BillsNYC Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 "He's always had a great interest in scouting," said Tom Modrak, the Bills' vice president of college scouting. "Russ was trying to learn that end of the business with John and then with Tom and he continues to have a lot of interest in the personnel end of things. He enjoys that, he wants to be good at that and he keeps working at it." http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/624259.html Anybody else read that and relate it to having a coworker's little kid in the office and letting him sit at your desk for a few minutes to let him feel like an adult? Or better yet, the boss' son who you HAVE to be nice to and let sit at your desk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I didn't get that at all. The only way I believe anyone could of interpreted what you did was reading into the article with critical eyes. To me, what I gather from everything I've seen and read about Russ Brandon is that he is a young and accomplished man who strives to learn all aspects of the business and game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Anybody else read that and relate it to having a coworker's little kid in the office and letting him sit at your desk for a few minutes to let him feel like an adult? No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdro22 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I didn't get that at all. The only way I believe anyone could of interpreted what you did was reading into the article with critical eyes. To me, what I gather from everything I've seen and read about Russ Brandon is that he is a young and accomplished man who strives to learn all aspects of the business and game. I think this offseason just goes to show that this is a marketing guy first. He brought it a NAME, most likely a 1yr stop gap that may help a little. But a TRUE football man knows that you build the lines and defense. Well our o-line as currently made up, is worse then last year. Say what you want about dockery but no way chambers is better. And our defense has not getting better, in fact it is worse with florence in and greer out. I cant believe this is our offseason and that we are done. Sorry brandon is a joke with a far too limited football background. Its all about tickets with this team not wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I think this offseason just goes to show that this is a marketing guy first. He brought it a NAME, most likely a 1yr stop gap that may help a little. But a TRUE football man knows that you build the lines and defense. Well our o-line as currently made up, is worse then last year. Say what you want about dockery but no way chambers is better. And our defense has not getting better, in fact it is worse with florence in and greer out. I cant believe this is our offseason and that we are done. Sorry brandon is a joke with a far too limited football background. Its all about tickets with this team not wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 To me, what I gather from everything I've seen and read about Russ Brandon is that he is a young and accomplished man who strives to learn all aspects of the business and game. Why do you feel the need to sugar coat everything that comes out of the Bills organization? Buffalo's top scouting guy, Tom Modrack, stated that Russ "wants to be good" and "keeps working at it" with "it" meaning being good. There's no need to try to make yourself feel good that the head of Buffalo's personnel department hasn't yet reached the level of being "good" at his job. I agree with BillsNYC that the comment had a disturbing (yet not surprising) undertone to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdro22 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Im basing that off jaurons comments on both ellison(horrible) and chambers(not a guard) Based off that they appear to be content. Sorry i think this offseason has sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Why do you feel the need to sugar coat everything that comes out of the Bills organization? Buffalo's top scouting guy, Tom Modrack, stated that Russ "wants to be good" and "keeps working at it" with "it" meaning being good. There's no need to try to make yourself feel good that the head of Buffalo's personnel department hasn't yet reached the level of being "good" at his job. I agree with BillsNYC that the comment had a disturbing (yet not surprising) undertone to it. nothing new coming from you. You think everything sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Why do you feel the need to sugar coat everything that comes out of the Bills organization? Buffalo's top scouting guy, Tom Modrack, stated that Russ "wants to be good" and "keeps working at it" with "it" meaning being good. There's no need to try to make yourself feel good that the head of Buffalo's personnel department hasn't yet reached the level of being "good" at his job. I agree with BillsNYC that the comment had a disturbing (yet not surprising) undertone to it. Please name some of the mistakes Brandon has made. He acquired one of the best DTs in football for a 3rd and 5th. He cut an overpaid, underachieving guard. He got one of the greatest receivers for less than it would cost to sign L. Coles. He selected a future pro bowler at corner and kick returner. IMO, Brandon has done a really good job and the people who criticize him are just jealous. The guy was a 2 sport college athlete and worked his way to being in a prime position in sports by 40. Brandon is better than you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsNYC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Please name some of the mistakes Brandon has made. He acquired one of the best DTs in football for a 3rd and 5th. He cut an overpaid, underachieving guard. He got one of the greatest receivers for less than it would cost to sign L. Coles. He selected a future pro bowler at corner and kick returner. IMO, Brandon has done a really good job and the people who criticize him are just jealous. The guy was a 2 sport college athlete and worked his way to being in a prime position in sports by 40. Brandon is better than you. Would Brandon be the GM of any other team in the NFL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 having Russ Brandon making personnel decisions/provided input is a joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Please name some of the mistakes Brandon has made. He acquired one of the best DTs in football for a 3rd and 5th. He cut an overpaid, underachieving guard. He got one of the greatest receivers for less than it would cost to sign L. Coles. He selected a future pro bowler at corner and kick returner. IMO, Brandon has done a really good job and the people who criticize him are just jealous. The guy was a 2 sport college athlete and worked his way to being in a prime position in sports by 40. Brandon is better than you. Yell at Tom, not me. He's the one who gave a seriously backhanded compliment at the guy. I was just spelling out that Modrack was pretty much saying he wasn't even "good" yet. Read that sentence again. As for his moves, they are debatable, we already had Greer (could have extended his contract after his great play in 2007) and Parrish for those duties and I thought that the Bills should have drafted Brandon Albert instead of McKelvin. The Bills like to make and fill holes while main issues like the offensive line are never rectified. Here's to hoping that McKelvin will more than makeup for our sh!tty line play. Unlike Whitner, at least he showed us some serious skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 We can argue till we're blue in the face about Brandon's qualifications, his