Hits and Misses: How Successful Was GM Russ Brandon In The Draft?...REVISED

[BuffaloRush]

 

We will continue to take a look at the past General Managers in Buffalo and who was the most successful with the draft based on hits and misses.   Today it's time to see how Russ  Brandon did.  If you recall Brandon was named "General Manager" after former GM Marv Levy quietly stepped aside.  It is believed that while Brandon was involved in many football decision, the majority of GM duties (including the draft) fell to the competent trio of Tom Modrak (Draft), John Guy (Pro) and Richard "Dick" Jauron (A Bit of Everything).

 

Here's the criteria I shared for defining a "hit" and a "miss"

While this is very subjective, I am defining a "hit" as any player that reasonably performed at or above his draft status.  As an example, a player like Paul Pozlusny becoming a solid starting LB as a 2nd round pick.  A "miss" is the opposite - a player who performed under or well under their draft status.  If you draft a player in the first round and they are a marginal starter, I am defining that as a miss.  

 

Like many of my polls, I think this will be very debated.   Let's see how Russ did in two NFL Drafts

 

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	To	AP1	PB	St	CarAV	G	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Att	Yds	TD	Rec	Yds	TD	Int	Sk	College/Univ
2008	1	Leodis McKelvin	11	DB	2016	0	0	4	29	111												15		Troy
2008	2	James Hardy	41	WR	2009	0	0	0	1	16									10	96	2			Indiana
2008	3	Chris Ellis	72	DE	2010	0	0	0	2	15													1.0	Virginia Tech
2008	4	Reggie Corner	114	DB	2011	0	0	0	8	55												2	1.0	Akron
2008	4	Derek Fine	132	TE	2009	0	0	0	2	18									19	158	1			Kansas
2008	5	Alvin Bowen	147	LB	2010	0	0	0	0	2														Iowa St.
2008	6	Xavier Omon	179	RB	2009	0	0	0	0	7						11	27	0	0	0	0			NW Missouri St.
2008	7	Demetress Bell	219	T	2012	0	0	2	15	40														NW State (LA)
2008	7	Steve Johnson	224	WR	2015	0	0	5	33	99						2	16	0	381	4764	34			Kentucky
2008	7	Kennard Cox	251	DB	2014	0	0	0	2	29													0.5	Pittsburgh

 

2008 Draft = 2 Hits/8 Misses = Success Rate of 20%

 

 

This was an unsuccessful draft in oh...so many ways.

 

MISSES

Yes Leodis McKelvin was a "miss."  You can say that was an an "average NFL starter," but you NOT draft an "average NFL starter" with the 11th pick in the first round.  I am sorry but Leodis never lived up to his draft status this was a miss.  Speaking of miss - one of the most spectacular 2nd round busts in Bills history was James Hardy.  This was an ill-advised pick based on a player's physical size which never materialized.  The rest of the guy are non-factors...just a terrible brutal draft.

 

HITS

Old Russ did the 7th round right.  First, I will give Demetrius Bell a very very very marginal thumbs up.  He essentially was a 3 year starter for the Bills as a 7th round pick.  I will call him a slightly "average NFL starter" which is good for a 7th round pick (not the 11th pick in the 1st round).

 

 

Then there is Stevie Johnson.  Say what you will, but Russ Brandon made arguably one of the greatest draft picks in Bills history.  

 

2009 Draft

2009	1	Aaron Maybin	11	DE	2012	0	0	0	5	48													6.0	Penn St.
2009	1	Eric Wood	28	C	2017	0	1	9	47	120														Louisville
2009	2	Jairus Byrd	42	DB	2017	0	3	7	40	118												25	4.0	Oregon
2009	2	Andy Levitre	51	G	2017	0	0	9	55	141														Oregon St.
2009	4	Shawn Nelson	121	TE	2010	0	0	1	1	17									20	181	1			Southern Miss
2009	5	Nic Harris	147	LB	2010	0	0	0	5	30													1.5	Oklahoma
2009	6	Cary Harris	183	DB	2010	0	0	0	1	6												2		USC
2009	7	Ellis Lankster	220	DB	2014	0	0	0	5	49												2	1.0	West Virginia

 

2009 Draft

 

3 Hits/5 misses = 38%

 

Yeah Russ whiffed BADLY on Aaron Maybin.  Perhaps one of the worst draft picks in Bills history.  But he did well in the rest of the 1st and 2nd round netting 3 Pro Bowl players who had decent careers in Buffalo.  This draft will likely save his Hit to Miss ratio.

