BillnutinHouston

Yes I know. Since the Bills are never very transparent about their intentions, you have to look at what they do, not what they say. So my point was to say that Ralph's staffing of the front office is the window to their true intentions. Unfortunately, in this case, nobody should read "future success" into Ralph's statement, because that is not his focus.

IMO.....Ralph's staffing of the front office is the best guage of where he's really headed. If he brings in more football people (not promotions of existing staff, but new blood), then he is serious about trying to win and is willing to trust experts to run his team for him. Requiring Modrak to reside in WNY would be another small but hopeful sign. If he keeps the status quo, he is simply "maintaining" the franchise, keeping it afloat until his number is up so his family can sell. This would mean he's content to continue calling all the shots and using his skeleton crew of puppets (Brandon, Modrak, Guy) as the frontmen who are there to give the APPEARANCE of minimal competence. My read - Ralph is an old school owner who likes to win, but who now realizes that the stakes of the NFL poker game have risen above his comfort level. The economics of the NFL have passed him by, permanently. So he is now just playing out the string, squeezing what he can from the franchise. He is just "keeping his foot in the door" of the NFL because he realizes the most important part of his asset is the NFL brand, which is ultimately highly valuable to his family. Nothing will change until ownership does.

Navarre, your diagnosis is correct, but Ralph wants to call all the shots. And to Ralph, money drives NEARLY ALL decisions. So what good would a top-flight GM be? Ralph knows this, which is why he is not even bothering to install a GM. On top of all this, which top GM candidates would welcome the chance to strap on the puppet strings to be Ralph's GM?

This thread is based on the incorrect assumption that Ralph is actually committed to winning. Ralph has adequately proven that he is just content to "keep his foot in the door" of the NFL to maintain the franchise, and sell at a huge profit when his number is up. His front office and personnel decisions prove that he no longer has a sufficient commitment to win anymore. The economics of the NFL have passed him by, PERMANENTLY. Ralph has made himself a lame duck in the NFL from now on, and in the process has also made the entire franchise a lame duck. The only type of real football man who would go to, or stay with the Bills is one who is marginal at best (Brandon, Guy) or one who has already decided this will be his last stop before retirement (Modrak). Anyone else with a hope of a future in the NFL would NEVER be attracted to and stay in Buffalo - you would be branded as a loser. Did you notice that Ralph's statement said nothing about "doing everything it takes to win"? Nope, it said we will not be complacent. It was a very defensive, tepid, "really, I won't just sit here and do nothing" kind of statement. OK, so he won't do nothing. Great. That is a far cry from saying "we will do what it takes to win."

Or, how about hearing something from Brandon, aka the Invisible Man.

The 2009 Buffalo Bills: We're out to PROVE it's hard to win in the NFL.

I pity the poor SOB who has to empty the voicemail box of extension 7-9.

gaggle of sycophants - love it! So true!

I suspect that One Bills Drive is a place where only conformity to Ralph's plan gets rewarded. Is there any evidence to the contrary? Brandon is a puppet and will do what he's told, as will everyone else there. Ralph has a very small inner circle and he has NO intention of enlarging it at all. So don't expect any more "foorball men" to come our way any time soon - Ralph has no interest in them

Ralph is going straight to the NFL because he saw the Pats run a play action pass. He figured that play must have been outlawed by the NFL since his team never ran it this year.

Chris is a puppet, just like all other Bills employees. He does what he's told or he's gone.

Funny. What "football guys" do you talk to?

Good post - well said.

WOW.......I'll take a few shares of that. Oh I forgot, the NFL doesn't permit community ownership anymore.

Cassel (2nd stringer) completed 75% of his throws - Edwards completed 56%. Edwards did OK, but the Pats' 2nd stringer was more efficient in the same conditions. The idea is to do BETTER than the other team. Having such low standards is KILLING US, people! Quit falling in love with your mediocre 7-9 roster! By the way, I'll go out on a limb here and say that we threw more than the Pats because they were winning the whole game. They didn't NEED to throw to beat us.

DUMBEST.............POST...........EVER Since you are into futility, I guess you've already tried building a RW voodoo doll and poking the hell out of it?

Generally Marv is untouchable on TBD because people are sentimental for the glory days but since you asked, here's my personal view of Marv: - Rode a deep and incredibly talented roster to 4 SB's and the HOF. Had almost no part in the X's and O's. - Failed miserably all 4 times in the most coach-driven game of all - the SB. What greater test is there for a coach? - Agreed to do Ralph a big favor and step in as a clueless GM when Ralph himself was clueless about who to turn to for help. - Was in over his head as a GM in terms of drafting and free agent signings, but I don't blame him too much for this because Ralph put him in a situation to fail. He was only doing his old pal a favor. To Marv's credit he realized his no-win situation as GM and after recording a few commercials with a little orange ball in the locker room, rode off into the sunset before things got too ugly.

Ditto.

Speaking for myself, the issues I have with Whitner have nothing to do with what he said yesterday, or even his playoff guarantee at the beginning of the season. I actually liked that because it showed a brashness that is needed on this team. No, what I object to with Whitner is his almost complete lack of playmaking on the field. This would be a concern if he was a 4th round pick, but at #8 overall it's a real monkey on his back - a shadow he carries with him onto the field. An organization can't afford to get just competence with a #8 pick. And GETTING SMOKED BY SAMMY MORRIS doesn't help his case either. He is not a difference maker.

Exactly. The point of my original post was to ask if our deficiencies were coaching or play (by either the QBs or WRs). Everyone seems focused on defending Trent's play THIS WEEK, but my question is, are the lack of crossing routes or vertical routes in this offense the result of play calling or player deficiencies?

At first I thought this post was just funny, then thought about it some more - and it's absolutely right. DJ has been outed as a "deer in the headlights" on gameday and is in FULL REACT MODE during a game. He has NO CLUE HOW TO DICTATE TO THE OPPOSITION whether or not he's on his home field.

Bobby is OK, but I have been concerned this year at how many time outs we take before special teams plays, usually because we don't have the right personnel on the field. Even late in the year when the kinks should be worked out. This does not give me good vibes about the Bobby April option.

Some free advice for a Bills fan at the end of his rope: One thing that I am learning slowly over my 41 years, is to not let the outcome of a Bills game mess with my personal self esteem. I am serious about this - and you all can joke about it if you want but you know what I'm talking about. As an out-of-town Bills fan, I used to dread going in to work on Monday after a Bills loss, anticipating what kind of crap I was going to hear at work. Fortunately I am a boss so I don't hear too much these days! In my later years I am learning that even when the Bills lose, my own success and actions, and not my team's, is what defines me. So as much as I hate the Bills to lose and get outraged on Sundays at their incompetence, I don't have to be embarrassed about my team's failures. I just take pride in being a fan of a sad team, and try to remember that their screw ups are NOT my screw ups. This thought (and of course watching the Cowboys lose!) seems to help lessen the sting on Sunday nights...

I guess I'm the only one who sees other team's receivers hit in stride, and ours not so much.

Wait - did you just put Robert Royal and TO in the same sentence?