Kirby Jackson

That’s kind of the point. If Dez was even close to the player that he was a team like New Orleans would have paid him instead of Cam Meredith. The Rams would have added him instead of a 1st on Brandin Cooks. The Falcons used a 1st on Ridley. These teams went in other directions leaving his market pretty empty. He had a shot with the Ravens and in hindsight should have taken that deal.

Dez is not even a shell of the player that he once was. If he were even to consider a short-term deal with the Bills that should tell you all that you need to know about his market. You take prove it deals with established star QBs that can elevate your market next year. The Bills offer opportunity but it isn’t a good fit for either side. I can’t see this as an option.

It’s always grilling season in New Orleans (it just happened to be raining today).

I don’t know we saw quite a different drafting philosophy this year IMO. It may be a small sample size but it looks different than last year. Last year you had really, really experienced “safe” (at least at the time) players drafted like Tre White and Zay Jones. They had extensive resumes This year feels like they went with all of the upside. Edmunds and Allen have massive ceilings but are not without risk. This to me is the Beane effect. He’s naturally more aggressive than McDermott. I’m not saying that one is right and one is wrong. It is just a different approach.

Gaines signed a 1 year $4M deal. Preston Brown did the same.That feels to me like it would have been money well spent. For $8M you’d have really made your roster a lot deeper. Again, not trashing, just saying it is to be determined.

I just made a blackened, blue cheese crusted ribeye. It was delicious but the house remains full of smoke. I love the cast iron but hate the aftermath. It’s a pain to clean and the smoke is ruthless.

I think that they’ve done a nice job (specifically McDermott). His team played above their talent and won enough games to get to the playoffs despite a fairly significant point differential. That tells me that they capitalized on opportunities to win games. It was the “anti-Rex.” I like the job that Beane has done this offseason. He had 2 goals, to reset the cap and find a franchise QB. He got the cap done and took a talented passer. Beane’s career depends on Allen. Lastly, we still should be cautious on Beane. Everyone loves the GM doing the teardown. People liked Tim Murray at the time!! The easiest job in sports is starting over. You have a clean slate. Sam Hinkie reshaped the 76ers while Tim Murray butchered the Sabres. Time will tell if it works or not.

Haven’t read the whole thread so forgive me if it’s repetitive but Russ has always loved the ladies. It was inevitable that something like this would lead to his downfall. This wasn’t the first time either. The whole “worst kept secret” thing is just that. He has always been somewhat inappropriate when it comes to women. That isn’t news to anyone around there.

Hughes, Star, Kyle, Murphy Alexander, Edmunds, Milano

Auto insurance is pretty high at the moment. They pay between $1.4M and $1.5M on about 110 extra heavy trucks. The losses 2 years ago were like $1.24M (which is a bad year) and last year they were $350k (a great year but with some stuff outstanding). I’d say an average year for them in terms of losses is probably about $600k. This is what I’m dealing with

The sponsorship revenue that the Bills have created from camp is very, very high compared to the rest of the league. They’ve invested in Rochester and in turn a lot of Rochester companies have invested in them. They would lose a significant revenue stream by going back to the stadium. It doesn’t make any sense in their situation. If it ain’t broke.... Closed practices may be a compromise long term. They may give him 5 or so closed practices during their time at SJF.

Yes, but the Pegula’s are going to keep the few million dollars (plus the Rochester goodwill). I will be shocked if they ever leave regardless of what McDermott wants.

Are people dumb though? Should the Bills move away from a giant revenue generator and marketing opportunity? Of course not, this is so obvious. It would be a story if they were stupid enough to leave Rochester.

The Bills were never leaving Rochester. It is too important to the viability of the franchise. This couldn’t be less of a story. There is no credit to be distributed here. The Bills have a contract and are abiding by it. Why is this a story?

The thing that really rubs me the wrong way on it is that the agency makes just over $100k a year off of this account. That was a part of my issue. If you want him to work it and to be compensated for his work take it out of your cut, not mine. I would say that they are pretty reasonable depending on the topic. I’m close with all of them but not close enough that they will take my side against him. He is like the sun at that place. Everything revolves around him. With that hat being said I am working an account with our president who is basically the only other guy on his level. He is also the most reasonable of all. When I am with him next week I am going to try to have a heart to heart on it. He’s a really, really strong leader but is so busy that he kind of removes himself from the day-to-day. They’ve pretty much delegated the agency management to the CFO (another of the 5 partners). He is the a terrible leader and a bit of a snake. We get along really well put I don’t trust him. He’s the one that you always need to be careful with.

