GG Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 He played fantasy football in actual NFL. He traded Aaron Rodgers for JP Lossman. If he didn't make that stupid trade, Aaron Rodgers might be the QB of the Bills today. Just think about that for a minute. If that is even remotely possible than he is the worst GM ever for any team in any sport in all of history. Yeah too bad TD didn't have the foresight during the 2004 draft in how the 2005 draft would turn out. Donahoe deserved to get fired for being a bad manager. But please stop making stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnbillsbacker Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) He did a good job a assembling a talented roster through free agency and the draft but missed on getting a franchise QB and his coaching hires did not work out. Since coaching and QB play go a long ways in the NFL the Bills missed the playoffs while he was the GM. Edited December 12, 2013 by auburnbillsbacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Look back on tom donahoe's tenure (as painful as that may be). The rosters we had were decent back then. I still don't understand why we didn't win more during 2001-2005. Was tom to blame or were the coaches to blame? Seems like we made bolder picks and moves under donahoe compared to the past few years. I'm still puzzled by that period in bills history. "Bolder picks?" Name one other GM in recent memory (or all time, for that matter) who drafted a running back in the 1st round with a completely tore up knee (and had to sit out a year) when he already had a solid back (Travis) on the roster. Ironically, the player drafted with the pick after McGahee was Dallas Clark (ouch!), who could have solved the Bills longstanding tight end problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I blame Modrak. He was epically bad for a long long time here and ultimately, that was TDs call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I was one of the few, at the time, that really wanted us to stick with TD. I loved the guy. He brought a real direction to the team. Got us out of "cap hell," had a plan, got us a vet QB, and put us in a position to succeed in basically a 4-year plan. That we blew the game in 2004 against the Steelers is on the players. If we won that game, the last 10 years would have been a lot different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 the teams that tom donahoe put out there were SO much better than anything the bills have rolled out SINCE bledsoe throwing tds to eric moulds and peerless price reuben brown blocking for travis henry and mcgahee pat williams and schobel on the dline fletcher in the middle nate williams and antoine winfield an amazing cb tandem there was a lot of talent on those teams I have to agree with this. TD's undoing was putting his faith & drafting Losman & not finding a capable head coach. The one thing with Donahoe was it always seemed that his moves were more of the purpose of showing how much smarter he was then everybody else. The thinking was draft Mckinney, he had show he knew more by drafting fat Mike even though he never played LT in college, when common sense said to resign Pat Williams, he had to show how smart he was by letting him go, when common sense said to draft Steinbach at guard, he had to draft a gimpy WM. Evenn the hire of Greg Williams came out of left field as noone besides TD had him on the radar. I will say this about TD though. He was connected in the league & he was respected in the league. He was proactive & that is what kept his time here interesting & entertaining. But in the end a lot of his undoing was because of his ego & the fact that he worked for one of the worst owners in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Also John Guy was a stiff. Donahoe failed, to a point, but they were more relevant during his tenure than now, and I would take my chances with him, if I knew that his successors would be Levy(Brandon), Brandon, Nix (Brandon), and Whaley (Brandon). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I hated the McGahee pick and it all seemed to go downhill from there. I remember shaking his hand when he came out of the Bills tunnel and I said I love what you have done with this team. He shook my hand and say wait 5 years and then you will really love it. I have to admit that got me excited but then again that was before he drafted McGahee CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I blame Modrak. He was epically bad for a long long time here and ultimately, that was TDs call. Geez was Modrak terrible at evaluating players. Terrible. Donahoe made some decent trades, but our drafts were pretty crappy(see Modrak). Draft McGahee when you have Travis Henry. The Losman pick. The Mike Williams pick. Lee Evans was probably the best of the bunch. Got lucky with Jason Peters who then turned into turd over $. It was a mixed bag I would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Yeah too bad TD didn't have the foresight during the 2004 draft in how the 2005 draft would turn out. Donahoe deserved to get fired for being a bad manager. But please stop making stuff up. How is that making anything up? He traded the 2005 1st for JP freaking LOSSman???!!! Don't