 

So overall yes, Russ was a very bad GM...BUT thanks to 3 solid picks in 2009 his final score is 28%

 

For those keeping score:

 

Success Rate as GM:

 

Russ Brandon: 28%

Edited March 20, 2018 by BuffaloRush

[GunnerBill]

Russ Brandon was even less GM than Marv. All these picks for both should be assessed as Tom Modrak's record as Bills GM. Between TD and Ole Buddy it was Modrak in charge. 

[BuffaloRush]

Right I don’t disagree.  But the record shows that technically it was Russ Brandon who served as GM.  As Russ would say frequently say “I own it.”

[26CornerBlitz]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Right I don’t disagree.  But the record shows that technically it was Russ Brandon who served as GM.  As Russ would say frequently say “I own it.”

 

Milli Vanilli were a great singing duo. 

[BuffaloRush]

2 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

Milli Vanilli were a great singing duo. 

 

Funny but it seems to be a trend that Bills GM’s are never the ones actually making the selections....  not just Marv and Russ but also with Buddy and Doug whaley....hmm wonder why that is

 

in all seriousness it’s is documented that Milli Vanilli did not sing.  You cannot find any documentation that Marv or Russ didn’t make these selections.  It’s all rumor an innuendo.  I deal in facts not rumors and innuendo

Edited February 21, 2018 by BuffaloRush

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

in all seriousness it’s is documented that Milli Vanilli did not sing.  You cannot find any documentation that Marv or Russ didn’t make these selections.  It’s all rumor an innuendo.  I deal in facts not rumors and innuendo

 

No it isn't.

 

Buddy and Doug made their picks. Did they take input from their coaches? Yes. And it wasn't like they were all powerful GMs with total control, but their names are on those picks at least until 2017 which was McDermott. 

 

Russ and Marv did not make picks. 

[BuffaloRush]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

 

No it isn't.

 

Buddy and Doug made their picks. Did they take input from their coaches? Yes. And it wasn't like they were all powerful GMs with total control, but their names are on those picks at least until 2017 which was McDermott. 

 

Russ and Marv did not make picks. 

Again  that’s speculation.  That’s all rumor and innuendo.  Find me documentation that shows Marv and Russ did not make draft picks.  Then we’ll talk.  All that has been published is rumor and innuendo...no facts

[Kwai San]

Russ Brandon was the reason I stopped my season tixs.......he wasn't serious about putting a decent product on the field, I wasn't happy spending big bucks for my Kelly Club seats that kept escalating upwards......frankly I am surprised he even hit 20%......he was flat out awful.  I always felt bad for Marv, he shoulda stayed home.  Russ?  I was NOT a fan of the man at all.....

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

16 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Russ Brandon was even less GM than Marv. All these picks for both should be assessed as Tom Modrak's record as Bills GM. Between TD and Ole Buddy it was Modrak in charge. 

 

...once the egotistical control freak "El Presidente" Donohole was exposed in a collapse of the "Inner Circle of Trust", RW quickly turned to trusted confidants Brandon and Levy.....unfortunately "trust" won out and the era of "Patchwork Admin/FO" was born......Brandon was put into positions that he was unqualified for......"re-tiring" Marv with redline radials did nothing as he was past his football prime......subsequent, even Buddy was past his prime and didn't get new tires......letting Modrak telecommute from Florida always bothered me but perhaps not others......sure scouting staff is logistically placed all over the country but not my Top Dawg........17 years is a pretty good indicator of a failed recipe....would anybody feel comfortable if Beane kept his home in NC and "logged in daily" as the Bills GM ala Modrak?.....BTW, he bought a house in July 2017, two months after hire in Orchard Park for $1.15 mil.....so he's "on-site".........

