bbb Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) I always like Ralph's sense of humor. I've never heard him address his mortality and say you can't take it with you, etc.: My link Edited March 16, 2012 by Beerball Author Author Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickelCity Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I always like Ralph's sense of humor. I've never heard him address his mortality and say you can't take it with you, etc.: My link Thanks! Great interview. "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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 On a personal note, have I entered the twilight zone? My bbb stands for Bills, Bonnies and Bruce (Springsteen). Those were the three boards I would go to when I got first got on the Internet (and still the only three I really spend much time on). So, Bruce's album is #1, the Bonnies win the A-10 tournament and are Dancing, and the Bills sign Mario Williams - all in one week! Add that it's 70 degrees in mid-March (Buddy said on GR that Mario's signing seemed destined - since we could have just as well had 7 feet of snow), the stock market is at 5 year highs, unemployment is going down, etc. I now am pretty sure the Mayans were right about 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm not all that familiar with Mike Freeman of CBSsports.com, but he has a nice resume (being "a full-time sportswriter for the Dallas Morning News, Boston Globe, Washington Post, New York Times and the Florida Times-Union covering every aspect of the sports world") and wrote an excellent article that is linked on the TBD front page. He said, "But two of the greatest owners in the history of sports -- especially Wilson -- don't seem to care. They seem to be something beyond hungry, very possibly even angry, at the state of their teams. What we know for certain is the two old owners aren't done." Nice. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/17820306/twobillsdrive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) In my line of work, I cross paths with a lot of wealthy, elderly men (and women). At some point many of them come to grips with their own mortality and adopt a very healthy, pragmatic view on death and their own resources, and they start to think about what they would like to do with their money that's meaningful to them in terms of either the here and now, or their legacy. One of my favorite sayings from one of these old guys I worked with (who did pass away last year) is: "You never see a Brinks truck following a funeral procession." But I sincerely hope Mr. Wilson ain't going anywhere soon, and we finally get that Lombardi trophy for him, the team and all of us. Edited March 16, 2012 by jimmyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My respect for this organization is turning around very quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafter Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I always like Ralph's sense of humor. I've never heard him address his mortality and say you can't take it with you, etc.: My link I thought this was interesting as well. I wonder if this signifies a shift in how 1BD is doing business going forward. It's starting to look that way.. "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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Seeing as how Nix has been a pretty straight shooter so far, it makes you wonder if the lack of spending on good players and overspending on bad players has really been due to bad management under Ralph? Not that Ralph doesn't take some blame, but a good GM should be able to talk him out of most of the bad decisions he wants to make. And a good GM should be able to make good decisions on their own. Maybe Ralph's just softening his approach as he's getting older and letting the GM make more decisions? Or maybe we've had some really terrible, god-awful management people for many years that haven't been able to acquire good players or tell Ralph no when they disagree with him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing_joker Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Great article. But Mark Gaughan wrote it, not Tim Graham. Give credit where credit is due. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) Seeing as how Nix has been a pretty straight shooter so far, it makes you wonder if the lack of spending on good players and overspending on bad players has really been due to bad management under Ralph? Not that Ralph doesn't take some blame, but a good GM should be able to talk him out of most of the bad decisions he wants to make. And a good GM should be able to make good decisions on their own. Maybe Ralph's just softening his approach as he's getting older and letting the GM make more decisions? Or maybe we've had some really terrible, god-awful management people for many years that haven't been able to acquire good players or tell Ralph no when they disagree with him Ding ding ding....we have a winner! It's easier to write "Ralph is cheap" than "Ralph hires terrible football people." The Bills have spent plenty of money the last few years. We just spent it on the wrong players. And our personnel people couldn't find their asses with both hands much less good draft picks. I'll say it again: Nix and Gailey are the new Polian and Levy. If they don't succeed it won't be because they don't know what they are doing. PTR Edited March 16, 2012 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Great article. But Mark Gaughan wrote it, not Tim Graham. Give credit where credit is due. Beat me to it It would have been odd for Tim to do that interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Seeing as how Nix has been a pretty straight shooter so far, it makes you wonder if the lack of spending on good players and overspending on bad players has really been due to bad management under Ralph? Not that Ralph doesn't take some blame, but a good GM should be able to talk him out of most of the bad decisions he wants to make. And a good GM should be able to make good decisions on their own. Maybe Ralph's just softening his approach as he's getting older and letting the GM make more decisions? Or maybe we've had some really terrible, god-awful management people for many years that haven't been able to acquire good players or tell Ralph no when they disagree with him? Did anyone ever listen to what Buddy has said in the past prior to the Mario Williams Circus????? Buddy has come out and said that he has talked Ralph out of wanting to spend money in the past because he didn't feel it was the right time or the right player. That comment was always viewed as being Nix covering for Ralph or just "GM Speak". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Did anyone ever listen to what Buddy has said in the past prior to the Mario Williams Circus????? Buddy has come out and said that he has talked Ralph out of wanting to spend money in the past because he didn't feel it was the right time or the right player. That comment was always viewed as being Nix covering for Ralph or just "GM Speak". Like Buddy said in the presser, he talks, but no one listens or believes what he tells them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My respect for this organization is turning around very quickly. Yea same I just don't understand why it took this long? I get the feeling that someone has been the twilight zone the last 10 years, and its not the frustrated, desperate for a winner fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickedface Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 man was buddy pissed about that. i thought he was going to headbutt the first person to call him on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Like Buddy said in the presser, he talks, but no one listens or believes what he tells them. Do you think it had anything to do with actions behind the scenes that reporters saw that contradicted some of the things Buddy & other GMs have publicly said in the past? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Do you think it had anything to do with actions behind the scenes that reporters saw that contradicted some of the things Buddy & other GMs have publicly said in the past? Very possibly. There's a lot of people that have various insights into the workings of management over there. Again, should Ralph shoulder a lot of the blame for the lack of success? Definitely It's one thing to have a bad team because of a meddling/cheap owner. But I tend to wonder if our recent (10-15 years) of crappy teams are due more to the compounding of said owner with terrible management that: 1) Can't keep the owner from meddling as much as possible 2) Couldn't find good players/coaches/or a good team strategy to save their lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 This is the first time I've heard Ralph talking seriously about his mortality. For years he's joked about it but this seems different. I wonder if this means he is also making plans for the team's transition for when he's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 But I tend to wonder if our recent (10-15 years) of crappy teams are due more to the compounding of said owner with terrible management that: 1) Can't keep the owner from meddling as much as possible 2) Couldn't find good players/coaches/or a good team strategy to save their lives You can't separate the two. Saying that Ralph is cheap is boneheaded. Saying that Ralph was a horrible CEO is not boneheaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 My respect for this organization is turning around very quickly. I dont know what to think... The thought had to cross your mind that we were in real life "Major League". It seemed like we were almost intentionally being turned off and long term malaise and lack of onfield success would justify a move quite well and not too many tears would be shed. I have been in the dumps about the future and it is completely different now and feels good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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