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Here's what I think happened


nodnarb

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This is just a hypothesis, but hey.

 

I know that TD was and is respected by ralph, mularkey, modrak, et. al. I also think that there must be some truth behind ralph's comment that TD suggested that he resign. TD became an intensely hated man in Buffalo. Right or wrong, he was reviled for annual underachievement of the team. On average I'd say that the more awake side of the fanbase was happy with about half his moves. E.G., drafting Lee Evans was a great move but not keeping Pat Williams might very well have been his undoing. He built a team predicated on continuing to have a top 5 defense. Oops. We couldn't stop the run anymore. But I digress.

 

I think Ralph is tired. After listening to his desultory press conference, I *know* he's tired. The prozac comment...Oy...Simon here put it best when he described him as "addled". The perfect word there.

 

But it's *Ralph*, right? And I think he just wants to feel comfortable. I was FUGGIN RELIEVED to hear that Modrak was retained. Folks, the guy knows football, and he's very well respected, and built that Eagles team that now seems on the downward slide without him. (He did NOT draft Freddie Mitchell, mind you).

 

So I think what happened was, TD figured that it's best for the team to move on and Ralph was going to let him go anyway and they both knew it. With Marv overseeing the operations (at 81 or whatever) the Bills will again have a face that most fans and the community won't - CAN'T - hate. And that's what the Bills need right now as fans lick their wounds.

 

Bringing in Marv gives the fall of the Bills a softer landing for many fans. And that's what Ralph wants now...because...and this should be obvious....

 

The Next GM is not currently available. There are too many vacancies and too few candidates right now. It's a BAAAD year to start from scratch. We're obviously not going to have Marv as a GM for years....This is clearly a stop gap effort to keep the sales base high, the fans happier, and the community placated.

 

This is a temporary solution. I'm not unhappy with it, cuz you know, it's Marv and all. But he's 81 and hasn't played this role before, so I'm skeptical...but not significantly so because it's obvious that this is just a band aid.

 

So, the 2006 Buffalo Bills: The Band Aid Season.

 

Here's to getting back to .500!

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This is just a hypothesis, but hey.

 

I know that TD was and is respected by ralph, mularkey, modrak, et. al. I also think that there must be some truth behind ralph's comment that TD suggested that he resign. TD became an intensely hated man in Buffalo. Right or wrong, he was reviled for annual underachievement of the team. On average I'd say that the more awake side of the fanbase was happy with about half his moves. E.G., drafting Lee Evans was a great move but not keeping Pat Williams might very well have been his undoing. He built a team predicated on continuing to have a top 5 defense. Oops. We couldn't stop the run anymore. But I digress.

 

I think Ralph is tired. After listening to his desultory press conference, I *know* he's tired. The prozac comment...Oy...Simon here put it best when he described him as "addled". The perfect word there.

 

But it's *Ralph*, right? And I think he just wants to feel comfortable. I was FUGGIN RELIEVED to hear that Modrak was retained. Folks, the guy knows football, and he's very well respected, and built that Eagles team that now seems on the downward slide without him. (He did NOT draft Freddie Mitchell, mind you).

 

So I think what happened was, TD figured that it's best for the team to move on and Ralph was going to let him go anyway and they both knew it. With Marv overseeing the operations (at 81 or whatever) the Bills will again have a face that most fans and the community won't - CAN'T - hate. And that's what the Bills need right now as fans lick their wounds.

 

Bringing in Marv gives the fall of the Bills a softer landing for many fans. And that's what Ralph wants now...because...and this should be obvious....

 

The Next GM is not currently available. There are too many vacancies and too few candidates right now. It's a BAAAD year to start from scratch. We're obviously not going to have Marv as a GM for years....This is clearly a stop gap effort to keep the sales base high, the fans happier, and the community placated.

 

This is a temporary solution. I'm not unhappy with it, cuz you know, it's Marv and all. But he's 81 and hasn't played this role before, so I'm skeptical...but not significantly so because it's obvious that this is just a band aid.

 

So, the 2006 Buffalo Bills: The Band Aid Season.

 

Here's to getting back to .500!

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good post. one thing i'd add is that i have a weird feeling about marv. i've seen him talk and read his stuff -- he's genuinely spry. he's one of those old jewish guys like the sociologist daniel bell at harvard or the historian bernard lewis at princeton -- really, really intelligent (in terms of book smarts) who continue to have a razor sharp intelligence into their mid-80s. i know i don't have a whole lot to base this on; it's just a hunch. i really do think he's a young 81 -- kinda like 55 in ralph c. years.

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I agree. This is pretty much the Chinese "Year of the Lame Duck", hopefully we won't be too lame.

