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Bills wanted Brees By Chris Brown - Posted October 5th, 2009 According to SI.com’s Peter King in a conversation he had with current Saints defensive coordinator and former Bills head coach Gregg Williams, the Bills wanted Drew Brees way back in the 2001 draft. In his MMQB column he outlines a conversation he had with Williams. Naturally they were talking about Brees and Williams brought up Buffalo’s draft plans in 2001. As Williams tells it the Bills wanted Nate Clements in round 1 and obviously got him even though they traded down to pick 21 (from 14). In round 2 holding the 46th pick the Bills wanted to move up so they could take Drew Brees as their quarterback, but there were no takers and San Diego grabbed Brees at the top of the 2nd round with the 32nd pick. “I almost pulled a hamstring in the draft room, jumping up and down because I was so mad,” Williams told King. As King astutely points out, can you imagine how that would have changed Buffalo’s fortunes at the position? The following year they likely would not have traded for Drew Bledsoe. And as Williams told King. “I’ll tell you this: I wouldn’t be sitting here in New Orleans right now.”

Bills wanted Brees Chris Brown Posted October 5th, 2009 Tags: Drew Brees, Gregg Williams According to SI.com’s Peter King in a conversation he had with current Saints defensive coordinator and former Bills head coach Gregg Williams, the Bills wanted Drew Brees way back in the 2001 draft. In his MMQB column he outlines a conversation he had with Williams. Naturally they were talking about Brees and Williams brought up Buffalo’s draft plans in 2001. As Williams tells it the Bills wanted Nate Clements in round 1 and obviously got him even though they traded down to pick 21 (from 14). In round 2 holding the 46th pick the Bills wanted to move up so they could take Drew Brees as their quarterback, but there were no takers and San Diego grabbed Brees at the top of the 2nd round with the 32nd pick. “I almost pulled a hamstring in the draft room, jumping up and down because I was so mad,” Williams told King. As King astutely points out, can you imagine how that would have changed Buffalo’s fortunes at the position? The following year they likely would not have traded for Drew Bledsoe. And as Williams told King. “I’ll tell you this: I wouldn’t be sitting here in New Orleans right now.” This entry was written by Chris Brown, posted on October 5, 2009 at 1:58 pm, filed under Inside The Bills and tagged Drew Brees, Gregg Williams. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed. « Bills struggling to find positives

I think the larger point is that the Bills keep letting good players go, and the fans shout "don't let the door hit you in the ass" when they leave because they think the players are moneygrubbers who aren't that good (see Clements, Nate; Winfield, Antoine; and now Peters, Jason). Moreover, they think they're replaceable with bottomshelf talent (Bell, Demetrius).

Not at all. Buffalo's where you go to play out your contract and cash in on your dream. Right, Antowain Smith? Right, Todd Collins? Right, Marcellus Wiley? Right, Pat Williams? Right, Antoine Winfield? Right, Nate Clements? Right, Jonas Jennings? Right, Mike Gandy? Right, Sammie Morris? Right, Jim Leonhard? (OK he got cut; same difference)

They tried to resign Greer the same whay the tried to resign Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements, etc. hoping they would sign contract with a huge hometown discount, of which normally gets taken as an insult.

I understand your point, but you're forgetting the rest of the players on the Bledsoe team in '04. Bledsoe at QB, McGahee and Henry at RB, Moulds and Evans at WR, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Pat Williams, Sam Adams, Aaron Schobel, Terrence McGee, Nate Clements, Lawyer Milloy, and not to mention how SOLID that OL was compared to this one, minus Mike Williams of course. Even Campbell had some timely receptions playing the TE position with 5 TD's that year in only 17 catches. There is no way that you can sanely say that this team is better than the one Bledsoe had around him in '04. No way.

