Donahoe's Top Ten Gaffes

[patmoran2006]

Hey guys.

I am writing a blog for Fox Sports.com, dont know if any of you guys know about it, but they are having a writing contest and I wrote a peice about the blunders of Tom Donahoe.

if you get a chance, i'd REALLY appreciate it if you could check it out and offer a couple of comments regarding it.

Please be nice, I'm trying to win a contract! lol. Plus, I think most fans will agree it's pretty "right on"

Here is the link. Thanks much guys
http://blogs.foxsports.com/patmoran2006/2005/12/29/Tom_Donahoes_Top_Ten_Gaffes2

[patmoran2006]

Wanted to make sure I didnt screw that link up.. Here it is again:

Tom Donahoe's Top Ten Gaffes • patmoran2006's Blog - FOX Sports Blogs (http://blogs.foxsports.com/patmoran2006/2005/12/29/Tom_Donahoes_Top_Ten_Gaffes2)

[Romes]

(Dallas had Buffalo's first round pick this past year in the draft as a result of the Losman trade. They selected Marcus Spears. Something tells me Spears would have more impact on this defense that current DE, Mark Kelsay. Then again, Donahoe would have probably fumbled that pick anyway)

I was with you till I read this...Mark? Its Chris Kelsay.

Have you followed Spears at all this year? 29 tackles .5 sacks

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7196

Compared to Kelsay's (not very good but much better) 43 tackles 2.5 sacks 1 FF 1 INT

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6384

For the rest not bad but the Kelsay gaph hurts the credibility.

[Novacane]

#7 should be Trading for Drew Bledsoe instead of releasing Drew Bledsoe. Drew can just be thrown on the heap of QB's that never took the team to the playoffs

[tat2dmike77]

Bennie "the penalty"anderson love it!

Letting pat go was huge i think i should of been up a couple of more slots.

Good post though but i think his biggest bone-head play was the hiring of the coaches both coaches! Take your pick at the order or combine them both i don't care but they were both bone headed mistakes.

[venis2k1]

i have a few problems with your peice, first off it was very well written, and i hope you all the luck in the world with the contest. secondly, i am no Donahoe fan, but i find it amazing the way the fans have turned on this man. here is your list and my comments about it.

10. in hind sight josh reed with the high second rounder was a bad move, but if you remember WR was a huge need(with price going into his contract year, and nothing under him in the depth chart.) and i seem to recall when we grabbed josh, everyone was in shock that he was still there. he was seen as a steal for us in the second round. as a matter of fact, alot of people were very disapointed when Jabar Gaffney went three pick earlier. i dont remember him lighting up the league recently?

9. funny, if you said this a year ago, you would have gotten the crap kicked out of you. i havent given up on the kid yet. and i dont like how you keep saying "well so and so were still on the board" in this case refering to LJ. anyone who watched college football in 2002 and didnt think Mcgahee was 10 times the back that guy from penn state was is crazy. also you say we should have gone O-line instead. let me ask you, who was there? KWAME HARRIS? ERIC STEINBACH, maybe or justin smiley. were the only ones even with a top 2 round grade at the time. i am a big steinbach fan, but ill take willis over him 8 days a week.

8. the bills tried trading up to get big ben, they could not. i gaurentee if we didnt grab losman by doing that, we would have landed Aaron Rodgers, who i am personally not a fan of at all.

7. i have nothing nice to say about bledsoe. so ill keep it to myself

6.letting Big Pat go was not a mistake. but to do it without offering him a fair contract was.

5. Donahoes lack of attention to the oline is really the only reason i want him out of town.

4. mike williams was not a bad pick at the time. like i said, its very easy to go back and ***** about who is on the board at the time and if we were paying bryant mikinnie 100,000 million dollars this year too, people would be labling him a bust. in hind sight we should have traded down, if i recall we tried to and couldnt find anyone interested.

3.2.1. as far as the coaches go. ive said this before, all TD looks for in a coach is someone he knows will never give him a power struggle, a puppet if you want to put it like that. after what happened in Pitt, TD wanted to make this HIS show. letting Charle Weis go is the biggest mistake he ever made....but like i said....hind sight is 20/20.