 

I agree with you that TD was going to be fired so he resigned.

I think Ralph was embarrassed at the public perception of the team, although he only blames Donohoe for some of it. But I think that irked him more than the record. I think the signs thing, however petty, was something that Ralph really didn't like. The Bills are his baby, and he wants to be loved like he has the last decade or two.

 

I think he brought in Levy to be the titular head and face of the franchise like you said. And a confidante. That could work well with the fans. I think he negotiated with Modrak who offered to do something but not all things, because he is in somewhat of a lame duck situation, too. He knows he won't have full control of the team, so he doesn't want to be the fallguy if he is not really making the decisions.

 

I think Levy probably said you're not going to know you're getting a better coach than Mike Mularkey by hiring anyone available, and give him one more season to see if he can produce. It's a hard job with no apprenticeship, and it took me a while to get my sh-- together, too. We can't just keep changing coaches every 2-3 years, a team needs continuity almost more than it needs good players.

 

I think Brandon and Overdorf get some more responsiblities on the business end.

 

All this leads to a potential disaster, IMO. Ralph wants to meddle, Marv wants to give his two cents, Modrak is the football guy without a lot of power, Brandon is just a marketing guy, Mularkey has little real power.

 

Next year, we're likely to see Mularkey gone and Levy hire a new GM full time who will pick a new coach.

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Next year, we're likely to see Mularkey gone and Levy hire a new GM full time who will pick a new coach.

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Nothing like waiting 8 months for a throw away season only to have to start anew a year from now! God how I hope you're wrong.

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I agree. This is pretty much the Chinese "Year of the Lame Duck", hopefully we won't be too lame.

 

I agree with you that TD was going to be fired so he resigned.

I think Ralph was embarrassed at the public perception of the team, although he only blames Donohoe for some of it. But I think that irked him more than the record. I think the signs thing, however petty, was something that Ralph really didn't like. The Bills are his baby, and he wants to be loved like he has the last decade or two.

 

I think he brought in Levy to be the titular head and face of the franchise like you said. And a confidante. That could work well with the fans. I think he negotiated with Modrak who offered to do something but not all things, because he is in somewhat of a lame duck situation, too. He knows he won't have full control of the team, so he doesn't want to be the fallguy if he is not really making the decisions.

 

I think Levy probably said you're not going to know you're getting a better coach than Mike Mularkey by hiring anyone available, and give him one more season to see if he can produce. It's a hard job with no apprenticeship, and it took me a while to get my sh-- together, too. We can't just keep changing coaches every 2-3 years, a team needs continuity almost more than it needs good players.

 

I think Brandon and Overdorf get some more responsiblities on the business end.

 

All this leads to a potential disaster, IMO. Ralph wants to meddle, Marv wants to give his two cents, Modrak is the football guy without a lot of power, Brandon is just a marketing guy, Mularkey has little real power.

 

Next year, we're likely to see Mularkey gone and Levy hire a new GM full time who will pick a new coach.

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I agree with all but the 'you're not ...getting a better coach than ...Mularkey'. Don't know how you couldn't get a better one playing darts.

 

If Mularkey doesn't start fast, he's done. I'm hoping the OC or DC have HC potential or experience. (please some foolish team; hire JG)

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I should add that Ralph can't be happy with Bennie Anderson being Donahoe's answer to the critical left guard spot when Wahle and Rivera were both available.

 

I know we weren't. Benny can't pass block to save his life. And "mauler"? My ass. You have to know what your assignments are before you can block anybody effectively. 9 false starts? Pffft. Hello, backup status.

 

I'm THRILLED to hear that Modrak is going to get involved with pro personnel for the first time. I think he'll hit the cover off the ball.

 

If we can make a bid for Hutchinson, we'll have taken the first step toward being a contenda.

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Nothing like waiting 8 months for a throw away season only to have to start anew a year from now!  God how I hope you're wrong.

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Marv is going to do a great job, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was with us longer than TD was. No matter how long he's the GM, I fully expect Marv to produce more than TD's 31 wins and to get us into the playoffs by 2007.

 

I think this is a great move by Ralph. I wouldn't have minded seeing Mariucci, Reeves, Fassel, etc. replacing Mularkey, but there is also something to be said for not replacing the coaches too often.

 

Marv knows what to do and he knows what we need. First order of business is a good DT, then a couple of O-linemen, then a sitdown with MM to make it clear that McGahee needs to get the ball more than 10 times a game and to stay on the field on 3rd down and on goal-line situations. No more Shaud Williams and no more GD passes to Daimon Shelton. We are not going to look like bozos next year -- or else MM is not going to last the year.

 

Go Bills.