short tenure as G.M. etc. At least withhold judgement until the season's over. No one can be legitimately judged at this position in 15 months. I would also remind people that he has the difficult task of working under Ralph Wilson whose spendthrift ways and personal grudges have always held this team back. In the name of a constructive conversation, Mark Gaughan's article touched on two points which jumped of the page at me. Firstly, "Brandon indicated that the team needs depth at all positions, but a pass-rushing defensive end, outside linebacker, tight end and left guard are specific needs." So to those bellyaching about Chambers starting at guard and Ellison starting at LB, smell the beans. Of course a team is going to say nice things about the players who are default starters at the moment on their roster. WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO SAY? But clearly the team recognizes those positions as in need of upgrade. Secondly, "One thing Brandon has learned is the Bills' team-oriented approach to personnel decisions, which are made with input from key figures in the organization, including Wilson, Modrak, Vice President of Pro Personnel John Guy and head coach Dick Jauron." So to all the cynical and negative people who always seem to think that Jauron is making the personnel decisions I think Gaughan is showing us a bit of a hierarchy in this sentence. Very few coaches have total player authority and I don't think Jauron is one of those. They are asking him to be the coach, not the franchise architect. How about we stop criticizing the offseason until at least the offseason is over? Is that reasonable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynchMob23 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Would Brandon be the GM of any other team in the NFL? Would a quack who sent scouting suggestions to nfl teams from his garage be as good? Cuz we did that too - and he (Polian) turned out pretty good. I get the contingent that thinks that Brandon sucks thinks that. You don't have to remind us every post. That's all some are saying.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepthefaith Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 We can argue till we're blue in the face about Brandon's qualifications, his short tenure as G.M. etc. At least withhold judgement until the season's over. No one can be legitimately judged at this position in 15 months. I would also remind people that he has the difficult task of working under Ralph Wilson whose spendthrift ways and personal grudges have always held this team back. In the name of a constructive conversation, Mark Gaughan's article touched on two points which jumped of the page at me. Firstly, "Brandon indicated that the team needs depth at all positions, but a pass-rushing defensive end, outside linebacker, tight end and left guard are specific needs." So to those bellyaching about Chambers starting at guard and Ellison starting at LB, smell the beans. Of course a team is going to say nice things about the players who are default starters at the moment on their roster. WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO SAY? But clearly the team recognizes those positions as in need of upgrade. Secondly, "One thing Brandon has learned is the Bills' team-oriented approach to personnel decisions, which are made with input from key figures in the organization, including Wilson, Modrak, Vice President of Pro Personnel John Guy and head coach Dick Jauron." So to all the cynical and negative people who always seem to think that Jauron is making the personnel decisions I think Gaughan is showing us a bit of a hierarchy in this sentence. Very few coaches have total player authority and I don't think Jauron is one of those. They are asking him to be the coach, not the franchise architect. How about we stop criticizing the offseason until at least the offseason is over? Is that reasonable? Most of the cynical attitude stems from Jauron having any role in the organization whatsoever. What was his his approval rating in the ESPN poll at the end of last year? 14%? That and his record speaks volumes. Brandon's support from fans will be in the same place if results don't improve and a new coach is not hired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Would Brandon be the GM of any other team in the NFL? Is he even the personnel decision maker for this team? When the option to can Jauron was there, it sounded as though 2 of the "inner circle" did not want to retain him while two did. I'll speculate here, but I believe Brandon was one of those who didn't want DJ. He's been given the keys to the football side of the house, but isn't he allowed to make the big football decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Secondly, "One thing Brandon has learned is the Bills' team-oriented approach to personnel decisions, which are made with input from key figures in the organization, including Wilson, Modrak, Vice President of Pro Personnel John Guy and head coach Dick Jauron." So to all the cynical and negative people who always seem to think that Jauron is making the personnel decisions I think Gaughan is showing us a bit of a hierarchy in this sentence. Very few coaches have total player authority and I don't think Jauron is one of those. They are asking him to be the coach, not the franchise architect. How about we stop criticizing the offseason until at least the offseason is over? Is that reasonable? In all the Dead Dick threads that have over-run this board over the past year not once have I read that DJ is making the Personnel decisions all by his lonesome...The Bills have made Personnel decisions a "Team Effort" ever since Marv came back...Marv was also clear that The HC would always get His way in case there was a tie...What is know is that after Marv left DJ was to take on added responsibilities, and with it added influence on Personnel matters...Go back to Marv's comments when he left...It's all there in black and white...Jauron has had a LOT of say in personnel matters...A LOT...More than Ralph? Probably not...But more than anyone else before last Years collapse...Probably so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsNYC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Would a quack who sent scouting suggestions to nfl teams from his garage be as good? Cuz we did that too - and he (Polian) turned out pretty good. I get the contingent that thinks that Brandon sucks thinks that. You don't have to remind us every post. That's all some are saying.. Polian was a scout and football guy who rose up through the ranks, Brandon is a marketing guy. You can't compare the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsNYC Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Is he even the personnel decision maker for this team? When the option to can Jauron was there, it sounded as though 2 of the "inner circle" did not want to retain him while two did. I'll speculate here, but I believe Brandon was one of those who didn't want DJ. He's been given the keys to the football side of the house, but isn't he allowed to make the big football decisions. The article says the buck stops with him, so he does have final say (before Ralph that is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Polian was a scout and football guy who rose up through the ranks, Brandon is a marketing guy. You can't compare the two. So you're implying that a "marketing guy" can't rise up the ranks to be a personnel guy. Really? hmm Theo Epstein comes to mind. Let's see here, his first baseball gig was as a PR guy for the Sandiego Padres. Ya, he hasn't done much for the Red Sox. You're right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts