Lurker

Which is refreshing as a Bills fan, don't you agree? It's on Whaley to build the best team he thinks he can put together--devoid of emotional attachments or sponsor obligations. Full stop. The last GM that did that around here just got fitted for a gold jacket in Canton. In between, we've seen some good (Butler) and bad (Marv) GMs, but neither was a gunslinger. Always the safe, conservative route. Whaley's got a lot of things to prove ("Sir, I knew Bill Polian. You're no Bill Polian"), but having balls isn't something that's one of them...

Peg's is cheap...

Those folks probably report to Brandon, however. And even so, I don't get it. Didn't TSW Nation come to a consensus a long time ago that they didn't want Russ involved in roster decisions??? Now that he's not, it's 'embarrassing' (TG's take) that he was left out of the loop?

How exactly should he have released him? Waited until the next cutdown day on Saturday? When he would have had less of an opportunity to catch on with a contender like Seattle?

Yeah, TG's just embarrassing himself and the Snooze now...

TG is walking back the 'rouge' angle even as we speak...

For all we know, Timmeh IS Leroi... Imo

Exactly. It's hard to believe this is even open to debate...

Kirby, I respect your views very much, but I just don't see this as being a 'risk your job' event. And if it is, T-Pegs is no less mercurial than Ralph and the only difference the franchise has now is a bigger checkbook to play with. No one can be happy when these kind of hard realities butt up against "fandamonium," but it's the nature of the GM job responsibilities. Ask any GM in the league what they dislike the most about the role and they'll tell you it's making decisions like this. But whether it's Belichick, Newsome,Thompson ("hey Brett, we're sorry but...") or our own Battling Bill Polian back in the day, they do happen. And the organization moves on. The only ire I have for this is the way Tweedle Dee and Dumb (TG and the Buckster) are playing it out. They get the benefit of hiding behind anonymous 'sources' that could be Fred, his agent or the fly on the wall in the OBD men's room. TG in particular, who's only role at the Snooze appears to be 'agitator' and immature Twitter empresario...

I certainly can't. It's a real hoot how some people think...

I think his only responsibility at the Snooze is to incite Twitter wars and write one long form piece every three months. Buffett's not getting his money's worth with this sports desk: http://www.buffalonews.com/help/contact#Sports

Best to call it an evening, you're going off the rails...

To be fair, most of FJ's problems in recent years have been related to his body breaking down (groin, hamstring, etc) rather than outright hits. It's an open question whether the same thing will happen to Shady...

You're putting your own spin on this (as TG gleefully rubs his hands togther). As the poster who formerly worked at M&T stated a few pages back, the bank will just move on and create some new ads. It's just business, nothing personal. The outlay for a FJ campaign is likely a decimal point in their $60 million-plus advertising budget (2013 spending)...

Apparently you can be, however. TG's tweet has nothing in it about 'pissed off sponsors.' That's your own read on things--and as many have pointed out, a highly dubious POV...

Rabble-rousers usually do...

Good God, this is frustrating. Advertising arrangements are immaterial to the product on the field. If Russ is sweating over meeting with Bob Wilmers to redo a marketing contract then he's in the wrong line of work. M&T wears big boy pants and so do the Bills. Also, why do I get the feeling you'd just as strenuously argue that Whaley's a "puppet GM in name only" if Fred made the team because of a major sponsor's ad campaign?

So, with roster cutdown deadlines looming, Whaley has to think about ad spending ramifications?? Would making the decision this coming Saturday rather than yesterday have given the bank any advantage? Nope. No matter what Timmah's inferring, nobody's job got tougher due to advertiser pressure...

Interesting. Some people seem to be advocating that we shouldn't follow BB's 'best practices' (after all, it got him 5 rings) and just be the warm and fuzzy Bills. How about a hug...

No way, IMO. Roster decisions can't be made because of sponsor ad budgets. Full stop. A company that ties its horse to any player/celebrity is always at risk the campaign will blow up due to on- or off the field factors.

To you and many others, perhaps. As Marv said, however, if you listen to the fans you'll end up sitting with them....

Tough. It's a risk the bank took, just like they did with Ray Rice in Baltimore. If Whaley's making roster decisions based on the team's advertisers then just blow the whole thing up and go watch soccer...

Yeah, poor M&T is left out to dry. Heavens to murgatroyds...

Keep in mind that this is 'Fred' as filtered by Bucky Gleason with TG providing the color commentary. The only folks that benefit from this 'scoop' are Bucky, Timmeh and my bird, who will be reading this story in his cage soon enough...

This guy is just a tool. More and more I wonder what kind of nut house Lisa Wilson (sports editor) is running at the Snooze...