Bills vow Doug Marrone will make them winners

[papazoid]

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – It was a bold thing the president and CEO of the Buffalo Bills said on the practice field at St. John Fisher College the other day. Russ Brandon hadn't meant his words to sound audacious. But he was overtaken with this ebullience, a sensation that hasn't exploded inside him in so many years. And as he talked about the new football coach he has hired – a man named Doug Marrone – he grew more and more effusive about the man's genius until the words just blurted out.

 

"This guy will win!' Brandon declared.

 

Told this was a presumptuous statement, Brandon stared hard at his questioner, eyes serious and repeated himself.

 

"He will win," he said. "I believe it."

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--bills-vow-doug-marrone-will-make-them-winners-200622445.html

[Beerball]

Very strong, revealing piece. Thanks for the linky.

[BillsVet]

Brandon, at the very least, had a huge hand in picking Marrone. And so, the new team president needs the new HC to win or it reflects poorly on him.

[Gugny]

"We didn't get into this to hope to win and sell hope."

 

That is an awesome quote.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Gugny

[eball]

Brandon, at the very least, had a huge hand in picking Marrone. And so, the new team president needs the new HC to win or it reflects poorly on him.

 

Great contribution to the thread. Thanks.

[Ronin]

"This guy will win!' Brandon declared.

 

Yeah, well unfortunately for Brandon and the rest of the front office weenies he has about as much credibility as a crack ho at this point.

 

Just shut up and have your team do it Russ! You've been talking for a decade and have been the most miserable team in the league over that stretch while hanging us out to dry based on the litany of all of your empty promises.

 

Here's one, if you really believe it, then put your job on the line Russ!!! How about if he doesn't win you quit?

[PromoTheRobot]

Yeah, well unfortunately for Brandon and the rest of the front office weenies he has about as much credibility as a crack ho at this point.

 

Just shut up and have your team do it Russ! You've been talking for a decade and have been the most miserable team in the league over that stretch while hanging us out to dry based on the litany of all of your empty promises.

 

Here's one, if you really believe it, then put your job on the line Russ!!! How about if he doesn't win you quit?

 

Do you feel better getting that off your chest?

 

PTR

Edited August 4, 2013 by PromoTheRobot

[atlbillsfan1975]

Brandon, at the very least, had a huge hand in picking Marrone. And so, the new team president needs the new HC to win or it reflects poorly on him.

It is people like you i wish would find another team.

I also wonder what you would do if/when the Bills win a SB. At what point during the season will you go from negative Nancy to bandwagon Bill??

[Meatloaf Sandwich]

 

 

Yeah, well unfortunately for Brandon and the rest of the front office weenies he has about as much credibility as a crack ho at this point.

 

Just shut up and have your team do it Russ! You've been talking for a decade and have been the most miserable team in the league over that stretch while hanging us out to dry based on the litany of all of your empty promises.

 

Here's one, if you really believe it, then put your job on the line Russ!!! How about if he doesn't win you quit?

 

Well TBH everyone's job is on the line.

[Dorkington]

So were we just waiting for Marrone when we hired the coaches of the last 13 years?

 

Personally, I don't put much weight in anything an executive of a for profit business says publicly. Its just a sales speech to boost profits. We've been selling hope on a three year cycle for a while now. :/

[Glory Bound]

Yeah, well unfortunately for Brandon and the rest of the front office weenies he has about as much credibility as a crack ho at this point.

 

Just shut up and have your team do it Russ! You've been talking for a decade and have been the most miserable team in the league over that stretch while hanging us out to dry based on the litany of all of your empty promises.

 

Here's one, if you really believe it, then put your job on the line Russ!!! How about if he doesn't win you quit?

Thank you Mr. Buzz Kill. And howza bout you coming back on this board if they do start winning & give him praise for being right?

[Dorkington]

I'll praise the hell out of the front office if we turn this year's decisions into success on the field. I'd love to have that opportunity.

[Beerball]

Yeah, well unfortunately for Brandon and the rest of the front office weenies he has about as much credibility as a crack ho at this point.

How many 'crack hos' do you know personally?

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

Les Carpenter had some serious access in OBD

[vincec]

Show me the baby?

[Glory Bound]

I'll praise the hell out of the front office if we turn this year's decisions into success on the field. I'd love to have that opportunity.

