Our team is really well managed - proof is in the pudding

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 11:29 AM EST

Last night I posted something that got pulled this morning because I used a bad word. So I am re-phrasing it because the points that I was making deserve to be published and discussed.

Last week TO said in his interview how he'd like to finish his career in Buffalo because he loves the way Jauron is easy on them and that the practices are easy and then the fact that Jauron give veterans like him days off, like the two past Fridays. Lovely, just lovely. Is it just me that thinks that TO & Fitz needed as many reps to get in synch as possible? Is that not coaching brilliance at its best? your backup QB is in the game and he has not thrown to your two star receivers much so far this year because he gets most of his reps with the 2nd stringers, so why not give your star receiver some time off? It will be way more entertaining to see them learn on the fly, right?

Sidenote: TO is as worthless as it comes. When he did an out and Fitz thought he would be doing a go route, an error totally not related to giving TO some well deserved time off (??), TO saw the interception and turned and walked away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The camera angle showed his lower body pointed at the interception and then quickly turning and walking away. The interceptor actually ran right through the spot freshly vacated by our super hero (the great Terrel Owens). I can deal with a lot of crappy plays but I cannot deal with such a heartless and cowardly act. We should have traded him when we could but now it's time to bench him.

Back to our well managed football team. Our defense once again played an awesome game for us yesterday, they really did. We were down 17-10, absolutely no reason to panic. So we run the ball 3 consecutive times to setup a beautiful Pop Warner"ish" trick punt play, which backfires in our face and we give them back the ball with great field position.

I hate the way I feel about this team right now. I feel like the owner really doesn't care about me, his loyal fan. He seems way more concerned with keeping costs down and hiring guys that he can control. Well Mr. Wilson, I sincerely think that you are our main problem. I mean no disrespect when I say this. I am a loyal fan and I would like to continue to be a loyal fan but I need much more than what you've been giving us the past 5-7 years. You are going to have to trust someone and you are going to have to let go and let them do their job. Any self-respecting GM worth a dime will not accept a position where his authority will constantly be scrutinized by a 90 year old owner. The Bills over their lifetime have not accomplished enough for you to think that you are able to manage them. They had a lucky run during the Polian years but other than that, this team has been less than pedestrian. My grandfather is 89 and my grandmother is 91, god bless both their soles, they are great but they certainly are well beyond the age of being swift enough to run a successful business. Your business is now worth almost $1B and it's due in large part to loyal fans like me. Please take a step back from all of this and realize that we need some serious changes around here, much more than just a new coach or QB, we need to completely reset the structure and mindset. We need another Polian in here. Mr. Wilson, I beg of you to acknowledge that this is beyond repair and requires drastic measures. You need to step down and actually trust your ability to find a great football mind that can shape the next 10-15 years of Buffalo Football. A man that has accomplished as much as you have, a man that has been in the business for so long, a man that knows and is respected by so many people in the business - please use all that knowledge, power & respect to find the right guy to steer this ship back onto a course that will bring prosperity back to Buffalo Nation.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.

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Whiskey helps numb the pain my friend.

Richard Jauron is proof that mediocre men often have the most acquired knowledge.

by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 2, 2009 11:33 AM EST reply actions

I am way beyond that

This is serious. I feel like an idiot to continue to support a team like this. My loyalty has reached it’s limit.

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 11:38 AM EST up reply actions

could be worse...........

team could have had a 0-16 season………..like the lions……….or lost 17 in row like the Rams……..

Pass the chocolate cake!

by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 2, 2009 11:49 AM EST up reply actions

At least in both those situations, they went out and made some major changes, which will pay off.

We are drunk with mediocrity.

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 11:51 AM EST up reply actions

Rams made a change in season..........didnt help

Made another change at the end of the year……….just like the lions…………but you know last time I checked our teams record is still better than theirs.

Pass the chocolate cake!

by norcaliangelsfan on Nov 2, 2009 11:55 AM EST up reply actions

Easy keysh67

This is serious.

This team does not deserve to be taken seriously. Show your disapproval with your wallet. Get another hobby. I have been spending more time hunting with my boys and don’t regret it.

"Are the Bills better than we think, or do they just suck the life out of most teams they play and drag them down to their level? - oompaloompa

by Joe P. on Nov 2, 2009 1:52 PM EST up reply actions

Joe, believe me I do have other hobbies, I’m an offensive coordinator for my son’s football team, which ties up a fair chunk of time and I play 60 to 100 rounds of golf per year.

I say serious because unlike other people who simply lose a day and spend $60 on a ticket and another $20 on beer, I drive down from Montreal, I drop 400-500$ per game on hotels & food. I seriously am fed up of it all. My last 3 games (49ers last year, NE last year, NO this year) so in 3 trips, 36 hours of driving, over $1500 spent, all I have to show for it is a TD score by our punter. Only an idiot would drive down to support that. If Mr Wilson doesn’t bring upon the radical changes that I feel are required then next year I will not do it anymore.

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 2:27 PM EST up reply actions

And as sad as it would be to stop coming to the games, I wouldn't blame you.

It is going to be an interesting off season to say the least. Signing a retreaded, underperforming coach like Jauron and/or a mostly washed up ex-star like Owens is not going to cut it. If significant changes are not made in the way the Bills FO operates, I don’t think people are going to buy in so easily this time around……. or maybe come April, poz will be drinking the Kool Aid faster than Matt can pour it :-)

"Are the Bills better than we think, or do they just suck the life out of most teams they play and drag them down to their level? - oompaloompa

by Joe P. on Nov 2, 2009 7:13 PM EST up reply actions

hahaha

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 9:25 PM EST up reply actions

I am not a Kool Aid drinker or pourer. I just rather take the wait and see approach. I don’t think the best course of action now is firing Jauron. Ask me again in January.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 3, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions

Mark this in your calendar!!

I also agree that firing Jauron now would be useless, heck it could be detrimental!

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 3, 2009 2:52 PM EST up reply actions

I didn't expect them to go to the playoffs this year anyway..

I’m not knocking the team..I Love the Bills and will continue to watch and support them.We had one of the Best Drafts of any team in the league this year,but to expect an O Line with all those new faces and nobody playing in a position that they have starting experience in to be All Pro is kind of ludicrous..They did this year what they should have done a few years ago in cleaning house on that line,but at least they saw where they went wrong and did something about it..Yeah,it kind of sucks to have to wait till next year yet again,but lets face it there isn’t a lot of Great Coaching out there that really want s to come here either.DJ isn’t a Great HC,not even a good one in my opinion,but He DOES know Defense and You’ve got to admit that He might work out as a quality Guy to have on your staff come draft time,not here though,lol..
I do get a bit upset that TO gets a day off when this team hardly practices enough as it is,but that’s what we have for this year and we have to ride it out..I truly believe that OBD knows now that it made some mistakes..I have NO expectation that they will come out and say anything along those lines,but instead fix it in the off season..I think there is Sooooo Much potential on this team..Just watching some of the new guys perform at such a high level this early in their careers is fun to watch..Look at the potential at Tight End and Free Safety..I just hope they don’t get severely injured because of a strength and conditioning program that is clearly leagues behind other teams,but that too will change in the off season I’d bet..Early on I got upset with some of the losses but then I looked at the draft and where were are Realistically in the careers of these players..Better days are definitely ahead..That I do Billieve..
I don’t post a lot..This is my first I think.Most people are All For or All Against this team and I don’t want to get into that kind of stuff..This is a small market team in a small market community..I hope for the best but if I wanted to get all upset over the players I’d move to Philly where they spend that kind of money..But then,me,living in Philly…Naaaa,that’s ok,I’ll stay here,lol..

by 3nOutNoMore on Nov 2, 2009 12:23 PM EST reply actions

Don't say TO's worthless

Who scored our only TD?

Also did you see that comeback route that TO ran? He was wide open — so open, that it was a thing of beauty, while the corner kept going. Too bad Fitz threw to the go route and it was intercepted. Dont’ know who had the worng play, but it was real pretty as the ball sailed 20 feet over TO’s head. Hey, i’ll take a play working half right at this point.

by Sixteenthback on Nov 2, 2009 3:10 PM EST reply actions

I’ll use a line that is as close to a Kurupt quote as I can remember, if TO and Fitz were out of synch because TO had friday off, than Lee Evans must have taken the whole week off. Fitz is out of synch with everybody because he’s an inaccurate passer. He’s not any more out of synch with TO than he is with the rest of the offense. No coach could turn Fitz into a starting QB.

