Is RW really competent?

[Mitchy moo]

We hire a coach with a lifetime losing record and one good season to point at. We make 0 attempt to find a real GM to give the team an identity and create the Russ B. forum to try and save money. Our last real GM never was a GM before and had passed retirement ~ 20 years ago.

Our biggest name offensive player has seen the ball a handful of times, yet we field a merry go round of TE's that have CFL at best written all over them getting throws. Heck, even JP got to take a few shots towards the endzone with that powerful arm of his yet we blame others for failure.

RW is a walking corpse, just like the coach and anyone that is in the office as well. Ralph left the SF game early this week, he couldn't bear to watch his team lose. Easy solution is sell the team to someone who has a birthday ~ in the mid 20th century, not WWI. Your age is showing, become a fan not a liability.

[Historian]

You sure it was WWI and not the Spanish-American War Skoob?

[CuseJetsFan83]

while i may not agree with most of his moves, much like the rest of you, without mr. wilson, there would be no buffalo bills, and most of the fans here would either be fans of the jersey duo, steelers, browns, or the cowboys........

do i think he is competent, sure, he's not stupid in terms of he's still making money, but he shouldn't keep thinking its the afl of the 60's and pay coaches something your fringe players make...........

just be lucky there is a salary cap in the NFL, without one, this would be the marlins/rays but without a world title

[Mitchy moo]

You sure it was WWI and not the Spanish-American War Skoob?

LOL, well I guess it's around there as well

[trapezeus]

everyone keeps ripping on ralph for being cheap. I don't think he is. TD told him to take weak coaches so he'd have more authority as GM. Then he brought in Marv and MArv told him to go with DJ. This is a guy he trusts. its like hearing your broker tell you to start buying bank stocks now. "They come cheap and they have no where to go but up." If you trust the guy, you do it and hope for the best.

i wouldn't be surprised if RW goes out and does the Bledsoe trade or something to that effect that really makes us believers again.

The guy has his faults though. He not only let personal differences get in the way with Polian, but also with Butler. That's on his shoulders because both teams got good quickly and have been relevent for 5-10 years.

[Mitchy moo]

everyone keeps ripping on ralph for being cheap. I don't think he is. TD told him to take weak coaches so he'd have more authority as GM. Then he brought in Marv and MArv told him to go with DJ. This is a guy he trusts. its like hearing your broker tell you to start buying bank stocks now. "They come cheap and they have no where to go but up." If you trust the guy, you do it and hope for the best.

i wouldn't be surprised if RW goes out and does the Bledsoe trade or something to that effect that really makes us believers again.

The guy has his faults though. He not only let personal differences get in the way with Polian, but also with Butler. That's on his shoulders because both teams got good quickly and have been relevent for 5-10 years.

If your head coach or GM is making less than $4 M a year, you're probably going to have a losing team. Go back and check the SB winning teams over the last 5 years and look for that variable.

[Ebenezer]

RW is more competent that you think...every seat is sold out...the concessions fly...the merchandise sells...and he was right about the last bargaining agreement...way more competent than you think.

[Ebenezer]

everyone keeps ripping on ralph for being cheap. I don't think he is. TD told him to take weak coaches so he'd have more authority as GM. Then he brought in Marv and MArv told him to go with DJ. This is a guy he trusts. its like hearing your broker tell you to start buying bank stocks now. "They come cheap and they have no where to go but up." If you trust the guy, you do it and hope for the best.

i wouldn't be surprised if RW goes out and does the Bledsoe trade or something to that effect that really makes us believers again.

The guy has his faults though. He not only let personal differences get in the way with Polian, but also with Butler. That's on his shoulders because both teams got good quickly and have been relevent for 5-10 years.
that's not "personal differeneces". Polian was fired, rightly so, because of his treatment of Wilson's daughter. The other situations are because of RW's meddling. Polian, and the demise of the USFL, fell into RWs laps. Without those events the Bills never have a "glory days".