Get ready to praise Mr. Dorkington! Think about it...Wanny's vanilla & ultra predictable defense has been purged. We now have a DC that understands how to keep the opposing offense guessing. We now have an OC who's gonna run the no huddle & properly utilize Spiller. We now have a QB who knows how to win & has the skills...(c'mon guys...you all know EJ will beat out Kolb). All this & more has to translate into several more W's.

[San-O]

I'll praise the hell out of the front office if we turn this year's decisions into success on the field. I'd love to have that opportunity.

 

This.

 

+ 1

 

To the positive posters who bang on the negative posters, the negative have been right a lot more often than not.

[Glory Bound]

 

 

To the positive posters who bang on the negative posters, the negative have been right a lot more often than not.

I can't disagree with you, but I believe the winds of change have finally blown in. Should we bash Brandon for believing that too?

[Beerball]

This.

 

+ 1

 

To the positive posters who bang on the negative posters, the negative have been right a lot more often than not.

I'm plenty negative when warranted. This is TC, team's tied for first, new players, coaches, FO. If you can't 'enjoy' this time of the season why do you bother?

[ajzepp]

 

 

Here's one, if you really believe it, then put your job on the line Russ!!! How about if he doesn't win you quit?

 

Cause that would be stupid. And thankfully Russ isn't stupid.

[San-O]

I can't disagree with you, but I believe the winds of change have finally blown in. Should we bash Brandon for believing that too?

 

I said nothing of the sort. I'm being neurtal: show me the wins basically.

 

I think the Bills will be better on D, and hopefully O also. I haven't seen or read

much about the Special Teams.

 

I'm plenty negative when warranted. This is TC, team's tied for first, new players, coaches, FO. If you can't 'enjoy' this time of the season why do you bother?

 

I would simply like the "positive" posters, who are historically wrong, to stop banging in the more negative or realistic posters. I do enjoy this time on year because

there are new players and this year a lot new including coaches.

 

E.J. sounds like he may be the real deal?

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

"Why don't you sleep on it," Pettine's agent advised.

An hour later Pettine called his agent back.

"OK, I took a nap," he said.

I had to laugh at that one.

I know that I should be asking to see progress before I start hanging out congratulations, but it's still refreshing to hear a strong voice...and I kind of have to say, I appreciate the Marrone attitude that we've seen so far. He is as blunt as a sledgehammer being slammed into the knee of someone who owes the mob money and seems to loath bull****.

[Dorkington]

 

I'm plenty negative when warranted. This is TC, team's tied for first, new players, coaches, FO. If you can't 'enjoy' this time of the season why do you bother?

 

I very much enjoy the excitement of this year's preseason. I'm just not putting much stock in what our FO says, really.

[JohnC]

I don't believe that there is a quick fix for this franchise. Without a doubt the first priority was getting the organization staffed properly and then from there good things should follow. Marone was a Brandon pick with Whaley's support. I like Whaley's elevation into the GM position. Brandon diplomatically handled Nix and then Whaley was placed in a position to leaI the football operation. After Nix retired Whaley quitely made a couple of high level staffing hires for the college and pro scouting department. I like bringing in some outside help to this insular franchise.

 

There is little reason not to like Marone's coaching hires. There is more energy and creativity with this coaching group than with the prior retread crews. Maybe I'm over-reading the draft but for me it had a different feel to it. This staff could have taken the safe route drafting either Barkly or Nassib but they selected the riskier route by drafing the more physically gifted qb with potentially more upside.

 

I have strong suspicions that this year's record is not going to be too impressive. Whether the Bills are 5-11, 6-10, 7-9 or 8-8 doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. The most important issue that needs to be determined is whether EJ is going to be a credible franchise qb. If he demonstrates that he is capable of leading the franchise then the season will be a success. As many other teams have demonstrated that once that position is fllled with a high caliber player then the foundation of the franchise is established.

 

Right now I am mostly concerned with the state of our OL. As it stands I find it to be a very vulnerable area for this team. I hope that the Bills use some of its abundant cap money to get some help from the free agent market.

[BillsWatch]

I'm plenty negative when warranted. This is TC, team's tied for first, new players, coaches, FO. If you can't 'enjoy' this time of the season why do you bother?

 

It is obvious, some enjoy bashing and whining more than winning. It is obvious after a game and they are nowhere to be seen.

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

What a great read. Thanks for the link, OP. I am a firm believer that this organization has changed for the better, and an article like this is very encouraging.

[BillsWatch]

Here's one, if you really believe it, then put your job on the line Russ!!! How about if he doesn't win you quit?

