How Much is Russ Brandon to Blame for Bills' Current Plight?

[develop818]

Name one team that plays most of their home games after Thanksgiving.

 

How many home games did the team play after Thanksgiving last year? Did it result in a playoff berth?

 

You're missing the point. The fact that Russ is requesting from the league that most of our home games be before Thanksgiving shows he does not even plan on making a playoff push. You don't make one in October. You make one in December. You dont think its MUCH easier if you played more than TWO REAL home games in the last 8 weeks/games of the year?

 

See my point above; their hand was kind of forced.

 

Their hand is "forced" due to the absolutely terrible desicions they make constantly. Is Green Bay's hand "forced"?

Win games, they will all sell out. Its that easy

 

Nobody can say if he's an upgrade; he's a rookie head coach. Chan never won more than 6 games; perhaps Marrone will do so this year.

 

You are correct no one can tell. But when you hire someone you do it on some sort of merit. What merit does he have? Chan had a lot more and he was bad. What makes you think Marrone is even qualified?

 

Actually, the vast majority of a time that a GM retires, he stays on through the draft since he's already done the preparation; your opinion about EJ notwithstanding.

 

Lol, when he retires? you mean when he retires from doing a good job? That right is reserved for a GM that did a good job. Not one that has not. The Bills not only tolerate losing. They're ok with it.

 

So bringing in a new coach, new football department, signing Mario, drafting a new QB...these things don't communicate a desire to win?

 

EVERYONE has a desire to win. Some teams and organizations dont accept losing. Maybe instead of giving Mario Williams 100 million and spreading it out to the GM Scouts Coaches like the best teams do would change the culture. What message does it send to your team when you give Mario Williams 100 million but wont resign your All Pro safety who has done it the right way? Dont get me wrong Mario has played great this year. But its backwards.

 

Huh?

 

Sorry, Chandler Jones was drafted 21st overall. My mistake.

[Boludo]

No, making money is incumbent upon the team's participation in the CBA. They are required to maximize their efforts to grow their fanbase to the satisfaction of the other teams. If you remember, prior to the 2011 CBA, teams like Dallas and Washington made waves with the other Owners claiming that the small market teams don't do enough. That's why you get things like stock-offerings in Green Bay (who, by the way, used to play home games in a different city as well).

 

Buffalo's choice was to make mega-bucks by moving a home game to another area of their fan market. Do I like it? No. Has it been beneficial in qualifying the team for their entire share of the revenue provided by the league's TV contracts? Yes. If you don't think this is important, read this:

 

http://www.sportsbus...FL-revenue.aspx

 

And yes, they do want to win...badly. They haven't been good at it...it's not a question of desire; it's a question of capability.

 

Is that better? To say they would like to win but they are simply incapable of doing so? That's even worse it means there is ZERO hope.

[thebandit27]

You're missing the point. The fact that Russ is requesting from the league that most of our home games be before Thanksgiving shows he does not even plan on making a playoff push. You don't make one in October. You make one in December. You dont think its MUCH easier if you played more than TWO REAL home games in the last 8 weeks/games of the year?

 

My first thought is that I don't remember seeing Brandon say that they preferred home games before December. I remember seeing him say that, going back 20 years, the early-season games always sold out easier (he even referenced that the Houston comeback game, a playoff game, did not sell out).

 

And like I said, the team had 3 home games last December.

 

Their hand is "forced" due to the absolutely terrible desicions they make constantly. Is Green Bay's hand "forced"?

Win games, they will all sell out. Its that easy

 

You clearly did not read my post and are just responding emotionally. As I pointed out, the team was forced due to provisions in the CBA that require them to maximize their fan base in order to qualify for shared revenue. That's why teams like Green Bay have to sell phony shares.

 

Go read the link I provided upthread before you shoot from the hip. It has zero to do with selling out games.

 

You are correct no one can tell. But when you hire someone you do it on some sort of merit. What merit does he have? Chan had a lot more and he was bad. What makes you think Marrone is even qualified?