[bigbub2352]

For every good thing Ralph has down for the community and the franchise as per making him money and making a viable franchise in a sturggling market he was able to do well
But his football decisions is what i am talking about, he has made very poor decisions on players coachs and front office personel
We need change in buffalo in the worst way look what golisano did for the sabres until ******* larry quinn ****ed everything up
i am just saying our front office is a joke and so is the coaching staff
they lack passion and that is the scariest part, and they are paying to many loser players

We need fresh new influences in here

[Ebenezer]

For every good thing Ralph has down for the community and the franchise as per making him money and making a viable franchise in a sturggling market he was able to do well
But his football decisions is what i am talking about, he has made very poor decisions on players coachs and front office personel
We need change in buffalo in the worst way look what golisano did for the sabres until ******* larry quinn ****ed everything up
i am just saying our front office is a joke and so is the coaching staff
they lack passion and that is the scariest part, and they are paying to many loser players

We need fresh new influences in here
Again, you cannot blame the Bills for "paying" poor players. They have to pay somebody because there is a minimum floor to the salary cap. If you're losing then they are "poor" players. If the problem is coaching then there is no way to know if they really are "poor" players.

[trapezeus]

i'm not a big ralph guy. i just find it odd that his "cheap" coaches the last couple times weren't driven by him. They were driven by football guys he trusted. he splurged on TD. We thought the TD pickup was a good move. We thought he was the guy that drove the Pittsburgh teams.

Ralph seems to be slow on free agency. While he's let good players go and signed mediocre players to big contracts, he may now see the light. That good coaches can take mediocre talent and get them into the right position to win. It's not the players. its the system. And since we havent' had a good system, we aren't very good no matter who we bring in.

So perhaps he'll see the value of getting a bigtime coach and then letting players walk more freely because players come and go. Having one dependable coach who knows the nuiance of everything will be the key to winning games.

The bills, in this pathetically annoying year, have been in a position to win every game except the cardinals game. Better game time management, a better game plan and we could still be hanging in with the Titans. The team doesn't need player changes. they need an attitude change and a gameplan that will get the most out of them.

[bigbub2352]

Again, you cannot blame the Bills for "paying" poor players. They have to pay somebody because there is a minimum floor to the salary cap. If you're losing then they are "poor" players. If the problem is coaching then there is no way to know if they really are "poor" players.
i guess 9 yrs of losing could be summed up as horrible decisions by coachs and front office then?
over paying for players who we never should have resigned in the first place?
or signed at all like some of the loser vets we signed like Posey, Milloy etc
we are to satisfied with mediocracy and potential
and not getting players who are proven winners and leaders
as well as the coaching staff and the front office, promoting from within when u have done nothing but lose

Sorry but we have made very poor football decisions the last decade and the only ones that seem to be suffering are the fans
does it look like Ralph cares?
does it look like Skeletor (DJ) cares?
does it look like the players on the feild care?
just cashing paychecks and reaping the benefits of a rabid loyal fan base

[Ebenezer]

i guess 9 yrs of losing could be summed up as horrible decisions by coachs and front office then?
over paying for players who we never should have resigned in the first place?
or signed at all like some of the loser vets we signed like Posey, Milloy etc
we are to satisfied with mediocracy and potential
and not getting players who are proven winners and leaders
as well as the coaching staff and the front office, promoting from within when u have done nothing but lose

Sorry but we have made very poor football decisions the last decade and the only ones that seem to be suffering are the fans
does it look like Ralph cares?
does it look like Skeletor (DJ) cares?
does it look like the players on the feild care?
just cashing paychecks and reaping the benefits of a rabid loyal fan base
thank you for proving my point...it all makes RW very competent...he is a business man. the business is perfect. $25,000 investment in 1959, rabid buyers, money flowing left and right, no debt...worth almost a billion 50 years later...tell me the Big 3 car makers wouldn't like to be in the same position...RW is very competent.

