Ralph set this team back with his trust issues

[machine gun kelly]

Why keep going over stuff from what Clinton was still finishing his presidency?

 

Ralph kept the team here, made sure to sell to someone who would not move the team, and then basically donated almost all the proceeds to Detroit and Buffalo. Al Davis screwed up too in his old age.

 

As much as I hate Jerry Jones, at least he was smart enough to turn over a ton of control to Steven, his son, which has improved the team. Don't get me wrong I HATE Dallas, Jimmy Johnson, and want them to never win another SB. I'm hoping the GB of the world keep killings them in the playoffs. The only reason I don't hate the Giants is they beat the Pats twice in the SB.

[klos63]

 

Revisionist history here. Knox was competent but so painfully conservative his teams could never win a championship, before, during, or after his Bills tenure. Never made the Super Bowl in 22 years of head coaching and had a 7-11 post season record.

Solid guy but after 5 seasons it was time to move on. (Of course it did get worse until Marv came onboard).

I'm not rewriting history. It was horrible after Knox left, probably the worst era of Bills football in my lifetime and possibly in franchise history.

[LABILLBACKER]

Sometimes I wonder if it's still karma for starting Rob over Doug. Ralph wanted a return on his investment, imo it really hasn't been the same since

Still one of the stupidest moves in NFL history

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

I'm not rewriting history. It was horrible after Knox left, probably the worst era of Bills football in my lifetime and possibly in franchise history.

 

....but the Knox era is known as " ground Chuck" or "run run pass punt" for a reason.....like watchin' Benjamin Moore dry............

[RevWarRifleman]

 

Can we take down the statue of Wilson outside of the stadium and replace it with one of Robert E. Lee? Who's with me?

Lee couldn't win on the road. 0-2, with Antietam, Md., and a crushing defeat at Gettysburg.

[klos63]

 

....but the Knox era is known as " ground Chuck" or "run run pass punt" for a reason.....like watchin' Benjamin Moore dry............

We made the playoffs- great defense , strong running game.... Jerry Butler and Frank Lewis a great WR tandem.

 

All the crap we deal with over the years and we have people criticizing Knox. Come on.

[DC Tom]

Lee couldn't win on the road. 0-2, with Antietam, Md., and a crushing defeat at Gettysburg.

 

But he only lost Antietam because McClellan stole his play book.

 

*sigh* If only Belicheck had the "competence" of Little Mac.

[klos63]

 

....but the Knox era is known as " ground Chuck" or "run run pass punt" for a reason.....like watchin' Benjamin Moore dry............

Yeah, that Dolphins home opener put us all to sleep, 4-0 start pretty boring. Be serious.

[DC Tom]

LOL @ the turds bashing the Pegula's.

 

But the completely unironic "Pegula's a horrible owner because he's a fan like us! Here's what I think he should do..." are absolutely priceless.

 

....but the Knox era is known as " ground Chuck" or "run run pass punt" for a reason.....like watchin' Benjamin Moore dry............

 

Considering that I've spent the past few years of Sundays painting rather than watching football, your statement seems to me much more complimentary than I think you intended it...

[RevWarRifleman]

 

But he only lost Antietam because McClellan stole his play book.

 

*sigh* If only Belicheck had the "competence" of Little Mac.

Lee's boys left the playbook laying in an open field. But Little Mac still didn't know how to defense it. Shades of Jauron.

[nucci]

 

....but the Knox era is known as " ground Chuck" or "run run pass punt" for a reason.....like watchin' Benjamin Moore dry............

You didn't watch Ferguson throwing to Cribbs, Butler, Brammer and Lewis? We had good offenses with Knox. He was a great coach

Edited August 27, 2017 by nucci

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

We made the playoffs- great defense , strong running game.... Jerry Butler and Frank Lewis a great WR tandem.

 

All the crap we deal with over the years and we have people criticizing Knox. Come on.

....probably the style that makes it a diminished era irrespective of results..like watchin Benjamin Moore can dry on your porch....

[Dr.Sack]

Wow. Move on.

[klos63]

....probably the style that makes it a diminished era irrespective of results..like watchin Benjamin Moore can dry on your porch....

You have an unhealthy obsession with Benjamin Moore.

[transient]

Doug sucked.

Careful what you say about the hand of Khaleesi or risk being burned alive by dragon's fire.

[nucci]

You have an unhealthy obsession with Benjamin Moore.

and who watches paint dry...I mean, honestly

[RoyBatty is alive]

Bad pre-season game and the Pegula bashers coming out I can understand. But Ralph Wilson bashing for stuff he did 15 years ago? Give me a break.

EXACTLY!

 

This thread is ridiculous.

[transient]

and who watches a team guaranteed to break your heart that hasn't shown signs of competence in over 17 years...I mean, honestly

The Benjamin Moore show honestly doesn't sound so bad, when you think about it.

[WIDE LEFT]

You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed.

[8-8 Forever?]

+1

+ another 1. I could go on and on on this , but looks like the basic truths have already been posted.

