Is Russ Brandon to Blame?

[TheFunPolice]

And yet....

 

With a QB he would be the local hero who helped save the Bills

 

Funny how that works

[CardinalScotts]

Russ isn't making decisions as it pertains to this roster, free agents, draft picks etc.

 

I'm a Rex believer and I'm a Doug Whaley fan he's been GM for 3 years and has built a really good roster with records of 9-7, 8-8 and this year we will see. He has everything to do with missing the playoffs the last 3 seasons but you need time and patience especially when breaking in a new qb.

 

9-7 and 8-8 records with the roster HE built does not bring about on the hot seat conversations or talking of a 16 year string of missing the playoffs. Our former GM's were hamstrung by an owner who would not pay for top coaching prospects either as head coach or assistants. Thank God we ran into a retread in Marv Levy those dozen years are the only bright light in an otherwise dark ownership. Thats over

 

Pegula is the new owner with new thoughts, new money and new objectives. 9-7, 8-8 are a good starts to building a winning franchise. I'm sure I'm the only one who has bought in but 16 years doesn't mean sh*t to me anymore.

[Estro]

I don't think that anyone denies the bolded part. We need to be careful of the line between "contributed to" and "is responsible for." I can't think of one situation where the "decision maker" isn't the 1st held accountable. We defined the time that he was the decision maker. Anyone that has an issue with that era should point directly at him. Authorizing the Watkins trade is a prime example. It isn't the player that he was the "decision maker" on but he was the final say on trading a next year's number 1. He had the power to veto that and didn't.

That's the problem though Kirby. After 16 years of boring, inept and inadequate football in Western New York I'm not willing to make excuses for someone who has directly contributed to the many mistakes and bad hires the Bills have had over that time.

 

I mean just look at the passing stats for the Bills over the last 10 years. I think they've finished just one time out of the last 10 years above top 20th in the league in passing. It's a joke. We continue to punt the football from 4th and short on the opposing side of the field, down by 3 points in the 4th quarter. Russ is "contributing" to hiring the people that are making these lame, risk averse decisions, that have a direct result in the Bills losing on Sundays.

 

Why do we accept what math shows to be unacceptable on Sundays year in and year out. When you hire philosophies and coaching styles that still think you don't need to pass the hell out of the football and that you don't need to be very aggressive on 4th and shorts from their side of the 50 (particularly when trailing) then you are just ignoring the facts, you're ignoring the math: And that is totally unacceptable. And anyone who has "contributed" to hiring the men who have adopted those philosophies here in Buffalo does not get a pass from me, because it directly effects the W's and L's on the football field.

 

At the very least, I wish the Bills would get with it and hire someone with a laptop to stand next to the HC, and advise him mathematically when it is wise to go for it and when it is wise to punt it on 4th and short. I'm available for hire, I'm sure Mike Schoop would love to do it. Anyone with half a brain who accepts math and win %'s would be happy to assist the Bills with data that they are simply ignoring and it's baffling.

 

I think just that alone would do more for the Bills success on the field than this "robust" analytical dept. that Russ bragged about, that still has us near last in passing offense annually, taking timeouts on 2nd downs early in the 3rd quarte that come back to bite us, and still punting away games.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Estro

[GA BILLS FAN]

I don't think that anyone denies the bolded part. We need to be careful of the line between "contributed to" and "is responsible for." I can't think of one situation where the "decision maker" isn't the 1st held accountable. We defined the time that he was the decision maker. Anyone that has an issue with that era should point directly at him. Authorizing the Watkins trade is a prime example. It isn't the player that he was the "decision maker" on but he was the final say on trading a next year's number 1. He had the power to veto that and didn't.

 

 

I appreciate your perspective as it comes from a strong foundation of sports management.

 

I think we can all agree that the management of the football side of this franchise for the past 16 years has been at our near the bottom of the NFL

 

While we can waste a lot of time debating the depth of influence and/or decision making Brandon had on decisions that have led to this performance, it is fair to say that he has been a trusted adviser to the people ultimately making the football decisions as well as to the owners that have ultimately hired those people to make the decisions

 

With that said, why doesn't he bear some responsibility to the performance of this team over the time period where he was advising the owner on whom to hire in these key football positions ?

 

Was he not part of the management team that hired failed GM after failed GM ? Failed coach after failed coach ?

[Kirby Jackson]

Maybe this is the best way to sum it up, they accomplish ZERO in terms of the team performance by firing him. That doesn't change their draft philosophy, scheme, etc... Nothing on the field changes with Russ gone.

 

Off the field they would gut themselves of an incredibly well respected sports business mind. He'd have a job as a team president as soon as he wanted. He's incredibly well respected around sports. So what exactly would be achieved by firing him? The Pegula's aren't stupid. There's a reason that he was put in charge of the whole show. He's really, really good at his job.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Kirby Jackson

[QB Bills]

Maybe this is the best way to sum it up, they accomplish ZERO in terms of the team performance by firing him. That doesn't change their draft philosophy, scheme, etc... Nothing on the field changes with Russ gone.

 

Off the field they would guy themselves of an incredibly well respected sports business mind. He'd have a job as a team president as soon as he wanted. He's incredibly well respected around sports. So what exactly would be achieved by firing him? The Pegula's aren't stupid. There's a reason that he was put in charge of the whole show. He's really, really good at his job.

That just seems ludicrous to me, but I suppose anything's possible.

 

Wasn't there some rumour of him going to Oakland that was debunked by saying someone was planting that misinformation to make him look like he was in demand?

[Hardcore Bills Fan]

I highly doubt Russ would be in charge of the Sabre and Bills if he wasnt good at what he did

[Kirby Jackson]

That just seems ludicrous to me, but I suppose anything's possible.

