Pass the Pipe

Exactly my point!

I disagree with the parachute reference as they are for job displacement resulting from a new management team or compensation for the owners of the business being sold. What I don't like is Marrone's ability to double dip, a new salary from his new team and the Bills paying for absolutely nothing, actually causing disruption to the organization, which leads me to my bad job by Brandon claim. I could see some pro-rated number or a payout if he is fired by the new owner or doesn't land a new job post exercising the option. Marrone is being compensated for leaving a $4 mil. job based on his own decision, which is poor business to me. How do the Bills benefit from this, where is the value of this option to the Bills organization? I can see a proven commodity ask for this clause, but not a guy like Marrone doing marginal work at Syracuse, not exactly a household name in college football.

As I have emphatically stated before, this moron, tumor, jack*ss, *ss kisser, yes man etc, has to go. What business person would negotiate a contract where the contractee, Marrone in this case, is compensated to break a contract? In any basic contract negotiation providing somebody with options or flexibility typically costs something to the contractee, see stock options, call features on bonds, real estate transactions, obviously a concept not understand by our "business man." Marrone exercises an option to terminate his employment with the Bills and still gets compensated, unheard of; completely played by the agent! The Bills will continue to be laughingstock as long as people like Brandon are still around! By the way, buyer beware on Mariota, he is not NFL ready; runs too much and his coach makes all the calls and the guy hasn't fit any throws into tight spaces and has missed many wide open targets!

As you both retreat to the privacy of your Gulfstream for the 2.5 hour jaunt back to Boca Raton, rest assured that you have emulated today, using your terms, the “Great Ralph Wilson” in more ways then you like: returning home after another sound a** kicking at the hands of the Patriots or “fill in the blank” using any team with a competent coaching staff and quarterback. At least Mr. Wilson, RIP, took his lumps from the S-Class version of the Patriots and not today’s rather pedestrian C-Class model, which was missing a host of starters and let’s not even think of comparing Brady’s current supporting cast to the likes of Hernandez, Randy Moss, Crystal Meth Head, etc. If I can digress a minute, can you please tell me why all the Wilson Family love? You made that family wealthier beyond their wildest dreams! He made a $25k investment on a pro football franchise based in the 11th largest MSA at the time, not exactly investing in Nigerian Commodity Futures, and you monetized this past week that trade into $1.4 billion! Believe me a more competent and well-heeled Bon Jovi Group or anybody other than that buffoon Trump and you would have received a handshake and parting best wishes from the Wilson Trustee; maybe a cheap cigar knowing Ralph! Let’s be honest, the Bills were and are one of the worst managed organizations in professional sports; the current 14 yr.+ playoff drought in today’s parity driven league is beyond statistical comprehension! If it was a business, using your parlance, it would have filed for Chapter 7 BK many moons ago, the product is simply that bad! Which brings me to the central theme of this post, fully understanding your need to be PC at the Thursday presser, but please address Jerry Sullivan’s pointed and direct question, paraphrasing, “are/when will you review the football operations of this organization?” Me and about any other Bills fan can save you consulting fees by recommending the firing of Russ Brandon, a quintessential Wilson “yes” man, or at least remove him from any input into Football Operations and flat out fire Doug Whalay, a guy that is in way over his head (see story about emailing porn during his Steeler days as the office gopher). Only in Wilson’s world can a joke like Brandon even get close to the Football Operations wheelhouse and Whalay is simply too ordinary to move the dial. The string of coaching hires, busted early round picks, over priced free agents, inability to sign draft winners, and basically BSing Bills Nation has gone on for too long and unlike politics you have a clear cut score board and record to point to in the case of these two criminals. To see them talk about EJ Manual last year as having the “it” thing, even when the FSU head coach said otherwise, and seeing these two maroons celebrate the extremely over priced Watkins trade this past May and then seeing results like today, the Charger Game, the Texans game and hopefully you start getting the picture! I am sure behind close doors these two poorly dressed individuals (their suits look like they came off the sales rack at Syms (didn’t that place close years ago?)) will blame Nix, Levy, Modrak or even Wilson, but the truth is they have been too close to “control central” at One Bills Drive for too long. But go ahead and do the due diligence thing and hire your consultant and you can buy me a drink later when he concludes in a similar fashion. Frankly, I would take an autographed picture from Kim instead; man all that money and a beautiful girl, things really aren’t fair! Best of Luck and a sincere thank you from the Pipe!

Totally worn-out by playoff teams acquiring selective pieces, garbage teams with huge cap space, and quality flowing from high to low. I find it very interesting and, I largely agree with Polian, on his B- grade to Byrd; a deep center field safety with no physical presence. The Bills will never to see the playoffs until they resolve the ownership and front office short comings!

Kiper's Hair and Pass the Pipe make a rare appearance in the Queen City and we can't seem to find women in general or, more importantly, women that are fit and wear clothes that resemble 2012? We have a big suite at the Mansion and we are not going to be able to populate it at this pace; lastly, the place doesn't even have porn to hedge this very real possibility! What limo service did McGahee use to go to Toronto? I apologize for all the asks, but this is crisis mode!

I am sure we will earn it the old fashion way, the worst record in the NFL!

Thanks for destroying my sleep tonight, what a house of horrors, Tim Anderson, Ko Simpson (wasn't he quoted as saying I am rich, I play for the Buffalo Bills as he was getting arrested for some non-sensical charge?), Chris Ellis, James Hardy, these people haven't even reached their late twenties and they are all out of football.

