What really happened: Beane trolled the Steelers and AB

[BringBackFergy]

Right off the bat, let's all agree, Brandon Beane is a brilliant fella.  He never intended to acquire a quitter, headcase, me first WR like AB.  Here's how it went down:

 

1) The Steelers knew we are in need of a WR. They set a deadline for teams to make offers by Friday.

2) Beane calls Steelers on Tuesday to ask "What are you looking for as compensation for the "highly respected" AB. The Steelers make some outrageous demand (ex. a 1st rounder this year and second rounder next year)

3) Beane says "Hmmm, that sounds pretty reasonable. Let me check with my owner and coach, etc"  Beane hangs up the phone and laughs "This will be fun"

4) Steelers start talking to other teams but keep Beane in mind. They call Beane back "Have you thought any more about it?"  Beane "Yeah, sure...how about first this year and a fourth next  year?"  Steelers "How about a first and third this year?"  Beane "Let me call you back."  He starts laughing again. No intention of signing AB whatsoever, but knows other teams are now being waved away by Steelers because they are about to get a sweet deal from Bills.

5) As the other teams walk away from negotiating, the Steelers start to get nervous...they give info to LaConjecture and RapReport.

6) Beane is busy eating a cob salad when the phone rings. Steelers: "Are we doing this?"  Beane: "Who is this?"

7) Beane issues statement about what a great player AB is and, unfortunately, they were unable to get a deal done.

 

Steelers are now left in a bad negotiating position because they spurned several other suitors. AB's price went down all thanks to Brandon Beane and the greatest "catfish" technique we will ever see.

 

[PetermansRedemption]

This doesn’t seem far fetched at all

[WMDman]

this is my truth

[billsfan5121]

Or, Beane saw an elite talent available at a huge position of need.

 

AB doesn’t want to come here.

 

Deal falls through.

 

Unfortunately, that’s like what happened.  

 

BUT, I will say this.  I do not fault Beane one bit for this.  He saw an opportunity to land a top talent and he tried.  There is absolutely nothing to be upset about regarding Beane.  If we are going to be upset, we have two options here.....

 

1: Be upset with Brown (this is where I am).  I think it’s ridiculous that a guy doesn’t want to play with a HOF QB, a winning franchise, then gets his chance to leave town and he turns it down.

 

2: Be upset at Rapaport for breaking the story before it was a done deal.  If a trade was in the works and it was never reported (unlikely to ever happen this way in this day and age), we wouldn’t have woken up to numerous tweets and posts about buffalo being a terrible place to play and live.  

[billsfan28277]

Except that Beane would lose credibility with every team in the league and never get any favorable deal from anybody in the future.

[iinii]

5 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Right off the bat, let's all agree, Brandon Beane is a brilliant fella.  He never intended to acquire a quitter, headcase, me first WR like AB.  Here's how it went down:

 

1) The Steelers knew we are in need of a WR. They set a deadline for teams to make offers by Friday.

2) Beane calls Steelers on Tuesday to ask "What are you looking for as compensation for the "highly respected" AB. The Steelers make some outrageous demand (ex. a 1st rounder this year and second rounder next year)

3) Beane says "Hmmm, that sounds pretty reasonable. Let me check with my owner and coach, etc"  Beane hangs up the phone and laughs "This will be fun"

4) Steelers start talking to other teams but keep Beane in mind. They call Beane back "Have you thought any more about it?"  Beane "Yeah, sure...how about first this year and a fourth next  year?"  Steelers "How about a first and third this year?"  Beane "Let me call you back."  He starts laughing again. No intention of signing AB whatsoever, but knows other teams are now being waved away by Steelers because they are about to get a sweet deal from Bills.

5) As the other teams walk away from negotiating, the Steelers start to get nervous...they give info to LaConjecture and RapReport.

6) Beane is busy eating a cob salad when the phone rings. Steelers: "Are we doing this?"  Beane: "Who is this?"

7) Beane issues statement about what a great player AB is and, unfortunately, they were unable to get a deal done.

 

Steelers are now left in a bad negotiating position because they spurned several other suitors. AB's price went down all thanks to Brandon Beane and the greatest "catfish" technique we will ever see.

 

Whatever you need to believe 

[BringBackFergy]

1 minute ago, billsfan28277 said:

Except that Beane would lose credibility with every team in the league and never get any favorable deal from anybody in the future.

Do you seriously think he would ever admit to doing this? Of course not...but it happened so we can enjoy it.  Bravo Senor Beaner!

[transplantbillsfan]

I sincerely hope Beane didn't waste time or effort trolling another team the way so many Internet trolls waste their time trolling other people.

 

Pretty stupid for anyone, but this is the time of year Beane needs to be hard at work, not doing something idiotic for lols.

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, WMDman said:

this is my truth

 

..and only YOU are in charge of that! Run with it! 

[dezertbill]

From everything I've read I believe the Bills and Steelers had a deal in place.  I say this because it's been well known that the Steelers haven't allowed any team to negotiate directly with AB.  Yet, the Bills are reported to have reached out to AB's agent and discuss him coming to Buffalo. For the Steelers to allow that says something.   Sounds like during that conversation it was established that AB would not report to Buffalo if they traded for him.  So Beane backed out.

 

I truly believe compensation was close to being finalized, but the Bills wanted to make sure AB would report.  AB is such a headcase BB probably didn't want the drama.

 

Although I've thought from day 1 that there was no way the Bills would even entertain an offer for AB, it's good to hear that BB is doing anything and everything to improve this team.

 

This also sends a message out to the entire league that the Bills are open for business, and if you have a player/star that your looking to move, give us a call.

 

Can't help but love that.

 

[Mickey]

Yes, I agree, that must have been exactly what happened. Certainly there is an abundance of hard, tangible evidence supporting this conjecture. And as for the notion that our GM tried to make a deal but the numbers and other factors just didn't match up so he pulled out? Bah. Too simple. Too basic. Too common sense.

[RochesterRob]

  The Steelers might have set a general deadline but that is where this hypothesis runs out of gas.  In this situation it is open bidding just like an auction.  If somebody fields what Pittsburgh thinks is a fair offer then they might call Beans and say "We just got offered X, can you do Y?"  The key word here is might.  They could just as easily say to the other bidder "done and done."  If the need and fit are great enough I would think that any team would get over the cat and mouse game to take care of its needs.  Hopefully, your OP was meant to be tongue and cheek.

Edited March 8, 2019 by RochesterRob

[HansLanda]

The only thing true about the OP is AB's price has definitely dropped. 

[Bing Bong]

probably not a good idea to troll GMs you have to make deals with in the future lol. You're supposed to be amicable.. chummy if you will to keep the door open for negotiations.

 

Pretty funny but.. super juvenile.

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, dezertbill said:

From everything I've read I believe the Bills and Steelers had a deal in place.  I say this because it's been well known that the Steelers haven't allowed any team to negotiate directly with AB.  Yet, the Bills are reported to have reached out to AB's agent and discuss him coming to Buffalo. For the Steelers to allow that says something.   Sounds like during that conversation it was established that AB would not report to Buffalo if they traded for him.  So Beane backed out.

 

I truly believe compensation was close to being finalized, but the Bills wanted to make sure AB would report.  AB is such a headcase BB probably didn't want the drama.

 

Although I've thought from day 1 that there was no way the Bills would even entertain an offer for AB, it's good to hear that BB is doing anything and everything to improve this team.

 

This also sends a message out to the entire league that the Bills are open for business, and if you have a player/star that your looking to move, give us a call.

 

Can't help but love that.

 

 

Yes, but I believe THIS is the equally true alternate universe thread.  ?

[Chuck Wagon]

8 minutes ago, billsfan5121 said:

Or, Beane saw an elite talent available at a huge position of need.

