Russ Brandon comments telling...

[buffaloaggie]

Actually, the free agent Non resigning issue is sticky, because I think the Bills have done well passing on certain ballplayers. Lets see, the only one I regret losing is Pat Williams. Passing on Nate Clements (a B player), Jonas Jennings (an injury prone A player) Sam Cowart (injury slowed) and even A Winfield (talented but no INT CB) seems right in retrospect. Just who is it we ought to have kept...other than PW? And the release of Edwards...was late, not early...he should never have had a shot this year...but, in that case, I am positive the ownership dictated that to Gailey.

London Fletcher, Jabari Greer, thought we should have kept Winfield (solid run support and a good pass defender). Clements was overpriced. Fletcher, to me, was the biggest mistake in losing behind Pat Williams. They even screwed up with Dockery by not getting paperwork in to complete a trade to the Lions. Dockery was OK, just way too expensive. Walker should never have been moved to left tackle.

[UlyssesNorris]

Really after all we've experienced during the past decade, is there anyone on TBD that honestly believe winning is a priority of ownership and management?

Try not to be absurd if winning was not a priority then what was? The bills have had ten years of bad drafting and free agency debacles that is just bad management.There is not one person at OBD including Ralph Wilson who does not want winning football back in orchard park.

[CodeMonkey]

Try not to be absurd if winning was not a priority then what was?

Brandons job is Marketing. His job is to put asses in the seats and generally make the team money.

A winning team is a good way to do it, if you are a real GM. Marketing guys rely on gimmicks ... you know, like the T.O. signing last year.

[K-9]

Brandons job is Marketing. His job is to put asses in the seats and generally make the team money.

A winning team is a good way to do it, if you are a real GM. Marketing guys rely on gimmicks ... you know, like the T.O. signing last year.

 

Absolutely RB's job is marketing. And he was never under any illusions otherwise. Nor was he tasked with anything that had to do with football operations. He was GM in name only. As President and CEO he's still doing the same things he was doing when he had the title of GM. It was a working title only.

 

I don't blame him for seeing the marketing opportunity in signing T.O. But it's not like he made that decision in a vacuum. He consulted Jauron and Co. on the football side as well as RW and Littmen, et.al. on the business side before signing him.

 

You're absolutely right though: nothing sells better than a winning team.

 

But you've got to find ways to sell it even when you don't win. Nothing wrong with that. It's our decision to buy or not. The power rests with us.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

The most idiotic opinion in all of sports fandom is the "They are not committed to winning" it is so childish and is reserved for the WGR airwaves!

Yeah, can't be true as we hired a first time 70 yr old GM and first time def cooridinator without any history of success. Whjy would anyone think we are not commited to winning??? LOL

[buffaloaggie]

 

But you've got to find ways to sell it even when you don't win. Nothing wrong with that. It's our decision to buy or not. The power rests with us.

GO BILLS!!!

Does the power rest with us?

 

Support whatever they put on the field or the city of Buffalo loses the franchise. Ralph is holding the city for ransom with the Bills. And what's sad is we have no guarantees Buffalo keeps the Bills after he passes on, even after we support this poorly run team. He has the deed, but this team truly does belong to Buffalo.

[BillsVet]

If Russ and the marketeers can attract 35k ST holders next season, he and his staff are performing a miracle. Goodness knows their challege is exponentially tougher than it was when ole Buddy and Chan came aboard last off-season.

 

The 2011 season slogan should be: "A season 11 years in the making!"

[K-9]

Does the power rest with us?

 

Support whatever they put on the field or the city of Buffalo loses the franchise. Ralph is holding the city for ransom with the Bills. And what's sad is we have no guarantees Buffalo keeps the Bills after he passes on, even after we support this poorly run team. He has the deed, but this team truly does belong to Buffalo.

 

I don't want to confuse the power to support a team regardless of won/lost records vs. the power that an owner has to do whatever he wishes with his property.

 

The power to support a team or not absolutely resides with the fans.

 

And, as sad as it would be and as much as it would suck and even though it would mean the end of being an NFL fan if the Bills ever move, I fully support RW's property rights. This is the USA after all. He's not holding anyone for ransom. State, local, and federal officials can either give him what he wants or not. That's always been the case. RW doesn't have to tell anyone there are other places to go; everyone knows that already. Although in today's economy, those places aren't as plentiful.

 

The bitter fact is that RW owes us nothing. Just as we don't owe him anything in return.