[Kirby Jackson]

25 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Again  that’s speculation.  That’s all rumor and innuendo.  Find me documentation that shows Marv and Russ did not make draft picks.  Then we’ll talk.  All that has been published is rumor and innuendo...no facts

You aren’t going to find it published. I can tell you with certainty that it is 100% fact. Modrak owned the drafts from Donahoe to Nix. If you were to sit down with anyone from the football ops during that time period they will confirm it. In fact, they will probably laugh at the notion that someone actually thought Marv or Russ was making draft decisions. 

 

Again, you can believe it or not but it isn’t rumor or innuendo. It’s truth. 

[cd1]

39 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

39 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Again  that’s speculation.  That’s all rumor and innuendo.  Find me documentation that shows Marv and Russ did not make draft picks.  Then we’ll talk.  All that has been published is rumor and innuendo...no facts

Funny,  The same exact words could be used to you.

PLEASE show us the FACTS - LINKS

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

13 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

You aren’t going to find it published. I can tell you with certainty that it is 100% fact. Modrak owned the drafts from Donahoe to Nix. If you were to sit down with anyone from the football ops during that time period they will confirm it. In fact, they will probably laugh at the notion that someone actually thought Marv or Russ was making draft decisions. 

 

Again, you can believe it or not but it isn’t rumor or innuendo. It’s truth. 

 

...not sure why anyone would doubt Modrak's horsepower having been the VP of College Scouting at OBD for ten years.......he and his staff did the grunt work and assume he had major input.....BUT...we'll never know.....maybe "Past His Prime" Marv and "Unqualified" Russ made the FINAL decisions.....PLENTY of blame to spread around for the 17 year drought....

[Tenhigh]

I feel like Hardy was the consensus #2 pick around here.  Just looked back at that whole draft, what a clunker.

[BuffaloRush]

19 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

You aren’t going to find it published. I can tell you with certainty that it is 100% fact. Modrak owned the drafts from Donahoe to Nix. If you were to sit down with anyone from the football ops during that time period they will confirm it. In fact, they will probably laugh at the notion that someone actually thought Marv or Russ was making draft decisions. 

 

Again, you can believe it or not but it isn’t rumor or innuendo. It’s truth. 

 

That would not surprise me.  But I’m saying all that we know FOR SURE...FOR SURE...is that Marv and Russ were the GMs during this time period.  

 

Fans on TBD and the internet speculate.  It’s what makes Pro sports fun as a fan.  But some of the speculation is inaccurate.  We don’t know for sure what went down 

25 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

You aren’t going to find it published. I can tell you with certainty that it is 100% fact. Modrak owned the drafts from Donahoe to Nix. If you were to sit down with anyone from the football ops during that time period they will confirm it. In fact, they will probably laugh at the notion that someone actually thought Marv or Russ was making draft decisions. 

 

Again, you can believe it or not but it isn’t rumor or innuendo. It’s truth. 

 

15 minutes ago, cd1 said:

PLEASE show us the FACTS - LINKS

 

Chalk one up for the GOOD GUYS:  

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d805a31ac/article/levy-to-resign-as-bills-gm

 

 

Levy's role as GM was relatively undefined, although he provided input on the team's draft and personnel decisions, consulted with Jauron and stayed in close contact with Wilson, who lives in suburban Detroit.

[Fadingpain]

Going back in time and revisiting this stuff has me shaken to my core! 

 

What a freaking tire fire this place was and for quite a long time.

 

[GunnerBill]

Don't you see BuffaloRush that undermines your position. A GM who "provides input" is not the GM in anything but name only. 

 

Don't take my word for it take the league's.... in order for a team to be required to let a guy interview for a GM job the job he is interviewing for must have personnel control.... not personnel "input". 