[mybills]

7. i have nothing nice to say about bledsoe. so ill keep it to myself.
:rofl:

[Historian]

Good article overall.

As for any GM, I usually give them a pass on player X or player Y. Most are probably 50/50 with players drafted or traded for.

As far as Coaches go...he's struck out twice-big time...and every other decision is tainted because of them.

And while you mention his arrogance in #10, you need to be more specific with his audacity. Save the Postage...etc.

Overall, good job.

[Ebenezer]

#7 should be Trading for Drew Bledsoe instead of releasing Drew Bledsoe. Drew can just be thrown on the heap of QB's that never took the team to the playoffs
didn't somebody around here origianlly have the user name bledsoetoreedforsix??

[TacklingDummy]

Don't forget cutting Flutie instead of cutting Johnson. TDs first bad moves of many.

[HHURRICANE]

i have a few problems with your peice, first off it was very well written, and i hope you all the luck in the world with the contest. secondly, i am no Donahoe fan, but i find it amazing the way the fans have turned on this man. here is your list and my comments about it.

10. in hind sight josh reed with the high second rounder was a bad move, but if you remember WR was a huge need(with price going into his contract year, and nothing under him in the depth chart.) and i seem to recall when we grabbed josh, everyone was in shock that he was still there. he was seen as a steal for us in the second round. as a matter of fact, alot of people were very disapointed when Jabar Gaffney went three pick earlier. i dont remember him lighting up the league recently?

9. funny, if you said this a year ago, you would have gotten the crap kicked out of you. i havent given up on the kid yet. and i dont like how you keep saying "well so and so were still on the board" in this case refering to LJ. anyone who watched college football in 2002 and didnt think Mcgahee was 10 times the back that guy from penn state was is crazy. also you say we should have gone O-line instead. let me ask you, who was there? KWAME HARRIS? ERIC STEINBACH, maybe or justin smiley. were the only ones even with a top 2 round grade at the time. i am a big steinbach fan, but ill take willis over him 8 days a week.

8. the bills tried trading up to get big ben, they could not. i gaurentee if we didnt grab losman by doing that, we would have landed Aaron Rodgers, who i am personally not a fan of at all.

7. i have nothing nice to say about bledsoe. so ill keep it to myself

6.letting Big Pat go was not a mistake. but to do it without offering him a fair contract was.

5. Donahoes lack of attention to the oline is really the only reason i want him out of town.

4. mike williams was not a bad pick at the time. like i said, its very easy to go back and ***** about who is on the board at the time and if we were paying bryant mikinnie 100,000 million dollars this year too, people would be labling him a bust. in hind sight we should have traded down, if i recall we tried to and couldnt find anyone interested.

3.2.1. as far as the coaches go. ive said this before, all TD looks for in a coach is someone he knows will never give him a power struggle, a puppet if you want to put it like that. after what happened in Pitt, TD wanted to make this HIS show. letting Charle Weis go is the biggest mistake he ever made....but like i said....hind sight is 20/20.

Your post although accurate is irrelevant. I'd rather make bad draft choices that turn out to be great than great drafts that turn out to be bad. If Donohoe is just plain unlucky he stills needs to go. The Willis Mcgahee draft was anothe attempt to prove to the league that TD was smarter than everyone else.

[Dozerdog]

i have a few problems with your peice, first off it was very well written, and i hope you all the luck in the world with the contest. secondly, i am no Donahoe fan, but i find it amazing the way the fans have turned on this man. here is your list and my comments about it.

10. in hind sight josh reed with the high second rounder was a bad move, but if you remember WR was a huge need(with price going into his contract year, and nothing under him in the depth chart.) and i seem to recall when we grabbed josh, everyone was in shock that he was still there. he was seen as a steal for us in the second round. as a matter of fact, alot of people were very disapointed when Jabar Gaffney went three pick earlier. i dont remember him lighting up the league recently?

9. funny, if you said this a year ago, you would have gotten the crap kicked out of you. i havent given up on the kid yet. and i dont like how you keep saying "well so and so were still on the board" in this case refering to LJ. anyone who watched college football in 2002 and didnt think Mcgahee was 10 times the back that guy from penn state was is crazy. also you say we should have gone O-line instead. let me ask you, who was there? KWAME HARRIS? ERIC STEINBACH, maybe or justin smiley. were the only ones even with a top 2 round grade at the time. i am a big steinbach fan, but ill take willis over him 8 days a week.

