funny thing about 2003 draft

[superman]

After the 2003 draft everyone and their mothers bashed the Bills for their draft stating that with all their needs how could they pick McGhee.

Some people said it was stupid to not get Kelsey in the 1st rd, then when we got him in the second they said it was a big risk. Kelsey did next to nothing (I know its early, just making a point).

Others said we shouldve gotten Witten or Clark at TE. Eventhough they played well, there wasnt anything special or spectacular about them.

People talk alot of noise during the draft every year and never talk about how 80% of the crap they say doesnt work out.

If McGhee turns out to be the same guy he was in college the Bills are sitting pretty with trade bait and these putzes who said we shouldve gotten Kelsey or Clark are gonna turn around and say how they thought it was a good idea.

[2004Draft]

You leave out some more meaningful names the Bills passed up in order to grab McGahee. Names like Gross and Boldin.

Any way you slice it, Kelsay wasn't on too many teams boards for the 1st round. If TD had him on his board for the 1st rd then I would start to seriously doubt his draft skills. I think that he had Kelsay in the 2nd from the start. The McGahee pick was a gamble on an incredible value. It was a flashy and aggressive move that may work out brilliantly. I think that Donahoe's tenure may ultimately be decided by McGahee. If he turns out to be 100% then TD gets a reprieve. If he turns out like Robert Edwards, then TD may be gone.

I was scratching my head just like all the "experts" too. TD passed up some more pressing needs (imagine Jordan Gross on the line). I just hope it wasn't a hype pick designed to get people excited.

I always enjoy watching Donahoe work. It certainly never gets boring...

[JoeMama]

Originally posted by superman
After the 2003 draft everyone and their mothers bashed the Bills for their draft stating that with all their needs how could they pick McGhee.

Actually, it wasn't that homogeneous.

There were many in favor and many opposed.

Some people said it was stupid to not get Kelsey in the 1st rd, then when we got him in the second they said it was a big risk. Kelsey did next to nothing (I know its early, just making a point).

I'd like to know who wanted Kelsay in the 1st round.

I remember my '03 draft experience... while the Bills were on the clock in each round, I silently repeated to myself "Please not Kelsay. Please not Kelsay." Guess I jinxed it.

You might want to go thru the War Room archives, I don't recall many (if any) posters clamoring for Kelsay.

[bunnjam]

Huh, how did the Bills pass on Gross if he was taken 8th overall??

And Boldin went in the 2nd round. If Buffalo would have reached for a wide receiver in the 1st everyone would go nuts.

Bottom line is that this is a pointless argument until we know how MaGahee pans out. If he is a star, great move by TD. If he busts TD is a moron. We can speculate all we want but we just don't know...

[35Pete]

Originally posted by superman
After the 2003 draft everyone and their mothers bashed the Bills for their draft stating that with all their needs how could they pick McGhee.

Some people said it was stupid to not get Kelsey in the 1st rd, then when we got him in the second they said it was a big risk. Kelsey did next to nothing (I know its early, just making a point).

Others said we shouldve gotten Witten or Clark at TE. Eventhough they played well, there wasnt anything special or spectacular about them.

People talk alot of noise during the draft every year and never talk about how 80% of the crap they say doesnt work out.

If McGhee turns out to be the same guy he was in college the Bills are sitting pretty with trade bait and these putzes who said we shouldve gotten Kelsey or Clark are gonna turn around and say how they thought it was a good idea.


Of course they will. They will deny trashing Drew if he does well and they will go ballistic if we don't draft a glamour position with our #1 (WR, QB)

[Lucidvizion]

Originally posted by bunnjam
Huh, how did the Bills pass on Gross if he was taken 8th overall??

I think he meant Eric Steinbach(sp) who went to the Bengals in the top of the second.

[2004Draft]

Originally posted by LucidVizion
I think he meant Eric Steinbach(sp) who went to the Bengals in the top of the second.

Appreciate the defense. I actually was thinking of Kwame Harris. Steinbach of course was another good example.

Oops, my memory must be failing me. I should start back-checking facts since I can't remember stuff.

Of course, people would have been going " who the hell is Anquan Boldin?". But scouts and coaches get paid to know who guys like Boldin are. Wide receiver was and is a team need for the Bills. But I agree with your argument.

The fact remains that TD rolled the dice on the McGahee pick and the discussion of the wisdom of this move is still relevant today.

[kdhammond]

Obviously no team considered Anquan Boldin to be a #1 pick or someone would have taken him.

Boldin had some off field issue (marajuana?) and didn't run well prior to the draft.

The draft is not an exact science. If it were, then Tom Brady would have been a high #1 pick instead of a 6th round after thought.

[35Pete]

Originally posted by kdhammond
Obviously no team considered Anquan Boldin to be a #1 pick or someone would have taken him.

Boldin had some off field issue (marajuana?) and didn't run well prior to the draft.

The draft is not an exact science. If it were, then Tom Brady would have been a high #1 pick instead of a 6th round after thought.
EXACTLY!:squishfis

[Tatonka]

bolden ran a friggen 4.8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that is why he fell.. he ran slower than many LBs... and he didnt just do it once.. that was his BEST time at the combine.. he screwed himself by running so crappy... i dont blame td for not drafting him.. how could we have known?

[unklechucky]

I know its an old scouting cliche, but i guess Boldin plays faster than hes timed. Im not sure so dont quote me on this, but I believe that Jreey Rice was timed as slow too.

[superman]

Boldin was an aberration. The Cardinals scouting dept look like geniuses but these fools got a diamond in the rough because of poor drafting. They virtually gave away a top 10 pick then they select a WR who they paid more than the rookie of the year and a DE that most people had rated as a 2nd rder.

