The Real Biggest Reason The Bills Don’t Win

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Patrick Moran

Before I launch this long-winded mess; a disclaimer.  Reading this in its entirety for any Bills’ enthusiast may cause stomach pain, nausea, migraines, sleepless nights and/or increased depression.  It may even lead to losing bodily functions.

There’s a laundry list of explanations why the Buffalo Bills have been so futile this decade.  At the top of the hamper lies Dick Jauron.  He’s failed to produce a winning season in three tries and is well on his way to his fourth. His coaching style could best be deemed as unappealing, and his encounters with the media hardly make for good theater. Billboards have been erected via fan donations calling for his firing.

But he’s not the biggest reason the Bills are concluding their decade-long demise.

Quarterback play has been less than stellar.  Drew Bledsoe, Kelly Holcomb, J.P. Losman and Trent Edwards have combined to be about as productive as watching paint dry.

But they’re not the biggest reason the Bills are concluding their decade-long demise.

Ralph Wilson may be in the Hall of Fame, but he’s not the poster child for going all out to win.  He’s continuously employed coaches and front office personnel that rank among the lowest paid in football.  He also ran out the last coach to take the Bills to the playoffs (Wade Phillips) and the most successful GM we’ve ever had (Bill Polian) over personal reasons.

He’s a candidate, but not the biggest reason the Bills are concluding their decade-long demise.

John Guy is the team’s player personnel chief, and his expertise has led to free agent signings including Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, Matt Bowen, Craig Nall, Melvin Fowler, Tutan Reyes and Jason Whittle in recent years.

He ranks a close second, but he’s not the biggest reason the Bills are concluding their decade-long demise.

Instead, the Bills continuously get themselves behind the eight ball each and every April. That’s when the NFL draft commences annually, and that’s where the Bills always find a way to screw things up.

Tom Donahoe ran the draft from 2001-05, and Marv Levy, by name at least, ran it from 2006-08.  Both made horrifically awful picks and should equally share in the shame of their laughable decisions, but only one man is linked to both eras.

Tom Modrak has been with the Bills since 2001.  Although this past season he was “officially” promoted to run the draft, don’t be mistaken.  His fingerprints have been all over  both the Donahoe and Levy eras.

Donahoe in particular has gotten booted around in Buffalo, and deservedly so, but all five of those drafts have Modrak’s fingerprints on them.  If there were just Modrak smudges on Donahoe’s era, by the time Levy came around his signature was smeared and spray painted on the selections.

The past seven Buffalo drafts have been a lengthy exercise in futility, and since Modrak has been around and heavily involved in all of them, he’s the single-biggest reason the Bills are concluding their decade-long demise.

When compiling a “coulda, woulda, shoulda” list, it’s duly noted that every team makes mistakes. No team gets it right all the time, not the Patriots, Colts, Giants or Steelers.  The predicament however,  is arguably no team gets it wrong more than the Bills.

Over 2002-08, the Bills have drafted one player in the first three rounds that could be considered a star in this league, and even that’s debatable.  Tip your hat, Lee Evans.

A look at these years and just some of the April blunders the Bills have made.  To keep it more realistic, all summaries revolve around only picks taken in the first three rounds, and any alternative scenario orbit exclusively around players at the same position and/or taken within a reasonable time frame after.

Without further ado, get out the vomit bags and read on.

2002

After a 2001 campaign that saw the Bills go 3-13, they  were in need of help nearly everywhere.  But no position of weakness was more evident than the offensive line.  Quarterbacks Alex Van Pelt, Rob Johnson and Travis Brown were sacked 46 times the year before, and the Bills were already secretly at work on a draft day deal that would net them Drew Bledsoe.  With a such a high profile quarterback waiting in the wings, the Bills appropriately decided the fourth pick in the 2002 had to be an offensive tackle.

