BuffaloRush

He's not a dumb guy LOL where is this story documented? Again, it would certainly back up Sully's "cheap" claim

It's all about context - he said that Ralph was cheap when it came to paying management and many fans and journalists will agree. He never said he was cheap when it came to charity etc. Please don't twist his words into something other than the original point.

TJ was almost as bad as a pick as Bucky Brooks in round 2. I don't think he caught any passes during his career with the Bills. Terrible pick

Jerry is a skeptic for sure - but he does his job as a columnist. Would you rather have him develop a Chris Brown-like style of positive reporting? I don't agree with Sully all the time, but I appreciate his opinion and I think he's right on the money with Ralph

You might be right. But the fact remains that Ralph had opportunities to move the Bills to more lucrative markets. He kept the team in Buffalo and toward the end of his life, made a deal with Erie County and local politicians which would have made it hard to relocate. I honestly believe that as the end was coming near, Ralph did want the team to stay in Buffalo. If you read what I wrote, I gave Ralph a lot of credit for his contributions to the community. Yes, I did criticize the way that he ran the Bills toward the end of his ownership and when you look at the product that he put out post 2000, I believe that criticism is warranted

Scroll to the 35 minute mark http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/21/tim-graham-show-a-conversation-about-interviewing-o-j-simpson/ Again another cheap plug for the Tim Graham show. This show contains audio excerpts from his interview with OJ Simpson. One clip features OJ saying that Ralph wasn't interested in winning in Buffalo because it would mean he'd have to give players raises. He later claimed that once he made his money from the NFL, he changed his mind around the time that Polian was running things. Jerry Sullivan though says that Ralph Wilson was always a cheap owner. While he spent money on players during the salary cap era, he was notoriously frugal when it came to coaches and general managers. Sully even claimed that he called Ralph a "cheapskate" in one article and he refused to talk to him again. LOL. Sully said that Ralph didn't believe any coach or GM was smarter than his and so he didn't believe in paying them. Graham said that Ralph would pay people who "filled seats," like OJ and the Electric Company. This also would account for Ralph's alleged fondness for drafting running backs very high in the draft - to fill seats. This is what makes Ralph Wilson somewhat complicated. On one hand, you have to admire him bringing a team to Buffalo and keeping in the area. While there is some debate, at worst, Ralph made a possible move after his death, a little more challenging than what it could have been. There's also the charitable aspect that he's made to the community and the fact the he seemed like a genuine person. For that I admire him. But what Sully says is fairly spot on for the majority of Ralph's career - with the exception on Tom Donahoe in 2001. He gave him some pretty money and more importantly control of the organization. Things went horribly wrong both from a football and administration standpoint and after Donahoe's firing, it was back to cheap coaches and GM's that Ralph felt "safe" with. In my opinion, this perhaps was the biggest reason for the Bills 17 year drought. Ralph was reluctant to give the money and power to competent people to run football operations. In researching this topic, I came across a great article in Pro Football talk from 7 years ago which further supports what Sully was saying: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/01/01/bills-decision-to-hire-nix-draws-criticism/ “The Buffalo hire is a joke and a slap in the face to all hard working people in the NFL,” the source said. “The Bills have not been to the playoffs in over 10 years and that run will continue for years to come. The owner has made three hires in a row that shows he only cares about mediocrity. “Bills fans can rest assured that, a year from now, two years from now, and three and four years from now, the team will still be in last place in the AFC East. The Jets, Patriots, and Dolphins continue to make moves to get better while the Bills just tread water. There are good people who were very interested in that job, like Dave Gettelman, Scott Studwell and Doug Whaley that never got a chance. All those guys could have helped that team. The best hope for Bills fans is that the owner decides to sell the team and then someone who cares about winning takes over and brings in qualified people.” Ouch! Ironically everything in this article pretty much came to fruition. Again, Wilson is a complicated figure. You love what he did from a humanistic standpoint - but no so much from a football standpoint.

It makes you wonder what his motivation is for making a public statement like that, specially when they are talking with QB hungry teams about trading. I don’t doubt they go QB, but it makes me wonder if they are trying to drive up the price for a team on a trade

Yep and if that’s how you define the worst pick, Torell Troupe can’t be far behind. He was taken one pick before Rob Gronkowski - a player with local connections that was on the Bills radar and would have made a ton of sense from a football standpoint. Buddy Nix, ladies and gentleman.

I see what you are saying and you do have a very good point. But I think that you have to connect the Sammy Watkins selection to EJ as well. After drafting Sammy they basically doubled down on EJ. The Bills basically spent nearly two seasons putting everything behind EJ, until realizing at the end of the preseason that he wasn’t the guy. That’s when they brought in Kyle Orton in a panic move. Maybin is a very strong candidate for #1 worst for sure

TJ Graham was a very bad pick but only as a 3rd rounder. There have been far worse picks taken higher in the draft

It set them back for nearly two years. First off the selection of EJ that high took the Bills out of contention for some quality talent at other positions in 2013. EJ was a 3rd To 4th round talent. The Bills took him 1st overall. Huge mistake. In EJ’s rookie season coaches were very concerned about his mindset and didn’t want want to bring in an established veteran. Even Kolb was a very weak signing. That’s why we ended up with Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel as backup QB’s. The next season, Whaley and the Bills had to prove that EJ was the man. So he mortgaged the franchise and overspent on Sammy Watkins in a WR rich draft. This was a horrible pick. Of course in 2015, not having that 1st rounder hurt. so yeah to say EJ didn’t set the team back is not accurate

Well it’s just one season. I think most people want to see how he develops over the course of a few years.

This is inaccurate. In 3 drafts, Doug Whaley drafted 0 Pro Bowl talents. ZERO! Worst by a Bills GM in nearly 3 decades. Even worse than Russ or Marv Pro Bowl Selections By Bills GMs Tom Donahue - 4 Marv Levy - 4 Buddy Nix - 2 Russ Brandon - 2 DOUG WHALEY - 0.0

People.... you need to read. Mario was not drafted by the Bills. Also I’m taking 1st team All-Pro. Not second team. Generally when someone talks about All Pro status, it’s forst teamers. Also Kyle Williams was drafted in 2006 2002 - it’s been nearly 20 years!

Robert Woods was the best? He was a decent pick for the Bills but he has yet to even make 1 Pro Bowl. If he didn't have the season he had last year, I don't think we'd be having this discussion. Wood and Levitre were solid picks...not so sure they were the best. Wood's longevity certainly says something

What are you arguing about? the stat is correct...3 All-Pro’s in 3 decades. That stat is correct Torrell Troupe was a huge miss too take one pick before Rob Gronkowski. Shameful on Buddy Nix

i think the Bills want Baker

Dude you really need to read closely - it says "All Pro" not "Pro Bowl" Big difference

No problem...Leonard Johnson is but a phone call away

The Best and Worst Bills Draft Picks Over The Past Decade He was no doubt a steal (Thank you Marv) but he falls outside of the timeframe being drafted in 2006

http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/28/tim-graham-show-best-worst-bills-draft-picks-new-stadium-chatter-o-j-s-take-on-sam-darnold/ The crew over at The Buffalo News finally got their act together and started releasing The Tim Graham Show as a full podcast. In the past, for whatever reason, they'd only release a 20 minute segment and try to get people to watch on Facebook Live - which sucked. Anyway, ESPN's legendary beat reporter Mike Rodak said that he was writing a column - The Best and Worst Draft Picks in Bills History Over the past decade. He asked for listeners to call in and give him suggestions. I think maybe 2 people called in because as great at the show is, no one in Buffalo listens to that second rate radio station 1270 The Fan. As I have pointed out in my very popular "Hits and Misses" columns, the Bills have drafted very poorly. While many of you argued with me and would say that certain draft were actually good selection, I felt vindicated to know that professional journalists like Graham, Rodak, and Jerry Sullivan seemed to think along the same lines. Rodak is quick to point out that since 1991, only THREE Buffalo Bills draft picks have been named All-Pros. 1 of them wasn't even an All-Pro for the Bills: 1992 - Henry Jones 2011- Marcell Dareus 2012 - Marshawn Lynch (For Seattle) But the best and worst draft picks is an interesting topic because how the many ways that you can interpret those descriptors. Here are my choices: Worst Draft Picks 1. EJ Manuel - a tremendous miss by Buddy Nix. Never should have been selected with the #1 overall pick, however Nix has no one else to blame but himself for neglecting the position. This draft selection and the team's dedication to EJ really set the franchise back. That's why he is #1 - because the damage that this busted pick caused. 2. Sammy Watkins - this selection is not the worst draft pick from a talent standpoint, but the Bills paid waaaay too much for the return they receiver from Sammy. They gave up two #1 draft picks to again, prove that EJ Manuel could be a good QB. It was ill-advised in 2014 and it completely failed. 3. Aaron Maybin - A top 10 draft pick that records 0 sacks? Absolutely f'n dreadful. The make matters worse, Graham shared a story that Modrak told Dick Jauron he could choose from 3 LB's. Orapko, Cushing, and Maybin. 2 of those players were All-Pros. Guess which one Dick took? The only reason Maybin isn't higher on the list is because he selection didn't set the team back as much as EJ or Sammy. The Best Draft Picks 1 - Cordy Glenn - A 2nd round selection that turned out to be a cornerstone LT for the Bills. This was a very good pick for Buddy. Unfortunately, after he signed his contract injuries and other issues seemed to impact how available he was. When Cordy played at full health he was very good and is one of the better LT's in the league. 2 - Stephon Gilmore - You can't deny it - Gilmore played very well for the Bills. Yes was never on the level of a Reevis, Sherman or Talib but he did give up some big plays to average (and sometimes below average) wide receivers but overall he lived up to his high draft status. 3 - Stevie Johnson - 7th round draft pick that turned 3 straight 1,000 seasons and energized the fan base. This was a tremendous selection from GM Russ Brandon. * Marcel Dareus is a close call here because he had 3 very good seasons and then 3 underwhelming years after he signed his fat contract. He definitely deserves consideration So help out Mike - who are your picks for best and worst over the past decade.

More proof that Bills fans love a good conspiracy

This is FAKE NEWS. No other reporter or news outlet reported outside of Nate Geary. 10 pages of speculation. NNNNNNNNNEXT

This is a wild take and I don’t buy this at all. First off, who is Polian to think that his word carries so much weight that it would negatively affect a player’s draft status? Yes he’s in the HOF but in 2018, but any GM that would be persuaded by a near 80 year old analyst doesn’t deserve their job. If that was th case, people would listen to Gil Brandt Second let’s say Polian was secretly trying to help the Bills through a smokescreen. I think he’d try to focus on a QB the Bills were really high on. Like saying Allen or Rosen will be busts in the NFL. I heard Polian on John Murphy. He clearly was taken back by the negative reaction which included him getting called racist by some fans. I think his words were authentic and if he could do it over again, he did probably be a bit more careful in his critique

You have to believe it’s going to QB, MLB, WR. Not sure if these will If these will be the players