Rank the Bills first round picks

[Mr. WEO]

 

7. J. P. Losman-Had all the physical tools. My personel opionion is that Mularkey ruined this guy, yanking him in and out of the lineup after one bad series.

That's not how it happened.

[Homey D. Clown]

I've complied a ranking of the Bills' first round picks in the Modrak era, from best to worst. Feel free to comment, or contribute your own rankings of the Bills' first round picks.

 

1) Eric Wood. He shows signs of living up to his draft position. That makes him the best first round selection of the Modrak era.

 

2) Lee Evans. While he never lived up to the expectations associated with the 13th overall pick, he has been a solid contributor for the Bills.

 

3) Willis McGahee. Picked late in the first round, McGahee was traded away a few years later for a couple of third round picks. This draft pick was only partially wasted!

 

4) Donte Whitner. Chosen eighth overall, Whitner has played about as well as you might expect from someone in the late second or early third round. The eighth overall pick is worth 1400 points, while the 15th pick of the second round is worth 430 points. The Bills received about one fourth of what this pick was worth.

 

5) Leodis McKelvin. While it is a little early to rank this pick, McKelvin looks to be a player who plays very well in stretches, only to get beat through mental errors. Using the 11th overall pick on a guy who should probably be your #3 CB isn't exactly the pinnacle of success, but it's better than anything below.

 

6) Marshawn Lynch. Taken 12th overall, he was traded for a 4th rounder (plus change) just a few years later. Turning the 12th overall pick into a fourth rounder isn't the kind of alchemy you hope to see from your front office, but the fact the Bills got some value from him makes him the 6th-best selection.

 

7) J.P. Losman. He had a decent year in 2006; but was otherwise useless to the team. He ranks lower than Lynch because the Bills could get nothing for him in a trade; and because of his subsequent difficulty finding a roster spot in the NFL.

 

8) Mike Williams. The Mike Williams of 2004 would have represented an upgrade at RT for the 2010 Bills. You hope to get more than just one somewhat decent season out of a RT chosen fourth overall. But as a Bills fan, you don't always get everything you want.

 

9) John McCargo. There'd been discussion of trading him away for a fifth rounder--at least until he failed the Colts' physical. While a fifth rounder isn't a great return from a first rounder, it's better than nothing. Which is exactly what the Bills would get if they tried to trade away . . .

 

10) Aaron Maybin. Chosen 11th overall, this player has done nothing for the team.

 

Unranked: Spiller. (Too early to make an assessment.)

 

 

1. A Eric Wood regardless of draft position brings work ethic and highh character to the team

2. C+ Lee Evans really can't be faulted for the lofty expectations the franchise placed on him when he was clearly not as talented as he was given credit for.

3. D- Willis McGahee quite simply was a lousy runner once he was injured in the Fiesta Bowl.

4. D It's not Donte's Fault he was drafted in the first round when he clearly would have been a value at, say pick #72

5. D+ Read my comment on Whitner, same goes for this guy

6. D- This was a terrible pick plain and simple. Bust Mode was just not skilled enough to be a real weapon

7. D+ I rooted hard for him to succeed, and he did give me one hell of a game to watch when I was in Houston in 2006, I did in fact go to that game, it was great, so he gets a + for that, and generally trying hard to overcome the disaster which was Dickie-poo and Mike Full-of-Mularkey

8. F The failed hopes of this franchise may never fully recover from this disaster

9. F- John who?

10. F-- (This time a double negative does not convert to a positive) I think you can honestly blame Ralph Wilson and Jauron for this one, but there is no doubt he would have been a bust in any round.

 

I like your order, I just wanted to grade them, and for the record, I will neither fault, nor give credit to Tom Modrak for CJ Spiller, that one will belong to Buddy Nix, and I still think the kid will be something special, exceeding Reggie Bush, but it will take another year before everyone sees it happen.

 

This was fun, I love seeing threads like this, and sometimes it's just plain good fun laughing at the failures of others

[Pirate Angel]

It's awful when Mike Williams isn't your worst

Most teams if not all would have wiffed on Williams, yes he was a huge bust but he wasnt a WTF!! pick like Maybin, McCargo or Whitner at the time. He was a huge talent coming out of college and worthy of the pick at the time. I dont think anybody is really shocked to see Whitner, McCargo, and Whitner not live up to the hype of their draft status. What im saying is that the Williams pick was a huge setback however i dont think it shows the incompetance as much as other selections...

