Is Russ Brandon to Blame?

[thebandit27]

I think we have beaten this to death.. You have those that work for the PR company hired by the Bills front office that has done quite a good job of deflection. For chrissakes if this wasn't the case why the hell would they spend 15 pages defending the marketing guy instead of talking football... Go Bills. I expect a strong effort tonight as they have a way of bouncing back when 90% of the fans base seems to be throwing in the towel.

I agree, and I'll add that the coalition hired by the Patriots smear-campaign committee to trash Brandon has done an equally good job of deflecting from the issue that we haven't found a franchise QB.

 

There's nothing dumber than the idea that anyone that disagrees with you on this subject must be a shill.

 

I promise that you're as much of a shill as I am.

Edited September 15, 2016 by thebandit27

[PromoTheRobot]

I think we have beaten this to death.. You have those that work for the PR company hired by the Bills front office that has done quite a good job of deflection. For chrissakes if this wasn't the case why the hell would they spend 15 pages defending the marketing guy instead of talking football... Go Bills. I expect a strong effort tonight as they have a way of bouncing back when 90% of the fans base seems to be throwing in the towel.

Yes. Russ hires dozens of us to shill for him. Did you know that Russ is also the grand high pooba of the Illuminati?

[thebandit27]

Yes. Russ hires dozens of us to shill for him. Did you know that Russ is also the grand high pooba of the Illuminati?

Yeah, once we reach the "you must be a shill" portion of the discussion, we're off the deep end.

 

Not surprising. When the owner's printed words don't jibe with the narrative, then this is the clear fall-back, because trying to actually prove the narrative in the face of that is impossible.

[May Day 10]

Do we think Tom Brady would have an identical career trajectory if the Bills drafted him instead of the Pats?

 

I dont. I believe a lot of NFL players, even Quarterbacks are a product of their environment.

 

 

 

Even if it is "just a quarterback" that is needed.... this franchise has had 16 years + to replace Kelly, most of those years picking in the top half of the draft. Still failed. Has anyone who matters currently at OBD ever identified, obtained, and groomed a decent QB?

[K-9]

 

One example, selecting an injured Shaq Lawson in first round.

Are you suggesting Whaley didn't perceive a need at that position?

[pocoboy]

If they say Brandon has no part in Football Ops, and then he's in the room making personnel decisions on cut day, that's a big deal. One thing you hoped the Pegulas were going to bring to the table was more transparency and credibility. The later Ralph years were ominous and dark, and you just had no idea what exactly was going on. Then they go and hire a GM that has credibility outside the organization, and then a coach who has had _some_ success. You think it's going to be different.

 

But then you get Brandon back in the room. Seriously, this has to be a problem. Why? Because they went _way_ out of their way to make sure everyone knew a year or so ago that he was not in Football Ops anymore. They knew he was tainted with the fan base, whether for good reason or not. So they made sure to do that - again, that's all a PR type move too.

 

It would not surprise me if Rex talked about Russ in the cut meeting intentionally. After how his term ended with the Jets, I can't imagine he's happy about a suit who knows very little about football giving advice on how his roster is put together. And he's gotta know that the fans would not be happy about it.

Edited September 15, 2016 by pocoboy

[GunnerBill]

 

That would be me, and I stand by it. You can look me up in a year or two when he's dominating.

I would have been more than happy to roll the dice on Jack but I think Shaq will be dominating in a year or two too.

[jms62]

Yeah, once we reach the "you must be a shill" portion of the discussion, we're off the deep end.

 

Not surprising. When the owner's printed words don't jibe with the narrative, then this is the clear fall-back, because trying to actually prove the narrative in the face of that is impossible.

 

No the Bills hire 1 PR firm and they have a multi media team which does this sort of thing. If you don't think this type of thing exists in the year 2016 then.. Well it is quite likely you are well aware that such a thing exists otherwise why would you spend days and days defending the marketing guy??? In a sane world the initinal post would probably been ignored and the thread would die of natural causes quite quickly...

[pocoboy]

Do we think Tom Brady would have an identical career trajectory if the Bills drafted him instead of the Pats?

 

I dont. I believe a lot of NFL players, even Quarterbacks are a product of their environment.

 

 

 

Even if it is "just a quarterback" that is needed.... this franchise has had 16 years + to replace Kelly, most of those years picking in the top half of the draft. Still failed. Has anyone who matters currently at OBD ever identified, obtained, and groomed a decent QB?

