dave mcbride Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Yikes!! Not anything we didn't already know, but to hear personnel directors say what they say is bracing. I realize that many here will criticize the piece because people didn't go on record, but when you say that sort of stuff, you simply can't go on record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsNYC Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 I logged in at work just to post this....I mean...WOW! http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/01/2...ms-start-at-top Finally somebody confirms the Brandon power grab I've been talking about since the day they promoted him/Nix. Ralph wanted Lynch??? Nix is viewed as a joke around the league, wonderful. This team is such a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 I logged in at work just to post this....I mean...WOW! http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/01/2...ms-start-at-top Finally somebody confirms the Brandon power grab I've been talking about since the day they promoted him/Nix. Ralph wanted Lynch??? Nix is viewed as a joke around the league, wonderful. This team is such a mess. I think either Wilson or Gaughan in one of his chats also said that Ralph was behind the Lynch pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 I logged in at work just to post this....I mean...WOW! http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/01/2...ms-start-at-top Finally somebody confirms the Brandon power grab I've been talking about since the day they promoted him/Nix. Ralph wanted Lynch??? Nix is viewed as a joke around the league, wonderful. This team is such a mess. With all due respect, I believe this was said by ONE "personnel evaluator" in the context of Nix's comments at the press conference -- with nothing mentioned about Nix's ability to judge football talent (the REAL job of the GM). As a Bills' fan I only care about the latter. And Nix was funny. As for a Brandon "power grab," who would you rather have "in charge" of the team -- Wilson or Brandon? Brandon, it seems, wants to get out of the way to focus on marketing while he brings in football people to run the team. Again, that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me. Really, this article makes me more rather than less optimistic about what the Bills are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansLanda Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 this is the same site that takes message board rumors and makes stories out of them...you know this, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 this is the same site that takes message board rumors and makes stories out of them...you know this, right? I think you're confusing PFW with PFT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansLanda Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 I think you're confusing PFW with PFT. Well ****, I believe I am. Still this may be sour grapes from some "personnel director" that wanted to be considered for the GM spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 With all due respect, I believe this was said by ONE "personnel evaluator" in the context of Nix's comments at the press conference -- with nothing mentioned about Nix's ability to judge football talent (the REAL job of the GM). As a Bills' fan I only care about the latter. And Nix was funny. As for a Brandon "power grab," who would you rather have "in charge" of the team -- Wilson or Brandon? Brandon, it seems, wants to get out of the way to focus on marketing while he brings in football people to run the team. Again, that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me. Really, this article makes me more rather than less optimistic about what the Bills are doing. Really, you think Nix's only real is judging talent? Take a look at Bill Polian and see what a great prototype GM should look like. He came up as a scout and yes judging talent is a big part of the job. But a GM's job is to run and manage the entire football operations of a team. Our model is a joke. Nix has been fond of saying how there's no school/course for being a head coach. Well, there ain't one for GMs either. Guess what folks, as much I think Nix is likable, we're on his learning curve as a GM. His PCs prove it. Hopefully all of that will be overcome by his ability to judge talent - coaching, players and otherwise. Where's my rosary? C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davefan66 Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 The article really wraps up what we knew into a nice little package. Ralph is stuck in his ways, kinda think he believes it's the 1960's. Find it interesting that, according to the article, Ralph picked Lynch. I wonder if it was consensus in the draft room, or was he the only one who wanted him. If it was all Ralphies idea, he has to have someone feeding him this info who is not the GM or scouts. I wonder if the decision was made solely on ticket sales since we did not have a name back any longer. It really makes me wonder how many of these moves he has done before. My guess the guy behind Ralphie is Littman. This has been widely known/speculated on these boards for a long time. According to this article, it was Littman who drove Polian out. (near the bottom) http://cms.ibj.com/ASPXPages/6iframes/Fron...3&NoFrame=1 It's just painfully obvious that as long as Ralph is around, this team will not get any better. He surrounds himself with guys who will do his bidding for him like Brandon and Littman. And those guys surround themselves with guys who will do what they want, like Nix. Even though Nix is considered an excellent talent evaluator, who knows how he will do as GM, but does it really matter if he is just a mouthpiece for Brandon and Ralphie anyway? Seems like he may be just a puppet GM. I used to believe that Ralph really had an affinity for Buffalo, and that is why he wanted to keep the team here. Not anymore. I believe he is getting whatever he can from this area until he dies, and could care less what happens to the team then. All of his moves are about the bottom line, making sure his family can wring every last cent from the team before they sell it. Unless JK really does have an ownership group in place, it will be a very sad day in Buffalo when we lose this team. Which begs the question: Would Ralph sell the team to local interests? Probably not as he wouldn't want to sully his pro-Buffalo image by selling the team to someone who would do a better job then he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Is anyone else tired of reading these Wilson/Davis comparisons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Is anyone else tired of reading these Wilson/Davis comparisons? Actually, this is the first year they've really been made. The comparison is the result of the new perception that coaches don't want to come here. That perception didn't really exist even a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endzone Animal Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Sums it up about right...it's common knowledge that the Bills and Raiders are both a dysfunctional mess with no prospects for improvement until they are gone.