Rico Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 24 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: The Bills mishandled the end of 2016 spectacularly. Leaving poor Anthony Lynn as the first person to face the press after firing Rex was a PR disaster. Then putting Whaley out on his lonesome for the end of season presser compounded it. I know I bang on about this a lot but when an owner takes the decision to hire someone (and the Pegulas hired Rex) then they should face the music when they fire someone. Jeff Lurie personally hired Chip Kelly. When it backfired and Lurie fired him 2 games before the end of 2015 it was Lurie who went out and faced the music infront of the press. He led his organisation, owned up to his mistake and fronted up. That is the kind of leadership that ultimately leads to success. I am not claiming it won them a Superbowl or anything like that... but that is what leadership looks like. The Pegulas standing on the side until it was such a disaster they had to rush in and speak to JW themselves was a lesson in how not to do it. Yes, it was a complete disaster, compounded by the fact that after 4 years as GM, Whaley had far overstayed his welcome. Marrone was gone, Rex was gone, yet he survived? WTF! Press corps was loaded for bear, and he got what he deserved that day. 3
GunnerBill Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Rico said: Yes, it was a complete disaster, compounded by the fact that after 4 years as GM, Whaley had far overstayed his welcome. Marrone was gone, Rex was gone, yet he survived? WTF! Press corps was loaded for bear, and he got what he deserved that day. I know you hate Whaley but he should not have been out there that day. It wasn't his fault he survived. The man to explain those decisions was the owner who hired Rex and the owner who allowed a disfunctional GM - HC relationship to fester. It was a total absence of leadership by Pegula who would rather be in Florida. He should have been in Buffalo. It was his duty. Edited May 31, 2018 by GunnerBill
Kelly the Dog Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 36 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: The Bills mishandled the end of 2016 spectacularly. Leaving poor Anthony Lynn as the first person to face the press after firing Rex was a PR disaster. Then putting Whaley out on his lonesome for the end of season presser compounded it. I know I bang on about this a lot but when an owner takes the decision to hire someone (and the Pegulas hired Rex) then they should face the music when they fire someone. Jeff Lurie personally hired Chip Kelly. When it backfired and Lurie fired him 2 games before the end of 2015 it was Lurie who went out and faced the music infront of the press. He led his organisation, owned up to his mistake and fronted up. That is the kind of leadership that ultimately leads to success. I am not claiming it won them a Superbowl or anything like that... but that is what leadership looks like. The Pegulas standing on the side until it was such a disaster they had to rush in and speak to JW themselves was a lesson in how not to do it. Some owners are good at that and some are not. Lurie is pretty good at it and Terry is rather bad. That has nothing to do with the quality of ownership, or the right or wrong way to do that kind of thing. I'm thrilled with the Pegulas being the owners of the Sabres and Bills. I cringe when I see Terry speak in public about his teams or decisions. I don't like speaking in public either and suck at it. I imagine he hates it too. 1
Rico Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 1 minute ago, GunnerBill said: I know you hate Whaley but he should not have been out there that day. It wasn't his fault he survived. The man to explain those decisions was the owner who hired Rex and the owner who allowed a disfunctional GM - HC relationship to fester. It was a total absence of leadership by Pegula who would rather be in Florida. He should have been in Buffalo. It was his duty. He undermined Marrone and he undermined Rex. One left and one got "fired", and he played a major part in both moves, yet somehow still remained.... that's one good reason why he was crushed that day. I do agree that Pegs should've been there though, and his absence was not appreciated at all, possibly the major reason for the beatdown. 2
JohnC Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: I know you hate Whaley but he should not have been out there that day. It wasn't his fault he survived. The man to explain those decisions was the owner who hired Rex and the owner who allowed a disfunctional GM - HC relationship to fester. It was a total absence of leadership by Pegula who would rather be in Florida. He should have been in Buffalo. It was his duty. You are absolutely right that Whaley was placed in an untenable situation that he didn't deserve to be placed in. But tough! Fairness isn't always part of the landscape in the work world. It goes with the territory. You try to prepare the best you kind for an impossibly awkward situation. I agree with you that the owner weaseled out of a bad situation that he created. But again that's part of life where the boss has the ability to throw you out on stage with a crowd of wolves howling at you. But let's look at the substance of the situation. Whaley as a GM was average at best. He certainly didn't have full control of hiring HCs but the solution to that was to insist on that authority or resign. The heart of the matter is that Whaley was mediocre with his draft selections and his cap management was not wisely handled. It wasn't crippling but it certainly wasn't smartly handled. His style of decision-making was tactical and not strategic. Contrast how he ran the operation to how this McBeane run their operation. He was an 8-8 type of GM. Middling and indistinguishable from the pack. He simply wasn't good enough at his job. That' the real issue. 1