 

The NFL season is extremely short, and there is very little opportunity to get a young QB the reps he needs to develop. The NFL has long needed a second league. They've benefited from the NCAA for a long time, where some development occurs. But as colleges learned that they need a more reproducible offensive plan, they've tailored their playbooks to the type of QB which doesn't suit the pros.

 

If we don't see a development league within the next decade, it's tough to imagine how pro offenses will adapt.

[K-9]

The GM is not impotent in any way, shape, or form.

 

If he was adamantly opposed to Rex he'd have said so, and there's no doubt Pegula would've taken that into account. Read the linked piece--Whaley had his fair go at Rex in the interview process.

 

Also, I was unaware that the fans were the ones that sold all the luxury boxes back in '98 when that was the roadblock to keeping them here. You may not like Russ, but he was the driving force in getting it done.

 

http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2001/11/20011105/Forty-Under-40/Russ-Brandon.aspx?

People forget what was tied to the selling of those luxury boxes: the $69m state dollars for the renovation. No pressure there your first year on the job. Nope, none at all.

 

People also forget the utter lack of sponsors prior to Brandon's arrival. It was night and day walking into that stadium before and after he arrived. That corporate sponsorship translated to a ton of unshared revenue and it was no easy task in the face of a WNY economy that wasn't so robust at the time. And people wonder why Mr. Wilson valued him so much.

 

Brandon brought us into the 21st century in terms of a sustainable sports marketing model. Clueless people like to pooh-pooh that aspect of his expertise, as if those corporate deals could have just taken care of themselves through some organic process. Right.

 

But hey, he's the "one constant" so that's all that matters.

 

Yes things were awful when he arrived in 97... Playoffs nearly every year, long string of sell out games.. Things were just freakin awful...

From a corporate sponsorship point of view, yes, they were awful. Pitiful and a league laughing stock, actually.

 

I know, it was so easy that even you or a caveman could have done it.

[Fadingpain]

Yes. Russ hires dozens of us to shill for him. Did you know that Russ is also the grand high pooba of the Illuminati?

Didn't know that. Another good reason to fire him.

[K-9]

So how far are we willing to take this? Did Russ fire John Butler too?

LOL! Butler took Brandon under his wing in teaching him other aspects of the business. They had a great relationship.

[jms62]

I agree, and I'll add that the coalition hired by the Patriots smear-campaign committee to trash Brandon has done an equally good job of deflecting from the issue that we haven't found a franchise QB.

 

There's nothing dumber than the idea that anyone that disagrees with you on this subject must be a shill.

 

I promise that you're as much of a shill as I am.

 

Yes because football is such a binary sport. Franchise QB is the only thing this team needs. Behind every franchise QB is a solid offensive line protecting that QB and opening holes for a running back but solid offensive lines are boring and doesn't sell tickets.. So we stab at guys like CJ Spiller when we are already stacked at RB or go out and get diminutive RB's like Lesean McCoy when our offensive coordinator has a history of slamming it up the middle... Why ??? Cause these flashy guys sell tickets...

[K-9]

I think we have beaten this to death.. You have those that work for the PR company hired by the Bills front office that has done quite a good job of deflection. For chrissakes if this wasn't the case why the hell would they spend 15 pages defending the marketing guy instead of talking football... Go Bills. I expect a strong effort tonight as they have a way of bouncing back when 90% of the fans base seems to be throwing in the towel.

Was this thread created to talk football? Nope. It's just another thread full of non facts and half truths served for the sole purpose of giving people yet ANOTHER avenue to vent their misguided and uninformed opinion that a MARKETING guy was making all sorts of personnel decisions when for the first nine years of his tenure he wasn't even close to being in a position to do so.

 

But yeah, "one constant." It's silly, really.

[thebandit27]

 

No the Bills hire 1 PR firm and they have a multi media team which does this sort of thing. If you don't think this type of thing exists in the year 2016 then.. Well it is quite likely you are well aware that such a thing exists otherwise why would you spend days and days defending the marketing guy??? In a sane world the initinal post would probably been ignored and the thread would die of natural causes quite quickly...

I agree with that last sentence, which means BOTH sides here must be shilling, so who's paying you to stump, and when does my check arrive?

