Should the Pegulas Cash Out?

[gobills1212]

  On 11/21/2017 at 12:24 PM, Coach Tuesday said:

Let me start by saying that I really like the Pegulas as people - they seem like good citizens and possess integrity and beneficence.  And yes, we as fans owe them gratitude for keeping both the Bills and Sabres afloat and in Buffalo.

 

All of that said, they are horrible owners.  They are well-intentioned and want to win, but clearly have no idea how to do it.  They have empowered the wrong people at the wrong times.  They have proven to be susceptible to good interviews at the expense of more sophisticated due diligence.  They have employed bizarre organizational structures that have undermined the few quality hires they have made.  They have supported borderline insane team building strategies that have resulted in a near-impossible run of sustained failure.  There does not seem to be any end to this trend on the horizon and I’m really struggling to understand what the plan is for turning the Bills and Sabres into winning franchises.  Certainly, pairing first-time GMs with first-time coaches has failed miserably for both teams and, in the case of the Bills, the decision to expel elite talent, rather than maximizing and supporting the talent on hand with quality coaching and added depth, has bombed in spectacular fashion.

 

In a word, they have destroyed two sports franchises.

 

I’m wondering if it’s time for Kim and Terry to look for sale partners for one or both teams.  Perhaps they could sell a majority stake and become passive minority owners (although the leagues may have some restrictions on this) or perhaps they should just sell outright.  I’d imagine at this point their investments have appreciated nicely.  Perhaps it is time for them to reap some of those gains and turn the businesses over to individuals or entities that know what they’re doing.

 

I know some of you will respond to let me know how ungrateful I am.  That’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinions.  My opinion is that the fans here deserve more than just “we kept the franchises in Buffalo” - rather, the fans, who give their hard-earned dollars to billionaires, deserve competence. We’re not getting competence.

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S....M....H....

You have a rep to uphold as a quality poster man! You cant be posting nonsense like this. Co'mon!!;)

[BADOLBILZ]

  On 11/22/2017 at 2:43 AM, mead107 said:

If you hate the owners and not happy with the bills - pony up the !@#$en money and buy them or  hit the road. 

shut the !@#$ up. They are not selling, you have no !@#$ing knowledge of anything and all you are doing is bitching about the coach and the Bills.

Should have done this.  Do you go to any games? 

I am sick of all negativity    

Become a coach or a GM.  Until then shut up.  

 

If you are a fan,  then cheer them on. Otherwise move on.   

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The Stromboli Queen is fired up!

 

Hilarious, thanks.

 

(We are watching the profanity here though so .......Jack's going to have to give you a warning point)

[jr1]

it's a long enough sample size to say they're bad hockey owners

[EasternOHBillsFan]

  On 11/21/2017 at 12:24 PM, Coach Tuesday said:

Let me start by saying that I really like the Pegulas as people - they seem like good citizens and possess integrity and beneficence.  And yes, we as fans owe them gratitude for keeping both the Bills and Sabres afloat and in Buffalo.

 

All of that said, they are horrible owners.  They are well-intentioned and want to win, but clearly have no idea how to do it.  They have empowered the wrong people at the wrong times.  They have proven to be susceptible to good interviews at the expense of more sophisticated due diligence.  They have employed bizarre organizational structures that have undermined the few quality hires they have made.  They have supported borderline insane team building strategies that have resulted in a near-impossible run of sustained failure.  There does not seem to be any end to this trend on the horizon and I’m really struggling to understand what the plan is for turning the Bills and Sabres into winning franchises.  Certainly, pairing first-time GMs with first-time coaches has failed miserably for both teams and, in the case of the Bills, the decision to expel elite talent, rather than maximizing and supporting the talent on hand with quality coaching and added depth, has bombed in spectacular fashion.

 

In a word, they have destroyed two sports franchises.

 

I’m wondering if it’s time for Kim and Terry to look for sale partners for one or both teams.  Perhaps they could sell a majority stake and become passive minority owners (although the leagues may have some restrictions on this) or perhaps they should just sell outright.  I’d imagine at this point their investments have appreciated nicely.  Perhaps it is time for them to reap some of those gains and turn the businesses over to individuals or entities that know what they’re doing.

 

I know some of you will respond to let me know how ungrateful I am.  That’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinions.  My opinion is that the fans here deserve more than just “we kept the franchises in Buffalo” - rather, the fans, who give their hard-earned dollars to billionaires, deserve competence. We’re not getting competence.

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1. What he did to Pat LaFontaine was UNCONSCIONABLE. My boycott of the Sabres and the despotic reign of Tim Murray proved to be a smart move as all he did was make idiotic moves and instilling a losing mentality through and through.

 

2. Continuing to let Russ Brandon have ANY role within the franchises is a bonehead move. He should have been gone a WHILE ago...