Rico Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, JohnC said: You are absolutely right that Whaley was placed in an untenable situation that he didn't deserve to be placed in. But tough! Fairness isn't always part of the landscape in the work world. It goes with the territory. You try to prepare the best you kind for an impossibly awkward situation. I agree with you that the owner weaseled out of a bad situation that he created. But again that's part of life where the boss has the ability to throw you out on stage with a crowd of wolves howling at you. But let's look at the substance of the situation. Whaley as a GM was average at best. He certainly didn't have full control of hiring HCs but the solution to that was to insist on that authority or resign. The heart of the matter is that Whaley was mediocre with his draft selections and his cap management was not wisely handled. It wasn't crippling but it certainly wasn't smartly handled. His style of decision-making was tactical and not strategic. Contrast how he ran the operation to how this McBeane run their operation. He was an 8-8 type of GM. Middling and indistinguishable from the pack. He simply wasn't good enough at his job. That' the real issue. Absolutely indefensible to give him a 4th year as GM during THE drought. That was by far my biggest problem with him, I never really slammed him during his 1st 2+ seasons, but 3 years was enough. 2
26CornerBlitz Posted May 31, 2018 Author Posted May 31, 2018 All the best to John Vogl. Wouldn't be surprised to see him land with The Athletic once it debuts in Buffalo. 1
JohnC Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, Rico said: Absolutely indefensible to give him a 4th year as GM during THE drought. That was by far my biggest problem with him, I never really slammed him during his 1st 2+ seasons, but 3 years was enough. For the first couple of years I gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was evident that he did a lot of churning in a result oriented business (W/L). Granted he had a lot of obstacles he had to contend with that were not of his making. But when all was said and done his performance was average at best in a system where 3/4 of the teams are average. There was little that distinguished his tenure. What closed my door on him was his lack of effort in pursuing the challenge of finding a franchise qb. That's when my door was closed and locked on him.
Bill from NYC Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 30 minutes ago, JohnC said: You are absolutely right that Whaley was placed in an untenable situation that he didn't deserve to be placed in. But tough! Fairness isn't always part of the landscape in the work world. It goes with the territory. You try to prepare the best you kind for an impossibly awkward situation. I agree with you that the owner weaseled out of a bad situation that he created. But again that's part of life where the boss has the ability to throw you out on stage with a crowd of wolves howling at you. But let's look at the substance of the situation. Whaley as a GM was average at best. He certainly didn't have full control of hiring HCs but the solution to that was to insist on that authority or resign. The heart of the matter is that Whaley was mediocre with his draft selections and his cap management was not wisely handled. It wasn't crippling but it certainly wasn't smartly handled. His style of decision-making was tactical and not strategic. Contrast how he ran the operation to how this McBeane run their operation. He was an 8-8 type of GM. Middling and indistinguishable from the pack. He simply wasn't good enough at his job. That' the real issue. You are being FAR too generous with Whaley. He had lousy drafts in which he gave away the store. He handed other teams his most valuable assets time and again. Give me a ring when this inept failure of a GM gets another job at that level. 27 minutes ago, Rico said: I never really slammed him during his 1st 2+ seasons, but 3 years was enough. I did. 1
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Bill from NYC said: You are being FAR too generous with Whaley. He had lousy drafts in which he gave away the store. He handed other teams his most valuable assets time and again. Give me a ring when this inept failure of a GM gets another job at that level. I still say he's stylin' so they offer him the role of Ricardo Tubbs when they remake (yet again) 'Miami Vice'. He's got the wardrobe and the dour expression down pat. 3
Bill from NYC Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said: I still say he's stylin' so they offer him the role of Ricardo Tubbs when they remake (yet again) 'Miami Vice'. He's got the wardrobe and the dour expression down pat. I said this many times.....the man knows how to dress.
