Media Columns From Around the League

[patmoran2006]

The Homer Juice will be flowing, and every writer in America is a moron.. I know I know the routine.

Here are what some national writers are saying about the Bills right now. Read if you choose. Personally, I like the players we've taken, I just dont like the management way we went about getting them. I think that's the consensus pretty much everywhere.

Anyway.. Damn we're getting dissed.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=87788
From Sporting News Writer Paul Attner
Marv Levy's off to a bad start as a personnel guru
April 29, 2006
Marv Levy's return to the NFL, this time as the Bills' personnel guru, got off to a very bad start today. Levy wound up with two first-round choices and neither one was very distinguished. Other NFL teams can only wonder, how could he?
First, he selected Donte Whitner, the Ohio State safety, with the eighth pick in the draft. One team had him ranked in the third round; he certainly was not considered a top-10 player, nor a first-rounder.
Then, the Bills gave up two choices to take John McCargo, a defensive tackle from N.C. State who was rated no better than a third-rounder at best.
The Bills filled needs with both players. But it is a classic example of what leads to a bad draft, stretching for players whose talent doesn't merit where they are chosen.
(check out the Fan comments on this article, pretty derogatory towards Marv)

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5555304
Worst picks in Round 1
Buffalo: I'll save the best stuff for tomorrow, but the Bills are simply lost. Donte Whitner at No. 8? I almost fainted on the air. And I'm not anti-Whitner; it is the simple fact that the Bills could've selected him later in the draft. There wasn't another team that had him in the top 10, let alone the top eight. I asked Marv Levy about this on the air. He said I could be right, but he didn't want to make a trade with the Eagles, fearing he could lose Whitner at 14. There's no way he would've been off the board. The Bills are lost.
And I like John McCargo, but why trade up to get the N.C. State defensive tackle. He could've been there at 42.
The horrific off-season rolls along for the Bills.

Fox Spots Michael Smith on the Bills.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5555136
WORST PICK
Buffalo Bills: Donte Whitner, S, Ohio State. Whitner got away with mediocre run support in college because he played behind two first-round Buckeye linebackers, A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter. The Bills can't afford to have stopping the run be part of Whitner's on-the-job training. And if Bills general manager Marv Levy liked Whitner so much, he probably could have traded down with some team that wanted to move up to draft Leinart and still landed Whitner later in the first round.

SI's Don Banks
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/don_banks/04/29/winners.losers/1.html
BUFFALO
Ohio State safety Donte Whitner at No. 8? They could have traded down 10 spots and still landed him. N.C. State defensive tackle John McCargo at No. 26? The vast majority of drafniks didn't even have him higher than the middle of the second round.
And maybe it was a year too early to give up on 2004 first-round quarterback J.P. Losman, but if the Bills do exactly that next year at this time, won't they look back and wish they had taken Leinart at No. 8 when they had the chance?

[BambinoSux]

I have a hard time reading these guys who even consider us passing on Leinart a mistake. It goes to show that they clearly don't know a thing about this team. We have Losman, Holcomb, and Nall all under contract and a team full of holes. QB is the last thing we should have taken in the 1st round.

[patmoran2006]

I dont disagree, but only the last columnist suggested we wil regret not taking Leinart.

[justasportsfan]

The worse is yet to come unless wys already slit his wrist.

[patmoran2006]

The worse is yet to come unless wys already slit his wrist.
LOL isnt he the one who writes for that afceastreport.com?

[justasportsfan]

LOL isnt he the one who writes for that afceastreport.com?:idunno: Wys is a friend of mine but I can NEVER read his articles. He loses me at hello.

[Cntrygal]

I have a hard time reading these guys who even consider us passing on Leinart a mistake. It goes to show that they clearly don't know a thing about this team. We have Losman, Holcomb, and Nall all under contract and a team full of holes. QB is the last thing we should have taken in the 1st round.


Agreed.

[Cntrygal]

:idunno: Wys is a friend of mine but I can NEVER read his articles. He loses me at hello.

He says hello? :str8face:

[Don't Panic]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5555304
Worst picks in Round 1
Buffalo: I'll save the best stuff for tomorrow, but the Bills are simply lost. Donte Whitner at No. 8? I almost fainted on the air. And I'm not anti-Whitner; it is the simple fact that the Bills could've selected him later in the draft. There wasn't another team that had him in the top 10, let alone the top eight. I asked Marv Levy about this on the air. He said I could be right, but he didn't want to make a trade with the Eagles, fearing he could lose Whitner at 14. There's no way he would've been off the board. The Bills are lost.
And I like John McCargo, but why trade up to get the N.C. State defensive tackle. He could've been there at 42.
The horrific off-season rolls along for the Bills.