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Next year, we're likely to see Mularkey gone and Levy hire a new GM full time who will pick a new coach.

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I think MM showed significant improvement this year and I believe he will have a decent 2006 year provided he gets improvements on the lines. I'm not surprised if he finishes 2006 and maybe beyond.

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I think that you have made an astute observation nodnarb.

 

However I think TD was going to be fired, especially after the way Ralph commented about the removal of the protest signs at the stadium.

 

I wasn't completely convinced that MM had to go, just that he needed an OC who would do the play calling in 06. I did agree with TDs removal and I did wonder just who was it that was going to replace him.

 

If the rumors are true and Marv is coming in as the new GM I doubt it was done with the idea of having him fulfill that roll for the next 5 years.

 

I think that if Marv and Modrack can beef up our lines then MM will have a better than 50/50 chance of proving he is HC material. Thus he would have a better than even chance to be allowed to finish his contract here and perhaps beyond.

 

That said, if Marv is here more than 2-3 years in anything more than an advisory role I would be shocked.

 

Unlike some I have not completely given up on the 06 Bills yet.

 

1. We will get a new OC.

2. We will have a new GM.

3. We will have beefed up our lines by the start of training camp next year, with top notch FAs and a good draft.

 

BTW if number 3 doesn't come true disregard any optimism I may have had in this post!

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1) Modrak left the Eagles a *long* time ago. And McNabb was personally hand-picked by Andy Reid. Reid even drove up to Syracuse to check out McNabb. I'm not saying that Modrak was not involved in the Eagles' fabulous run of the past few years, but I think that his role should not be overstated.

 

2) Strongly disagree that Marv told Ralph that there is noone better than Mularkey available. The most I will grant you is that Marv is reluctant to fire any HC, having been a HC a couple of times himself, and that Marv felt that this was a lost year due to the failed JP Losman experiment. My gut, however, tells me that keeping Mularkey is 100% about 3 years remaining on the contract. There's no way that you can tell me that there's "no one better available" with guys like Kirk Ferentz, Jim Fassell, Mike Sherman, Steve Mariucci, Ron Rivera, and Jim Bates out there..... all of whom are arguably better than Mularkey.

 

JDG

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Levy will have a role, whether it is GM or not is to be determined, because Ralph wants someone he trusts to tattle on the boys in buffalo while he is in Detroit. Levy knows how to handle Ralph. This is good and will give the GM (whoever it is), Modrak and MM much more leeway in their decisions in the long run.

 

Modrak was kept because he has a proven record as a talent evaluator. Working with Levy and a GM or just Levy makes for a good combination. Modrak and Levy decide who to get and Levy sells it to Ralph.

 

Malarkey was kept........................

 

because.......................................

 

I can't figure this one out. I don't believe the money theory or the Levy said so theory or the theory that Ralph likes him. Maybe by having MM get rid of enough coaches Ralph believes the ship can be righted.

 

So far so good I'd say.

 

Yes he could have swept house, but every coach who has experience has been let go at one time or another or they wouldn't be looking to land with the Bills.

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Great post. I think this also explains why MM has another year to prove himself. There are not 8 qualified head coaching prospects out there let alone 9. :doh:

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we don't need to hire 8 or 9.

 

 

just one

 

give the Titans their 3rd back for Jeff Fischer or get Kirk Ferentz

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we don't need to hire 8 or 9.

just one

 

give the Titans their 3rd back for Jeff Fischer or get Kirk Ferentz

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Kirk Ferentz: Absolutely

 

Unfortunately, he'll go to one of the other 8 teams with a vacancy. Hopefully it won't be the Jets. Ferentz is good, and the one thing he knows best is O-Line.

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The one thing that I worry a bit about Marv is he was always a "player coach" Will he be too easy in contract talks and before you know it we're in salary cap hell due to overpaying?? I think that was Butler's fault too. He liked all the players too much.

 

Why keep Mularky?

 

Well he did win 9 games last year. Everyone expected more this season, and felt the one off-season thing we needed to do was improve the O-line, but in reality, the line got worse. On the defensive side, we aged very quickly. Are either of those things the coaches fault? On the surface you'd look to the GM to take care of that, although we'll never know if either TD or MM wanted to make changes, but either convinced the other changes weren't needed. Even this year when all was said and done, the players did still seem to like him with a couple of exceptions.

 

As was said, sometimes it's just not your year. That doesn't explain a drop from 9 to 5 wins, but when coupled with the talent getting worse not better, four less wins isn't so shocking. I'd like to see MM coach with decent talent. I'm not totally convinced that will happen, getting better talent, but that's not MM's job to get the talent. But I'm willing to give him another year to find out.

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