 

AB doesn’t want to come here.

 

Deal falls through.

 

Unfortunately, that’s like what happened.  

 

BUT, I will say this.  I do not fault Beane one bit for this.  He saw an opportunity to land a top talent and he tried.  There is absolutely nothing to be upset about regarding Beane.  If we are going to be upset, we have two options here.....

 

1: Be upset with Brown (this is where I am).  I think it’s ridiculous that a guy doesn’t want to play with a HOF QB, a winning franchise, then gets his chance to leave town and he turns it down.

 

2: Be upset at Rapaport for breaking the story before it was a done deal.  If a trade was in the works and it was never reported (unlikely to ever happen this way in this day and age), we wouldn’t have woken up to numerous tweets and posts about buffalo being a terrible place to play and live.  

 

 

This.

 

Beane saw a chance to acquire a true #1 WR and took it.  Bills and Steelers had parameters of a deal in place.  Steelers tell Rapaport.  Bills reach out to Rosenhaus / AB to make sure all would be ok.  Rosenhause / AB runs to Schefter to blow it up.  Beane says "eff this" and walks.  Twitter makes fun of the Bills, instead of AB or the Steelers, because that's what it does.

[Teddy KGB]

 

 

Cobb Salads have two B’s, Ranch, Bacon and Croutons.  

[CommonCents]

Beane comes in second to Fergy. Evidence is in the replies. 

[Jpsredemption]

Yea ok. He didn’t want to come here because this team is a perennial loser minus 1 lucky playoff birth. Win and they will come.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Jpsredemption

[Doc]

Doesn't matter how it happened, all that matters is that it didn't.  Which is the best thing for the Bills, and that's all I care about.

[BillnutinHouston]

23 minutes ago, billsfan28277 said:

Except that Beane would lose credibility with every team in the league and never get any favorable deal from anybody in the future.

 

Exactly.  I'd like to believe the OP's version but...

[Houston's #1 Bills Fan]

18 minutes ago, Teddy KGB said:

 

 

Cobb Salads have two B’s, Ranch, Bacon and Croutons.  

Now I'm hungry.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

I love a good story 

[Happy]

I do not think it needs to be made complicated or a story fabricated.

 

I believe Beane made a real attempt to trade with the Steelers for AB.  The two teams got a deal worked out.  Only problem is it needed to have AB's agreement for him to come to Buffalo.  AB didn't agree and did not want to come here.  End of potential deal.  Time to move on.

[buffaloboyinATL]

32 minutes ago, dezertbill said:

From everything I've read I believe the Bills and Steelers had a deal in place.  I say this because it's been well known that the Steelers haven't allowed any team to negotiate directly with AB.  Yet, the Bills are reported to have reached out to AB's agent and discuss him coming to Buffalo. For the Steelers to allow that says something.   Sounds like during that conversation it was established that AB would not report to Buffalo if they traded for him.  So Beane backed out.

 

I truly believe compensation was close to being finalized, but the Bills wanted to make sure AB would report.  AB is such a headcase BB probably didn't want the drama.

 

Yup. This is exactly what I believe happened as well. It would’ve been great to have him, especially if the cost wasn’t too high, but if he doesn’t want to be here, move on.

[BillsFan1988]

53 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Right off the bat, let's all agree, Brandon Beane is a brilliant fella.  He never intended to acquire a quitter, headcase, me first WR like AB.  Here's how it went down:

 

1) The Steelers knew we are in need of a WR. They set a deadline for teams to make offers by Friday.

2) Beane calls Steelers on Tuesday to ask "What are you looking for as compensation for the "highly respected" AB. The Steelers make some outrageous demand (ex. a 1st rounder this year and second rounder next year)

3) Beane says "Hmmm, that sounds pretty reasonable. Let me check with my owner and coach, etc"  Beane hangs up the phone and laughs "This will be fun"

4) Steelers start talking to other teams but keep Beane in mind. They call Beane back "Have you thought any more about it?"  Beane "Yeah, sure...how about first this year and a fourth next  year?"  Steelers "How about a first and third this year?"  Beane "Let me call you back."  He starts laughing again. No intention of signing AB whatsoever, but knows other teams are now being waved away by Steelers because they are about to get a sweet deal from Bills.

5) As the other teams walk away from negotiating, the Steelers start to get nervous...they give info to LaConjecture and RapReport.

6) Beane is busy eating a cob salad when the phone rings. Steelers: "Are we doing this?"  Beane: "Who is this?"

7) Beane issues statement about what a great player AB is and, unfortunately, they were unable to get a deal done.

 

Steelers are now left in a bad negotiating position because they spurned several other suitors. AB's price went down all thanks to Brandon Beane and the greatest "catfish" technique we will ever see.

 

Where's the part of the story when this backfires and he ends up in New England for a 4th Rd pk. Lol

[cba fan]

55 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Right off the bat, let's all agree, Brandon Beane is a brilliant fella.  He never intended to acquire a quitter, headcase, me first WR like AB.  Here's how it went down:

 

1) The Steelers knew we are in need of a WR. They set a deadline for teams to make offers by Friday.

2) Beane calls Steelers on Tuesday to ask "What are you looking for as compensation for the "highly respected" AB. The Steelers make some outrageous demand (ex. a 1st rounder this year and second rounder next year)

3) Beane says "Hmmm, that sounds pretty reasonable. Let me check with my owner and coach, etc"  Beane hangs up the phone and laughs "This will be fun"

4) Steelers start talking to other teams but keep Beane in mind. They call Beane back "Have you thought any more about it?"  Beane "Yeah, sure...how about first this year and a fourth next  year?"  Steelers "How about a first and third this year?"  Beane "Let me call you back."  He starts laughing again. No intention of signing AB whatsoever, but knows other teams are now being waved away by Steelers because they are about to get a sweet deal from Bills.

5) As the other teams walk away from negotiating, the Steelers start to get nervous...they give info to LaConjecture and RapReport.

6) Beane is busy eating a cob salad when the phone rings. Steelers: "Are we doing this?"  Beane: "Who is this?"

7) Beane issues statement about what a great player AB is and, unfortunately, they were unable to get a deal done.

 

Steelers are now left in a bad negotiating position because they spurned several other suitors. AB's price went down all thanks to Brandon Beane and the greatest "catfish" technique we will ever see.

 

Beane should have went back to Pitt and said AB and agent are balking. I will now reduce my offer from a 3rd and take the risk of him possibly not reporting and take AB off your headache list for a 4th round pick.

 

Then I wait until after AB 2.5 mill roster bonus is due and payable by Bills thereby increasing AB value to new team and then shop him for a minimum 3rd or better best offer from anyone else.

Edited March 8, 2019 by cba fan

[ddaryl]

1 minute ago, Troll Toll said:

In reality, my post was a response to a political post intended to point out that parroting partisan narratives from either side of the spectrum is equally stupid.

 

 

alright.. I just get so sick a tired of political rants creeping into a place where I want to ignore that c ap

[BillsFan17]

This is what it looks like when you need a safe space.

[glazeduck]

51 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Right off the bat, let's all agree, Brandon Beane is a brilliant fella.  He never intended to acquire a quitter, headcase, me first WR like AB.  Here's how it went down:

 

1) The Steelers knew we are in need of a WR. They set a deadline for teams to make offers by Friday.

2) Beane calls Steelers on Tuesday to ask "What are you looking for as compensation for the "highly respected" AB. The Steelers make some outrageous demand (ex. a 1st rounder this year and second rounder next year)

3) Beane says "Hmmm, that sounds pretty reasonable. Let me check with my owner and coach, etc"  Beane hangs up the phone and laughs "This will be fun"

4) Steelers start talking to other teams but keep Beane in mind. They call Beane back "Have you thought any more about it?"  Beane "Yeah, sure...how about first this year and a fourth next  year?"  Steelers "How about a first and third this year?"  Beane "Let me call you back."  He starts laughing again. No intention of signing AB whatsoever, but knows other teams are now being waved away by Steelers because they are about to get a sweet deal from Bills.