That one pretty much sums it up for me.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

:idunno: Wys is a friend of mine but I can NEVER read his articles. He loses me at hello.

He's no friend of mine, but I can't read his stuff either.

Like some other people here, he strikes me as being angry that he is not the GM of the Bills, but isn't willing to try to apply for the job....

[Sportsuser101]

Not sure about any of you but I don't pay attention to the media when it comes to this type of stuff. They've been wrong on way too many players for me to trust their judgements.

[patmoran2006]

That one pretty much sums it up for me.

I dont think this off-season has been "horrific" but its definitely been strange.

Either Marv really is a genius with all these young FA signings and "reach" draft picks, which very well could be.

Or he's absolutely clueless on how to run a football team, which also very well could be.

[Cntrygal]

Not sure about any of you but I don't pay attention to the media when it comes to this type of stuff. They've been wrong on way too many players for me to trust their judgements.

Yep! I don't watch too many of the shows anymore (I don't even care for the pregame shows). It's all about entertainment and popularity. It drives me insane.

[TedMock]

For what it's worth, the media is wrong more than it's right. I watched a special a few years ago, and they interviewed several sports writers about game predictions, draft predictions, championships, etc. Every single one of them had a real bad losing record. They all laughed, and admitted that they don't know anymore than the mailman does, but they have to give their picks and opinions. So, let's see in a few years where this draft rates. Don't panic just yet. I'd rather us draft football players than big-names anyday. A guy who is both would be ideal. However, this draft seems to lack overall talent compared to others, and a lot of the "names" seem to have work ethic, and/or character issues going on. Maybe hard-nosed, football players, who don't get in trouble, and aren't lazy, are the way to go. If they pan out, the fans in Buffalo will love them much more than some unreached potential, trouble maker.

[Drive 4 Five]

I dont think this off-season has been "horrific" but its definitely been strange.

Either Marv really is a genius with all these young FA signings and "reach" draft picks, which very well could be.

Or he's absolutely clueless on how to run a football team, which also very well could be.

If I had to bet money I would bet that he knows much more about what it takes to be successful in this league than any of the writers who critique him. I will not go as far as to declare that this team will finally win a championship becuase Levy is here but I do beleive that he will help bring this program back to respectability. Whether or not "Sports Nation" is on board means absolutley nothing to me.

[patmoran2006]

i'm sure Sports Nation means nothing to Marv either.. And thats the way it should be.

But being smart and even being football-smart doesnt mean you know how to be a GM and run a football team. I'm not saying he hasnt done a good job, this off-season is so weird that its impossible to judge him in April.

Like I said, its very possible that these moves and picks he's making are going to make us a lot better football team than we've been in years.

And its also very possible that these guys are outcasts from other teams for a reason, and we're going even more backwards than we were before.

I cant remember an off-season filled with so much uncertainty. Thats what happens when you sign so many young, raw players.. But it could be a good thing.

[Drive 4 Five]

I agree Pat. I'm just saying that if I had to put money on it I would bet that he gets it right.

[ICE74129]

LMAO 'I'll save the best stuff for tomorrow, but the Bills are simply lost. Donte Whitner at No. 8? I almost fainted on the air.'

That was great

[justasportsfan]

LMAO 'I'll save the best stuff for tomorrow, but the Bills are simply lost. Donte Whitner at No. 8? I almost fainted on the air.'

That was greatchanging your mind again Eh? If only Marv coached in your pop warner league, maybe he'll get a clue. I think skooby has more credibility than you do now. It'll be hard to believe your opinion here anymore since you change you mind more than Kerry.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

....I'm not saying he hasnt done a good job, this off-season is so weird that its impossible to judge him in April.

Like I said, its very possible that these moves and picks he's making are going to make us a lot better football team than we've been in years.

And its also very possible that these guys are outcasts from other teams for a reason, and we're going even more backwards than we were before.

I cant remember an off-season filled with so much uncertainty. Thats what happens when you sign so many young, raw players.. But it could be a good thing.

I agree.

