Kettle Creek Football Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I'm sure this post will drop to the bottom of the list within nanoseconds, but I'm going to post it anyway. For all of you Monday-morning-GMs-in-waiting-who-could-run-this-team-better-if-you-only-had-the-chance: Trust me when I tell you that there are 31 other team owners out there tonight who are grudgingly tipping their hats to Ralph Wilson. Ralph Wilson has the built-in excuse for EVERY move he makes. He is operating a team in a small market in very hard economic times. Cut your overpriced Left Guard? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made I'll get creamed. Cut your overpriced Left Tackle? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Cut your big-name backup running back? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Ralph doesn't need an excuse, and I believe he knows it. It's Buffalo. It's Western New York. He HAS to make ruthless moves like this to compete with Jerry Jones. With Dot-com Snyder. With Bob Kraft. These guys are MADE of money, so everyone is expecting them to SPEND it, and ALL the time. They ALL - trust me - ALL - wish they had the alibi that they were making these moves because it's a small market. Do you really think any of these guys don't want $XX million suddenly dropping into THEIR pockets? Are you goddamn serious? Ralph Wilson is (choose the metaphor): Punching above his weight Playing the hand he's dealt Making lemons out of lemonade Playing within the rules I don't fault the guy one bit that he's cut an overpriced underproducing left tackle. When the hell did you people think that this wasn't a business? I credit the guy for showing the stones to make a lot of really hard business decisions in a short time frame. I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end. This is the same guy who opposed the CBA, on which a large number of owners are beginning to come around. This guy's ruthless, and I'm guessing a lot of owners are mildly envious. Excellent points! As a Bills fan, I would love to see an owner who has one goal, only... to win the Super Bowl, of course. But, as a business person, if I could take $25,000, and 50 years later, turn it into over $900,000,000 !??!?!?! (NOT to mention, all the fun along the way...) Well, you're right. He's proven to be an excellent biz owner. How could anyone argue that? He gets the county/region to kick in their part, he likely has near zero debt (relatively speaking), and he has sold-out crowds. His coaching staff and Front office are likely near the bottom of the league in payroll... etc. Yes, I'm sure there are a lot of owners who envy him! FORBES' Bills Valuatioin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I don't think he burned bridges for 40 years but I think RW is a somewhat out of the loop on GM talent. When he hired Tom Donahoe he was in his early 80's and stated that he wanted to hire a GM that would also be president of team so that he, RW could more or less just sit and watch. So for 5 years I think he was not as involved. When he had to fire TD he went for Levy because of his past relationship and then with Russ Brandon because he was already in house and growing in his job. We do have a somewhat unusual situation in that our GM is not a football talent guy by training. If this season flops RW really needs to not only hire a top coach but someone who would also be the GM, maybe the same person. But I think they keep Brandon and try to hire another fairly inexpensive coach. Why did Saban bolt the second time around? He had had enough of Ralphie I believe...penny-pinching Ahmad Rashad, Earl Edwards, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kettle Creek Football Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 How can Ralph be getting any enjoyment out of this? To be paying upwards of $150m in player, coaches, and front office salary for this turd of an outfit would make me want to vomit if I was the owner. Owens is the only thing bringing people through the gates. You could basically trade every employee in the organization except Owens and the marketing team for their lowest paid counter-part and produce the same bottom line. He's leaving his Estate (pre-tax) nearly $1 BILLION from this team alone! How could someone not be proud of that???? I'd "Enjoy" my team knowing I kicked in $25,000 and they are now a BILLION dollars! Wow!! Who knows how much other $$$ he has socked away? But I'm sure his Estate (kids, wife, etc) will not have to worry about Estate Taxes. That's likely already been accounted for. (But as a Bills fan, of COURSE I don't "enjoy" what I've been seeing the past 10 years. That's a completely different issue.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-No Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Wahhhh....huh? Is that you Aflac Duck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whites Bay Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Is that you Aflac Duck? Errr...AGGGHHHH. I just crapped in your bath tub. Don't worry, chicks dig the scent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Actually only 29 other NFL owners are now in line to become laughingstocks. 2 owners were already wearing their shorts on their heads and their pants backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Al Davis and.............William Henry Clay Ford... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Five bucks says Ralph fires Jauron at Halftime Monday Night. And yet Fans will b*tch and moan about the move because it wasn't what they would have done, or it wasn't the right time, or it was all about the money.................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB Fan 4 LIFE Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I'm sure this post will drop to the bottom of the list within nanoseconds, but I'm going to post it anyway. For all of you Monday-morning-GMs-in-waiting-who-could-run-this-team-better-if-you-only-had-the-chance: Trust me when I tell you that there are 31 other team owners out there tonight who are grudgingly tipping their hats to Ralph Wilson. Ralph Wilson has the built-in excuse for EVERY move he makes. He is operating a team in a small market in very hard economic times. Cut your overpriced Left Guard? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made I'll get creamed. Cut your overpriced Left Tackle? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Cut your big-name backup running back? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Ralph doesn't need an excuse, and I believe he knows it. It's Buffalo. It's Western New York. He HAS to make ruthless moves like this to compete with Jerry Jones. With Dot-com Snyder. With Bob Kraft. These guys are MADE of money, so everyone is expecting them to SPEND it, and ALL the time. They ALL - trust me - ALL - wish they had the alibi that they were making these moves because it's a small market. Do you really think any of these guys don't want $XX million suddenly dropping into THEIR pockets? Are you goddamn serious? Ralph Wilson is (choose the metaphor): Punching above his weight Playing the hand he's dealt Making lemons out of lemonade Playing within the rules I don't fault the guy one bit that he's cut an overpriced underproducing left tackle. When the hell did you people think that this wasn't a business? I credit the guy for showing the stones to make a lot of really hard business decisions in a short time frame. I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end. This is the same guy who opposed the CBA, on which a large number of owners are beginning to come around. This guy's ruthless, and I'm guessing a lot of owners are mildly envious. Dude our salary #'s aren't really that much lower than they should be. We spend roughly the same...we just do it stupidly. It's more retardedness than ruthlessness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I'm sure this post will drop to the bottom of the list within nanoseconds, but I'm going to post it anyway. For all of you Monday-morning-GMs-in-waiting-who-could-run-this-team-better-if-you-only-had-the-chance: Trust me when I tell you that there are 31 other team owners out there tonight who are grudgingly tipping their hats to Ralph Wilson. Ralph Wilson has the built-in excuse for EVERY move he makes. He is operating a team in a small market in very hard economic times. Cut your overpriced Left Guard? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made I'll get creamed. Cut your overpriced Left Tackle? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Cut your big-name backup running back? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Ralph doesn't need an excuse, and I believe he knows it. It's Buffalo. It's Western New York. He HAS to make ruthless moves like this to compete with Jerry Jones. With Dot-com Snyder. With Bob Kraft. These guys are MADE of money, so everyone is expecting them to SPEND it, and ALL the time. They ALL - trust me - ALL - wish they had the alibi that they were making these moves because it's a small market. Do you really think any of these guys don't want $XX million suddenly dropping into THEIR pockets? Are you goddamn serious? Ralph Wilson is (choose the metaphor): Punching above his weight Playing the hand he's dealt Making lemons out of lemonade Playing within the rules I don't fault the guy one bit that he's cut an overpriced underproducing left tackle. When the hell did you people think that this wasn't a business? I credit the guy for showing the stones to make a lot of really hard business decisions in a short time frame. I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end. This is the same guy who opposed the CBA, on which a large number of owners are beginning to come around. This guy's ruthless, and I'm guessing a lot of owners are mildly envious. I think Jerry Jones would probably offer Ralph the advise: If you don't spend money, you won't make any more...I think Jones and the others are laughing their asses off at our HOF owner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 He's leaving his Estate (pre-tax) nearly $1 BILLION from this team alone! How could someone not be proud of that???? I'd "Enjoy" my team knowing I kicked in $25,000 and they are now a BILLION dollars! Wow!! Who knows how much other $$$ he has socked away? But I'm sure his Estate (kids, wife, etc) will not have to worry about Estate Taxes. That's likely already been accounted for. (But as a Bills fan, of COURSE I don't "enjoy" what I've been seeing the past 10 years. That's a completely different issue.) And then there's that axiom, "You can't take it with you..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloRebound Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 He's leaving his Estate (pre-tax) nearly $1 BILLION from this team alone! How could someone not be proud of that???? I'd "Enjoy" my team knowing I kicked in $25,000 and they are now a BILLION dollars! Wow!! Who knows how much other $$$ he has socked away? But I'm sure his Estate (kids, wife, etc) will not have to worry about Estate Taxes. That's likely already been accounted for. (But as a Bills fan, of COURSE I don't "enjoy" what I've been seeing the past 10 years. That's a completely different issue.) That's basically the value of the team regardless what Ralph does. Look at just the past 10 years and the money flushed down the drain on horrible draft picks, free agents, coaches, and front office personnel that have produced one winning season at 9-7. If money is all he cares about since he can surely get no enjoyment watching his team, I still don't see how he gets any enjoyment from giving Langston Walker, Dockery, and Kelsay large contracts and paying a front office that routinely throws his money out the window on bad signings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdog1960 Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Do you really judge NFL teams on business principles??? I suspect that you'd probably have more fun rooting for Google, Berkshire Hathaway, or Microsoft than the Bills. What's the Bills' record this millennium? That's all that matters. Whether Wilson has a 3 percent rate of return or a 7 percent rate of return isn't something I give a damn about. Well put, and I think watching recent Bills games is actually less exciting than watching CNBC. I'd trade Wilson for Buffett in a heartbeat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Do you really judge NFL teams on business principles??? I suspect that you'd probably have more fun rooting for Google, Berkshire Hathaway, or Microsoft than the Bills. What's the Bills' record this millennium? That's all that matters. Whether Wilson has a 3 percent rate of return or a 7 percent rate of return isn't something I give a damn about. Your statement is true for all of us, unfortuneatly in most cases (not all but most), the higher the $$$$$ return, the worse the product on the field is. This organization is doing everything it can to make the Oakland Raiders look normal. What a disaster the last few weeks have been. In just a couple 3 or 4 weeks time, this organization with no organization has taken a somewhat hopeful season and basically thrown it all away. Of course the timing of all of these moves is by no means a coincidence either. When season ticket sales were low, they go sign T.O. and the city goes nuts, buys a sh*tload of tickets and Ralph is happy. Now that all the tickets are purchased and can't be given back, they are dumping players, coordinators, all to save money, now that they have sold all the tickets they are going to. Is this organization ever going to try to win again, probably not. The fan base in Western New York has shown for over a decade that it doesn't take much, other than a little hype for them to get excited about the upcoming season, which in turn produces ticket sales in near record numbers. It appears for the 50th Anniversary of the AFL, with the exception of maybe the Pats and Chargers, the old teams from that league are trying to outdue each other for 2010 draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 He's leaving his Estate (pre-tax) nearly $1 BILLION from this team alone! How could someone not be proud of that???? I'd "Enjoy" my team knowing I kicked in $25,000 and they are now a BILLION dollars! Wow!!Who knows how much other $$$ he has socked away? But I'm sure his Estate (kids, wife, etc) will not have to worry about Estate Taxes. That's likely already been accounted for. (But as a Bills fan, of COURSE I don't "enjoy" what I've been seeing the past 10 years. That's a completely different issue.) With all the profit, and he is still pinching pennies instead of trying to put a winner on the field-simply amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I'm sure this post will drop to the bottom of the list within nanoseconds, but I'm going to post it anyway. For all of you Monday-morning-GMs-in-waiting-who-could-run-this-team-better-if-you-only-had-the-chance: Trust me when I tell you that there are 31 other team owners out there tonight who are grudgingly tipping their hats to Ralph Wilson. Ralph Wilson has the built-in excuse for EVERY move he makes. He is operating a team in a small market in very hard economic times. Cut your overpriced Left Guard? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made I'll get creamed. Cut your overpriced Left Tackle? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Cut your big-name backup running back? See ya. It's Buffalo. If hard decisions aren't made, I'll get creamed. Ralph doesn't need an excuse, and I believe he knows it. It's Buffalo. It's Western New York. He HAS to make ruthless moves like this to compete with Jerry Jones. With Dot-com Snyder. With Bob Kraft. These guys are MADE of money, so everyone is expecting them to SPEND it, and ALL the time. They ALL - trust me - ALL - wish they had the alibi that they were making these moves because it's a small market. Do you really think any of these guys don't want $XX million suddenly dropping into THEIR pockets? Are you goddamn serious? Ralph Wilson is (choose the metaphor): Punching above his weight Playing the hand he's dealt Making lemons out of lemonade Playing within the rules I don't fault the guy one bit that he's cut an overpriced underproducing left tackle. When the hell did you people think that this wasn't a business? I credit the guy for showing the stones to make a lot of really hard business decisions in a short time frame. I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end. This is the same guy who opposed the CBA, on which a large number of owners are beginning to come around. This guy's ruthless, and I'm guessing a lot of owners are mildly envious. so whats the excuse for rich-team Bellichick showing vets like Milloy, Seymour and Bruschi the door just before the start of regular season? Yes, don't think for a minute Bruschi's "retirement" was his decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 so whats the excuse for rich-team Bellichick showing vets like Milloy, Seymour and Bruschi the door just before the start of regular season? Yes, don't think for a minute Bruschi's "retirement" was his decision. They cut Milloy, but they were trying to restructure his contract. http://www.boston.com/news/daily/02/milloy.htm Seymour was traded, not cut. Bruschi was out of gas, he and the team both realized it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Didnt Ralph PROFIT 34ish Million from 2008? Not bad for a third straight 7-9 season. Man it sure is hard to make money in Buffalo... Really, the Bills market is big enough to compete, you just cant be greedy. An NFL teams Salary is paid by the shared revenue anyways I believe (The salary cap figure is always equal to the shared revenue a team will be recieing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Do you really judge NFL teams on business principles??? I suspect that you'd probably have more fun rooting for Google, Berkshire Hathaway, or Microsoft than the Bills. What's the Bills' record this millennium? That's all that matters. Whether Wilson has a 3 percent rate of return or a 7 percent rate of return isn't something I give a damn about. I think that's his point. The guy is cheap, seeks to advance the bottom line (his prerogative) but is somehow above criticism around here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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