Beerball Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Brandon on Jan 2, 2013: "Buddy Nix will be the general manager for a long, long time" I've got some more reading to do, but, this isn't exactly a whopper.
Peter Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) Well...It's not just Carpenter they're after...And I get the feeling that they have talked about the big things (Littmann, Overdorf, Berchtold) and got met with less-than-favorable answers...That's frustrating enough when you are in charge and ultimately responsible for the on-the-field results...Then when they wanted to change out something that was much less significant like the training staff, and were met with the same push-back, they decided enough was enough...That's just my guess... Carpenter was the guy who was mentioned in TG's first blog on the matter yesterday. It seemed gratuitously harsh to me. As I recall, at the end of the blog, TG threw in that the Bills have not made the playoffs in 14 years or words to that effect. As I mentioned above, I have no use for Littman - ever since his role in Polian leaving. Regarding Overdorf, I have no vested interest - I just do not see that he has much authority. I am pretty sure he is given the financial parameters and tries to negotiate deals within the parameters. Berchtold also has nothing to do with the Bills not going to the playoff. He is the guy in charge of communications for the Bills and has nothing to do with the on field product. I would not be surprised if this piece (and perhaps the rest) is made up given that the local media seems to have an adversary relationship with the Bills (and Sabres for that matter). As for Russ, I like him and think that it is good that a guy from the area is in charge - which makes it more likely that the Bills will stay in Buffalo. Edited February 24, 2014 by Peter
Beerball Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Big Cat, who are you in relation to Brandon or who are you on the Bills staff. Only someone who works for him and drinks his Koolaid or is a family Member would ignore what a flat out liar and ralph Wilson clone he is. The guy hasn't fixed jack ****. So far nothing has changed. First step is to do what the GM And HC are asking you to do, punt kick this old ass who is way behind the times in treatment practices of players and lets move on. Personally I don't have much of an opinion about Brandon. He did hire that coach and GM you talk about though. What are the lies?
GA BILLS FAN Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) Carpenter was the guy who was mentioned in TG's first blog on the matter yesterday. It seemed gratuitously harsh to me. As I recall, at the end of the blog, TG threw in that the Bills have not made the playoffs in 14 years or words to that effect. As I mentioned above, I have no use for Littman - ever since his role in Polian leaving. Regarding Overdorf, I have no vested interest - I just do not see that he has much authority. I am pretty sure he is given the financial parameters and tries to negotiate deals within the parameters. Berchtold also has nothing to do with the Bills not going to the playoff. He is the guy in charge of communications for the Bills and has nothing to do with the on field product. I would not be surprised if this piece (and perhaps the rest) is made up given that the local media seems to have an adversary relationship with the Bills (and Sabres for that matter). As for Russ, I like him and think that it is good that a guy from the area is in charge - which makes it more likely that the Bills will stay in Buffalo. I also like the fact that Brandon is from the area, however, the new owner will determine if Bills stay or go and unless Brandon turns this team's fortunes around on-the-field,, before there is an ownership change, he will be one of the first that is either fired or his power is stripped and he's back to being a marketing guy for the team. Edited February 24, 2014 by TXBILLSFAN
Beerball Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Nice list, but isn't success on-field measured in wins ? How do you feel about the changes he has made in the past year? Marrone? Whaley? If you like those choices then you give it time. If you don't like those choices then nothing said will make any difference to you.
The Big Cat Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 Nice list, but isn't success on-field measured in wins ? and the guys he hired have (presumably) made noise that members of the organization not-named-Brandon are the ones standing in the way of that...
Billsguy Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I'm never happy about anyone losing their job... Why would any professional team not want to be on the cutting edge in this area? Exactly! I favor an update in this area. Some people still think you can "shake off" a concussion or "rub dirt on it" to fix everything. It's 2014, not 1974.
GA BILLS FAN Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) How do you feel about the changes he has made in the past year? Marrone? Whaley? If you like those choices then you give it time. If you don't like those choices then nothing said will make any difference to you. I liked the hires of Marrone and Whaley at the time, and still do. I liked the extension of Wood. I do not like the fact that Levitre and Byrd were not signed to extensions. I didn't like the way they dealt with Fitz contract and the dead money being spread into 2014. I don't like the fact that he re-upped the Toronto series and is continuing it (as far as we all know). So, on balance, over the past year, there are more negatives than positives. That isn't counting the issues that pre-date his declaration that he was "in complete charge" Edited February 24, 2014 by TXBILLSFAN
sodbuster Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) A couple thoughts that have popped into my dome because of this thread: - Overdorf and Littman are obviously the de facto co-GMs. This makes me want to reassess the string of bad GMs we have had, because maybe they were handcuffed. -Someone asked why TG would be approached with this information. It is perfect. Very few people take him seriously, so the public might not believe it, but the people inside are still embarrassed by the report. Edited February 24, 2014 by sodbuster
The Big Cat Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 A couple thoughts that have popped into my dome because of this thread: - Overdorf and Littman are obviously the de facto co-GMs. This makes me want to reassess the string of bad GMs we have had, because maybe they were handcuffed. -Someone asked why TG would be approached with this information. It is perfect. Very few people take him seriously, so the public might not believe it, but the people inside are still embarrassed by the report. Oh, the motivation for airing these grievances is very legit. Putting Sr. VP's and the media guy in a bad light in the city's major daily sends a DIRECT message. There aren't a lot of dots to connect for why Marrone/Whaley would float this.