Buffalo was thinking correctly.  They simply executed their plan wrong.  With that fourth pick ,Donahoe selected run-grater Mike Williams from Texas.  Three picks later, the Minnesota Vikings grabbed tackle Bryant McKinnie. Williams rarely showed potential on the field and almost instantly became a bust.  McKinnie has turned out to be a very solid, if not elite left tackle.

Game, set, match.  The Bills drafted the wrong guy.  Had they taken McKinnie, perhaps a lot of their offensive line problems, specifically at tackle in the years that followed would’ve been long gone.  Instead, the Bills went with Williams and he turned into one of the worst draft decisions in franchise history.

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2003

By the end of 2002 the Bills were much improved despite the Williams gaffe.  They went from just three wins to eight in one season, and the  offense was knee-shaking dangerous.  Bledsoe threw for 4,359 yards in ’02, with Eric Moulds and Peerless Price both catching more than 90 balls and 1,000 yards.

Travis Henry emerged as a stud in the running game, dashing for 1,438 yards and 13 touchdowns.  If there was any weakness in the offense among skilled position players, it was tight end.  Jay Reimersma only caught 32 passes for 350 yards and failed to get in the end zone.  Backup David Moore was even less productive with 16 receptions.

As draft day approached, the Bills held the 23rd pick.  Donahoe pulled a coupe by trading a franchise-tagged Price to Atlanta for the pick.  Surely he would make a move to shore up the offensive line, tight end or get some much needed help along the defensive front line.

But he didn’t.  Donahoe, in one of the “cutest” moves in Bills’ draft history selected injured running back Willis McGahee from Miami, despite the fact he was coming off major knee surgery and would be useless for the entire year.  The Bills were an improving team on the cusp of playoff contention, and instead of shoring up elsewhere, Donahoe took another running back!  One that wouldn’t play a down his rookie year too boot.

Indianapolis was on the clock with the very next pick.  They selected a tight end the Bills could’ve used then (and today).  Dallas Clark was selected and transformeed into a reliable weapon for a young Peyton Manning.  All Clark has done in his career to this point is catch 302 passes and 34 touchdowns.

Eight picks later the Oakland Raiders took cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

But it gets worse than McGahee.  Far worse.

In the second round, Donahoe decided it was the right time to address the defensive line.  He selected Chris Kelsay from Nebraska.  Another “high motor” player, perhaps Donahoe was too heavily influenced by Aaron Schobel’s 8.5 sacks the year before.

In the process of drafting Kelsay, Donahoe passed over a defensive end from the small college of Troy.  The New York Giants surely didn’t.   With the very next pick following Kelsay, the Giants selected another defensive end.  His name?  Osi Umenyiora.

By no surprise, in part by the drafting of McGahee, the Bills slipped to 6-10 in 2003.

(**Editors Note** This is worth restating.  During this two-year period, within a span of only four draft picks combined– the Bills drafted OT Mike Williams and DE Chris Kelsay, instead of OT Bryant McKinnie and DE Osi Umenyiora)

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2004
If Donahoe gave the Bills’ progress a flat tire with his early selections in 2002-03, he completely blew the engine in 2004.

The Bills had the 13th pick in this draft, and made a solid choice in Evans.  Arguably their best first round selection this decade, Evans has mostly lived up to expectations.  Buffalo had little at the position before after Moulds and Josh Reed, so the pick was sensible.

To play devil’s advocate, the next pick went to Chicago and they jumped on Tommie Harris.  They say it’s a lot harder to find a franchise defensive tackle than a wide receiver, but lets give Donahoe the benefit of the doubt on this one.

What came next is the single-biggest draft day blunder that’s contributed to the Bills extending their playoff drought through the decade.

The Dallas Cowboys were on the clock with the 22nd pick when Donahoe came calling. Before you knew it the Bills became holder of the selection.  In return, Buffalo gave up their second round pick and their first rounder the following year.