Being interested and making the call are two different things. Being interested gets you a place on the stadium wall. Making the call is what keeps you in a head coaching job. I just looked at that draft and we certainly got a bunch of good players out of it. Travis Henry, Nate Clements, Jonas Jennings, Schobel.

winfield and clements cant count as 90's bills (clements was drafted in 2001 winfield in 99). besides nate odomes what bills rookie db had more than 25 tackles and 2 picks? plus mckelvin averaged 28+ per return, that's insane for a rookie and worth a roster spot even if you do give up something on defense (which i still say you dont) http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/McKeLe99.htm

I dont even want Mcelvin as a nickle on our current team.....kick return aside, what the hell has this guy shown as a CB??????.....IMO, He is hovering around being Erik Flowers, Mike Williams territory.......ok maybe no that bad but this guy isn't showing much....thank of Thomas Smith, Nate clemtents, and my fav, antione Winfield (former Bills 1st round DB's)and these guys are showed much more in their second season than Mcelvin

I asked that question of TG, JW, and a few of the Bflo News writers in emails. Haven't heard back but those guys are real busy. The standard NFL contract allows a team to franchise a player who fits certain criteria, which T.O. meets. I am going to guess that if he had a no-franchise tag clause in his contract that we would have heard about it by now. Those types of things tend to leak out over time. For instance, the Bills franchised Nate Clements (in 2006?) with the promise that they would not franchise him again after the 2006 season. This arrangement became fairly common knowledge. The Patriots this offseason signed well-respected cornerback Leigh Bodden to a one-year, below market contract with the clause that he would not be franchised after this season. This is also common knowledge. So I believe that if T.O. had a no-franchise tag clause, we'd have heard about it by now.

To be fair, let's go to the last of the Super Bowl rosters. There had been quite a bit of turnover by then, and the following players started: Offense Player Pos Hull, Kent C Davis, John G Parker, Glenn G Ballard, Howard T Fina, Joihn T Metzelaars, Pete TE Beebe, Don WR Brooks, Bill WR Reed, Andre RB Thomas, Thurman RB Kelly, Jim QB Defense Player Pos Wright, Jeff NT Hansen, Phil DE Smith, Bruce DE Patton, Marvcus OLB Talley, Darryl OLB Bennet, Cornelius ILB Maddox, Mark ILB Odomes, Nate CB Washington, Mickey CB Kelso, Mark FS Jones, Henry SS

how about the '92 cowboys...troy aikmen, emmet smith, michael irvin, nate newton, moose, alvin harper and darren woodson all in their primes. and they absolutely destroyed the bills in the super bowl

Agreed. T. McGee seems to combine Nate's coverage ability with an improving tackling ability thats approaching Winfield-esque.

I'd take McGee over any of the corners we've had in the last ten years....I love Winfield but IMO Terrence McGee is one of the most underrated players in the entire NFL. I'd def. take him over Nate any day of the week.......he might not have Nate's measurables but he is WAY more consistent and a much better player.

So McGee gets extended for four years and $27 million ($6.75 million per). Don't know the guaranteed money yet, or to what degree it piggy backs his current contract which has one year, this season for $3 million left (did they rip up the last year or add to it). Jabari Greer signed with New Orleans this offseason for four years and $23 million ($5.75 million per) with $10 million guaranteed. Nate Clements signed with the Niners for eight years and $80 million ($10 million per) with $22 million guaranteed. Antoine Winfield signed with the Vikings in for five years and $36 million ($7.2 million per) with $16.1 million guaranteed.

The first round pick/first contract-and-out merry-go-round has served this team so well, for so many years. Why abandon it now? You may be tempted to point out that a) it's been well over ten years since the Bills' last playoff win, and b) that Nate Odomes left the team at about the same time; thereby inaugurating the CB merry-go-round. You might want to use these data to draw into question my conclusion that the CB merry-go-round has, in fact, served us well. But you'd be wrong. And the reason you'd be wrong is . . . um . . . okay, I can't think of that reason right now. But you have to admit that extending starting CBs beyond their first contracts is relatively new ground for this team, at least in the era of free agency. Newness and uncertainty often go together. You may try to rebut that by pointing out that, with this contract extension, we seem to be heading into the uncharted waters of actually having a competent front office! I'd tend to agree with that. But what then? We know exactly what to expect from an incompetent front office. For Bills' fans--especially for those who've started following the team since 1999 or so--a competent front office is something new, utterly alien. Now that the front office has its act together, there's no telling how it might act! I'm sure this has got to have a lot of Bills fans nervous, or at least, very, very confused.

