Coach Tuesday Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) I am on record as saying Donohoe's firing was silly (espeically have the late great GM John Butler explained to me why he fleed Buffalo for San Diego). I would need 1,500 words to break it down and show you why. What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. I like Dick Jauron and I like Trent Edwards. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, not only that, a good man of integrity, a father & husband who has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Gun10 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 You should have asked him why Donahoe doesent have a job right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Jeez, he really is delusional. It is now confirmed, he has it out for Bills fans because of the Donahoe era. Good job Coach T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 However wrong his reasoning is, it was a good explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyal2dagame Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. mort is 100% right all the garbage that td signed has moved on to other teams around the league, watering down said teams, making the bills team built mostly by marv a better team with more quality players, tied for first in the division and finally being taken seriously. i agree with mort 100% if the bills didnt have a plethera(sp?) of lousy players signed under td to spread around the league, where would we be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I have no problem with Mort's view on TD--I agree with him in a way. TD was a very good evaluator of talent (just not of coaching talent). That said, Mort's problem is that he has adopted an anti-Bills bias in a way to fight back for TD's firing and treatment. There's no need to undermine Marv, Russ, and the current Bills if the goal is to simply defend TD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Gun10 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 IF Donahoe had god like ability why is he unemployed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChasBB Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 You should have asked him why Donahoe doesent have a job right now. ... and why he had sign-toting fans hauled away like common criminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 So he admits his grudge, and shows that he's not an unbiased reporter. Nice. HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) I am on record as saying Donohoe's firing was silly (espeically have the late great GM John Butler explained to me why he fleed Buffalo for San Diego). I would need 1,500 words to break it down and show you why. What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. I like Dick Jauron and I like Trent Edwards. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, not only that, a good man of integrity, a father & husband who has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) I am on record as saying Donohoe's firing was silly (espeically have the late great GM John Butler explained to me why he fleed Buffalo for San Diego). I would need 1,500 words to break it down and show you why. What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. I like Dick Jauron and I like Trent Edwards. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, not only that, a good man of integrity, a father & husband who has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. Really pleasantly suprised he acknowledged this question. I don't think too many Bills fans would not acknowledge that TD did lay the foundation for the current team. The guys still on the roster who were a product of the TD era are as follows: Kelsey/Schobel/Denney/Crowell/McGee/Evans/Peters/Lindell/Moorman/Parrish/Reed I think that it would be an inetresting conversation with Mort on this... TD's four main faults, IMHO, and the reason he was fired is as follows: 1- Inability to pick coaches. TD interviewed Jauron and Mularkey after GW was fired. RW was interested in Jauron, TD sold him on Meathead. This after the Greggo fiasco. TD should have gone with the experienced hand. 2- Going for the splashy move rather than the better choice. Se McGahee, Willis. Eric Steinbach was the pick there. 3- Negelecting the lines. After the MW bust (no fault there), the lines were neglected and our team was a paper tiger. Gotta build the lines, even if it does not generate much press. Letting Reuben Brown and Pat Williams go was inexcusable. 4- Control syndrome - TD was Captain Queeg at the end. Having critical (but not profane) signs yanked away from fans during games showed how far he had lost it. He also did not foster a cooperative atmosphere around OBD. I would characterize Mort's description of "rudderless" as unfair. The 98 and 99 Bills were very good teams. The 2000 team was 8-8, in cap hell, and we needed to rebuild. But the organization was a sound organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 In a way, I kind of admire Mort for sticking up for TD. Still, like some have said, he shouldn't cut down the current regime to do so. I will say, though, that I don't think he was necessarily doing that here. He went out of his way to praise the current team. Now, the John Butler reference is itself amusing. I don't want to berate a man who is no longer with us -- or who certainly did do a number of good things for the franchise over the years. We all know that Butler wanted the San Diego job for a year or more before he actually took it -- and he left us with a wonderful 2000 draft class as his parting gift of apathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I think it's funny that Mort relates mean and vindictive behavior by Buffalo fans to Donahoe - when in fact it is mostly really directed at him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLynchTrain Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) I am on record as saying Donohoe's firing was silly (espeically have the late great GM John Butler explained to me why he fleed Buffalo for San Diego). I would need 1,500 words to break it down and show you why. What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. I like Dick Jauron and I like Trent Edwards. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, not only that, a good man of integrity, a father & husband who has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. He picked some great players and got some good free agents, yeah, and he did a damn good job about the salary cap mess. But what about the coaching choices? What about the fact that HE picked a QB to solve the "QB mess" as Mort calls it, and it didn't pan out. What about about the arrogant draft choices with the mentality of "I'm better than the rest of the league?" And what about the dictatorial nature of his reign in buffalo? Mort's response is sad. He carefully says he HAD "admiration for" bills fans "in the past," which he obviously doesn't anymore. And his whining abut "mean spirited and vindictive" fans? Are you serious? You are an F'n reporter...you write mean spirited things all the time...talking about how this coach/player/gm/owner needs to get fired/head screwed on tight all the time. Writers will always get flak from whichever fan base or group of people they offend...its just a part of the business. The good one's don't take it too personally, since they say the same things to the people who they offend in the news when they see them. I can't believe this guy still has a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I have no problem with Mort's view on TD--I agree with him in a way. TD was a very good evaluator of talent (just not of coaching talent). That said, Mort's problem is that he has adopted an anti-Bills bias in a way to fight back for TD's firing and treatment. There's no need to undermine Marv, Russ, and the current Bills if the goal is to simply defend TD. TD was a good evaluator of talent, IMO. But, he was a gambler, who much preferred the possibility of big impact, to sure solidness. He lost to many of the high stakes bets, toward the end with the Bills. As for the coaches, I'm not sure if he was unable to judge coaches, but I am fairly certain he was unwilling to hire one who would challenge his decisions. Unlike the team approach utilized by Marv, after taking over for Tom, TD believed he knew more than anyone else, and needed to make all the decisions, it seemed. That approach can work to turn around a team quickly...when it works. But, if it fails, it tends to fail pretty dramatically (and that's not just in football, but in most organizations). Given that the Bills aren't the Cowboys or the Redskins when it comes to throwing around $$$, every year in the FA market, and changing coaches with several years on their contracts, TD's approach had less of a chance of working in Buffalo, than it would with another team, IMO. In his defense, he did take over a horrible situation in Buffalo, with a bad team in salary cap trouble. In the end, though, he left the team in bad shape on the field, but in decent financial shape. At least Marv and the boys didn't have to dig themselves out of cap hell, to rebuild. And, TD did leave some talented players on the club, as well. Basically, he had acquired good parts, but the whole was a mess, for many reasons. We may be a little to rough on him, here...but, Mort has his head way too far up TD's ass to see the situation clearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLynchTrain Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 And can the guy spell any worse? Was he drunk or something? Must have needed those copy editors to do all the work. I like how he used the word "fleed" haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastMode54 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Who were the players that TD signed or drafted during his tenure. J.P., Willis, McGee, Clements, Winfield? I know there are more. Can anyone help me with the others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Quint Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Maybe addressing the question was finally his way of getting over it. You know how many times people have emailed him and questioned him about this and were probably blown off? Maybe now, years after the fact, and with TD still having no job in professional sports, he realizes how silly this "feud" has become. Addressing it now seems to make sense since we're now contenders for post season play. His credibility would be short lived if he were to continue down his current road with regards to the Bills. Let's be honest, for the past few years, we've been no better than when TD was at the helm to the untrained eye (of course, us experts know better ) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawgg Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) I am on record as saying Donohoe's firing was silly (espeically have the late great GM John Butler explained to me why he fleed Buffalo for San Diego). I would need 1,500 words to break it down and show you why. What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. I like Dick Jauron and I like Trent Edwards. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, not only that, a good man of integrity, a father & husband who has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. You ought to give it a rest. As should most Bills fans. We know where TD messed up. Picking coaches, failing to address the O-Line, and the inability to find a franchise QB during his tenure here. That said, under his watch the Bills' special teams went from worst to first. A number of solid contributor were acquired under his watch: Peters, Evans, Parish, Reed, Evans, McGee, Crowell. But he just wasn't good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 As for the coaches, I'm not sure if he was unable to judge coaches, but I am fairly certain he was unwilling to hire one who would challenge his decisions. Unlike the team approach utilized by Marv, after taking over for Tom, TD believed he knew more than anyone else, and needed to make all the decisions, it seemed. That approach can work to turn around a team quickly...when it works. But, if it fails, it tends to fail pretty dramatically (and that's not just in football, but in most organizations). Given that the Bills aren't the Cowboys or the Redskins when it comes to throwing around $$$, every year in the FA market, and changing coaches with several years on their contracts, TD's approach had less of a chance of working in Buffalo, than it would with another team, IMO. Agreed. I think this stems from TD's power struggle with Cowher in Pittsburgh. He wasn't going to hire anyone who would stand up to him or try to seize power. As a result, he ended up hiring guys that can follow orders and are great assistant coaches, but not-so-good head coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 HOLY CRAP: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=23290 Coach Tuesday (NYC): Mort: there is a perception out there among Bills fans that you have been overly critical of the organization ever since Tom Donahoe was fired. Any response to that notion? Chris Mortensen: (12:11 PM ET ) I am on record as saying Donohoe's firing was silly (espeically have the late great GM John Butler explained to me why he fleed Buffalo for San Diego). I would need 1,500 words to break it down and show you why. What i don't understand is why Bills fans - whom I have had great admiration for in the past - are so mean and vindictive, and unwilling to acknoledge that even their success now is connected to the foundation Donohoe built. Remember, he inherited a franchise that had severe salary cap problems, a QB mess and was rudderless. I like Dick Jauron and I like Trent Edwards. Still, even when you look at contributing players on the team now and others around the league Donohoe drafted or signed, you will see he was capable and, not only that, a good man of integrity, a father & husband who has been subjected to too many unfair and mean-spirited barbs. One day, I will take the time to break it all down but, at the same time, not detract at all to what the Bills are doing today - winning. Tom Donohoe (STL): Hey Mort, what time are you coming over on Thanksgiving? Chris Mortensen: (12:19 PM ET) I should be there around noon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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