5) As the other teams walk away from negotiating, the Steelers start to get nervous...they give info to LaConjecture and RapReport.

6) Beane is busy eating a cob salad when the phone rings. Steelers: "Are we doing this?"  Beane: "Who is this?"

7) Beane issues statement about what a great player AB is and, unfortunately, they were unable to get a deal done.

 

Steelers are now left in a bad negotiating position because they spurned several other suitors. AB's price went down all thanks to Brandon Beane and the greatest "catfish" technique we will ever see.

 

Long time lurker (and member back at bb.com), but finally took the plunge here... 

I've got, what I'll call a unique perspective into this world, and I can say that, while this scenario is fun to think about, I can just about promise you that this isn't how it went down. The Pegulas are actually good friends with the Rooneys and within the league, there's a code of ethics, if you will, where teams respect each other and don't blindside or screw others like this. From the outside, it's easy to see the intensity and rivalries and assume that everyone is always trying to stab everyone else in the back for a foot up, but in reality, when there's only 31 other entities in your industry to do business with, you're pretty much forced to play nice. 

 

It's not what the rabid fan wants to hear, and I completely agree that its fun to think about a prima donna like AB getting hosed in the process, but there's likely a much simpler explanation for ultimately what went down. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer on my first post, but just trying to bring a little more reality to the conversation... 

[BringBackFergy]

The trolling theory relies on one foundational element: Would McDermott or Beane actually want AB on this team and in this locker room? The answer is a resounding "NO!!!"

 

All you fellas who believe Beane was actually interested in this "mouth with hands" need to reconsider what McDermott and Beane are forming here: A team...not a collection of divas (they went out the door with Sammy, The Tug Boat Captain, and Kelvin "8.62 40 yd dash" Benjamin).

 

No one says he lost any credibility with other GM's in the league...as far as they know, Beane swung and missed. Beane played it perfectly ad sets himself up for free agency while other teams are scurrying like rats after Mardis Gras. 

 

Dude pulled the greatest troll job in history and all you guys can say is "We're losers" and "Ohhhh, AB doesn't like us" ?  Grow up and follow the truth. Beane was masterful.

[cle23]

7 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Right off the bat, let's all agree, Brandon Beane is a brilliant fella.  He never intended to acquire a quitter, headcase, me first WR like AB.  Here's how it went down:

 

1) The Steelers knew we are in need of a WR. They set a deadline for teams to make offers by Friday.

2) Beane calls Steelers on Tuesday to ask "What are you looking for as compensation for the "highly respected" AB. The Steelers make some outrageous demand (ex. a 1st rounder this year and second rounder next year)

3) Beane says "Hmmm, that sounds pretty reasonable. Let me check with my owner and coach, etc"  Beane hangs up the phone and laughs "This will be fun"

4) Steelers start talking to other teams but keep Beane in mind. They call Beane back "Have you thought any more about it?"  Beane "Yeah, sure...how about first this year and a fourth next  year?"  Steelers "How about a first and third this year?"  Beane "Let me call you back."  He starts laughing again. No intention of signing AB whatsoever, but knows other teams are now being waved away by Steelers because they are about to get a sweet deal from Bills.

5) As the other teams walk away from negotiating, the Steelers start to get nervous...they give info to LaConjecture and RapReport.

6) Beane is busy eating a cob salad when the phone rings. Steelers: "Are we doing this?"  Beane: "Who is this?"

7) Beane issues statement about what a great player AB is and, unfortunately, they were unable to get a deal done.

 

Steelers are now left in a bad negotiating position because they spurned several other suitors. AB's price went down all thanks to Brandon Beane and the greatest "catfish" technique we will ever see.

