Wayne Arnold
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Posts posted by Wayne Arnold
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53 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:
Look, I understand Dunne is a journalist and journalists aren't supposed to write puff pieces. But I agree with Micah Hyde when he calls it a low blow:
"But to me, I think it's a low blow to question Sean's character. And I don't think there's any good coming out of that. I think a lot of us are, would, not to knock on you guys, but the media reporting the story, but I think in the locker room and stuff, we're all here to lift each other up. So, for guys to do that, it's kind of messed up in my eyes. You know me, I'm pro-Sean McDermott. I trust in everything that he's done around here, and what he's going to continue to do, and I'm going to back him any day of the week, twice on Sunday."
Many years ago, another manager in my company sent a voicemail to my boss questioning the integrity of some of the results my team was producing. But she accidentally sent the voicemail to a group of about 50 company managers. When my team found out, they were deeply hurt that their good work was sullied by dishonest speculation. Years later, I was asked to contribute a monthly opinion piece on any topic of my choice to a company newsletter. One of my contributions was a front-page article with my old adversary's smiling photo praising her heartily as a high-achieving brand ambassador (which she was). Months later, she spotted me at a company event and interrupted my conversation to give me a long, emotional hug. The axe was buried.
Confucius said, "To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it." Stoic philosophers likewise teach us to ignore the wrongs people have done to us. Most spiritual traditions promote kindness and forgiveness.
Dunne could have listened to his higher angels and taken a higher road. He could have, for example, chosen not to write a hit piece. Or if he felt compelled to write a piece on McD, he could have found more positive quotes and comments to include in the article to make it more balanced. When a man publicly goes after another man's character, job, and reputation in a one-sided way like this - to Micah and me, it's wrong.
Stop calling it a "hit piece". He took opinions from various sources who aren't fans of McDermott's coaching at varying degrees.
I think the only source who really questioned his character was the one who thinks he's a narcissist. But that's one man's opinion and each reader can take it for whatever it's worth in their eyes.
We don't get enough media about McDermott's negatives because so few who report on the Bills don't want to put that stuff out there for fear of losing access to the team. We need guys like Dunne who has the balls to write things like this because not everything is lollipops and puppy dogs when it comes to this team and its head coach.
To be so sensitive about it is silly.
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11 hours ago, HardyBoy said:
I'd be very surprised if Pegula cares about the operating costs of the bills in any meaningful way, the brand and asset are far more important...
How's that Buffalo Bills brand doin?
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4 minutes ago, RichRiderBills said:
The timing here was intended and overt: he wanted to kick Billsmafia when we were down. He wanted to affect the news, not report the news.
You have got to be kidding me with this crap.
You consider a critique of the head coach to be an attack on the fanbase? That is weird as hell.
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1 hour ago, HardyBoy said:
I'd be very surprised if Pegula cares about the operating costs of the bills in any meaningful way, the brand and asset are far more important...
How's the Buffalo Bills brand at the moment? Miss the playoffs and it's going to fall off a cliff and Pegula absolutely will feel it.
I'm not worried about it. If this team misses the playoffs or even loses in the wild card round I'm very McDermott is done. Not even Pegula is dumb enough to keep him at that point.
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6 hours ago, Scott7975 said:
I don't necessarily disagree with anything you say here. I don't know Dunne from a whole in the wall. I just have seen people like Tim Graham and such give him respect. Yes, he may be as you say a tabloid peddler but I like reading that stuff as long as what is written is not made up. I have no reason to believe any of his sources are fake. I have no reason to believe anything his sources said was a lie and I have no reason to believe he inaccurately quoted his sources. Some stuff in the article was his perception or take on the comments to paint a story, but I am intelligent enough to see opinion from the rest and I take it as such and make up my own mind.