 

3. Although the Pegulas have made several very questionable moves, they are the only owners we have. Let's face it... these two franchises would probably be moved via Mayflower to another city or dissolved because who really wants to own an NFL or NHL franchise in Buffalo these days? Only Cleveland and San Diego make us look better, and to be quite frank eventually I see at least one of my teams ceasing to exist in Buffalo because the golden age of sports doesn't exist anymore due to inundation of franchises that has reached a critical mass in addition to the current state of our society.

 

Although there is little to enjoy being a Buffalo sports fan, at least I have my teams to root for- for now.

[Coach Tuesday]

Whoa my thread killed Mead

[Marv's Neighbor]

  On 11/21/2017 at 1:13 PM, aceman_16 said:

Are you insane? You make it sound like we were the guidepost for successful franchises BEFORE the Pegulas bought the Bills. I remember the Bills of the 70s... 80s... mid 90s until now. The calls for new ownership was rampant during all of those time periods.  The ONLY time (early 90s super bowl years) people of western NY were NOT yammering about this is when we had an elite QB.... see the connection???!!!

 

PS. it was the same way for the Patriots before Brady too

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Exactly!  Both teams sucked well before they arrived. 

[stinky finger]

  On 11/21/2017 at 1:38 PM, JohnC said:

Your post is well reasoned and there are many people who agree with your line of thinking. However, respectfully I'm not one of them. The approach McDermott is taking is the right approach. Although he is not being candid in his pronouncements it is apparent that he is going through a major rebuild. That is an excruciating endeavor that many fans are not comfortable with. Too many people believed that this was going to be a serious team when the actions of this staff have clearly indicated that the focus was on the future at the expense of the present. Talented players were let go for draft picks and cap room was made with these departures. The decision-makers traded down in the first round to get an additional first round pick in the following year. If that is not obvious what the strategy was then you are simply not paying attention. 

 

What is going to make or break this regime is how it handles the next draft with its plethora of picks and the free agent market. Without a doubt the most critical issue for this regime is going to be whether it can bring in a high-end qb prospect. I understand your nervousness and skepticism. (and also Kirby's) but what is being done has a great deal of coherency and strategy behind. It's painful but it is the right approach to take. An incremental approach may seem to be a safer approach but it would only continue the dispiriting status quo of systemic mediocrity. 

 

You may be worn out and frustrated by how this season has materialized but I'm not because I expected it. If you widen your horizon beyond this year you may have a better understanding of my point of view. My recommendation is to stay the course because it is the right way to rebuild. 

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Amen

  On 11/21/2017 at 2:06 PM, Coach Tuesday said:

 

With the Sabres, I'd probably agree.

 

With the Bills, McD sped up the evaluation process by his disastrous decision to start Peterman last week.  There was so much information provided in that move.  Similarly, the Watkins/Dareus trades and the resulting impact on the roster (and the panic moves to plug the self-imposed leaks) told us a lot about Beane.  We're getting to the point where we can evaluate these guys and it's not looking good, at all.  I don't need 3-5 years of this.

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There's no quick fix

[aceman_16]

  On 11/22/2017 at 3:11 AM, Coach Tuesday said:

Whoa my thread killed Mead

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Dunno about that but when I used to live in Europe mead almost killed me... and that hot Finnish babe who  brought it over. Who would have thunk that crap was 18% alcohol and that skinny blonde chick didnt tell me :(. Think of a sweet zima lol...

[Ol Dirty B]

  On 11/21/2017 at 2:37 PM, Commonsense said:

 

Whaley is gone. The new guys cleaned house and have a pile of picks to use this upcoming draft. Chances are there will be plenty to B word about soon, if you can't wait then it's more than likely you are bitching just to B word.

 

Watkins hasn't gone on to have some crazy season, nor has Darby who just returned from injury. The Dareus contract was once deemed untradeable, they managed to move it off the books. 

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The Dareus contract is not off the books.

[SoTier]

  On 11/21/2017 at 3:56 PM, TheFunPolice said:

The difference between Buffalo and NE is they got lucky in the 6th round and won a lottery ticket QB

 

That's it.

 

They can do anything they want because Brady just wins. So they are geniuses and so organized and model organization.

 

This is a ridiculous thread. I worry that the Pegulas will get discouraged and pull the plug. Then we can kiss the Bills goodbye, pretty much guaranteed.

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More continued beat downs like the last three weeks and there will be many fewer Bills fans who care if that happens ...

 

  On 11/21/2017 at 4:04 PM, zow2 said:

Funny, i wrote on twitter yesterday (to harrington) that my prediction was Pegula would have the Sabres for sale within a year.  He kind of shot that down and said he will not sell.  But my point regarding the Sabres is that he has tried everything with that club and it just turns to crap.  Terry is a good guy, he's done an amazing job building up Canalside.  I personally don't think he needs the aggravation of the Sabres.  They are hemorrhaging fans, the games don't sell out anymore and they are terribly dull.  I do think he will remain the owner of the Bills and concentrate on them. But jeez, the Sabres have to be giving him serious high blood pressure and ulcers.  Who needs that?

