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Hasn't done much in Buffalo so far. 1.5 sacks and 11 tackles. That's a lot of money for a projected 4.8 sacks this year.

Anyone still pissy about TD staying complacent and not throwing a ton of cash at this guy?

I do thinks its funny that Mario said "its not about the money, I just want to play for a winner." Ok Mario. Buffalo is where winners go. Enjoy the 6-10 to 8-8 seasons. I really wanted him here but not for the price Buffalo paid. It seems like when guys say "its not about the money," it always is.

Yeah, Mario has not gotten the job done in Buffalo. Not sure that would be the case here in Atlanta since he'd be playing across from John Abraham and would presumably be on a 5-0 team and would have ample opportunities to rush the QB. It's a little different because the Bills have held a lead or been tied for only about 49% of the time this year, while the Falcons have been for about 86% of the time.

If you look at PFF's pass rush stats, in 163 snaps Mario Williams has tallied 1 sack, 4 hits, and 10 hurries. Combined Kroy Biermann and Ray Edwards have 181 pass rush snaps with 0 sacks, 4 hits, and 10 hurries. So basically Mario Williams playing the worst football of his career is still better than Biermann & Edwards combined.

Is that worth $96 million with $50 million guaranteed? Obviously not.

I also read that the Bills are the first team in NFL history to give up 550+ yards in two games straight. Ouch.

I recall in the offseason when a number of people were talking about Abe being washed up and spending $18 million a year on Williams I said Abe would have a better year for a third of the price. And I'm right again

looks like TD got another one right. I dont mind admitting when Im wrong, and I wanted Mario and considered TD complacent.

In the end, he made the right decision about Grimes, Samuels AND Mario.

props to the man.

TD has made so few poor moves it is scary...esp the big $ ones. Very rare that these Godzilla size FA contracts are worth it though Turner is a case that probably runs counter to that. Human nature is to slow down when the bear quits chasing you. Mario and family are set for generations to come. With age comes the perspective of life after football and I canno thelp bu tthink these guys begin protecting their bodies even if unconsciously a bit more...esp on a losing team. In Tim Green's book he even talked about how they did this toward the end of seasons.

He did a good job putting together a 3 championship team (Albeit, at least one of those championships should have an asterisk). And he's done a heck of a job here too. I can't understand why he still gets flack over the Julio Trade. Tony Gonzalez wae a genius move and to get Asante for that price wad awesome. There hasnt been a heap of bust draft picks either (can o' worms: open)

Well let's not get ahead of ourselves. Mario Williams may not be initially succeeding in Buffalo. But that doesn't necessarily mean that over the next 5-6 years he won't become a very important piece/player for them.

Five games is not going to determine whether any move is good or bad.

And TD has made a number of poor moves in recent years. But because he made so many good moves initially, it has masked those bad ones due to the team's ability to continue winning.

But people think because the Falcons continue to win that must mean that TD continues to make good moves. Not really. Moves like getting Ryan, Turner, and Gonzo trump the bad ones like Robinson, Edwards, and giving up all the picks for Jones. The latter move isn't really going to felt until in the future, when many of the good veteran players that TD inherited (e.g. Babs, Grimes, Abe) or brought in early on (e.g. Turner, Gonzo) start to move on, and the Falcons will have a dearth of talent to replace those players.

You would be hard pressed to find a GM who has made no questionable moves and with TD I thin you always have to consider what he inherited...not unlike Loomis (?) in NO. I don't know enough about Dunta's skill set or defensive scheming but it could be argued he was a bad match for BVG's scheme and now he is better suited. Since TD hired both BVG and DR he is not absolved here, obviously. Regardless, I think he has done a pretty good job. I cannot help but wonder where we might be had Vick imploded a year earlier and we kept Schaub as he is kind of similar to MR. Of course, we probably would not have had a top 5 pick either.

I agree that TD has done a pretty good job when taking all things into consideration. I also agree that you're not going to bat 1.000 as an NFL GM.

Is TD a Top 5 GM? Yeah, probably. Off the top of my head only Ted Thompson, Ozzie Newsome come to mind as guys that are definitely better. Rick Smith down in Houston has quietly done a great job there. NE has been far from perfect, but certainly I think have done a pretty good job over the years. Trent Baalke in SF looks to be doing some good things, and Jerry Reese in NYG. TD is probably right behind those guys.

I think most Falcon fans see the glass as 75% full, and appreciate that and for the time being are content with that. But I think TD's job, and every NFL GM's job is to fill the glass completely, i.e. win championships. And thus the onus is now to fill that remaining 25%. And I think when taking that aspect alone in a vacuum, TD has done more bad than good. And it's not some notion that if the Falcons don't win a Super Bowl now, then TD is doing a bad job. I just don't think the Falcons have put themselves on a good path to win a championship in the foreseeable future. I think they're kind of just treading water. Starting in 2013, they need to start doing better with their drafting IMO to get back onto the path.

Like Mike Smith, I think TD gets a bit of a pass because rather than being compared to the Newsomes, Thompsons, Baalkes, etc. of the contemporary NFL, but rather lesser and past Falcon GMs (like McKay & Herock).

I think most if not all of his major moves from 2008-09 worked out. But since then, I think he's been hit and miss, and probably more miss than many people think.