Ricky Williams- The Fleeting Cost of Winning

[Dozerdog]

Buffalo Bills GM Tom Donahoe has made some bold strokes at the helm of the franchise for four off-seasons. Straddled with a crushing cap he cleaned house in year one – laying the ground work for bold strokes the successive seasons. In 2002 he landed Pro-Bowl QB Drew Bledsoe for what turned out to be sliding 9 spots in the 2003 draft. In 2003 he landed the best free agent on the market, Pro-Bowl LB Takeo Spikes, along with one of the best defensive tackles in the game, Sam Adams. On top of that, in the weakest draft in ages, he gambled on getting a top back in Willis McGahee. Topping it off was the coup that landed Lawyer Milloy at the start of the season. This year he pulled another rabbit out of the hat- landing Lee Evans and outsmarting Green Bay and St. Louis for QB J.P. Losman.

Each move was well-planned and well executed. In retrospect- the moves were not done in haste or as a result of panic. If the moves did not make sense economically or based on talent, they were not made. Top cornerback Antoine Winfield was allowed to leave because of economics- and was eventually replaced with another perennial Pro-Bowl player at a fraction of the cost. Compared with some other professional organizations- Donahoe’s record for acquiring talent (and within the confines of the cap) isn’t to shabby.
...MORE...

[HenryRules]

The "...MORE..." link goes to the "new thread" page.

[Dozerdog]

Originally posted by HenryRules
The "...MORE..." link goes to the "new thread" page.

Doh!


Fixed

[HenryRules]

Overall the article is good ...

but as it always seems when evaluating the Bledsoe trade - there is a misrepresentation of what we gave up - we did not slide 5 spots in the draft in order to pick up Bledsoe.

Without the Bledsoe trade, we would have had 2 picks in the first round. With the Bledsoe trade, we had one. Thus, the Bledsoe deal cost us 1 whole first rounder - not just 5 first round spots.

[Dozerdog]

Originally posted by HenryRules
Overall the article is good ...

but as it always seems when judging the Bledsoe trade, we did not slide 5 spots in the draft in order to pick up Bledsoe.

Without the Bledsoe trade, we would have had 2 picks in the first round. With the Bledsoe trade, we had one. Thus, the Bledsoe deal cost us 1 first rounder - not 5 first round spots.

It's all how you want to parse it out.


If you look at the trade standing on it's own- sure- you have a point.

But I look at the overall picture. Because if you don't make the trade for Bledsoe, you have Jeff Blake , Chris Chandler , or AVP as your QB- which means you don't -in most likely terms- get a pair of 1,300 yard -12 TD WR's like you did in Moulds & Price- Which means Price's value in the FAcy market is diminished- or the Bills retain him at a much lower cost-

I my view- we moved the $10 bill out of our right pocket and put it in the left pocket. Net gain- we lost a few slots

[Dozerdog]

CORRECTION- 9 slots - not 5

[JJamezz]

Great stuff man

[HenryRules]

Originally posted by Dozerdog
It's all how you want to parse it out.


If you look at the trade standing on it's own- sure- you have a point.

Buit I look at the overall picture. Because if you don't make the trade for Bledsoe, you have Jeff Blake , Chris Chandler , or AVP as your QB- which means you don't in most likely terms get a pair of 1,300 yard -12 TD WR's like you did in Moulds & Price- Which means Price's value in the FAcy market is diminished- or the Bills retain him at a much lower cost-

I my view- we moved the $10 bill out of our right pocket and put it in the left pocket. Net gain- we lost a few slots

You're still missing a step then, even if you follow your logic. You say that Price's value in FA would have been diminished if we didn't pick up Bledsoe - then we probably could have kept Peerless when he became a FA. You can't selectively choose the fallouts from your assumpmtion. The only reason we couldn't keep Price is because after his performance that year, he reasonably expected to be a #1 receiver on a team.

So then it becomes Price for Bledsoe and dropping 9 spots in the draft. Or a pro bowl alternate wide receiver for a pro bowl QB and a drop of 9 spots.

[Dozerdog]

But then you have to add into your model the fact we were able to Bledsoe for Price- and the extra year they played together.


On the flip side- we could have lost Price and received nothing- Just like the Bengals did with Spikes.

It's the context of the comparison- the mnain point is that TD managed to make such deals without gambling the future of the team -like some other clubs.

[Dozerdog]

Let's not forget the actual Value of a 2003 draft pick was much deflated. Lookat the Saints- the 2003 draft was so weak, they chose to peddle both of their 1st round picks to get into the top 10.

[HenryRules]

Originally posted by Dozerdog
But then you have to add into your model the fact we were able to Bledsoe for Price- and the extra year they played together.


On the flip side- we could have lost Price and received nothing- Just like the Bengals did with Spikes.

It's the context of the comparison- the mnain point is that TD managed to make such deals without gambling the future of the team -like some other clubs.

I guess it depends on what you consider gambling the future of the team ... committing 2 1st rounders, a 2nd rounder, and a 5th in 3 drafts to address the QB position is gambling the future IMO. That's what we've done with Donahoe.

[HenryRules]

Originally posted by Dozerdog
Let's not forget the actual Value of a 2003 draft pick was much deflated. Lookat the Saints- the 2003 draft was so weak, they chose to peddle both of their 1st round picks to get into the top 10.

Well, then let's not forget that Kyle Boller would have been available to us as a draft pick (or Byron Leftwich if we take your "without Bledsoe we would have sucked view") and both of them looked as good or better in their rookie year's than Bledsoe last season.

[Dozerdog]

Originally posted by HenryRules
Well, then let's not forget that Kyle Boller would have been available to us as a draft pick (or Byron Leftwich if we take your "without Bledsoe we would have sucked view") and both of them looked as good or better in their rookie year's than Bledsoe last season.

That's quite a lot of revisionist hindsight.

Rewind the clock to the 2002 offseason. Off of a 3-13 yaer- and the opportunity to get a top QB- you would prefer to suck at 3-13 again for a "possible" shot at Leftwich? That "Let's stink now for a top pick next year" mentality is what has driven the LA Clippers
for 2 decades.

I'd rather try to get better.

[HenryRules]

Originally posted by Dozerdog
That's quite a lot of revisionist hindsight.

Rewind the clock to the 2002 offseason. Off of a 3-13 yaer- and the opportunity to get a top QB- you would prefer to suck at 3-13 again for a "possible" shot at Leftwich? That "Let's stink now for a top pick next year" mentality is what has driven the LA Clippers
for 2 decades.

I'd rather try to get better.

Revisionist hindsight??? You mean like changing the actual cost of a trade to make Donahoe look better?

I thought we were talking about the cost of what it took to acquire Bledsoe? I was simply pointing out the flaws in your statement of the cost of the trade - I did not say which was the preferred alternative.

However, since you are bending the facts of the trade, I think that you don't think it was a justifiable move. If you like the move, then let it stand on its own, factual terms.

I do think it was the best alternative at the time ... however that doesn't alter the fact that it cost us a whole first rounder.

[BillyT92679]

Interesting article.

The elephant in the room for the Bills though is that, for all of Donahoe's moves, the team has only compiled a 17-31 record under his tenure. Even taking out the abysmal '01 season, they are only 14-18 the last two years, 9-7 at home, and only 5-11 on the road. I am hopeful that Buffalo can finally rebound this year. Otherwise, with all of TD's maneuvers, it's as if the Bills are the hamster on the wheel. (Pardon the animal metaphors LOL.)