[Buftex]

No love for Nate Clements, huh? He was the first, 1st round pick of the "Modrak-era", made 2 Pro Bowls (or at least one), and was a playmaker...I might actually put him in my top two:

 

1- Lee Evans-Doesn't get the big numbers, and perhaps, this past season showed more shortcomings in his game than we might have expected, but he is a good WR, in what has been a mostly un-productive offense, and a class act. Hard not to like him.

 

2- Nate Clements- guy was one of the few real playmakers on the Bills D over the last decade

 

3- Eric Wood- appears on the way to a long career, and an anchor on the Bills line

 

4- Marshawn Lych- Maybe his best attribute was his potential, never broke any big ones, but hard not to enjoy wathching him on the field. Tough runner.

 

5- Willis McGahee- I always kind of liked him...

 

6- Donte Whitner- In the right situation, this guy would look a lot better...Bills D wrong situation for most

 

7- Mike Williams- If this guy was a third round pick, he might still be here, not as awful as made out to be.

 

8- Leodis McKelvin- takes one step forward, two steps back. Has looked close to breaking through at different times. Tough position to play...

 

9- Jp Losman- Love the kids personality, but he was not a good QB...couple of fun moments in 2006.

 

10- Aaron Maybin- If you give Spiller a pass, you have to give Maybin and his 2 seasons a break, over McCargos unbelievable 5 seasons or utter uselessness.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I've complied a ranking of the Bills' first round picks in the Modrak era, from best to worst. Feel free to comment, or contribute your own rankings of the Bills' first round picks.

 

1) Eric Wood. He shows signs of living up to his draft position. That makes him the best first round selection of the Modrak era.

 

2) Lee Evans. While he never lived up to the expectations associated with the 13th overall pick, he has been a solid contributor for the Bills.

 

3) Willis McGahee. Picked late in the first round, McGahee was traded away a few years later for a couple of third round picks. This draft pick was only partially wasted!

 

4) Donte Whitner. Chosen eighth overall, Whitner has played about as well as you might expect from someone in the late second or early third round. The eighth overall pick is worth 1400 points, while the 15th pick of the second round is worth 430 points. The Bills received about one fourth of what this pick was worth.

 

5) Leodis McKelvin. While it is a little early to rank this pick, McKelvin looks to be a player who plays very well in stretches, only to get beat through mental errors. Using the 11th overall pick on a guy who should probably be your #3 CB isn't exactly the pinnacle of success, but it's better than anything below.

 

6) Marshawn Lynch. Taken 12th overall, he was traded for a 4th rounder (plus change) just a few years later. Turning the 12th overall pick into a fourth rounder isn't the kind of alchemy you hope to see from your front office, but the fact the Bills got some value from him makes him the 6th-best selection.

 

7) J.P. Losman. He had a decent year in 2006; but was otherwise useless to the team. He ranks lower than Lynch because the Bills could get nothing for him in a trade; and because of his subsequent difficulty finding a roster spot in the NFL.

 

8) Mike Williams. The Mike Williams of 2004 would have represented an upgrade at RT for the 2010 Bills. You hope to get more than just one somewhat decent season out of a RT chosen fourth overall. But as a Bills fan, you don't always get everything you want.

 

9) John McCargo. There'd been discussion of trading him away for a fifth rounder--at least until he failed the Colts' physical. While a fifth rounder isn't a great return from a first rounder, it's better than nothing. Which is exactly what the Bills would get if they tried to trade away . . .

 

10) Aaron Maybin. Chosen 11th overall, this player has done nothing for the team.

 

Unranked: Spiller. (Too early to make an assessment.)

