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I talked about some of this on my show last night. So, for Demon who asked, and anyone else who didn't listen, here is some "newer" info that hadn't been reported about the situation.
I'm pissed at myself, by the way. I knew their might be a change with Modrak, because I got this info BEFORE the draft. But I didn't run with it because I wasn't totally sure of where it would lead. And as I've always said, I'd rather miss being the guy breaking a story than the guy who breaks one that doesn't actually happen.
I was NOT told that Modrak was going to be fired. So, if I had speculated that it was going to happen, it would have put me in a very dangerous spot. But, as it turned out, it would have been right. So, that's the way it goes sometimes.
Bottom line is, this is MORE info I got from the same sources regarding the situation. And now that we know what happened to Modrak, I know the rest of the info is very solid, too.
Here it is:
On Modrak:
--His role had been diminished since the Nix/Gailey regime started. He was feeling very defeated the last year or so and feeling "like an outsider" mainly because he was being used more as an "information gatherer" and nothing more. He had basically no say in what direction the team would go in the draft -- unlike previous years where he had an influential voice, but not the final say. Modrak was feeling "defeated" and although I'm sure he didn't WANT to be fired, my personal feeling is that he was probably not shocked by it and may have even felt relieved by it in some ways. He can move on.
--Wanted the Bills to focus more on interior defensive help and help against the run from the edges, as opposed to focusing as much on DBs and/or front 7 guys who are more more pass rushers than run defenders. This didn't mean Nix and Co. didn't want these kinds of guys, it's just the statement of what Modrak wanted in the draft. But judging by the fact that 2 DBs were drafted within the first 4 picks (Williams and Searcy), it appears as though Nix definitely had a different plan.
--Modrak was hoping for and trying to get Wannstedt to buy into his thinking about all of this (above). He wasn't successful. Wanny didn't speak up to support these ideas. This doesn't mean he didn't agree. He may have, he may not have. But Wanny wasn't being as vocal as Modrak wanted him to be in this philosophy. The was the info is relayed to me I actually think Wanny may have agreed with Modrak, but just doesn't want to make waves his first year in the organization trying to work with a new regime. He probably just wants to sit back and do his job and coach who he has, even though he may have wanted to personally draft in the same direction as Modrak.
Bills draft board/draft thoughts:
Obviously this info is late, but I'm just putting it out there to give some insight into how/what they were thinking leading up to the draft:
--Lots of differences in the organization regarding 2 things:
1. Whether or not to draft a QB early (first 2 rounds). If Newton was there, he would have been seriously considered, but not a lock. If Dareus had not been there, Gabbert would have been seriously considered, but not a lock. There was a lot of thoughts that the gap between those guys, compared to the next 5-6 QBs on the list, was not that great. Collectively, most felt most of those QBs COULD be 8-10 year NFL starters, but there was no "sure thing" among any of them, which is where the difference comes in over whether or not to grab one early or pass altogether (which is obviously what they did).
2. Shawn Merriman's potential to return to form. Some feel he will be very good again, some feel he isn't going to contribute as much as hoped and will not regain form.
--Team felt as good about Von Miller's ability to play the run as they did about his pass rushing abilities. Had he been the pick, they were very confident in what he could do in both areas.
--Surprisingly to me, Nick Fairly was very well thought of by almost anyone with a say in the organization. They loved him. He was high on their overall board. BUT he was most likely never a real option to draft because they already have Kyle Williams. Someone in the organization loved him so much they even joked about still drafting him and moving him to ILB.
--Also very surprising to me, the team had a lot of internal discussion about moving back into the 1st round to grab an OT if certain OTs were there (not sure who those would be), or using #34 on an OT. Now that the draft is over, I'd like to know if they actually tried to make a deal to do this. Maybe they wanted Solder or Costanzo?! I'm not sure, but someone, or more than one OT, was very high on their board and their wish list. This should be a bit alarming to us as fans that they may have some serious concerns about the OT spot.
