Wilson speaks

[AllDayADay]

While I admire his candor, the state of the Bills is no laughing matter. It's killing me.

 

I too respect his honesty, and I do feel Wilson feels bad about losing, but I feel like I have heard this before. 3 years seems like a while for a team in this day and age with free agency and other avenues to be come good again. Yet again, this team is horrible at doing the most fundamental things in football.

[Typical TBD Guy]

but thanks for reading.

 

jw

 

And thanks for coming to this message board and taking some heat. I give you a lot of credit for doing that.

 

But my 3 questions remain...

[JohnC]

for those who might not understand the business, a fuller version with direct quotes has been filed and will be moving shortly.

and for those who like to make cracks, i think you'll find it interesting of what Mr. Wilson had to say in regards to why he takes the full blame and also making comments about his age.

 

jw

 

John W, Who else should accept the blame for this monstrosity? With Ralph it is like the Isaiah Thomas syndrome. He makes idiotic decisions and then trys to compensate for those disasterous decisions by making more idiotic decisions. The cycle of stupidity continues. At this point the Bills are basically at an expansion team level. It is sad. So sad.

[nucci]

The old jokes are hilarious. Are you guys all professional comedians because I've never heard these before?

[Jim in Anchorage]

Well I guess that answers why they wanted to keep Kelsay, but not why they gave him that much money to stay around. This franchise constantly complains about its small market status, but then wrecklessly pays way more than market value for marginal players.

 

How about my other three questions?

 

1. Why is Modrak still on the payroll?

2. Where does the team expect to be playing after July 30, 2013?

3. Why won't he allow Jim Kelly's financial group to buy into a minority ownership of his franchise?

 

I just read Wawrow's article, and it was predictably more of the same. Our local sports media coverage is just as terrible and irrelevant as the team.

It was a telephone conference call. Did you expect JW to throw a shoe at him?

[EC-Bills]

Thanks for the article John.

[outsidethebox]

Fluff piece. Where were the tough questions John? Did you ask Ralph why Kelsey was extended? Why he hasn't signed any quality free agents in years? Why he refuses to sign q quality GM and coach? Does he know the Bills are the laughing stock of the NFL?

 

That's what I and probably most Bills fans want asked.

[SRQ_BillsFan]

I guess you can continually use self-deprecating humor when you're laughing all the way to the bank in TWO countries.

 

:worthy: :worthy:

 

 

It wouldn't take Ralph 3 years if the problem was they/he was losing money, they would turn that around in weeks.

[Buffalonian-at-Heart]

I do not wish the man any ill will. The plain fact is he has not the slightest idea whether this rebuilding process will take 3 years, or 30. He simply is awful at building a quality organization with competent people at key positions, AND then leaving those people alone to do their job without his interference. We are nowhere, and it hurts.

 

He's a control freak. He has to have his hand in on every little decision. He works around the clock because he can't trust those around him to do their jobs. He's not just worried about being the owner, he's trying to be the GM and Head Coach on the football side of the business, and he's trying to be the CEO to control every single penny spent. He's also telling the scouting department he's not dolling out the cash for a QB, so pick another position for the first round to evaluate. WOW!

 

I think you give a 92 year old man, not even living in the State a little too much credit.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Buffalonian-at-Heart

[seq004]

P and P? I thought thats what the last 10 years have been. I hope he realizes what he's done with this organization. If it takes 3 years that stadium will be empty.

[Delete This Account]

John W, Who else should accept the blame for this monstrosity? With Ralph it is like the Isaiah Thomas syndrome. He makes idiotic decisions and then trys to compensate for those disasterous decisions by making more idiotic decisions. The cycle of stupidity continues. At this point the Bills are basically at an expansion team level. It is sad. So sad.

it is sad. and it's also sad that a person who got into the AFL because he was a fan of football, and wound up making something of it to the point where he is enshrined in Canton, can't make this thing work.

 

i've written it once and i'll write it again, there are people here who mistake Mr. Wilson for someone who doesn't care. i truly believe he does. and what's sad is that he's provided 51 years of entertainment in Buffalo and gets rightly and wrongly criticized for it to the point where there are people who openly and sadly and insensitively root for his demise.

 

last i checked, the sun did go up this morning, and my car was still damaged from the yahoo, who sideswiped it and took off this past weekend. to me, that's a big worry and perhaps more disturbing than maybe a football team getting off to an 0-5 start.

but then again, i'm not a fan. and given some of the ongoing posts on this board in regards to Mr. Wilson's health, i'd rather maintain my objectivity than sink into the mud of some people here.

 

but of course, this will be misconstrued as a post blindly favoring Mr. Wilson and the job he's done, with some responding about Polian this and Jauron that. there have been screwups. major screwups, which is why this team is where it is.

 

is it wrong for Mr. Wilson to come clean and accept that blame, saying he's at fault for the decisions that were made.

might be wrong if he hadn't, too.

 

jw

[cåblelady]

and for those who like to make cracks

Sigh.....unfortunately there are quite a few sucky people...or is it just people that say sucky things? on this board.

[Thoner7]

I am extremely scared by the first line

 

"ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Calling himself "a realist," Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson warned it might take as many as three years to rebuild his team, and added drafting a quarterback next year is the club's top priority."