 

It's ironic though, that over the years I've heard RW thank the fans countless times with seemingly very few fans returning the sentiment.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[buffaloaggie]

I don't want to confuse the power to support a team regardless of won/lost records vs. the power that an owner has to do whatever he wishes with his property.

 

The power to support a team or not absolutely resides with the fans.

 

And, as sad as it would be and as much as it would suck and even though it would mean the end of being an NFL fan if the Bills ever move, I fully support RW's property rights. This is the USA after all. He's not holding anyone for ransom. State, local, and federal officials can either give him what he wants or not. That's always been the case. RW doesn't have to tell anyone there are other places to go; everyone knows that already. Although in today's economy, those places aren't as plentiful.

 

The bitter fact is that RW owes us nothing. Just as we don't owe him anything in return.

 

It's ironic though, that over the years I've heard RW thank the fans countless times with seemingly very few fans returning the sentiment.

 

GO BILLS!!!

You're right in that the right of ownership is the ultimate power. This is only a question of legacy and integrity. If the Bills do leave, the betrayal to Buffalo will be on par with LeBron leaving Cleveland. Cleveland ownership treated him well and catered to his every need from what I have read, yet he exercised the right to betray the loyal Cavs fans and ownership because it was his right. There was nothing Cleveland could do, and there's nothing Bills fans can do other than hope that Jim Kelly can pull through on his ownership plans. There is nothing more frustrating than watching your favorite team continue to suffer loss after loss with incompetent leadership and no guarantees of staying from an aging owner. Ralph could cement himself as a savior in Buffalo, but his legacy will only be cemented if the Bills stay. How much money do you need to leave your family? $799 million less taxes. It stinks that the fate of the Bills depends on the advice of accountants more so than football minds.

 

Ralph has perfected getting blood from a stone. He has milked Rogers Communications. He has used the Bills to get plenty of concessions from the local and state government. The government knows the value of having an NFL team, especially concerning an economy as hurting as Buffalo's is. BTW, I think I heard plenty of fans thanking Ralph at his HOF induction when I was there. He thanks fans for supporting a sub-par franchise (and letting him earn a profit) and thanks them by firing any competent front office personnel that he's ever had. He is a great businessman, but he has no clue how to build a winning franchise. That knowledge is now in Indianapolis.

[CodeMonkey]

How much money do you need to leave your family? $799 million less taxes. It stinks that the fate of the Bills depends on the advice of accountants more so than football minds.

No offense, but these are silly (albeit sincere I'm sure) statements.

Football, particularly Bills football, might be a passion of the fans.

But believe me, it is a business first and foremost to owners, FO people, coaches, players and everyone else associated with the NFL as their profession.

 

Do you seriously expect someone like Mr. Wilson to do something crazy like sell the team to Kelly on the cheap just because he thinks Kelly will keep the team in the area? He didn't get to where he is by being a bad businessman.

 

And the answer to your "How much money do you need to leave your family?" question is "as much as possible".

[Van_phelaN1]

All I know is it just flat out sucks to see considerably more opposing fans in the stands of your favorite team's "home game" (not to mention the first "home" game after two tough road OT losses against good teams while still searching for that first win) all because it was a savvy and profitable business decision. But alas, it is a business and that is life.

[All_Pro_Bills]

But believe me, it is a business first and foremost to owners, FO people, coaches, players and everyone else associated with the NFL as their profession.

Successful organizations develop a balance and optimization of many objectives, business, personnal, customer satisfaction, product quality, community involvement, profitability, etc. Generally, businesses that focus on one specific goal tend to fail to deliver value to their employees, shareholders (if any), and customers. So sure, its a business but look at owners like Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder. Personalities aside, you honestly believe our ownership has the same passion for winning as these guys?

 

Look what ownership changes have done to just two franchises in our division, Bob Kraft and Woody Johnson. One businessman replaced another at the top but somehow the results were different. We might argue they are simply better businessmen than the owners they replaced but I believe the extra ingredient is passion. And passion for winning is lacking at OBD.

 

You can argue the point that it's a business until the end of time but the basic fact is that to the fans it's not just a business. Maybe we should all treat it like it is, just like the Walmarts, Fords, etc., of the world. And if the fans viewed this like an ordinary business this team would be out of business already for selling a substandard product and sued for misrepresentation.

[CodeMonkey]

Successful organizations develop a balance and optimization of many objectives, business, personnal, customer satisfaction, product quality, community involvement, profitability, etc. Generally, businesses that focus on one specific goal tend to fail to deliver value to their employees, shareholders (if any), and customers. So sure, its a business but look at owners like Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder. Personalities aside, you honestly believe our ownership has the same passion for winning as these guys?