 

How about you? if they are successful will you leave and go haunt some Patriots* board?

[Tony P]

What a great read. Thanks for the link, OP. I am a firm believer that this organization has changed for the better, and an article like this is very encouraging.

 

 

Great job by Yahoo that shines a light on the lazy work by some of the folks at the Buffalo News.

 

It's so disappointing how certain members of the News' staff would rather spend time making Mario Williams’ foot a big issue rather than taking the time to do some research and give their readers an interesting piece to read.

 

Do we really need these clowns asking the same question 7 different ways so they can try to get a reaction out of Marrone on which they can fixate?

 

Please give us something insightful for a change.

Edited August 5, 2013 by Tony P

[San Jose Bills Fan]

It was a well-researched and well-written piece by Les Carpenter.

 

It's hard to imagine that anyone with a pulse who cares about the Bills would not be excited after having read it.

 

However some people are downright reptilian.

[OCinBuffalo]

This.

 

+ 1

 

To the positive posters who bang on the negative posters, the negative have been right a lot more often than not.

I would simply like the "positive" posters, who are historically wrong, to stop banging in the more negative or realistic posters. I do enjoy this time on year because

there are new players and this year a lot new including coaches.

 

E.J. sounds like he may be the real deal?

This is idiocy. Well intentioned, an attempt at thoughtful discourse, but still, idiocy.

 

It's idiocy for 1 reason:

31 out of 32 teams will not win the SB, and only 12 teams of out of 32 will make the playoffs. That means 20 don't. Thus, "realisitic" means the negative people will tend to be "right" automatically...

 

...due to math...

 

....and not necessarily due to their ability to analyze, or understand, the game, or the quality of their understanding/analysis.

 

Being negative is simply the easy, and safe, choice. Of course it is the most "realistic". The math means it has to be.

 

But, it certainly doesn't make anyone who tends to be negatve more knowledgeable about football. In fact the person who chooses to be positive, because they have something they've seen that makes them that way, and when the positive outcome they predict occurs?

 

They have a high propensity to know the game better than the negative person does, again, due to the math. To pick against the "baked in" math/trend, and be right, means you almost definitely know WTF you are talking about, or, you just got lucky,

 

Conversely, being right about being negative tells us very little, since again the odds are stacked 2/3 in the negative poster's favor.

Edited August 5, 2013 by OCinBuffalo

[San Jose Bills Fan]

To add to OC's reply, my thought was the same:

 

Being right about how good the team will/won't be has zero to do with football knowledge.

 

It probably has more to do with psychological traits than anything else.

[Santana]

No one is FORCED to be a Bills fan, it's 100% your choice. Yeah we've had an out right awful 12 year stretch but at the end of the day, we can't go back and change that. There's a lot to be optimistic about this year, I mean if the coaching staff has any type of competency (which I believe they do) then we should be a very competitive team. We have a nice roster and great young talent, the difference between this years staff and last years staff is that I think they will know how to utilize their players. I can say with complete conviction that we lost a good 3-4 games purely due to horrible coaching and abysmal defensive play calling.

[BRAWNDO]

It was a well-researched and well-written piece by Les Carpenter.

 

It's hard to imagine that anyone with a pulse who cares about the Bills would not be excited after having read it.

 

However some people are downright reptilian.

 

This.

 

It was great to read how Pettine became convinced to become the Bills Defense Coordinator

[OCinBuffalo]

No one is FORCED to be a Bills fan, it's 100% your choice. Yeah we've had an out right awful 12 year stretch but at the end of the day, we can't go back and change that. There's a lot to be optimistic about this year, I mean if the coaching staff has any type of competency (which I believe they do) then we should be a very competitive team. We have a nice roster and great young talent, the difference between this years staff and last years staff is that I think they will know how to utilize their players. I can say with complete conviction that we lost a good 3-4 games purely due to horrible coaching and abysmal defensive play calling.

Or, ask yourself: Is there any chance that this team won't be entertaining this year? As in, fun to watch?

 

Compare this year to the Trent Edwards/Dick Jauron teams, where the philosophy was to hang around until the 4th quarter and try to win by FG?

 

As I said above, the math is stacked against us, and if you measure purely based on playoffs, you have a 2 in 3 chance of being unhappy.

 

However, if you measure in terms of "fun to watch", I'd say this team has about an 80% chance of being exactly that. CJ Spiller and Fred are on this team, and, we finally have a crazy D, once again. In terms of norms: a crazy D is the norm, over my lifetime, for the Bills, and conservative, hold the POA, is the outlier.

