Bob in STL

Buffleburgh Steebills.

I have heard that rumor and I hope it is true. I will take a lot of bread to make that deal.

I don't dispute you at all. He was very cheap at times. Wilson always was and always will be a business man first and foremost. He was frugal in the 60's although he had the money to bail out Oakland and Boston and keep the AFL and his other buddies from going under. His allegiance was to the league first, then his franchise, then his staff, and lastly his players. He was downright cheap in the 70's and ran a very erratic franchise. There are numerous examples of this, most of them I have posted on in the past. His cheapness in the 70's carried into the 80's until he stumbled upon Bill Polian. Polian was a low priced, unknown GM that turned out to be a diamond in the rough. Polian started to do great things and he hung in there until he could not handle arguing with Ralph's accountant, Mr. Littman, any longer. The dispute over the contract to Cornelius Bennett was followed by the Littman's refusal to allow Polian to renegotiate Will Woolford's contract. You see, Polian knew what was going to happen once free agency went into effect and he was trying to renegotiate the core players in advance. Littman stopped him. Ralph sided with Littman, and Polian bailed. All of these stories about Polian and Ralph’s daughter not getting along are secondary to this issue. Once the salary cap and free agency were established (something that Polian worked on with commissioner Tagliabue) Ralph initially had no problem spending to the cap and he enjoyed the fruits of NFL revenue sharing. However, he would never pay for an elite coaching staff or the other extras to help the franchise. Erie county and New Your State taxpayers have funded upgrades to the stadium, the practice field, the luxury boxes, etc. To my knowledge Ralph has put $0 into the stadium that bears his name, even though his financial legacy will be far greater than his heirs can absorb. Today he spends cash to cap only. In the decade of the 2000's he has changed coaches and GMs many times with no success as of yet. He spends less on salaries and bonuses than many teams, but not so much less as to prohibit being competitive. He spends much less on his coaching staff and front office personnel and this is where he fails to build a winning team. As always Ralph remains loyal to his inner circle of business associates. He is loyal to the city of Buffalo too. He has kept the team in place for over 50 years. I do not understand why he has not taken steps to preserve the franchise after he moves on? Maybe he has and this is his secret legacy to be revealed after he is gone?

Ralph was indeed very cheap in the 70's. The Ahmad Rashad situation after the 1976 season was proof of that. He wanted a $20,000 raise. OJ was upset as Rashad was one of his best friends on the team. That was a few years before Knox and Cousineau.

Adding in the fluff from that blowhard Fred Smerlas just makes it another "why did they hire Chan Gailey" piece, which has already been written a few dozen times. Sorry JW, nothing new here but you were fair in the assessment.

Smerlas is a dope. He is a pea brain. I should have added him to the thread on most hated Bills. He is a New England homer all the way.

Anyone know who the other draft choices are that never played a down for the team that drafted them. The article said there are 6? John Elway would be a one.

And a Wilson yes man all the way.

This is the first time I have seen this story although I heard parts of it over time. The Bills definitely were a cheap organization in the 70's and poorly run at that. They low-balled everyone. My opinion on Cousineau has not really changed because he still fails to accept responsibility for anything that happened. After he got the money from Montreal he tried to buy out of it. He then tried to hand pick his team, only to end up with a coach that did not like him. For whatever reason he seemed to attract controversy. If you walked in my house, you would never know I played football," he said. Why? "Some of it was I had a little bit of a chip about how things ended," he said. "I don't think I deserved it. I don't think I earned it at all. So I was ready to really move past all that.

Great report and much appreciated.

I agree that Wilson is the true autocrat. Whenever anyone else has tried to spread their power or influence (Polian is a great example) they have been pushed back by Wilson (and sometimes Littman). The only time this is not true is when Wilson gave total control to Donahoe. Saban may have been a wanderer and incapable of staying anywhere for very long but I recall there where issues with front office meddling on Saban's second tenure. Cases in point: 1. The failure to sign Ahmad Rashad. 2. The releasing of our veteran LBs (Cheyunski and Washington) and then playing hardball with rookies Rudd and Nelson and not signing them in time to help the team. Saban was pissed about control on the second tenure. He did not leave purely by impulse. Also agree that he should be on the Wall. He may be the best football coach we ever had.

Agree. Then we let Winfield go and we now are seems to draft a CB in the first round about every three years. Next we let Pat Williams go and have never developed a DL as good. Both still play a major roll today on a very good vikings defense. Thanks a lot Greggo. He rubbed me the wrong way from Day 1.

