GA BILLS FAN

I'm anxious to see what you are seeing. I thought the last game he was better that what I heard on twitter and from comments, but he still has ways to go, IMO

No date that has been published, however, most feel they'll have an owner identified in time for early October owner's meeting.

I wasn't intending to imply that EJ should be as good as those guys; I was simply using them as a reference to show the benchmark for great -- at this stage in development, EJ should be getting more consistent, I haven't seen that, yet, that was main point, not that I expect him to be GREAT right now. EJ's biggest issue out of college was accuracy, that's my #1 issue to watch and see if he improves.

I don't get hung up on the fights at practice, I'm more concerned that Marrone does. Fights happen all the time, especially at camp, and this has been a long camp and the players are sick of the routine. It's the on-the-field product we should be concerning ourselves with, I wouldn't read too much into the fights unless it translates to a undisciplined team that gets penalized a lot or players not working well with each other. It's football, you want a little crazy and a lot of controlled aggression.

You really think TJ Graham is tradable ? I can't see him making another team's 53-man roster. I could see him, if waived, signing on with another team's PS where he might have better chance to make it to their 53-man roster, however.

I actually hope JBJ never gets an NFL team ! The way he's handled himself and this process is ridiculous. Also, for a practical POV, he's not wealthy enough to bid on any team except the bottom 5 in value anyway, so, it's probably a moot point

I'm still very confident that Pegs will split management of Bills FO into two parts; Football Operations (with France running as President and with Whaley reporting to him) and Non-Football (similar to Ted Black role with Sabres). I do not think Brandon will get the non-Football role and will leave organization to go to NFL offices after an appropriate transition 3-6 months.

I agree with your comment, however two points -- 1- they haven't improved at QB and 2- most teams improve year to year and their fans feel the same way; so, to certain extent it's relative, have we improved more than the Jets, Dolphins and Pats ?

Ah, the Beer guy, didn't here him called the food guy :-)

Food dude ? I've thought about the concept of new owner "flipping" team earlier in the process, I do think it's a legitimate concern w/r/t to Trump but not with TG or TP. I am also surprised the initial bids reported by Forbes are so low. I thought any of the serious players would be at the stated valuation, especially since they are non-binding. It also goes to show you how unreliable the reporting has been with this process, the Pegs bid now ranges from $890M to $1.3B.

For the most part, Vegas and the national media have it pegged correctly and objectively, the Bills are a last place team until proven otherwise. While, the talent around EJ has improved: 1- better depth at RB and a healthy Spiller 2- more experienced offensive coordinator 3- better WR's (Williams & Watkins), more experience (Woods, Goodwin) 4- Offensive line "should" be better, except they haven't looked it, yet The BOTTOM line is EJ, and unfortunately, despite a some flashes, he is still inconsistent and not showing enough improvement to change the so-called experts minds. If you doubt that for a second, watch some of the preseason games Peyton, Brady, Brees, Rodgers have played, they rarely miss. EJ has a long way to go, and in this league, it's all about the QB.

I've also heard that Golisano is much more of a football fan than he ever was a hockey fan. Having said that, I also know he will not overpay for the team and get in any type of bidding war. His upper limit is lower than Pegs upper limit, whether either of those limits get tested by the trust remains to be seen. In other words, is it possible for the trust to accept a $950M bid from TG without going to TP and asking him to beat it ? That is the ONLY situation where TG would beat out TP for the team that I can see.

I think bottom line is that there is a lot more corporate money in Toronto and southern Ontario than there is in WNY, the Bills need to continue to use the NFL brand and putting a better product on the field to draw those $ down to Buffalo, especially if they build a new stadium.