Beerball Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) I liked the hires of Marrone and Whaley at the time, and still do. I liked the extension of Wood. I do not like the fact that Levitre and Byrd were not signed to extensions. I didn't like the way they dealt with Fitz contract and the dead money being spread into 2014. I don't like the fact that he re-upped the Toronto series and is continuing it (as far as we all know). So, on balance, over the past year, there are more negatives than positives. That isn't counting the issues that pre-date his declaration that he was "in complete charge" I'm happy the team moved on from Fitzpatrick. No good would have come from retaining him. They had room under the cap last season and they most likely will this (when all is said and done). I can't put Wood or Byrd in his lap. For me they belong to Whaley and/or the bean counters. Just like you don't blame a Fortune 500 CEO for the hiring/firing of low level managers you shouldn't put it on Brandon IMO. Edited February 24, 2014 by Beerball
stony Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I don't think it matters if you have an old school trainer or a a cutting-edge training staff & equipment, when you have 200-300lb freakishly agile athletes hitting each other at high speeds, injuries are bound to happen. Nagging injuries are bound to happen as well. I believe it was the year Pegula installed all those hyperbolic chambers and crap that the Sabres set some sort of record for man-games missed.
808 Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 and the guys he hired have (presumably) made noise that members of the organization not-named-Brandon are the ones standing in the way of that... i like the hires but if you hire a guy and then do not support the guy the guys you hire it is a recipe for failure. we don't know if its true or not yet. but you could hire bill belicheat at this point and have these kinda rumors be true and fail. if the FO isn't behind the GM/HC 100% then its pretty much failure waiting to happen
Justice Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 What is there to discuss here? I can't believe the amount of people rushing to protect these guys. Over the last 14 years of futility the Bills have replaced numerous players, coaches and GMs and that's gotten us nowhere. It's way past the time we start weeding out the guys on top.
section122 Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I don't think it matters if you have an old school trainer or a a cutting-edge training staff & equipment, when you have 200-300lb freakishly agile athletes hitting each other at high speeds, injuries are bound to happen. Nagging injuries are bound to happen as well. I believe it was the year Pegula installed all those hyperbolic chambers and crap that the Sabres set some sort of record for man-games missed. This makes my top 10 things said on tbd that I disagree with list. It most certainly does. Maintenance and preparation of these athlete's bodies allows them to be much more healthy if done correctly. Look at some of the things Chip Kelly implemented in Philly and listen to what McCoy has to say about them. For a different sport look at the Phoenix Suns training staff. They are widely recognized as the best in all of sports and they routinely have great recovery and low injury count.
GA BILLS FAN Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I'm happy the team moved on from Fitzpatrick. No good would have come from retaining him. They had room under the cap last season and they most likely will this. I can't put Wood or Byrd in his lap. For me they belong to Whaley and/or the bean counters. Just like you don't blame a Fortune 500 CEO for the hiring/firing of low level managers you shouldn't put it on Brandon IMO. If Brandon can't tell Littman and Overdorf what to do, he shouldn't have the title of President / CEO next to his name. I agree on moving on from Fitz, but who made the decision in first place to give him that extension ? Littman, Nix, Brandon, Overdorf ? What's the saying, "success has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan" ---
NoSaint Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) I don't think it matters if you have an old school trainer or a a cutting-edge training staff & equipment, when you have 200-300lb freakishly agile athletes hitting each other at high speeds, injuries are bound to happen. Nagging injuries are bound to happen as well. I believe it was the year Pegula installed all those hyperbolic chambers and crap that the Sabres set some sort of record for man-games missed. obviously injuries will still happen, and some of them very bad. some years you might even see a lot of them. but im not sure how anyone could ever argue quality of care doesnt effect health both preventative and recovery over the long haul. Edited February 24, 2014 by NoSaint
YoloinOhio Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 I think Marrone is, like a lot of college HCs who go to the NFL struggling with lack of power as compared to what they have as the head of a college program. This is also going on with Harbaugh and has affected Schiano, Saban, and others. Pete Carroll doesn't deal with it because he is also in a high level personnel role along with being the HC. This is why Jim Tressel took a phone call from the Browns but didn't interview, because of Banner's control shield. Maybe he thought he could affect change with Whaley and it hasn't happened fast enough for whatever reason, but these struggles exist in many organizations. The positive is that Whaley and Marrone are on the same page. I don't know what Russ told them coming in, if he is trying to get where he said he would, and what the other side of the story is. I hope it gets worked out - the proverbial ball is in Russ's court to either smooth things out or make changes.
stony Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 This makes my top 10 things said on tbd that I disagree with list. It most certainly does. Maintenance and preparation of these athlete's bodies allows them to be much more healthy if done correctly. Look at some of the things Chip Kelly implemented in Philly and listen to what McCoy has to say about them. For a different sport look at the Phoenix Suns training staff. They are widely recognized as the best in all of sports and they routinely have great recovery and low injury count. I'll definitely give you the Suns. Case in point, Steve Nash. As for Philly, of course the players will react differently for the new methods being introduced. Why criticize the ways of an ambitious, new coach. But wouldn't anyone be in better condition w/o Reid's Taco Tuesdays and pizza days. I'll admit, I have no numbers to back up my assumption. And it's merely just that. But after pursuing other team's message boards throughout the years, this situation/discussion is not native to the Bills by any means.
Beerball Posted February 24, 2014 Posted February 24, 2014 What is there to discuss here? I can't believe the amount of people rushing to protect these guys. Over the last 14 years of futility the Bills have replaced numerous players, coaches and GMs and that's gotten us nowhere. It's way past the time we start weeding out the guys on top. I don't remember anyone saying anything nice (or even close to it) about Littmann, Overdorf or Berchtold. Please point out these many posts.
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