Excellent analysis, I couldn't agree more; by the way who are the running backs in Green Bay and New England anyways? What I would really like to understand is how much money does Buffalo put into collegiate scouting and player personnel in general. All we see are bargin basement efforts around player contracts and free agents, I can just imagine what kind of money is being spent of football operations including fitness facilities; it has to be next to nothing?

I forgot the sack count, remove the Redskins game and what do you have, 4 or 5 sacks in total? Usually the opposing quarterbacks trip over themselves 5 to 10 times over a 16 game season; real progress, I can hardly wait for next year!

They are horrible, they have to be in the bottom third in every meaningful category that measures defensive performance. You are calling what you see out there as progress over last year? This management team has had a full offseason together and plenty of money under the cap and a full assortment of draft picks and the defense still stinks! Look at the surge on any running play, the front seven is usually getting blown off the ball and the linebackers engulfed by the opponents oline, they have to be the worst unit in the league! What are you suggesting, a healthy Kyle Williams and Merriman will resolve this mess, you must be kidding? McFadden ran roughshod in week two like Johnson did yesterday; I think the score was 21-0 in the first three possessions Brady had in week three, let's forgot about the outcome in those aberrations otherwise called Oakland and NE. Have you had a Troupe and Carrington sighting lately, maybe this should help, Carrington 45 to 50 snaps yesterday for zero tackles and zero assist!

Much like the Canadian Geese every fall infiltrate the skyways of the Eastern seaboard on their trip South, the Bills have plummeted out of playoff contention, I will admit slightly later than normal, but even the geese need to reprogram for anomalies like global warming. Once again, this fabulous forum has shifted focus to the draft and free agency, with a diatribe every now and then on the front office and coaching changes. Ladies and gentlemen, we are simply fooling ourselves if things are going to change with the Bills Organization. As I stated before, the wrong Wilson past away this past week (RIP, Allen, quality human being and kudos to Peter King for giving national recognition to this man). I have followed this website for many years and, believe me, there is collectively better football knowledge on this forum then there is in the front office at One Bills Drive (should change the name to “Last” Bills Drive as we seem to perpetually occupy that space in the AFC East). The annual cycle goes something like this: they interview interesting front office candidates only to settle on some internal up and comer, might as well be from the janitorial staff, free agency begins and they sign “has-beens” looking for a new start, reclamation projects to sell tickets, and/or gadget players, then the collegiate draft comes and with a single digit first round selection “Joe” head scratcher, and finally, they pump out news clips during training camp about how some game day bust has come out of off-season workouts quicker, faster, and stronger only to revert to prior form once the season kicks off. In line with this Bills annual ecosystem, this board’s initial reaction, usually the correct one, is here we go again with this nonsense only to gradually embrace these annual gaffes as time passes and optimist on the website start persuading with the glass is half full view points. Respectively, do yourselves a favor and hark back to the day Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey were each signed to contracts; honestly recall your individual reactions. If I recall, visions of grandeur (e.g. Cowher, Shanahan, Shottenheimer etc.) only to come crashing back to earth with Nix and Gailey, frankly Gailey is the Ying to Jauron’s Yang! Gradually and collectively the TBD warmed up to these C grade actors and we certainly have been fooled again for this stupidity. Can any genius point to progress made during this latest two year regime? First they draft a running back, arguably the deepest roster position they inherited, then they sign a bunch of clowns during FA, Gailey determines that Edwards beats out Fitzpatrick during camp only to reverse course 4 games into the season, and finally they proceed to go 4 & 12 earning the 3rd pick in the draft. Basically more of the same in year two, Dareus will be okay, but I do recall Nix stating Von Miller was not high on the Bills draft chart, only the most urgent need on the roster; we are talking about a GM whose rolodex consists basically of San Diego Charger cast offs and free agents from Georgia Tech, that tremendous ACC football powerhouse. Injuries continue to rack up (believe me, a sure sign that this team is getting physically pounded each and every time they take the field (basically undersized and/or inferior athletes), draft picks continue to disappoint, what free agents?, the defense has regressed and that was priority one in Nix’s first offseason, and they continue to loss (okay, they will win one more game this year over last; let me buy Gailey and Nix Cohebas and Johnny Walker Blue for that tremendous accomplishment). So continue to entertain me with interesting off season dreams and logical visions on what the team needs to do, but be prepared for more of the same!

At a minimum he should have an opinion

Dr. he has used this comment on two straight weeks; he doesn't seem to need tape for recalling bad throws and a receiver's inability to separate, but when it comes to opponent receivers running roughshod over McKelvin or Florence he is asking for tape. My concern is that he is completely clueless when it comes to defense, I can understand areas of specialization, but a good head man needs to have attention to detail and familarity with all aspects of the operation, at least in my opinion. I believe Jauron had similar problems, but in a reverse order to Gailey.

After listening to Gailey’s pressers during this November death march, am I the only one that is concerned with his coined response regarding defensive breakdowns: “I have to check the film as I was too busy going over offensive stuff?” This guy is the chief executive officer on game days and only appears to be overseeing half of the operation; I am all for delegation, but he doesn’t seem to have a clue, nor does he care to have a glue about defensive football and we all know the adage that defense wins championships!