 

I won't be watching anything live this year. they look to be bottoming out this year. i know they are just trying out guys and patterns last night, so who cares about scores and points, but the talent doesn't look to be there.

 

win 3 or 4 games, hang onto the top 12 talents on the team, then go get a QB and some other high draft choices. McBeanes will get it turned around. Not that difficult

Edited August 27, 2017 by jmcraig44

[klos63]

You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed.

I agree he was a poor owner. But what's the sense in going through this again? Let's see if the Pegula's could ever figure this thing out. Not off to a good start, but the preseason is hardly the time to critique the franchise.

[26CornerBlitz]

You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed.

 

[nucci]

The Benjamin Moore show honestly doesn't sound so bad, when you think about it.

i didn't type that. some re-did my post. Is that allowed?

[klos63]

i didn't type that. some re-did my post. Is that allowed?

Benjamins brother Booker did it.

[Doc]

My ignore list just quadrupled.

[nucci]

My ignore list just quadrupled.

Mine too

[klos63]

Mine too

they have that?

[Rico]

You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed.

Nice post.

[Spurna]

You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed.

 

This is a good post

[transient]

i didn't type that. some re-did my post. Is that allowed?

I retyped it. I don't know how to cross out text on my phone. If you're truly concerned I'll edit my last post with "FIFY".

[nucci]

I retyped it. I don't know how to cross out text on my phone. If you're truly concerned I'll edit my last post with "FIFY".

Nah, honest mistake. we're good

[Solomon Grundy]

Personally, I think the trade up for JP Losman is what set this team back for years. Not only did they give up 1st round picks, but they passed on other QBs hoping that Losman would eventually pan out. Donahoe to me get ALL the blame for this lull.

[Buffalo Bills Detective]

I didn't know there were so many former owners of championship NFL and NHL teams on this board...

[klos63]

I didn't know there were so many former owners of championship NFL and NHL teams on this board...

I get it, only those people can comment on this topic. Right.

[Boatdrinks]

This is a good post

Except for the fact that he could have moved the team many times over and profited far more greatly, or sold it to someone who wanted to move the team. He also didn't name the stadium after himself, others suggested that name when he said he didn't want to sell the naming rights. Finally he donated the majority of his fortune including proceeds from the sale of the team after his death to charities including causes in Buffalo. Other than that, a tremendous post.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Let It Go https://g.co/kgs/c223Mp

[BADOLBILZ]

You don't want to bash Ralph Wilson? Okay I will do it for you. Long before Tom Donahue or GM Levy, good old Ralph was running this franchise into the ground. He is the only owner in NFL history to lose the number one pick in the NFL draft to the CFL, for christsakes. Ralph owned the team for 20+ years by the time he drafted Jim Kelly; at which point Kelly saw what a mess this franchise was and jumped to USFL. Read Kelly's autobiography. They had to sneak the hiring of Bill Polian past Ralph, who opposed it. After hall of famer Polian constructed the best teams Buffalo ever had, Ralph fired him. He paid $25,000 for this franchise, which appreciated in value to over 1 billion dollars, and that wasn't enough for Mr Wilson. After realizing a significant profit every year, in addition to his billion dollar + windfall, he decided he needed an extra 10 million so he gives up competitive advantage by moving games to Toronto. The players hated it. John Murphy railed against it. For most of the years he owned this team, their win/loss record has been horrendous. The notion that most Bills fans have,m that is that Ralph deserves hero worship because he kept the team in Buffalo, ignores the huge financial award he received for keeping the team here. And conviently ignores the fact that good old Ralph, in the early 70s, threatened to move the franchise to Seattle, unless the taxpayers of Erie County built him a stadium. For which he paid nothing for. And named it after himself, despite the fact he contributed zero to it, and despite the fact that for all his whining about lack of revenue, he was willing to give up the 5 million plus per year in naming rights to have the stadium named after him, that stadium everybody here but him paid for. The great Ralph Wilson indeed.

 

Pretty much dead on. He was always a bad football man and mercurial owner but when he got into his late 70's his bad reputation, failing mind and severely compromised commitment to winning(balancing the desire to win WITH stashing $20M-$30M per year for his heirs to pay inheritance tax with) really had Bills fans held hostage.

 

Bills fans and Sabres fans are currently dealing with Terry Pegula toying with franchises in two sports that he knows nothing about so for the most part it's still a hostage situation. Get a football Czar Pegs.

[clearwater cadet]

the only thing that saved the bills in buffalo is that Ted Roger died before Ralph.

[Jerry Jabber]

 

Pretty much dead on. He was always a bad football man and mercurial owner but when he got into his late 70's his bad reputation, failing mind and severely compromised commitment to winning(balancing the desire to win WITH stashing $20M-$30M per year for his heirs to pay inheritance tax with) really had Bills fans held hostage.

 

Bills fans and Sabres fans are currently dealing with Terry Pegula toying with franchises in two sports that he knows nothing about so for the most part it's still a hostage situation. Get a football Czar Pegs.

 

I agree he was a bad football man. I think if he would have left the on-field/personnel decisions to those he hired (GM/HC), he would of had better results.