My bad and it has been corrected. Anyhow, McGee has been a great player for us. Solid corner and physical. As good as a CB he has been, I thought he was an even better KR but that duty has gone to McKelvin. I guess the Bills finally learned something after letting the likes of Nate Odomes, Jeffrey Burris, Thomas Smith, Jabrari Greer, Antoine Winfield and Nate Clements go leave via free agency. It sucks redrafting the position and prevents you from filling other voids when good players have to be replaced.

Great news, congrats Terrence! Also congrats Russ for not botching this ala Marv with Nate.

TACKLES 1. Bryan Bulaga {Iowa}* 2. Trent Williams {Oklahoma} 3. Russell Okung {Oklahoma State} 4. Charles Brown {USC} 5. Ciron Black {LSU} 6. Selvish Capers {West Virginia} 7. Nate Solder {Colorado}* 8. Anthony Davis {Rutgers}* 9. Lee Zeimba {Auburn}* 10 Sam Young {Notre Dame} 11. Kyle Calloway {Iowa} 12. Adam Ulatoski {Texas} 13. Gabe Carimi {Wisconsin}* 14. Bruce Campbell {Maryland} 15. Chris Scott {Tennessee} 16. Jason Fox {Miami} 17. Matt Kopa {Standford} 18. Zane Beadles {Utah} 19. Matt Reynolds {BYU}* 20. Drew Davis {Alabama}

TIGHT ENDS 1. Rob Gronkowski {Arizona}* 2. Jermaine Gresham {Oklahoma} 3. Aaron Hernandez {Florida}* 4. Dennis Pitta {BYU} 5. Ed Dickson {Oregon} 6. Anthony McCoy {USC} 7. Nate Byham {Pittsbirgh 8. Weslye Saunders {S. Carolina}* 9. Jeff Cottam {Tennessee} 10. Michael Hoomanawanui {Illinois} 11. Charlie Gantt {Michigan State}* 12. Joe Torchia {Virginia} 13. Andrew Quarless {Penn State} 14. Luke Stocker {Tennessee} 15. Ryan Moya {UCLA}