 

I'd change the top of that to Evans, Whitner, Wood, McKelvin, and McGahee. Evans can't help what he is, but he does have great speed and can run a 9 route. Whitner was obviously a reach for where he was picked, but he is a solid player. Wood and McKelvin may become solid players yet, but drafting a RG in the 1st round is effectively a misfire in my book, and McKelvin has only shown tiny glimpses of being any good so far. McGahee was a luxury pick for a bad team with a head coach going into a lame duck situation and for whom he'd never play a down. Trent Edwards and CJ Ah-You weren't much to write home about in terms of compensation for this 1st round pick.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

No love for Nate Clements, huh? He was the first, 1st round pick of the "Modrak-era", made 2 Pro Bowls (or at least one), and was a playmaker...I might actually put him in my top two:

 

I actually looked this up a few days ago. Modrak got there a few months after the 2001 draft; he had no role in the 2001 draft, which I think was our best one over the last decade (Clements, Schobel, Henry, Jennings, etc.)

[thewildrabbit]

Pretty good list. It's ugly to see it in black and white, isn't it.

 

If you're looking for more research assignments, I for one would love to see the players we passed over in each of those drafts, like Cushing and Matthews when the Bills took Maynot.

 

As to whether or not Mularkey mishandled Losman, one of the things that the draft commentators talk about every year is how much (or how little) coaching-up QB prospects need upon entering the NFL. Just this year, Newton, Gabbert, Dalton and Kaepernick were all regarded as potentially fine QBs who would need a bunch of work to make them into prototypical NFL QBs. In other words, the expectation is that you don't take one of those guys unless you're prepared to hire one or more coaches to work intensely with them. And he'd better be a good coach too. What does this have to do with Losman? Or Edwards for that matter? Just that the Bills coaches were erratic about focusing on training their young QBs. There were years when they didn't even have a QB coach. And when they did have one, it felt like an afterthought or grudging. Kind of unbelievable if you think about it. You go out and draft a guy, then put the future of your franchise in his hands, but you neglect to spend money on a coach who focuses exclusively on him? Penny wise and pound foolish.

It really is amazing that head coaches like Dick Jauron are so offensively inept that they promote new OC's and QB coaches to run the offense when they have new QB's that are just developing.

 

Look at JP's & TE history of coaches

 

04 Mularkey drafts Lee Evans, they wanted QB big ben and settled for JP Losman HC Mike Mularkey-QB coach Sam Wyche- starting QB Drew Bledsoe-

05 JP breaks his leg in training camp and basically loses the year Mularkey steps down as HC and new GM Marv Levy hires DJ

06 Dick Jauron hired as HC- Steve Fairchild OC- Turk Schonert QC coach- AVP offensive QC.Losman had a good year and was expected to be much improved in 07

07Bills draft Trent Edwards 3rd round-so JP starts looking over his shoulder every game, then gets replaced after a few games because the QB is supposed to win games, not the team

08 OC Fairchild leaves and Jauron promotes QB coach Turk Schonert to OC, AVP to QB coach-

09 Jauron fires Schonert 2 weeks before the opener and promotes AVP from QB coach to OC. Jauron gets fired during the season- Perry Fewell takes over as interim HC and benches Trent Edwards and starts Ryan Fitzpatrick

10 Bills hire Chan Gailey, new OC, new QB coach new system, new language

 

JP saw 2 HC changes 4 OC changes 4 QB coach changes-- in a crappy Mike Martz passing offensive system that gets the QB killed by calling for deep passing plays

TE saw 2 HC changes 4 OC changes 4 QB changes in the same crappy system run by guys that really didn't know wtf they were doing.

 

Where is Turk Schonert now? Not even in the NFL in any capacity ....AVP went back to being a QB coach somewhere. Mike Mularkey is the OC at Atlanta and has been there since he left Buffalo.

 

If it normally takes 3-4 years in the same system for a rookie QB to properly develop, how then is he supposed to develop at all when the system changes,the language changes, the coaches change. I'm not making excuses for JP or Edwards, but how can anyone expect a young QB to develop properly under inept coaches

 

 

Mike Mularkey knew what he was doing and if he had stayed in Buffalo as the HC the Bills could have been to the playoffs already, JMO. Mike Mularkey hired 25 year veteran O line coach in Jim McNally away from the NY Giants in 04 and then he retied in 07 under Jauron...after he retired Jauron promoted an assistant. In case anyone has forgotten McNally was the guy who took a walk-on TE and turned him into a pro bowl left tackle in Jason Peters. So is it any wonder that LT Peters play declined in 08 under a new rookie line coach and that same year Trent Edwards gets slammed by an untouched LB in Arizona, was he ever the same after that severe concussion?