I like reading that stuff because I like to know. There are always secrets behind what really happens. Not enough people report on that stuff. I hear stat stuff and BS Josh Allen sucks talks everywhere. I don't care to hear it all the time. I mean, who didn't want to know what really happened with "i wasn't privy to that conversation" or things like who really took charge in that draft or when did they know they were going to fire Whaley. Was it because of that? Was it because McD didn't like him? There are all kinds of things I would have liked to know from past regimes that people just speculate about. Now we get real information and all people want to do is discredit it act as if it's all fake and all bs and just a witch hunt or something. Why? Because they are too scared that McD will get fired and we will end up like the Sabres.
What the Pegulas do with all this is their business. Personally, I do not think McD is the right coach. I think that he pisses his pants in key moments. Something that Dunne tries to get across and pretty much outright says in the article, but I have thought that since 13 seconds. The article had nothing to do with it. I also think McD is a good football coach and everything he does is to try and get this team to win a championship. I don't think anything he does has ill will and I have no reason to believe he is a bad guy. I just think that "his way" is the wrong way. This article pointed out to me more of the "his way" stuff that I didn't even know about. I believe every word of it. Doesn't change anything for me really. Just gives me more insight into his coaching.
Ultimately, while I think McD is a good coach, I don't think he is a good enough coach. As the article paints a picture of... this team is only going to win a championship if it overcomes the head coach. I firmly believe that and I believed that before the article. It's too hard to win a championship like that. You already have to overcome injuries, referees sometimes, the way the ball bounces, luck, facing teams that are either better than you or at least on par with you. It takes too much to win a championship if you have to overcome the HC.
13 seconds is on Sean McDermott. He has shown nothing since then that he learned from it. In fact we have lost games in the same fashion from the same coaching style. This is why I think he needs to go. Not because of the article or anything in it. Simply because I believe he isn't good enough and hasn't learned from that. He still craps his pants. He still folds in big moments. This is why he takes timeouts at the end of the game defensively. Just kneeling the ball with Josh Allen and 20 secs against the best team in the league is enough to show me he hasn't learned a damn thing. It showed he is still coaching scared. Instead of looking at what Josh could do in 20 seconds to win a game, he thought about what could lose the game. I don't want a coach like that. I want a coach that sees he has one of the best and most gifted QBs to ever play in the NFL, hands him the ball and says go win this football game. Too many people are afraid that we will go back to being a crap team by hiring a worse coach. As long as Josh Allen is here, it won't get worse. Josh Allen is what is carrying this team, not Sean McDermott.
Anybody that disagrees with any of that, I respect that but this is my opinion on it.
Great post, Scott. Perfectly stated, I agree with everything 100%.
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11 hours ago, Breakout Squad said:
McDermott sounded broken down and clearly hurt. Watching his press conference you could see this is really hitting him hard. I felt bad for him.
That's exactly what he wants. Now when they miss the playoffs he can tell Pegula and the contingent of emotional fans that it was Tyler Dunne's fault and they'll likely buy it.
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11 hours ago, HardyBoy said:
Use whatever means possible to get him fired...Tyler Dunne, is that you?!
Of all the sports, fan support matters by far the least in the nfl... very few home games and the vast majority of the money comes from the TV deals and league wide revenue sharing.
I could see ticket sales being important for cash flow stuff, but the Pegulas seem to have plenty of liquid money that they can fund the cash flow until the league wide dispersments are paid, and for all we know they might not mind operating at a loss because it helps offset gains elsewhere.
Now other sports with regional TV deals and 41 or 81 home games and much more limited league wide revenue sharing, sure, but not the NFL.
Also, how do you know that Pegula isn't fully supportive of and wants coaches that have boundaries between player and coach?
If you're not winning with one of the two or three greatest quarterbacks on the planet and sources close to the owner come out and say there's no chance the head coach is fired then ***** is going to get ugly. Why is this so hard for you to understand?
There isn't a single billionaire on the planet Earth who doesn't mind "operating at a loss". Not a one.
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18 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:
Gotta love people gleefully tearing a person down because the sports team he coaches is making you disappointed.
I'm just confused by the entertainment people are taking from this, especially after he came out and said that he's really feeling hurt by it.
