WeWantMarangi Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 After about 20 years as a journalist, including covering the Bills as a beat writer and a columnist for several publications, I finally decided to get some help and got a real job a few years back. But they say even a recovering journalist is still a writer deep down, so I've been writing a blog, We Want Marangi (wewantmarangi.blogspot.com), for the past few years, and dual-posting on Artvoice.com for the last two seasons. Linked below are my most recent piece, which covers a few things the new owner might want to ask his top football guys in the wake of Sunday's debacle. Hope you enjoy, take a few minutes to click around the archives, which are stored on the blogspot site, and let me know what you think in the comments on either version, or here. Thanks, Dave Staba. http://wewantmarangi.blogspot.com/2014/10/forty-one-questions-bills-new-owner.html http://blogs.artvoice.com/avdaily/2014/10/14/forty-one-questions-the-bills-new-owner-should-ask-their-coach-and-general-manager/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Just an FYI, always liked your writing and columns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeWantMarangi Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Thanks for the kind words. Hope you enjoy this stuff, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 41 ? that's 40 too many ? Q: did you make the playoffs? A: (silence) TP: your services are no longer needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 After about 20 years as a journalist, including covering the Bills as a beat writer and a columnist for several publications, I finally decided to get some help and got a real job a few years back. But they say even a recovering journalist is still a writer deep down, so I've been writing a blog, We Want Marangi (wewantmarangi.blogspot.com), for the past few years, and dual-posting on Artvoice.com for the last two seasons. Linked below are my most recent piece, which covers a few things the new owner might want to ask his top football guys in the wake of Sunday's debacle. Hope you enjoy, take a few minutes to click around the archives, which are stored on the blogspot site, and let me know what you think in the comments on either version, or here. Thanks, Dave Staba. http://wewantmarangi...-new-owner.html http://blogs.artvoic...eneral-manager/ Excellent column with the list of questions. The most furious question is why Watkins was used as a decoy. A two first round picks price of a WR used as a decoy? A see a train wreck coming because that Pats game had seriously deep issues that lead to players not having any faith in their bosses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester43 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 thanks for the link....never saw this before. regarding Gary Marangi.... I have this foggy childhood memory of him playing his first game as a Bill in relief of Joe Ferguson in Miami. Fergy got hurt and Marangi came in for him. I recall Marangi dropping back and hitting somebody deep downfield for a TD on his very first NFL play. Is any of that correct or has time confused me? this would be about 40 years ago, now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanCity Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Great piece Dave. I appreciated a good morning chuckle. Let's hope that whoever the Pegulas decide to hire to do an analysis of the football ops figures out the issues in a hurry. I hate going through coaches every few seasons, but Marrone hasn't shown the ability to get the most out of a very talented squad. If there is an available innovative and aggressive OC out there, that may fix a big part of the problem and give Marrone another season to right the ship. The issue is that I haven't heard a single name mentioned that would realistically come over to serve under Marrone. If the Bills want an innovative OC, he's likely going to have to be the head coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 It was in '74 against the Dolphins, Marangi was a rookie, you are more correct than you think, it was 40 years ago and the player who caught the pass wore #40....JD Hill. We lost that game 35-28, there was a questionable defensive holding call that wiped out a 100 yard plus int return for a TD by Tony Greene early in that game. Baut bad calls against us were the norm back then especially when Shula was across the sidelines! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 thanks for the link....never saw this before. regarding Gary Marangi.... I have this foggy childhood memory of him playing his first game as a Bill in relief of Joe Ferguson in Miami. Fergy got hurt and Marangi came in for him. I recall Marangi dropping back and hitting somebody deep downfield for a TD on his very first NFL play. Is any of that correct or has time confused me? this would be about 40 years ago, now. That is true, and happened in 1974, Marangi's rookie year. He followed that up with another short TD late in the game to tie it at 28, but the Dolphins scored a later TD to win 35-28... sigh. One of many disappointments in the Orange Bowl between 1966 and 1983. Marangi didn't play much in 1975, and began to whine about it. Then in 1976 he came in for a couple of early relief appearances (back when the fans were booing Fergy like mad and repeating that "we Want Marangi" chat). Then when Fergy went down with a back injury in week 7, Marangi became the full time starter and put up the most putrid QB numbers in Bills history this side of Vince Ferragamo, most famously when he went 4-21 on Thanksgiving Day 1976, the day OJ ran for 273 yards and the Bills still lost, 27-14. He was traded to Green Bay in the following offseason, though failed his physical and never played in the NFL again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Wow, a blast from the past. Marangi & Staba in one post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanM.D. Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 The intermingling of reality and humor in the line of questions is well done. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeWantMarangi Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 That is true, and happened in 1974, Marangi's rookie year. He followed that up with another short TD late in the game to tie it at 28, but the Dolphins scored a later TD to win 35-28... sigh. One of many disappointments in the Orange Bowl between 1966 and 1983. Marangi didn't play much in 1975, and began to whine about it. Then in 1976 he came in for a couple of early relief appearances (back when the fans were booing Fergy like mad and repeating that "we Want Marangi" chat). Then when Fergy went down with a back injury in week 7, Marangi became the full time starter and put up the most putrid QB numbers in Bills history this side of Vince Ferragamo, most famously when he went 4-21 on Thanksgiving Day 1976, the day OJ ran for 273 yards and the Bills still lost, 27-14. He was traded to Green Bay in the following offseason, though failed his physical and never played in the NFL again. That's all part of the genesis of the blog's origin story, coming soon to We Want Marangi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeBird Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 After about 20 years as a journalist, including covering the Bills as a beat writer and a columnist for several publications, I finally decided to get some help and got a real job a few years back. But they say even a recovering journalist is still a writer deep down, so I've been writing a blog, We Want Marangi (wewantmarangi.blogspot.com), for the past few years, and dual-posting on Artvoice.com for the last two seasons. Linked below are my most recent piece, which covers a few things the new owner might want to ask his top football guys in the wake of Sunday's debacle. Hope you enjoy, take a few minutes to click around the archives, which are stored on the blogspot site, and let me know what you think in the comments on either version, or here. Thanks, Dave Staba. http://wewantmarangi.blogspot.com/2014/10/forty-one-questions-bills-new-owner.html http://blogs.artvoice.com/avdaily/2014/10/14/forty-one-questions-the-bills-new-owner-should-ask-their-coach-and-general-manager/ great read, thx for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Those questions are better than what the people who write about sports in Western New York are asking. Maybe you should start up covering sports again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrod's Tailor Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hahahaha this is great stuff. You especially hit the nail on the head with this one: --- Wait a minute. You're saying that if the other team assigns its best player to guard our best player, we just sort of give up on getting the ball to him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 It was in '74 against the Dolphins, Marangi was a rookie, you are more correct than you think, it was 40 years ago and the player who caught the pass wore #40....JD Hill. We lost that game 35-28, there was a questionable defensive holding call that wiped out a 100 yard plus int return for a TD by Tony Greene early in that game. Baut bad calls against us were the norm back then especially when Shula was across the sidelines! Greene's return was 108 yards and the flag came out AFTER he was past mid-field on his return. Still can't believe it. And still not over it. I have issues. What can I say? GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayoffsPlease Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Excellent well written article. This was my favorite part: Oh. Let me make sure I'm keeping up here. So you spent your first first-round draft choice on a quarterback, then the next two on a receiver to help him out. But we've already ditched the quarterback for somebody that four other teams told to hit the bricks and we don't throw to the receiver when other teams think we're going to do that. Have I got this straight? --- But you do have a plan, you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 That's all part of the genesis of the blog's origin story, coming soon to We Want Marangi. Excellent. And led me add my voice to the chorus praising your work. I was a big fan of BillsStuff in the (since sadly declining) Niagara Falls Reporter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gianelli Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Thank you! Could you make up 41 questions for the management at WGR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaninATL Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 great stuff OP, spot-on funny while being very relevant. Let's see what type of the Pegulas turn out to be; as an earlier poster mentioned, Sunday's loss to NE exposed some very troubling fundamental issues with this team: does Marrone see the very same things that all of us outside the team plainly see (crappy OC game plan, dubious personnel mgm't, questionable in-game mgm't, etc, ad nauseum)? If he does see these things, why doesn't he make the necessary changes? if he does not, we are in deep deep do-do; why doesn't Marrone challenge his OC/DC to come up with better schemes (i.e., Hackett's misuse of Spiller, Schwartz's refusal to blitz NE esp. after Ridley was knocked out of the game) this defense cannot be expected to win every game for the team will Marrone lose the locker room if bad game plans are the norm and the depth of quality on this team continues to be squandered? when will we see a better disciplined team that does not continue with a self-implosion of penalties? that starts at the top if/when the Pegulas actually do hire an outside consultant, will they take action on whatever recommendations are made? will the Pegula have the $$ & influence to hire a top-notch, big-name head coach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts