Kerr
12-04-2005, 06:28 PM
I found this at cbs sportsline.
In the past couple of weeks we've heard the same thing from several league personnel men. When is Tom Donahoe going to start taking heat in Buffalo? When the Bills hired Donahoe in 2001 as the general manager and president, it was thought that he would bring a playoff contender back to Orchard Park. Instead, the Bills are 4-7 and haven't been to the playoffs in his tenure. "For some reason that guy gets a pass," said one team's personnel director. "At some point, doesn't he have to be held accountable?" The Bills finished 9-7 last season, which made many think they'd be ready to make a playoff push. Instead, they're one of the league's disappointments. When Donahoe fired Gregg Williams after three seasons and replaced him with Mike Mularkey, there was talk that he acted too soon, that some of his personnel moves were the reason Williams couldn't succeed. We always believed Donahoe had what it took to build a contender, but the proof is in the record. Maybe some of those personnel directors who now look at the 4-7 team have a right to wonder. The decision to trade a 2004 first-round pick to draft quarterback J.P. Losman is the one move that stands out in the Donahoe era. Losman has woefully underachieved. It also doesn't help that tackle Mike Williams, the fourth player taken in the 2002 draft, is now playing guard. It's usually not a wise move to use No. 4 overall picks on guards. That isn't to say Donahoe hasn't hit on many of his picks and signings. In fact, right tackle Jason Peters, who took over for Williams, was not drafted out of Arkansas. He played tight end in college, but at 310 pounds. Now that he's playing tackle, he has outstanding feet. He did a solid job on Julius Peppers last week against Carolina. Peters has always been a guy we've followed since that draft. We had him listed as one of our better-than players that year -- you can look it up -- with the idea he could move to tackle. It's always nice to see one of those work out in your favor -- to offset the many that don't.
TD has struck out more than he's hit gold with personnel decisions. It clear that buffalo fans are not the only ones to see this.
In the past couple of weeks we've heard the same thing from several league personnel men. When is Tom Donahoe going to start taking heat in Buffalo? When the Bills hired Donahoe in 2001 as the general manager and president, it was thought that he would bring a playoff contender back to Orchard Park. Instead, the Bills are 4-7 and haven't been to the playoffs in his tenure. "For some reason that guy gets a pass," said one team's personnel director. "At some point, doesn't he have to be held accountable?" The Bills finished 9-7 last season, which made many think they'd be ready to make a playoff push. Instead, they're one of the league's disappointments. When Donahoe fired Gregg Williams after three seasons and replaced him with Mike Mularkey, there was talk that he acted too soon, that some of his personnel moves were the reason Williams couldn't succeed. We always believed Donahoe had what it took to build a contender, but the proof is in the record. Maybe some of those personnel directors who now look at the 4-7 team have a right to wonder. The decision to trade a 2004 first-round pick to draft quarterback J.P. Losman is the one move that stands out in the Donahoe era. Losman has woefully underachieved. It also doesn't help that tackle Mike Williams, the fourth player taken in the 2002 draft, is now playing guard. It's usually not a wise move to use No. 4 overall picks on guards. That isn't to say Donahoe hasn't hit on many of his picks and signings. In fact, right tackle Jason Peters, who took over for Williams, was not drafted out of Arkansas. He played tight end in college, but at 310 pounds. Now that he's playing tackle, he has outstanding feet. He did a solid job on Julius Peppers last week against Carolina. Peters has always been a guy we've followed since that draft. We had him listed as one of our better-than players that year -- you can look it up -- with the idea he could move to tackle. It's always nice to see one of those work out in your favor -- to offset the many that don't.
TD has struck out more than he's hit gold with personnel decisions. It clear that buffalo fans are not the only ones to see this.