By this time Bledsoe showed major signs of a decline.  The year before he managed only 11 touchdown passes in 16 games.  The Bills were going to invest a draft pick in developing a successor.

But it wasn’t expected to come in the first round, especially after the top three prospects, Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, and Ben Rothlisberger were off the board before the Bills picked Evans.  Had the Bills wanted one of the big three, Donahoe could’ve jumped up two spots ahead of Pittsburgh and grabbed Rothlisberger.

But Donahoe, in his worst-ever attempt to show the world he was smarter than anyone else, traded up with Dallas and reached for J.P. Losman.  The rest is history.

After showing rare flashes of franchise potential, Losman completely flamed out.  His selection set the Bills back on so many levels.

Sadly, had the Bills not traded with Dallas and kept the pick the following year, Aaron Rodgers would’ve fallen into their lap.

It gets better (or worse, depending on your perspective).  As fate would have it, the Bills didn’t need to trade up to get Losman, or even wait another year to find Bledsoe’s successor.

Matt Schaub was the next quarterback to go in ‘04, taken by Atlanta in the third round with the 90th overall pick.  Four of the first five quarterbacks taken in this draft have become superstars in this league.  Losman was the lone exception.

By the way, the Bills did own a third round pick in ‘04.  But instead of taking Schaub.. Or Max Starks..  Or Bernard Berrian..  Or Chris Cooley, all of who went after our pick in round three; the Bills decided the best player available was Tim Anderson.  Yes, THAT Tim Anderson.

(**Editors Note**  Again, lets forget about any trades, or guys we could’ve gotten who play another position.  In a three-year period the very next player at each position taken after Williams, Kelsay and Losman were McKinnie, Umenyiora and Schaub– and with Schaub you get your 2005 first rounder back. sigh).

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2005

This draft was mostly uneventful, in large part because Buffalo traded their pick (which turned out to be #20) to Dallas the year before for the right to take Losman.  Again, had the Bills not made the trade, they get Rodgers on their lap, but I digress.

Buffalo’s first pick was in the second round and they selected wide receiver Roscoe Parrish.  By the time the draft had come around, the Bills dumped Travis Henry off to Tennessee.

Had Buffalo decided to not rely solely on McGahee, they could’ve restocked at running back and selected Frank Gore, who went to San Francisco less than a dozen picks later.

In the third round the Bills took Kevin Everett.  Tragically, his career was cut short after his near-fatal injury on opening day in 2007.  To that point Everett was more of a contributor on special teams than offense, as his two career receptions suggest.  Bo Scaife was a tight end who went to Tennessee  later in the draft.

But the first two picks pale in comparison to who the Bills took next.  In the third round, Buffalo selected center Duke Preston.  Exactly two picks later the Baltimore Ravens took a center of their own.

Jason Brown went on to become one of the league’s elite centers with the Ravens before cashing in with the Rams this past offseason.

Sandwiched in between those two center picks?  Jets star safety Kerry Rhodes.

This would be Donahoe’s last draft as general manager.  After a 5-11 finish in 2005, he was relieved of his duties and Levy was brought in as the new team mouth piece general manager to take his place.

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2006

If the 2004 draft debacle is the biggest reason the Bills have yet to see the playoffs this decade, then 2006 is its first cousin.  This was Levy’s first draft, though many believe Modrak was clearly pushing the buttons by now.

After the five-win total of 2005, the Bills held the eighth pick in this draft.   Buffalo by this time had holes on its roster wider than the Erie Lake it plays its home games on.  Both Losman and Kelly Holcomb were inconsistent behind center the year before.  Speaking of center, the team said goodbye to Trey Teague and were looking for his replacement.  Sam Adams was released, putting the team in the market for a defensive tackle.

So when the Bills went on the clock with that eighth selection, they had a few logical choices.  Take Haloti Ngata and fortify the front four, or take the highly touted Jay Cutler and you have your franchise quarterback.

