Front Office: Vindictive, Harsh, Miserly

[BLZFAN4LIFE]

Was I unclear?

I took it that you're saying... If the Bills win, then these FO issues don't matter.

I'm just pointing out that the Patriots can get away with a lot more because they are successful. Players want to stay on the team and FA's want to go there. When you have a track record like the Bills, you can't afford to get a bad reputation with players / agents or you won't be able to keep or get great players.

[Sen. John Blutarsky]

Exactly, so go win and none of this matters at all. But even beyond that. Money talks and 95% of the players are whores. If you pay more, you get them regardless of any other factor.

 

Teams with bad reps don't get bargains, but they get good free agents.

[nick in* england]

Did you follow the team at all last year? Did you not notice almost 1/3 of the roster on IR or miss significant time?

 

your point being? it will happen again???

[Pyrite Gal]

Wow. Then you shouldn't have ended your silence on this thread.

 

Peters, or more likely his agent, are acting like petulant children! How you are blind to this fact is beyond reason. Neither has even said they want to restructure, it's all just a guess to ALL of us!!! If happen to know something, by all means let us know what that is.

 

The Crowell thing is bizarre I have to admit. Did the coaching staff know he was injured? If so, they should've addressed it weeks ago. If not, why weren't they told about it at the time? He prob wouldn't have missed any of the season if he had been wiser. I have the blame the league on this because they don't provide a 15/30 day disabled list like MLB does and it would certainly come in more handy in our league than theirs.

 

Did you follow the team at all last year? Did you not notice almost 1/3 of the roster on IR or miss significant time?

 

The team took a proactive approach it seems based more on paranoia with expectations so high this season. Did they over react, yes, I believe so but I don't know how serious his injury is. Would Angelo have been 100% healthy by week 8 (I'm being generous here)? The Bills should've waited till they had a better medical opinion on the matter, certainly.

 

Why you decided to rip the team on the Peters holdout here is illogical and further to compound the insult, you opined that free agents don't want to join the Bills is way off base.

What strikes me as blindness beyond reason is to conclude that because Peters is acting like a petulant child (and IMHO he is simply being a juvenile) this means that the Bills FO is acting like a responsible adult.

 

From what I have seen from the Peters situation BOTH the player and the team seem to be simply holding their breath and turning blue and waiting for the other side to pass out. Peters AND the team pulling these shenanigans is to the detriment of us Bills fans.

 

Is the FO totally at fault here?

 

NO (in fact I blame Ralph for most FO shortcomings)!

 

However, is the FO blameless in the sad outcome we are facing.

 

You bet in my view. Ultimately if a chunk of NFL players are petulant egotistical idiots then the measure of a good FO is that they manage idiots well.

 

The Bills FO shows signs of not managing its players well at all. They should not escape folks observing this situation merely because Peters is a child.

 

In fact, while one miscommunication may simply be an episode with no relevance to broader conclusions, and even two occurrences may merely be a coincidence, three or more examples of miscommunication may well be a trend that indicates broader issues.

 

The clearly stated Crowell miscommunication and the simple facts of no deal and seemingly not even any discussion of a deal in the Peters case is troubling. When one also takes into account the reality of the team failing to have a deal with Evans, who knows for sure but the signs are there of there being a systemic problem and the team's management of its players.

[nick in* england]

Leo Roth shares my view on the Peters situation:

 

It's not enough for Brandon to shrug his shoulders. It's his responsibility to put the best product on the field.

[todd]

Leo Roth shares my view on the Peters situation:

 

Here's the deal: Stiffen up. Emotion has no part in football. Crowell screwed the team. That is clear. If you can't admit that, you are deranged. So why should the team put up with someone screwing them? There is NO reason.

 

Screw crowell. Opting for surprise surgery two days before the season is screwing the team, screwing the fans, and screwing your fellow players. And you think Buffalo should cuddle and coddle him? That's just silly.

 

Not only that, there's likely more to the story. You are crying over milk you might think is spilled but aren't sure.

[Pyrite Gal]

Here's the deal: Stiffen up. Emotion has no part in football. Crowell screwed the team. That is clear. If you can't admit that, you are deranged. So why should the team put up with someone screwing them? There is NO reason.

 

Screw crowell. Opting for surprise surgery two days before the season is screwing the team, screwing the fans, and screwing your fellow players. And you think Buffalo should cuddle and coddle him? That's just silly.

 

Not only that, there's likely more to the story. You are crying over milk you might think is spilled but aren't sure.

I do not think anyone is arguing that the Bills should endorse the fact that Crowell screwed everyone, I think folks are pointing out that the Bills have pursued a strategy with failing to close deals with Evans and Peters where we are now hurt even worse because Crowell screwed us.

 

The Bills seem to have miscalculated badly in chopping our LB situation to the bear bones where we only have 5 players at LB we can put on the field because now that Crowell has apparently made a selfish decision we are in bad shape at LB.

