birdog1960 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 you're kidding, right? jw Why, because you're so famous that everyone should know.
GG Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Why, because you're so famous that everyone should know. Not everyone, but should be known to Bills' fans who've been following their team
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Not everyone, but should be known to Bills' fans who've been following their team I read a lot of stories on the Bills, and hadn't heard of the guy until maybe last year. *shrug*
Delete This Account Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Why, because you're so famous that everyone should know. evidently i have a small following, considering Joe's heard of me. ... but keep digging. jw
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 evidently i have a small following, considering Joe's heard of me. ... but keep digging. jw
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 A culture of competence and winning goes a long way towards getting players excited about climbing aboard and signing up with the program. No team keeps every player and players are motivated for different reasons. Still, if the team is near the bottom of the heap, even middling players like Laveranues Coles and Pisa Tinoisamoa will take the offer sheet as a bargaining chip as they continue to shop greener pastures. Let's face it, the city of Buffalo is not going to sell itself to most people. A culture of winning is thus all the more important for teams like the Bills. The Packers and Steelers have found ways to do exactly that. The Bills, other than a brief "near-Camelot era", not so much.
Delete This Account Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 So who pays you to be here? Are you an (pardon the pun) astroturf blogger like they have on the political sites? oh, and my mistake, when i wrote "here," i was actually referring to where i was at the time i wrote it following last night's game. i didn't mean to infer that i meant "here" as to this web site. jw
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 oh, and my mistake, when i wrote "here," i was actually referring to where i was at the time i wrote it following last night's game. i didn't mean to infer that i meant "here" as to this web site. jw I'm sure the drinking has something to do with that.
Delete This Account Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 I'm sure the drinking has something to do with that. funny story: the day Labatt had its press conference promoting the golden can deal, they provided free 12 packs to the media. as a couple of reporters were walking past Lee Evans, he made a comment about the beer, to which one jokester replied, kiddingly, "beer's a necessity to cover this team." Lee took it in good fun. jw
GG Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 funny story: the day Labatt had its press conference promoting the golden can deal, they provided free 12 packs to the media. as a couple of reporters were walking past Lee Evans, he made a comment about the beer, to which one jokester replied, kiddingly, "beer's a necessity to cover this team."Lee took it in good fun. jw Do we run for the hills when Smirnoff starts a sponsorship drive?
ThereIsNoDog Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 LMAO wow, you couldn't be further off base. JW is actually very respected in his field of work. Note: the key words here...'in his field of work'. And you're respected...where?
Delete This Account Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Do we run for the hills when Smirnoff starts a sponsorship drive? can't wait. Mr. Jameson would be a better preference. jw
thewildrabbit Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Some perspective should be in order. Wilson does have a historic reputation for being cheap, but at the same time, his teams boasted the highest paid players in the league for many years and he did pay up to keep the HoF roster intact in the '90s, and really only lost Wolford to Colts' sliminess. The one thing that is constant with Wilson that you cannot deny is that he demands loyalty out of his players in return for opening up the checkbook. In nearly every case over 50 years, RW refused to sign a player because he felt that the player betrayed the ethos of the Buffalo Bills (ie Ralph Wilson). In most cases in retrospect, Wilson was right. In your examples, it was a godsend that Bills took a hard line with Cousineau, because he was not worth the money that he was asking and what Montreal paid him. In Bruce's case, there were still questions about his work ethic, motivation & extracurriculars that flavored the contract discussions. I don't imagine you remember the four-game suspension? So, you have to excuse the owner for being hesitant to throw a lot of money on a player who hadn't yet lived up to dominant status. There was no way Bills could afford to keep the Big 3, because the ramification on their cap was going to be much different than for any new team signing them. Same with Pat Williams, which was part of a tactical PR campaign by Donahoe to make him the worse of the two key FAs Bills needed to sign. Donahoe preferred Schoebel and fed rumors that Williams was on the downslide. So in conclusion, there are many reasons to hold Wilson accountable for the franchises poor track record, mostly his inability to field and retain competent football managers. But there's no reason to invent things to justify the hatred. I don't hate Ralph Wilson or the team, I posted from what I can remember reading In the local newspapers. Which part did I supposedly invent? You may think that it was a godsend that the Bills didn't sign Cousineau, I don't. Had the guy been signed and brought into camp, and trained and coached properly by NFL coaches, who is to say he couldn't have developed into a better player? The fact is that Wilson and the Bills refused to sign the first overall draft pick in 1979 and the CFL paid him 2x what the Bills offered him, you don't think that had ramifications for years for other players? Has that EVER happened before or since, that one instance made me think that the Buffalo Bills and Ralph Wilson were the cheapest team at the time.Even worse then Paul Brown, Bill Bidwell and Robert Irsay. You know the latter right? The guy John Elway choose not to play for...
