birdog1960

this is the take away from this series of events. the bills fo is just not good enough to produce a winner consistently or even likely ever. whether they couldn't make the deal because the gm was ineffectual, the gm wasn't really in control, byrd and parker were immovable and unreasonable, they actually offered less than market, byrd couldn't stomach working in a losing, dysfunctional environment any more or all of the above, is inconsequential. this recurring theme of not re signing your best drafted players while preaching the philosophy of building through the draft is futile and stupid. i only hope it's not also dishonest but i suspect it is.

and the bills are in the best position to know what they'll do in fa. we'll see if they change their colors and do very much in fa. if they do lots, which the optimists here expect, then not tagging him makes little sense. if they do little or nothing, it's still bad news.

well your analogy is only off by a factor of 10. so there's that.

why would you think that? even the olympic opening ceremonies illustrated otherwise...and their market is highly volatile!

it's not vice news but what the hey, linky http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10673235/Ukraine-crisis-Angry-Angela-Merkel-questions-whether-Putin-is-in-touch-with-reality.html

well that's pretty noncommittal. it's easy to not be wrong with such daring predictions. there's volatility and then there's this: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-03/russian-micex-set-for-biggest-drop-since-2009-on-ukraine-tension.html

i'm interested in your prediction for tbe russian economy should they continue invading ukraine. i'll go on record agreeing with the forbes writer. you?

who is being dumb here? i'd say putin. give the man enough rope...maybe obama saw that in him. it certainly seemed a reasonable theory to me. and again, what would be the response in the west to an 11% one day drop in equities in the us markets? what was the biggest one day drop in 2008? how'd that year play out for our prestige, economic power and reserve currency stability? ya think it can't happen to russia? is the g8 meaningless? here you go. it's a very similar drop on 10/29/29: http://en.wikipedia....ustrial_Average

the ends...once again you miss the forest. perhaps you have a clearer crystal ball than the forbes russian economic expert but he doesn't think it ends well for the russian economy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/markadomanis/2014/03/03/the-invasion-of-crimea-is-crushing-russias-stock-and-currency-markets/. watching from the sidelines might be a wise move from a machiavellian perspective.

really? anybody notice what happened to the russian stock market today? what do you think would be scrolling below fox's prime time sitcom tonite if the dow tanked 11% today?

i think the there's a difference between our definition of assets and the organization's. as fans, we see the actual team as an asset. as an organization, they see the asset as the franchise that may need to be sold relatively soon.

totally unconvincing. tag and trade was too much effort? i feel bad for this guy. middle management sucks. someone on the bills' board of directors should have been answering those questions.

far more than can be said about the bills

i think that's the first time the transition tag has been mentioned here. if they were at a all serious about byrd, that tag we be a no brainer. the only reason to not use it would be to not confirm that they really aren't serious. it removes any question that it's about anything but the money. so, it's obviously about the money. i certainly hope a reporter asks the question.

yes, cuz so many top free agents and coaches have been lining up to sign with the bills before this debacle and there is so much respect for the organization now... i can think of many good reasons why fa's haven't been interested. the byrd tag wouldn't make the top 10.

the corporation seems content to retain the value of the asset. letting byrd walk likely doesn't change that value much. another losing season or 3 likely doesn't either. i think this is the lens that all fo decisions need to be viewed through.

i'm starting to believe this zombie corporation theory http://www.buffaloru...he-bills-anyway. it would explain a lot.

do you feel that quality is of little importance in regionalizing a product? might there have been a different response by torontonians to the game if the bills sent the team during the super bowl years up the QEW? perhaps, at this point in time, the projected roi just isn't felt to warrant the cost for that kind of quality.

thank you. i'd already linked that interview but apparently it was disregarded due to it being in a press report. i'd think discussion of her re the toronto game and the organizational goals and philosophy, is salient given that interview. her personality, work ethic or qualifications would seem less so.

doesn't surprise me that would be the characterization of someone that considers the bills one of the most successful nfl franchise in the midst of their 13th consecutive losing season. i would think a bit more passion for the game would go a long way. especially when brandon, the expert in "engaging the fans" tells us the decision on the game will be all about making the team competitive and ms owens is the actual point man on the issue.

not at all sure. i read much more ridiculous (and inflammatory) things in the comments after just about every drudge linked article....yawn.

but it might well mean that he's still involved in burning the stew, at least as far as toronto is concerned.

there's not much evidence to refute any of those points. here's some more to support them: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/print-edition/2011/02/18/ralph-wilsons-33-year-old-niece.html?page=all. "we are a very successful franchise (the story is from 2011!)."russ brandon got here in the late 90's and his track record speaks for itself: being able to engage the fans and have a great game day experience and just being smart about our business." "with the buffalo bills, every decision that is made: what is the return on investment..." she didn't mention winning once. she's no warren buffet but she's her uncle's niece for sure. and yes, i've seen nepotism function decently in the work place, too. i've more often seen dysfunction from it.

i'm betting they're calculating the differential needed in price tickets to offset the loss of revenue from the toronto game. they're likely to go up. ralph's neice has probably got it calculated to the nickel and is reporting back to him now.