tell me when that happened you were like "Oh Yeah that awesome College QB that everyone knows, JP LOSSman. From that football powerhouse of Tulane. Makes sense to trade up for this guy." It was more like "Huh?! JP LOSSman?? Oh boy I hope he is good." Then when he sucked and TD blew two years of first round picks. He gets fired. That is as big a mess-up as you can do as a GM. Not to mention Araron Rodgers was sitting there when the Cowgirls used Buffalo's pick to draft Marcus Spears. All of these are facts, nothing made up. Edited December 12, 2013 by Why So Serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 How is that making anything up? He traded the 2005 1st for JP freaking LOSSman???!!! Don't tell me when that happened you were like "Oh Yeah that awesome College QB that everyone knows, JP LOSSman. From that football powerhouse of Tulane. Makes sense to trade up for this guy." It was more like "Huh?! JP LOSSman?? Oh boy I hope he is good." Then when he sucked and you blew two years of first round picks. You get fired. That is as big a mess up as you can do as a GM. Not to mention Araron Rodgers was sitting there when the Cowgirls used Buffalo's pick to draft Marcus Spears. All of these are facts, nothing made up. Like it or not, JP Losman was the third rated QB in that draft. Donahoe knew that he needed to secure the QB position for the long term, and if you follow the EJ thread below, you will see the positive correlation between teams who put a high emphasis on QBs and winning records. I'd much rather have a GM strike out with a QB than ignoring the position for nearly a decade. But putting in Rogers in the same discussion as Losman is ridiculous because they were in different draft classes. Why aren't you blaming Donahoe for passing on Alex Smith while you're at it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Like it or not, JP Losman was the third rated QB in that draft. Donahoe knew that he needed to secure the QB position for the long term, and if you follow the EJ thread below, you will see the positive correlation between teams who put a high emphasis on QBs and winning records. I'd much rather have a GM strike out with a QB than ignoring the position for nearly a decade. But putting in Rogers in the same discussion as Losman is ridiculous because they were in different draft classes. Why aren't you blaming Donahoe for passing on Alex Smith while you're at it? Its not ridiculous. It is logical. Alex Smith wasn't available when the Bills would have picked so that makes no sense at all. You'd rather trade future picks for some obviously dopey QB. Well good thing you're not a GM. JP LOSSman was a "never-was" he had no shot to be a viable NFL QB. It didn't take a lot to see this, no matter where he Stack ranked." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Its not ridiculous. It is logical. Alex Smith wasn't available when the Bills would have picked so that makes no sense at all. You'd rather trade future picks for some obviously dopey QB. Well good thing you're not a GM. JP LOSSman was a "never-was" he had no shot to be a viable NFL QB. It didn't take a lot to see this, no matter where he Stack ranked." Jeez...its' not even the "off-season" yet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnbillsbacker Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Like it or not, JP Losman was the third rated QB in that draft. Donahoe knew that he needed to secure the QB position for the long term, and if you follow the EJ thread below, you will see the positive correlation between teams who put a high emphasis on QBs and winning records. I'd much rather have a GM strike out with a QB than ignoring the position for nearly a decade. But putting in Rogers in the same discussion as Losman is ridiculous because they were in different draft classes. Why aren't you blaming Donahoe for passing on Alex Smith while you're at it? Losman was rated the 4th or 5th best QB. Eli, Rivers, and Big Ben were clearly rated higher. Schuab had a similar draft grade. Donahoe knew that Big Ben would be a good QB and attempted to trade up with the Jaguars to get him. The Jaguars asked for the moon because the Browns gave up an early 2nd to move up from 7 to 6 so going from 13 to 9 must be worth a lot, so Donahoe backed off. The Jaguars pick was a bust and the bills did not secure a franchise QB. Common sense could have helped both franchises out. It stinks that the one year the bills were better than the Steelers it cost us a good QB. Luck definitely plays a role in how teams do. The colts for example were really bad the year before Manning and Luck entered the draft. I'm sure any Bills GM would have selected those guys. No they would not have taken Leaf over Manning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I was one of the few, at the time, that really wanted us to stick with TD. I loved the guy. He brought a real direction to the team. Got us out of "cap hell," had a plan, got us a vet QB, and put us in a position to succeed in basically a 4-year plan. That we blew the game in 2004 against the Steelers is on the players. If we won that game, the last 10 years would have been a lot different. I think Rico and I have been banging that drum for a while too. That said, while