 

I'm not going to review Marrone's resume for you; it's easily searchable. He wasn't my first choice; that doesn't mean he has no merit for the job. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been interviewed by Cleveland, Buffalo, or Philadelphia, nor would he have been on Chicago's interview list (Buffalo hired him before Chicago could sit down with him).

 

Lol, when he retires? you mean when he retires from doing a good job? That right is reserved for a GM that did a good job. Not one that has not. The Bills not only tolerate losing. They're ok with it.

 

I'm not sure if there's a point you're making here or not. Find me a GM that retires right before the draft and I'll revise my statement that it's quite common to keep the current GM through the draft he's prepared for...obviously the situation changes if you're firing the guy; Buffalo wasn't.

 

And if they were okay with losing, wouldn't they have kept Gailey, Fitz, Wanstedt, etc.?

 

EVERYONE has a desire to win. Some teams and organizations dont accept losing. Maybe instead of giving Mario Williams 100 million and spreading it out to the GM Scouts Coaches like the best teams do would change the culture. What message does it send to your team when you give Mario Williams 100 million but wont resign your All Pro safety who has done it the right way? Dont get me wrong Mario has played great this year. But its backwards.

 

I'm sorry, but doing out money isn't about sending messages; it's about getting value. Signing Mario was about fixing the pass rush; and it has absolutely helped. As for sending the message about guys doing it the right way, perhaps Byrd shouldn't have held out. Since Nix and Whaley came on board, many players have gotten deals by showing up and finishing out their contracts in good faith. Among them:

 

Stevie

Freddie

Kyle Williams

Wood

Urbik

Pears

Fitz

 

The list goes on...and it's wholly germane to the discussion to recognize that the team didn't let Byrd walk. He's still here, and they can still re-sign him for 2014 and beyond. Failing that, they can yet tag him again for 2014. The message there is clear: don't hold out if you want a new deal. Show up, come to work, and we'll talk.

 

Sorry, Chandler Jones was drafted 21st overall. My mistake.

 

You cannot possibly be serious that Chandler Jones is a better player than Mario Williams. I'll virtually guarantee you that no NFL head coach thinks that.

 

Is that better? To say they would like to win but they are simply incapable of doing so? That's even worse it means there is ZERO hope.

 

I didn't say it was better; I took issue with the implication that they don't want to win. They do...

 

And I wouldn't say that they're incapable; rather that what they've done so far hasn't worked. To their credit, they keep trying to start over. What else do you want them to do?

 

You can hold your breath that the owner will sell the team and that a new owner will bring in new people, but that isn't going to happen.

[Nitro]

The assertion that Brandon was the GM after Donahoe is erroneous. Marv Levy replaced Donahoe. Brandon stepped in when Levy retired for a 2nd time 2 years later. Brandon by his own admission left the draft to others and he handled the business aspects of the job. Ralph had his hand in the many drafts and that is known.

[Boludo]

You can hold your breath that the owner will sell the team and that a new owner will bring in new people, but that isn't going to happen.

 

lol really the next owner won't bring in new people?

[Jauronimo]

lol really the next owner won't bring in new people?

This argument will be settled by word count. Step it up.

[thebandit27]

lol really the next owner won't bring in new people?

 

I'm sure a new owner would bring in new people; yes. The very, very, very obvious point that I made was that you can hold your breath waiting and hoping for the owner to sell, but that it isn't going to happen.

 

I cannot believe that I just had to explain that.

[thebandit27]

 

 

I can personally tell you that I'm not doing so, and find anyone that is doing so to be very sick and sad.

[Jauronimo]

They went to 4 consecutive Superbowls with him as the owner; you are wrong.

Why do you do this?

[Boludo]

i dont know if you realize this but the bills are one of the worst franchises in the league and are considered a laughingstock

 

they have always been bad from the start we are talking decades

 

they were good for a while under polian - he was a great exec that had success his entire career but ralph ran him out of town

 

outside of that they have always been a bad team

[thebandit27]

Why do you do this?