 

To make matters worse, we are now confronted with a situation a great uncertainty at LB while the Bills have managed a situation where there is great uncertainty at LT and some uncertain at starting WR.

 

I think some folks are simply stating that if one is going to put yourself in a situation where you are depending upon an LB to have good communication with you, it does not look like good management to do this when you do not haver communication to allow you to reach a permanent deal with one of your offensive captains and you do not even talk with your pro Bowl LT.

 

Recognizing that our management style has totally failed to get the job done with a fairly wide range of players we are depending on is not the same as arguing to coddle Crowell.

 

Don't you see the difference between these two things?

[eball]

I hate ellison and i hate this move.

It's not healthy to hate. Cheer up, sport -- it's just a game.

[Ramius]

Okay Doctor, where did you go to medical school? He met with the team doctors first, what do you think they recommended? Do you think he decided to have surgery at this point, in a contract year, just to tick you off? Could it possibly be that he "chose" surgery because the team's own docs told him it was necessary? Naaw, couldn't be. Far more plausible that he decided to endanger his last and best shot at a big contract for no reason at all.

 

It seems ot me, that if the team told Crowell that he absolutely needed to have surgery right now, they would have also informed Jauron and the rest of the staff. Jauron being "surprised" by the choice smacks of Crowell making his own decision independently of the the team's advice.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Didn't they cast Pos to the IR almost instantly last year? Seems like maybe there was a precedent that a starting LB that is going to miss a few games is easily replaced and should just be put on IR and lost for the year.

 

My guess would be that Crowell either felt nothing or felt something awry in his knee but thought he could play with it. The knee got worse and he finally decided to get it checked and cleaned out. At that point they discovered it was much worse than anyone thought going in and recommended he get it fixed while they were there. Sometimes it is not easy to predict an injury will happen months in advance.

[bills_fan]

My take...Crowell practiced through training camp to try and get an extension done. If the Bills did one, he would gone as far as he could this season, and had surgery when the knee gave. He got no extension, figured might as well look out for me and scheduled the surgery, figuring he could come back in 2-4 weeks. Bills got pissed and put him on IR, a petulant move.

 

In the NFL, I begrudge no player for trying to take care of himself in the world of non-guranteed contracts. Did Crowell look after himself...yes, after he showed up and played good soldier. Did the Bills potentially screw themselves for weeks 4-17...yes. Bad move for the Bills.

[eball]

Didn't they cast Pos to the IR almost instantly last year? Seems like maybe there was a precedent that a starting LB that is going to miss a few games is easily replaced and should just be put on IR and lost for the year.

IIRC, the Poz injury came after the Bills had already been hammered with multiple injuries -- the same rationale was given (i.e., can't afford to take up a roster spot when we're trying to find bodies to help out).

[todd]

That's not at all what I got from his post.

 

I do not think anyone is arguing that the Bills should endorse the fact that Crowell screwed everyone, I think folks are pointing out that the Bills have pursued a strategy with failing to close deals with Evans and Peters where we are now hurt even worse because Crowell screwed us.

 

The Bills seem to have miscalculated badly in chopping our LB situation to the bear bones where we only have 5 players at LB we can put on the field because now that Crowell has apparently made a selfish decision we are in bad shape at LB.

 

To make matters worse, we are now confronted with a situation a great uncertainty at LB while the Bills have managed a situation where there is great uncertainty at LT and some uncertain at starting WR.

 

I think some folks are simply stating that if one is going to put yourself in a situation where you are depending upon an LB to have good communication with you, it does not look like good management to do this when you do not haver communication to allow you to reach a permanent deal with one of your offensive captains and you do not even talk with your pro Bowl LT.

 

Recognizing that our management style has totally failed to get the job done with a fairly wide range of players we are depending on is not the same as arguing to coddle Crowell.

 

Don't you see the difference between these two things?

[Sisyphean Bills]

IIRC, the Poz injury came after the Bills had already been hammered with multiple injuries -- the same rationale was given (i.e., can't afford to take up a roster spot when we're trying to find bodies to help out).

Well, that would make sense if the Bills had never heard of the Inactive List, which is where other teams keep starters that are temporarily injured until they are back and ready to play. But, despite some assertions otherwise, the Bills didn't have more than 8 starters injured.

 

Or maybe they don't know that they can add and subtract players from the practice squad during the season as injuries happen so that they can find the right balance for drills if, for example, they lose depth at FS.

[Ramius]

Well, that would make sense if the Bills had never heard of the Inactive List, which is where other teams keep starters that are temporarily injured until they are back and ready to play.

 

Except that Poz wasnt ready and couldn't have played the rest of the season. He said himself that when he thought he could play in week 13 or so, that he was being overzealous and really wasn't ready to play.

[BillnutinHouston]

Could it possibly be that he "chose" surgery because the team's own docs told him it was necessary? Naaw, couldn't be.

 

You're right, it couldn't be. If that were the case, Crowell's decision would not have caught the team by surprise as it did.

