today I consider him an obnoxious Patriot* wanna be and a Bills Traitor who's name should be erased from the Wall Cornelius Bennett - left as a free agent for big bucks and was past prime Will Wolford - Left as a free agent for huge bucks to a crappy team. Ralph and Littman would not let Polian sign him the year before free agency started. This was the real last straw for Polian and not that crazy story about Ralph's daughter. Antoine Winfield - on my original list and then removed. He left for big money Thurman Thomas - free agent was past prime and left for money Ted Washington - free agent, had some gas left but left for money elsewhere Pat Williams - free agent, had tons of miles left and should have been retained. London Fletcher - free agent, had miles left but was victim of regime change Coy Wire - only a special teams player, not a viable candidate Jabari Greer - free agent, had tons of miles left and should have been retained. Jim Leonhart - not as good as the safeties we had, move on from this shrimpo John Wendling - not as good as the safeties we had, bum Paul Pozlusny - we made him a fair offer and he left, not that great anyway

The topic is "players given away for peanuts" ... I recall that Clements recieved one of the highest contracts ever for a DB, therefore I excluded him. We traded Lamonica for junk. We cut Yates. We let McDole go for nothing. We gave away Raschad because he wanted a $20,000/ year raise. Gogalak was not included becuase he left for big bucks as the first ever free agent. Gary Anderson (another kicker) was cut and he turned out to be one of the best ever. I included Pat Williams because we could have kept him for a reassonable amount and he really wanted to stay. I should take Winfield off of my list for the same reason as Clements. I will replace him with Greer who should have been retained at what would have been a great value (and would have saved us from drafting McKelvin).

My list: 1. Daryl Lamonica 2. Ahmad Rashad 3. Pat Williams 4. Gary Anderson 5. Antione Winfield 6. Jeff Yates 7. Ron McDole

Ok. Thanks. He might be the only GM in history to take a long time loser like the colts to a super bowl win and then be deemed to do an 'alright job'. cheers!

I think you look for reasons to discount his accomplishments but I credit your detailed arguement. Definitely some valid points. Unfortunately none of your points changes a thing for me. In fact it shows me he adapted to each specific situation correctly. You reminded me of the great job he did with Plan B free agency, bringing in Kenny Davis and John Davis. I do not think Kelly ever signs with Buffalo without Polian. Also, I did think he drafted Bruce. In closing, does he get your vote for Hall of Fame?

This would be good if one of them was also clearly the BPA. I know we need a pass rusher like crazy but we have to stop reaching with the first pick and use it to add Pro Bowl caliber talent.

The guy was the Assistant Head Coach. I higher paying and higher ranking position than the Defensive Coordinator. If he had to chance to help then shame on him, and Chan, and Mr. Nix. Agree. Other than Barnett and Merriman (two imports) it was hard to find fired up players who expected to win. George Wilson stikes me as a leader, as does Eric Wood.

and outdoor stadiums, and passionate fans, and blue collar towns, both hired Donahoe and Gailey and Whaley ...

I crossed out all the marginal players that need to be replaced with better players. Yes, this is harsh and we could live with some of the crossed out players as back ups for a awhile. Still, we need to get much better at DE and OLB. Lost of work to do on this front 7. It is lousy and the numbers don't lie.

I could debate this statement all day but will not go there. I must say you surprised me with it. My vote is to stick with Whaley rather than return to the past. Polian and Wilson cannot exist together anyway, and that does not put Polian in the minority. However, I will always argue that Polian is one of the all time great GMs based on this: 1. Record with the Bills - building a winning dynasty with Ralph Wilson as your boss. A feat that has never been accomplished before or since. 2. Involvement with numerous NFL league and rules comittees - highly respected by peers. 3. Working for Tagliabue - key involvment with setting up free agency and salary cap to help keep compettive balance in the league 4. Lauching the Carolina franchise to instant sucess 5. Reviving the moribund Colts and winning a SB. This crap about inheriting Jim Kelly and Payton Manning is a ridciulous arguement. Name a great coach or GM that did not have a great QB? You can't do it. Why single Polian out for that? Hypothtically speaking, if I became an owner of a NFL team Polian would be at the top of my interview list.

He built a winner that fell apart when one person was lost? So is Polian the only one accountable for the season? What about the coaches and the players? Where was Indy when he got there? Do you erase the past ten years of winning? Sounds a bit short sighted to me. Last person you want here? Really? Come on. He has been in the league for a long time and his track record is outstanding. He is clearly one of the best GMs in the history of the NFL and he will be in Canton someday. Just not good enough for you though? Get on his bad side and he will not respect you. So be it. Does he rub some people the wrong way. Yes. So do lots of other people in this sport and in this world for that matter. Meanwhile we can maintain or status as NFL bottom feeders but at least we have a humorous nice guy running the team that is always nice to his boss and never questions the status quo.

The Good: 1. The OL improved a lot 2. We have Freddy abnd CJ -- an excellent backfield. 3. The 2011 draft class looks good, especially Dareus. 4. We found one TE finally - Chandler can play. The bad: 1. No pass rush 2. No speed at WR, the overall group is poor and cannot get off the line of scrimmage. 3. Marginal DEs still being converted to horrible OLBs 4. No improvement on defense, despite bringing in Wanny. 5. No leadership during the 7 game losing streak. Lost to Jet and Dolphins twice. 6. Do not see a mean streak on this team. No identity of mental or physical toughness.

What if they give that catch to Stevie Johnson and we beat the Bungles that day? We kill more time, put some points on the board and win. How different would the season have been? Yes I know -- you are your record.

Kind of like when we drafted Spiller?

Not sure he is EASILY the best LT in the league but he can be IF and WHEN he wants to be. The Bills blew this one but lets not forget that they re-structured his contract once and then he came back to the well again. Peters and his agent are equally to blame as are the Bills for paying overpaying for mediocre players (Dockery and Walker) more than Peters. The situation was much more complicated than the Bills simply refusing to pay him.

Dude -- this is about WRs. Early was a good player. Free agent pick up from New Orleans. He does not fit into the group of recievers we are bringing up. Subject = Kamil Loud and Kwame Cavil. Similar to Quinn, Billy Brooks does not fit. James Lofton does not fit. Lou Piccone does not fit. Ahmad Raschad does not fit. Glenn Bass does not fit. get it?

Al Edwards unfortunately played in SB XXV as the third wide out. Don Beebe was hurt. Played 9 seasons, 2 with Bills, 7 with falcons. He had 2 kickoff returns for TDs as a rookie. The Bills never game him a chance and let him go after 2 years. He went to Atlanta and played well. In 1979 he caught 74 passes for 1014 yards and 8 TDs -- huge numbers for the time.

We are playing the "name an obscure WR that the Bills drafted/acquired that never panned out". Mitchel Galloway

Fisher is a good coach. 17 yrs: HOU-TEN games =262, W=142, L=120, PCT= 0.542, Playoff games =11, W=5, L=6, 6 winning seasons, 1 super bowl (loss to Rams) What I like about him is his teams have a tough attitude. Even in down years his teams are tough and competitive.

Lets not forget Damon Thomas.

Hhmm. My impressions of Indy are that it is boring and bland. If Whaley is realy a candidate for the Indy job we are in trouble and maybe that adds creedence to the Buddy Nix retirement rumor.

Whaley has been with the Bills for two years. Nix hired him before the 2010 season. Like Levy, Nix was offered the job because Ralph "knew who he was". Sad, but true. Whaley was a highly regarded front office person working for the Steelers. The Bills were criticized for not talking to Whaley and several others up and comers during their "search" for a GM.