Archives for January 2, 2013

‘Football goes in cycles, and the Bills may have a chance to turn things around. However, it was those early days in the AFL that rocketed football to the top, and Wilson should never be forgotten for his role.’

‘The best part from Tuesday’s announcement is the seemingly genuine anger from Brandon about the state of the team. For too long Wilson and the Bills seemed to almost shrug their shoulders at the team’s failures and be helpless in knowing how to fix it. Brandon admitted he is not happy with the criticism leveled at the Bills – nor should he be – and made a lot of big promises. The problem is now Brandon has to deliver in a big way.’

‘Brandon spoke with great respect for Nix and his ability to scout and find players. But a skywriter about the stadium would only be slightly less subtle than the overriding impression that Whaley is set to take over sooner rather than later. I like Brandon’s willingness to incorporate a version of moneyball to football. But in football there is a still a very big place for scouting and watching players in both college and the pros. If Nix is willing to go back to that role, I think he could have a valuable place for the franchise. If not, it’s my opinion, they will find another "football man" that will.’

‘Excuse my skepticism, but this smacks of same-old, same-old.’

‘Chief Financial Officer Jeff Littman and CEO Russ Brandon are money and marketing guys, respectively. Their expertise doesn’t involve knowing the best GM or head-coaching candidates. And even if they did, there’s still the matter of getting a coveted, high-profile coach to come to Buffalo.’

‘”He told me he was passing the torch to run this franchise in totality,” Brandon said. “He has granted me full authority to run this franchise with zero restrictions and zero limitations. Obviously, I’m honored and humbled in his confidence in me to lead this organization into a new era and provide a clear direction and winning pathway into the future,” Brandon said.’

‘”Right now I accepted a challenge when I took this position, to get this franchise back to where we know it should be, and that’s my focus,” Whaley said. “I’m a competitor. … There’s nothing been promised to me, but to give me the resources to do my job to help those guys [Brandon and Nix] put this franchise on the right track. I love a challenge. That’s what I signed up for, and I hope to be here long enough to see it completed.”‘

‘I hope he succeeds, but I have my doubts, and that won’t change until I see tangible proof otherwise.’

‘We’re supposed to ignore the fact that Brandon has been working in the Bills front office for 16 years, that he has been one of the key players in the front office since Tom Donahoe was fired in 2006, and that he was effectively the general manager for two terrible seasons.’

‘tening to him speak, you’d think he has a transformation in mind akin to what D-Day and the Delta House gang did to Flounder’s brother’s car in Animal House. Remember how they re-made that posh, shiny Lincoln into the Eat-Me-mobile?’

‘”I couldn’t wait to get off the podium so we could go to work,” Brandon told QMI Agency from his car en route to the airport. “We’re excited about (the) candidates that we’ll be able to sit down and speak with.”‘

‘But just as it looked as if all hope was lost, the Bills proceeded to mount the largest comeback in N.F.L. history, a victory that two decades later – Thursday will mark the game’s 20th anniversary – still resonates in western New York.’

”’It was a rather emotional visit,” Brandon said. ”He told me he was passing the torch to me to run the franchise in totality. He has granted me full authority to run the franchise with zero restrictions and zero limitations.”’

‘”It’s hard to describe how hard yesterday was,” said Nix on Tuesday. “Fans talk about firing people. It’s easy to say. You don’t think about families or kids. I’ve been on both sides and I can’t tell you how hard it was. It’s as bad a day as you can have.”‘