Opinions on Tom Modrak

As some of you might astutely point out, I appear to have a personal vendetta against Tom Modrak.  In reality, I don't.  This is not a personal issue, this is much broader reaching than that.  I actually am optimistic about the path the current Bills are going.  I am on board with the promotion of Buddy Nix, I love the hiring of Whaley (presumably as an apprentice to Nix), and I am willing to wait to cast my vote (positive or negative) towards Nix when he has completely filled out his opening day roster.

Tom Modrak is a completely different beast.  He is a hold-over from the Tom Donahoe days.  He has been part of the worst strech of Buffalo Bill's football in their history.  I will make no attempts to entertain the idea I can attempt to make this poll impartial.  But I will do my best to outline the facts and keep my opinions as muted as possible.  I am honestly interested to see the variety opinions of Modrak out there. 

I preface the rest of this post by stating I tried to do the best I could to compile this information.  If I made and error, please correct me.  Modrak has not been the most visible or publisized employee during his tenure with the Bills, so locating historic information has been difficult.

The facts about Modrak

He is a 34+ year NFL veteran.

From 2001 (post draft) to 2006 he served as the Assitant General Manager to Tom Donahoe.

From 2006 to 2009 his job title is somewhat hard to locate, but he apparantely was offered the General Manager's position by Marv Levy and respectively declined it. 

"I think I'll be more involved in some of the day-to-day, and more involved in the pro end than I was," said Modrak. "However, my job basically is the same as assistant general manager and it's still in the talent area and it will be primarily college.

"I appreciate what I'm doing. I really like the job that I have. How good can it get? I do football and I go on the road. That's pretty good."

In 2009 he is serving as Vice President of College Scouting under Nix.

Modrak's Draft History

I have stolen some text stolen from a very good Buffalo Sports News Article on Modrak.  

One homegrown Bill player taken during draft in the past seven years have been voted to the Pro Bowl (Terrence McGee).  Jason Peters was also made the pro-bowl, he was a free agent signing after the draft.

Here's a breakdown of the Bills' drafts by round since Modrak arrived:

Round One:Ten first-rounders have been drafted since 2002. This list includes players like Mike Williams, J.P. Losman, John McCargo, and Aaron Maybin.

While former team President Tom Donahoe had final say on the drafts from 2002 through 2005, none of the team's top decision makers can avoid responsibility on the Williams pick. There was a full consensus among the brain trust that he was the right man at the No. 4 overall spot. If the selection of Losman had panned out, they would be led by a veteran quarterback entering his prime. (Source: Buffalo Bills News Article)

Willis McGahee, Lee Evans, Whitner, Lynch and McKelvin are the other No. 1s. McGahee was a big gamble and didn't work out in the end, but he is a good player. Evans is an outstanding player who could come to be viewed as a home run. Modrak was strongly in Evans' corner for a long time before the draft. The Bills passed up Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris to draft Evans. Harris went to Chicago one pick later.

Round Two:There have been eight picks: Josh Reed, Ryan Denney, Chris Kelsay, Roscoe Parrish, Posluszny, Hardy, Byrd, and Levitre.

Round Three:The seven picks: Coy Wire, Angelo Crowell, Tim Anderson, Kevin Everett, Ashton Youboty, Edwards and Chris Ellis. Crowell was an excellent pick.

Round Four:The nine picks: McGee, Sam Aiken, Tim Euhus, Duke Preston, Ko Simpson, Dwayne Wright, Reggie Corner, Derek Fine, and Shawn Nelson.

Round Five:Justin Bannan, Ben Sobieski, Eric King, Kyle Williams, Brad Butler, Alvin Bowen, and Nic Harris.

Round Six:Kevin Thomas, Lauvale Sape, Justin Geisinger, Keith Ellison, John Wendling, Xavier Omon, and Cary Harris.

Round Seven and beyond:Sixteen players have been drafted. Mario Haggan was a standout special teamer. Derek Schouman, Steve Johnson and Demetrius Bell still are on the team. Peters and Jabari Greer were phenomenal rookie free-agent signings.  Ellis Lankster is still developing.