Levy, although publicly declaring time and time again leading up to the draft that teams are built on the lines, took a safety with the pick.  A safety.  Let me say that one more time..a safety! Donte Whitner was projected to go in the first round, but was hardly sought after as a top ten selection.

But the Bills in typical fashion tried to prove they were smarter than everyone else and took Whitner anyway. Everyone else was right.  Whitner has been a decent player, but you don’t take decent players with a top eight pick.

Whitner is solid if not spectacular, and I really mean not spectacular.  He’s started in 47 games to this point. He has three career interceptions, one sack, and two forced fumbles. Not exactly playmaker standards.  By comparison, Bills rookie Jairus Bryd has twice as many interceptions (6) in his past three games as Whitner has for his entire career.  To use a baseball analogy, Levy swung and missed on this one.  Actually, I’m not sure if he even bothered to lift his bat. How much better would the Bills be today with just Ngata or Cutler alone?

But at least when healthy, Whitner is a contributor.  Later in the first round Levy swung a deal with the Chicago Bears for their 26th pick.  Despite All-American center Nick Mangold being on the board, the team reached again and took defensive tackle John McCargo.  Most critics thought McCargo was overrated and rode the coattails of Mario Williams in college to boost his draft stock.

Again, everyone was right and the Bills were wrong.  McCargo has been a complete and utter bust; so bad the Bills tried unsuccessfully to trade him to Indianapolis last year.

The team took Ashton Youboty in the third round, a decent talent who’s only constant has been his inability to stay on the field.  He’s currently the team’s fourth corner.   Perhaps if the Bills had the foresight to find a quality tight end, they could’ve selected Owen Daniels, who went to Houston with the first pick one round later.

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2007

I like Marshawn Lynch, I really do,  but by this point previous draft blunders had an effect on the way the Bills drafted.  Rewind to 2005; if the Bills take Gore instead of Parrish there’s no need to go running back.   To be less fantasy-minded, if our front office and coaching staff had the vision to see what they already had in Fred Jackson, who was already on the roster, they don’t need to go Lynch with the 12th pick either.

But despite having Jackson, the club selects Lynch anyway.  Two picks later, the Jets take cornerback Darrelle Revis, who’s quickly become arguably the top cover guy in football.

Apparently not learning patience from the year before, the Bills trade up again, this time early in the second round.  They select Paul Posluszny.

The very next linebacker to go in the draft, David Harris to the Jets 13 picks later, has emerged as a star. Buffalo could’ve held on to a third round pick, stood pat and still had Harris.   Of the two, at least to this point, Harris has been the better pro.. By far.

But more than just the draft, this is the year that a pair of horrible high priced free agent moves killed the team.  Levy and the front office sunk $49-million into Derrick Dockery and another $25-million into Langston Walker.  Trent Edwards went in round three and despite the reality he’s verging on failing, it’s hard to mock the pick.  The Bills needed a quarterback knowing Losman was in the process of imploding, and there were no better quarterbacks taken before, or after him in 2007.

Again, the free agent spending spree hurt them.  Had the Bills not dumped $74-million into a pair of linemen both gone just two years removed, they could’ve parlayed those funds into 2007’s prized free agent, Drew Brees, which would’ve made the Edwards pick unnecessary.

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2008

By this point it’s a snowball effect of past drafts that make this next pick a bad one. Tom Modrak officially took over the draft at this point.   There’s nothing wrong with Leodis McKelvin. He’s a good player and despite his season ending leg injury this year, has a good future with the team.  But the Bills dropped the ball the year before by taking Lynch over Revis, which stems from two years prior by taking Parrish over Gore, which then goes all the way back to taking McGahee in 2003.

Even without Revis, the Bills didn’t necessarily need a corner.  They already had reliable starters in Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer.  By the time April 2008 rolled around, everyone watching the team except apparently the Bills themselves, saw a Jason Peters holdout implosion brewing.