[BuffaloRush]

48 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...once the egotistical control freak "El Presidente" Donohole was exposed in a collapse of the "Inner Circle of Trust", RW quickly turned to trusted confidants Brandon and Levy.....unfortunately "trust" won out and the era of "Patchwork Admin/FO" was born......Brandon was put into positions that he was unqualified for......"re-tiring" Marv with redline radials did nothing as he was past his football prime......subsequent, even Buddy was past his prime and didn't get new tires......letting Modrak telecommute from Florida always bothered me but perhaps not others......sure scouting staff is logistically placed all over the country but not my Top Dawg........17 years is a pretty good indicator of a failed recipe....would anybody feel comfortable if Beane kept his home in NC and "logged in daily" as the Bills GM ala Modrak?.....BTW, he bought a house in July 2017, two months after hire in Orchard Park for $1.15 mil.....so he's "on-site".........

 

Fans don’t want to accept or acknowledge it but Ralph really hurt the Bills following Donahoe’s firing.  So many poor decisions

[GunnerBill]

Just now, BuffaloRush said:

 

Fans don’t want to accept or acknowledge it but Ralph really hurt the Bills following Donahoe’s firing.  So many poor decisions

 

Oh I think we do acknowledge that. 100% we do. Not having a proper GM and letting Modrak run the personnel department from home with no accountability being the biggest one. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

8 minutes ago, Tenhigh said:

I feel like Hardy was the consensus #2 pick around here.  Just looked back at that whole draft, what a clunker.

 

 

...maybe the same physicality trait first that led them to EJ....think Hardy was 6'5"........or how about Jeff George and his cannon arm?.......or the Seahawks taking Dan McQuire at 16 in 1991 (Mark's little brother) because he was a 6'8" QB?.......pretty endless list.............of flops......

[BuffaloRush]

1 minute ago, GunnerBill said:

Don't you see BuffaloRush that undermines your position. A GM who "provides input" is not the GM in anything but name only. 

 

Don't take my word for it take the league's.... in order for a team to be required to let a guy interview for a GM job the job he is interviewing for must have personnel control.... not personnel "input". 

 

Maybe so.  We’ll never know the full extent but either way I feel it’s fair to give credit/criticism to the men that held the title of GM during the drafts.  Whether they made the selections themselves or not

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Maybe so.  We’ll never know the full extent but either way I feel it’s fair to give credit/criticism to the men that held the title of GM during the drafts.  Whether they made the selections themselves or not

 

But as Kirby said...  we do know "either way." Just in the interests of balance I'd be interested in seeing what the total hit rate is if you lump all the Levy and Brandon era picks in 1 and work out the success percentage. And then I will call that the Modrak score. 

[BuffaloRush]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

But as Kirby said...  we do know "either way." Just in the interests of balance I'd be interested in seeing what the total hit rate is if you lump all the Levy and Brandon era picks in 1 and work out the success percentage. And then I will call that the Modrak score. 

 

Feel free to.  I won’t do it because I feel the GMs should stand by their selections.

 

Marv was 31% and Russ was 20%.... Your Modrak number is not going to be very good.

 

We’ll see how they stack up against some of the better (Polian, Butler) and worse (Nix, Whaley) GMs.  I think the results might surprise you 

[K-9]

Well, since Russ Brandon never made a draft pick decision in his life, this is kind of a moot point.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

12 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Fans don’t want to accept or acknowledge it but Ralph really hurt the Bills following Donahoe’s firing.  So many poor decisions

 

 

...but in his defense, the OBD organization was built on trust as Ralph lived in Michigan.....sadly he tried to atone for the Polian debacle that Littmann won out on and went to the other extreme by naming Donohole "President", the FIRST in club history.....you know the rest.....OBD Administration was the media's laughing stock so he went with the "trust element" first and foremost with unqualifieds or those beyond their years....just a sad era in this club's history.........

