Tim Graham on Modrak's draft record

[Saratoga Slim]

Mods, please delete if already posted, but thought the following had some interesting stats.....

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/28199/bills-draft-record-not-as-bad-as-you-think

[Buffalo Thriller]

We still need to draft better..

[Philagape]

That piece is a pretty ridiculous exercise.

Pro Bowlers? Who cares? Besides, two of them are RBs and both are gone.

High-round starters? It's having them as starters that have led to a decade in the toilet.

Low-round starters? They have to start because so many guys taken ahead of them sucked.

"Bills draft record not as bad as you think"?
Have the Bills made the playoffs?
Then yes, it's as bad as I think.

[Ebenezer]

Tim Graham gets paid to write that?

[paranoid]

They've "missed some"?

Even if they occassionally find some talent in the mid to late rounds, their disastrous record of round one picks are unacceptable and inexcusable, despite this rationalizing puff piece written by Graham. Modrak continues to downplay the baffling decision-making he has overseen for the past decade. They can't hit on a number one pick if their lives depend on it, and never will as long as Modrack is there. Outrageous that Graham seeks to defend this front office.

Bizarre.

[nolimit]

pretty sure we drafted mike williams 4th overall not 5th

[Buddo]

They've "missed some"?

Even if they occassionally find some talent in the mid to late rounds, their disastrous record of round one picks are unacceptable and inexcusable, despite this rationalizing puff piece written by Graham. Modrak continues to downplay the baffling decision-making he has overseen for the past decade. They can't hit on a number one pick if their lives depend on it, and never will as long as Modrack is there. Outrageous that Graham seeks to defend this front office.

Bizarre.

Therein almost certainly lies the problem. Modrak hasn't 'overseen' anything, in that he hasn't made the pick.
If Modrak had made all of those picks himself, then undoubtedly he should no longer be anywhere near the Bills. The simple fact is, that he hasn't had the call on them.

[trapezeus]

Modrak's actual involvement in the bills decisions is like debating religion. No one knows, everyone acts like they do, and at the end of the debate, we still don't know what he does.

Even if he isn't making the decisions that's not a good sign. 10 years and the bills still employ him for mega bucks and decide not to use his information? Something is up with him skills and he needs to go.

[Bill Cody]

Modrak must have pics of Ralph with a horse or something. How else can you explain him still being employed here?:wtf:

[Jan Reimers]

[QUOTE=trapezeus]Modrak's actual involvement in the bills decisions is like debating religion. No one knows, everyone acts like they do, and at the end of the debate, we still don't know what he does.
I agree with this part of your post, trap.

No one knows how many of the decisions on draft day were his, and how many were Donahoe's, Williams', Mularkey's, Levy's, Jauron's, Brandon's or Gailey/Nix's over the years.

Does anyone imagine that the head of college scouting has decision-making power over the GM and Head Coach?

I'm not necessarily defending him, but he was highly thought of with both the Steelers and Eagles. It could be that his bosses in Buffalo have at least helped make him look bad.

We just don't know how the draft decisions have been made.

[Ebenezer]

Does anyone imagine that the head of college scouting has decision-making power over the GM and Head Coach?

I'm not necessarily defending him, but he was highly thought of with both the Steelers and Eagles. It could be that his bosses in Buffalo have at least helped make him look bad.

We just don't know how the draft decisions have been made.

Would you hang around for 11 years if you had that little power and the team kept crapping on your opinion? Only Darcy Regier would do that.

[OpIv37]

I'm not necessarily defending him, but he was highly thought of with both the Steelers and Eagles. It could be that his bosses in Buffalo have at least helped make him look bad.

We just don't know how the draft decisions have been made.

Which is exactly why Modrak should have been fired.

Either he's responsible for the bad draft picks, in which case he's incompetent.

Or, he's not responsible for the bad draft picks, in which case management didn't listen to him and he's irrelevant.

The Bills have been pretty good at finding talent in the later rounds and finding UDFA's, but no amount of late round success can make up for consistent whiffs at the top of the draft.

[Jan Reimers]

Would you hang around for 11 years if you had that little power and the team kept crapping on your opinion?
Yeah, if I got paid big bucks by the Bills, and got to live in Jacksonville, I would.

[EDS]

This article is just noise. Bottom line is the Bills lack talent across the board. The lack of talent can be blamed in large part on the inability of the team to identify and draft quality players.

This is a make or break off-season for the Bills. They absolutely have to get some production out of the 2010 and 2011 draftees if they are going to improve as a team. Critical areas they will need to see production from include linebacker, defensive line and offensive line.

[stuckincincy]

Yeah, if I got paid big bucks by the Bills, and got to live in Jacksonville, I would.

I'd jump on it!

:bandwagon

[justasportsfan]

Modrak was close to Donahoe. If Ralph could fire Donahoe, he could have fired Modrak as well if he made the decisions.

We can all speculate as to who made the decisions but until anyone has concrete evidence that Modrak made the final decisions as to who to draft, we just have to believe what Ralph has said himself, that Modrak wasn't the guy. Add that and the fact that Modrak is still NIx's top guy in the scouting dept. then any speculation from us is just a guess.

[bf1]

I love the prefaces in the article:

Despite some high profile misses...
The Bills are not the Patriots...

They are using starts as an indicator of the success when guys like Kelsay are on the field.

This piece is laughable.

I have to say though, one challenge Modrak has is having to constantly replace players that go because cheap Ralph doesn't want to "overpay" anyone good.