 

- Now I know that when Luck and and Mallet dont declare, and the Bills draft Locker, who was behind it.

 

Dont think for one minute Ralpf didnt have a say in the Spiller selection. "we need to get more exciting" said Ralph....

[JohnC]

JW, Although the owner didn't say anthing new at least your story indicates that he is aware of what is going on. It seems that he wants to signal to the dispirited and diminishing fan base that he is at least aware of the situation. With a 92 yr old owner that is something, not much, but something.

[Typical TBD Guy]

It was a telephone conference call. Did you expect JW to throw a shoe at him?

 

How about just asking some direct, pointed questions about the team's drafting failures or about the franchise's future? If Ralph chooses to prevaricate or remain silent on these questions, then report that. But at least ask some !@#$ing relevant questions! At least attempt to avoid getting nothing but cliched Jauronesque responses. Is this really that big of a demand from our local sports media? If so, maybe these guys need to find another line of work.

[cåblelady]

How about just asking some direct, pointed questions about the team's drafting failures or about the franchise's future? If Ralph chooses to prevaricate or remain silent on these questions, then report that. But at least ask some !@#$ing relevant questions! At least attempt to avoid getting nothing but cliched Jauronesque responses. Is this really that big of a demand from our local sports media? If so, maybe these guys need to find another line of work.

Poor little baby. Why don't YOU do it? And stop being so rude. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Delete This Account]

JW, Although the owner didn't say anthing new at least your story indicates that he is aware of what is going on. It seems that he wants to signal to the dispirited and diminishing fan base that he is at least aware of the situation. With a 92 yr old owner that is something, not much, but something.

it's something that, i might point out, also goes against this conspiracy theory that runs rampant on this board that people believe Mr. Wilson has his fingers in every decision. once again, that is not true.

as he's done in the past, he's entrusting the running of this franchise to the plan Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey have laid out in front of him.

he took the blame because he hired people who, as it turned out, failed to do their jobs. will Nix and Gailey succeed? well, who knows. but he's giving them their shot and, based on his comment, backing the plan they've come up with.

 

jw

[JohnC]

it is sad. and it's also sad that a person who got into the AFL because he was a fan of football, and wound up making something of it to the point where he is enshrined in Canton, can't make this thing work.

 

i've written it once and i'll write it again, there are people here who mistake Mr. Wilson for someone who doesn't care. i truly believe he does. and what's sad is that he's provided 51 years of entertainment in Buffalo and gets rightly and wrongly criticized for it to the point where there are people who openly and sadly and insensitively root for his demise.

 

last i checked, the sun did go up this morning, and my car was still damaged from the yahoo, who sideswiped it and took off this past weekend. to me, that's a big worry and perhaps more disturbing than maybe a football team getting off to an 0-5 start.

but then again, i'm not a fan. and given some of the ongoing posts on this board in regards to Mr. Wilson's health, i'd rather maintain my objectivity than sink into the mud of some people here.

 

but of course, this will be misconstrued as a post blindly favoring Mr. Wilson and the job he's done, with some responding about Polian this and Jauron that. there have been screwups. major screwups, which is why this team is where it is.

 

is it wrong for Mr. Wilson to come clean and accept that blame, saying he's at fault for the decisions that were made.

might be wrong if he hadn't, too.

 

jw

 

John W., I hope you are not suggesting that I am wishing the owner ill-will. If you are then you are wrong. Although I have strongly questioned his competency as an owner I have never joked or stated in a mean fashion about his demise. Others have made grotesque and inappropriate comments about the owner but I don't believe I have.

 

I have stated many times that the current and long time owner is most responsible for the current state of affairs of this organization. While you often point out that others have failed him my response to that point is that he hired those who have miserably failed him.

[Sisyphean Bills]

People that propose the Final Solution have lost perspective. Ralph's desire to win is and has been there; indeed, it is arguably a part of the problem, and this ending is no doubt harder on him than the fans. He's sadly correct in that his approach and the sycophants around him have led down this Highway to Nowhere. When Ralph does finally pass on, there is no guarantee whatsoever that an owner like Donald Sterling doesn't buy the Bills. It is indeed sad that a Hall of Fame owner could never really put it together.

[Delete This Account]

John W., I hope you are not suggesting that I am wishing the owner ill-will. If you are then you are wrong. Although I have strongly questioned his competency as an owner I have never joked or stated in a mean fashion about his demise. Others have made grotesque and inappropriate comments about the owner but I don't believe I have.

 

I have stated many times that the current and long time owner is most responsible for the current state of affairs of this organization. While you often point out that others have failed him my response to that point is that he hired those who have miserably failed him.

JohnC, I truly and sincerely apologize if that's what you inferred from my post (and i can see how that might have happened). i did not mean for it to come out that way. mine, on that subject, was more of a general response to some others here.

again, my apologies.

 

as for your other point, he is, in fact, acknowledging that he hired the people who failed him and the team's fans. he accepts that blame, and says it's on him. it's not much in some ways, but it's telling that Mr. Wilson is capable of seeing his shortcomings.

how is that wrong?

 

jw