[Rico]

33 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Maybe so.  We’ll never know the full extent but either way I feel it’s fair to give credit/criticism to the men that held the title of GM during the drafts.  Whether they made the selections themselves or not

No matter what, you do have to go to the bottom line regardless of who was doing the drafting. Marv’s HOF image was forever tarnished to at least some degree, and Russ Brandon remains the poster child for Buffalo Bills Failure.

[JohnC]

Brandon has received a lot of unwarranted criticism. He was never a functioning GM, and didn't pretend to be. When Marv left he did his best to hold things together. Responsibilities that he wasn't equipped for were thrust upon by the owner. He was a good soldier and did the best that he could to keep the operation functioning. Russ Brandon is one of the better sports manager in the business. He expanded the Bills market and made it more viable. He understandably got skewered on the Toronto episode but from a business perspective it made a lot of sense. He was tapping into the Canadian market and increasing the regionalization of the franchise. 

 

There are some people who criticize Brandon for influencing the hiring of Rex. That is a fair criticism while most of the blame should go directly to the owners. The Pegulas have struggled with their products in the sports scene. But they are astute and forward thinking business people. They were smart enough to recognize Brandon's business and marketing acumen to put him in charge of the business side of their sports operation that includes the Bills and Sabres. 

 

 

[GunnerBill]

Modrak's overall according to BuffaloRush's view of who is a hit would be 26%. 

46 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Feel free to.  I won’t do it because I feel the GMs should stand by their selections.

 

 

So do I.... but they were not their selections. That is, in fact, the point. 

[BuffaloRush]

30 minutes ago, Rico said:

No matter what, you do have to go to the bottom line regardless of who was doing the drafting. Marv’s HOF image was forever tarnished to at least some degree, and Russ Brandon remains the poster child for Buffalo Bills Failure.

 

 

Yea I agree 100%.  Plus the counter view is all based on speculation.  

 

People say say how bad Marv and Russ were as GM but then say “well they didn’t actually make the draft picks.”  I guess that doesnt make them so bad then?????  

16 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Modrak's overall according to BuffaloRush's view of who is a hit would be 26%. 

 

So do I.... but they were not their selections. That is, in fact, the point. 

 

All speculation though.  You have zero proof

[Jay_Fixit]

2 hours ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

It's baaack.    We will continue to take a look at the past General Managers in Buffalo and who was the most successful with the draft based on hits and misses.   Today it's time to see how The Bills favorite prodigal son  Russ "This Brand Has Been Tarnished" Brandon did.  If you recall Brandon was named "General Manager" after former GM Marv Levy quietly stepped aside.  It is believed that while Brandon was involved in many football decision, the majority of GM duties (including the draft) fell to the competent trio of Tom Modrak (Draft), John Guy (Pro) and Richard "Dick" Jauron (A Bit of Everything).

 

Here's the criteria I shared for defining a "hit" and a "miss"

While this is very subjective, I am defining a "hit" as any player that reasonably performed at or above his draft status.  As an example, a player like Paul Pozlusny becoming a solid starting LB as a 2nd round pick.  A "miss" is the opposite - a player who performed under or well under their draft status.  If you draft a player in the first round and they are a marginal starter, I am defining that as a miss.  

 

Like many of my polls, I think this will be very debated.   Let's see how old Russ did in his only draft as GM:

 

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	To	AP1	PB	St	CarAV	G	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Att	Yds	TD	Rec	Yds	TD	Int	Sk	College/Univ
2008	1	Leodis McKelvin	11	DB	2016	0	0	4	29	111												15		Troy
2008	2	James Hardy	41	WR	2009	0	0	0	1	16									10	96	2			Indiana
2008	3	Chris Ellis	72	DE	2010	0	0	0	2	15													1.0	Virginia Tech
2008	4	Reggie Corner	114	DB	2011	0	0	0	8	55												2	1.0	Akron
2008	4	Derek Fine	132	TE	2009	0	0	0	2	18									19	158	1			Kansas
2008	5	Alvin Bowen	147	LB	2010	0	0	0	0	2														Iowa St.
2008	6	Xavier Omon	179	RB	2009	0	0	0	0	7						11	27	0	0	0	0			NW Missouri St.
2008	7	Demetress Bell	219	T	2012	0	0	2	15	40														NW State (LA)
2008	7	Steve Johnson	224	WR	2015	0	0	5	33	99						2	16	0	381	4764	34			Kentucky
2008	7	Kennard Cox	251	DB	2014	0	0	0	2	29													0.5	Pittsburgh

 

2008 Draft = 2 Hits/8 Misses = Success Rate of 20%

 

This was an unsuccessful draft in oh...so many ways.