TO anybody who thought signing TO was a good idea who is bothered by stuff like TO not running down the ball after a turnover or him dropping passes: what did you think he was going to be like?

I think any criticism of Ralph Wilson other than the people he has put his trust in lacks logic. When looking at actual facts (ie: how much money Ralph spends on the Bills vs. what other owners spend and how much money Ralph makes on the Bills vs. how much money other owners make), I don’t think the whole Ralph is more focused on costs than winning argument makes any sense at all. I think you’re drastically overestimating how much Ralph tampers with his employees. This team is in bad shape because Donahoe (who had full control over everything) and Jauron’s inner circle have made poor choices. I’d bet that Ralph is less involved than most owners.

I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute

by kaisertown on Nov 2, 2009 3:32 PM EST reply actions

No coach could turn Fitz into a starting QB.

But yet ours bent over backwards to quickly sign up Fitz as our first FA signing, wow what a great talent evaluator he is…

what did you think he was going to be like

I agree, which is why I wanted us to trade him a few weeks ago. And I believe you were one of the few that agreed with me.

I’d bet that Ralph is less involved than most owners.

You are one of the few that think that. I would love to be wrong on this and hopefully he’ll hire a the proper front office and completely step out of the way so tht they can be successfull

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions

The list of potential backup QBs that Buffalo could have signed was a joke. They grabbed one who they thought would be a good teammate and a good fit in their no huddle system. What else were they supposed to do? I guess they could have drafted somebody and a lot of people have been calling for them to grab a QB in the last couple rounds of the draft every year for awhile now (Joe. P comes to mind). There are less QBs out there than rosters spots that teams use on them. ie: there are 32 starting jobs and 20-25 starting QBs, 64 backups or starters, but since you’ve already got 7 or 10 backups starting, there aren’t many good backups left to actually be backups.

Yeah, I thought they should have traded him too. I get why they didn’t, but they should have. Consider the TO experience just one more reason why a GM should have final say and not a lame duck head coach.

I might be dead wrong on Ralph. Who knows?

by kaisertown on Nov 2, 2009 4:02 PM EST up reply actions

I guess you’re right, there really was nothing out there.

I am a big Jimmy Clausen fan. I’ve been following Notre-Dame quite religiously and this guy seems to have it all. First and foremost he has presence & leadership, he’s got a strong arm and seems to be able to make all the throws. He has a funny release but it definitely seems to work. This year he’s on fire. He also seems very intelligent and able to read defenses very well and he is able to anticipate where his receiver will be and throw before his guys even make their cuts. I really hope we draft this guy, he could be our future.

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 2, 2009 4:38 PM EST up reply actions

I’m a Notre Dame hater ….. and I’m still a big fan of Clauson. It’s not the best arm, but it’s pretty good and his release doesn’t bother me. There’s something about the way that he mixes up his short throws with the deep ones, despite not having a cannon of an arm that reminds me of Phil Rivers.

by kaisertown on Nov 2, 2009 5:52 PM EST up reply actions

Echo everything

I mock the draft a bunch of times each week, for varying reasons. Part of it involves predicting the rest of the season’s results.

I don’t see us drafting ahead of either St. Louis or Cleveland- and I don’t see us getting either Clausen or Locker. We should start thinking Bradford, or even Tebow or Christian Ponder.

Not to depress you even further… just saying.

by Der Jaeger on Nov 2, 2009 9:54 PM EST up reply actions

I think Ralph is a little too involved

the meddling type and all….

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on Nov 2, 2009 10:33 PM EST up reply actions

Ralph doesn’t even live in the same time zone. How could he be as involved as a Jerry Jones who is at the facility every day or Al Davis.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 3, 2009 2:06 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, I think Ralph does his fair share of meddling, but so does every owner. I don’t see Ralph’s fingerprints on this roster.

