The Top 5 Most Polarizing Figures in Buffalo Bills History

[Bing Bong]

6 hours ago, MTBill said:

 

I guess what I forget is that the Whaley discussion morphs into the Tyrod/EJ/Rex discussion and I sort of forget that Whaley was a big part of that.  I didn't love or hate him, I just felt he was incompetent.

I'm in the minority that he was a decent GM. took a Gamble and screwed up. Had us on the verge of playoffs before we got wrexed

3 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Nate definitely is polarizing but I’d say at this point he has more detractors than supporters.  He’s no Doug Whaley

But his supporters are such ****s . Getting cyberbullied over my screen name. I love my screen name.. it's harmless fun folks!

[BuffaloRush]

14 minutes ago, PetermanThrew5Picks said:

I'm in the minority that he was a decent GM. took a Gamble and screwed up. Had us on the verge of playoffs before we got wrexed

But his supporters are such ****s . Getting cyberbullied over my screen name. I love my screen name.. it's harmless fun folks!

 

I disagree with your assessment on Whaley.  I don’t think he was very good.  He did a decent job of adding talent but had no vision or direction.  He neglected the QB position and yes he drafted poorly.  Not a good GM

but many Bills fans think he’s great 

[Gugny]

35 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

That’s not true... find the source of this information.

 

Also take a look at whaley’s drafts and consider the contributions that his players made to the Bills.  They were minimal at best

 

also you are contradicting yourself and proving the exact reason why Whaley is so polarizing.  He was a bad GM yet people like you are making excuses for him

 

Consider the coaching change that he had no part of that made many of his draftees useless.

 

And it is true ... it's been talked about at length on this board.

[BuffaloRush]

1 minute ago, Gugny said:

 

Consider the coaching change that he had no part of that made many of his draftees useless.

 

And it is true ... it's been talked about at length on this board.

 

Because if it’s said on the board it means it’s true.

Edited April 4, 2018 by BuffaloRush

[DriveFor1Outta5]

Stephen Gilmore isn’t important enough to be polarizing. 

[Gugny]

9 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Because if it’s said on the board it means it’s true.

 

Generally speaking, yes.

[klos63]

7 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  I'm guessing that your list is influenced by your youth which means there are Bills that you know little about.  My five in no particular order and maybe it should be 10.

 

  Jim Kelly.  Today he is revered but when he came in 1986 many thought he was haughty among other things.  Too good for the local folk.  Then there was the bickering Bills of which many thought the blame laid with Jim and a fair amount of it was resentment that Jim was doing well and quite a few were not.

 

 

  Fred Smerlas.  In order to even play the game you have to have a high degree of bravado and determination.  Associated with that often is being opinionated and Fred never lacked for an opinion.  It was put out years ago that Fred talked his way off the team after having increasing hostility emerge from players such as Chris Burkett.  Love him or hate him Fred was a leader and if he were on the SB 25 team the outcome may have been different.

 

 

  Ralph C Wilson.

 

 

  Lou Saban.  His AFL Championship teams created a permanent loyalty from WNY and his exit during the mid 1970's placed a spotlight on one of Ralph's least desirable qualities in being a team owner.

 

 

  Cookie Glichrist.  Outspoken and simply out there.  The team's earliest encounter with a free spirit who barely functioned in terms of team protocols.

The people that I know/knew that were old enough to know at the time all thought Cookie was 2nd only to Jim Brown and I've never heard of anyone that disliked him.  I'm not sure he  divided the fan base that much.

[MJS]

I sense a lot of recency bias. Doug Flutie is clearly #1 on the list, and it is not even a debate.

 

Whaley shouldn't even be on the list, if you ask me, or Stephen Gilmore. Tyrod Taylor is rightfully on there.

3 minutes ago, klos63 said:

The people that I know/knew that were old enough to know at the time all thought Cookie was 2nd only to Jim Brown and I've never heard of anyone that disliked him.  I'm not sure he  divided the fan base that much.

 

Do some research. Cookie was a very polarizing player.

[Bing Bong]

32 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

I disagree with your assessment on Whaley.  I don’t think he was very good.  He did a decent job of adding talent but had no vision or direction.  He neglected the QB position and yes he drafted poorly.  Not a good GM

but many Bills fans think he’s great 

He was in win now mode. Which is really your best option in the AFCE let alone the NFL this age.

 

And we could have done well if we kept Schwartz under that strategy

34 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

I disagree with your assessment on Whaley.  I don’t think he was very good.  He did a decent job of adding talent but had no vision or direction.  He neglected the QB position and yes he drafted poorly.  Not a good GM

but many Bills fans think he’s great 

But no he wasn't good to great. But I think he certainly did have a vision. Win now is a vision. Just short term

[MTBill]

7 minutes ago, klos63 said:

The people that I know/knew that were old enough to know at the time all thought Cookie was 2nd only to Jim Brown and I've never heard of anyone that disliked him.  I'm not sure he  divided the fan base that much.

 

Cookie was very outspoken on civil rights.  He was the organizer of a boycott of the pro-bowl.  I have to think that did not sit well with many of the Bill's fans at the time.  He certainly had a rift with Ralph which is why he was not on the Wall of Fame while Ralph was alive.

 

From Wikipedia:

 

In an early civil rights victory for black athletes, Gilchrist led a successful boycott of New Orleans as the site of the 1965 American Football League All-Star game. He is the only athlete to turn down being enshrined into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum, because of what he described as racism and exploitation by management. Gilchrist frequently was at odds with team management. He told a reporter from the London Free Press that most of the problems he encountered were a result of his standing up for principles at a time when black athletes were expected to remain silent.^[5][6]

 

[Punching Bag]

8 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

Agree 100%.

 

And man, do I despise that little !@#$ing !@#$.

 

I knew there was a good reason to like him.

 

And I think the polarization is too close to current times for a team 50+ years old.

[Bing Bong]

46 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

I disagree with your assessment on Whaley.  I don’t think he was very good.  He did a decent job of adding talent but had no vision or direction.  He neglected the QB position and yes he drafted poorly.  Not a good GM

but many Bills fans think he’s great 

But no he wasn't good to great. But I think he certainly did have a vision. Win now is a vision. Just short term

[without a drought]

28 minutes ago, DriveFor1Outta5 said:

Stephen Gilmore isn’t important enough to be polarizing. 

Is to.

[klos63]

39 minutes ago, MJS said:

I sense a lot of recency bias. Doug Flutie is clearly #1 on the list, and it is not even a debate.

 

Whaley shouldn't even be on the list, if you ask me, or Stephen Gilmore. Tyrod Taylor is rightfully on there.

 

Do some research. Cookie was a very polarizing player.

I was referring to people I know that were around at the time, nobody i knew had an issue with him. They loved him.

[Gray Beard]

Donahoe

Or was he just universally disliked rather than polarizing?

 

Flutie - Johnson certainly divided the fan base. 

[The Jokeman]

3 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Whaley?  I am not sure he is polarizing. It seems to me that consensus is that he was not all that good for the team even though I think everyone wanted him to be.  The same could be said for Rex Ryan.

BadLands

Flutie was not the cause of the curse. Wade Phillips was the cause of the curse.  Flutie did not bench himself!

Really? Flutie's poor play in the last 7 or so games didn't lead to his benching?

[BuffaloRush]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

I sense a lot of recency bias. Doug Flutie is clearly #1 on the list, and it is not even a debate.

 

Whaley shouldn't even be on the list, if you ask me, or Stephen Gilmore. Tyrod Taylor is rightfully on there.

 

Do some research. Cookie was a very polarizing player.

 

I totally disagree there is no one Moreno polarizing than Doug Whaley 

22 minutes ago, Gray Beard said:

Donahoe

Or was he just universally disliked rather than polarizing?

 

Flutie - Johnson certainly divided the fan base. 

 

Right - Donahue is more universally disliked.  He’s not a GM that’s as devisive like Doug Whaley

[GunnerBill]

The #1 is Fultie without a single doubt. I would put Tyrod #2 as well. In many ways it is the same debate 20 years apart. 

 

Ralph at #3 I agree with. After that I'd go Nix / Whaley as a tandum and probably Russ to round out my top 5. 

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

That’s not true... find the source of this information.

 

It was certainly true as a % before last season joint with Gettleman I think and both lost their jobs there was an article on it. 

 

Not sure if it still holds. And Whaley only had 3 proper drafts... 14, 15, 16... easier to bat a good % on the last 3 than say a Ted Thompson or a Rick Smith who had been doing it long enough that their fring players are out of the league. 

[ehfeuh57]

10 hours ago, joesixpack said:

 

Maybe you weren't around here for the flutie/johnson era.

 

I can tell you it was a LOT worse than it has been lately.

 

There were certainly times where there was supporters of both, and going into a given week it may have been split

 

but looking back on Flutie most Bills fans have a favorable view on him

 

that being said, he should not be on this list as being polarizing.

 

Also those in the Rob Johnson camp never really had a dis-favorable view of Flutie, just thought RJ may have been a slightly better start

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Rob's House said:

EJ Manuel is easily the most polarizing Bill of all time. We tend to forget the extreme dedication so many middle aged fans had for a 22 year old millionaire they'd never met who defined mediocrity to a T. It was truly a wonder to behold.

 

Sadly, EJ belongs on the list, which is embarrassing because it means half our fans are idiots, you know who you are and should probably refrain from the boards.

Edited April 5, 2018 by DrDare