Toronto corporations (or Canadian corporations) are key to selling big money suites, as they have deep pockets. I don't know the cost and inventory of the existing suites and whether they could build "super" suites i.e. 50-yard line with extra amenities to sell for a lot more money in a new stadium --- that is a consideration that must be explored. Having tiers of suites at different price points would maximize revenue in a manner similar to the way seats are sold in newer stadiums. I think, if done correctly, the "average" fan is priced out of the best 10,000 seats but can still afford to attend games. I'm sure the Bills must have a marketing study that shows the supply/demand and price elasticity for suites and traditional seats and could use that in new stadium design

In the end, any increase in revenue comes from either an increase in prices (tickets go from $50 to $80) or a diversion of revenue from another source (i.e. buying beer in stadium vs. in store; or paying Bills for parking vs. an outside vendor.) The key question to ask in this discussion is how much incremental revenue can the WNY contribute ? Clearly, as the NFL continues to broaden it's appeal nationally, the Bills can capitalize by drawing in consumers from further places (like Toronto, Rochester & Syracuse). In addition, the Bills need to compete with other forms of entertainment, not the least of which is sitting at home (for free) to watch the games. I agree, that the Bills are far from capitalizing on the revenue that is out there; a lot of that is the product they put on the field; let's face it, if you start to win games, demand goes up and prices follow. In addition, the Bills can do a better job selling suites to corporations that are not in the 716 area code to bolster that side of the revenue equation. I believe the last I checked the Bills were in the bottom 5 in NFL in suite sales, too.

A new stadium is yet another reason to love Pegula as owner. If he wins bid, we can all collectively take a deep breath and take some time to decide what is in the best interest for all parties regarding a long term stadium solution without a gun to the heads of WNY and a threat to move team. There are a lot of decisions that need to be made regarding a new stadium, LOCATION, COST and HOW TO PAY FOR IT that are much better discussed and resolved without a threat of moving the team hanging over your head.

^I'm thinking more of a quasi tie-breaker between TG and TP; if TG bids $1B and Pegs is at $1.1B; Mary might want to sell to TG because Kelly is involved --- Kelly appeals to the emotional side of the trust

WoW, 2 weeks. Labor Day weekend. I still think this is Pegula's to lose, but the trust does seem to be pushing for Golisano to stay viable. I think there is more to it than simply making process competitive. If JK joins TG, it could get interesting. As for OBJ (love that name !), he's a 100:1 longshot at this stage.

Starting to think the "lofty" demands by the Kelly brothers might have been an "offer to bad to accept" to JBJ given the situation. Do we know whether the Kelly's took that ridiculous offer to Golisano, Trump or Pegs ?

^Ugh ! I know this is a "process"; just feels like a root canal.

I think we now know why he "slipped" to the Bills in the 2nd round. He is more raw and more of a project than the Bills realized and it seems like other teams figured that out and that's why they passed on him. Having said that, the Bills need to be PATIENT, they used a high pick on him and they should stick with him and develop him and see what we have over time with him as a RT. That might mean he doesn't see game action this year as he learns the position and different protections and responsibilities. Let's hope he isn't pressed into game action due to an injury before he's ready !

I think you guys know where I stand. I'd get rid of Brandon and as many of the FO personnel (Littman, Overdorf, etc) as possible after a short transition period o start clean and fresh with a new organization and a new way of doing things. I would hire a President, Football Operations and let him decide on Whaley and Marrone after the season. I think GM/HC deserve a 3-year period for proper evaluation, however, if season plays out poorly, i.e. 7 wins or less, than I might clean house there as well. To me, a new owner is an opportunity to really hit the reset button for this franchise. It's not personal, it really isn't, it's about establishing a new culture, a new way of doing things and creating a new more successful future.

My problem with JBJ is same as many others, he is a liar and tried to deceive to get the team. I take it personally, because he made it personal. He could have done exactly what the LA crowd did after they signed the NDA and saw the terms of sale and the difficulty moving the team, drop out. Instead, JBJ puts up this façade that he never wanted to move team, has his cronies (Jaws) tell the community the same. In the end, it looks like a 99% probability that he won't get the team, and that's what he and we (WNY) both deserve.

Another key to cap management is identifying your core players and paying them enough to stay while letting your non core walk and replacing them with younger pre-FA guys -- it can get real tricky, the Bills haven't faced this dilemma in past 10+ years because they never had enough talent to worry about it --- it's a problem you want to have for those reasons --

Technically I agree, however, I'd like to see this year play out to make that statement definitive. In addition, all defenses need guys that can rush passer, the issue will be at what price. More than likely, if Hughes has a 10+ sack year, he'll be worth more to another team in a different scheme than he would be to the Bills in this scheme (at least as we think we know it today).