Buffalo Bills 2023 Thread

[Taro T]

4 hours ago, JohnC said:

It's just not qbs that struggle because they get drafted into bad situations. Poorly managed organizations create hurdles for players in all the positions. Look how bad the Bills were prior the McDermott/Beane era? There is no question that a highly rated qb prospect is going to have more challenges on a bad team than a more talented team. But there are still ways to smartly manage that situation. For one, don't play the young qb right away. And if you are going to play him as soon as possible it is better to provide him with an adequate OL and good coaching support to help the qb have a better chance to succeed. 

The Bills were bad and they had some absolute head scratchingly bad picks like Maybin.  But a lot of their draft picks during the drought did pan out but they refused to pay market rate for them after their initial contracts so they either traded them for a pittance or simply let them walk.  Not keeping any of your good players beyond their 1st contract is a great way to always have to refill the same holes you filled 3 years prior.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

The Bills were bad and they had some absolute head scratchingly bad picks like Maybin.  But a lot of their draft picks during the drought did pan out but they refused to pay market rate for them after their initial contracts so they either traded them for a pittance or simply let them walk.  Not keeping any of your good players beyond their 1st contract is a great way to always have to refill the same holes you filled 3 years prior.

It was the Ralph Wilson and Jeff Littman business model. When your owner and his primary business financial advisor refuse to adapt to the new reality of professional sports and its new economic model then you get left behind. Especially at the later stages of the declining owner, this franchise was a dilapidated used car competing against tuned-up Ferraris. 

There is no question that Pegula made a lot of mistakes when he first took over. But eventually he assembled the right staff and the football franchise is one of the better run franchises in the NFL. And fortunately, although belatedly, the owner has put together the right staff with his hockey franchise. Now this team is ready to become a serious team in the NHL. And everyone in the business is aware of that turnaround. 

(You need Google Chrome to bring up this Buff News link.)

 

https://buffalonews.com/news/polian-bills-contract-miscalculations-were-not-on-my-watch/article_f2a047e9-6f86-560a-98b1-f221d9f368ac.html

Edited May 8, 2023 by JohnC

[Taro T]

Probably should put this in the 2022 Bills thread because it isn't likely that Araiza ends up a Bill again, but apparently the prosecutors in SD have dropped all charges against him and the others that were accused of sexual crimes last year by the same girl.

EDIT:  The article cited in the tweet includes some explicit language of a depiction of the events of that evening.

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Taro T

[Randall Flagg]

Just now, Taro T said:

Probably should put this in the 2022 Bills thread because it isn't likely that Araiza ends up a Bill again, but apparently the prosecutors in SD have dropped all charges against him and the others that were accused of sexual crimes last year by the same girl.

 

There is some wild information in that article. That is all I will say, to avoid saying something I shouldn't 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:

There is some wild information in that article. That is all I will say, to avoid saying something I shouldn't 

Good point.  Added an edit warning of such in the original post.  Thanks.

[Wyldnwoody44]

So what if he is completely innocent there should be some legal recourse for this girl. Jail time recourse to be exact. 

His career could have been derailed permanently becuae of this. 

[Eleven]

3 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

So what if he is completely innocent there should be some legal recourse for this girl. Jail time recourse to be exact. 

His career could have been derailed permanently becuae of this. 

The lawyer, too.  The girl isn't the one who went public.  This has Mike Nifong stink on it and always has.

[...]

This is why any organization should have the stones to stand down until all evidence of a claim is investigated instead of withering before obviously ignorant punditry. This is weak sauce on the part of the Bills and, frankly, I hope they suffer some comeuppance over this.

[Eleven]

1 minute ago, ... said:

This is why any organization should have the stones to stand down until all evidence of a claim is investigated instead of withering before obviously ignorant punditry. This is weak sauce on the part of the Bills and, frankly, I hope they suffer some comeuppance over this.

What were they supposed to do, deal with questions after every practice and arguments on all the morning shows?  They didn't cause this problem and they probably reacted as best they could.   And after all, we *still* don't really know anything.  

But that lawyer acted irresponsibly and not in conformity with his state's ethics laws.

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, ... said:

This is why any organization should have the stones to stand down until all evidence of a claim is investigated instead of withering before obviously ignorant punditry. This is weak sauce on the part of the Bills and, frankly, I hope they suffer some comeuppance over this.

In an ideal world, yes.

But, don't forget they were getting absolutely pilloried for having had the audacity to have drafted him.  EVERYTHING about the team was only about the punter.  That their own due dilligence resulted in the same conclusion that the prosecutor's came to didn't matter.  They made a decision based on the hellstorm that was being rained down upon them.  

As @Eleven said, they were never going to stop being asked about him as long as he was on the team.  It isn't right, but until there are repercussions for wildly unfounded accusations, there will be future wildly unfounded accusations.  (Not saying her & her lawyer's accusations were unfounded, but they sure seem to be if the yahoo article is even close to accurate.)

And the team bowed to the public pressure because the distraction very likely could've cost them wins.

[Scottysabres]

This makes a strong case MGTOW. In today's ultra faced paced news cycle society a person's future could be altered permanently before a complete release of all the evidence of an investigation.

[K-9]

Surprised we haven’t heard from the accuser’s attorney yet because previously he couldn't shut up about his civil case. I wonder if he will drop it given all the exculpatory evidence just furnished by the prosecutors for the defense attorneys to use at trial. 

[LTS]

1 hour ago, ... said:

This is why any organization should have the stones to stand down until all evidence of a claim is investigated instead of withering before obviously ignorant punditry. This is weak sauce on the part of the Bills and, frankly, I hope they suffer some comeuppance over this.