 

You seem to know a lot about this paid Internet shill stuff...

 

Or without the shtick: when people say silly things to trash a guy, I like to correct them. When it goes off the rails with even sillier claims, I tend to try harder to bolster my point.

 

You go ahead and believe whatever X-Files theory you can come up with. You're wrong; plain and simple.

 

Also, it wouldn't hurt to occasion to read what others actually say--you look foolish calling someone that criticized the Ryan hire, the selections of guys like Kouandjio, Ragland, and Darby (glad to be wrong about that last one) a shill.

 

But like you said: it's 2016 and this is the Internet, so why bother actually considering if an accusation like that is warranted when you can simply shoot your mouth off unchecked.

 

I'm done with your act.

 

Yes because football is such a binary sport. Franchise QB is the only thing this team needs. Behind every franchise QB is a solid offensive line protecting that QB and opening holes for a running back but solid offensive lines are boring and doesn't sell tickets.. So we stab at guys like CJ Spiller when we are already stacked at RB or go out and get diminutive RB's like Lesean McCoy when our offensive coordinator has a history of slamming it up the middle... Why ??? Cause these flashy guys sell tickets...

Yeah, look at those amazing OLs that Brady, Rodgers, and Wilson are playing behind!

 

That's an outdated and untrue argument. Again,

Try researching your point.

LOL! Butler took Brandon under his wing in teaching him other aspects of the business. They had a great relationship.

And then Russ had the audacity to fire him?

 

 

#shillinlikeavillian

[jms62]

I agree with that last sentence, which means BOTH sides here must be shilling, so who's paying you to stump, and when does my check arrive?

 

You seem to know a lot about this paid Internet shill stuff...

 

Or without the shtick: when people say silly things to trash a guy, I like to correct them. When it goes off the rails with even sillier claims, I tend to try harder to bolster my point.

 

You go ahead and believe whatever X-Files theory you can come up with. You're wrong; plain and simple.

 

Also, it wouldn't hurt to occasion to read what others actually say--you look foolish calling someone that criticized the Ryan hire, the selections of guys like Kouandjio, Ragland, and Darby (glad to be wrong about that last one) a shill.

 

But like you said: it's 2016 and this is the Internet, so why bother actually considering if an accusation like that is warranted when you can simply shoot your mouth off unchecked.

 

I'm done with your act.

 

Yeah, look at those amazing OLs that Brady, Rodgers, and Wilson are playing behind!

 

That's an outdated and untrue argument. Again,

Try researching your point.

 

 

Right.. Because keeping your QB upright is an outdated argument. Good god man..

[thebandit27]

 

 

Right.. Because keeping your QB upright is an outdated argument. Good god man..

No. That you need a good OL to win is outdated.

 

NE, Seattle, Green Bay, all won with lousy OL play.

 

You need a QB.

[K-9]

...And then Russ had the audacity to fire him?

 

 

#shillinlikeavillian

Yep. That sleazy marketing guy! Can't wait to see who he convinces the Pegulas the czar should be. I'm guessing another marketing guy, but with ties to Major League Baseball.

[QB Bills]

Was this thread created to talk football? Nope. It's just another thread full of non facts and half truths served for the sole purpose of giving people yet ANOTHER avenue to vent their misguided and uninformed opinion that a MARKETING guy was making all sorts of personnel decisions when for the first nine years of his tenure he wasn't even close to being in a position to do so.

 

But yeah, "one constant." It's silly, really.

Assuning you've got your facts in order, what about after the first nine years then?

[K-9]

Assuning you've got your facts in order, what about after the first nine years then?

I've already touched upon that, but feel free to place all the blame on Brandon for the last 10 years when, in reality, he only had the keys to the car from 2010 - 2014. And even through that time our football ops was heavily staffed with people he readily deferred to, anyway, including Whaley who was far more of a "defacto GM" than Brandon ever was after Marv left. Again, there's a reason he cited Nix so often in the article linked earlier.

 

We want to believe he meddled in all sorts of personnel decisions. But he didn't.

 

We want to believe that a MARKETING guy shouldn't have ascended to team president. But he did.

 

We want to believe that he hasn't been instrumental in the success of other VERY IMPORTANT areas of the business. But he was.

 

And why do we want to believe these things? Because nobody likes to have facts interfere with a good lynching.

 

#oneconstant