I am starting to wonder...

[Canadian'eh!]

I'm getting suspicious.... and that's all it is. but some things don't make sense.

I'm starting to think we're cutting salary and trying to put a bad team on the field. Look at the other teams/FA's. The list of FA's the past year or so has been bare of young talented players. Yet we let a guy like Nate walk, without recieveing anything in compensation. It's just not done these days. Now, I am not saying this is true at all, it just seemed familiar to me.

Bad team = less ticket sales and less fan support.

Then RW comlpains about low attendance, asks if he can sell the team to someone who plans to move it. Without a big payroll and no money commited to the future (thanks to cash to the cap) The team becomes very attractive to a buyer who wants to move it to a city like LA or Toronto.

This might be the start of a plan to sell/move this team. The reason i think this is because I lived through the Jeffery Loria owning the Expos hell. This is seems like a much earlier but a less blatant version of what i saw.

Loria came in and would NOT pay young talented players, giving them away left and right. This was of course done very blatantly, and eventually he cancelled most of teh radio/tv deals the team had. They had no exposure and spent nothing on payroll or advertising. he also gave up the lease on a prime peice of downtown land that was meant for a new stadium.

I hope I'm wrong. But we've been letting talent walk for a while, keeping the cap numbers low, we haven't signed a bigger name FA since Takeo, and generally haven't fielded a highly competitive team in a couple years. So It just makes me wonder. Especially since the future of the team has never been addressed by RW.

Now, maybe later today or so Marv and the guys make a huge splash and actually spend some of that cap space on a few key players..... Nothing would make me happier than being wrong on this.......

(I dont' think the sky is falling just yet..... i'm just keeping my eyes open)

[Statman]

Your suspicions make sense and are at least logically derived.

[Saratoga Slim]

....and there are those reports of unmarked black helicopters flying low over orchard park......

I'm not buying the conspiracy theories. I don't think RW would have hired Marv if he wasn't interested in getting the fans behind the team again. I think our personnel moves have been a result of economics, and of trying to follow the examples of teams like NE and Indy, who focus on the draft and not overpaying for players.

[Philagape]

Just like in Major League!

[Philagape]

and The Natural!

[THATHURMANATOR]

Enough with the ****ing conspiracy theories!

[Canadian'eh!]

Just like in Major League!

Not quite at that level of course... but it's been done many times where teams won't invest much future money on players to make themselves more attractive to buyers.

[Canadian'eh!]

Enough with the ****ing conspiracy theories!

seriously... wouldn't you rather ask these questions now? Cleveland didn't and were totally caught off guard when the Browns moved to Baltimore in the middle of the night.

If they were up to something, I'd hope someone would break the story now, while the fans and city can still take a shot at pressuring RW to sell to someone who won't move them, or SOMEONE in teh city could try to put an ownership group together to save them

or maybe i'm dead wrong and they are trying to build with bargains and the draft.... but NE and Indy didn't let young players go.... they just didn't overpay for players on the downside of their careers

[JPFBillsFan]

If RW wants to sell the team he'll sell it...PERIOD.......
CAP/Players mean nothing....a new owner can field a new team in a year or 2........This is how a real team should be run .....marv's going to surprise the NON-Believers

[Michael82]

:sigh:

[Mr. Pink]

seriously... wouldn't you rather ask these questions now? Cleveland didn't and were totally caught off guard when the Browns moved to Baltimore in the middle of the night.

If they were up to something, I'd hope someone would break the story now, while the fans and city can still take a shot at pressuring RW to sell to someone who won't move them, or SOMEONE in teh city could try to put an ownership group together to save them

or maybe i'm dead wrong and they are trying to build with bargains and the draft.... but NE and Indy didn't let young players go.... they just didn't overpay for players on the downside of their careers


Actually the Cleveland situation was different. People were caught off guard because Modell and the city agreed to a moratorium to talks til after the season on getting a. renovations to municipal stadium or b. a new stadium.

Cleveland went out in the 94 offseason and signed Andre Rison who was supposed to be the missing piece on offense to take them to the next level.

Cleveland was coming off an 11-5 season in 94 losing to the Steelers in the divisional round due to WRs, mainly Derrick Alexander, dropping passes left and right.

Completely different than what we have here.

[Statman]

Not quite at that level of course... but it's been done many times where teams won't invest much future money on players to make themselves more attractive to buyers.
Go into the used car business Canadian, and make your primary clientele the people in these forums.

; )

[patmoran2006]

Just like in Major League!

