2003 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Wake narrowed his choices to four teams, including the Buffalo Bills, before choosing the Dolphins. "Buffalo really put a great package together," Sheehy said. "They did a wonderful job recruiting him." http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast It's good to see the Bills haven't been dormant so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I guess after all that time in Canada, Wake couldn't stand even one more game up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I guess after all that time in Canada, Wake couldn't stand even one more game up there. This is a guy that I would have liked to see here. Oh well. But this goes to show me that Brandon and company are staying active. I think he has received a lot of unwarranted criticism. The Bills have been very involved with free agency and trades since he's been here. I think Brandon will be very good in his role for years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsObserver Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Well, I'm kind of disappointed but I won't lose any sleep over it. At least we tried. He certainly looked impressive in those videos but looks don't always translate into solid play in the NFL. I'll have to keep an eye on him to see if he makes any sort of difference when we play the Phins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Ridlehuber Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 So Buffalo tried and again failed to recruit a player they wanted and you guys are happy with the effort. It is Brandon's job to convince guys like Gonzalez and Wake that they want to come here and he continues to fail. This time he fell short against a hated division rival. Nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 My guess is that it was a scheme thing-- he's probably better suited to OLB in a 3-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 So Buffalo tried and again failed to recruit a player they wanted and you guys are happy with the effort. It is Brandon's job to convince guys like Gonzalez and Wake that they want to come here and he continues to fail. This time he fell short against a hated division rival. Nice job. The poster you're referring to seems to think it's good enough to get close, as long as there's an effort. There are still plenty of people who see through this minor league front office to know that they'll try to a certain degree, but consistently fail. And it's not because they lost a CFL star, which isn't a big deal. It's that the Bills are no longer as competitive as they used to be. Russ Brandon is a marketing whiz. Anyone who can sell 56,000+ season tickets for this franchise has to be. But there's no evidence he's a shrewd personnel executive, in which he has no on the job experience. None. He's never been a scout, never was a director of college scouting or pro personnel, and never before 2008, had anything to do with the draft. This organization is run like a Mickey Mouse outfit, and there are still fans who think it's normal. It's not, but here's hoping they find some gold nuggets to make up for the coach and front office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 The poster you're referring to seems to think it's good enough to get close, as long as there's an effort. There are still plenty of people who see through this minor league front office to know that they'll try to a certain degree, but consistently fail. And it's not because they lost a CFL star, which isn't a big deal. It's that the Bills are no longer as competitive as they used to be. Russ Brandon is a marketing whiz. Anyone who can sell 56,000+ season tickets for this franchise has to be. But there's no evidence he's a shrewd personnel executive, in which he has no on the job experience. None. He's never been a scout, never was a director of college scouting or pro personnel, and never before 2008, had anything to do with the draft. This organization is run like a Mickey Mouse outfit, and there are still fans who think it's normal. It's not, but here's hoping they find some gold nuggets to make up for the coach and front office. Again, he's been here for one offseason and did a really good job. How in the world do you force people to go somewhere they don't wanna go? Tony G was under contract and could veto any trade. Wake could pick and chose where he could go. How is this Brandon's fault? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 The poster you're referring to seems to think it's good enough to get close, as long as there's an effort. There are still plenty of people who see through this minor league front office to know that they'll try to a certain degree, but consistently fail. And it's not because they lost a CFL star, which isn't a big deal. It's that the Bills are no longer as competitive as they used to be. Russ Brandon is a marketing whiz. Anyone who can sell 56,000+ season tickets for this franchise has to be. But there's no evidence he's a shrewd personnel executive, in which he has no on the job experience. None. He's never been a scout, never was a director of college scouting or pro personnel, and never before 2008, had anything to do with the draft. This organization is run like a Mickey Mouse outfit, and there are still fans who think it's normal. It's not, but here's hoping they find some gold nuggets to make up for the coach and front office. If you told your wife you wanted a $50,000 Mercedes and she came back and said, "well, honey they quintupled the price on us, but damn it, you said it was my job to get that Mercedes, so naturally I paid the $250,000 for it. Hope you're proud of me," apparently you would be thrilled. It's not Brandon's job to get a guy bar nothing. It's his job to set limits within which they think he's a bargain and try to get the guy within those limits. The idea that they should get a guy no matter what, well, frankly, it's misguided, and if you really believe it, you are seriously showing incomprehension. From the story it looks like he wanted to go with a 3 - 4 defense. Should we have switched to a 3 - 4, dooming ourselves to two or three years of even worse defense while we got the personnel together to get a working 3 - 4, and at the same time making most of our recent defensive draft choices, talented or not, useless to us? Then next year if some Canadian guy wanted to only go to a 4 - 3, we could have switched back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 The poster you're referring to seems to think it's good enough to get close, as long as there's an effort. There are still plenty of people who see through this minor league front office to know that they'll try to a certain degree, but consistently fail. And it's not because they lost a CFL star, which isn't a big deal. It's that the Bills are no longer as competitive as they used to be. Russ Brandon is a marketing whiz. Anyone who can sell 56,000+ season tickets for this franchise has to be. But there's no evidence he's a shrewd personnel executive, in which he has no on the job experience. None. He's never been a scout, never was a director of college scouting or pro personnel, and never before 2008, had anything to do with the draft. This organization is run like a Mickey Mouse outfit, and there are still fans who think it's normal. It's not, but here's hoping they find some gold nuggets to make up for the coach and front office. It'd be nice to know the details of the Bills' offer before I agree with you and trash Brandon. Plus, you gotta imagine that Wade wants to rush the passer and not run away from the line of scrimmage as fast as he can hoping to tackle a WR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preston Ridlehuber Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 If you told your wife you wanted a Mercedes and she came back and said, "well, honey they quintupled the price on us, but damn it, you said it was my job to get that Mercedes, so naturally I paid the $250,000 for it. Hope you're proud of me.," apparently you would be thrilled. It's not Brandon's job to get a guy bar nothing. It's his job to set limits within which they think he's a bargain and try to get the guy within those limits. The idea that they should get a guy no matter what, well, frankly, it's misguided, and if you really believe it, you are seriously showing incomprehension. It is his job to change the culture, the perception and the mind set of players they want to acquire. If that means over paying slightly for a Tony Gonzalez or a player like Wake, so be it. they created the mess and now its their job to get through it. If your happy with effort and not results, knock yourself out. How is anything going to change if the Bills keep settling for players without any other option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester43 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 let me get this straight...the bills are chasing cfl players and i am supposed to be proud of brandon for working so hard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 It'd be nice to know the details of the Bills' offer before I agree with you and trash Brandon. Plus, you gotta imagine that Wade wants to rush the passer and not run away from the line of scrimmage as fast as he can hoping to tackle a WR. If he's a rush OLB, I'm not upset we didn't get him. Jauron isn't switching to a 3-4, which is something he probably doesn't favor. That's not my issue here. Instead, I'm choosing to look at the bigger picture. A poster made the assertion that trying is good enough, which is why the Bills are looking straight at 10 consecutive seasons without the playoffs. Philly's played in five more title games than Buffalo has appeared in the playoffs this decade. The point is clear: Some fans are content with the current state of the team and have become comfortable with mediocrity. If people stepped back and looked at how successful teams operate (PIT, NE, NYG, SD, BAL, et al) they'd see a trend of having a strong GM with a personnel background combined with a coach who brings a winning attitude. The Buffalo Bills have neither, and rather are counting on a marketing guy to lead them forward with a coach who is universally recognized as poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Who cares? Now go sign Terrell Suggs, Russ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 We're #4 hey! We're #4 hey! We're #4 hey! We're #4 hey! We're #4 hey! We're #4 hey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 If he's a rush OLB, I'm not upset we didn't get him. Jauron isn't switching to a 3-4, which is something he probably doesn't favor. That's not my issue here. Instead, I'm choosing to look at the bigger picture. A poster made the assertion that trying is good enough, which is why the Bills are looking straight at 10 consecutive seasons without the playoffs. Philly's played in five more title games than Buffalo has appeared in the playoffs this decade. The point is clear: Some fans are content with the current state of the team and have become comfortable with mediocrity. If people stepped back and looked at how successful teams operate (PIT, NE, NYG, SD, BAL, et al) they'd see a trend of having a strong GM with a personnel background combined with a coach who brings a winning attitude. The Buffalo Bills have neither, and rather are counting on a marketing guy to lead them forward with a coach who is universally recognized as poor. In many ways I would agree with you. But I have 2 problems. First, it's hard for us to know the overall FA plan this offseason. Perhaps, the Bills are going to really go after Peppers. I highly doubt it, but let's just assume for fun. If that were the case, I could understand trying to get a guy like Wade, but not "breaking the bank" to get him. So, on one hand, it's nice to see the FO trying AND trying in an area of weakness. However, you're right. It'd be nice to see them succeeding. I guess I'll just wait a few months before I give them the final offseason grade. Second, I really don't know that it matters who they bring in. This coaching staff has shown an impressive ability to consistently put players in the wrong place. So, regardless of who they break the bank for, will it really matter next season? I highly doubt it. It'd be nice to see some attitude guys come in in a few key positions. But, I'm confident they'll become content with trying hard by week 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 This organization is run like a Mickey Mouse outfit, Well, since most TSW-ers are Mouseketeers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofton80 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 The good news is Russ and the inner circle recognize we need help with the pass rush which should be an indicator of where they go in Free Agency or the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WellDressed Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I would like to give a shoutout to the poster "Dr. Noisewater," who has put in zero hours as a chemist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsObserver Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I wouldn't get all up in arms over the assumption that people are happy the Bills tried to get this CFL'er. Truth is, I think some people have such little faith in our front office to bring anybody in, and it was somewhat refreshing to hear that the Bills were really in the running for a player. It's rare when it's revealed that the Bills are actively pursuing anyone because that stuff is usually kept quiet. The guy chose Miami over us. What can you do? Break the bank over someone who was a stud on a lower level? Wake chose Miami because their defense is better suited for him among other reasons (playoff team, warm weather, money, joey porter). This guy hasn't proven a thing other than he dominates the CFL level of talent which is considerably lower than starting NFL talent. It's really unlikely that we'll hear about the Bills pursuing many free agents because we just don't have access to that kind information with any sort of regularity. It would be pretty neat to find out who the Bills were going after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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