birdog1960 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 can't wait. Mr. Jameson would be a better preference. jw Mr. Dickel or Mr. Blanton would be welcome as well
thebandit27 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Depends on how you define loser. A fair definition might be one who loses. .475 winning percentage over 50 years means you lose more than you win (i could be wrong my calculus is rusty). If you lose more than you win over that time span and are unlikely to change that ratio, then yes, I think that qualifies. If you mean that he's a winner because he's worth over a billion dollars, I'd say your right but I thought this board was about football. Having a losing team and being a "loser" are two completely different things, in my opinion. Losers are quitters, people that won't fight through failure and generally stop trying. I don't think it's fair to say such things about a guy that throws money at T.O., constantly pleads with the league to consider small market teams, and expands his home territory to the largest city around in the hopes of establishing a corporate ticket base. I hope that explains my position.
GG Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 I don't hate Ralph Wilson or the team, I posted from what I can remember reading In the local newspapers. Which part did I supposedly invent? You may think that it was a godsend that the Bills didn't sign Cousineau, I don't. Had the guy been signed and brought into camp, and trained and coached properly by NFL coaches, who is to say he couldn't have developed into a better player? The fact is that Wilson and the Bills refused to sign the first overall draft pick in 1979 and the CFL paid him 2x what the Bills offered him, you don't think that had ramifications for years for other players? Has that EVER happened before or since, that one instance made me think that the Buffalo Bills and Ralph Wilson were the cheapest team at the time.Even worse then Paul Brown, Bill Bidwell and Robert Irsay. You know the latter right? The guy John Elway choose not to play for... The invention is the spin you put on the stories to make it solely the fault of Wilson, when there were extenuating circumstances where blame should reside with other people. As for Cousineau, I'll let history be the judge if he would have become a better NFL player under Kay Stephenson, or Jim Kelly became under Marchibroda and who would have benefited the Bills more. As for other #1 picks bolting to another league - check the AFL/NFL draft wars and the impact that USFL had on signings - and all that was before free agency. And if you are going to make a case that nothing like Cousineau happened after '79 it doesn't help that you also bring up John Elway. I have pictures of him wearing pinstripes.
thebandit27 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 So who pays you to be here? Are you an (pardon the pun) astroturf blogger like they have on the political sites? so basically you're saying that because you have a job with a loser organization working for a loser owner, everything is super. you better hope hope ralph lives forever, because when he goes, I doubt working for the buffalo bills is going to look all that great on your resume. i guess you should start thinking about making that "will work for food" sign Why, because you're so famous that everyone should know. Some of you guys are unbelievable! You'd think that supposed "fans" would have an appreciation for someone that works as closely with the team as John coming on here and providing us with information directly from the source, but nitwits like you guys need to tear it down and act afool as though your opinion supercedes all relevant facts. Here's a newsflash, dopes, John works for the AP, not the team. He can report whatever the facts are and not have to worry about the organization's feelings. Which means you should take what he says as fact, or at least his honest impression of what went on. Instead, you guys are defiant in the face of responsible reporting, going so far as to use words like "loser" and suggesting the guy will end up homeless. You people disgust me, seriously. Go find a giant toilet and flush yourselves. Sorry John. I know you don't need me to defend you, but as a former AP guy myself, I can't take this garbage.
jwws9999 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Some of you guys are unbelievable! You'd think that supposed "fans" would have an appreciation for someone that works as closely with the team as John coming on here and providing us with information directly from the source, but nitwits like you guys need to tear it down and act afool as though your opinion supercedes all relevant facts. Here's a newsflash, dopes, John works for the AP, not the team. He can report whatever the facts are and not have to worry about the organization's feelings. Which means you should take what he says as fact, or at least his honest impression of what went on. Instead, you guys are defiant in the face of responsible reporting, going so far as to use words like "loser" and suggesting the guy will end up homeless. You people disgust me, seriously. Go find a giant toilet and flush yourselves. Sorry John. I know you don't need me to defend you, but as a former AP guy myself, I can't take this garbage. so he works for the media huh, I guess that makes him an expert on everything
birdog1960 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 Having a losing team and being a "loser" are two completely different things, in my opinion. Losers are quitters, people that won't fight through failure and generally stop trying. I don't think it's fair to say such things about a guy that throws money at T.O., constantly pleads with the league to consider small market teams, and expands his home territory to the largest city around in the hopes of establishing a corporate ticket base. I hope that explains my position. Understood. Living in the South much of my adult life makes me miss open, spirited debate. I may have gotten carried away in this thread. ADD: the question about pay referred to his being paid for blogging (astroturf versus grassroots- which I believe is a dishonest practice). That was a simple misunderstanding by both rw and me)
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