 

MISSES

Yes Leodis McKelvin was a "miss."  You can say that was an an "average NFL starter," but you NOT draft an "average NFL starter" with the 11th pick in the first round.  I am sorry but Leodis never lived up to his draft status this was a miss.  Speaking of miss - one of the most spectacular 2nd round busts in Bills history was James Hardy.  This was an ill-advised pick based on a player's physical size which never materialized.  Easily one of the worst 2nd draft picks since Bucky Brooks.  The rest of the guy are nobodies...just a terrible brutal draft.   Just brutal.

 

HITS

Old Russ did the 7th round right.  First, I will give Demetrius Bell a very very very marginal thumbs up.  He essentially was a 3 year starter for the Bills as a 7th round pick.  I will call him a slightly "average NFL starter" which is good for a 7th round pick (not the 11th pick in the 1st round).

 

 

Then there is Stevie Johnson.  Say what you will about the competence of this trio, but Russ Brandon made arguably one of the greatest draft picks in Bills history.  

 

So overall yes, Russ was a very bad GM...BUT he did a great job of tarnishing the brand.   Still his 20% success rate is only slightly worse that Marv Levy.

 

For those keeping score:

 

Success Rate as GM:

 

Marv Levy:  31%

Russ Brandon: 20%

Nah dude, Levy was 3/16. 19%

 

Brandon was awful, Levy was abysmal.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Jay_Fixit

[GunnerBill]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

People say say how bad Marv and Russ were as GM but then say “well they didn’t actually make the draft picks.”  I guess that doesnt make them so bad then?????  

 

All speculation though.  You have zero proof

 

Kirby is better connected that most on this board. All the proof I need. 

 

And the whole thing then was a shambles. You mistake me pointing out what actually happened for me trying to defend the Bills in some way or defend Brandon or Levy. I don't. The Bills had a period between Donahue and Nix with a complete disaster of a front office set up. It wasn't just that we had bad GMs... that would be one thing... it was that we had a structure so utterly bonkers and bizarre it was unique im the NFL then or at any time since. 

 

People can say a lot about Buddy Nix as a GM and his draft record isn't great either but at least with Buddy we are just talking about bad evaluations and bad picks. The Nix era could have succeeded if he was just better at his job. The Modrak era never had a chance. It was doomed from the start. 

[Kirby Jackson]

1 hour ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

That would not surprise me.  But I’m saying all that we know FOR SURE...FOR SURE...is that Marv and Russ were the GMs during this time period.  

 

Fans on TBD and the internet speculate.  It’s what makes Pro sports fun as a fan.  But some of the speculation is inaccurate.  We don’t know for sure what went down 

 

 

Chalk one up for the GOOD GUYS:  

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d805a31ac/article/levy-to-resign-as-bills-gm

 

 

Levy's role as GM was relatively undefined, although he provided input on the team's draft and personnel decisions, consulted with Jauron and stayed in close contact with Wilson, who lives in suburban Detroit.

I keep saying this isn’t speculation. My knowledge on the subject is 1st hand. This is coming from the people in the meetings, war room, etc... This is coming from high ranking people within football ops. This isn’t reading the tea leaves. 

 

I don’t really care that you don’t believe me but it kind of bothers me that you are questioning my credibility but if Jerry Sullivan wrote it you would accept. The reality is my relationships in that building (especially then) were way beyond his sources.

[BuffaloRush]

7 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Kirby is better connected that most on this board. All the proof I need. 

