Kirby Jackson

Then you and I have heard totally different things (and Polian never came so I’ll trust what I heard). It’s not a coincidence that the Pegula’s put RB over the Sabres after they took over the Bills. They didn’t replace him, they promoted him. They knew that he was good and could stabilize their business.

Curse you @Augie for dragging me in on these conversations!! I was trying to stay out!! I just can’t help myself...

That’s not the case. They wanted to stabilize he football department. People get confused as to the org chart. Think of the business side and the football side as to separate businesses. There isn’t much/any crossover. The team president oversees the business operations, marketing, stadium ops, community relations, public relations (some crossover on that), ticket sales, IT and sponsorship. I worked in sports for multiple teams for almost a decade. I’m pretty well-versed as to the way that it flows. The reason that they can overcome Russ leaving is because he left behind talented sports business executives. Dave Wheat and Bruce Popko jump out as guys that have been high level executives for years in sports. Either one of them could have had (and may had) chances to interview for other team president positions. This isn’t at all “new” to them. Winning will always help. That’s obvious. It just isn’t always going to happen. It doesn’t for anyone. You can’t build your budget for the upcoming year based on results on the field. The reason a team asks for your renewal at the end of the previous year is to monitor the revenue for the upcoming year. They need to know where they stand.

From the Bills standpoint those issues will fall well behind revenue generating opportunities IMO. The first thing that I would do is redo the entire lower level between the 20’s at least. The amenities there (and pricing) would be stepped up. The weirdest part about New Era Field is that the best locations aren’t combined with the best amenities. That is asinine to me. It would be like an NBA having floor seats with no private clubs or other benefits. You’d have the benefits for people in worse locations. It’s crazy. The best way to maximize revenue is to marry the best locations and the best benefits.

It’s actually a zillion times harder than that. You don’t think every team just says, “let’s just win this year and we are fine?” That’s an awful business strategy. There are 32 teams and that will always be somewhat cyclical (the Patriots are an obvious outlier). You have to build a business model and plan that is sustainable whether you are 14-2 or 2-14. Your budget is what it is regardless of your record. Obviously winning helps you achieve those numbers but there is not one team, in any level of professional sports, that’s business model is “let’s win and it will be okay.”

She certainly has less leverage than other owners in that everyone knows they are married to Buffalo. At the same time she took the natural first step of “don’t look at us to pay for this whole thing.” It will end like these things always do, the state, the team and the fans will share in the cost.

They have people in place capable of handling the job. Polian was to stabilize the football department. There was no turmoil on the business side (which is what a team president oversees). Russ was good at his job just not good in the me too era. There are people in place (like Bruce Popko) whose name you’ll start to see. They are the ones doing the work, Kim is the one relaying the message. To be very clear though, Kim is learning from Popko & company not the other way around.

I’m going to try to stay out of this but it sure sounds EXACTLY like I said it would...LAMP

One of the guys in our group is a UGA alum so we are tentatively planning to double dip. That could change but the thought was that we could be to Houston by 9 or 10. If the Yanks are in Houston though all bets are off.

Yeah, that was a good time

My answer is almost always “the next one.” With that being said, we have a big group coming for Houston. It also is entirely possible that the Yankees and Astros are playing the ALCS there at that time. I went the last time the Bills played in Houston and last year to the ALCS. I hope to be able to double dip this year!! The thought of that has me excited!!

This is kind of where I am. The caveat is that I’ll never cheer against them and am still happier when they win. I would rather be a little upset when they lose and then look back and be okay with it. I think that the Bills are still in the building phase. If they struggle next year and end up with an elite WR or DL, it isn’t bad. If Allen can play the Bills are building towards something big.

I 100% agree with you on this John FWIW. The only part where we differ some is that if he is 3rd at opening day he isn’t worth the roster spot to me. Stick him on the PS. If he gets picked up to an active roster so be it. He can still be a backup in this league and have a role. He isn’t the answer at QB though. I hope that Allen is.

5 picks in a half wasn’t “a breath of fresh air to me.” I like when my team wins. The “clown show” of the last 3 years won more games than they lost and broke the playoff drought. There were a lot of times over the last 17 years that were more miserable to me than the recent times. Again though, I’m not concerned with “going through progressions” if it results in completing the pass to the defensive back. Moral victories aren’t important to me; winning is all that I care about. To each his own I guess...

There is something to be said for guys that hang around the NFL for a while. I suspect McCarron will be one of those guys. There may never be a time where he starts a lot of games. It’s entirely possible that McCarron has a 10-12 year career and starts less than 10-12 games. Chase Daniel is in year 10 with 2 starts and $25M. That’s not bad work if you can get it. To your point, the trick is you have to be reliable on and off the field, smart, a hard worker, show flashes and never rock the boat. McCarron can check all of those boxes. That’s the recipe for sticking around.

I don’t think that’s the case because of Allen. No one would be more excited about a 5th round pick with limited physical skills over a guy that you traded up into the top 10 for. There would be a McCarron camp (aka: let the kid develop) and an Allen camp (aka: take off the training wheels). If you notice anyone that advocates for Peterman points to the positives from last year. That’s the basis for the support. If he hadn’t done ANYTHING than the people in the camp of “we don’t know what he will be if we haven’t seen him” would be pushing for Allen. That same thing applies to him but with WAY greater physical tools.

I think that the answer is because “he’s not Tyrod.” Some people wanted anyone but Tyrod last year and were happy to see Peterman. At the same time they now protect him because he’s the guy they wanted. No one likes to be wrong about a guy. They are willing to give him every opportunity to prove them right. If Peterman didn’t fall on his face last year I don’t think that we’d see anyone lobbying for or against him. He’d just be a camp arm. At this point though everyone has strong feelings because there is a resume. One side can say “I think this because...” while the other side can say “yeah but....” If Peterman didn’t play at all last year the talk about him would be so much less.

I think that I’m of the belief that WR is a bigger need than OL (although both are needs). I just happen to think that some of the young OL (specifically Miller and Groy) are a little better than people think. If Teller and McDermott can play they will have decent competition and depth there. The WR position is all question marks. There are health issues, speed concerns and an inexperienced group. There isn’t much to feel good about at this point.

The reason that you were challenged is because you said that the Bills didn’t have the money to do it. That was immediately proven false. You could have just walked away instead you doubled and tripled down. No one thinks that it is “likely.” There are 31 teams that he can go to after leaving Philly. The Bills have need, money and a coach that has had success with his skill set. It’s reasonable to think that they will be interested.

Oh no, not this take!! “I’d rather be right than the Bills improve” is the worst take a “fan” can possibly have. I remember losing a couple of EJ fans because they couldn’t handle being wrong about him. The simplest rule of fandom is “Best interest of the team > my opinion on what’s in the best interest of the team.” That rule is 100% true in any and all situations.

It likely didn’t come with a raise either. He could have played a few games in Cleveland for $9M or potentially a few games in Philly for $9M. I get why Foles elected to stay put.

Hackenberg makes EJ look like Peyton. He’s the worst NFL QB I’ve ever seen.

What a waste of a conditional 7th!! The Jets ripped them off.