This is a serious question is Brandon Beane a GOD

[John from Riverside]

14 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

I understand that as both the GM and HC contribute to organizational success in different ways. If Beane is not a part of the success, as with any GM, he will be held accountable.  And if he is not building the roster, he could be let go, as Dave Gettleman was in Carolina, before the HC was. 

I think we are basically saying the same thing here?

[Solomon Grundy]

Hey Brandon, the Panthers need a kicker. Work your magic

[LSHMEAB]

8 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

Its not....he does not coach or play in these games.

 

He will get fired if they do not win....but he is doing his part of this to be successful

His job entails having the right coach and acquiring the right talent that aligns with the coach's philosophy. He's not PLAYING so I suppose you could play the semantics game there. But his job literally depends on the team winning games. That's the one and only barometer for which to judge a GM. If you have another, I'd love to hear about it.

[thunderingsquid]

11 hours ago, colin said:

if he packages say zay and a 3rd and all these extra picks for clowney, then he gets into football olympus for me.

 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

11 hours ago, oldschoolfootball1963 said:

He just traded flat out crap for picks. He’s a f-ing wizard 

 

See Kelvin Benjamin.

 

We still have to take the wait and see approach on Beane. Ultimately it will fall on whether or not JA becomes our franchise QB.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

9 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

Its not....he does not coach or play in these games.

 

He will get fired if they do not win....but he is doing his part of this to be successful

 

But I would argue that Whaley's teams were more talented than any Beane has put together to date. So if we are taking the position that it is not the GM's job to win games but instead put good football players on the roster than I would say Beane still has some work to do. Whaley certainly had a terrible head coach that did not get the most out of the players on the roster.

 

I'm good with Beane so far. But i realize not everything he touches turns to gold either. Can't hit on them all.  KB was a huge flop. And let's knock on wood Morse is not another.

[longtimebillsfan]

12 hours ago, uticaclub said:

let's win more than 6 games with one of his teams first

John Butler

We had 9 wins in17.

 

We had one down year under bean and that year had a purpose.  To purge the team of over priced and under performing players.  Beane accomplished that.  I can't believe how blind some posters on thus board are.  The Bills have had the best leadership over the last three years than any time since treasurer bowl years. We have a Premier defense and a rapidly moving offense.  Why all the complaining.  Enjoy the ride.  It is just getting started.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

14 hours ago, oldschoolfootball1963 said:

He just traded flat out crap for picks. He’s a f-ing wizard 

 

 

 

[Doc Brown]

Obviously, if Josh Allen works out Beane will be here a long time.  The question is if he doesn't has McBeane built a good enough roster to get a 2nd crack at a QB?

[Buffalo Barbarian]

19 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Obviously, if Josh Allen works out Beane will be here a long time.  The question is if he doesn't has McBeane built a good enough roster to get a 2nd crack at a QB?

 

probably, this team looks more physically capable and fundamentally sound than previously. I know it's just preseason but the players looked good doing the basics and weren't run over out there.

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

14 hours ago, bilzfancy said:

Nah, remember when he quit, he left the team in salary cap hell

 

yes but he was good at getting the right players and i think a lot of that was trying to win that Superbowl,which they had a real shot at in 99. Also Ralph screwed him over so he didn't do us any favors when he left.

 

he built san Diego into a contender right quick.

 

 

[Nihilarian]

The very best part of Brandon Beane being the GM of the Buffalo Bills... IS... that Ralph Wilson is no longer the owner of the Buffalo Bills!!!

 

As he can't fire the guy...can't get into an argument with him...won't let another team out bid him for* Beane's services. The past owner won't screw this one up, this time!

 

Wilson let Chuck Knox walk Seattle because he wanted more money... as Knox had transformed a bottom of the barrel losing team into a playoff contender. What had been the city of jokes from late night talk shows about the smelly steel town of Buffalo with the yellow air, the love canal, the hella bad show storms  in winter with the smallest TV market with one of the worst losing teams in the NFL. The team was winning again and Wilson had no need for Knox being one of the highest paid head coaches, so he let him walk away.

