Tipster19 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I'm not sure if people really realize just how much and how fast Russ Brandon has made changes around here. He was named COO in January of 2008 and didn't waste much time in revamping this franchise and it's roster. Let's review what he has accomplished in just a little more than a year. 1/12/08 Brandon officially named COO. John Guy and Tom Modrak were both promoted to Vice President positions. Guy is now the Vice President of Pro Personnel and Tom Modrak is now the Vice President of College Scouting. 1/16/08 Turk Schonert is named the new offensive coordinator, Sean Kugler has been promoted to offensive line coach, and Alex Van Pelt takes over Turk Schonert's old job as quarterbacks coach. Previously Van Pelt was the offensive quality control coach the past two seasons. In addition Eric Studesville has been given the extra responsibility of running game coordinator to go along with his running backs coach position. He will now have more say in the exact style of the team's running game. 1/18/08 The Bills have added Ray Brown to their coaching staff as the assistant offensive line coach. 1/28/08 Nathaniel Hackett is named the new offensive quality control coach. He replaced Alex Van Pelt who was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Hackett has held the same job with Tampa Bay the past two seasons. He is the son of Paul Hackett who has coached offenses for many years in the NFL. 2/11/08 The Bills hire former NFL defensive back Adrian White as his defensive quality control coach. This position did not exist last year under Jauron's staff. White has spent the last two summers as a volunteer coach for the Bills under the volunteer coaches fellowship program. He was the defensive coordinator for the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe last spring. He had accepted the job of defensive coordinator and DB coach for Team Alabama in the new All-American Football league before coming to the Bills. He played six years in the NFL with the Giants, Packers, and Patriots from 1987 to 1993. He played under Jauron in 1992 in Green Bay where Jauron was the defensive backs coach. 2/14/08 The Bills released Peerless Price. 2/27/08 The Bills continued to position themselves for free agency by releasing four players. The released players were Coy Wire, Anthony Thomas, Aaron Merz, and Jerametrius Butler. 2/28/08 It's the start of free agency but the Bills secured the rights to all four of their exclusive rights free agents. They tendered offers to Dustin Fox, Corey Mace, Scott Mayle, and Tim Massaquoi. The tenders keep them in Buffalo but they aren't under contract until they sign them. The Bills also tendered a contract offer to just one of their three restricted free agents. DT Jason Jefferson was tendered a contract which means the Bills have a right to match any offer he receives in the free agent market or receive a 6th round pick in compensation. The team did not tender offers to Jim Leonhard and Shaud Williams by the 4pm deadline. They will now become unrestricted free agents at midnight. Last but not least the Bills released CB Kiwaukee Thomas. Thomas was a solid nickel corner for the last two years. 2/29/08 The Bills agree to terms with LB Kawika Mitchell and terminated the contract of Larry Tripplett. 3/1/08 The Bills sign DT Spencer Johnson and consumated a trade for DT Marcus Stroud. What a big day this was! 3/3/08 The Bills lose two players in free agency. TE Michael Gaines signs with Detroit and WR Sam Aiken inks up with the Patriots. 3/5/08 The Bills lose a second player to the Patriots. CB Jason Webster joins WR Sam Aiken in New England. 3/7/08 OL Jason Whittle re-signs with the Bills. 3/18/08 The Bills took care of one of their own free agents and re-signed Bryan Scott. Scott was signed as an injury replacement and made two starts last year. He is a solid hitter who was used a lot on safety blitzes. He's also a good tackler and can play both free and strong safety. The Bills also agreed to terms on a two year deal with veteran free agent CB William James. Formerly known as Will Peterson the former Giant and Eagle visited with the Bills last week. James struggled with injuries in 2005 and 2006 suffering from a bad back. He rounded back into shape last year startiing six games for Philadelphia. He is more of an outside defensive back and he may battle Jabari Greer for a starting job. He adds valuable, experienced depth to the defensive backfield. 3/27/08 The Bills Lose LB Josh Stamer. FA LB Josh Stamer signed with the Titans. 4/26/08 In Brandon's first drat the Bills take CB Leodis McKelvin in the 1st rd and WR James Hardy in the 2nd. 4/27/08 The Bills select DE Chris Ellis in the 3rd rd, CB Reggie Corner and TE Derek Fine in the 4th, OLB Alvin Bowen in the 5th, RB Xavier Omon in the 6th and OT Demetrius Bell, WR Steve Johnson and CB Kennard Cox in the 7th. 5/13/08 TE Kevin Everett is officially off the team. The Bills plan to honor the final year of Everett's contract and helped him get three full years of NFL service last year. 6/13/08 My son's birthday and the Bills released a statement about the shocking death of Buffalo native Tim Russert. "“The Buffalo Bills organization is devastated in hearing the news of the passing of Tim Russert. Tim, as everyone knows, was a tremendous Bills fan. He was always so proud to let people know just how much he loved our team and was such a great ambassador for Buffalo. So many times he ended his “Meet The Press” show with his patented “Go Bills!” that it became part of our Game Day morning rituals. He was a true friend and we will miss him immensely. Our sincere sympathies go out to his family and our team carries a heavy heart tonight as we mourn the loss of this great man, Buffalo’s native son and a Bills fan forever.” There will be a candlight vigil at Tim Russert park in Buffalo tomorrow night at 9pm. Flags in Buffalo have been ordered to half staff. Truly a sad day for all Buffalonians. 6/25/08 The Bills announced that they have agreed on a contract extension for Brad Butler. 6/26/08 Timothy J. Russert Highway. It sure does have a ring to it, doesn't it? The Senate approved a voice vote legislation on 6/25/08 to rename a portion of Rt. 20 by Ralph Wilson Stadium "Timothy J. Russert Highway". The bill was sponsered by both New York Senators, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton. A similiar bill in the house sponsored by Rep. Brian Higgins is expected to pass in the next few days and President Bush is expected to sign it into law. Truly a great day for all Buffalonians! It's just before the start of the 2008 pre-season and this post is getting to be too long so I'm going to end it here. I just wanted to refresh people's memories about just exactly what Russ Brandon has been accomplishing since he took over. I think that he's doing a very impressive job and we shouldn't lose sight of his achievements. Things take time and he has been changing the complexion of this organization drastically if you look closer at it. I would just like to add that I believe that this is going to be a shocking, in a great way, draft for us this year. I think that Brandon is really going to wow us by some very big moves in this year's draft. Sensing that certain players like Jason Peters and Roscoe Parrish might be getting traded for pick(s)/position in the draft, I'm starting to wonder if we might be exploring some of these options so we can trade up in the draft to get LB Aaron Curry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Imagine what Polian would've done with the COO title. We'd be back-to-back-to-back world champs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I'm not sure if people really realize just how much and how fast Russ Brandon has made changes around here. You must smoke crack, Brandon is nothing more than a "yes man" to Wilson. Nice try though, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I think he's done a good job so far. Let's see how the draft comes out this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipster19 Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 I think he's done a good job so far. Let's see how the draft comes out this year. In his first draft he did an excellent job. A lot of the players that we lost or didn't re-sign were holdovers from Donahoe/Levy and that includes Dockery. He realigned our coaches and added some shrewd, good value players. This draft will either propel us forward or we'll be wallowing again. I also like that he doesn't get rattled by players (Peters/Jackson) with contract demands, he holds strong. IF the Peters' situation can't get resolved and we are forced to trade him then it wouldn't surprise me if we dial up the Rams and make a deal with them. They are begging to get out of that #2 slot and they need an OT. If that were to happen then at least we would be getting a blue chipper at another position to replace a disgruntled player at another important position. If we can retain our #11 pick in this situation then we could be in position to select OT Michael Oher or possibly OT Andre Smith. I would like it to be Oher but I wouldn't want to use him to take over Peters' position though. I think that we would be able to realign our OL adequately by moving Langston Walker over to LT, insert Demetrius Bell at RT and use Oher at LG. If you get dealt lemons then the only thing that you can do is make lemonade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I don't know, it's the NFL. A lot of change happens in a year no matter who's in charge. That said, I think he provides some decent leadership for the organization, though I'd be a lot more impressed if he had canned Jauron rather than extended him. Never has a four-game winning streak set a team back so far. I think the ideal situation is for Brandon to keep his title as COO, but fire Guy and bring in a better VP of pro personnel and keep investing in the pro scouting staff. Since Donahoe left, the Bills' only acquisition that was an unqualifed success was Marcus Stroud. Otherwise, you have some decent moves (Mitchell, Walker) a big bust (Dockery) and a lot of underwhelming role-players (Price, Fowler, Johnson, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipster19 Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 That said, I think he provides some decent leadership for the organization, though I'd be a lot more impressed if he had canned Jauron rather than extended him. Think about this for a minute. The guy just takes over and firing Jauron as one of your first moves would not only be dicey but also possible career suicide if he didn't find the right replacement. Keep this in mind, back in December Brandon stated that, in no uncertain terms, the way we ended the season was unacceptable. Read what he said, this guy isn't going to stand pat. http://wnywatercooler.blogspot.com/2008/12...ss-brandon.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Think about this for a minute. The guy just takes over and firing Jauron as one of your first moves would not only be dicey but also possible career suicide if he didn't find the right replacement. Keep this in mind, back in December Brandon stated that, in no uncertain terms, the way we ended the season was unacceptable. Read what he said, this guy isn't going to stand pat. Well, it's been four months since then, and while he's upgraded the talent on the field, but he hasn't done jack to upgrade the coaching staff or the front office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Interesting post Tipster. Most of the moves you outline of course are the mundane day to day tasks that any organization has to perform, shuffling players and staff in and out. I like the hiring of Ray Brown but he was needed to assist Kugler after McNally retired. That decision was likely Jauron's. I also like the Adrian White hire although that was probably due to the staff's familiarity with him, not any personal connection to Brandon. Here are several issues that Brandon is dealing with or has dealt with. He has recently acquired Terrell Owens. I give him high marks for this. He recently brought back Buddy Nix, one of the most respected college scouts in the league. Big kudos for that move. He extended Marcus Stroud which was probably necessary from a fairness standpoint. It also sent a message to others on the team about what sort of approach to team will be rewarded. On the downside, he sat on his hands all last season instead of being proactive with Peters. Both sides were incommunicado with Brandon saying the team had made "a few" attempts to reach the disgruntled player. An earnest and eager attitude towards the player and his agent might have changed the messy situation in which he now sits. He botched the Crowell situation IMO. As with the Peters situation there is probably blame on both sides. The final straw, the punitive IR move ensured that the situation would be a lose-lose for both sides. Brandon made the final move in this game and it wasn't a good one. He botched the secretive "did he or didn't he sign an extension" situation with Dick Jauron. The needlessly secretive approach dragged on for 11 weeks of the season and was a distraction to the team. He possibly could have extended Jabbari Greer last offseason for much less money than he ended up bolting for in free agency this year. Not a huge deal but it is a valid point. Brandon's been on the job for 15 months and it's too early to judge his worthiness. I'm not seeing the second coming of Bill Polian right now. I'd say he's done an average job. Hopefully Buddy Nix will strengthen the college scouting department and we will have a great draft. The Peters situation, to a lesser degree the Fred Jackson situation and now the Roscoe Parrish situation will go a long way towards evaluating Brandon's competence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipster19 Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 Interesting post Tipster. Most of the moves you outline of course are the mundane day to day tasks that any organization has to perform, shuffling players and staff in and out. He extended Marcus Stroud which was probably necessary from a fairness standpoint. It also sent a message to others on the team about what sort of approach to team will be rewarded. On the downside, he sat on his hands all last season instead of being proactive with Peters. Both sides were incommunicado with Brandon saying the team had made "a few" attempts to reach the disgruntled player. An earnest and eager attitude towards the player and his agent might have changed the messy situation in which he now sits. He botched the Crowell situation IMO. As with the Peters situation there is probably blame on both sides. The final straw, the punitive IR move ensured that the situation would be a lose-lose for both sides. Brandon made the final move in this game and it wasn't a good one. Talking about last year's draft, I don't think that Brandon is getting his proper dues. I think that he did a sterling job in his first draft. Matter of fact he blew the doors off his two predecessors, Donahoe and Levy. How many times have you heard from various people from around the league that you build a team thru the draft? Well, our guy just about aced it in his first draft! I believe that extending Stroud was more about economics than sending a message to the team but either way it was a shrewd move none the less. How about that Stroud was one of his first moves period? I was deadset against at first but boy was I wrong! He was the first GM of ours in a decade that actually made the middle of our defense a top priority. Nice job Russ and thanks! As far as the Peters' situation, that guy was signed to a valid contract that was in good faith. I'm not begrudging Peters for wanting more money, especially once he was switched from the right to left side of the line. The left side commands more money and he deserves to get paid accordingly but I don't like the way he handled himself. The way he went about getting it was wrong and very selfish. It was purely a I I me me attitude and he didn't display any respect towards his teammates, that's for sure. People talk about Polian but how do you think he would react to this? I tell you, he would go ballistic. To say that the guy had a fiery temper would be an understatement. I'm not defending Brandon, nor could I, about the Crowell situation but I will say this. I heard Crowell Sirius last week and it was more to do about the TO signing but I have to tell you, I didn't like his attitude one bit. It was like he was sneering at Buffalo and he really kind of struck me as an @zzhole. That doesn't make me accurate or Brandon right but that was my perception with this guy. After hearing him I'm not upset or disappointed that he's gone but what do I really know? I could of went on with my initial post but it was getting way too long but just with what I listed this Brandon got some good value players and he didn't really make a mistake or lose any great players for us so far but I guess that time will tell about that. I don't know, I like the guy and think that he's been doing a real good job for us so far. I think that this draft and Peters' situation will really show his meddle though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDVA Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Good post Tipster! Brandon is proving a little bit stronger than I thought he would be. The hope that he can rally the FO into another draft comparable to last year is keeping me on the optimistic side. And for you Crowell fans, the guy is only slightly better than Ellison, and even if he did not have the surgery and was put on IR, his spot would have still been slated to be upgraded in this years draft anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Russ Brandon in my view up to now has been very proactive in trying to better this team. FA signing of Stroud last year greatly improved our run defense and now this year's addition to T.O could have a similar effect in our passing game. Dockery's release was a bold move that I believe will end up paying dividends in the long run. Last year's draft may be a little to early to call, but it seems as if we got two good corners in McKelvin and Reggie Corner. The WR's we won't know for another year or two, but it seems as if Steve Johnson could end up being a steal, in regards to Hardy that is a big question mark. Chris Ellis hasn't really shown anything yet. Demetrius Bell we've all heard shows promise. Omon seems destined to be cut in my view. After many years of frustration and mediocre talent evaluating, many fans are not willing to give Russ Brandon a fair shake, and see him as just a "marketing guy". Well, I can tell you that if you he has been under the tutolage of some pretty impressive GM's in his life time and there have been GM's with backgrounds that you would think that wouldn't lead up to being a successful GM like Theo Epstein. Theo Epstein started off as a PR guy for the San Diego Padres, and hell, ended up being the freakin Redsox GM by the time he was in his 20's. So, what I'm trying to say is don't judge a book by it's cover. It's obvious that he is making moves, and some moves that seem to be pretty decent. His first draft is early to call, but if you had to judge it after the first year, it does seem promising. I'm excited to see what we do this offseason, the T.O signing was a big plus and added a lot of much needed excitement that this organization was lacking. Remember what everyone around here was saying. Relevance, well we all just got some extra attention, now we are mentioned on ESPN, NFL Network and hell, we are going to be playing on the first Monday Night Football game of the year against the Patriots for Tom Brady's return. Of course, some people happen to turn this event into a negative, but that is to be expected from fans who've not experienced their team not making a playoff in nearly a decade. To judge a GM's final product you really need to give it a few years, but up to now, in his first 15 months, I think he is moving in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Firing Dick Jauron would be career suicide?? Keeping him is "not standing pat"? Come on---he botched the most important decision he has been faced with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofton80 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Firing Dick Jauron would be career suicide?? I was humored by this as well. The guy blew three games last year and we are worried about how he hurts Brandon by not being here. Keeping him here is career suicide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I think he's done a good job so far. Let's see how the draft comes out this year. Brandon's been OK so far. But it's not a surprise that he has made many changes, you would expect that on a team with their record. And it's really far too early to figure out how well those changes have worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Think about this for a minute. The guy just takes over and firing Jauron as one of your first moves would not only be dicey but also possible career suicide if he didn't find the right replacement. Keep this in mind, back in December Brandon stated that, in no uncertain terms, the way we ended the season was unacceptable. Read what he said, this guy isn't going to stand pat. http://wnywatercooler.blogspot.com/2008/12...ss-brandon.html One of your first moves? Brandon had been in the job for a year at that point, or eleven and a half months anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 In his first draft he did an excellent job. A lot of the players that we lost or didn't re-sign were holdovers from Donahoe/Levy and that includes Dockery. He realigned our coaches and added some shrewd, good value players. This draft will either propel us forward or we'll be wallowing again. I also like that he doesn't get rattled by players (Peters/Jackson) with contract demands, he holds strong. IF the Peters' situation can't get resolved and we are forced to trade him then it wouldn't surprise me if we dial up the Rams and make a deal with them. They are begging to get out of that #2 slot and they need an OT. If that were to happen then at least we would be getting a blue chipper at another position to replace a disgruntled player at another important position. If we can retain our #11 pick in this situation then we could be in position to select OT Michael Oher or possibly OT Andre Smith. I would like it to be Oher but I wouldn't want to use him to take over Peters' position though. I think that we would be able to realign our OL adequately by moving Langston Walker over to LT, insert Demetrius Bell at RT and use Oher at LG. If you get dealt lemons then the only thing that you can do is make lemonade. If the bills were going to do this, why not just pay Peters the money. At least you know what your getting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 You must smoke crack, Brandon is nothing more than a "yes man" to Wilson. Nice try though, What executive employed by any owner isn't following the top dog's wishes. Must be nice to live in your world... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paup 1995MVP Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Interesting post Tipster. Most of the moves you outline of course are the mundane day to day tasks that any organization has to perform, shuffling players and staff in and out. I like the hiring of Ray Brown but he was needed to assist Kugler after McNally retired. That decision was likely Jauron's. I also like the Adrian White hire although that was probably due to the staff's familiarity with him, not any personal connection to Brandon. Here are several issues that Brandon is dealing with or has dealt with. He has recently acquired Terrell Owens. I give him high marks for this. He recently brought back Buddy Nix, one of the most respected college scouts in the league. Big kudos for that move. He extended Marcus Stroud which was probably necessary from a fairness standpoint. It also sent a message to others on the team about what sort of approach to team will be rewarded. On the downside, he sat on his hands all last season instead of being proactive with Peters. Both sides were incommunicado with Brandon saying the team had made "a few" attempts to reach the disgruntled player. An earnest and eager attitude towards the player and his agent might have changed the messy situation in which he now sits. He botched the Crowell situation IMO. As with the Peters situation there is probably blame on both sides. The final straw, the punitive IR move ensured that the situation would be a lose-lose for both sides. Brandon made the final move in this game and it wasn't a good one. He botched the secretive "did he or didn't he sign an extension" situation with Dick Jauron. The needlessly secretive approach dragged on for 11 weeks of the season and was a distraction to the team. He possibly could have extended Jabbari Greer last offseason for much less money than he ended up bolting for in free agency this year. Not a huge deal but it is a valid point. Brandon's been on the job for 15 months and it's too early to judge his worthiness. I'm not seeing the second coming of Bill Polian right now. I'd say he's done an average job. Hopefully Buddy Nix will strengthen the college scouting department and we will have a great draft. The Peters situation, to a lesser degree the Fred Jackson situation and now the Roscoe Parrish situation will go a long way towards evaluating Brandon's competence. I agree with you San Jose. The Peters, Jackson and Parrish situations are very big as far as how Brandon acquits himself in bettering our talent level, stabilizing things on the team this offseason, and making us more competitive. I think we will have to trade Peters. His attitude, and absurd contract demands are not conducive to a positive team first attitude, nor do I think the Bills want to pay a stratospheric contract to a player who is not nearly as good as he and his agent want to believe he is. And I believe Brandon while not a long time football guru understands that. I believe a reasonable deal with Jackson will be reached in the near future, and that Parrish is an asset that we have, that we don't need. Some of you can say that there is no reason to give up the best punt returner in the game. I say we have at least 2 other guys (Mckelvin and Jackson) who are almost as good. If we can get at least a 3rd round pick and/or a solid player at a position of need for him, Brandon will make the trade. I am excited to see what Russ has up his sleeve. I think he is worlds better than Mr. Comatose Marv Levy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Trooth Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 what a waste of keystrokes and bandwidth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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