Please feel free to add to my master list of misery. Just another season of Bills football… 2007 SEASON 10/08/07 - COWBOYS 25 BILLS 24 - Bills turn over Tony Romo 6 times, return 2 INTs and a kickoff for touchdowns, stop a last-ditch two point conversion, and then lose when Dallas recovers an onsides kick with 20 seconds left and kicks a 50+ yard field goal with two seconds left 09/09/07 - BRONCOS 15 BILLS 14 - In a game in which the Bills never trailed, they lose on a "fire drill" field goal with one second left. 2006 SEASON 12/24/06 - TITANS 30 BILLS 20 - In Orchard Park, Vince Young runs wild, the Titans kick a field goal with 2:10 left to take a one point lead. The game ends when JP Losman throwing an INT on 4th and 5 from the Tennessee 28 yard line with one minute left, after the Bills forego the 43 yard field goal attempt due to wind. 12/12/06 - COLTS 17 BILLS 16 - Down one to the Colts in Indy, Rian Lindell misses a 41 yard field with 6:30 left. Peyton Manning never gives the Bills the ball back and runs out the clock. 09/10/06 - PATRIOTS 19 BILLS 17 - On the road to open the season, the Bills return a Brady INT for a TD on first play of game, and lead for most of the game. Then the Patriots take the lead on a *safety* by sacking Losman with six minutes left. After the free kick, Donte Whinter records an INT on the first play. The Bills proceed to go three-and-out from their own 44, punt with 6:20 to go and never see the ball again. 2005 SEASON 01/01/06 - JETS 30 BILLS 26 - In a meaningless game at home, the Jets score on a Kelly Holcomb INT for a TD and then take the lead with a Justin Miller KR for a TD with 6 minutes left. Holcomb takes Bills to the Jets 34 with with 3 minutes left before being sacked on 4th and 10. Holcomb then throws an INT on the desperation drive with 50 seconds left. 12/04/05 - DOLPHINS 24 BILLS 23 - In Miami, Lee Evans scores 3 TD's in the first quarter. Losman only completes one more pass to Lee Evans for the rest of the game. Chris Chambers catches 15 passes for 238 yards, including the game-winning TD as Sage Rosenfels in relief for Gus Frerotte takes the Fish 73 yards with 1:51 left. 11/27/05 - PANTHERS 13 BILLS 9 - Bills take a 9-6 lead at home with 5 minutes left. Future Buffalo Bill Michael Gaines scores the GW TD with 2:21 left. With 47 seconds left, on 3rd and 10 from the Carolina 43, JP Losman throws a game-ending INT. 10/30/05 - PATRIOTS 21 BILLS 16 – The Bills take a 16-7 lead with ten minutes left. The Patriots take just two minutes and 11 seconds to score a TD to pull within two points. On the next drive, Holcomb fumbles, and the Patriots need just one play to take the lead. With two minutes left, on 4th and 8 from the New England 40, a pass to Moulds gets no gain. 10/02/05 – SAINTS 16 BILLS 7 - In San Antonio, thanks to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans kicks a field goal to go up 13 to 7 with 13 second left in the first half. Terrence McGee returns the ensuing kickoff 82 yards before being tripped up on a weak tackle attempt at the New Orleans three yard line after the clock had expired. Willis McGahee is stuffed on 4th and inches, JP Losman finishes the day 7 of 15 for 75 yards and an INT with four sacks. Kelly Holcomb adds a lost fumble on 3 of 6 passing for 28 yards in a day of offensive futility. 2004 SEASON 01/02/05 - STEELERS 29 BILLS 24 - In a home game to secure their first playoff birth in years, against a Steelers team playing 2nd and 3rd stringers, some guy named Willie Parker runs 19 times for 102 yards. The Bills never come close to winning. 10/10/04 - JETS 16 BILLS 14 - On the road in New York, the Bills score 14 4th Quarter points to take the lead with 6 minutes left. The Jets' Doug Brien kicks a 38 yard field goal with 1 minute left. The game ends with Drew Bledsoe's Hail Mary being intercepted in a game that ultimately cost the Bills a playoff spot. 10/03/04 - PATRIOTS 31 BILLS 17 - At home and down 7 with three minutes left, the Bills are driving at the New England 17, when Drew Bledsoe is sacked and the Patriots return the fumble for a TD in a game that ultimately costs the Bills a playoff spot. 09/19/04 - RAIDERS 13 BILLS 10 - Travis Henry is stuffed an inch shy of the goal line in the 3rd Quarter in a game the Bills eventually lose by a score of 13 - 10 for the second consecutive week. 09/12/04 - JAGUARS 13 BILLS 10 - In Orchard Park and down 4 points with two minutes left, the Jaguars get the ball at their own 20 with one time out. Jags quarterback Byron Leftwich throws a desperation bomb on fourth-and-14 to Jimmy Smith out-muscling cornerback Nate Clements. The Jags convert three fourth-down plays on the final drive including 4th and Goal from the 7 with four seconds left. Leftwich hit Ernest Wilford in the back of the end zone - who somehow hangs on to the GW TD in a game that ultimately cost the Bills a playoff spot. 2003 SEASON 12/14/03 - TITANS 28 BILLS 26 - Billy Volek has a big game in Nashville. Drew Bledsoe hits Mark Campbell for a TD with 26 seconds left, but the two-point conversion fails and the Titans recover the onsides kick. This ends the playoff hopes in a season that began with the 31-0 thumping of the Patriots in the Lawyer Milloy Bowl. 11/23/03 - COLTS 17 BILLS 14 - Bills take a 14-3 lead into the 4th quarter in Orchard Park. The Bills stuff the Colts on three plays after first-and-goal from the 3. Colts punch it in on 4th and Goal from the 1 with 1:42 left and convert the two-point conversion for a three point lead. From the Buffalo 46, Drew Bledsoe throws an INT with 42 seconds left. Their third crushing loss in three weeks and their second at home. 11/16/03 - TEXANS 12 BILLS 10 - In Orchard Park, the Texans take a 12-8 lead with 3:28 left. On the first play after the two minute warning, the Bills have 1st and 10 from the Houston 31. Drew Bledsoe is sacked and fumbles. The Texans take an intentional safety to end the game, giving the Bills two safeties in the game. 11/09/03 - COWBOYS 10 BILLS 3 - In Dallas, Quincy Carter takes a four point lead into the 4th quarter. With four minutes left, the Cowboys' kicker pooch punts the ball into the end zone from the Buffalo 32 for a 12 yard net punt. The Bills proceed to go three-and-out, including an own-recovered Travis Henry fumble. Getting the ball with 2:50 to play, Adrian Murrell runs the ball down our throats to end the game. 09/28/03 - EAGLES 23 BILLS 13 - Down 3 points at home with 2:50 left, the Bills are using their timeouts on defense to try and get the ball back. The Eagles get one first down through the air, and then Brian Westbrook scores on a 62 yard TD to all-but ice the game. On a desperation drive, down 10 with 1 minute left, Drew Bledsoe is flushed out of the pocket on 4th and 8 and proceeds to throw the ball away out-of-bounds! Good grief! 