 

Chuck Knox had made the city of Buffalo relevant again in the NFL as they hadn't beaten Don *Shula's Miami Dolphins once in the entire decade of the 1970's! Yeah, ten years!  This was the beginning of the "talking proud" campaign of the 1980's as the Bills winning inspired people to start feeling good about living in Buffalo! 

 

Knox, believe it or not was a direct connection as to why Bill Polian was hired by the Buffalo Bills in the first place. Polian would go on to build a four time world champion contender in Buffalo until he got into a fight with the owner...who then fired him. Polian went on to build a super bowl contender in Carolina and Indianapolis which actually won a SB.

 

Gotta love Beane and what he has done to the Buffalo Bills!

 

Gotta love the Pegula's for what they have done for the Buffalo Bills and the city of Buffalo, the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Beauts, the Rochester Knighthawks.  

 

I think this time around things might be different.   

 

 

Edited August 31, 2019 by Nihilarian

[Buffalo Barbarian]

1 minute ago, Nihilarian said:

The very best part of Brandon Beane being the GM of the Buffalo Bills... IS... that Ralph Wilson is no longer the owner of the Buffalo Bills!!!

 

As he can't fire the guy...can't get into an argument with him...won't let another team out bid him how Beane's services. The past owner won't screw this one up, this time!

 

Wilson let Chuck Knox walk Seattle because he wanted more money... as Knox had transformed a bottom of the barrel losing team into a playoff contender. What had been the city of jokes from late night talk shows about the smelly steel town of Buffalo with the yellow air, the love canal, the hella bad show storms  in winter with the smallest TV market with one of the worst losing teams in the NFL. The team was winning again and Wilson had no need for Knox being one of the highest paid head coaches, so he let him walk away.

 

Chuck Knox had made the city of Buffalo relevant again in the NFL as they hadn't beaten Dob Shula's Miami Dolphins once in the entire decade of the 1970's! Yeah, ten years!  This was the beginning of the "talking proud" campaign of the 1980's as the Bills winning inspired people to start feeling good about living in Buffalo! 

 

Knox, believe it or not was a direct connection as to why Bill Polian was hired by the Buffalo Bills in the first place. Polian would go on to build a four time world champion contender in Buffalo until he got into a fight with the owner...who then fired him. Polian went on to build a super bowl contender in Carolina and Indianapolis which actually won a SB.

 

Gotta love Beane and what he has done to the Buffalo Bills!

 

Gotta love the Pegula's for what they have done for the Buffalo Bills and the city of Buffalo, the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Beauts, the Rochester Knighthawks.  

 

I think this time around things might be different.   

 

 

 

No thinking about it, we are winning.

 

 

[Chandler#81]

10 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Right on Chandler!

 

Ovaltine is for old farts and should not be discussed in mixed company.

 

They were also the original ad spammer.  

 

BESURETODRINKYOUROVALTINE

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

See Kelvin Benjamin.

 

We still have to take the wait and see approach on Beane. Ultimately it will fall on whether or not JA becomes our franchise QB.

 

No we don't.

46 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:

The very best part of Brandon Beane being the GM of the Buffalo Bills... IS... that Ralph Wilson is no longer the owner of the Buffalo Bills!!!

 

As he can't fire the guy...can't get into an argument with him...won't let another team out bid him how Beane's services. The past owner won't screw this one up, this time!

 

Wilson let Chuck Knox walk Seattle because he wanted more money... as Knox had transformed a bottom of the barrel losing team into a playoff contender. What had been the city of jokes from late night talk shows about the smelly steel town of Buffalo with the yellow air, the love canal, the hella bad show storms  in winter with the smallest TV market with one of the worst losing teams in the NFL. The team was winning again and Wilson had no need for Knox being one of the highest paid head coaches, so he let him walk away.

 

Chuck Knox had made the city of Buffalo relevant again in the NFL as they hadn't beaten Dob Shula's Miami Dolphins once in the entire decade of the 1970's! Yeah, ten years!  This was the beginning of the "talking proud" campaign of the 1980's as the Bills winning inspired people to start feeling good about living in Buffalo! 

 

Knox, believe it or not was a direct connection as to why Bill Polian was hired by the Buffalo Bills in the first place. Polian would go on to build a four time world champion contender in Buffalo until he got into a fight with the owner...who then fired him. Polian went on to build a super bowl contender in Carolina and Indianapolis which actually won a SB.