[Jan Reimers]

Ralph has always been a meddling, control freak type of owner who not only wants to be involved in the business/financial/marketing side of the operation - which he's good at - but the football side as well.

I believe his overzealous, hands on approach to the football side has resulted in our being a very average team for much of our existence. He has made - or approved - the hiring of mostly horrid coaches (Buster Ramsey, Hank Bulloch, Kay Stevenson, Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey to name but a few) and has run off guys like Chuck Knox and Lou Saban, who actually won here. His GMs have not generally been great either, except for Polian, with whom he got lucky, but eventually (rightly or wrongly) fired.

The Brandon/Jauron mess is just the latest in a 50 year ownership reign that has been dominated by amateurism and mediocrity.

[OpIv37]

thank you for proving my point...it all makes RW very competent...he is a business man. the business is perfect. $25,000 investment in 1959, rabid buyers, money flowing left and right, no debt...worth almost a billion 50 years later...tell me the Big 3 car makers wouldn't like to be in the same position...RW is very competent.

you're using the wrong standard for "competence".

As a businessman, he's very competent, and very wealthy as a result of his competence.

As a football guy, he's as incompetent as it gets, which makes him even more competent as a businessman because he's managed to get super rich off of an inferior product.

[trapezeus]

which makes him even more competent as a businessman because he's managed to get super rich off of an inferior product.

So are you saying Bill gates and ralph wilson are one in the same?

[Typ0]

Ralph has always been a meddling, control freak type of owner who not only wants to be involved in the business/financial/marketing side of the operation - which he's good at - but the football side as well.

I believe his overzealous, hands on approach to the football side has resulted in our being a very average team for much of our existence. He has made - or approved - the hiring of mostly horrid coaches (Buster Ramsey, Hank Bulloch, Kay Stevenson, Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey to name but a few) and has run off guys like Chuck Knox and Lou Saban, who actually won here. His GMs have not generally been great either, except for Polian, with whom he got lucky, but eventually (rightly or wrongly) fired.

The Brandon/Jauron mess is just the latest in a 50 year ownership reign that has been dominated by amateurism and mediocrity.

Right on! You have been on fire this week Jan...

[bigbub2352]

thank you for proving my point...it all makes RW very competent...he is a business man. the business is perfect. $25,000 investment in 1959, rabid buyers, money flowing left and right, no debt...worth almost a billion 50 years later...tell me the Big 3 car makers wouldn't like to be in the same position...RW is very competent.

Obviously u didnt get mine, i never said he wasnt incompetent
he only cares about money and is satisfied with ripping the fans of Buffalo off all day long and continues to put a mediocre product on the feild

he knew what he was doing to line his pockets
he did not know what he was doing in trying to win a superbowl
and maybe he didnt care

[bigbub2352]

you're using the wrong standard for "competence".

As a businessman, he's very competent, and very wealthy as a result of his competence.

As a football guy, he's as incompetent as it gets, which makes him even more competent as a businessman because he's managed to get super rich off of an inferior product.

Exactly what i was tryin to say!!! good post OP

[Typ0]

he's not even a competent business person. Have you seen his press conferences for the past five years? He babbles on with thoughts that aren't even connected about things completely irrelevant. He rarely even knows what day or even month it is. I don't know how people can see this and apply the word competence to him at all.

[Mitchy moo]

he's not even a competent business person. Have you seen his press conferences for the past five years? He babbles on with thoughts that aren't even connected about things completely irrelevant. He rarely even knows what day or even month it is. I don't know how people can see this and apply the word competence to him at all.

After watching the Bills flounder around for almost 9 years, I think that the above statement rings quite true.

[DynaPaul]

He's competent all right. He knows that all it takes is one tiny change to give us false hope and keep us suckers coming back for more. Watch next year. They will sign 1 impact free agent and/or a new coach and this will be marketed as the next magic bullet to solve all of our problems. Unfortunately it won't and will only serve as the next bait-and-switch.