It is starting to look like it.. Im waiting for Lou Brown to be named the next head coach, and Roger Dorn as the GM.

[Canadian'eh!]

Actually the Cleveland situation was different. People were caught off guard because Modell and the city agreed to a moratorium to talks til after the season on getting a. renovations to municipal stadium or b. a new stadium.

Cleveland went out in the 94 offseason and signed Andre Rison who was supposed to be the missing piece on offense to take them to the next level.

Cleveland was coming off an 11-5 season in 94 losing to the Steelers in the divisional round due to WRs, mainly Derrick Alexander, dropping passes left and right.

Completely different than what we have here.

I just meant in terms of being caught off guard.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I think that their approach to free agent signings is more one of believing that you end up overpaying for top level FAs and tying up too much cap space in them and that mid-to-low level free agents can be good role players but rarely anything more, so it is better to emulate teams like the Pats, Indy, etc. that don't really rely on free agency and signing big-money free agents to build the core of their squads.

As far as the "cash-to-the-cap" approach goes, I don't know if it is so much an effort to prepare the team to sell it to a new owner who will move it as it is a case of Ralph Wilson trying to put the team's finances in order so that, when he dies, it will be easier on his family financially. Essentially, "cash-to-the-cap" amounts to a simple "pay-as-you-go"/"cash-and-carry" way of doing business that will simplify the team's future finanaces. That will make it easier for Wilson's heirs to deal with any tax implications arising from inheriting the team after his death and make it much easier for them to manage (which they will have to do until they find a buyer for the team) and sell the team. It may prevent the team from acquiring high-priced players in any given year using the league's amortization rules to spend more than the amount of the cap in that year, but it would seem to be a simpler and sounder approach from a business and tax perspective--particularly for the Wilson family if and when Ralph dies. Having seen my 92 year old mother go through the process of simplifying her finances to make things easier for her heirs over the last several years, knowing that the odds are that she will not live much longer, I can see Ralph Wilson doing much the same thing by instituting this "cash-to-the-cap" approach. From a purely football perspective, it is quite limiting, but from a personal finance point of view it makes sense.

What Wilson is doing will, indeed, make it easier to sell the team. But, that's something that it has appeared, for many years, that his family would do upon his death in any event. That doesn't necessarily mean that he will sell it soon or that he or his family will necessarily sell the team to an owner or group that intends to move the team. What Wilson is doing will make the team just as attractive--and perhaps more affordable--to any local group interested in keeping the Bills in Buffalo as it will to any prospective owner or group that wants to move the team somewhere else.

Will it limit the team's ability to be competitive? Probably. To a certain extent. And especially in the first year of it's implementation. But, in the long run, probably not any more than it would be limited by its relatively low revenues and smaller local income sources in comparison to most of the other teams in the NFL if it were not taking a "cash-to-the-cap" approach to paying its players.

[feelthepain]

I'm getting suspicious.... and that's all it is. but some things don't make sense.

I'm starting to think we're cutting salary and trying to put a bad team on the field. Look at the other teams/FA's. The list of FA's the past year or so has been bare of young talented players. Yet we let a guy like Nate walk, without recieveing anything in compensation. It's just not done these days. Now, I am not saying this is true at all, it just seemed familiar to me.

Bad team = less ticket sales and less fan support.

Then RW comlpains about low attendance, asks if he can sell the team to someone who plans to move it. Without a big payroll and no money commited to the future (thanks to cash to the cap) The team becomes very attractive to a buyer who wants to move it to a city like LA or Toronto.

This might be the start of a plan to sell/move this team. The reason i think this is because I lived through the Jeffery Loria owning the Expos hell. This is seems like a much earlier but a less blatant version of what i saw.

Loria came in and would NOT pay young talented players, giving them away left and right. This was of course done very blatantly, and eventually he cancelled most of teh radio/tv deals the team had. They had no exposure and spent nothing on payroll or advertising. he also gave up the lease on a prime peice of downtown land that was meant for a new stadium.

I hope I'm wrong. But we've been letting talent walk for a while, keeping the cap numbers low, we haven't signed a bigger name FA since Takeo, and generally haven't fielded a highly competitive team in a couple years. So It just makes me wonder. Especially since the future of the team has never been addressed by RW.

Now, maybe later today or so Marv and the guys make a huge splash and actually spend some of that cap space on a few key players..... Nothing would make me happier than being wrong on this.......

