Kirby Jackson

I can hopefully shed a little light on the last 20 years in terms of what was really happening vs. perception of what was happening. Donahoe had complete control. That complete control though came with oversight from Grosse Pointe (which basically means Jeff Littmann who was the real boss). After Donahoe left Ralph (and Littmann) were reluctant to give that much control to anyone. They replaced him with John Guy on the pro side (disaster) and Modrak on the college side. At the point Russ Brandon was running the business side. They operated as 3 silos under an aging Ralph (and Littmann). Marv Levy was technically the GM but was only there because Ralph wanted someone that he could trust on the football side. Marv had about as much GM responsibility as a TBD poster though. He didn’t scout. He didn’t sign players. He was a figurehead and ONLY a figurehead. As Ralph’s health got worse he appointed Russ Brandon as the de facto owner. I don’t know how else to describe the role. It was the first time that someone didn’t need to get approval from Littmann or Ralph to make decisions. To be clear RUSS BRANDON WAS NOT INVOLVED IN MAKING PERSONNEL DECISIONS. He was acting in the same role that Terry Pegula is now. He was overseeing the business side and signing off on what Nix, and later Whaley wanted. Nix and Whaley made the football decisions and worked alongside Jim Overdorf to bang out the contract details. This held true until McDermott and Beane arrived. Basically, Ralph (and Littmann) had control until maybe the last 3 or 4 years of Ralph’s life. At that point Russ Brandon filled that role through the sale to the Pegula’s. The people playing the Beane role along the way were: Donahoe, Guy, Modrak, Nix, and Whaley. Obviously, you know all of the coaches. With all of that said, Whaley was Colbert’s right hand man in Pittsburgh before coming to Buffalo. They thought of him as a rising star as an evaluator. I’m not saying that they were right, just the perception of him in Pittsburgh. It’s no surprise that he is being considered, especially considering that Colbert and Tomlin are involved in the decision making. He’s the favorite.

Remember the Bills went Thursday - Monday last year after Thanksgiving. Personally, I don’t think that’s a factor. It could be Dallas or Las Vegas I suppose (maybe even SF). The Bills are pretty compelling though.

Dallas was last year and just aren’t that interesting. I could see the 49ers or Raiders I guess. The Bills are a massive draw, with star power. They are the Super Bowl favorites with an explosive offense. Von Miller returning home shouldn’t go unnoticed either. Objectively, that’s the most appealing matchup.

With the Broncos playing at the Rams on Christmas it leads me to believe that the Bills - Rams will be the opener. They just don’t have many (or any) viable alternatives. Wilson with a new team was interesting (at least to a degree).

He is a partner at AJ Capital. They have a large portfolio of hotels throughout the country. The Graduate in Nashville as well as The Thompson in Nashville come to mind. The portfolio is north of $1B.

Lol, I wasn’t going to call you out by name 😂😂.

Hmm, I think that I’ve been saying this was a possibility for years? I took a lot of heat from some of you for saying that. Just wanted to come back for my apology 😂😂😂

I posted this in another thread but I heard two yesterday from a pretty reliable source: - Seaon opener in LA - Thanksgiving night at home vs. GB Obviously, there has been a lot of talk about LA but hadn’t heard about GB on Thanksgiving. I think that the assumption has been the Lions. We will see I guess…

There has been a lot of talk about Thanksgiving in Detroit. Don’t be surprised if the Bills actually play home Thanksgiving Night vs. GB 👀. Rumblings of that are in the universe…

Not in person but caught a couple of his games last year. It’s crazy to watch. We’ve heard of “outkicking the coverage.” He “outkicks the returners” at times. https://youtu.be/OafZBFXyg-M Lol, I pop in from time to time. This place was just so toxic for a while that I chose to stay away.

It has stopped as practice times have been cut back with the CBA. All 3 phases practice simultaneously now. The specialists are working together while the others are practicing. I don’t know how to make it work but I’m sure that you could. It just isn’t something that anyone else is doing.

