Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

[Gunzlingr]

According to Peter King's MMQB:

8. Buffalo. Surprise, surprise. All you western New Yorkers who kicked Tom Donahoe on his way out the door should remember the weekend of April 21-22, 2001: Nate Clements (80 games, 80 starts at corner), Aaron Schobel (75 starts as a DE), Travis Henry (3,749 rushing yards with the Bills) and Jonas Jennings (52 starts at tackle before leaving as a free agent for the Niners). Not bad.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/peter_king/06/19/mmqb/1.html

[OpIv37]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

1 out of 5 ain't bad.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Interesting.

I also look at where bill Polian got his O-linemen and that reinforces my opinion that you don't have to draft them early to get good ones. Diem and DeMulling on day 2 of the same draft...nice.

[ICE74129]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Interesting.

I also look at where bill Polian got his O-linemen and that reinforces my opinion that you don't have to draft them early to get good ones. Diem and DeMulling on day 2 of the same draft...nice.

Its not WHERE you pick them, its WHO is picking them that counts

[ParanoidAndroid]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

1 out of 5 ain't bad.

hold on a second Op. Wait until 2003 gets reviewed.
1. McGahee
2. Kelsay
3. Crowell
4. McGee

Donahoe's biggest weakness in all these drafts was that he didn't draft enough O-linemen, and when he did, most of them were horrid.

[Bling]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

LOL

[BillsFever21]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Some people let hate blind their reality of what is really going on.

They don't like Donahoe so they just automatically say he didn't bring in any good players and all of his drafts suck.

Donahoe had some good drafts here and also brought in some important FA's. He couldn't find the right coach and that was his downfall in Buffalo.

Most of these guys will sit here and talk about all the great talent we have on our team. Donahoe was the guy who brought these players in.

So make up your mind. If Donahoe didn't bring in any good players then how could we have all these great players some of you say we have? If Donahoe didn't bring in any good players then I guess these guys suck.

People just can't think for themselves. Donahoe had to gut this entire team and within a couple years he built the roster back up to be competitive and challenge for a playoff spot. He also found a good amount of talented players out of the draft. More then the majority of the teams in the NFL have over that 5 year span.

Had he been able to find a good coach this would've been a playoff team. He couldn't and that's where he failed. Give the guy credit for the players he brought in though. He did a good job in that area.

[The_Philster]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Agreed Feve...as far as bringing in talent, he did a good job. His coach-hiring and PR were the problems he had. I attribute that to fear. He was afraid to hire a strong coach because the last strong coach he worked with is still in Pittsburgh

[OpIv37]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Some people let hate blind their reality of what is really going on.

They don't like Donahoe so they just automatically say he didn't bring in any good players and all of his drafts suck.

Donahoe had some good drafts here and also brought in some important FA's. He couldn't find the right coach and that was his downfall in Buffalo.

Most of these guys will sit here and talk about all the great talent we have on our team. Donahoe was the guy who brought these players in.

So make up your mind. If Donahoe didn't bring in any good players then how could we have all these great players some of you say we have? If Donahoe didn't bring in any good players then I guess these guys suck.

People just can't think for themselves. Donahoe had to gut this entire team and within a couple years he built the roster back up to be competitive and challenge for a playoff spot. He also found a good amount of talented players out of the draft. More then the majority of the teams in the NFL have over that 5 year span.

Had he been able to find a good coach this would've been a playoff team. He couldn't and that's where he failed. Give the guy credit for the players he brought in though. He did a good job in that area.

Question: If Donahoe brought in so much talent, where the hell is it now? He had the last five drafts. It was pretty clear that this team lacked talent last year, particularly on the DL and the OL. Now Marv has to find a whole bunch of young guys to fill holes and we may end up with 4 rookies starting on D at some point this season.

Donahoe had his moments in the draft, but overall his drafting was pretty bad.

[DynaPaul]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

He brought in good players at the skill positions and had a knack for marketing. I don't think anyone doubts those strengths.

BUT he never properly addressed the needs of our lines, the foundations upon which any great NFL team is built. He had a penchant for hiring coaches who served as his lackeys rather than independent people who had full control over the players they were given (a problem he had with Cowher in Pittsburgh). He also had a really huge ego and a lack of respect for the fans which was evident toward the end of his tenure.

To me those negatives outweighed the positives. Look, as a GM he is supposed to get good players in here. That's what he's paid to do. But part of that is addressing ALL of the needs of the team including the lines and no, hiring some scrubs and cast offs from other teams isn't what I'd consider addressing the problem. Also, it is never acceptable to belittle the fans. We are the ones paying good money for the merchandise and game tickets. To tell us to not "bother wasting the postage", ordering security to confiscate signs, and just overall being a pretentious dick-head aren't going to go over well with fans in ANY city.

I don't see why we need to ruminate on the positives of Donahoe's reign and conveniently forget the reasons why he got fired in the first place.

[Stewie]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Its not WHERE you pick them, its WHO is picking them that counts

Waaait just a second. This whole offseason you've been *****ing that they picked whitner too high. Now it's not where you pick them?

What will it be in another month?

[John Doe]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Donohue's downfall was his spectacular blunders. He did have some nice drafts, 2003 in particular.

[G. Host]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

Bills drafting problems have to do with coaches not using the good players Donahoe did draft well.

[RockStar36]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

He had a few good draft picks, but I wouldn't say he every really had a great draft. He had an eye for talent but lacked in picking players that would effectively build a solid team.

I also think that when it came to free agency he went after big names to sell tickets.

[The_Philster]

Re: Bills get B- in 2001 draft.

He had a few good draft picks, but I wouldn't say he every really had a great draft. He had an eye for talent but lacked in picking players that would effectively build a solid team.

I also think that when it came to free agency he went after big names to sell tickets.

2001 was pretty good...2002 was awful