 

Jauron and his Tampon 2 defense, ruined Greg Williams Defense, ruined the O line by trading away Peters,cutting G Dockery and RT Walker- ruined both QB's Losman & Edwards with inept coaching in a bad system, and behind bad O lines

Edited May 6, 2011 by Harvey lives

[yungmack]

Except that you remember, the Bills hired Sam Wyche, specifically, to serve as Losman's coach? Wyche was to leave no stone unturned with the kid, from the field, and how to handle himself in the media...

Yes they did. But I seem to remember that he was hired in the second season after not having one for Losman's first year. That's just my very fallible memory though.

[Mr. WEO]

It really is amazing that head coaches like Dick Jauron are so offensively inept that they promote new OC's and QB coaches to run the offense when they have new QB's that are just developing.

 

Look at JP's & TE history of coaches

 

04 Mularkey drafts Lee Evans, they wanted QB big ben and settled for JP Losman HC Mike Mularkey-QB coach Sam Wyche- starting QB Drew Bledsoe-

05 JP breaks his leg in training camp and basically loses the year Mularkey steps down as HC and new GM Marv Levy hires DJ

 

If it normally takes 3-4 years in the same system for a rookie QB to properly develop

 

Wrong!! Come on!

 

JPL was drafted in '04. He "missed" the '04 season after he broke his leg in his first camp. He was healthy most of the season--he was Bledsoe's backup.

 

JPL played his first season as starter for...... Mike Mularkey!--who sat his incompetent ass down twice in favor of Holcomb.

 

Another first round QB in Atlanta hasn't taken "3-4 years" in Mularkey's system to "develop".....

[Webster Guy]

I think you need to look at where these guys are picked in the first round, not just first rounders. AS we learned this year in the draft, being in the top 10 or top 5 raises your options and expectations. McCargo went late first round where more busts seem likely.

 

Mike Williams at #4 was the highest of the bunch. He is out of football and my number one bust.

 

Maybin is my number two bust. Sat out the entire training camp for more money and the guy is utterly incapable of beating an NFL tackle. When the scouting department compared Orakpo and Maybin video side by side, how they chose Maybin is baffling.

[FightinIrishBills]

Wrong!! Come on!

 

JPL was drafted in '04. He "missed" the '04 season after he broke his leg in his first camp. He was healthy most of the season--he was Bledsoe's backup.

 

JPL played his first season as starter for...... Mike Mularkey!--who sat his incompetent ass down twice in favor of Holcomb.

 

Another first round QB in Atlanta hasn't taken "3-4 years" in Mularkey's system to "develop".....

 

Bingo. Even if JP was limited in his on-field time due to injury his rookie year, he still had time to ride the bench, learn the playbook, and develop a greater awareness of the NFL game. Maybe he needed another year to develop, but his output after his sophomore season warranted only a very cautious optimism at best. Quite frankly, you needed better performance out of a guy worth 2 years of first round picks, and JP, while showing flashes, never exhibited the ability to be a solid starter, let alone a franchise QB. Mularkey knew that JP never had the ability and tried to win in spite of him.

[billsfreak]

It really is amazing that head coaches like Dick Jauron are so offensively inept that they promote new OC's and QB coaches to run the offense when they have new QB's that are just developing.

 

Look at JP's & TE history of coaches

 

04 Mularkey drafts Lee Evans, they wanted QB big ben and settled for JP Losman HC Mike Mularkey-QB coach Sam Wyche- starting QB Drew Bledsoe-

05 JP breaks his leg in training camp and basically loses the year Mularkey steps down as HC and new GM Marv Levy hires DJ

06 Dick Jauron hired as HC- Steve Fairchild OC- Turk Schonert QC coach- AVP offensive QC.Losman had a good year and was expected to be much improved in 07

07Bills draft Trent Edwards 3rd round-so JP starts looking over his shoulder every game, then gets replaced after a few games because the QB is supposed to win games, not the team

08 OC Fairchild leaves and Jauron promotes QB coach Turk Schonert to OC, AVP to QB coach-

09 Jauron fires Schonert 2 weeks before the opener and promotes AVP from QB coach to OC. Jauron gets fired during the season- Perry Fewell takes over as interim HC and benches Trent Edwards and starts Ryan Fitzpatrick

10 Bills hire Chan Gailey, new OC, new QB coach new system, new language

 

JP saw 2 HC changes 4 OC changes 4 QB coach changes-- in a crappy Mike Martz passing offensive system that gets the QB killed by calling for deep passing plays

TE saw 2 HC changes 4 OC changes 4 QB changes in the same crappy system run by guys that really didn't know wtf they were doing.