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 What a waste of 3 minutes. PFW should have closed-up shop when Joel Buschbaum died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 What a waste of 3 minutes. PFW should have closed-up shop when Joel Buschbaum died. Why do you say this? Is it because you disagree with the piece? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninSixburgh Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Yikes!! Not anything we didn't already know, but to hear personnel directors say what they say is bracing. I realize that many here will criticize the piece because people didn't go on record, but when you say that sort of stuff, you simply can't go on record. I agree that it is a good piece and probably spot on accurate. But why can't all those unnamed sources go on the record? Do they work for the Bills or Raiders? Do they hope to keep their options open with the Bills and Raiders? I would put a lot more credibility in those statements if I know they are coming from a Bill Polian, AJ Smith (both successful and with an ax to grind with Wilson if they wanted) or Joe Banner, than I do if they come from Matt Millen. PFW cites five or six unnamed sources. Not one would go on the record? It would be nice to know what some of these unnamed sources own record of success (or lack thereof) has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Thanks for finding this Dave. The homer fans can attack the site, the article, the writer, and whomever else they'd like. But it doesn't excuse or ignore what has transpired at OBD. The only way Buffalo ever becomes a playoff team is to be extremely lucky. I cannot believe a then 89 year old Wilson was immersing himself into the draft selections as deeply as he did. And even though there's a new GM and HC, what's really changed? I don't like to prejudge Buddy Nix, but that PC for Gailey's hiring was a complete disaster. Nix may be a fine scout, but there's more to being GM than scouting. Five straight losing seasons. 10 straight non-playoff seasons. 14 years since a playoff victory. It doesn't end until the owner relinquishes control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 I agree that it is a good piece and probably spot on accurate. But why can't all those unnamed sources go on the record? Do they work for the Bills or Raiders? Do they hope to keep their options open with the Bills and Raiders? I would put a lot more credibility in those statements if I know they are coming from a Bill Polian, AJ Smith (both successful and with an ax to grind with Wilson if they wanted) or Joe Banner, than I do if they come from Matt Millen. PFW cites five or six unnamed sources. Not one would go on the record? It would be nice to know what some of these unnamed sources own record of success (or lack thereof) has been. If those sources had to go on the record, they wouldn't make those statements. I see it all the time when I am interviewing players, coached and administrators. They will tell me a lot of things, but they refuse to go on the record. If they had to go on the record, they would never make most of the statements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Is anyone else tired of reading these Wilson/Davis comparisons? Apparently not, people seem to love them and they generate a ton of hits. People don't seem to realize that they write what will get hits and people love a good punching bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Why do you say this? Is it because you disagree with the piece? Yep. Here are the quotes you need to know: "It was the owner's call to put Nix in place. I think (recently promoted Bills CEO) Russ Brandon is happy to get out of the way of the mess that is coming." Followed by: "They put Buddy Nix in place so Russ Brandon can control him. Brandon gained more power through this move - and he is technically out of the football side." So, which is it? Was Nix hired by Wilson, or Brandon so he can gain more power? And if he's "technically out of the football side," what's he controlling? And why were neither Ralph nor Russ at the PC? Then there's this: "...Gailey, who has a decent résumé (he went 18-14 with two straight playoff appearances as the Cowboys head coach in 1998-99) but comes up way short on the buzz meter compared to most of the other so-called candidates for the Bills' job." Followed by this: "Chan Gailey is a good coordinator, but what has he ever done as a head coach?" Yes, what has Gailey done as a head coach, having a winning record and taking his team to the playoffs both seasons he was a HC? Not to mention Jerry Jones said that firing Gailey was a major mistake, and the reason he's stuck with Wade Phillips so long. And the quote about Nix being a "buffoon" because he called-out the Raiders, which this article is doing, is just plain stupid. While the "clumsy" way in which he's conducted the HC'ing search is a product of the "name" guys turning the Bills down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 i think this paragraph sums up the integrity of the people making these claims.... its not ok for Buddy Nix to make a light hearted, yet albeit a bit nasty, line, but it is ok to call someone a 'buffoon'.. "How could the Bills turn the (GM) job over to a buffoon like Buddy Nix?" one league personnel evaluator said incredulously. "I couldn't believe how he handled himself (in the press conference announcing the hiring of Gailey as head coach). I took a look at the transcript after seeing highlights, and my mouth dropped. I don't care what he likes or doesn't like — you can't stand in front of the world and talk like that when you are a GM. Some of the words that were rolling off his tongue were really amazing to me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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