On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

[venis2k1]

There has been alot of complaining amongst bills fans recently(ok, maybe more than recently) about not retaining their talent. We bring em in, coach em up and let them go. Thats what we do right? Its no secret that OBD has done a terribel job in most aspects over the last 10 years, and I realize every case is different(Peters was a malcontent, Lynch was a thug, Fletcher couldnt tackle within 5 yards of the line of scrimage(right? right?) So, with that in mind, I decided to take a look at the guys we moved on from that had success in another city. And of course, I decided to use Pro Bowls as the measuring stick(The most useful stat of all). Without further adu, A decade of escapees...

Pat Williams Pro Bowl (06, 07, 08) All Pro (07)

We let Pat walk without even offering him a contract. Not because we thought he would ask too much, but because he didnt have much left in the tank. A fan favorite, Williams loved his time here.

Jason Peters Pro Bowl (10, 11) All Pro (10, 11)

I dont have to say much about Peters, Wanted to get paid...we didnt want to pay him...this is shortly after signing Dockery and Walker to big money deals...at least we got decent compensation for him

Richie Incognito Pro Bowl (12)

Here is a name I bet you didnt expect to see, we cut Incognito when Gailey took over. Nobody really complained. "Cog" did make the probowl last year over Levitre...for what its worth(not very much i admit)

Marshawn Lynch Pro Bowl (11, 12) All Pro (12)

We were Robbed!!!

Donte Whitner Pro Bowl (12)

I still dont miss him.

Warewolves of London Fletcher Pro Bowl (09,10,11,12) All Pro (11, 12)

Might be the biggest blunder of the bunch. Alot like Fat Pat, most here assumed he was close to washed up after the 06 season. We were wrong...dead wrong.

Willis McGahee Pro Bowl (07, 11)

Another running back. The guy was a Richard...does anybody really miss him?

Antoine Winfield Pro Bowl (08, 09, 10) All Pro (08)

I honestly dont remember why we let Winfield walk, Money i guess. Worried about keeping Clements perhaps. Who, interestingly does not appear on this list (How many Corners have we drafted since 04 trying to replace Winfield?)

Jon Dorenbos Pro Bowl (09)

Its a long snapper....although he was Magic...and a nice guy

Reuben Brown Pro Bowl (06)

Yea i know. How Many Pro Bowls did Brown get voted into here in buffalo on name alone??? Rules are rules, so he makes the list.



I think thats it...although I could be wrong. And yes, Levitre inspired this post. Having said that, I understand letting him go. Like I said before, every case is different. Clements is a good example of what alot of people fear about Levitre(Good talent, not worth that kind of scratch though) Maybe they are right. Maybe they are wrong.

What did we learn from this post? Probably nothing we didnt already know. The Bills can be cheap(Peters), bad judges of character(Lynch, Mcgahee) and short sighted(Fletcher, Fat Pat, Winfield) But nobodys perfect right?

[ServoBillieves]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Couple Super Bowl winners and contributors out there as well.

[DynaPaul]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

You forgot Jabari Greer.

[mjt328]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

The Bills are quite simply... an inept organization from top to bottom.

Managing the salary cap takes skill. All teams (even the top ones) have to let players go at some point.
The key is:
1) Knowing what players are expendable and what players are vital...
2) Knowing what year their contract will become a salary cap problem and planning ahead...
3) Drafting solid players that can contribute during their early (cheap) years.

The Bills are absolutely terrible in all three areas.

For example, you mentioned Pat Williams. Prior to the 2005 season - at the time he signed with the Vikings, we were a defensive powerhouse (#2 overall in the NFL and Top 10 in every category). Williams was arguably the best player on our team on either side of the ball. His ability to occupy blockers was the key reason our defense was successful. He was absolutely vital to the organization and our defensive play. Irreplaceable.
Not only did we make NO effort to retain him, but we had nobody ready to take his place. Just Tim Anderson and Ron Edwards. We didn't even draft a defensive lineman that year. So all of a sudden, the middle of our defense becomes a MASSIVE problem. And our tackle play continues to be a problem for 6 years, until we finally draft Marcell Dareus to pair with Kyle Williams.


Sure, it would be nice to retain players like Andy Levitre. But that would require us to draft more than 1-2 players worth starting every season. It would require us to have solid depth across the board, so we aren't forced to hand $4-5 million contracts to average/below average players like Chris Kelsay or Leodis McKelvin. It would require us to plan ahead... (why is Rhinehart a free agent the same offseason as Levitre?)

[kishoph]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Pat Williams Pro Bowl (06, 07, 08) All Pro (07)

We let Pat walk without even offering him a contract. Not because we thought he would ask too much, but because he didnt have much left in the tank. A fan favorite, Williams loved his time here.