 

Where is Turk Schonert now? Not even in the NFL in any capacity ....AVP went back to being a QB coach somewhere. Mike Mularkey is the OC at Atlanta and has been there since he left Buffalo.If it normally takes 3-4 years in the same system for a rookie QB to properly develop, how then is he supposed to develop at all when the system changes,the language changes, the coaches change. I'm not making excuses for JP or Edwards, but how can anyone expect a young QB to develop properly under inept coaches

 

 

Mike Mularkey knew what he was doing and if he had stayed in Buffalo as the HC the Bills could have been to the playoffs already, JMO. Mike Mularkey hired 25 year veteran O line coach in Jim McNally away from the NY Giants in 04 and then he retied in 07 under Jauron...after he retired Jauron promoted an assistant. In case anyone has forgotten McNally was the guy who took a walk-on TE and turned him into a pro bowl left tackle in Jason Peters. So is it any wonder that LT Peters play declined in 08 under a new rookie line coach and that same year Trent Edwards gets slammed by an untouched LB in Arizona, was he ever the same after that severe concussion?

 

Jauron and his Tampon 2 defense, ruined Greg Williams Defense, ruined the O line by trading away Peters,cutting G Dockery and RT Walker- ruined both QB's Losman & Edwards with inept coaching in a bad system, and behind bad O lines

If I am not mistaken, Mularkey was in Miami as OC and got demoted before he ended up in Atlanta.

[Delete This Account]

are they Modrak's picks? he might make up the board, however, first-rounders being what they are, the chief scout has the least say in determining a team's direction here. General managers and coaches have more say here, because this is where the most impact on a team is made and where they generally are left on the hook.

 

-- if Mike Williams is Modrak's pick, why did Tom Donahoe go out of his way to tout Williams over Bryan McKinnie well after the draft was over.

-- c'mon, did Modrak make the decision to draft McGahee? i highly doubt that, given what was at stake?

-- did Modrak make the decision to trade back into the first round to select Losman? i'd truly think Donahoe once again pulled the trigger on that move.

-- Whitner's pick was regarded as a consensus and reach, as the Bills braintrust at the time was hot on landing a safety. any safety.

-- Lynch, unsure.

-- McKelvin was a Jauron pick.

-- Maybin was a Jauron pick.

-- Spiller was a Gailey/Nix pick.

 

 

and, if he bombed on the first-rounders, what about the picks beyond, and undrafted free agents, who have made an impact? it's in the later rounds, i think, where chief scouts have more influence, as coaches and GMs now begin to follow the established board. coaches and GMs still have some say in directing what needs require addressing, but here's where the scouting staff is asked to shine.

 

-- Josh Reed. Not bad.

-- 2003 draft was very good, beyond McGahee. Kelsay, Crowell, McGee, Mario Haggan.

-- 2004 draft was essentially a write off.

 

and for every Dwayne Wright, there's a Stevie Johnson, Fred Jackson (that signing's on Marv), Keith Ellison (they got more out of a 6th-rounder than most teams), Kyle Williams, and let's not forget Jason Peters.

 

i'm not saying Modrak doesn't deserve criticism. just trying to balance the scales here.

 

jw

[FightinIrishBills]

are they Modrak's picks? he might make up the board, however, first-rounders being what they are, the chief scout has the least say in determining a team's direction here. General managers and coaches have more say here, because this is where the most impact on a team is made and where they generally are left on the hook.

 

John, I heartily disagree with you on this point. The job of scouts is to provide information to the GMs and coaches about these upcoming players, and the brass make judgment calls based on their research. The front office then uses the evidence given to them by their scouts to make decisions about best player available, best fit for the team, etc.

 

If the evidence from the scouting department is poor or incomplete, then the team won't be getting the player they thought they were buying into. Good scouts should be the backbone of a team.