(I dont' think the sky is falling just yet..... i'm just keeping my eyes open)

The Pats have been doing the same since 01, I don't think the Bills are doing anything outrageous.

[DraftBoy]

I would like to see the team sold, maybe to somebody like Mr. Rich who is familiar with the city and its fan since he owns the Bisons

[Canadian'eh!]

I think that their approach to free agent signings is more one of believing that you end up overpaying for top level FAs and tying up too much cap space in them and that mid-to-low level free agents can be good role players but rarely anything more, so it is better to emulate teams like the Pats, Indy, etc. that don't really rely on free agency and signing big-money free agents to build the core of their squads.

As far as the "cash-to-the-cap" approach goes, I don't know if it is so much an effort to prepare the team to sell it to a new owner who will move it as it is a case of Ralph Wilson trying to put the team's finances in order so that, when he dies, it will be easier on his family financially. Essentially, "cash-to-the-cap" amounts to a simple "pay-as-you-go"/"cash-and-carry" way of doing business that will simplify the team's future finanaces. That will make it easier for Wilson's heirs to deal with any tax implications arising from inheriting the team after his death and make it much easier for them to manage (which they will have to do until they find a buyer for the team) and sell the team. It may prevent the team from acquiring high-priced players in any given year using the league's amortization rules to spend more than the amount of the cap in that year, but it would seem to be a simpler and sounder approach from a business and tax perspective--particularly for the Wilson family if and when Ralph dies. Having seen my 92 year old mother go through the process of simplifying her finances to make things easier for her heirs over the last several years, knowing that the odds are that she will not live much longer, I can see Ralph Wilson doing much the same thing by instituting this "cash-to-the-cap" approach. From a purely football perspective, it is quite limiting, but from a personal finance point of view it makes sense.

What Wilson is doing will, indeed, make it easier to sell the team. But, that's something that it has appeared, for many years, that his family would do upon his death in any event. That doesn't necessarily mean that he will sell it soon or that he or his family will necessarily sell the team to an owner or group that intends to move the team. What Wilson is doing will make the team just as attractive--and perhaps more affordable--to any local group interested in keeping the Bills in Buffalo as it will to any prospective owner or group that wants to move the team somewhere else.

Will it limit the team's ability to be competitive? Probably. To a certain extent. And especially in the first year of it's implementation. But, in the long run, probably not any more than it would be limited by its relatively low revenues and smaller local income sources in comparison to most of the other teams in the NFL if it were not taking a "cash-to-the-cap" approach to paying its players.

great post.

The thing that bothers me isn't so much that we don't get to sign big name free agents. It's that we can even retain our OWN younger elite players. So basically we can draft and develop players forever.... if you don't retain them, you're never gonna be competitive.

Indy has made hard decisions.... but they knew they could easily replace edge, buit not Harrison, Freeney and Manning.... so they made sure to keep their playmakers.

[Saratoga Slim]

I think the Bills have done a decent job of retaining their top young talent recently, see the contracts they gave to Schobel/Peters/McGee/Kelsay. What young elite players have we let walk as of late?

I know you're probably referring to Clements, but he is kind of another story, as the money he's commanding is way out of proportion to his value to us. We franchised him last year, just like the Pats did with Samuel and the Colts with Freeney this year, but in the end Nate just isn't worth the money he can get on the open market and he wasn't willing to take a discount to stay here. I'll be a little surprised if Samuel gets a huge long term contract from the Pats, or Freeney from the Colts.

The true barometer of this organization's frugality will be how they treat Losman and especially Evans when it comes time to renegotiate those contracts. To me those are the relevant comparisons to the Colts giving Manning/Harrison/Wayne huge deals.

[Night Train]

" We neeed a price check on a case of PROZAC, stat ! "

[Canadian'eh!]

....and there are those reports of unmarked black helicopters flying low over orchard park......

I'm not buying the conspiracy theories. I don't think RW would have hired Marv if he wasn't interested in getting the fans behind the team again. I think our personnel moves have been a result of economics, and of trying to follow the examples of teams like NE and Indy, who focus on the draft and not overpaying for players.

What if he brought Marv in because he wanted someone he knew the fans would trust and wouldn't turn against without a LOT if trust first? Remember, he approached Marv about being the GM, and it seemed to me at the time that Marv was reluctant. He almost seemed to say that he didnt' understand why they wanted him to be the GM, since he was really a coach and didn't understand the business of football the way a GM should.

[Bert102176]

I wish RW would sell the team, but to someone that would keep it here and to someone that would put a winning team on the field