Rodrigo Borgia Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 The biggest tidbit was that he was not involved in hiring Murray or Bylsma. Murray was actually hired by Pat Lafontaine in early 2014, while Bylsma was Murray's choice after Babcock decided to sign with the Leafs after already entering into negotiations with the Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffismagic Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Sounds like he wants a McDermott type running the Sabres. Well, he already had Bylsma. Bland, boring play not to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klos63 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Russ doesn't handle criticism well. He'd be a disaster. Because everyone said - you want a hockey guy to do all this yadda yadda. His gut says, i should meet and hire the people who are replacing the GM/Coach of the last 15 years. He didn't follow his gut and now looking back regrets it. Whether thats right? Not sure. Pegula did hire Rex, so it's easy to be a bit concerned here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalphWilson'sNewWar Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 McD is pretty good imo I actually wonder why they don't put Russ out there. Seems like it would be in his wheelhouse. McD will be good based on saying nothing (which might not be bad) Russ Brandon lacks any credibility. He has preached false promises for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Russ Brandon lacks any credibility. He has preached false promises for years. The biggest promise he made turned out to be true, didn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Will Russ be able to drink a glass of water while Pegula talks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Pegula's Presser In Case You Missed It: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/terry-pegula-press-conference/t-277437090/c-51616103 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 With the Sabres, at least there was a vision/plan, tank for a few years, get high draft picks to get elite players and rebuild. With the Bills, it seems the only plan has just been to get to the playoffs, but with no actual vision/plan to get there. It doesnt matter what business youre in, you have to have a vision/plan on what youre business should be about and how to be successful. The Pegulas are smart people and Im sure they had a vision/plan about their gas/oil business. They listened to Russ Brandon in their first coaching search and he told the Pegulas to go into the interviews with no expectations and theyll know when theyve got the right person. That was and is a terrible strategy as it showed they had no vision and plan on what they were trying to do. You cant run a business blindly and thats what happened when they hired Rex Ryan. IMO, the Bills should have done a SWOT analysis on themselves and their direct competition (the AFC East). For those that are unfamiliar with the term, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Technologies. Businesses use SWOT analysis usually on a yearly basis. The Bills top competition is the Patriots and they should use a SWOT analysis on the Patriots and themselves to build their organization/team into a team that cannot only compete with the Patriots, but beat them. It has to be done from top to bottom. I appreciate the Pegulas buying both teams, saving the Bills from future relocation and putting a lot of money into both teams and the city of Buffalo, Id just wish they would run their sports teams more wisely as theyve done with their oil/gas ventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodrigo Borgia Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 With the Sabres, at least there was a vision/plan, tank for a few years, get high draft picks to get elite players and rebuild. With the Bills, it seems the only plan has just been to get to the playoffs, but with no actual vision/plan to get there. It doesnt matter what business youre in, you have to have a vision/plan on what youre business should be about and how to be successful. The Pegulas are smart people and Im sure they had a vision/plan about their gas/oil business. They listened to Russ Brandon in their first coaching search and he told the Pegulas to go into the interviews with no expectations and theyll know when theyve got the right person. That was and is a terrible strategy as it showed they had no vision and plan on what they were trying to do. You cant run a business blindly and thats what happened when they hired Rex Ryan. IMO, the Bills should have done a SWOT analysis on themselves and their direct competition (the AFC East). For those that are unfamiliar with the term, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Technologies. Businesses use SWOT analysis usually on a yearly basis. The Bills top competition is the Patriots and they should use a SWOT analysis on the Patriots and themselves to build their organization/team into a team that cannot only compete with the Patriots, but beat them. It has to be done from top to bottom. I appreciate the Pegulas buying both teams, saving the Bills from future relocation and putting a lot of money into both teams and the city of Buffalo, Id just wish they would run their sports teams more wisely as theyve done with their oil/gas ventures. They need to run the Bills and Sabres in the same way that a Cheektowagan runs their small business: efficiently with money spent wisely and with tangible, measurable success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 McD is pretty good imo I actually wonder why they don't put Russ out there. Seems like it would be in his wheelhouse. If Russ is seen in the same room the fans B word Yolo and TBN goes nuts, no win there. Absolutely agree. They drool all over Cleveland's "rebuild", but Buffalo tanked... Can't have it both ways, like Pegula said. If Buffalo tanked, Cleveland absolutely tanked. They released a ton of good players last year. Funny thing is there were some Buffalo News writer(s) calling for the Sabres to rebuild/tank before it happened, and then when it does happen they change their tune and criticize it. You know, I still blame the Buffalo News to this day about a lot of the terrible, negative publicity the Sabres rebuild/tank got. So many things became a national headline/punchline because of stories written by TBN that would get picked up by the national media. IMO that was one of the main differences between the Sabres "tank" and Toronto's "rebuild". Both teams tanked, but Toronto's media was on board and did nothing but praise it and Buffalo's media did nothing but slam it. I think the Buffalo News was definitely a factor in turning the Sabres rebuild into such a big story at times. AKA as Bucky Gleason and he got caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2009 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 If Russ is seen in the same room the fans B word Yolo and TBN goes nuts, no win there. AKA as Bucky Gleason and he got caught. Blaming media, fans for losing teams is a copout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Well, he already had Bylsma. Bland, boring play not to lose.Do you think that will be McDermott's style? It's certainly possible, but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Blaming media, fans for losing teams is a copout. Who did that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Blaming media, fans for losing teams is a copout. Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffismagic Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Do you think that will be McDermott's style? It's certainly possible, but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. McDermott himself said he is not flashy, he drives a pickup truck yesterday. That's fine. He started as a disciple of Jim Johnson in Philadelphia who loved to blitz QBs up the middle and that was exciting. McDermott's scheme has evolved into a zone, non-blitz setup. He hired Leslie Frazier to run our D and that makes sense. Frazier was Dick Jauron 2.0 whose defenses were so simple opposing QBs would call out the plays called by Frazier. I assume we will run a bend but don't break defense that takes away the big play. So if you enjoy that you're going to love McDermott. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I love it when Terry speaks. He always seems surprised and appalled at the questions he gets. McDermott himself said he is not flashy, he drives a pickup truck yesterday. That's fine. He started as a disciple of Jim Johnson in Philadelphia who loved to blitz QBs up the middle and that was exciting.McDermott's scheme has evolved into a zone, non-blitz setup. He hired Leslie Frazier to run our D and that makes sense. Frazier was Dick Jauron 2.0 whose defenses were so simple opposing QBs would call out the plays called by Frazier. I assume we will run a bend but don't break defense that takes away the big play. So if you enjoy that you're going to love McDermott. No blitz necessary with our front 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffismagic Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I love it when Terry speaks. He always seems surprised and appalled at the questions he gets. No blitz necessary with our front 4. No Mario. Kyle near the end. Hughes not good last year. Shaq showed nothing special last year. We shall see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) Well, he already had Bylsma. Bland, boring play not to lose.You repeat this all the time, but I just don't see it. He wasn't like that in Philly or Carolina IMO. His defense in Philly was aggressive. His defense in Carolina was aggressive in attacking the ball and creating turn overs (his defense was top 5 in interceptions 3 of the last 4 years). He's a Jim Johnson disciple, who was as aggressive as they come. McDermott himself said he will be aggressive. So can we wait until he coaches a few games and see if he actually shows a "bland, boring, play not to lose" style before labeling him with it? Because as of now I haven't seen it in his career. And FYI Keeping Tyrod does not prove it. It proves that he wants to try and win right away, that's all. Also, playing a more simple defensive scheme that allows players to play fast and not have to overthink doesn't mean "boring, play not to lose" either. Edited April 21, 2017 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) Pegula did hire Rex, so it's easy to be a bit concerned here. ...that disastrous hire had Brandon's fingerprints all over it....."don't let him out of the building" was solely based on marketing and selling tickets, which did work with 60,000 in 2015.....Brandon was pretty proud of the hire, commenting to people I know, "so what do you think"?.....Pegula took the bait but has learned his lesson IMO.....a one hit "blowhard wonder" filled seats for a year with a diehard and desperate fan base (to a fault) looking to break the schneid....the "on field" product was secondary......me thinks the "product" is TP's top priority....as it is with the Sabres and the house cleaning......... Edited April 21, 2017 by OldTimeAFLGuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 With the Sabres, at least there was a vision/plan, tank for a few years, get high draft picks to get elite players and rebuild. With the Bills, it seems the only plan has just been to get to the playoffs, but with no actual vision/plan to get there. It doesnt matter what business youre in, you have to have a vision/plan on what youre business should be about and how to be successful. The Pegulas are smart people and Im sure they had a vision/plan about their gas/oil business. They listened to Russ Brandon in their first coaching search and he told the Pegulas to go into the interviews with no expectations and theyll know when theyve got the right person. That was and is a terrible strategy as it showed they had no vision and plan on what they were trying to do. You cant run a business blindly and thats what happened when they hired Rex Ryan. IMO, the Bills should have done a SWOT analysis on themselves and their direct competition (the AFC East). For those that are unfamiliar with the term, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Technologies. Businesses use SWOT analysis usually on a yearly basis. The Bills top competition is the Patriots and they should use a SWOT analysis on the Patriots and themselves to build their organization/team into a team that cannot only compete with the Patriots, but beat them. It has to be done from top to bottom. I appreciate the Pegulas buying both teams, saving the Bills from future relocation and putting a lot of money into both teams and the city of Buffalo, Id just wish they would run their sports teams more wisely as theyve done with their oil/gas ventures. Terrific post. You are astute and perspicacious. When you are a new owner and it is new endeavor for you it is wise before being actively engaged with your new purchase to get input from as many people as possible outside of the lagging business that you are acquiring. There are plenty of successful people in the business whose thoughts and insights you can draw from. Ralph Wilson had an insular approach to running his business. It was very parochial and outdated and those flaws became more accentuated as the NFL changed. To a much lesser extent it seems that the Pegulas are being too insular with how they are running their businesses especially when critical hiring decisions are to be made. An egregious example of that was the hiring of Rex. This was a huckster who was run out of town of his last job and was well known for his lack of substance and depth. Relying on a person such as Brandon for advice was a stupendous mistake. That made no sense. As you stated I'm thankful to have the Pegulas involved as owners and appreciate their grand investment in the community. I just wish they would accelerate going through the learning curve and learn from their glaring mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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