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Ralph is........SAVVY?


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Anyone else concerned that Mr. Wilson did not appear at a PC announcing the signing of the largest contract ever for an NFL defensive player? I am.

 

Hope this does not make me sound like a dick...But I was thrilled Wilson was not there...Not because I wish him ill health or anything like that...But because I've been wanting him to move on from the Football Operations for years now...Plus...Lets face it...Listening to Ralph talk at a Presser is near torture nowadays...It's hard even for the most die-hard Bills Fan to sit through that... B-)

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Think about who was not involved in the process and who was involved in the process.

 

The passing of the torch began with the courting of Mario Williams.

 

Totally agree! And for once I don't think it's wishful thinking... B-)

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Ralph speaks:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article765665.ece

 

 

Why spend big now?

 

"I'd like to see us make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl while I'm around," the 93-year-old Wilson said. "I don't expect to be around that many years."

 

Wilson said he did not consider the signing any change in philosophy for him. This was the right time, he said, to make a big deal because he thinks the team is not many pieces away from being a contender.

 

"Yes that's right, I feel like we're not that far away," Wilson said. "We owe it to Buffalo, the fans in Western New York and everybody to make the move. And let's get going."

 

Wilson said he had no hesitation in going after Williams, despite the big cost, when General Manager Buddy Nix pitched the idea.

 

"I didn't give a darn about the money," Wilson said. "I can't take the money with me. The money had nothing to do with it. Buddy figured out how much it would take to get him. He put the price on, and we went from there."

Edited by Punch
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Ralph speaks:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article765665.ece

 

 

Why spend big now?

 

"I'd like to see us make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl while I'm around," the 93-year-old Wilson said. "I don't expect to be around that many years."

 

Wilson said he did not consider the signing any change in philosophy for him. This was the right time, he said, to make a big deal because he thinks the team is not many pieces away from being a contender.

 

"Yes that's right, I feel like we're not that far away," Wilson said. "We owe it to Buffalo, the fans in Western New York and everybody to make the move. And let's get going."

 

Wilson said he had no hesitation in going after Williams, despite the big cost, when General Manager Buddy Nix pitched the idea.

 

"I didn't give a darn about the money," Wilson said. "I can't take the money with me. The money had nothing to do with it. Buddy figured out how much it would take to get him. He put the price on, and we went from there."

 

good article! Ralph is the man!

 

:worthy:

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Nice!

Thanks for sharing that.

 

Go Bills

 

 

 

Ralph speaks:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article765665.ece

 

 

Why spend big now?

 

"I'd like to see us make the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl while I'm around," the 93-year-old Wilson said. "I don't expect to be around that many years."

 

Wilson said he did not consider the signing any change in philosophy for him. This was the right time, he said, to make a big deal because he thinks the team is not many pieces away from being a contender.

 

"Yes that's right, I feel like we're not that far away," Wilson said. "We owe it to Buffalo, the fans in Western New York and everybody to make the move. And let's get going."

 

Wilson said he had no hesitation in going after Williams, despite the big cost, when General Manager Buddy Nix pitched the idea.

 

"I didn't give a darn about the money," Wilson said. "I can't take the money with me. The money had nothing to do with it. Buddy figured out how much it would take to get him. He put the price on, and we went from there."

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I don't think we will ever know the real answer to this, and it is probably a combination of factors...

 

But the question is, did Ralph suddenly open up his pocketbook that was closed before? Or was Nix the crafty GM who was clever enough to get Ralph to go all in? Or was it the fact that Ralph knows he is running out of chances and with the new TV contracts he knows this will not seem all that much soon?

 

To me, it's all three, but the most important of them is I think that Nix convinced Ralph that Buddy knew what he was doing, and that alone made Ralph open the vault.

 

I never thought Ralph was just plain always cheap. I have been around since before OJ. He has sometimes paid a ton of money to certain players. He just needed to be convinced, which wasn't easy. Overall he has not been generous with an open pocketbook but he has often paid big. The problem with the Bills was they spent unwisely time and time again.

 

In this case, I really think that Nix has convinced Ralph that he is a smart and calculated GM, and Ralph will let Nix spend his millions for the simple fact he believes in him. And for that, Buddy Nix needs to be commended.

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I think you are correct on all accounts. It is Ralph maybe seeing that the door is closing on him and the fact that in this day and age of the NFL, you have to pony up every now and then just to keep up.

I do also believe that Buddy is very crafty and saw a couple of years ago that when he took the GM job, there wasn't much he could do with what he had. I believe he didnt want to blow all of Ralph's cash on players that weren't going to make a difference right away, so he has been plucking castoffs off other teams, retaining the talent he inherited and picking and choosing his signings, up till now, on solid starters and quality depth.

He was able to bankroll quite a bit with this approach and now, when the pile of money was there, Buddy jumped at the chance to get a difference maker. He got a guy that will come to play and help turn a porous defense around. He also got a guy that will help put asses in the seats and more cash into the revenue stream.

Its all about timing and Buddy has played it as well as anyone could have.

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I've never believed Ralph is "cheap." He wants to win just as badly as any of us and is willing to pay to do so, but he's had bad advice and spent unwisely. Look at what happened when he had the right people advising him (Saban, Knox, Polian) -- the right talent was signed and the Bills were successful. You never saw a guy leave because the Bills wouldn't pay enough during those years -- at least not that I can recall. That started happening with Donahoe, when he wouldn't keep guys in the mix who wanted to be here, and continued with the Levy/Jauron debacle of poor draft choices and worse talent evaluation.

 

Look at all the new contracts and extensions the Bills have put in place over the past two and a half years. The proof is in the pudding -- Ralph ain't cheap, and it finally looks like he's getting competent advice on how to spend that money.

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