 

Some of it is altruism; some of it is entertainment.

 

i dont know if you realize this but the bills are one of the worst franchises in the league and are considered a laughingstock

 

they have always been bad from the start we are talking decades

 

they were good for a while under polian - he was a great exec that had success his entire career but ralph ran him out of town

 

outside of that they have always been a bad team

 

Thanks.

[BigBuff423]

It seems for some inexplicable reason that Ralph Wilson decided to hand over the keys to the current Bills' "kingdom" to a person who has not demonstrated anything significant, short of following Boss Ralph's orders. And now it appears he is even wavering on his lone signinicant "accomplishment", by publicly acknowledging he is reconsidering the infamous "Bills Toronto" series, which on both sides of the Peace Bridge, has been doomed since its very inception. We only need to look back at his short lived stint as interim GM, following TD's dismissal, to see firsthand that Russ is clearly not a "football man"then . But exactly what is he? He doesn't appear to be a marketing genius either. He does have a resonant voice, perhaps he was really destined to replace the iconic John Facenda on NFL films. Otherwise I am at a loss?

 

To answer your question regarding their "current plight", which I dare say due to it being football and that the BILLS are not even close to being the worst team in the NFL this year the term "plight" is outlandish and inappropriately used, Brandon I believe had little to do with the overall current state of affairs for football. The Toronto debacle, that has his fingerprints all over it...but I will give him an A for effort in trying to meet what apparently is becoming the NFL's mandate - to outsource home games to foreign countries - by moving ahead of the curve a bit and putting games in Toronto which are still driveable for BILLS fans as opposed to London, or God forbid - Madrid in the near future. It's obvious to me that Whaley's promotion, Doug's hiring, and the analytics part of what is occurring in Buffalo has Russ' fingerprints all over those things as well. I think Wilson and Levy set this franchise back a decade when Wilson let Donohoe go and when Levy (as much as I love the guy as a coach and gentleman) was brought out of retirement to lead the charge. To me, Nix did a solid job. And before you set me on fire, keep in mind the Carrington and Troup Draft was not essentially his, but instead belonged to a vacant GM seat. Keep in mind, as a GM he was hired in January and didn't have control over the scouts or the Pro Personnel Department until that promotion, and once the Draft was over, he basically cleaned house. He was dependent on men he fired just a month later to provide the scouting and statistical information they needed for the Draft that year. The following year, was all his and I think this last year was a collaborative effort between Nix and Whaley. And I think Fitz was to Gailey what Sanchez was to Rex. Nix wanted to bring in other QBs and Gailey said, "Nope, Fitz is my guy! You can bring in anyone you want...but they'll sit the pine!" So Nix didn't waste the time and let Gailey hitch his wagon to Fitz's horse. The difference in NY was Tannenbaum said, "F' you Rex! I'm brining in Tebow" and all Rex did was let Tebow drink hot chocolate and pray while Sanchez dug his own grave. Then the new GM came in and said, "Ok Rex. It's new QB or the unemployment line"...just guess, but it seems that way to me. Anyway, Brandon is starting to make his mark on the organization but for current "plight", I'd say that goes back farther and in ways Brandon didn't have any control over. The Whaley promotion and Marrone hire are firmly his...let's start there and see what happens.

[BillsVet]

I recall getting a text in 2009 saying RW had fired DJ. Brandon was the GM at the time and obviously didn't have the latitude to make that decision, which defines the dysfunction at OBD.

 

Owners hire GM's. GM's hire coaches. GM's and coaches pick players. Owners collect the profits. We can see that when owners interfere too much and won't let football people make the decisions necessary, things don't work. Washington, Dallas, and Buffalo are prime examples. Heck, even Mike Brown figured that one out and Cincinnati is going to the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 seasons.