I would absolutely expect Popko to take a larger role. He was with the Bills prior too as the head of the sponsorship department. I think that he was the one that secured the naming rights.

Yeah, I think that my issue with it is that there are more qualified people. I 100% get it though. The Pegula’s got burned by Russ and it left a black eye on the organization. They pulled the reins in by putting her in that role. If she trusts and defers to that senior leadership team she won’t have any issues. The problem will arise if she’s at odds with someone more experienced and wiser and she wins out because of her position of power. I don’t foresee it happening often (or maybe ever).

I made a nice score in My Boy Jack’s last trip out. I hit the pick 3 which was a nice ticket and the super which wasn’t as nice. I’m going to use him, Justify, Magnum Moon and Hofburg for sure. I haven’t really handicapped it too much yet though. It’s supposed to be wet out there. I have a couple of horses going this week that you should consider. There’s a horse in the 5th at Churchill tomorrow named Talk VueVue to me (or something like that). I’m going to use that horse with amy’s challenge, Mia’s mischief and gas station sushi. There’s a horse going Saturday at either Arlington Park or Churchill (depending on the weather) named Making a Marc. If it’s at Arlington it won’t pay much but should be a decent price at Churchill.

South Park did an episode on it too. “Stan Darsh”

#russtoo

I’m not sure what the reporting structure is/was on contracts. It is different in a lot of places. As I understand it though, Overdorf is functionally the capologist. He lays the framework of the deals and Beane negotiates within that framework based on how highly they value a particular player. If I understand it correctly (and I may not) they identify comparable players as a starting point. They use their contracts (especially if signed recently) to establish a market. The agent will tell you why his client deserves more than “x” player and the team will tell the agent why he deserves less. They eventually come close on the value and then Overdorf begins working the deal so that it is most advantageous to the cap short and long-term. If the agent is good with that structure and those terms you have a deal. Otherwise it is more negotiation.

I guess that you are right. My point (that I didn’t articulate clearly) is that I’m sure that they signed off on many decisions but never made one. Maybe that’s a better way of putting it. The Pegula’s (and Russ when he was acting owner and GM) were asked, “is it okay if we _____?” They have never said, “we should take _____.” That role has always been on the football people. So, I’m sure that they have rubber stamped and vetoed different players but never pushed for a player.

I appreciate the advice from everyone on here and sorry for the whining. Lastly if you own a business or a farm with 50,000+ bees ( @Boyst62) I will be happy to help you out with the insurance. Just don’t be surprised when I come here to complain about how difficult you are :). Seriously, though thank you guys for the advice. It really has been exhausting but I think after today it will blow over some. Who needs a therapist when we have TBD?

No Yes (but pretty minimally) I think that the owners (and I guess Russ as the de facto owner at one point) sign off on people. I don’t think any of them ever pushed for a certain player but may have prevented a player from coming. As an example, the Pegula’s might have said “no” to Antonio Callaway this draft. If they don’t want that character in their organization i could see them vetoing someone.

She will be responsible for none of that in her new role. If you were to draw an org chart it would be the owner at the top and then 2 lines, one to the GM and one the president. (Some teams have 3 lines with the coach reporting directly to the owner but we will us 2 for the sake of this conversation). Everything that falls underneath the GM would be football operations. There is a web down from there that is the pro and college sides. The web underneath the president will be your CFO, CAO, CIO, CMO, CRO, COO, etc... it is your c-level executives. Their reports are comprised of VPs then directors then managers then coordinators, etc... There is no intersection or correlation between the president and the team performance. That has zero to do with their job. Kim’s role will be to oversee the business of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres. She will be in charge of ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, marketing, PR, stadium operations, IT, community relations, etc...That was the job that Russ Brandon held. So to get an answer you need to pretend that it is a different industry. Let’s pretend that the Buffalo Bills were the Buffalo Airport. Do you believe that Kim Pegula is capable of being the president there? If your answer is “yes” than you are fine with her in this role. If your answer is “no” you probably aren’t. She is running a business though not a roster.