Celebrity gossip culture is gross and between this and people being excited Von Miller was potentially going to get suspended because he's not playing well on the field (I saw all the second reactions after people's initial reaction of saying that behavior is awful, then switching to "ooh, now he won't play because he stinks")
Just I'm not sure what happened after being so freaking proud of being a part of this fan base with the donations and the playoff drought ending and even during the drought the vast majority of people being reasonable if not passionate, and then how everyone said they were changed by the Hamlin injury, but just empty words and it's gotten worse.
Now people are gleefully sharing gossip with one another to justify absolutely ripping the joy out of someone who it's never justified to do to someone, but by all accounts is a really genuine person who maybe has some quirks in his personality.
Seriously, imagine what it must be like for him tonight, knowing all these people have awful things to say about you...he's a human and is trying his best on top of it... it's gross
"Tearing a person down".
As far as the Buffalo Bills fan base goes, I think there are two major portions of it: the portion of the fanbase that wants a Lombardi Trophy before they die, and a portion of the fanbase who don't care so much about winning but are overly emotional and weird when it comes to the head coach and some of the players.
All I want is to see this team win a Super Bowl. That's the bottom line. And it's a bottom line business, quite frankly. And Sean McDermott ain't it. It's not happening with him. Period.
And if we have an owner who refuses to cut ties with him for whatever reason (as reported very recently), then that Super Bowl portion of the fanbase is going to use whatever there is available and do whatever they have to do to put enough pressure on Pegula to make it happen.
No one is "gleefully tearing a person down" or "ripping the joy out of someone" or any of the other dramatic statements you made. I like McDermott the man. Respect him a ton. But he's just not good enough. Flat out. He's not.
The other emo portion of the fanbase can cry their little hearts out about it all they want but they're going to have to pull up their big boy pants and deal. This is the NFL. They should focus more on the Bandits or Canisius if they can't handle it.
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2 minutes ago, Warcodered said:
The group of guys all got together when they weren't supposed to at the coaches house, with the way the NFL was enforcing the Covid rules back then we could have gotten hosed on that. It wasn't exactly a small gift for a position coach.
It's amazing that Chad Hall is still employed. Does Doug Peterson know about this?! Accepting bribes from NFL players. What a menace!
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16 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:
Except I'm very much not and if I was in McDs position I would be pissed as well.
Then you're both weirdos.
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6 minutes ago, HardyBoy said:
Um, rich people bribe super low level beaurocrats all the time, I'm confused how it matters how much money someone is making...they are giving a decision maker who is a gatekeeper to their future earnings not just a gift of value, but of significant value.
It can be a perceived quid pro quo and even if it's not the case, if it's perceived that is a conflict of interest and is an issue, potentially an issue with significant monetary consequences
Oh give me a break. The entire WR unit contributed to the gift. Save your lawyer speak for things that actually matter.
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10 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:
Michael Jackson is the answer you give if you don't have an answer. Frank Sinatra is the answer you give if you want to be trendy and cool in your 20's.
I'm skeptical that Sean McDermott has ever listened to music in his life. We know he's never laughed.
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18 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:
This isn’t exactly corporate America either. That gift was the equivalent of a normal supervisor getting a Christmas gift.
Not to mention all of his employees make waaaaaaay more than he does.
The corporate/office analogy is not a good one. Sorry @HardyBoy
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14 minutes ago, RichRiderBills said:
He's regularly critical of the drafting.
That's what you consider a "hit piece"?
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24 minutes ago, RichRiderBills said:
Are you Dunne? He's regularly written hit pieces on McD and Beane. Had it out for them almost from the start. He had a preamble :13 second piece filled with stretchy garbage and conjecture 2 years ago. He hits McD like a part time job. I've heard he was a Monos and Whaley fan and is sour grapes since.
When did Dunne write a "hit piece" (oh the drama, Good Lord) on Beane?
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6 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:
I'm re-linking all 3 articles since it's becoming clear more folks are commenting than bothering to read even the free parts.
QuoteHis intent — players repeat — is pure.
The coach who ended the Bills’ 17-year playoff drought realizes how badly locals are dying for their first Super Bowl. The quest consumes him.
“He never, ever, ever does a damn thing with any other intention than to empower and grow the Buffalo Bills franchise,” this ex-Bill said. “That’s a fact. Now, whether or not the *****’s going to work or whether or not the players are going to receive it well? That’s a different conversation. But it doesn’t come from an evil ‘Sean McDermott wants all the praise and all the credit.’ He genuinely wants every person in that organization to thrive and win a lot of games to the point of exhaustion.
“All he wants to do is help that team win. Now, that’s the truth.”
Oh no - what an ATTACK on McDermott's CHARACTER! It's a SMEAR CAMPAIGN! You guys I'm throwing up I'm so appalled.
5 minutes ago, Blackbeard said:No one's blaming crap.
The dude is under way too much unwarranted bs right now, let alone try to coach the team.
Not everyone thinks hes this HORRIBLE coach. Some actually understand hindsight and monday morning quarterbacking.
Why does he have to pay attention to it? Acknowledge it publicly at all?
I don't think anyone thinks he's a HORRIBLE coach. Just not good enough to win the Lombardi which is all that matters.
You should be happy and celebrating this article. As long as McDermott is as good as you think he is then the entire team is going to unite behind him and beat the Chiefs by 50 points on their way to running the table.
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14 minutes ago, Blackbeard said:
I'm sure McD is loving trying to prepare and plan for a game having to deal with all this media crap and Monday morning quarterbacking.
Cutting nose of to spite face this fan base is doing. Sad to sit back and watch it.
I think if Bass misses another FG, we burn McD at the stake outside of Jims Steakout.
Good to see some of you are preparing to blame Sunday's loss on Dunne and the fanbase.
McDermott would be proud.
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3 minutes ago, Warcodered said:
It's an opinion piece it isn't news, and why don't you find where I said they shouldn't do either of those things you decided to just copy and paste if that's what you're saying. Someone said it didn't attack his character it did, saying it didn't is just ridiculous.
What people who worked closely with McDermott think of his coaching and leadership qualities is absolutely news. If you don't think so then don't read it.
"Attacking his character". Cry me a river. You could claim any criticism of your job performance as having your character attacked if you really wanted to.
Part of being a coach is being a leader. If you're not allowed to describe the stupid things McDermott has done to make people question his leadership abilities because it might *gasp* "attack his character" then how do you suggest people evaluate his leadership skills?
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1 minute ago, Warcodered said:
That wasn't journalism, a bunch of quotes surrounded with his own opinion that frames a narrative he's trying to create, yeah that's not it.
Ok.
Reporters should only report complimentary descriptions from sources.
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1 minute ago, Warcodered said:
Being called a narcissist is often seen as a compliment.
Journalists should only report complimentary descriptions from sources.
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3 minutes ago, boco357 said:
Damn Brown and Tasker killing Dunne.
Shocking.
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52 minutes ago, HappyDays said:
Man I have criticized McDermott's coaching but he doesn't deserve this. He's a good man.
These quotes are pure victim mentality and not something that is going to unite grown men to get behind him, I suspect.
If McDermott is as good as many defending him think he is, this team is going to come together and dedicate the rest of the season to their amazing head coach who has been wronged by a journalist and the 20+ unnamed sources who have criticized his coaching. They will proceed to beat the Chiefs by 50 points and run the table to the Lombardi Trophy.
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1 hour ago, thenorthremembers said:
McDermott is doing a hell of a job in his press conference. Outside of some of the results of his coaching stint here, he's shown great character.
10 minutes ago, wettlaufer said:"This is an attack on my character" is purely evasive and non-accountable. He did the opposite of of a "hell of a job."
Sean McDermott going into today's press conference:
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Tyler Dunne story on McDermott - 3 parts, 25 interviews, one damning conclusion
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
This is the scary part to me and should be what concerns all Bills fans whose concern is winning the Super Bowl (as opposed to making the head coach feel warm and fuzzy).
It's nearly impossible to go 2-15 with a Josh Allen at quarterback. I feel like Pegula may be of that mindset that you only fire the coach when the team is absolutely terrible and isn't quite bright enough to understand when the coach is holding the team back.