WotAGuy Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Nice bit of Bills history about a guy considered by many as one of the league's biggest draft busts. Tim Graham sheds some light on the career of the "bust" from Walt's perspective. I gained an appreciation of a man I remember playing during a fun time to be a Bills fan. http://buffalonews.com/2016/11/19/busting-40-years-nfl-darkness-walt-patulski-explains-went-wrong/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 No even close to the nfl's draft bust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Nice bit of Bills history about a guy considered by many as one of the league's biggest draft busts. Tim Graham sheds some light on the career of the "bust" from Walt's perspective. I gained an appreciation of a man I remember playing during a fun time to be a Bills fan. http://buffalonews.com/2016/11/19/busting-40-years-nfl-darkness-walt-patulski-explains-went-wrong/ Read this earlier today. Enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Tom couisneau would be my choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Interesting. I never realized that draft class was so very weak. As always, who you pick is only part of it. What you do with them is huge too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Tom couisneau would be my choice He got Jim Kelly here. Great pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 He got Jim Kelly here. Great pick. That's one way looking at it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDVA Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Erik Flowers, Aaron Mabin, Tom Ruud, Perry Tuttle, John McCargo, Phil Dokes, Real First Round Bust.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Very good article. I was just a little homer back then, but I never considered Patulski to be a bust, just disappointing. One thing though, Graham is dead wrong about Emtman, he would've been great if not for his injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Nice article. But Joe Ferguson and Bob Greise didnt face each other in 1972 unless the Dolphins played Arkansas. I think he means 1973. Never thought of Patulski as a bust and I remember that Jets game at Rich in 1973. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyC81 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) Erik Flowers, Aaron Mabin, Tom Ruud, Perry Tuttle, John McCargo, Phil Dokes, Real First Round Bust.... If we're talking Bills, you can't forget Mike Williams (the OT from Texas) NFL: you can't leave out JeMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf. Edited November 20, 2016 by LittleJoeCartwright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwight in philly Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Erik Flowers, Aaron Mabin, Tom Ruud, Perry Tuttle, John McCargo, Phil Dokes, Real First Round Bust.... man, those are all solid Bills's number one busts. i think if you further evaluate them, it is hard to say who is the worst of the worst.. in my opinion, it has to be maybin.. especially if you look at a couple taken after him, namely cushing and matthews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Throw in Terry Miller and Booker Moore (rip). Maybe just maybed the reasons for the 2-14 years in the 80s was due to some bad drafting. Every team has bad picks. Its the nature of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Throw in Terry Miller and Booker Moore (rip). Maybe just maybed the reasons for the 2-14 years in the 80s was due to some bad drafting. Every team has bad picks. Its the nature of the game. Throw in Tony Hunter, too. The list is near endless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Did he mean league wise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) I would put Tom Ruud and Bob Nelson up there too. That 75 Bills team was great on offense but the D was awful. If those two players has come in and performed and Doug Jones and Robert James hadn't been injured the story of that and Walt Patulski might have been different. Not sure if I would call Tony Hunter a bust. He was the victim of a truly bad trade by then GM Terry Bledsoe for Vince Feragamo. That trade cost Bledsoe his job but opened the door for Bill Polian aka Bill "who". Edited November 20, 2016 by GRHater69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 The Nebraska twins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Erik Flowers, Aaron Mabin, Tom Ruud, Perry Tuttle, John McCargo, Phil Dokes, Real First Round Bust....JP Losman? Erik Flowers was a "fine young man" according to John Butler. That was his parting eff you to cheapo Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transient Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Can we combine Whiffner and McCarwontgo, whom the Bills traded up for, to declare 2006 the worst first round draft bust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotAGuy Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 I think the impression of Patulski being a huge bust comes from his status as a consensus great college player and No 1 overall pick in only the seventh combined draft (starting with AFL-NFL in 1966). He had a decent career, but not one worthy of a No 1 overall pick. I thought comparing him to others in his draft class, etc was kind of meaningless. His performance and career stands in its own and the performance of others in his draft class isn't relevant. I thought the stats about sacks and fewer pass attempts was helpful in framing Patulski's performance as measured by sacks. I thought the biggest takeaway was his persona and game day demeanor as opposed to Saban's preferences. Saban sounds like he was a pretty difficult guy to play for if you weren't of his mindset. Saban had some great ends during his earlier Bills stint (Day, McDole) and he probably expected even more out of Patulski given those other guys weren't high draft picks. McDole was 4th round and Day was 20th round. Also interesting how that aborted punt block still stings. Just a very revealing look at a guy who has always been a bit of a mystery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 (edited) I always thought of Patulski as a bust - even though I knew his stats showed some productivity. I guess I was influenced by Saban's public statements. Getting the other side of the story was interesting, if sad. Glad he's doing well now. Throw in Terry Miller and Booker Moore (rip). Maybe just maybed the reasons for the 2-14 years in the 80s was due to some bad drafting. Every team has bad picks. Its the nature of the game. Terry Miller rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie at 4.5 yards per pop. Then developed vision problems that ruined his career. Not a classic bust. Edited November 20, 2016 by hondo in seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 I'm just glad he's not dead--that was my first fear reading the thread title! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookie Man Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Erik Flowers, Aaron Mabin, Tom Ruud, Perry Tuttle, John McCargo, Phil Dokes, Real First Round Bust.... Mike Williams might be top of the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts