Disturbing Column: "The Real Biggest Reason The Bills Don't Win"

[patmoran2006]

This is WITHOUT question one of the most disturbing things I've ever written. As I uncovered some facts from research, I honestly felt my stomach turning.

Incredible this many mi****s could happen.

LINK (http://www.buffalosportsdaily.com/2009/11/the-real-biggest-reason-the-bills-dont-win/)

[justasportsfan]

Coaching has been our biggest problem more than anything else.

[patmoran2006]

I disagree.

Coaching is bad, but some of the obvious and not so obvious mistakes we've made every April has left us a roster not even close to what it could be.

[ddaryl]

It's hard to say if it is purely drafting or the organization more as a whole.

Yes their were obvious bad moves, but who is to say if we drafted a few of the players that turned out to be better pros they would have succeeded here in Buffalo under this organization or just get swept up in the whirlwind of suck that is being generated from the owner on down....


but I agree the entire house does need to be cleaned top to bottom... and it all begins with Ralph. The sad part is we don;t know if the Bills will continue to exist without Ralph

so yes it is very depressing

[patmoran2006]

When you draft Duke Preston and Jason Brown is picked two spots later at the same spot.

WHen you draft Chris Kelsay and Osi Umenyiora is picked right after as the very next DE.

It means you can't draft for ****.

[ddaryl]

When you draft Duke Preston and Jason Brown is picked two spots later at the same spot.

WHen you draft Chris Kelsay and Osi Umenyiora is picked right after as the very next DE.

It means you can't draft for ****.


what I am saying is we were to draft Osi Umenyiora or Jason Brown that they would both end up sucking here in Buffalo because we would coach them into craptopia, and surround them with craptacular FA's etc...

the problem is festering all the way down and into the product on the field in more ways then just drafting...

I think a few players we did pick that didn't or haven't done well in Buffalo might have turned out to be much better players had they been drafted by another team.


but of course our drafting has been highly suspect.. Everyone here knows this already and we've had numerous discussions about it.

[justasportsfan]

I disagree.

Coaching is bad, but some of the obvious and not so obvious mistakes we've made every April has left us a roster not even close to what it could be.

why is it that BB and Josh Mcdaniels can grab a qb who wasn't drafted as high as Cuttler and make it work? You can argue that Orton is even doing better than Cuttler.

The broncos are ranked 11th in rushing with a rookie leading the way.

the broncos were ranked 29 last year defensively under Shanahan and are now ranked no.1.

I refuse to believe that we drafted nothing but scrubs thoughout the years. We just had coaches who don't know what to do with the talent we have.

[k-oneputt]

When you draft Mike Williams at #4 and B. McKinnie is drafted three spots later......well you get the idea.

[k-oneputt]

When you draft Whitner at #8 and Ngata goes a couple of picks later......well you get the idea.

[Jan Reimers]

Seems like we seldom draft at our biggest positions of need, even when there are good players available. And when we do draft the right position, we take the wrong player.

Hindsight is alway 20/20, but the Bills seem to miss more than most teams.

[mchurchfie]

I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment. I've been saying all along that Modrak has been the common denominator in this LONG string of failure.

[mchurchfie]

Good breakdown Pat.:up:

[JoeSelkirk]

Ooh, hey look, a coulda woulda shoulda thread...

I'll insert the obligatory "If my aunt had testicles, she'd be my uncle"

Pat, you're usually very inciteful, but you're reaching for a story here...
and you didn't even mention Eric Flowers... that one's awesome!

[Patrick76777]

That's my buddy Tony in your picture.

[Philagape]

"Hindsight is 20/20" is the standard retort to ideas like this, but the other teams that drafted those players the Bills missed out on had the foresight to draft them. The draft is about which teams have the best foresight. The teams with the best foresight win more. So I demand foresight. The draft results prove the Bills don't have it.

[Typ0]

Teams that draft based on their perceived needs are going to have poorer teams than ones who take the best players. It might look like you are filling that need but over time what's going to happen is your going to end up with lesser players accross the board. Hence we have the Bills.

I disagree with the article. Ralph Wilson is at the heart of this organizations philosophy, decision making, attitude and culture. He's driving the bus that keeps hitting a wall. He's the one that's responsible. It might take a couple more years but we'll get no where until we start drafing the guys we think are studs and ignoring what position we need to fill. We might as well just get rid of the entire scouting department of this organization and Wilson can pick the best player at whatever position he thinks we need most from ESPNs draft rankings. But he won't do that because grabbing up the duds keeps the roster changing and the salaries lower so it's all about marketing and cost control. HMMMMMM.....sound familiar?

[bigbub2352]

I will keep saying this over and over again, roster mismangement, not developing the depth on the practice squad,
Horrible drafting, Horrible scouting, and horrible Free Agents by our bargain dollar store front office has plagued the bills since 2001
throw in horrible coaching and a horrible scheme
recipe for disaster

I throw up everytime i think of the 2006 draft whitner bust and mccargo bust instead of mangold and Ngata
ELCH!
oh by the way i think Duke Preston was a 5th round pick

[bigbub2352]

Ooh, hey look, a coulda woulda shoulda thread...

I'll insert the obligatory "If my aunt had testicles, she'd be my uncle"

Pat, you're usually very inciteful, but you're reaching for a story here...
and you didn't even mention Eric Flowers... that one's awesome!
erick Flowers was from a diffenrent GM Butler on his way out made that horrible pick

[patmoran2006]

Ooh, hey look, a coulda woulda shoulda thread...

I'll insert the obligatory "If my aunt had testicles, she'd be my uncle"

Pat, you're usually very inciteful, but you're reaching for a story here...
and you didn't even mention Eric Flowers... that one's awesome!

Thanks for the props (on an overall basis)

And no disrespect, but I cant stand the Woulda, coulda, shoulda retorts. My man-- ALL teams miss on players, but the poor teams miss on them MORE.

ANd I did say this in the column.



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.


Name me a star on this team, other than arguably Evans that's been drafted in that 2002-08 period?

You have to hit on more than one "star" in a seven year span man..

[TacklingDummy]

Quarterback play is the main reason the Bills don't win consistently. It's really that simple.

[Ickybaluky]

I don't think it is any one thing.

However, the article made me think of this Bill Belichick quote, from an interview with Jason Cole, talking about a theory of Jimmy Johnson's:


Cole: Jimmy Johnson once said, if you don’t take too many risks, you can win nine or 10 games a year.

Belichick: Jimmy probably said the same thing to you that he once said to me: “You’re really only competing with about 10 teams a year. If you just say out of the way, the other 20 teams will screw it up themselves. Whether it’s ownership or personnel or coaching or some combination of factors.” Ego, internal struggle, something will happen to two-thirds of the teams, that was Jimmy’s theory. That leaves you with about 10 teams that you’re going to have to really battle with. Those teams have it together. They’re going to make good decisions and if you play bad football, they’re going to take advantage of it. They’re going to find some undrafted guy or some middle-round pick or some veteran free agent who is going to spark their team. Pittsburgh is always going to be there. Indianapolis is always going to be there. They may not win it, but they’ll be there. You’re going to have to beat them. Philadelphia is going to be there. Yeah, [quarterback Donovan] McNabb might get hurt one year and they might go 7-9, but they’re going to be there. You’re still battling them on every front.

And this:


Cole: Why are there so many bad teams around the league this year?

Belichick: Here’s the only thing I’ll say: I think to have a really good team in this league, you have to make a lot, a lot of good decisions. You have to have a lot of good people, players, coaches, whatever. You need a lot of those. Conversely, to not be competitive, you would have to have a lot of bad decisions. One bad decision is not going to do it, one bad player is not going to do it, one bad coach is not going to do it. You’re going to have to collectively, over a cumulative period of time, make a long series of bad decisions and accumulate a lot of players who are substandard for their position. There have to be a multitude of things that go wrong.

Cole: Because you can keep yourself average for a long time?

Belichick: That’s the system. If you don’t have good players, you have money to spend on players. If you have a bunch of good players, you eventually run out of money and you can’t keep them all and somebody else gets them. That’s the system, it keeps everybody average. We’ve seen teams be really good just on coaching. We’ve seen teams be competitive with just a few good players.

[NorthCarBills]

Quarterback play is the main reason the Bills don't win consistently. It's really that simple.

For the most part I agree..there's been no real sense of confidence since the Bledsoe era, and even in the honeymoon stage of that experiement there were naysayers. Then came Mike Williams to block his blind side, and the story just got better and better.

That being said I also agree with the other poster who discussed Ngata. Not bringing that up not as a coulda/shoulda, but pointing it out as a major mistake that cost us in a huge way. I think most Bills fans watching during that draft had the card turned in when he was sitting there. Seemed to be an obvious choice, at least to me.

[billsburgh]

The thing about Modrak is he was pretty well regarded as a talent evaluator when he came here to work with Donahoe. He was given credit for doing a good job when he was with Pittsburgh and then with building up Philadelphia when he was there. What happened to him after he got to Buffalo?

[sdbillsfan2]

We could have drafted the best players out there and this team would still find a way to let them go elsewhere after 2 years because they won't pay them or they'll just squander the talent with poor coaching and leadership. Who honestly believes we're getting the full talent from the guys already no the roster ? Not me!

Playing it safe and cheap don't cut it !

[starrymessenger]

Good article, but, not being insiders, neither we, nor the author, can say who is principally to blame (though certainly there is enough to go around).
Nobody gets it right all the time, but there can be little doubt that good teams generally draft well and poor teams generally and consistently draft poorly. On the other hand teams that draft poorly probably also do lots of other stupid things that keep them from improving.

[airdog32]

This is WITHOUT question one of the most disturbing things I've ever written. As I uncovered some facts from research, I honestly felt my stomach turning.

Incredible this many mi****s could happen.

LINK (http://www.buffalosportsdaily.com/2009/11/the-real-biggest-reason-the-bills-dont-win/)
Pat this article is scary true, but you know that all this talent in BLO would have been busts!!!!! The elite teams in this league continue in success becuase of consisitency on draft day, Pitt for example only builds there team through the draft when was the last time they signed a high ticket FA??? Pats are simmilar too! They give there young talent time to grow and learn the scheme, It seems we draft and expect contributuions from day 1!!!! I believe if we have a GM who belivies along these lines we would be more successfull, and we also let alot of talent go just as they are coming into there own! Overall this franshise needs to be pressure washed so we can expose the real truth!!!!

[YardRat]

No offense, but this isn't exactly ground-breaking news. Also, even though the draft is always a risk it isn't exactly rocket science.

Go back through the draft threads on this board...there are posters here who would have done a much better job picking talent.

[unpaid_bills]

This is WITHOUT question one of the most disturbing things I've ever written. As I uncovered some facts from research, I honestly felt my stomach turning.

Incredible this many mi****s could happen

LINK (http://www.buffalosportsdaily.com/2009/11/the-real-biggest-reason-the-bills-dont-win/)

Pat nice poiints on the Draft choices they have obviously not worked out. Its easy to say years after the player has been in the league aoond performed to say they should have taken this player over this one, etc.. In my book its not just the Draft but bottom line I totally agree with what you are saying the DRAFT is a HUGE reason we are in this hole but its not the only reason it just compounds the problem - bottom line you can put them in any order you wish

1 Poor Draft selections - players have not lived up to their billing, FO and Coaching, Player Personnel have not done a good job evaluating talent and our needs

2 Poor/inexperienced NFL coaching top to bottom not just Jauron

3 Ownership - Ralph has not spent money wisely, ultiimately he owns the team so needs to take alot of the blame

4 Players have not performed, lack of big plays, the list goes on

5 Free Agent signings - if you cant hit homeruns in the Draft your FA signings must be spot on we have hit neither

[Syderick]

The Flutie Curse!

[MassEffect218435]

When you draft Duke Preston and Jason Brown is picked two spots later at the same spot.

WHen you draft Chris Kelsay and Osi Umenyiora is picked right after as the very next DE.

It means you can't draft for ****.It wouldn't have mattered. Buffalo lacks the brains to develop young talent. It's a place you go to become a draft bust or if you're an FA it's where you go to die.

[kscdogbillsfan1221]

Very good article. I think the only issue i have is the 'we should have drafted frank gore' thought process. That would have been silly @ the time because McGahee had a very good 2004 season and we did not need a RB then.

[Tiburon1724]

If we drafted Scahub, Rivers, Cutler....their careers would probably be over too. Buffalo has become a career-ending destination due to inadequate coaching across the board :(

[Michael82]

I usually like your articles pat, but these kind of what ifs annoy me. What if we drafted Jay Cutler? He may have been a bust here. What if we drafted Ngata for DT? Well...seeing how our DEs are mediocre...he might have been average. What if we drafted Bryant McKinnie instead of Mike Williams? ::: I'm sorry, but I don't see a stud OT there and think that he would have struggled here too. I've seen too many times where good players are drafted onto bad teams and they don't do ****. Who's to say that Dick Jauron would have gotten any of these guys playing good football? :ill:

[Michael82]

If we drafted Scahub, Rivers, Cutler....their careers would probably be over too. Buffalo has become a career-ending destination due to inadequate coaching across the board :(
EXACTLY!

[TacklingDummy]

If we drafted Scahub, Rivers, Cutler....their careers would probably be over too. Buffalo has become a career-ending destination due to inadequate coaching across the board :(
What did Bledsoe, Johnson, Losman, Flutie, do after Buffalo?

Your argument would be valid if they went on to be something after Buffalo.