The move here without question was to take offensive tackle Ryan Clady.   Corner is a position of importance, but not compared to offensive tackle, as the Bills now know today.

Had the Bills taken Revis the year before, its not even a decision.  But they didn’t, a judgment was necessary and as is the norm on draft day, the Bills clearly made the wrong one. Clady has emerged in less than two years as one of the premier tackles in the league, while the Bills currently employ Demetrius Bell and Jamon Meredith/Jonathan Scott as their starting tackles.

In the second round the Bills insisted the cure to their red zone woes would be taking a big wide receiver.  The team selected James Hardy, who wasn’t off to the best of starts before blowing out his knee after playing nine games last year, and is just now getting close to returning.

Meanwhile, smallish receiver DeSean Jackson was taken eight spots later by Philadelphia.  He’s already scored eight touchdowns in his brief career and has emerged as the Eagle’s go-to guy.

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SUMMARY
Until the Bills start to hit some home runs early in the draft, the playoff-less trend isn’t going to change.  No head coach is going to succeed here if this kind of draft incompetence continues.  When Jauron gets his pink slip at the end of the season (or sooner), Bills fans should pray that Modrak, along with anyone else involved in the Bills drafting process receives the same slips as well.

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CLIFF NOTES VERSION
For those of you who wilted away reading this entirely drawn out column, and/or simply couldn’t bare to read through all the countless oversights, here is your cliff notes version.

As a reminder, all players either played the same position and were selected next at that same position, or were another position of need at the time that went reasonably close after the Bills made their selection.

(OT) Mike Williams…………………… (OT) Bryant McKinnie
(RB) Willis McGahee……………………(TE) Dallas Clark
(DE) Chris Kelsay………………………..  (DE Osi Umenyiora
(QB) J.P. Losman………………………….(QB) Matt Schaub
(WR) Roscoe Parrish……………………… (RB) Frank Gore
(OC) Duke Preston…………………………..(OL) Jason Brown
(S) Donte Whitner………………………….. (DT) Haloti Ngata
(DT) John McCargo…………………………(OC) Nick Mangold
(RB) Marshawn Lynch……………………..  (CB) Darrelle Revis
(LB) Paul Posluszny…………………………. (LB) David Harris
(CB) Leodis McKelvin………………………  (OT) Ryan Clady
(WR) James Hardy………………………….   (WR) DeSean Jackson

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17 Comments on The Real Biggest Reason The Bills Don’t Win

  1. Ben

    This is a pretty weak article. While the players you highlighted are certainly bad picks, your “analysis” of what you are calling bad decisions is pretty ridiculous. Hind sight is 20/20. Mike Williams for example was heralded as the top tackle on the draft board by every draft expert, every coach etc. NO ONE thought that was a bad pick. In retrospect it was a bust, but there was not a soul out there in NFL world that thought the Bills should have picked someone else. Sometimes busts can’t be avoided. McGahee was a terrible pick, particularly since Henry was playing well at the time. Osi Umenyora was a player that the Giants had some inside knowledge on since they have training camp in Albany, right next to Troy. Its easy to look back with the knowledge of how the players will turn out and say a pick was bad, but I guarantee you will see a similar trend with just about every team. I also think your analysis of the last couple drafts is way off base. The veteran free agent signings have been awful, a much bigger problem than the draft, where the team has brought in players like Evans, Lynch, McKelvin, Corner, Byrd, Wood, Poz etc over the last few years. The team has also done well bringing in undrafted free agents where they have found numerous diamonds in the rough. But to be successful you need to sign key veteran free agents. thats where the team has failed. Seems like Hangartner is the only half decent signing on that front of late

  2. Jan Reimers

    While hindsight is always 20/20, this is an interesting article. So often, the Bills draft a decent player, but not at a position of need. And it’s almost uncanny how, when the they do manage to draft the right position, they take the wrong guy (e.g., Williams over McKinney).

    Good job, Pat.