 

Look what ownership changes have done to just two franchises in our division, Bob Kraft and Woody Johnson. One businessman replaced another at the top but somehow the results were different. We might argue they are simply better businessmen than the owners they replaced but I believe the extra ingredient is passion. And passion for winning is lacking at OBD.

 

You can argue the point that it's a business until the end of time but the basic fact is that to the fans it's not just a business. Maybe we should all treat it like it is, just like the Walmarts, Fords, etc., of the world. And if the fans viewed this like an ordinary business this team would be out of business already for selling a substandard product and sued for misrepresentation.

I agree with everything you said. But a lot of fans do not treat it like a business, it is their passion. And as such continue to support the business that, as you said, has been providing "substandard product" for over a decade on the promise of a better future.

[buffaloaggie]

No offense, but these are silly (albeit sincere I'm sure) statements.

Football, particularly Bills football, might be a passion of the fans.

But believe me, it is a business first and foremost to owners, FO people, coaches, players and everyone else associated with the NFL as their profession.

 

Do you seriously expect someone like Mr. Wilson to do something crazy like sell the team to Kelly on the cheap just because he thinks Kelly will keep the team in the area? He didn't get to where he is by being a bad businessman.

 

And the answer to your "How much money do you need to leave your family?" question is "as much as possible".

To build a franchise's value, you have to know how to run a football team and build a winner. You have to be passionate about your business. If you are not, you get passed by (by all NFL teams). What is so silly about that? The Bills value dropped 12% thanks to a bumbling front office (avg was loss of 2%, so you can't solely blame the economy). As far as football is concerned, he is being a bad businessman right now, because the value of his franchise is plummeting. He could sell to Kelly's group at fair market value, but instead, he drives this team into the ground over a decade. Ralph Wilson has no passion, he only has greed.

 

Bills value - Aug 2010

[birdog1960]

BTW, I think I heard plenty of fans thanking Ralph at his HOF induction when I was there.

i wasn't there but suspected as much and it mystifies me. can anyone explain it? is it just a case of such low self esteem among fans that they're willing to freely say "thank you sir, may i have another"?

[NaPolian8693]

I am a proud Canadian and Bills fan and I will tell you the truth.

 

If the bills where a playoff team it would change nothing because of the following,

 

1) ticket prices are through the roof

 

2) the drinking laws in Canada are way to strick for tail gaiting

 

3) coperate Canada has its paws in the tail gaiting and charging to get into event and beer tents and again krazy prices for beer.

 

Finally the NFL expierience is void without tailgating, fans go to party, BQ, to lite fires in barrels and drink the beer they bring and move from trailer to bus and not worry about drinking areas.

 

Roger's made a major mis caculation thinking they could rip off canadians and not even get the real expierience

 

at that my friends is the truth and the reason the NFL never comes to Canada, personally if the bills move to TO, I will never go to another NFL game.

 

 

Great post.

 

It's a similar experience up in Seattle, and it hurts the gameday experience.

 

As an aside, it goes to show: people don't like drunken belligerent tailgaters sometimes, but the fact is those screaming puking fans help provide a bigtime competitive advantage to the home team.

[8-8 Forever?]

The Toronto move was a great move by the front office. It served to line Ralph's pockets with more money at the expense of Bills fans losing a home game and Canadian fans getting a sub-par NFL experience at a high cost. The focus is Ralph's bankroll and not the fan's satisfaction, certainly not winning. Can anyone point to a move made in the past few years that was all about winning? The T.O. signing and no other free agent signings, the release of Edwards and Langston Walker and trading of Lynch, the not re-signing of countless good veteran performers over the years, the drafting of a RB when that position was arguably our best talent? It's all about trying to make a marketing splash and cost savings with this front office. That's why this team is 0-8.

Pretty much. And bills fans still fill the stadium, pay the parking fees, drink the beer, buy the shirts. I wish I was Ralph Wilson. His bills are the only game in town, and he owns it. And he knows it. the stadium is paid for, the fans buy the tickets no matter what, because Buff is by and large a mid to lower class drinking town and the NFL tailgate experience is a perfect fit for that demographic. and he knows it. Screw the game, more than half the fans are there for the no holds barred all day all night party. like a big rock concert . screw the bands, we're just here for the party. I wish I was Ralph Wilson. He is in the best position should there be a players strike or lockout next year. Bring in replacement players, 40-50k knuckleheads in WNY will STILL come to the Ralph, just for the excuse to drink all day.