[julian]

You're right, it couldn't be. If that were the case, Crowell's decision would not have caught the team by surprise as it did.

The team doctors could have told Crowell he needed the surgery at the start of camp, Crowell says no way, im playing and weeks later here we are. That could explain him being told this by team doctors and Juron still being surprised. no?

[BillsVet]

It's safe to believe Crowell wants a new contract, he is after all going into his final year of the deal signed in 2005.

 

However, I don't think he cares much about who his next contract comes from, because chances are, he'd get more money in UFA. The Bills have decided he's not a player among their core group that warrants re-signing and not communicating before his final season confirms it. I don't believe he'd seek to prove a point for a new contract by doing what he's done.

 

Regardless, it was dead wrong to make a decision on surgery just before the season, though it's possible his surgery revealed more damage than previsouly realized. Either way, the team punished him severely by placing him on season ending IR. That negates his ability to show he recovered from surgery and hurts his ability to command higher money on the UFA market.

 

It's a trend here that the front office is working hard at putting out major fires by one-upping what players have done to the front office, namely Ralph. Both Peters and Crowell made poor decisions. The front office trumped them both, and the Bills are only making matters worse by treating these situations like it was 1968, not 2008. Ralph may be almost 90, but he's still running the show, with Brandon working the PR angle.

[DrDawkinstein]

It's a trend here that the front office is working hard at putting out major fires by one-upping what players have done to the front office, namely Ralph. Both Peters and Crowell made poor decisions. The front office trumped them both, and the Bills are only making matters worse by treating these situations like it was 1968, not 2008. Ralph may be almost 90, but he's still running the show, with Brandon working the PR angle.

 

 

that statement is assuming that the way the NFL is currently being ran is the right way to do business. which i dont believe it is. and its obvious ralph doesnt think so either. he didnt agree with the CBA and was laughed at, and now a few years later... who looks like they were right? Ralph.

 

it's unfortunate for us fans that our particular owner is the only one in the entire business that has the balls to try to run his franchise correctly. the league needs to understand that not every team is owned by Jerry Jones or Bob Kraft or Dan Snyder, who dont really need to care how much cash they throw around. they instituted the new CBA under the guise of bringing "parity" to the league and that has been a joke from day 1. all it has done is given the control of the league to the agents who only deal with the few richest owners. the rats can not steer the ship, the inmates can not run the asylum, and the players shouldnt control the league. feel free to fill in any other cliches here... the tail can not wag the dog, etc.

 

instead of just throwing money at the problems he is setting standards and rules and living by those rules. for that, i can not fault him. as a die-hard fan who wants nothing more than to just win, it hurts. but at the same time, the fact that the team may be close to moving if it is not financially viable is the other side of the sword.

 

whenever players act like greedy a-holes, everyone is quick to fall back on the BS line of "hey, its a business". but whenever Ralph does something to protect his franchise everyone screams about him being cheap and out of touch. i am in no way a huge ralph supporter. for the past few years i have been pissed off since he has the fans of Buffalo bent over a barrel like a bunch of drug addicts and he keeps selling us lower and lower quality dope. however, there comes a point in the way this league is doing business where it has to stop.

 

typical for us buffalonians, we're in a damned if you do - damned if you dont position.

[julian]

that statement is assuming that the way the NFL is currently being ran is the right way to do business. which i dont believe it is. and its obvious ralph doesnt think so either. he didnt agree with the CBA and was laughed at, and now a few years later... who looks like they were right? Ralph.

 

it's unfortunate for us fans that our particular owner is the only one in the entire business that has the balls to try to run his franchise correctly. the league needs to understand that not every team is owned by Jerry Jones or Bob Kraft or Dan Snyder, who dont really need to care how much cash they throw around. they instituted the new CBA under the guise of bringing "parity" to the league and that has been a joke from day 1. all it has done is given the control of the league to the agents who only deal with the few richest owners. the rats can not steer the ship, the inmates can not run the asylum, and the players shouldnt control the league. feel free to fill in any other cliches here... the tail can not wag the dog, etc.

 

instead of just throwing money at the problems he is setting standards and rules and living by those rules. for that, i can not fault him. as a die-hard fan who wants nothing more than to just win, it hurts. but at the same time, the fact that the team may be close to moving if it is not financially viable is the other side of the sword.

 

whenever players act like greedy a-holes, everyone is quick to fall back on the BS line of "hey, its a business". but whenever Ralph does something to protect his franchise everyone screams about him being cheap and out of touch. i am in no way a huge ralph supporter. for the past few years i have been pissed off since he has the fans of Buffalo bent over a barrel like a bunch of drug addicts and he keeps selling us lower and lower quality dope. however, there comes a point in the way this league is doing business where it has to stop.

 

typical for us buffalonians, we're in a damned if you do - damned if you dont position.

so would you rather have a league doormat forever, or have a serious shot at a championship for a few years then watch the team move on?