  3. Jim

    Remember, one of the reasons the Bills picked Williams over McKinnie was that there was talk that McKinnie had some character issues and might have some troubles in the NFL.

  4. K

    Ben, building your team with key veteran free agents works for baseball (See NY Yankees recent win, the jerks) But in football, you need to build your team through the draft or you risk setting yourself back MULTIPLE years. It’s an asinine argument to say that Pat is wrong for calling out the Williams pick because he was widely thought of as the best player at that position and then turn around and say that their free agent signings have been the problem. Dockery and Walker were the best players available at their position and they were busts as well. The author is not saying that you can’t miss, he’s merely, illustrating just how badly REPEATED misses in the draft can multiply your problems down the road. And unfortunately I think it will be a recurring problem here until the team collapses, moves, or gains new ownership.

  5. A

    Ben, the point of the article is that the Bills have had repeated misses on draft picks over the past several years which have continually set the franchise back. Every time the Bills have had a chance to get a player who can make a difference on the field, they have wiffed on the pick.

    If you look at the draft history of a franchise like the Colts or Steelers, you’ll see they consistently draft players who are able to contribute. The Bills need a change at the top, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

  6. Frank

    Ultimately The buck stops at Ralph’s desk. Let’s call a spade a spade . He’s is the top dog and must bare the brunt of the blame. The people he hired got you in this mess. Just as DJ didn’t deserve a contract extension, Ralph doesn’t deserve to be in the HoF. He got in the league as an investment. In any other business , failure to produce are a call for termination. In Ralph’s case , he rewards failure.
    Second on the list ,I blame the Bills fans themselves for settling for second rate. Buffalo as a whole has become a second rate city, so I guess it’s only logical they tolerate sub par performance.
    I used to think our Canadian friends sometimes acted inferior to Americans, but I see People in WNY have sunk to even lower levels. The cries abound that Edwards, Jauron, and every other Bills member “grow a set” . It’s a little odd that the fans don’t do the same and stand up to the old fart who keeps bitch slapping everyone one like a girl girl.
    Ralph is your problem . Start slapping back! Until then , don’t point the finger at anyone until you get it right. You all and Papa Wilson are your worst enemies!

  7. Jeff1220

    @Ben: lol. Troy University isn’t in Troy, NY. It’s in Troy, Alabama.

  8. Matt

    Troy is in Alabama, Guy….He is not talking about Troy, NY. COME ON MAN!

    Article is dead on.

    I agree that Williams was the right pick, no doubt. Williams/Reed were considered superstars in the making and most “experts” claimed the BIlls has an A+ draft.

    But the rest are dead on. Every other pick mentioned left fans scratching their heads and experts panning the picks.

    WHen whitner was picked I think Kiper’s jaw dropped.

  9. JP

    I was about to have a good weekend, thanks. Seriously though the Bills have some worst first round picks ever. because we weren’t taking top 5 picks all the time doesn’t magnify the problems like taking J. Russell or a T. Couch, but how awful are these picks. I think only Evans and McKelvin we top at their positions, Mike Williams was not thought to be the best LT, it was Mckinney, but he had attitude problems, so we took less risk with Williams (I think all Texas players are overrated btw) and allowed us begin a horrible spiral to the bottom of the NFL. I will also add a note which I feel is the biggest mistake Buffalo did was not resigning Pat Williams to an extension. in the draft you never know what you will get (JP 1st rounder or Tom Brady 6th), but we knew how great Pat was. the man continued to be a beast, he now holds down the best front line in the league for the past few years. he wasn’t asking for $100m like Haynesworth got, the man wanted at least $3m a year and our FO decided to move on. let’s hope our next GM and HC understands the concept of keeping players that add value to the organization and continue to draft positional needs rather than best player available (for the most part). I love my Bills but it’s hard to watch year after year and not understand how people who work in this industry have NO idea What The Duck they are doing. Ralph needs to go to Bill Polian’s house with a check for $25 million and ask for forgiveness.

