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Bills thought they had deal to get Ben in 2004

Steelerfan81

Steelerfan81

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From an ESPN story.

"After they told me to leave, Mike didn't like the structure of the front office and there were a few other elements in play that affected him and his family," said Donahoe. "The reality is Mike was not a failure. He had two impossible situations as a head coach. I mean, go look at the roster he had in Jacksonville. His quarterback to start the year was Blaine Gabbert and it seemed like half the team ended up on injured reserve (21 players did.)

"The way things work in the NFL, he probably doesn't have a great chance to keep the job with the Titans but he finally has a quarterback in Marcus Mariota -- something he's never had."

When it was pointed out that Donahoe was responsible for giving Mularkey a quarterback like J.P. Losman in the 2004 draft, the former GM was not insulted.

"Look, we tried like crazy to jump in front of the Steelers at that 11th spot and we thought we had a deal with Dallas to get [Ben] Roethlisberger and it fell through," said Donahoe. "And we were under orders from the owner (the late Ralph Wilson Jr.) to draft a quarterback. When we didn't get Roethlisberger we had to trade back into the first round to get Losman. And I think J.P. may have had a different career if certain things hadn't happened. But the bottom line is if you give Mike Mularkey a great young quarterback, he will have success. Mike [is] very good with protections. He's a man of integrity, he's open to criticism, he's organized, he's easy to work with and he's going to hold players accountable. He may not shout about it, but just watch him."

Mularkey did show that early in his interim tenure. He stripped tackle Taylor Lewan of his status as a captain and gave it to Dexter McCluster. -- CM
Click to expand...

Thank God that fell through.
 
Yep getting Ben was the highlight of all my draft day memories... I still remember watching him in college and thinking he would be the top ick by far... I still can't believe Rivers or Eli went ahead of him
 
madinsomniac said:
Yep getting Ben was the highlight of all my draft day memories... I still remember watching him in college and thinking he would be the top ick by far... I still can't believe Rivers or Eli went ahead of him
Click to expand...


I was building a deck on our new house at the time. I can tell you which joist I was installing when he was drafted. My buddy was helping me and we were listening to the draft on the radio............
 
I would take anything Donahoe says with a grain of salt.
 
madinsomniac said:
Yep getting Ben was the highlight of all my draft day memories... I still remember watching him in college and thinking he would be the top ick by far... I still can't believe Rivers or Eli went ahead of him
Click to expand...

I think the biggest reason was that Ben was playing at a smaller school than the other two.
 
"Look, we tried like crazy to jump in front of the Steelers at that 11th spot and we thought we had a deal with Dallas to get [Ben] Roethlisberger and it fell through," said Donahoe.

Ok, someone please explain that statement to me. In 2003, Dallas went 10-6 & made the playoffs (lost of course), and were picking #22. How would a deal with Dallas get them ahead of us at #11?
 
I remember that day well. I remember thinking, FINALLY, we get that missing piece to get us a championship. The misery of the past 24 years is about to be washed away. If only we had a quarterback earlier in Cowher's career.

I also remember the day Ben crashed the motorcycle. I thought, "oh no, we suck again!"

I was 4 years old during the great 1974 draft, so getting Ben in 2004 was my all time best draft memory.
 
oicu8ad said:
"Look, we tried like crazy to jump in front of the Steelers at that 11th spot and we thought we had a deal with Dallas to get [Ben] Roethlisberger and it fell through," said Donahoe.

Ok, someone please explain that statement to me. In 2003, Dallas went 10-6 & made the playoffs (lost of course), and were picking #22. How would a deal with Dallas get them ahead of us at #11?
Click to expand...

Good call. Maybe he meant Houston who picked right in front of us..same state lol
 
Beleive him or not, I'm just glad we got ben. I go a rothlesburger at the original rothlesburger joint in the strip district. AWESOME all around!!!



Salute the nation
 
I heard this before and the deal was suppose to be with Jacksonville who decided to stay put and reached for Reggie Williams who would have been there at the Bills spot #13.
 
Ah yes. My freshman year in high school when Ben was drafted good times. Anybody remember going 15-1 that up coming season?
 
MTC said:
Ah yes. My freshman year in high school when Ben was drafted good times. Anybody remember going 15-1 that up coming season?
Click to expand...

Even rg3 couldn't do that..............!!!!!




Salute the nation
 
If it weren't for Dan Rooney we would've passed up on Ben. In his book he stated he wanted Ben and didn't want to make the same mistake he did when he passed on Marino.
 
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