 

And the whole thing then was a shambles. You mistake me pointing out what actually happened for me trying to defend the Bills in some way or defend Brandon or Levy. I don't. The Bills had a period between Donahue and Nix with a complete disaster of a front office set up. It wasn't just that we had bad GMs... that would be one thing... it was that we had a structure so utterly bonkers and bizarre it was unique im the NFL then or at any time since. 

 

People can say a lot about Buddy Nix as a GM and his draft record isn't great either but at least with Buddy we are just talking about bad evaluations and bad picks. The Nix era could have succeeded if he was just better at his job. The Modrak era never had a chance. It was doomed from the start. 

 

Fair enough.  I don’t know Kirby at all and you can understand why it’s hard for me to believe someone who goes by the name “Kirby Jackson” complete with the #47 avatar.   We have a lot of people posing as being connected - including my favorite Dunkirk Don.  Until I can verify more information I probably won’t trust what KJ says at face value.

 

Like I said, I totally agree the structure at ODB was a mess.  Still I’m not going to evaluate Modrak as a draft analyzer.  This is all about GM’s and Marv and Russ were the GM at the time 

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

1 hour ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Fair enough.  I don’t know Kirby at all and you can understand why it’s hard for me to believe someone who goes by the name “Kirby Jackson” complete with the #47 avatar.   We have a lot of people posing as being connected - including my favorite Dunkirk Don.  Until I can verify more information I probably won’t trust what KJ says at face value.

 

Like I said, I totally agree the structure at ODB was a mess.  Still I’m not going to evaluate Modrak as a draft analyzer.  This is all about GM’s and Marv and Russ were the GM at the time 

 

 

Dont know if you’re “baiting” or not, but if you follow things around here closely you’ll certainly come to realize KJ is absolutely tied into things that happen at OBD. I doubt any “regulars” would disagree. 

[BuffaloRush]

56 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

 

 

Dont know if you’re “baiting” or not, but if you follow things around here closely you’ll certainly come to realize KJ is absolutely tied into things that happen at OBD. I doubt any “regulars” would disagree. 

 

I’ll have to play closer attention

[whatdrought]

6 hours ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

It's baaack.    We will continue to take a look at the past General Managers in Buffalo and who was the most successful with the draft based on hits and misses.   Today it's time to see how The Bills favorite prodigal son  Russ "This Brand Has Been Tarnished" Brandon did.  If you recall Brandon was named "General Manager" after former GM Marv Levy quietly stepped aside.  It is believed that while Brandon was involved in many football decision, the majority of GM duties (including the draft) fell to the competent trio of Tom Modrak (Draft), John Guy (Pro) and Richard "Dick" Jauron (A Bit of Everything).

 

Here's the criteria I shared for defining a "hit" and a "miss"

While this is very subjective, I am defining a "hit" as any player that reasonably performed at or above his draft status.  As an example, a player like Paul Pozlusny becoming a solid starting LB as a 2nd round pick.  A "miss" is the opposite - a player who performed under or well under their draft status.  If you draft a player in the first round and they are a marginal starter, I am defining that as a miss.  

 

Like many of my polls, I think this will be very debated.   Let's see how old Russ did in his only draft as GM:

 

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	To	AP1	PB	St	CarAV	G	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	Att	Yds	TD	Rec	Yds	TD	Int	Sk	College/Univ
2008	1	Leodis McKelvin	11	DB	2016	0	0	4	29	111												15		Troy
2008	2	James Hardy	41	WR	2009	0	0	0	1	16									10	96	2			Indiana
2008	3	Chris Ellis	72	DE	2010	0	0	0	2	15													1.0	Virginia Tech
2008	4	Reggie Corner	114	DB	2011	0	0	0	8	55												2	1.0	Akron
2008	4	Derek Fine	132	TE	2009	0	0	0	2	18									19	158	1			Kansas
2008	5	Alvin Bowen	147	LB	2010	0	0	0	0	2														Iowa St.
2008	6	Xavier Omon	179	RB	2009	0	0	0	0	7						11	27	0	0	0	0			NW Missouri St.
2008	7	Demetress Bell	219	T	2012	0	0	2	15	40														NW State (LA)
2008	7	Steve Johnson	224	WR	2015	0	0	5	33	99						2	16	0	381	4764	34			Kentucky
2008	7	Kennard Cox	251	DB	2014	0	0	0	2	29													0.5	Pittsburgh

 

2008 Draft = 2 Hits/8 Misses = Success Rate of 20%

 

This was an unsuccessful draft in oh...so many ways.