it is early, I like Whaley. I think, possibly, because of his age, he is the first GM we have had since TD that kind of understands how the current league works. Marv, god-love him was not a real GM, nor was Brandon...and Buddy was more a scout than an administrator. I just don't know that any of these guys were really "connected". Donohoe, as was stated early, was pretty highly regarded around the league when he came to Buffalo... while not every move was genious (hiring Gregg Williams was not a good one- I happen to think Mularkey was alright), he is hardly the first NFL GM who was unable to land a "franchise QB". What I liked about TD, for the most part, he was willing to cut his losses, he made a lot of moves, but wasn't afraid to pull the plug on something that wasn't working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 As always, Ralph was to blame. TD was well-respected throughout the league until Ralph's non-stop meddling ruined him. No doubt in my mind that TD would've had this team in the playoffs if his boss would've left him alone & given him the resources he needed. Vow...What a revisionist history. Rico...I hope you were being sarcastic. TD was given full powers as President of this team. TD never built the OL and DL for this team. Focused on getting a QB (Bledsoe) and building a defense with DB/LBs. Unfortunately, that team had struggles to score points. TD was autocratic. It is important to note that TD never got a Front Office Positiion with any of the 31 other teams after being fired by the Bills upto this point. Ganesh He did a good job a assembling a talented roster through free agency and the draft but missed on getting a franchise QB and his coaching hires did not work out. Since coaching and QB play go a long ways in the NFL the Bills missed the playoffs while he was the GM. He never built the lines for the long term. He picked Roscoe Parrish with his 1st pick in that years draft.Enough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Vow...What a revisionist history. Rico...I hope you were being sarcastic. TD was given full powers as President of this team. TD never built the OL and DL for this team. Focused on getting a QB (Bledsoe) and building a defense with DB/LBs. Unfortunately, that team had struggles to score points. TD was autocratic. It is important to note that TD never got a Front Office Positiion with any of the 31 other teams after being fired by the Bills upto this point. In the end, that is what got TD fired...it wasn't for the product on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) Its not ridiculous. It is logical. Alex Smith wasn't available when the Bills would have picked so that makes no sense at all. You'd rather trade future picks for some obviously dopey QB. Well good thing you're not a GM. JP LOSSman was a "never-was" he had no shot to be a viable NFL QB. It didn't take a lot to see this, no matter where he Stack ranked." Cute, lossman. I bet that was a big hit in the third grade. Alex Smith wasn't available in the 2004 draft and neither was Rogers, so I still fail to see how a generally weak 2005 QB draft class would sway a decision in the 2004 draft. This is a far different case than when the Bills elected not to draft QBs who were still on the board when they picked. But I guess revisionist history is par for the course for this franchise. Edited December 12, 2013 by GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leelee Phoenix Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 The Losman trade feels all too similar to the Bills reaching for Manuel... trading up instead of down, but the reach that they must get a QB that year. And the Bills were strength of schedule or one meaningless win away from likely drafting Ben that year, I always remember that. Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Losman was rated the 4th or 5th best QB. Eli, Rivers, and Big Ben were clearly rated higher. Schuab had a similar draft grade. Donahoe knew that Big Ben would be a good QB and attempted to trade up with the Jaguars to get him. The Jaguars asked for the moon because the Browns gave up an early 2nd to move up from 7 to 6 so going from 13 to 9 must be worth a lot, so Donahoe backed off. The Jaguars pick was a bust and the bills did not secure a franchise QB. Common sense could have helped both franchises out. It stinks that the one year the bills were better than the Steelers it cost us a good QB. Luck definitely plays a role in how teams do. The colts for example were really bad the year before Manning and Luck entered the draft. I'm sure any Bills GM would have selected those guys. No they would not have taken Leaf over Manning. Few nits. Losman was rated higher than Schaub because he had a higher potential ceiling. That didn't work out, but Schaub is showing his exact limitations as well. Would the Bills be better off now had they drafted Schaub? I think they would have been marginally better. I also thought that Bills tried to trade with Texans to get Big Ben, but Capers was sold on Dunta Robisnon. Doesn't matter the team, at least TD knew he had to secure the QB position, but ultimately failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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