I think the fact that Marv is going about things in a different way than a lot of people are used to has many people uneasy to say the least. I think some of the older guys may be a little less befuddled by what Marv is doing because the strategy that he is using is reminiscent of what teams used to do in the NFL a long time ago--where they would pick up guys who had been on other teams' taxi squads for a year or two, etc. and where teams tried not to rush or expect too much from rookies (there was a coach when I was playing "back in the day"--I believe G.Allen, who Marv worked for--who flat out stated that a team was guaranteed to lose one game for every rookie that it started!).

You are also right in saying that this could either work out really well or very badly. In the era of free agency, though, more young, experienced talent moves around more quickly than in the old days and it is possible to pluck one or two established players to enhance your roster in any given year if you don't go too crazy. It's another kind of "Old School" thing to expect that probably half of the young potential late-bloomers will make it, but that maybe half won't: that's why I think you have seen Marv bring in multiple players at a given position this off-season. When he says "we'll have competition at every position", what he's really saying is "we're going to bring these guys in and see which ones have blossomed into players and which ones haven't"--the ones who have blossomed help your team win, the ones who can't beat out the guys you already have are gone in a year or less (and then you bring in some others). That's what they used to do when the NFL had a 16 round draft.

What Marv is doing seems strange. And, I must admit that I have been baffled at times by some of his moves and where he has put his priorities, but, when you take it apart, it makes sense. The big question is whether it will work in the current free agency era. Only time and seeing how this team performs over the next two seasons will tell IMHO.

[ICE74129]

changing your mind again Eh? If only Marv coached in your pop warner league, maybe he'll get a clue. I think skooby has more credibility than you do now. It'll be hard to believe your opinion here anymore since you change you mind more than Kerry.

I don't coach pop warner, so stop with the attempted insults, they are old and pathetic.

I am willing to change my mind based on time and factors. I liked Marvs approach to FA, I hate his draft at this point. See with you guys its black and white. Only the sith deal in absolutes...

[Night Train]

I only care about aquiring talent and winning games in the fall...not winning media beauty contests in April.

[ublinkwescore]

changing your mind again Eh? If only Marv coached in your pop warner league, maybe he'll get a clue. I think skooby has more credibility than you do now. It'll be hard to believe your opinion here anymore since you change you mind more than Kerry.

I see you've noticed that too about Ice...

[Jeff1220]

I only care about aquiring talent and winning games in the fall...not winning media beauty contests in April.

Right on! :up:

[Ingtar33]

his first two picks, were following and old school 1st round draft credo.

ALWAYS draft an instant starter in the first round. Both of those players will likely start this year (that's how weak those two positions are).

they were conservative picks, safe in a way. The trick is, they likely will make far more (due to being chosen where they are) then they should and will be run out of town in 4 or 5 years (due to never living up to expectations).

[Indy Bills Fan]

Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Ryan Leaf.....They were all going to be cornerstones for years. The Media hasn't a clue about how they'll pan out any better than we do.

[Ingtar33]

Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Ryan Leaf.....They were all going to be cornerstones for years. The Media hasn't a clue about how they'll pan out any better than we do.


true.

[Michael82]

Here's how much the media knows about the draft.... :::


Seattle Seahawks (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=sea): B
Chris Spencer (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=9067) is able to play center and both guard positions and is a big help, but linebacker Lofa Tatupu (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=9108), quarterback David Greene (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=8749) and linebacker Leroy Hill (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=9070) were all reaches. Offensive tackle Ray Willis (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=8645) was a good pick in the fourth round, end Jeb Huckeba (http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=8253) is an overachiever and the remainder of Seattle's draftees look like backups or special teamers.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/columns/story?columnist=kiper_jr_mel&id=2045144&num=5

Oh and we could see the same damn thing like this about Whitner....



<TABLE class=tablehead cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3><TBODY><TR class=evenrow><TD class=tablemed>2</TD><TD class=tablemed>13(45)</TD><TD class=tablemed>Lofa Tatupu (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/player?id=9108)</TD><TD class=tablemed>ILB (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/position?id=90)</TD><TD class=tablemed>USC (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/school?id=2450)</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD></TD><TD colSpan=4>Rated by some as a fourth- or fifth-round prospect, Tatupu nevertheless is hard to overlook when on the field. He has tremendous athleticism and could push for playing time as a rookie.
Complete analysis (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/news/story?id=2044572)http://espn.starwave.com/i/in.gif
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfldraft/draft05/tracker/team?team=sea