 

MISSES

Yes Leodis McKelvin was a "miss."  You can say that was an an "average NFL starter," but you NOT draft an "average NFL starter" with the 11th pick in the first round.  I am sorry but Leodis never lived up to his draft status this was a miss.  Speaking of miss - one of the most spectacular 2nd round busts in Bills history was James Hardy.  This was an ill-advised pick based on a player's physical size which never materialized.  Easily one of the worst 2nd draft picks since Bucky Brooks.  The rest of the guy are nobodies...just a terrible brutal draft.   Just brutal.

 

HITS

Old Russ did the 7th round right.  First, I will give Demetrius Bell a very very very marginal thumbs up.  He essentially was a 3 year starter for the Bills as a 7th round pick.  I will call him a slightly "average NFL starter" which is good for a 7th round pick (not the 11th pick in the 1st round).

 

 

Then there is Stevie Johnson.  Say what you will about the competence of this trio, but Russ Brandon made arguably one of the greatest draft picks in Bills history.  

 

So overall yes, Russ was a very bad GM...BUT he did a great job of tarnishing the brand.   Still his 20% success rate is only slightly worse that Marv Levy.

 

For those keeping score:

 

Success Rate as GM:

 

Marv Levy:  31%

Russ Brandon: 20%

 

I think the argument could be made that Whitner and McKelvin were about the same all things considered. McKelvin seemed to get hurt whenever he started to pick up some traction. 

 

I completely forgot about Demetrius Bell! What a memory! Whatever happened to that guy? 

[ChevyVanMiller]

2 hours ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Fair enough.  I don’t know Kirby at all and you can understand why it’s hard for me to believe someone who goes by the name “Kirby Jackson” complete with the #47 avatar.   We have a lot of people posing as being connected - including my favorite Dunkirk Don.  Until I can verify more information I probably won’t trust what KJ says at face value.

 

Like I said, I totally agree the structure at ODB was a mess.  Still I’m not going to evaluate Modrak as a draft analyzer.  This is all about GM’s and Marv and Russ were the GM at the time 

It says "Rookie" under your name for a reason. Kirby's credentials are as solid as they come. I appreciate the research you put into your posts, you need to appreciate the history of posters that have earned their stripes.

[BuffaloRush]

14 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

 

I think the argument could be made that Whitner and McKelvin were about the same all things considered. McKelvin seemed to get hurt whenever he started to pick up some traction. 

 

I completely forgot about Demetrius Bell! What a memory! Whatever happened to that guy? 

 

You know - that’s an excellent point.  I probably should change his status to a “miss” considering he was a Top 10 pick and never lived up to that status in Buffalo

[Steptide]

I have a gut feeling that jauron was picking the draft in those days. I mean, would any gm pick Aaron Maybin in the first round? I feel like the entire bills front office in those days had absolutely no idea what it was doing 

[whatdrought]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

You know - that’s an excellent point.  I probably should change his status to a “miss” considering he was a Top 10 pick and never lived up to that status in Buffalo

 

Most likely. Also, I respect you for having the mental fortitude to go back through these pains. lol

[BuffaloRush]

21 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

It says "Rookie" under your name for a reason. Kirby's credentials are as solid as they come. I appreciate the research you put into your posts, you need to appreciate the history of posters that have earned their stripes.

 

What are his credentials though?  There are several people here who claim to have “inside information.”  It’s  hard for me take anyone seriously after the whole Dunkirk Don incident