09/21/03 - DOLPHINS 17 BILLS 7 - In Miami, the Bills are down 10 to 3 with 6:43 to play. Getting the ball at their own 34, they run for two yards, have a false start, and a Drew Bledsoe sack. On 3rd and 19, the pass is incomplete. Miami then rips off a three minute drive, when the Bills appear to stuff Ricky Williams on 3rd and Goal from the 1 on the first play after the two minute warning. A booth review is called, and Miami is given the TD and a 10 point lead. Down 10 with 1:48 to play from their own 20 with one timeout, Drew Bledsoe manages to drive to the Miami 24. 2002 SEASON 11/17/02 - CHIEFS 17 BILLS 16 - In Kansas City, the Chiefs take a one point lead with five minutes to go. Five plays later, the Bills have 2nd and 10 at the KC 40 when Drew Bledsoe throws an INT on a deep pass towards the end zone. The Chiefs take the ball with 4:15 to play and proceed to run out the clock. 09/08/02 - JETS 37 BILLS 31 - The Bills tie the season-opener at home with a Bledsoe-to-Moulds TD pass with 26 seconds left. They lose in OT as Justin Miller takes the opening kickoff of overtime for a touchdown. 2001 SEASON 12/16/01 - PATRIOTS 12 BILLS 9 - In one of the great ironies of football history, a Bills team that will finish 3-13 takes a Patriots team that will win the Super Bowl to the wire, ending up holding Tom Brady to 19 of 35 passing in Orchard Park. The Patriots tie the game with 2:50 left. Alex Van Pelt then proceeds to lead the Bills on a three-and-out. With 1:50 left, the Patriots get the ball at their own 13 and advance to their own 45 with one minute left. The Bills sniff out a screen for -2, nearly get an interception, and finally Schobel sacks Brady to end the threat. With 22 seconds left at their own 16, the Bills unwisely try to make something happen. Alex Van Pelt fumbles, but the Bills recover to thankfully get to OT. In OT, the Bills advance to their own 48, but throw an incomplete pass on 3rd and 2 and punt. The Patriots are then at their own 46 when David Patten catches a pass, is knocked silly by Keion Carpenter, and fumbles. Nate Clements recovers, and advances the ball into Patriots territory. On replay review, however, David Patten's head rolls out of bounds while his body is touching the football. By rule, the ball is out-of-bounds and New England retains possession. Two plays later, NE kicks the winning FG. Had the Bills won, New England would not have made the playoffs (let alone won the Super Bowl), Bill Belichick would have been a lifetime .500 football Head Coach, and the world would have been a very different place. 11/25/01 - DOLPHINS 34 BILLS 27 - In Buffalo, the Fish score 24 points in the 4th Quarter. The Fish score a TD with 4:15 left, and the Bills proceed to go three-and-out, with an incomplete pass on 2nd down, and a completed pass short to Larry Centers on third down. Olindo Mare kicks a 39 yarder with 1:17 left, and Nate Clements fumbles the ensuing kickoff. Three plays later, the Fish have a seven point lead. Alex Van Pelt gets the ball with 43 seconds and two timeouts, but is unable to seriously threaten. 11/11/01 - PATRIOTS 21 BILLS 11 - Antowain Smith ices the game with a 42-yard TD run with three minutes left. 10/28/01 - CHARGERS 27 BILLS 24 - Doug Flutie scores on a GW 13 yard TD run with one minute left. 2000 SEASON 12/17/00 - PATRIOTS 13 BILLS 10 (OT) - In Foxboro, the Patriots kick the game-winner with 19 seconds left in OT. The Patriots finish 5-11, the Bills finish 8-8. 12/11/00 - COLTS 44 BILLS 20 - In Indy, with both teams at 7-6 with three games left, Wade Phillips says that "both teams are basically out of it." The Colts win their last three and make the playoffs. 10/01/00 - COLTS 18 BILLS 16 - In Buffalo, Mike Vanderjagt hits a 45-yard game winner as time expires. 1999 SEASON 01/08/00 - TITANS 22 BILLS 16 Music City Miracle and last Buffalo playoff game. 1998 SEASON 01/02/99 - DOLPHINS 24 BILLS 17 (PLAYOFFS) - A complicated tiebreaker forces the Bills to play this game in unseasonably warm weather in Miami. The run out of gas as the Dolphins end the magical "Flutie Year" in Buffalo. Of course, by all rights, the game should have been at Ralph Wilson stadium.... 11/29/98 - PATRIOTS 25 BILLS 21 - In the game at Foxboro that would bring instant replay back to the NFL, on 4th down, Drew Bledsoe of the Patriots throws a pass that is caught out-of-bounds and short of the first down marker. Bills players later report hearing one referee telling the other "just give it to them." The game was seemingly over when Bledsoe's Hail Mary to the endzone fell incomplete. The referees, however, called a ticky-tack pass interference penalty on Buffalo, even though instant replays would show a Bills defender being mugged by a Patriots WR in the Hail Mary scrum in the end zone. The Patriots are awarded one untimed play, on which they score the game-winning TD. In protest, Wade Phillips refuses to contest the extra point, and the Patriots walk the snap in for an uncontested two point conversion. 09/20/98 - RAMS 34 BILLS 33 - Tony Banks scores on a 2 yard run with 10 seconds left.