I don’t think that they’ll punt often. It’s nice though to have that weapon when it’s needed. There was a game this year where Haack was a disaster. They still won the game (it might have been Miami or the Jets). He was booed off the field. He also had the punt blocked against Pittsburgh. Haack was the worst player on the roster (and that might include the complete 90 man version). The Punt God is a massive upgrade.

There isn’t a punting competition between Haack and Araiza. That was decided the minute the Bills turned in the card. The guy holds FBS records for gross average, punts over 50, punts over 60, etc… When they (correctly) decided to add him the job was GUARANTEED to be his. They went from the lowest average in the NFL to that. If he’s an abomination as a holder they’ll burn another spot on the game day roster to hold. Maybe they even train someone like Kumerow for that role? It probably increases his value. Yes, I understand that other teams aren’t doing that. The Bills will. If he can hold, even better.

FWIW, Atlanta is split on the QBs. It was Corral for a while but now there are some differing options in that room. I’ve also heard that the Bills love Jameson Williams and Breece Hall is a real possibility.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised by a trade up. Sauce is a guy that they could target if they go up to one of the Giants picks. I can’t help thinking that Beane must love Jameson Williams. He talked about “if you find another Tyreek Hill call me.” Williams is the closest thing. The Bills are absolutely looking for a WR that runs after the catch. That was a big problem last year. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Bills move up 10 spots(ish) to try to secure him.

Lol, I have a text chain with a bunch of these dudes but it’s on mute because it dings every 5 minutes 😂😂. I may have been alerted and missed the message. I just happened to be lurking & saw this one…

Matt Araiza - P - San Diego St. Jameson Williams - WR - Alabama

All good, just a little break

We need to get beyond the “hurt feelings” and keep the eyes on the prize. The Super Bowl is all that matters!! Gilmore isn’t the player that he was but could be a valuable addition.

During the meeting!! He was sound asleep right at the table. The entire football ops team was at the meeting. They carried on because obviously he wasn’t really scouting and/or making picks. He woke up and asked the scout sitting next to him who they were talking about. Marv turned a whole bunch of pages in the binder to get to the player that they were talking about. He then stood up and started doing toe touches.

All joking aside Marv Levy LITERALLY slept through the big pre-draft meeting with all of the scouts when he was the “GM.” They were discussing prospects and he slept for a couple of hours. He woke up, flipped ahead about 230 pages to the current prospect and began doing calisthenics. 100% true story I’m not sure what classifies as a sleeper but Calvin Austin has traits of big time NFL players. Wan’Dale Robinson and Rachaad White are guys that I like too. Coby Bryant is a guy that isn’t getting enough attention either imo.

Thanks!! I’ll stop by occasionally to jam my perspective down peoples’ throats 😂😂. I really do love this time of year. The chaos and unknown is just so interesting. Yeah, I’m not saying that they definitely move a vet, just that it’s possible. KC kind of changed the game with the Tyreek deal. They traded an absolute star, in his prime, to avoid the next deal. These decisions are on the horizon with the Bills (at least to a degree). The $30M handed to Tyreek makes the Diggs decision interesting after this year. That’s part of the reason that WR makes so much sense now. It allows you some flexibility moving forward.

I just gave it in there. Christian Harris in round 2 would fill the Edmunds role at a fraction of the price moving forward. He’s long and athletic with suspect recognition skills. He’s the same guy 😂. I do agree that they aren’t ready to give up on Edmunds. I also believe that unless he’s willing to sign a deal around $10M annually he won’t be back. The Giants know him and could value him as a young vet in the locker room.

It’s absolutely possible that Beane is looking to move up & word got out. He, and every other GM, are exploring their options. The Bills roster is loaded and the cap is tight. The Giants are rumored to want to move out of one of their 1sts for a 1st the following year. Bills trade: 25, Edmunds, 2023 1st Giants trade: 7 This trade is if, and only if, Sauce Gardner is still on the board. They aren’t going that high otherwise. If he is they draft: Sauce Gardner Christian Harris Calvin Austin If Sauce is not on the board they may try to slide up a few spots to get their WR of choice. There is likely a run on WR before and after them. Depending on how that board is stacked I could see a 3rd going to move up 5 or 6 spots.

I’m around, just keeping to myself more 😂😂.