 

Brandon is an extension of RW and isn't about to deviate from how the team's been run post TD. The fact this thread is started tells me that Brandon's tough talk doesn't work like it used to.

Edited December 18, 2013 by BillsVet

[KOKBILLS]

Run while you still can...

 

 

Brandon helped put the people in place that make the personnel decisions, therefore it is his fault.

 

He doesn't care about winning and is just doing exactly what Ralph would be doing anyways if he wasn't too old to function.

 

Seriously? You really believe that?

[Campy]

I can't believe how many people are this dense as to think this...yes, he wants to win. So does Ralph. Have they been good at doing so? No.

 

Failing to understand that distinction is mind boggling to me.

 

Welcome to the internet.

[thewildrabbit]

Brandon is the current CEO, and has had his hands on this team since Marv Levy retired in 2007, so the Bills overall win record since that time has been abysmal.

 

But, as others have pointed out that Brandon's job has been mostly marketing and in this facet of the team he is very successful.

 

Bottom line, if you are happy and content that the owner has been making a profit while consistently fielding a losing team. Then you are a Brandon fan.

From a fan standpoint I can only think that Brandon has been the bane of the team! From being the owners yes man to hiring some of the worst coaches during his time with the Bills. This is what happens when you take a FO baseball man, and let him run a football team.

Edited December 18, 2013 by FeartheLosing

[Campy]

Seriously? You really believe that?

 

After reading some of his posts a second time, he's gotta be trolling. I mean, people in WNY don't really believe what he's saying... do they?

[Jauronimo]

Brandon is the current CEO, and has had his hands on this team since Marv Levy retired in 2007, so the Bills overall win record since that time has been abysmal.

 

But, as others have pointed out that Brandon's job has been mostly marketing and in this facet of the team he is very successful.

 

Bottom line, if you are happy and content that the owner has been making a profit while consistently fielding a losing team. Then you are a Brandon fan.

From a fan standpoint I can only think that Brandon has been the bane of the team! From being the owners yes man to hiring some of the worst coaches during his time with the Bills. This is what happens when you take a FO baseball man, and let him run a football team.

Holy !@#$ing leap of logic. How do you reconcile "mostly marketing and in this facet [he's been] very successful" with "bane of the team!", hiring coaches and running a football team?

 

Was he mostly involved in marketing or was he pulling all the strings?

Edited December 18, 2013 by Jauronimo

[K-9]

Run while you still can...

 

No need. Hell, he even deferred the decision to hire Jauron to Marv Levy, who was the one that gave Mr. Wilson the glowing recommendation.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Campy]

Brandon is the current CEO, and has had his hands on this team since Marv Levy retired in 2007, so the Bills overall win record since that time has been abysmal.

 

But, as others have pointed out that Brandon's job has been mostly marketing and in this facet of the team he is very successful.

 

Bottom line, if you are happy and content that the owner has been making a profit while consistently fielding a losing team. Then you are a Brandon fan.

From a fan standpoint I can only think that Brandon has been the bane of the team! From being the owners yes man to hiring some of the worst coaches during his time with the Bills. This is what happens when you take a FO baseball man, and let him run a football team.

 

Why do you say Brandon was a "yes man?" I mean, ya' know, other than the fact you don't like him. Do you have any evidence he has never taken a principled stand?

 

And hiring "some of the worst coaches?" What does that even mean? Google Harvey Johnson, John Rauch, Jim Ringo, Kay Stephenson, Hank Bullough, etc. Or do you not mean "some of the worst coaches in Bills history?" Do You mean "some of the worst coaches available?" Which coaches did he hire? And who, realistically - don't start yelling Shanahan, Gruden, or Cowher because none of them would've come to Buffalo - was available at the time? Who else did they interview that you wanted them to hire so badly?

 

That's the beauty of hindsight, I guess: Just sit on the sidelines scream bloody murder when people who are trying don't succeed. Well, good on ya' I suppose, but it's not how I roll.