Yep. Sage Rosenfels had like 20 completions to Chris Chambers while being covered by "Moneybags" Nate Clements.

Maybe these Bills will learn the lesson that those Bills learned. After that game they knew how to play to win. They put teams away and kept their foot on the opponents neck. They pulled games out if given a chance at the end (like the Pats* did). Remember the game where Nate Odomes mugged a Denver receiver and took the ball to the house to win a game. I remember a game against the Chargers that the Bills had no business winning but Jim Kelley found a way at the last minute. The Miami game that Jim ran in for a score at the last second to win. The 49's game with no punts that the Bills refused to lose. This team has enough talent maybe this stupid loss will spark that kind of play. I agree that Harmon was different and his comments after the game were the reason that he was traded. McKelvin has a whole season to help fans forget this mistake. I am willing to give him a chance but none of us will ever forget this play. How many of us remember what a great kicker Scoot Norwood was?

Peyton Manning (Ind - QB) Randy Moss (NE - WR) Terrell Owens (Buf - WR) Adrian Peterson (Min - RB) Thomas Jones (NYJ - RB) Jeremy Shockey (NO - TE) Nate Burleson (Sea - WR) Percy Harvin (Min - WR) I am tempted to try and trade manning for Brees somehow. With Trent Edwards being captain checkdown in Buffalo I am thinking of trying to trade owens as well.

Sounds like same Mularkey we heard regarding Titans game where Bruce DeHaven got roasted by fans when players were schooled repeated to stay in lanes. Like in politics people blame whomever they previously rant against no matter what happens. To me it reminds me of Nate's bone headed play when all he needed to do for win was knock down ball and he went for self glory. It is all on Leodis McKelvin.