 

Gotta love Beane and what he has done to the Buffalo Bills!

 

Gotta love the Pegula's for what they have done for the Buffalo Bills and the city of Buffalo, the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Beauts, the Rochester Knighthawks.  

 

I think this time around things might be different.   

 

 

 

Wilson was a terrible owner... especially once he hit his 80s.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

6 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

No we don't.

 

Wilson was a terrible owner... especially once he hit his 80s.

 

sad but true

 

 

[DefenseWins]

13 hours ago, bilzfancy said:

Who's drafts were better? Who's free agent signings were better? Who's trades were better?

 

I honestly don't hold Whaley in "high regard". I will go with McBeane any day of the week. I question what Whaley would have done if he hadn't apparently been told to trade the first rd pick to KC for what turned out to be Tre White and the extra 1st rd pick the following year. Would we still be watching Tyrod Taylor playing QB for this team? Would Whaley have drafted either Mahomes or Watson with the pick? 

 

Ultimately we should have a better read on McBeane at the end of this season. Hopefully Allen stays healthy all season. And I have to say that this defense in particular seems like the strongest the Bills have had in quite some time. McDermott and his defensive coaches have created one of the deepest defensive rosters with Beanes help. Beane may not be a god but I don't see why we have to have this conversation right now to begin with. Can't it wait until the end of this season at least?

 

[Nikademus]

If Peter Venkman taught us nothing else, he taught us the answer is always Yes

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

20 hours ago, bilzfancy said:

Nah, remember when he quit, he left the team in salary cap hell

 

Yeah I was never a huge fan of Butler.  His problem was he was a great scout, loved every football player he ever say and would too easily agree to pay them whatever they wanted.   Admittedly we were in the early years of free agency and salary cap so was still a learning process, but he seemed to take much longer to figure it out.

[DJB]

Had he been able to move Shady he'd have been considered a genius  

[mjt328]

16 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

He has the same record as Whaley after 2 years. 

 

That's actually a poor indictment of Doug Whaley.

 

Brandon Beane walked in the door and immediately started over.  He was GM for only a few months when he began tearing down the roster.

Doug Whaley tried to transition from his predecessor (Buddy Nix) and always believed the team was close to becoming a contender.

 

[DrDawkinstein]

10 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

His job entails having the right coach and acquiring the right talent that aligns with the coach's philosophy. He's not PLAYING so I suppose you could play the semantics game there. But his job literally depends on the team winning games. That's the one and only barometer for which to judge a GM. If you have another, I'd love to hear about it.

 

Very true wrt the bold. But funny that neither Whaley nor Beane were given the chance to hire "their coach". With Beane that seems to be ok since it was the coach that picked him, so there is at least some expectance of synergy. But Whaley was never given the chance to be a full GM. He was never given a chance to learn and grow as a 1st time GM, and get a second crack at finding a QB, like so many other GMs around the league have been given.

 

This is all part of the ongoing cycle of futility at One Bills Drive.

 

If Beane shows he can build a roster as well as Whaley did, then by all means he should be retained and given an opportunity to find another QB if Allen doesnt work out. Blowing up the whole thing based on not immediately finding the hardest position to fill in possibly all professional sports is just keeping this team bogged down.

 

 

5 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Obviously, if Josh Allen works out Beane will be here a long time.  The question is if he doesn't has McBeane built a good enough roster to get a 2nd crack at a QB?

 

Jury is still out, but in general I would lean towards giving him the benefit of the doubt and giving him a 2nd chance (if needed). Otherwise, we have to clean house, rebuild the ENTIRE roster as new GMs want to do AND find a new QB on top of it. It's much easier to keep your existing roster and maintain it, while taking more shots at QB.

 

3 hours ago, DefenseWins said:

 

I honestly don't hold Whaley in "high regard". I will go with McBeane any day of the week. I question what Whaley would have done if he hadn't apparently been told to trade the first rd pick to KC for what turned out to be Tre White and the extra 1st rd pick the following year. Would we still be watching Tyrod Taylor playing QB for this team? Would Whaley have drafted either Mahomes or Watson with the pick?