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 3 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said: I said this many times.....the man knows how to dress. 3 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said: You don't suppose he and Brandon could pick up 'wardrobe considerations' from Napoli's Men's Shop, even in their relative 'disgrace'? Ok, how about United Mens' Stores? Chess King?
JohnC Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 43 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: All the best to John Vogl. Wouldn't be surprised to see him land with The Athletic once it debuts in Buffalo. What's the Atlantic? Is a magazine or weekly sports publication?
PromoTheRobot Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) 24 minutes ago, JohnC said: What's the Atlantic? Is a magazine or weekly sports publication? Actually it's the Athletic. Online sports site. Lots of name writers went there, especially for hockey. Subscription only. https://theathletic.com/ Edited May 31, 2018 by PromoTheRobot
beerme1 Posted May 31, 2018 Posted May 31, 2018 On 5/30/2018 at 1:26 PM, Lurker said: A Jeff Simon review today is 25% about the film and 75% on what he had for lunch. He's another guy who was once very good who petered out waiting for the retirement check. OTOH, Miers is passionate about the music and it shows in his writing. I'd much rather read that kind of columnist that a guy playing out the string... Jeff Miers is a tool. Although today in Gusto he was great! On 5/30/2018 at 7:37 PM, oldmanfan said: If you could put this in English I'd be happy to respond. We want you to take the buyout. 1
26CornerBlitz Posted June 1, 2018 Author Posted June 1, 2018 47 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said: Actually it's the Athletic. Online sports site. Lots of name writers went there, especially for hockey. Subscription only. https://theathletic.com/
Delete This Account Posted June 1, 2018 Posted June 1, 2018 9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said: My guess about Sullivan not being on WGR anymore was more economic than anything. Broadcast companies are pinching pennies just as much as papers. Entercom, WGR's parent company, wants to spend as little as possible. Nope. It was a TBN decision. jw 1
May Day 10 Posted June 1, 2018 Posted June 1, 2018 2 minutes ago, john wawrow said: Nope. It was a TBN decision. jw I really did enjoy the Tim Graham show. It's a shame its done for the summer, and maybe forever. Such a refreshing alternative from wgr... (I'm not a hater of wgr but it gets extremely redundant). 1
CommonCents Posted June 1, 2018 Posted June 1, 2018 2 hours ago, Rico said: Absolutely indefensible to give him a 4th year as GM during THE drought. That was by far my biggest problem with him, I never really slammed him during his 1st 2+ seasons, but 3 years was enough. I may slammed him previous to his third year.
Delete This Account Posted June 1, 2018 Posted June 1, 2018 2 hours ago, GunnerBill said: I know you hate Whaley but he should not have been out there that day. It wasn't his fault he survived. The man to explain those decisions was the owner who hired Rex and the owner who allowed a disfunctional GM - HC relationship to fester. It was a total absence of leadership by Pegula who would rather be in Florida. He should have been in Buffalo. It was his duty. It was on Whaley for failing to represent the franchise, and being poorly prepped, knowing what he was in store for. It didn’t help that he was leaking stuff to his friends while at the same time thoroughly avoiding the local media. His tight-lipped responses were an embarrassment all around. His desire to say as little as possible failed him and eventually shed full light on his many deficiencies. He had a future in Buffalo before that press conference. And his fate was sealed the moment he stepped off the podium. It was, as we put it in the business, a total sh&t show. jw 1 2
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