[Mr. WEO]

are they Modrak's picks? he might make up the board, however, first-rounders being what they are, the chief scout has the least say in determining a team's direction here. General managers and coaches have more say here, because this is where the most impact on a team is made and where they generally are left on the hook.

 

-- if Mike Williams is Modrak's pick, why did Tom Donahoe go out of his way to tout Williams over Bryan McKinnie well after the draft was over.

-- c'mon, did Modrak make the decision to draft McGahee? i highly doubt that, given what was at stake?

-- did Modrak make the decision to trade back into the first round to select Losman? i'd truly think Donahoe once again pulled the trigger on that move.

-- Whitner's pick was regarded as a consensus and reach, as the Bills braintrust at the time was hot on landing a safety. any safety.

-- Lynch, unsure.

-- McKelvin was a Jauron pick.

-- Maybin was a Jauron pick.

-- Spiller was a Gailey/Nix pick.

 

 

and, if he bombed on the first-rounders, what about the picks beyond, and undrafted free agents, who have made an impact? it's in the later rounds, i think, where chief scouts have more influence, as coaches and GMs now begin to follow the established board. coaches and GMs still have some say in directing what needs require addressing, but here's where the scouting staff is asked to shine.

 

-- Josh Reed. Not bad.

-- 2003 draft was very good, beyond McGahee. Kelsay, Crowell, McGee, Mario Haggan.

-- 2004 draft was essentially a write off.

 

and for every Dwayne Wright, there's a Stevie Johnson, Fred Jackson (that signing's on Marv), Keith Ellison (they got more out of a 6th-rounder than most teams), Kyle Williams, and let's not forget Jason Peters.

 

i'm not saying Modrak doesn't deserve criticism. just trying to balance the scales here.

 

jw

 

Good points. Why did Buddy fire him?

[BuffaloBill]

Good op and I agree with the assessment. However, there are follow up posts that want to hang issues on nix and Chan. The Spiller pick looks questionable at this point but the balance of the list should not be pasted on the current regime. Nix and Gailey seem to have a much different plan in mind and are going after a different type of player. Time will tell how effective they are.

[RyanC883]

I've complied a ranking of the Bills' first round picks in the Modrak era, from best to worst. Feel free to comment, or contribute your own rankings of the Bills' first round picks.

 

1) Eric Wood. He shows signs of living up to his draft position. That makes him the best first round selection of the Modrak era.

 

2) Lee Evans. While he never lived up to the expectations associated with the 13th overall pick, he has been a solid contributor for the Bills.

 

3) Willis McGahee. Picked late in the first round, McGahee was traded away a few years later for a couple of third round picks. This draft pick was only partially wasted!

 

4) Donte Whitner. Chosen eighth overall, Whitner has played about as well as you might expect from someone in the late second or early third round. The eighth overall pick is worth 1400 points, while the 15th pick of the second round is worth 430 points. The Bills received about one fourth of what this pick was worth.

 

5) Leodis McKelvin. While it is a little early to rank this pick, McKelvin looks to be a player who plays very well in stretches, only to get beat through mental errors. Using the 11th overall pick on a guy who should probably be your #3 CB isn't exactly the pinnacle of success, but it's better than anything below.

 

6) Marshawn Lynch. Taken 12th overall, he was traded for a 4th rounder (plus change) just a few years later. Turning the 12th overall pick into a fourth rounder isn't the kind of alchemy you hope to see from your front office, but the fact the Bills got some value from him makes him the 6th-best selection.

 

7) J.P. Losman. He had a decent year in 2006; but was otherwise useless to the team. He ranks lower than Lynch because the Bills could get nothing for him in a trade; and because of his subsequent difficulty finding a roster spot in the NFL.

 

8) Mike Williams. The Mike Williams of 2004 would have represented an upgrade at RT for the 2010 Bills. You hope to get more than just one somewhat decent season out of a RT chosen fourth overall. But as a Bills fan, you don't always get everything you want.

 

9) John McCargo. There'd been discussion of trading him away for a fifth rounder--at least until he failed the Colts' physical. While a fifth rounder isn't a great return from a first rounder, it's better than nothing. Which is exactly what the Bills would get if they tried to trade away . . .

 

10) Aaron Maybin. Chosen 11th overall, this player has done nothing for the team.