[uncle flap]

Les Carpenter had some serious access in OBD

It was a well-researched and well-written piece by Les Carpenter.

 

It's hard to imagine that anyone with a pulse who cares about the Bills would not be excited after having read it.

 

However some people are downright reptilian.

 

I wonder if those chronically negative posters even bothered to read this. Sure, the "promises" and intentions may not come to fruition, but it's plain to see there have been drastic changes at OBD. Drastic changes that can justify a reasonable person's optimism.

 

It's fine to say, "I'll believe it when I see it." But first, you have to open your eyes.

 

Things are changing. This is not the same ol' stuff that many pessimistic posters claim is some indication that the Bills are destined to fail. Like I said, it may not work out, but it's patently unfair to cite a history unrelated to the present as proof the Bills will suck. If EJ/Whaley/Marrone don't pan out, it's not because of Ralph or Littman or Nix or Donahoe or whomever broke your heart many moons ago. And as OC pointed out, if one's satisfaction hinges on being "right" in the end, and not enjoying the ebbs and flows of the journey, why even bother?

 

Nobody is congratulating anyone for predicting the Bills will suck. You don't win a prize. If there is some internal satisfaction, that's cool. I'm not trying to judge anyone's fanhood, but it seems that there is a contingency of posters on this board who want to imply that if another poster is optimistic, that optimist must not be grounded in reality.

 

It's fine to interpret facts however you like, that's how opinions are formed. I'm not mad a pessimists, and I don't think they're stupid, but I resent the implication by many of these pessimists that the optimists are delusional.

[Ronin]

Well TBH everyone's job is on the line.

 

Bullitsh.

 

If Marrone & Co. fail like the others they'll fire some scapegoat, but you can bet it won't be Whaley or Brandon. Brandon shouldn't be there now, he's a joke in the role.

 

How about you? if they are successful will you leave and go haunt some Patriots* board?

 

Not sure why I should, I haven't predicted that he won't be successful.

 

Talk about trolls.

[PromoTheRobot]

 

 

I said nothing of the sort. I'm being neurtal: show me the wins basically.

 

I think the Bills will be better on D, and hopefully O also. I haven't seen or read

much about the Special Teams.

 

 

 

I would simply like the "positive" posters, who are historically wrong, to stop banging in the more negative or realistic posters. I do enjoy this time on year because

there are new players and this year a lot new including coaches.

 

E.J. sounds like he may be the real deal?

The guys who are "right" every year are just betting on black every spin. They can't tell you why we suck. Just that we do. Takes no skill or insight to be a d-bag.

 

PTR

Edited August 5, 2013 by PromoTheRobot

[Ronin]

Thank you Mr. Buzz Kill. And howza bout you coming back on this board if they do start winning & give him praise for being right?

 

LMAO

 

Not as if some of us haven't been thru this drill before. The funny thing is that at some point like a stopped clock you too may be right.

 

In the meantime you all seem to know that the continued poor or questionable decisions by the team are just going to happen to work out.

 

I'll gladly make a deal, and despite the fact that I haven't predicted that Marrone will fail, and I'm sure others will join me, but if he does fail, all of you talking like you leave the forum permanently. If they don't, we will.

 

What say ye?

 

Somehow I don't see you taking me up on that.

Edited August 5, 2013 by TaskersGhost

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I'll gladly make a deal, and despite the fact that I haven't predicted that Marrone will fail, and I'm sure others will join me, but if he does fail, all of you talking like you leave the forum permanently. If they don't, we will.

 

What say ye?

 

Can you rewrite this into a coherent paragraph?

[OCinBuffalo]

If EJ/Whaley/Marrone don't pan out, it's not because of Ralph or Littman or Nix or Donahoe or whomever broke your heart many moons ago.

This is true because the contrapositive is also true:

If EJ/Whaley/Marrone do pan out, will it be because of Ralph or Littman or Nix or Donahoe or whomever...?

 

How many fans will be lining up to give the past credit, if the present is successful?

 

Possible exceptions: Give Ralph credit for getting out of the way. Give Nix credit for drafting Spiller, and creating the culture, starting with the scouting department, of success. Alex Carrington panning out puts the 2010 draft in a whole new light. Same is true for Troupe.

 

All of this is merely an exercise in logic, and math, and whether you apply both properly.

Edited August 5, 2013 by OCinBuffalo