  10. george

    i agree to an extent. EVERY team would change some early picks if possible. You cant say ‘this guy turned out better so they should have taken him’ hindsight is 20/20. so some of the picks cant be too highly critizised like taking lynch, mike williams, chris kelsay ect. They were wrong picks, but justifiable. But its the bills impatience & head scratcher picks that are so frustrating for fans. Dumb moves like trading UP to take losman, taking a saftey in the top 8 picks, taking mcgahee when we had a great back at the time ect. are what seperates the bills from teams that can at least compete.

  11. kbills05

    this is a real good article. i didn’t know we selected chris kelsay ahead of Osi. it just goes to show you that management is terrible along w/ the low bargain coach…i think this is the year everyone will be surprised and we will do a complete overhaul to the front office as well as coaching staff to get better players n’ better coaching in here…

  12. Matt

    One thing to point out….had we gotten some of the better early drafts, we might not have been in the running for some of the later draft picks. But we would have won some more games.

    So dont look at this list like we could have all of these players….but we could have some.

  13. Jesse Champagne

    It can be frustrating to look back at the draft picks that way for any team. That’s what the draft is all about, you never now. You’re right, some of those picks where flops and mistakes but that happens all the time. But here’s the deal with the Bills, the biggest problem in our demise. The O line. It’s the most important part (not position) of a football team. It makes a quarterback and running back look great. Keeps the D off the field, controls the momentum of a game, it’s everything. We HAVE NOT been successful in making this priority number 1. We’ve tried, but not hard enough. I thought when Marv came back he’d build the team around the O line and put together a great group. House Ballard, Kent Hull, Will Wolford, Jim Ritcher, Mitch Ferotte, etc. The most important part to those great years, our O line. I know it’s not easy to get together a group like that and I do realize we’ve tried. But I still don’t think we’ve picked/traded/acquired enough to address the most important part to a football team, THE BACKBONE, THE O LINE.

  14. Jesse Champagne

    It can be frustrating to look back at the draft picks that way for any team. That’s what the draft is all about, you never now. You’re right, some of those picks where flops and mistakes but that happens all the time. But here’s the deal with the Bills, the biggest problem in our demise. The O line. It’s the most important part (not position) of a football team. It makes a quarterback and running back look great. Keeps the D off the field, controls the momentum of a game, it’s everything. Of course we’ve had some injuries this year but overall I do not feel like we have been successful in making this a big enough priority over the years.

  15. Ryan

    None of the contemporary analysis of these drafts matters. It doesn’t matter what the experts think that year or if the guy is high on their draft board. All you can do is look back and reflect. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but there are front offices in the league who operate nearly bust-free in free agency and the draft.

    The clear point here is that the Bills are terrible in the personnel department. There are teams that hit on every draft pick, so much to the point of trading back out of coveted spots in exchange for picks. There are teams that are so well-run that you never hear of them making a big splash on draft day and their fans don’t really pay attention – they just know they will fill a need.

    And there’s the Bills. We all watch our draft. It’s like an auto race and every time the Bills pick is an imminent 10-car pileup. You know who the experts pick. You know who you’d like to see picked. And you know that the Bills will hit you with a 3rd option.

  16. Funkhouser

    If my grandmother had balls, she’d be my grandfather.

  17. The Real

    Good Job. Clearly, the draft problems have lead to where the bills are now. Sitting in a draft day every year is a miserable experience. Many forget that M. Williams played RIGHT TACKLE at Texas in front of left-handed QB Chris Simms. FO assumed it would translate to the other side in the pros. Poor Assumption. Evans was weak. Lynch looks weak.
    Don’t even start on Haloti. Whitner is a complete bum, but he’s a “character guy” so its ok. Constantly trading up in the draft is also a sign of minimal preparation. Bottem line: get somebody in your front office who knows how to evaluate talent Buffalo!

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