Great one. Poor guy got beat up by fans when he missed a FG. Paul Macguire loves to tell that story.

Right on! See bolded area. The only thing that could have save Smith as a Bills GM is his tough contract negotiations. However, history has shown that Wilson does not do will with autocratic GMs (Polian, Butler, Donahoe) or coaches (Saban, Knox, Phillips).

Good post but the part in bold ... how do you know that?

There are endless posts on this board on recent draft failings and who we should have drafted after the fact. I actually think the first round is a tough round to get right. Everybody wants to draft an impact player but most drafts have only 2 or 3 players in this category per year and they don't always go in the first 10 picks. Free agency turnover puts holes in your roster and forces teams to find instant sucess in round one when it is not likely that you will. Remember the Bills of the early 90's? Most rookies played special teams and sat on the bench for the first season. Times have changed but what has changed to make the draft results any easier to predict? More TV coverage only adds to the hype and overblown expectations. My theory is that the first round is where coaches and owners seem to have more input or lobby the hardest. More hands in the process increases the variability of the results. The best teams over the long haul (NE, Indy, etc) have stable front offices with capable GMs that trust their scouts. Regarding the Bills picks that you site, I still think that Whitner is a very solid starting player that is versatile and can play numerous positions with good skill. I understand that many on this board disagree. McKelvin has shown excellent ability when not injured. The work ethic and character of the other three ( McCargo, Lynch and Maybin) were questionable before we ever picked them. Something to think about is not drafting players that have questionable backgrounds (Lynch), work ethic issues (McCargo), or that lack experience (Maybin). Final thought is that you need to look at the Bills Leadership Team that drafted these players. Brandon, Levy, Modrak, Jauron, and Wilson … Of that group who exactly was in charge? Who decided the path forward? Was there even a plan?

Interesting. I'm sure that it is different now ... we have had many coaching changes since Tucker.

While Meredith may look more like a RT he may end up the LT on our line. At least for this year. I am really worried about Bell as the LT and Wang as the backup. I sure hope I am missing something about Bell that Jauron, Gailey and Nix all seem to see. They know more than I do. Let the games begin.

Disagree. Define dominant? Where did these words of wisdom come from? Why is it some people think interior line is a position that does not require development just like any other?

While I agree that nix should have done more to address OT, I am happy he picked Spliier over Bulaga and Davis. Would have liked to see us trade or pick up another veteran at OT.

While no one knows how Spiller will turn out in the pros he sure looks like one of the best players coming out of college. That means best at ANY postion. He is an exciting player and was a difference maker in games. Since you don't watch college you would not know that. Many people do not see the need for this pick but I look at our RB's and I see Marshawn as a guy you cannot trust or count on. He lacks maturity and character at this point in his career. I doubt they will invest any more money in him after his contract expires. I see Fred Jackson as a very good player, a decent runner that can also catch passes. He averaged about 65 yards a game which will get you 1,000 yards but certaintly not the mark of a game breaker. I think Spiller is a difference maker. He will be a guy that teams will have to plan around which should give us some opportunities to get the ball to other people. Sure there were other players we could have drafted at other positions. After the season we will all know more about these players. Given the look of the draft board when the Bills picked I think they took an excellent player.

Interesting opinion. I guess that depends on how many people actually feel the same way as Wood? I bet nothing gets said about it again unless another fight breaks out involving Maybin. This whole thing will blow over. TC fights are normal and maybe even good. Gailey has already said it, as long as it doesn't get out of hand he will not even address it because it is normal. Last year at TC Wood got into a fight to being too aggressive. This year he sounds off because someone else was too agressive. All that tells me is that Wood is very young and he is learning. He will be a strong leader on this team. Good to see them practicing in pads, hitting, and getting ready to play football.

I don't know what to think of those rankings for offensive lineman. Wood was having a great season for a rookie starting on a poor line with so much turnover. He really impressed me in short yardage situations too. Watch him play and you can see strength and athletic ability. You also see confidence and leadership. Ask the 31 other coaches in the league if they would want him and I think you will get an answer indicating that his value is much higher that 65 out of 84. Wood is a keeper. BTW - many second year players actually slump after a strong rookie season. The third year is were the maturity sets in.

What games were you watching? Wood looked like the better of the two and certainly the stronger player. The good news is they both are excellent prospects and they both played a lot as rookie. I expect big things from both.