by kaisertown on Nov 3, 2009 3:14 PM EST up reply actions

I usually agree with you

but not on the Ralph issue. As I have said before, the NFL is the most management intensive of all professional sports. You just have way more players to deal with than any other sport. The progression of complexity is not arithmetic; it is almost geometric. You need an owner to hire an exceptional GM who puts together a small army of people to put together and coach the team. In the post merger years Ralph accomplished that exactly once and that was with Bill Polian and I submit he won the lottery with Polian because his resume was very thin at the time (and incredible since.) Ralph has made bad decisions prior to and subsequent to Polian. It is not how much money you spend but how you spend it i.e. NY Knicks and NY Rangers. Arguing that Ralph is less involved than most owners is not exactly a positive. The owner has to be involved in the correct places at the correct time. I submit that his 50 year body of work demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ralph is consistantly involved in the wrong places at the wrong time. Finally, the ultimate indictment of Ralph and his franchise is that for the overwhelming majority of his reign he has put his trust in the wrong people and stayed with them too long. We will never see the playoffs again as long as the team is run in the Ralph way. How do you feel about Al Davis?

by jpheff on Nov 2, 2009 9:30 PM EST up reply actions

just wanted to add for the record

that since the inception of Ralph’s franchise the record is 365 wins and 404 losses and 8 ties. I believe it is an accurate reflection of his effectiveness as an owner and what we fans can expect as long as he is in charge.

by jpheff on Nov 2, 2009 9:46 PM EST up reply actions

If you are refering to me??

Then I am confused. My article says exactly what you just described?? I really don’t see where you disagree with me. Maybe on the point that Wilson needs to step completely back? He needs to let the new President & GM do their thing. A 90 year old should not be managing anything anymore, the mind tends to wander at that age and focus and memory is much harder to come by. He needs to use all those years of experience/contacts/networking/etc to call around and get advice on a new president and a new GM, if he listens and is willing to relinquish power and pay the appropriate price, another Polian is within the realm of possibility (Last night we were withness to two great up & coming GMs, guys like Demetriof & Loomis albeith two guys with different backgrounds)

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 3, 2009 6:45 AM EST up reply actions

Not referring to you

was referring to kaisertown. I totally agree with you.

by jpheff on Nov 3, 2009 10:34 AM EST up reply actions

You’re right that Ralph doesn’t have a great track record, but I don’t see how that makes it that unlikely that he makes a good hire. If we break down his recent decisions when it comes to the FO, It’s not that bad.

He made a great decision with Polian. Sure we can call it lucky, but if we do that, then the hiring of Tom Danahoe has to fall under bad decision and unlucky. The Donahoe hire was pretty much universally applauded as a great move. John Butler was a good hire, but hiring Polian’s #2 was a pretty obvious move. That just leaves us with this awful inner circle situation. All Ralph has to do is hire the right guy to be the GM and even if he doesn’t have the greatest track record out there, I don’t see how it’s so terrible that the team becomes incapable of winning if Ralph is the guy making that hire.

I don’t see why the NFL being a more complex and management intensive league makes Ralph less likely to succeeed. The complexity of the business of football actually leads to bigger FOs, more decision making and less burden on a 90 year old owner …. as long as that owner finds a good person to run the business side of things (and he has one in Russ Brandon) and a good person to run the football side of things. How hard is it to make a hire anyways? Any moron could pick a name out of a hat and have a pretty decent shot at ending up with a good one. Even the bad scouting departments stumble onto great players and even the worst owners can get lucky with a good hire in the FO.

by kaisertown on Nov 3, 2009 3:27 PM EST up reply actions

OK Good.

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 3, 2009 10:58 AM EST reply actions

We need another Polian in here.

Polian was promoted from within. Just sayin’. I’d love for a guy like him to be here, obviously.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 3, 2009 2:03 PM EST reply actions

We need a proven up & comer like Dimitriof or Scot McCloughan

I have nothing left to say, these Bills have sucked me dry of any hope. Loosing to a team that completes 2-17 for 23y with 1 INT, that is beyond pitiful!

by keysh67 on Nov 3, 2009 3:27 PM EST up reply actions

I am not arguing against that type.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
"Matt’s pretty valuable to y’all. Cherish him." - BG

by MattRichWarren on Nov 3, 2009 8:40 PM EST up reply actions

correct

Polian came to the Bills as Director of pro personnel in August 1984 and became GM in December 1985. I think he got his start with the Giants but unable to confirm.

by jpheff on Nov 3, 2009 7:20 PM EST up reply actions