 

Unranked: Spiller. (Too early to make an assessment.)

 

+1. Good rankings, and funny comments! Although, I would say that Maybin has made one contribution: being such a huge bust that the Bills finally had to fire Modrak and have Nix and Gailey run the drafts.

[Delete This Account]

Good points. Why did Buddy fire him?

as i've noted in several posts over past few days, in various threads, my feeling is Modrak wound up being the odd-man out, and his role was being duplicated by Nix, who has far more influence on the draft since taking over.

this has clearly become Buddy and Chan's show, negating Modrak's voice. it's also become clear that the Bills are stocking up with mostly Southern-based players, which is which is essentially Nix's territory. Modrak's ties were mostly northeast and midwest.

 

it should also be noted that as my colleague Mark Gaughan pointed out, Modrak likely had a lot of say in Nix's hiring.

 

jw

 

John, I heartily disagree with you on this point. The job of scouts is to provide information to the GMs and coaches about these upcoming players, and the brass make judgment calls based on their research. The front office then uses the evidence given to them by their scouts to make decisions about best player available, best fit for the team, etc.

 

If the evidence from the scouting department is poor or incomplete, then the team won't be getting the player they thought they were buying into. Good scouts should be the backbone of a team.

you forget that we're dealing with the Bills here, who are coming off a dysfunctional decade, during which there's been a mass upheaval at the top, with the leading positions filled by various personalities: from the uber-controlling Donahoe, to the laissez-fair Levy, to the company man Brandon.

 

add in Jauron, who worked his way into obtaining control to fill the vaccuum of power.

each attempted to place his stamp on the team. and after Donahoe left, none had direct ties to Modrak, who essentially became a "draft consultant," which is how i see it.

 

i'm not saying this is the way to manage a draft or manage a team. what i'm saying is that this more resembles the reality of how things worked.

 

jw

[thewildrabbit]

Bingo. Even if JP was limited in his on-field time due to injury his rookie year, he still had time to ride the bench, learn the playbook, and develop a greater awareness of the NFL game. Maybe he needed another year to develop, but his output after his sophomore season warranted only a very cautious optimism at best. Quite frankly, you needed better performance out of a guy worth 2 years of first round picks, and JP, while showing flashes, never exhibited the ability to be a solid starter, let alone a franchise QB. Mularkey knew that JP never had the ability and tried to win in spite of him.

Not every QB is Matt Ryan-Big Ben-Joe Flacco, Like Bill Walsh stated "most QB's take 3-4 years to develop" and not in one or two years. Even then, both Flacco and Ryan went to good teams with power running games so they didn't have as much pressure on them.

 

Even Roethlisberger went to a Steeler team under Cowher who ran the ball with Jeromne Bettis, all Big Ben was asked to do was manage the game and not turn the ball over. Look at the pressure both JP and Edwards had to endure with a less then stellar O line and running game, plus moronic coordinators who should never been coordinators. Like I stated eariler, where is Buffalo's offensive coordinator Turk Schonert now? Do you think any of those 3 QB's could have developed properly in Buffalo given the conditions of the past 5 years?

[thewildrabbit]

Wrong!! Come on!

 

JPL was drafted in '04. He "missed" the '04 season after he broke his leg in his first camp. He was healthy most of the season--he was Bledsoe's backup.

 

JPL played his first season as starter for...... Mike Mularkey!--who sat his incompetent ass down twice in favor of Holcomb.

 

Another first round QB in Atlanta hasn't taken "3-4 years" in Mularkey's system to "develop".....

Leave it to you to find an error but miss the point.

 

You are correct that Mularkey had Losman for 2 years and he broke his leg the first year after he was drafted and while he was available to play later in the year, Drew Bledsoe remained the starter. Losman started his second year but was pulled at times in favor of Kelly Holcomb, yea so what. John Elway was pulled by Dan Reeves and replaced by Steve Deberg a few times his first year. The difference is that Elway was kept in the same system, same coaches, same head coach and the team actually got better as time went on, not worse like in Buffalo

 

Don't compare the 08, 11-5 Atlanta Falcons to the Buffalo Bills, their head coach won coach of the year in 08, the Bills head coach was busy scuttling his own team. The difference wasn't just the QB either, Atlanta was a better team all around with better coaching and players