 

Wasn't there some rumour of him going to Oakland that was debunked by saying someone was planting that misinformation to make him look like he was in demand?

Not that I remember but he has a great reputation across sports. He always had it but it went to another level when he acted as the de facto owner. His job is to maximize revenue. The Bills are elite at that. They milk as much out of that stadium and market as possible.

 

It's only hard to believe if you think that teams are judging him by the team performance. He is being judged around the league by revenue. The stadium and market put them at a distinct disadvantage but they have made the most of it. The new stadium will really put the Bills in a good position.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Kirby Jackson

[PromoTheRobot]

Maybe this is the best way to sum it up, they accomplish ZERO in terms of the team performance by firing him. That doesn't change their draft philosophy, scheme, etc... Nothing on the field changes with Russ gone.

 

Off the field they would gut themselves of an incredibly well respected sports business mind. He'd have a job as a team president as soon as he wanted. He's incredibly well respected around sports. So what exactly would be achieved by firing him? The Pegula's aren't stupid. There's a reason that he was put in charge of the whole show. He's really, really good at his job.

But it satisfies the blood lust of torch-and-pitchfork crowd that demand someone be made to pay for their frustration.

[fridge]

 

 

I got to agree with Scott, the poster asked a simple question. What has Brandon done in the past 15 years. When people see Brandon in the draft room, at all the news conferences, as the acting GM for several years, people have a right to link him as a big part of the problem. Is he the only problem, of course not. But he has been the one constant here during this playoff drought.

 

Not sure how you could read that presser that May Day posted & still think that RB has not been a big part of the problem. I don't care if you have inside dealings at one bills drive or not. Your wrong.

100% This.

[GA BILLS FAN]

Maybe this is the best way to sum it up, they accomplish ZERO in terms of the team performance by firing him. That doesn't change their draft philosophy, scheme, etc... Nothing on the field changes with Russ gone.

 

Off the field they would gut themselves of an incredibly well respected sports business mind. He'd have a job as a team president as soon as he wanted. He's incredibly well respected around sports. So what exactly would be achieved by firing him? The Pegula's aren't stupid. There's a reason that he was put in charge of the whole show. He's really, really good at his job.

 

I'm not sure logic tracks, i.e. "Nothing on the field changes with Russ gone" ?

 

If he's advised the decision makers that have resulted in the hiring of the long list of failed GM's and HC's, doesn't it stand to reason that with him out of the picture someone else will make better recommendations ?

 

As for his performance on the business side, I think that is somewhat true, although all franchises have benefited from the explosion of the sport's popularity and the latest Forbes information on 2015 would suggest the Bills have hit a wall in that area, since they rank 28th in Revenue; 32nd in operating income and 32nd in valuation.

Edited September 15, 2016 by TXBILLSFAN

[Kirby Jackson]

 

I'm not sure logic tracks, i.e. "Nothing on the field changes with Russ gone" ?

 

If he's advised the decision makers that have resulted in the hiring of the long list of failed GM's and HC's, doesn't it stand to reason that with him out of the picture someone else will make better recommendations ?

 

As for his performance on the business side, I think that is somewhat true, although all franchises have benefited from the explosion of the sport's popularity and the latest Forbes information on 2015 would suggest the Bills have hit a wall in that area, since they rank 28th in Revenue; 32nd in operating income and 32nd in valuation.

Not necessarily on the 1st part. He isn't selecting them. The Pegulas will have to decide what they want. Same thing on the hockey side.

 

As to the last part the stadium is a HUGE reason why. There's only so much money to be made in an old stadium, in OP. The market is what the market is but a new stadium could quickly bump them to the same area as the Titans (for example).

[Maury Ballstein]

19 pages on Brandon. Amazing.

 

Well done.

[K-9]

I highly doubt Russ would be in charge of the Sabre and Bills if he wasnt good at what he did

That's where you're wrong. The Pegulas are gullible puppets at the mercy of Brandon's Svengali ways. Here's a pic of him at a team meeting recently.

 

[pi2000]

I'd still like to see what this team can do when fully healthy... Dareus, Lawson, Ragland, Glenn, Watkins, etc... for that reason I don't think Rex or Whaley get canned if they miss the playoffs this season.

[LabattBlue]

I'd still like to see what this team can do when fully healthy... Dareus, Lawson, Ragland, Glenn, Watkins, etc... for that reason I don't think Rex or Whaley get canned if they miss the playoffs this season.

No team is ever 100% healthy. At some point during the year players are hurt. It's up to management to decide if they want to use said injuries as an excuse to why a season went up in smoke.

[Augie]

Not necessarily on the 1st part. He isn't selecting them. The Pegulas will have to decide what they want. Same thing on the hockey side.

As to the last part the stadium is a HUGE reason why. There's only so much money to be made in an old stadium, in OP. The market is what the market is but a new stadium could quickly bump them to the same area as the Titans (for example).

Had to jump in here to say how much I loved the Titans game experience last year. Good tailgating, pedestrian bridge into town and a great celebration everywhere! We are closing on a second home/place for our son and grandson in Nashville this month. Looking forward to spending more time there!

 

(OK, that was off-topic, but I'm excited, so....)

[May Day 10]

Last in the nfl in valuation. Lots of envy out there?

[Reed83HOF]

Greg Gabriel ‏@greggabe 4m4 minutes ago

The Bills are one of the most mismanaged, poorly coached teams in the NFL. I feel bad for the Pegula's

[Prickly Pete]

I don't know if Brandon is to blame. I know that anyone that wanted Wrex as head coach is to blame.