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by cle23

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

It was all a ploy to get a look at the Steelers WR draft board.... I hope

[glazeduck]

3 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

The trolling theory relies on one foundational element: Would McDermott or Beane actually want AB on this team and in this locker room? The answer is a resounding "NO!!!"

 

All you fellas who believe Beane was actually interested in this "mouth with hands" need to reconsider what McDermott and Beane are forming here: A team...not a collection of divas (they went out the door with Sammy, The Tug Boat Captain, and Kelvin "8.62 40 yd dash" Benjamin).

 

No one says he lost any credibility with other GM's in the league...as far as they know, Beane swung and missed. Beane played it perfectly ad sets himself up for free agency while other teams are scurrying like rats after Mardis Gras. 

 

Dude pulled the greatest troll job in history and all you guys can say is "We're losers" and "Ohhhh, AB doesn't like us" ?  Grow up and follow the truth. Beane was masterful.

One thing I think Beane and McD have been consistent about from day 1 is a recognition that in a small market, you have to win on the margins -- take advantage of every "value"...

 

I think the simplest answer is they were trying to get AB at a value that they felt was worth it... His attitude, contract demands, etc. aren't a surprise, so you factor all of that into the compensation... If the rumor last night of a swap of 1s was true, Bills likely wanted an OL at 9 -- likely one of Williams, Dillard, Ford, Taylor and Bradbury would've still been there at 20, so effectively the compensation to get AB amounts to you drafting a guy you would've been fine with drafting at 9. If that's the case, prima donna or no, a team like Buffalo (had AB been willing to come) HAS to take that value...

[billmon06]

1 hour ago, billsfan5121 said:

Or, Beane saw an elite talent available at a huge position of need.

 

AB doesn’t want to come here.

 

Deal falls through.

 

Unfortunately, that’s like what happened.  

 

BUT, I will say this.  I do not fault Beane one bit for this.  He saw an opportunity to land a top talent and he tried.  There is absolutely nothing to be upset about regarding Beane.  If we are going to be upset, we have two options here.....

 

1: Be upset with Brown (this is where I am).  I think it’s ridiculous that a guy doesn’t want to play with a HOF QB, a winning franchise, then gets his chance to leave town and he turns it down.

 

2: Be upset at Rapaport for breaking the story before it was a done deal.  If a trade was in the works and it was never reported (unlikely to ever happen this way in this day and age), we wouldn’t have woken up to numerous tweets and posts about buffalo being a terrible place to play and live.  

Beane did his job.  Brown came face-to-face with reality...a team that wanted to trade for him not named the San Francisco 49ers.  

[NewEra]

All the while,  the world laughs at Buffalo.

 

walked into work today, in Las Vegas, and 7 co workers have gone out of their way to approach me and laugh about the situation.  

 

Edit:  I’ve been at work for 2 hours and 10 minutes 

Edited March 8, 2019 by NewEra

[BringBackFergy]

4 minutes ago, NewEra said:

All the while,  the world laughs at Buffalo.

 

walked into work today, in Las Vegas, and 7 co workers have gone out of their way to approach me and laugh about the situation.  

 

Edit:  I’ve been at work for 2 hours and 10 minutes 

You can laugh to yourself that Beane now has a handle on the intentions of about 6 or 7 other teams in the league. No one ever said "the process" was easy....but Beane succeeded in getting everything done he wanted in this little endeavor.

[Chandler#81]

The utter lack of a sense of humor here is astounding. Is it a millennial thing??

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, BringBackFergy said:

You can laugh to yourself that Beane now has a handle on the intentions of about 6 or 7 other teams in the league. No one ever said "the process" was easy....but Beane succeeded in getting everything done he wanted in this little endeavor.

You really think this happened don’t you?

[Gugny]

Just now, Chandler#81 said:

The utter lack of a sense of humor here is astounding. Is it a millennial thing??

 

I wish it was limited to just one generation.