That's what I got. Hope it helps fill in some blanks. Certainly a lot to discuss here.
I'm pissed at myself, by the way. I knew their might be a change with Modrak, because I got this info BEFORE the draft. But I didn't run with it because I wasn't totally sure of where it would lead. And as I've always said, I'd rather miss being the guy breaking a story than the guy who breaks one that doesn't actually happen.
I was NOT told that Modrak was going to be fired. So, if I had speculated that it was going to happen, it would have put me in a very dangerous spot. But, as it turned out, it would have been right. So, that's the way it goes sometimes.
Bottom line is, this is MORE info I got from the same sources regarding the situation. And now that we know what happened to Modrak, I know the rest of the info is very solid, too.
Here it is:
On Modrak:
--His role had been diminished since the Nix/Gailey regime started. He was feeling very defeated the last year or so and feeling "like an outsider" mainly because he was being used more as an "information gatherer" and nothing more. He had basically no say in what direction the team would go in the draft -- unlike previous years where he had an influential voice, but not the final say. Modrak was feeling "defeated" and although I'm sure he didn't WANT to be fired, my personal feeling is that he was probably not shocked by it and may have even felt relieved by it in some ways. He can move on.
--Wanted the Bills to focus more on interior defensive help and help against the run from the edges, as opposed to focusing as much on DBs and/or front 7 guys who are more more pass rushers than run defenders. This didn't mean Nix and Co. didn't want these kinds of guys, it's just the statement of what Modrak wanted in the draft. But judging by the fact that 2 DBs were drafted within the first 4 picks (Williams and Searcy), it appears as though Nix definitely had a different plan.
--Modrak was hoping for and trying to get Wannstedt to buy into his thinking about all of this (above). He wasn't successful. Wanny didn't speak up to support these ideas. This doesn't mean he didn't agree. He may have, he may not have. But Wanny wasn't being as vocal as Modrak wanted him to be in this philosophy. The was the info is relayed to me I actually think Wanny may have agreed with Modrak, but just doesn't want to make waves his first year in the organization trying to work with a new regime. He probably just wants to sit back and do his job and coach who he has, even though he may have wanted to personally draft in the same direction as Modrak.
Bills draft board/draft thoughts:
Obviously this info is late, but I'm just putting it out there to give some insight into how/what they were thinking leading up to the draft:
--Lots of differences in the organization regarding 2 things:
1. Whether or not to draft a QB early (first 2 rounds). If Newton was there, he would have been seriously considered, but not a lock. If Dareus had not been there, Gabbert would have been seriously considered, but not a lock. There was a lot of thoughts that the gap between those guys, compared to the next 5-6 QBs on the list, was not that great. Collectively, most felt most of those QBs COULD be 8-10 year NFL starters, but there was no "sure thing" among any of them, which is where the difference comes in over whether or not to grab one early or pass altogether (which is obviously what they did).
2. Shawn Merriman's potential to return to form. Some feel he will be very good again, some feel he isn't going to contribute as much as hoped and will not regain form.
--Team felt as good about Von Miller's ability to play the run as they did about his pass rushing abilities. Had he been the pick, they were very confident in what he could do in both areas.
--Surprisingly to me, Nick Fairly was very well thought of by almost anyone with a say in the organization. They loved him. He was high on their overall board. BUT he was most likely never a real option to draft because they already have Kyle Williams. Someone in the organization loved him so much they even joked about still drafting him and moving him to ILB.
--Also very surprising to me, the team had a lot of internal discussion about moving back into the 1st round to grab an OT if certain OTs were there (not sure who those would be), or using #34 on an OT. Now that the draft is over, I'd like to know if they actually tried to make a deal to do this. Maybe they wanted Solder or Costanzo?! I'm not sure, but someone, or more than one OT, was very high on their board and their wish list. This should be a bit alarming to us as fans that they may have some serious concerns about the OT spot.
That's what I got. Hope it helps fill in some blanks. Certainly a lot to discuss here.
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