 

 

All reports indicated that Whaley wanted Watson. And whether we went Watson or Mahomes, it's been shown that either were a good pick.

 

Now, whether our coaching staff could develop Watson or Mahomes like Offensive gurus O'Brien and Reid is the main question. (Spoiler Alert: they cant)

 

6 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

That's actually a poor indictment of Doug Whaley.

 

Brandon Beane walked in the door and immediately started over.  He was GM for only a few months when he began tearing down the roster.

Doug Whaley tried to transition from his predecessor (Buddy Nix) and always believed the team was close to becoming a contender.

 

 

The talent was there, the team WAS close to being a contender. That 2014 team that went 9-7, beat the Packers and almost beat the Broncos in Denver was so close.

 

Lack of QB, poor Offensive coaching (Marrone destroying the OL and Hackett being horrible), and constant turnover at DC, is what sunk those teams.

 

The only part of that on Whaley is the QB, and he should have been given another chance to find one if this were a competently managed franchise.

Edited August 31, 2019 by DrDawkinstein

[Buffaloflash]

I have lost a good deal of respect for Beane as it stands now,per the cut to Shady and Duke William!

So much for the we are Family bullsh*t.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

5 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

No we don't.

 

 

LOL. Okay, mind explaining why he has already proved himself as a great GM then?

[Big Blitz]

35 minutes ago, Buffaloflash said:

I have lost a good deal of respect for Beane as it stands now,per the cut to Shady and Duke William!

So much for the we are Family bullsh*t.

 

 

Umm

..

 

Maybe with Shady.... Duke has been here 8 months and wasn't guaranteed a thing.  Neither was Shady for that matter.  

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

49 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

That's actually a poor indictment of Doug Whaley.

 

Brandon Beane walked in the door and immediately started over.  He was GM for only a few months when he began tearing down the roster.

Doug Whaley tried to transition from his predecessor (Buddy Nix) and always believed the team was close to becoming a contender.

 

 

Our 2015 53 man roster was probably the most talented we've had since the drought began. Or at least up there with the Drew Bledsoe lead team the one year Bledsoe was actually good. We just had a terrible coach that took a top defense and had them play a bad scheme among other things. 

 

Beane still has work to do. And ultimately it likely all falls on whether or not Allen succeeds.  That's pretty much how it goes for all GM's that hold a job without a proven franchise QB. It's all about getting that QB. Just like for Whaley it was ultimately going to come down to getting out of "QB purgatory" which ultimately we were not able to do. 

45 minutes ago, Buffaloflash said:

I have lost a good deal of respect for Beane as it stands now,per the cut to Shady and Duke William!

 

 

 

Ugh! We cut Duke Williams!? Seriously? 

 

I knew about McCoy and figured it was likely him or Gore would be cut. But this is the first time I am reading Duke has been cut.

 

 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

57 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Now, whether our coaching staff could develop Watson or Mahomes like Offensive gurus O'Brien and Reid is the main question. (Spoiler Alert: they cant)

 

 

I totally agree with this regarding our coaching staffs ability to develop a young QB. With that said, Allen actually might be the perfect fit for a staff that is sub par in the QB developing. Allen is always going to resort to doing what he does best anyway which is play hero ball. That goes beyond anything a coach can teach or design up for a player.

[Helpmenow]

Not by cuttin mccoy

[Buffaloflash]

9 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

Our 2015 53 man roster was probably the most talented we've had since the drought began. Or at least up there with the Drew Bledsoe lead team the one year Bledsoe was actually good. We just had a terrible coach that took a top defense and had them play a bad scheme among other things. 

 

Beane still has work to do. And ultimately it likely all falls on whether or not Allen succeeds.  That's pretty much how it goes for all GM's that hold a job without a proven franchise QB. It's all about getting that QB. Just like for Whaley it was ultimately going to come down to getting out of "QB purgatory" which ultimately we were not able to do. 

 

 

Ugh! We cut Duke Williams!? Seriously? 

 

I knew about McCoy and figured it was likely him or Gore would be cut. But this is the first time I am reading Duke has been cut.

 

 

A friend took a picture with Shady last night at Canalside,Shady was telling him we're making the playoff for sure.So i would assume Shady didn't see trhis coming especially with Beane's comments of him being their guy in the offense! 

 

[DefenseWins]

22 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Very true wrt the bold. But funny that neither Whaley nor Beane were given the chance to hire "their coach". With Beane that seems to be ok since it was the coach that picked him, so there is at least some expectance of synergy. But Whaley was never given the chance to be a full GM. He was never given a chance to learn and grow as a 1st time GM, and get a second crack at finding a QB, like so many other GMs around the league have been given.

 

This is all part of the ongoing cycle of futility at One Bills Drive.

 

If Beane shows he can build a roster as well as Whaley did, then by all means he should be retained and given an opportunity to find another QB if Allen doesnt work out. Blowing up the whole thing based on not immediately finding the hardest position to fill in possibly all professional sports is just keeping this team bogged down.

 

 

 

Jury is still out, but in general I would lean towards giving him the benefit of the doubt and giving him a 2nd chance (if needed). Otherwise, we have to clean house, rebuild the ENTIRE roster as new GMs want to do AND find a new QB on top of it. It's much easier to keep your existing roster and maintain it, while taking more shots at QB.

 

 

All reports indicated that Whaley wanted Watson. And whether we went Watson or Mahomes, it's been shown that either were a good pick.

 

Now, whether our coaching staff could develop Watson or Mahomes like Offensive gurus O'Brien and Reid is the main question. (Spoiler Alert: they cant)

 

 

The talent was there, the team WAS close to being a contender. That 2014 team that went 9-7, beat the Packers and almost beat the Broncos in Denver was so close.

 

Lack of QB, poor Offensive coaching (Marrone destroying the OL and Hackett being horrible), and constant turnover at DC, is what sunk those teams.

 

The only part of that on Whaley is the QB, and he should have been given another chance to find one if this were a competently managed franchise.

 

Gotta Link?

 

Although I do recall some rumors at the time, I have not actually seen anything definitive confirming it. Until then we will never know for sure. Suppose he decided to draft someone else? Would we still have Tyrod Taylor playing QB? As I recall there was a lot of chatter about OJ Howard (TE) that year just to name one possible alternate Whaley pick... 

 

If Allen takes this team to the playoffs, how does that affect the Mahomes/Watson pick at #10 that year? Factoring in Tre White as well?

 

 

[dave mcbride]

22 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

Yeah I was never a huge fan of Butler.  His problem was he was a great scout, loved every football player he ever say and would too easily agree to pay them whatever they wanted.   Admittedly we were in the early years of free agency and salary cap so was still a learning process, but he seemed to take much longer to figure it out.

 BUtler did a great job in SD and set that team up for a long time. He was good in Buffalo, basically rebuilding the team so that in 1999 it was a legit super bowl contender.

 

Also, anyone who criticizes him for “quitting” is playing fast and loose with the truth given Wilson’s narrow-minded pig-headedness during that whole episode. I appreciate Wilson for a lot of things, but he was a poor owner overall.

On 8/30/2019 at 1:55 PM, Ray Finkel said:

He was living off Polian’s coattails 

Just untrue. The proof in the pudding? What he built in SD from nothing.

Edited September 1, 2019 by dave mcbride

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

too funny to see those who now are not happy with beane or those who have never really supported him can mock the cut because he cut the old running back. instead of realizing it was time to move on and the young player, singletary, will fill that role and likely get through the season unscathed where old shady would be standing on the sidelines with his groin or hammy injury by week 5 collecting a check.

 

no, beane is building a team, made up of a lot of young players he acquired through the draft and there comes a time when you dump your fa and fill the spot with the young player from the draft. he made it pretty clear fa's were there to fill the void temporarily until replaced with his draft prospects.

 

 

[oldmanfan]

9 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

 Utler did a great job in SD and set that team up for a long time. He was good in Buffalo, basically rebuilding the team so that in 1999 it was a legit super bowl contender.

 

Also, anyone who criticizes him for “quitting” is playing fast and loose with the truth given Wilson’s narrow-minded pig-headedness during that whole episode. I appreciate Wilson for a lot of things, but he was a poor owner overall.

Just untrue. The proof in the pudding? What he built in SD from nothing.

Ralph fired Butler when he found out he was negotiating to go to SD behind his back.

[dave mcbride]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

Ralph fired Butler when he found out he was negotiating to go to SD behind his back.

That was what Wilson said. Caveat Emptor. Wilson, who hated paying gms and coaches - he fundamentally didn’t believe in it — before Donohoe, offered him a laughably below-market salary that would have made him one of the lowest paid gms in the league. Butler got the hell out because the offer was a joke. 

 

Let’s be careful about romatincizing Wilson, a lousy owner who lucked into Polian — and then fired him for the stupidest of reasons!!

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, dave mcbride said:

That was what Wilson said. Caveat Emptor. Wilson, who hated paying gms and coaches - he fundamentally didn’t believe in it — before Donohoe, offered him a laughably below-market salary that would have made him one of the lowest paid gms in the league. Butler got the hell out because the offer was a joke. 

 

Let’s be careful about romatincizing Wilson, a lousy owner who lucked into Polian — and then fired him for the stupidest of reasons!!

Let’s be careful about lying about what happened.  Butler was negotiating with another team and got caught.

[dave mcbride]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

Let’s be careful about lying about what happened.  Butler was negotiating with another team and got caught.

Evidence? I know that was what was said, but the story was, as we shall say, quite one-sided. Even if it is true, the reason it happened was ENTIRELY the fault of Wilson. Butler was a good gm, full stop. You pay guys like that market rate.

Edited September 1, 2019 by dave mcbride

[dollars 2 donuts]

On 8/30/2019 at 12:53 PM, oldschoolfootball1963 said:

He just traded flat out crap for picks. He’s a f-ing wizard 

 

 

It is is an interesting premises and worth further discussion.  Last year one of our better Board Members, intelligent and good looking, too, a modern day renaissance man, suggested that he might be a witch.  

 

The proof of witch (see what I did there?) has not risen to the surface, but I believe all will reveal itself sometime in the near future. If the rapture occurs and Beane is there guiding you to the light then we will know you were right.  If you are left to roam the Earth during the hell fire, or possibly led someplace else that is much worse, then I am likely right, but at least the football will be good during the suffering.

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, dave mcbride said:

Evidence? I know that was what was said, but the story was, as we shall say, quite one-sided. Even if it is reason it happened was ENTIRELY Wilson’s fault. Butler was a good gm, full stop. You pay guys like that market rate.

He had a nose for talent but he also put us in cap hell.  The real story is that Ralph wanted to keep him and tried to get him to commit but Butler was evasive.  And he was evasive because he was negotiating with SD while under contract with Ralph.  Go back and read what happened at the time.

[dave mcbride]

3 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

He had a nose for talent but he also put us in cap hell.  The real story is that Ralph wanted to keep him and tried to get him to commit but Butler was evasive.  And he was evasive because he was negotiating with SD while under contract with Ralph.  Go back and read what happened at the time.

I read it all, and I read it twice. Another factor that created the bitterness between the two was the command by Wilson to Phillips to start Johnson - who went on to perform terribly against TN in a game the Bills should have won going away. That, I suspect, was the straw that broke the proberbial camel’s back for both Butler AND AJ Smith. That decision was all Wilson.

Edited September 1, 2019 by dave mcbride

[Rico]

12 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Evidence? I know that was what was said, but the story was, as we shall say, quite one-sided. Even if it is true, the reason it happened was ENTIRELY the fault of Wilson. Butler was a good gm, full stop. You pay guys like that market rate.

Absolutely correct. You have to give anyone the benefit of the doubt when a piss-poor owner like Ralph was involved. 

5 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I read it all, and I read it twice. Another factor that created the bitterness between the two was the command by Wilson to Phillips to start Johnson - who went on to perform terribly against TN in a game the Bills should have won going away. That, I suspect, was the straw that broke the proberbial camel’s back for both Butler AND AJ Smith. That decision was all Wilson.

Yep. I still find it funny every now and then when Wade is discussed that someone will credit him with the decision to sit Flutie. 

Edited September 1, 2019 by Rico