The Avenger Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 A few things: 1 - Talent evaluation. As has been pointed out, the Bills have had some very poor draft picks since 2000 - Williams, Flowers, Tillman, Reed, Edwards, etc. But some FA picks haven't been so great either - theer were reasons guys like Milloy and Vincent were available, and we steped in and paid them salaries in line with their past glory. Nothing sinks you faster in thes league than evaluating talent poorly and paying guys too much - successive bad drafts can hurt you for many years and spending too much gives you cap problems. I am seriously worried about who we will draft this year - my confidence in finding good players and getting good value is shaken. 2 - Coaching. We gave 2 guys their first shot at being an NFL coach, and neither worked out well. They hired some dubious coordinators (Gilbride, etc.) and failed to address problems quickly. You've seen locker room problems with guys like Moulds and Adams that probably should never have happened - these guys should be productive leaders on the team but are not and I believe that goes on the coaches. 3 - Failure to play with what you've got. Seems like Buffalo always wanted to play a style of football they simply didn't have the personnel to do effectively. We keep hearing about a "power running game" - what makes anyone think we have the guys to make that happen? Biggest example was bringing in Bledsoe. Guy's got a decent arm, but isn't mobile AT ALL. If you can give him some protection he does pretty well, but when you have a terrible line like the Bills what makes you think he could be successful? When you brought in Bledsoe you knew what you were getting, so why did the Bills fail to get him a line? If they had had looked at the quality of their line they should have seen that it would be very difficult for Drew Bledsoe to be successful (although as a PR move he did put butts in seats when he came - that's plus). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Wide Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 3 - Failure to play with what you've got. Seems like Buffalo always wanted to play a style of football they simply didn't have the personnel to do effectively. We keep hearing about a "power running game" - what makes anyone think we have the guys to make that happen? Biggest example was bringing in Bledsoe. Guy's got a decent arm, but isn't mobile AT ALL. If you can give him some protection he does pretty well, but when you have a terrible line like the Bills what makes you think he could be successful? When you brought in Bledsoe you knew what you were getting, so why did the Bills fail to get him a line? If they had had looked at the quality of their line they should have seen that it would be very difficult for Drew Bledsoe to be successful (although as a PR move he did put butts in seats when he came - that's plus). 610489[/snapback] Definetly agree...trying to implement players to a system rather than a system to the players you have......either that or Brandon Spoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 All decisions good and bad stem from TD. So TD bis the biggest problem now correted. Long live Marv, the team will now move in a positive direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Definetly agree...trying to implement players to a system rather than a system to the players you have......either that or Brandon Spoon 610542[/snapback] A little humor on the 1st post. Nice job. Oh, and welcome to the monkey house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 The biggest demise of the bills has been the front office staff deciding that they would "do what they could with what they had left" in regards to Offensive line..... The most cherised years of this franchise were when we had one of the best OL's in all of football.....Ballard, Hull, Wolford, Davis etc etc I have not seen this club make a concerted effort to put a quality linemen at every position in many many years.....we have always "made due" To me that is it in a nutshell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like A Mofo Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 George W. Bush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typical TBD Guy Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Had we never cut peerless price loose I think the bills wouldnt have taken a step backwards after an 8-8 season. 610250[/snapback] This is an absurd statement. That 2002 offense sucked in the second half of the season after NE exposed Drew's O in Week 9. Why does everyone always forget that? Keeping Price would not have helped much. In fact, it would have made us worse because keeping him would have meant not getting the D help that we got in 2003. This team took a step backward in 2003 because: A. The offensive line was not addressed in the previous offseason. B. Kevin Killdrive was calling the plays. C. Drew Bledsoe was Drew Bledsoe. To the original poster, aside from the obvious answer of TD or of either of his head coach choices, I'd say that Mike Williams was the biggest reason for our team's failures. A #4 overall choice always has big expectations to live up to, but as a lineman protecting our so-called "franchise QB's," it was bigger. Plus, the drafting of MW might have influenced TD into thinking that the OL didn't need much more help in future draft years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 The fans are primarily responsible. 610480[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Maybe it has something to do with the Bills sucking in the trenches. Nah, that couldn't be it. No, no, wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thailog80 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Trading for RJ didnt help us. That was the start of the downfall of the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoondckCL Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 If we are talking turning points for this Bills organization. How about when Frank Wychek threw the ball deep down field to Kevin Dyson and actually got away with calling it a latteral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Trading for RJ didnt help us. That was the start of the downfall of the Bills. 610971[/snapback] Looking at the last 10 draft classes, it is amazing how little the Bills have acquired. There is Eric Moulds, 10 years ago (and he might be gone as I type). Then, there is literally nothing left until you hit Nate Clements, who should be around at least 1 more year. And, then a lot of "well maybe he'll get betters" to "total busts". The Bills haven't drafted much gold the last 10 years. No wonder they suck. Or else it's all Reggie Germany's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 No way! He was a good Qb but we had no offensive line to protect him. Look at Dallas now. They HAVE a decent offensive line. The key with Beldsoe is that you have to protect him well. Look at what happes when you give him time to throw he is very accurate and he a very strong throw. Many blamed Bledsoe for the collapse of the Bills, but in fact it was that he had terrible coaches and we had no offensive line that could block well enough to give him time to throw. Period! 610200[/snapback] Did you happen to watch the Cowboys games the second half of the year? He started off strong just like he did when he came to Buffalo, and then went into liability mode.....His QB rating plummeted right back down to his usual number.....Bledsoe is no better there than he was here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 Wide Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 A little humor on the 1st post. Nice job. Oh, and welcome to the monkey house. 610569[/snapback] Thanks....its good to be aboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConradDobler Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 This seems like fun! 1) Bill Polian - for not locking up Will Wolford when he had the chance. (IIRC BP was quoted "We don't negotiate contracts during the season" He snoozed, we lost.) 2) Ralph - for firing BP (credit also given to Jeff Littman by previous poster) 3) John Butler - for giving away the farm to all the "fine young men" (John Fina, Glenn "Porky" Parker, Lonnie Johnson, ad infinitum) See #1 above. 4) Ralph - (again) for the handshake deal w/ Jim Kelly, who I believe could have survived (at least) another season if not for #1 above. Which brings us to... 5) Todd Collins - (dance, dance, dance...) and now... 6) Doug Flutie - who IMO further ruined the OL (how the heck can you have blocking schemes for your QB if you have absolutely no clue as to what he's gonna do?) which takes us to 7) RJ - (let's grasp for straws!) and now 8) Ralph - for interfering in the QB selection which leads us to the firing of 9) Wade - just put the %%#$ headset on willya? Great defense back then. What a waste. so 10) Ralph - hires 11)TD who brings us 12) GW - "I don't want to talk about last years' defense, mine is better" who then jettisons Fat Ted, Cowart (although injured) and brought in marvels like Eddie Robinson and 13) Jerry Gray, 14) DB even though the OL has been in disarray for many years (see #1 Above) so 15) TD decides that the Tennessee model doesn't quite cut it, and invents Pittsburgh north, with 16) MM and 17) TC plus Gray trying so valiantly to drive square pegs into round holes. I swear if it wasn't for Bobby April, I'd probably go jump off a bridge somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 plain and simple... Bruce Smith If he had taken his damn flu shot back in the mid 90's. we would have won the playoff game in pittsburgh. Buffalo would have advanced to a 5th super bowl which we would have won. Also, the loss would have sent the steelers into a free fall, by which they fire TD earlier than they did. He then would have gotten picked up by another team before fatass split for SD. TD would have never been hired, and the bills would not be in this current mess. NE would not have been able to trade bledsoe, and he would have started in 2002 for NE, and they would have dealt Tom Brady to the Cardinals where his career would have perished, and he would be nothing more than a footnote. Also, the SB win would have allowed Kelly to play for a year or 2 longer than he did, and we wouldnt have rushed to start todd collins. Today, we would be discussing Todd collins in the same sentence as Joe montana, after leading the Bills to 3 more SB wins, since he was given more time to develop under Jim Kelly. Damn you Bruce Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 This seems like fun! 1) Bill Polian - for not locking up Will Wolford when he had the chance. (IIRC BP was quoted "We don't negotiate contracts during the season" He snoozed, we lost.) 2) Ralph - for firing BP (credit also given to Jeff Littman by previous poster) 3) John Butler - for giving away the farm to all the "fine young men" (John Fina, Glenn "Porky" Parker, Lonnie Johnson, ad infinitum) See #1 above. 