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Do you really think that the Bills aren't going to start "hemorrhaging fans", too, if the current team continues to play as badly for the rest of the season as it has for the last weeks and McDermott and Beane come back next year?

 

  On 11/21/2017 at 4:34 PM, Shotgunner said:

 

Silly maybe...

 

But has been a decision maker for a team during the worst stretch of futility in our history. He is a marketer and has probably succeeded at that, but in the world of football ops he has been terrible by every metric. We keep being told he has no influence until it is proven he did, and he keeps getting promoted. Has been a (very bad) GM, has made (very bad) personnel decisions as well as having major influence on all GM and HC hires for more than a decade.

 

I would argue it's silly to go to bat for someone who has been terrible for that many years.

 

Curse or not, the fact that he still works here, especially in a high position, is absolutely rediculous.

 

Psychologists? Lol Displacement maybe if he had no fault. He is directly responsible for many problems, and involved in many others.

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Well said.      Be prepared to get dissed by the True Believers who swear that Russ Brandon has no say in the football operations, though.

 

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

  On 11/22/2017 at 3:53 AM, Ol Dirty B said:

 

The Dareus contract is not off the books.

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Yeah the dead money was going to be there after the season too.

 

A sixth round pick for a Jags team that will be picking in the 20's most likely is close to worthless.............but hey,  all the losing not being able to stop the run AT ALL is leading to could flip the Bills first round pick so far it will be like trading up 15 spots in round 1!

[Ol Dirty B]

  On 11/22/2017 at 4:01 AM, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Yeah the dead money was going to be there after the season too.

 

A sixth round pick for a Jags team that will be picking in the 20's most likely is close to worthless.............but hey,  all the losing not being able to stop the run AT ALL is leading to could flip the Bills first round pick so far it will be like trading up 15 spots in round 1!

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Lol fair point.

[bbb]

  On 11/22/2017 at 3:06 AM, EasternOHBillsFan said:

 

1. What he did to Pat LaFontaine was UNCONSCIONABLE. My boycott of the Sabres and the despotic reign of Tim Murray proved to be a smart move as all he did was make idiotic moves and instilling a losing mentality through and through.

 

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What DID he do to Pat LaFontaine?  I have never seen a report of what actually went down.

[Sweats]

  On 11/21/2017 at 1:49 PM, joesixpack said:

 

You'll not see me bitching if they lose.

 

I wanted at most 1 win this season.

 

the problem here is the same as the problem elsewhere in American life. Some people here have over-inflated senses of the worth of their opinions. Coach Tuesday doesn't like McDermott, ergo the billionaire owner of the Bills should sell the team.

 

 

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Spoken like a true fan.....................................................................................................................................rolls eyes

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

  On 11/22/2017 at 9:43 AM, Sweats said:

 

 

 

 

 

Spoken like a true fan.....................................................................................................................................rolls eyes

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A fan that understands that the heart of the drought is lack of qb play 

[Charles Romes]

I'm so thankful for teams staying in Buffalo that I have given them a lifelong pass for being terrible owners.  

[May Day 10]

  On 11/21/2017 at 3:10 PM, PromoTheRobot said:

That's why it's mind blowing people think they are just going to find someone better than the Pegulas. They are 100% the opposite of Ralph Wilson. They aren't afraid to spend money on a market where they have no hope of recouping their investment. Are the results what we want? No. But it's not for a lack of spending or desire. 

 

This drought has become a vortex of madness.

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yeah.

 

i get frustrated at their decisions and vent sometimes... especially when it comes to the sabres.  a degree of criticism is warranted.  there have been systemic errors and bungling. i also feel that organization comes up short in a number of areas, not just on the ice....

 

but there is no local owner who would/could own the teams. 

 

pegula is willing to lose money and pour it into the team.  he also is unlikely to hold a loaded gun on us when it comes to stadium plans and funding.  he is dedicated to winning. he is committed to the area and has heirs.  and he and his family is very likeable.  i want them to succeed.

[Saxum]

  On 11/22/2017 at 2:43 AM, mead107 said:

If you are a fan,  then cheer them on. Otherwise move on.   

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He said before he was not even going watch games before.

He is not a fan, he is an anti-fan.

Like the Punisher, an anti-hero, except he is punishing fans not criminals.

[34-78-83]

  On 11/21/2017 at 10:39 PM, mead107 said:

For all you wacky people just !@#$ing leave. 

 

Go some place else.   

 

Does your work and family life suck also?  

 

Most of you just say crap to piss people off because you are keyboard wacks. 

Do you even come to the games? 

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hahaha love it

[Big Turk]

Pegula is saying "Cash me outside, how bout dat??"

 

 

Edited November 22, 2017 by matter2003