[Extremebillsfan247]

I don't know of any scout that over rules the room and makes the final selections on draft day. He can offer up advice, have data at the ready if needed about a certain prospect that he and his lower level counterparts gather over the course of the scouting process. But at the end of the day it usually comes down to 3 individuals, the HC, the GM, and the Owner who can over rule everyone. Ralph Wilson, not unlike Al Davis, has been known to meddle in the Bills drafting process. That has been a constant on this team long before Modrak was even in the picture. JMO

[trapezeus]

i get that its possible that modrak gets over rided on decisions. but why would you stay if you are a highly respected scout like modrak. And you know you watch the list you put together get passed on every year for 11 years?

Other teams have to know you are good. so why not leave for a better gig?

it doesn't add up in my mind that he isn't partly to blame.

and of course our later round players look good. Our first and second roudnerse are terrible and can't start or look like late round picks. we have to play someone.

Ralph made this bed by firing not just polian but then butler and watch the entire scouting team leave for a town that now is perrenially in the playoffs. The colts and chargers got infinitely better when they got our guys.

There aren't a lot of gifted scouts that can consistently nail the draft. WE had them, and ralph let them go because of pride and ego. And they don't even try to find a better fix.

[justasportsfan]

i get that its possible that modrak gets over rided on decisions. but why would you stay if you are a highly respected scout like modrak. And you know you watch the list you put together get passed on every year for 11 years?

Other teams have to know you are good. so why not leave for a better gig?

it doesn't add up in my mind that he isn't partly to blame.

and of course our later round players look good. Our first and second roudnerse are terrible and can't start or look like late round picks. we have to play someone.

Ralph made this bed by firing not just polian but then butler and watch the entire scouting team leave for a town that now is perrenially in the playoffs. The colts and chargers got infinitely better when they got our guys.

There aren't a lot of gifted scouts that can consistently nail the draft. WE had them, and ralph let them go because of pride and ego. And they don't even try to find a better fix.

Maybe because Modrak doesn't want to be a GM? Remember that prior to 2010, Modrak was only working part time and from his home.

[Extremebillsfan247]

i get that its possible that modrak gets over rided on decisions. but why would you stay if you are a highly respected scout like modrak. And you know you watch the list you put together get passed on every year for 11 years?

Other teams have to know you are good. so why not leave for a better gig?

it doesn't add up in my mind that he isn't partly to blame.

and of course our later round players look good. Our first and second roudnerse are terrible and can't start or look like late round picks. we have to play someone.

Ralph made this bed by firing not just polian but then butler and watch the entire scouting team leave for a town that now is perrenially in the playoffs. The colts and chargers got infinitely better when they got our guys.

There aren't a lot of gifted scouts that can consistently nail the draft. WE had them, and ralph let them go because of pride and ego. And they don't even try to find a better fix.
Maybe for a lot of the same reasons that long time Bills fans are tired of watching this team lose year after year, but wont leave to become a fan of another team. They still come back for more knowing what the likely outcome will be. It could be seen as gluttony for punishment, resilience, a certain sense of pride usually found in the older generations that you rarely see anymore, but I'm sure there is one.

[EDS]

i get that its possible that modrak gets over rided on decisions. but why would you stay if you are a highly respected scout like modrak. And you know you watch the list you put together get passed on every year for 11 years?

Other teams have to know you are good. so why not leave for a better gig?

it doesn't add up in my mind that he isn't partly to blame.

and of course our later round players look good. Our first and second roudnerse are terrible and can't start or look like late round picks. we have to play someone.

Ralph made this bed by firing not just polian but then butler and watch the entire scouting team leave for a town that now is perrenially in the playoffs. The colts and chargers got infinitely better when they got our guys.

There aren't a lot of gifted scouts that can consistently nail the draft. WE had them, and ralph let them go because of pride and ego. And they don't even try to find a better fix.

I am sure the Bills pay at the top of the market . . .

[djjimkelly]

Modrak has been a constant since 2002, but there have been many voices in the Bills' draft room in that period, from Donahoe to GM Marv Levy to chief operating officer Russ Brandon to the various opinionated head coaches who lobbied for prospects they hotly desired.


lol various opinionated HC

why is dick jauron so bullet proof that no one will call him the turd that he is

[EDS]

Modrak has been a constant since 2002, but there have been many voices in the Bills' draft room in that period, from Donahoe to GM Marv Levy to chief operating officer Russ Brandon to the various opinionated head coaches who lobbied for prospects they hotly desired.


lol various opinionated HC

why is dick jauron so bullet proof that no one will call him the turd that he is

Everyone involved with the Bills front office and coaching staff for the past decade is fair game for criticism.

[trapezeus]

i get the responses people made to my last post... all i'm saying is if it's my job, and i put in the work to get over rode on all my decisions, i've probably lost my fire for the gig if i don't go looking elsewhere for a better offer.

it's also possibel that years floundering on the bills has caused his stock to drop a lot and that he'd be close to unhirable anywhere else.

and in the other scenario, he's making decisions that are influential and he faces no ill effects by getting things wrong....somewhat consistently.

i flip on the Modrak thing all the time. but the more i think about it, the more i think i'm done with it. last year's draft isn't looking like an A+ draft. and with the number of F's we've had, we desperately need an A+ draft, and this would be as good a time as any to do it.

if i was a betting man and had to put money on the bills getting this critical draft right, i wouldn't do it.