4) Ralph - (again) for the handshake deal w/ Jim Kelly, who I believe could have survived (at least) another season if not for #1 above. Which brings us to... 5) Todd Collins - (dance, dance, dance...) and now... 6) Doug Flutie - who IMO further ruined the OL (how the heck can you have blocking schemes for your QB if you have absolutely no clue as to what he's gonna do?) which takes us to 7) RJ - (let's grasp for straws!) and now 8) Ralph - for interfering in the QB selection which leads us to the firing of 9) Wade - just put the %%#$ headset on willya? Great defense back then. What a waste. so 10) Ralph - hires 11)TD who brings us 12) GW - "I don't want to talk about last years' defense, mine is better" who then jettisons Fat Ted, Cowart (although injured) and brought in marvels like Eddie Robinson and 13) Jerry Gray, 14) DB even though the OL has been in disarray for many years (see #1 Above) so 15) TD decides that the Tennessee model doesn't quite cut it, and invents Pittsburgh north, with 16) MM and 17) TC plus Gray trying so valiantly to drive square pegs into round holes. I swear if it wasn't for Bobby April, I'd probably go jump off a bridge somewhere. 611089[/snapback] Nice. I'd add a couple of more Flutie's for his whiny little B word routine and for refusing fo be a good teammate and mentor to RJ. But, you got most of them covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 plain and simple... Bruce Smith If he had taken his damn flu shot back in the mid 90's. we would have won the playoff game in pittsburgh. Buffalo would have advanced to a 5th super bowl which we would have won. Also, the loss would have sent the steelers into a free fall, by which they fire TD earlier than they did. He then would have gotten picked up by another team before fatass split for SD. TD would have never been hired, and the bills would not be in this current mess. NE would not have been able to trade bledsoe, and he would have started in 2002 for NE, and they would have dealt Tom Brady to the Cardinals where his career would have perished, and he would be nothing more than a footnote. Also, the SB win would have allowed Kelly to play for a year or 2 longer than he did, and we wouldnt have rushed to start todd collins. Today, we would be discussing Todd collins in the same sentence as Joe montana, after leading the Bills to 3 more SB wins, since he was given more time to develop under Jim Kelly. Damn you Bruce Smith. 611097[/snapback] BUT, I got a flu shot this year and have had the flu TWICE since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC-Bills Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 plain and simple... Bruce Smith If he had taken his damn flu shot back in the mid 90's. we would have won the playoff game in pittsburgh. Buffalo would have advanced to a 5th super bowl which we would have won. Also, the loss would have sent the steelers into a free fall, by which they fire TD earlier than they did. He then would have gotten picked up by another team before fatass split for SD. TD would have never been hired, and the bills would not be in this current mess. NE would not have been able to trade bledsoe, and he would have started in 2002 for NE, and they would have dealt Tom Brady to the Cardinals where his career would have perished, and he would be nothing more than a footnote. Also, the SB win would have allowed Kelly to play for a year or 2 longer than he did, and we wouldnt have rushed to start todd collins. Today, we would be discussing Todd collins in the same sentence as Joe montana, after leading the Bills to 3 more SB wins, since he was given more time to develop under Jim Kelly. Damn you Bruce Smith. 611097[/snapback] Well said, well said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahnyc Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 In addition, to the obvious (poor coaching and mediocre drafting), a couple of things (some of which are obivious as well). 1. Failure to find a quality qb since Jim Kelly. A number one and four for RJ, a number one for DB and a number one, a second and a four for JP (altough we received a number one back so the Bills could draft JP). No diamonds in the rough drafted in later rounds either. 2. Failure during the TD era to find value priced free agents that turn out to be quality or excellent players. 3. The MW pick. He was a very high pick and cost the team in terms of cap space available to fill other needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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