Jason Peters Pro Bowl (10, 11) All Pro (10, 11)

I dont have to say much about Peters, Wanted to get paid...we didnt want to pay him...this is shortly after signing Dockery and Walker to big money deals...at least we got decent compensation for him

Richie Incognito Pro Bowl (12)

Here is a name I bet you didnt expect to see, we cut Incognito when Gailey took over. Nobody really complained. "Cog" did make the probowl last year over Levitre...for what its worth(not very much i admit)

Marshawn Lynch Pro Bowl (11, 12) All Pro (12)

We were Robbed!!!

Donte Whitner Pro Bowl (12)

I still dont miss him.

Warewolves of London Fletcher Pro Bowl (09,10,11,12) All Pro (11, 12)

Might be the biggest blunder of the bunch. Alot like Fat Pat, most here assumed he was close to washed up after the 06 season. We were wrong...dead wrong.

Willis McGahee Pro Bowl (07, 11)

Another running back. The guy was a Richard...does anybody really miss him?

Antoine Winfield Pro Bowl (08, 09, 10) All Pro (08)

I honestly dont remember why we let Winfield walk, Money i guess. Worried about keeping Clements perhaps. Who, interestingly does not appear on this list (How many Corners have we drafted since 04 trying to replace Winfield?)

Jon Dorenbos Pro Bowl (09)

Its a long snapper....although he was Magic...and a nice guy

Reuben Brown Pro Bowl (06)

Yea i know. How Many Pro Bowls did Brown get voted into here in buffalo on name alone??? Rules are rules, so he makes the list.

In all fairness to Buddy Nix, not one of those player's were let go under his tenure as the Bills GM, Nix has done a good job resigning the top players since he's been the GM. Nix was in charge when Poz was let go, but if he would of resigned him at his asking price, the majority of the Bills fan base would of been up in arms about that.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

In all fairness to Buddy Nix, not one of those player's were let go under his tenure as the Bills GM, Nix has done a good job resigning the top players since he's been the GM. Nix was in charge when Poz was let go, but if he would of resigned him at his asking price, the majority of the Bills fan base would of been up in arms about that.

Nix did not resign Incognito or Whitner and traded Lynch away. That happened on his watch. You may agree or disagree with those moves, but they were his.

[Oaf]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Nix did not resign Incognito or Whitner and traded Lynch away. That happened on his watch. You may agree or disagree with those moves, but they were his.

I started a thread about Cog. Someone said he didn't want to be here? Don't care about Lynch/Whinner

[THRILLHO]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Nate Clements.

[venis2k1]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Neither Greer nor Clements made a probowl after leaving Buffalo...Greer got a ring, and Clements got a 80 million dollar contract.

[X-Era]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Neither Greer nor Clements made a probowl after leaving Buffalo...Greer got a ring, and Clements got a 80 million dollar contract.

Yeah. I'm not seeing it to be all Buddy's fault and I think Buddy has actually done much better on re-signing our own than any previous GM after Polian.

[mjt328]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

In all fairness to Buddy Nix, not one of those player's were let go under his tenure as the Bills GM, Nix has done a good job resigning the top players since he's been the GM. Nix was in charge when Poz was let go, but if he would of resigned him at his asking price, the majority of the Bills fan base would of been up in arms about that.

Nix has done a decent job of re-signing our free agents so far (Poz was a bigger loss than most fans will admit).

But things are not looking bright for the future. Levitre is all but gone. Byrd still doesn't have a long-term contract. Wood is a free agent next year. And every passing season will make Mario's contract harder to handle.

[PromoTheRobot]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Geez, you forgot Darlye Lamonica.

PTR

[venis2k1]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Much respect for anybody that remembers Lamonica. You sir, have suffered for too long.


And to be fair to the OP, it only went back 10 years. Not even the full duration of "the drought"

[better days]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

Nix has done a decent job of re-signing our free agents so far (Poz was a bigger loss than most fans will admit).

But things are not looking bright for the future. Levitre is all but gone. Byrd still doesn't have a long-term contract. Wood is a free agent next year. And every passing season will make Mario's contract harder to handle.

Poz was a loss, but a loss I would take at the price he was paid.

[JoeMama]

Re: On not keeping your talent...A study on how to continue to suck.

The Bills are basically a farm team.

On the rare occasions when we don't draft a complete bust in the draft, we misuse them for a few years, then watch them become great somewhere else via free agency.

13 years of uninterrupted failure.

Gotta believe it starts and ends with Ralph Wilson. How a man with zero ability to recognize talent got to be a billionaire, I will never know. Frankly it ruins my faith in the free market system. If I ran anything even a fraction as bad as Wilson has run the Bills, I'd be homeless.

I wouldn't let Ralph bag my groceries.

BTW here's a delightful article by Forbes that ranks Wilson has the third worst owner in the NFL (circa 2011).

At this point he's got to be the unanimous favorite for worst owner. And not just currently, possibly of all time.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eimh45gjh/the-worst-3-ralph-wilson-jr-buffalo-bills/