8. the bills tried trading up to get big ben, they could not. i gaurentee if we didnt grab losman by doing that, we would have landed Aaron Rodgers, who i am personally not a fan of at all.

7. i have nothing nice to say about bledsoe. so ill keep it to myself

6.letting Big Pat go was not a mistake. but to do it without offering him a fair contract was.

5. Donahoes lack of attention to the oline is really the only reason i want him out of town.

4. mike williams was not a bad pick at the time. like i said, its very easy to go back and ***** about who is on the board at the time and if we were paying bryant mikinnie 100,000 million dollars this year too, people would be labling him a bust. in hind sight we should have traded down, if i recall we tried to and couldnt find anyone interested.

3.2.1. as far as the coaches go. ive said this before, all TD looks for in a coach is someone he knows will never give him a power struggle, a puppet if you want to put it like that. after what happened in Pitt, TD wanted to make this HIS show. letting Charle Weis go is the biggest mistake he ever made....but like i said....hind sight is 20/20.

Pretty much nailed this on the head. McKinnie wound up sitting out much of his rookie year. Our 2001 OL was a hell of a lot worse and if he drafted a guy who sat out a season everyone would have a *****fest back then as they are now. The 2002 draft was a bust for a lot of teams, not just the Bills.

Blame Brandon Spoon for the 2002 draft. If he doidn't have a monster game vs Carolina, we woiuld have lost that game in the rain at home and probably drafted Julius Peppers.

Reed was the all time career leading reciever in the SEC, which is quite an accomplishment when yoiu consider how much that conference lights it up. So drafting Reed, dumping Price and acquiring McGahee with the pick looked awesome at the time. It's not like everyone burst out laughing in mockery (Like the Dolphins giving up a #2 for AJ Feely).

Many of the moves made a lot of sense at the time they were done- it's just that bad coaches / coaching decisions ruind some decent team ingredients.

It's a 20/20 hindsight article- but very well done. I posted a link to the blurb on our front page

[BillsOwnAll]

That was a good article but i just have one problem....your comments about the draft. Josh Reed was suppose to be good as with Mike Williams.

Anyone can play monday morning quarterback and say what was good what was bad.

The draft is full of POTETIONAL its a gamble if your guys are going to perfrom or not.

[Novacane]

didn't somebody around here origianlly have the user name bledsoetoreedforsix??



I've never tried to hide that I supported trading for Drew. I'm talking in hindsight. Bringing him here was a mistake. It got us nowhere

[Ebenezer]

I've never tried to hide that I supported trading for Drew. I'm talking in hindsight. Bringing him here was a mistake. It got us nowhere
well, you can believe it or not, but ask Mikey82...even though I felt he was the best chance the Bills had to make the playoffs in '05 I was pissed when they traded for DB...I never wanted him here at all...

[Albany,n.y.]

Great writing. I just wish you had mentioned the Gestapo tactics at Ralph Wilson Stadium-confiscating bags for people's heads, banners saying Fire (Donahoe or Mularkey), making people turn t-shirts inside out...they even made me erase the "Fire Mularkey" that I wrote on the top of one of the boxes in the snow directly below my seat (sec 219 row 1) during the NE game.

[patmoran2006]

Thanks for all of the comments, both complimentary and constructively critical. Everyone makes good points.

Look, when it comes to the draft, I totally understand that it's hindsight and very easy for us to second-guess now. THe 2002 Draft in general was not great and both Williams and Reed were studs in college.

However, there is a big difference.. It is our duty as fans/writers to second guess. It's in our nature and we have the right to. The difference is we do most out *****in at our median jobs.

Donahoe makes the big bucks, and when your the GM of a franchise desperately in need of improvement, it's NOT hindsight. It's your JOB to get it right.

Yes, McKinnie did sit in a contract dispute much his rookie year, and Buffalo fans would have jumped on him for that. HOwever, the bottom line is McKinnie is a lot better than Williams.

But the BIGGEST difference between a team like the Bills and a team like the Patriots IS a player like Josh Reed. Buffalo takes Reed, a few picks later New England takes Deoin Branch. I'm certainly not blaming Josh Reed for the Bills woes, he's just a perfect example of the misfirings of Donahoe.

SO I respectfully disagree about those who defend by saying its' "easy to say now". yes it is. But we're fans. TD isn't a fan. It's his JOB to get it right.

Let me rephrase.. Hopefuly in a matter of days, it "was" his job to get it right.

Thanks for the link, Doz..

[Mr. Cynical]

Very good article. As others have said, I'll refrain from speaking on #7, but overall I think you got the jist of what a ***** miserable, total and complete failure TD has been and always will be.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

I agree with a lot, but here is my take:

10. Not having the talent to replace Pat Williams - You can't argue when a guy leaves because you don't know the whole story, but you better have talent to replace a pro bowler when he leaves.
9. Signing Jeff Posey - The big first signing of Tom Donohoe has been barely a presence since his arrival.
8. Drafting players without a need - McGahee, Parrish, etc.
7. Trading for Drew Bledsoe - A first round pick for a QB that is past his prime. I didn't mind getting Bledsoe, but the price was way to high. The Pats pick - Richard Seymour.
6. Releasing Drew Bledsoe - When their "future" QB wasn't ready you drop a veteran QB that is capable.
5. Drafting Mike Williams - I don't think anything has to be said about this.
Offensive line - Other teams throw aways aren't good enough to start here are they?
4. Trading the first rounder for the 4th best QB in the draft - I was just about the only person on this board that said that this was a mistake. I was in favor of trading a 3rd round pick for Drew Henson. Henson might not be the answer, but he is about as close to being a starter as JP is and it would have only cost a third rounder. Dallas' pick - Marcus Spears. And to think, if the Bills would have lost those last two games the year before Ben Roethlisberger would be wearing a Bills uniform.
3. Offensive line - Other teams throw aways aren't good enough to start here are they?
2. Hiring Mike Mularky over Wiess and Cronell.
1. Hiring Greg Williams over playoff coaches John Fox and Marvin Lewis.

[pleasesavedrew]

#7 should be Trading for Drew Bledsoe instead of releasing Drew Bledsoe. Drew can just be thrown on the heap of QB's that never took the team to the playoffs


Say what you want but Bledsoe is better than:
1.Todd Collins
2.Rob Johnson
3.Doug Flutie
4.Alex Van Pelt
5.J.P. Losman
6.Kelly Holcomb



And he also gave us the only winning season under TD, and played pretty good football down the strech last year, untill the last game, which he did play very badly in, but the #1 D couldnt stop Willie parker for 9 min, which eventually lost it for us, because if you remember, when Drew finnaly did the ball back, he hit Lee Evans on a 65 yrd bomb, setting up McGahee's 1 yrd TD Run, and if we would have gotten the ball on the onside kick, there is no doubt in my mind we would have won.

[The_Philster]

Jury's out on JP still, pleasesavedrew...but good points

[Mr. Cynical]

Jury's out on JP still, pleasesavedrew...but good points

:bf1:

Anyone who thinks they know what JP can or cannot do from 9 starts in the NFL has zero football sense.

I however agree with the other points as well.

[Ebenezer]

:bf1:

Anyone who thinks they know what JP can or cannot do from 9 starts in the NFL has zero football sense.

I however agree with the other points as well.
only 9 games and behind this line?? we have no clue what JP is...

[Novacane]

Say what you want but Bledsoe is better than:
1.Todd Collins
2.Rob Johnson
3.Doug Flutie
4.Alex Van Pelt
5.J.P. Losman
6.Kelly Holcomb



.


at least Flutie/Johnson led the team to the playoffs

[gr8slayer]

I was all against cutting Drew myself. The guy would be a better option than anything we have right now and might be able to teach JP a thing or two.

[Ingtar33]

HOwever, the bottom line is McKinnie is a lot better than Williams.


no he is not.

The only reason he's still in Minn is his contract is too large to cut him, and unlike the bills coaching staff... the Vikes staff and management don't have the guts to bench their 100 mil dollar boondoggle like we have.

McKinnie has been a disaster.