Originally posted by JoeMama

You might want to go thru the War Room archives, I don't recall many (if any) posters clamoring for Kelsay. [/B]


I wasnt talking about the forum, I was referring to countless internet mock drafts that all had Kelsey going from as high as 15th overall.

[orthy]

Originally posted by superman
I wasnt talking about the forum, I was referring to countless internet mock drafts that all had Kelsey going from as high as 15th overall.

Agreed, I distinctly remember about 50% of the mock's last year having us taking Kelsay at 23...Hopefully they will be as wrong this year. Maybe one of the Williams' WR's will fall to 45, especially if the soph from the PAC-10 declares...?? Obviously very doubtful...

[unklechucky]

Fluke or not, goes to show that a sprint and a stopwatch arent everything.

[TigerJ]

Kelsay was on the Bills' board as a first round option. They opted for McGahee of course, but TD stated that had they not taken him, Kelsay may will have been the pick. I agree that noone foresaw the kind of season Boldin would have. It would not be at all fair to blame Buffalo for not taking him in round one. Steinbach certainly would have been a solid pick and his presence may have been enough to affect the outcome of a few games this year with all the problems Buffalo had a right guard. I'm never one to worry too much about the past. It's water over the dam. McGahee is a Bill and I hope he is the next OJ Simpson (without the post career moral issues).

[Sabot55]

Looking in retrospect, we should have picked Antwoine Woolfork. That would answer any questions about Winfield. But we didn't.

As far as Boldin and Steinbach. As said before, Boldin has issues off the field and didn't run well.

Steinbach had middle of the 1st round talent, but questions emerged about his history of injuries, and that he was too top heavy to root out bigger DT's.

William Joseph had an average senior year and also was seen as not able to anchor against the run.

Woolfork would have been a solid choice.

But if McGahee pans out, this is all moot, because Donahoe got the best player.

[35Pete]

Originally posted by Sabot55
Looking in retrospect, we should have picked Antwoine Woolfork. That would answer any questions about Winfield. But we didn't.

As far as Boldin and Steinbach. As said before, Boldin has issues off the field and didn't run well.

Steinbach had middle of the 1st round talent, but questions emerged about his history of injuries, and that he was too top heavy to root out bigger DT's.

William Joseph had an average senior year and also was seen as not able to anchor against the run.

Woolfork would have been a solid choice.

But if McGahee pans out, this is all moot, because Donahoe got the best player.

Hindsight is 20/20. We cannot blame our front office for missing talent that 95% of the rest of the league also missed.

[freedomfrypizza]

Originally posted by LucidVizion
I think he meant Eric Steinbach(sp) who went to the Bengals in the top of the second.

Steinbach would've been a good choice for our first pick

[JKJK]

I was disappointed in the 2003 draft because in 2002, we got several people who at least contributed. In 2003, we seemed to miss on the players we drafted. The jury is still out on McGahee.

2002 draft:

1 OT Mike Williams Texas
2 WR Jake Reed LSU
2 DE Ryan Denney BYU
3 SS Coy Wire Stanford
5 DT Justin Bannan Colorado
6 CB Kevin Thomas UNLV
7 OG Mike Pucillo

[TigerJ]

I know you mean "Josh Reed," JKJK. Was't Jake Reed a WR for the Vikings a while back?

The 2002 draft was an easy one for TD because the Bills had noles in so many areas. 2003 was more difficult because a lot of the holes were filled. The way the draft worked out, the best player available was not always a need player.

[mykiljonz]

While people can and will say things about the WM pick...NOBODY should be able to say anything about the Boldin pick. That was a fluke, and congrats to the kid for proving all the "experts" wrong.

I DID want Steinbach though. I guess we will just have to wait and see. (and keep fingers crossed)

[35Pete]

Originally posted by mykiljonz
While people can and will say things about the WM pick...NOBODY should be able to say anything about the Boldin pick. That was a fluke, and congrats to the kid for proving all the "experts" wrong.

I DID want Steinbach though. I guess we will just have to wait and see. (and keep fingers crossed)

Mykizonz and Tigerj you both make excellent points. In the 2003 draft we filled a lot of holes. Unfortunately there were some holes that neither TD or a lot of us saw. Such as TE, C, G, and still LDE.

As a result we took what we felt was the beat athelete available (Wills M)

I just hope that somehow Donahoe can get needs and value in this draft.

[2004Draft]

Ok, I concede that Boldin was a fluke pick. Bad example. Lets substitute him with that TE named Dallas.

[billpa]

In a few years we could be saying how great this draft was because we got the best player with the 23rd pick, a solid, starting DE in the second round, and McGee in the 4th, which I think is a steal already. It's too early to say now but it looks like this draft could turn out to be a good one.

And I don't think it's that big of a deal that we passed up on an OL or a TE to take what could be a great running back if he gets healthy. An OL or TE in the late first round doesn't even potential anywhere near McGahee's. I can't picture Witten or Steinbach becoming great players, but I can see McGahee doing it.

[1968_bills_fan]

If he recovers and becomes what should have been a top 5 pick- we are in fat city for 10 years. Since we seldom will get a top 10 pick, its a player that would never have been seen in Buffalo. It was worth the risk. There are a lot of 1st round busts out there, we can afford one once in a while.

[35Pete]

Originally posted by 1968_bills_fan
If he recovers and becomes what should have been a top 5 pick- we are in fat city for 10 years. Since we seldom will get a top 10 pick, its a player that would never have been seen in Buffalo. It was worth the risk. There are a lot of 1st round busts out there, we can afford one once in a while.

In our present position I do not think that we can afford a first round bust. We need to hit home runs with these picks.