This is very easy to say when it's not your reputation as an owner on the line and your money at stake.  The blame you are seeking rests at the feet of the lynch mob society we have created. They have to operate their organization in accordance.

33 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

This makes a strong case MGTOW. In today's ultra faced paced news cycle society a person's future could be altered permanently before a complete release of all the evidence of an investigation.

The news is one piece, but society itself is the real problem. The information age created the age of instant judgment. A news organization that takes it time to report will end up out of business. Why?  Because society demands instant information, the accuracy is not relevant. Imagine, this long after the original charges were filed the truth comes out.  What news organization was going to wait this long?  None.

People don't want to hear rational opposition. They don't want to wait to pass judgment because they have to move on to the next thing.

We're the reasons these things happen.  Not the organizations that make money from being relevant to those people... they are just being business owners.

[...]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

This is very easy to say when it's not your reputation as an owner on the line and your money at stake.  The blame you are seeking rests at the feet of the lynch mob society we have created. They have to operate their organization in accordance.

 

No.

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

In an ideal world, yes.

But, don't forget they were getting absolutely pilloried for having had the audacity to have drafted him.  EVERYTHING about the team was only about the punter.  That their own due dilligence resulted in the same conclusion that the prosecutor's came to didn't matter.  They made a decision based on the hellstorm that was being rained down upon them.  

As @Eleven said, they were never going to stop being asked about him as long as he was on the team.  It isn't right, but until there are repercussions for wildly unfounded accusations, there will be future wildly unfounded accusations.  (Not saying her & her lawyer's accusations were unfounded, but they sure seem to be if the yahoo article is even close to accurate.)

And the team bowed to the public pressure because the distraction very likely could've cost them wins.

And no.

The Bills are in the ideal position to reject and fight this type of behavior/mania. The larger, more high-profile the entity fighting behavior by media and pundits that everyone knows to be wrong the larger the blow to that behavior/mania. Capitulating to it only gives it power. The Bills would have easily survived standing by their player despite the caterwauling of those who are demonstrably insignificant to anything.

For those concerned about image, ponder how awesome they'd look today if they had waited until all of the facts were established in the matter.

AFAIC, when we excuse that kind of base, cowardly behavior shown by the Bills we promote the entire ugly situation and do nothing to eradicate it, which, instead should be rejected and fought against.

[Wyldnwoody44]

Innocent until proven guilty is a thing of the past. Hell, even a paid administrative leave until it's sorted out type of thing would have been sufficient. 

[shrader]

So you often see prosecutors come out like that and over and over say “you’re lying”?

[Eleven]

2 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Innocent until proven guilty is a thing of the past. Hell, even a paid administrative leave until it's sorted out type of thing would have been sufficient. 

I like where you're headed with this idea but the league isn't there yet--he still would have counted against the roster limit and against the cap.

[Wyldnwoody44]

19 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I like where you're headed with this idea but the league isn't there yet--he still would have counted against the roster limit and against the cap.

I thought the commish had it in his power to make an exemption for special cases. I'm not sure 100% though. 

[That Aud Smell]

12 hours ago, Eleven said:

What were they supposed to do, deal with questions after every practice and arguments on all the morning shows?  They didn't cause this problem and they probably reacted as best they could. 

11 hours ago, Taro T said:

They made a decision based on the hellstorm that was being rained down upon them.  

This is the right take. The Bills were not and are not in the business of taking self-styled principled stands in opposition to the social forces that created this scandal and controversy, as has been suggested upthread. The Bills are in the business of making money, preserving and promoting their brand, and winning football games. In light of those priorities and what they were dealing with, they had no choice but to part ways with the player.

I hope everyone involved in this unfortunate story is able to get on with the life that awaited them before these allegations came to light.

[shrader]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

This is the right take. The Bills were not and are not in the business of taking self-styled principled stands in opposition to the social forces that created this scandal and controversy, as has been suggested upthread. The Bills are in the business of making money, preserving and promoting their brand, and winning football games. In light of those priorities and what they were dealing with, they had no choice but to part ways with the player.

I hope everyone involved in this unfortunate story is able to get on with the life that awaited them before these allegations came to light.

And I'd just like to add to this that a QB brings in money.  A WR brings in money.  A punter does not bring in money.

 

*I am not implying a single thing about the individuals who currently fill those positions.

[That Aud Smell]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

And I'd just like to add to this that a QB brings in money.  A WR brings in money.  A punter does not bring in money.

This is more than fair. These things exist on a continuum. If the same accusations were being made against a highly-prized prospect at a premier position, then the team's response is apt to have been different.

[K-9]

5 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Innocent until proven guilty is a thing of the past. Hell, even a paid administrative leave until it's sorted out type of thing would have been sufficient. 

Innocent until proven guilty is strictly a legal construct. And for good reason.

[LTS]

11 hours ago, ... said:

No.

And no.

The Bills are in the ideal position to reject and fight this type of behavior/mania. The larger, more high-profile the entity fighting behavior by media and pundits that everyone knows to be wrong the larger the blow to that behavior/mania. Capitulating to it only gives it power. The Bills would have easily survived standing by their player despite the caterwauling of those who are demonstrably insignificant to anything.

For those concerned about image, ponder how awesome they'd look today if they had waited until all of the facts were established in the matter.

AFAIC, when we excuse that kind of base, cowardly behavior shown by the Bills we promote the entire ugly situation and do nothing to eradicate it, which, instead should be rejected and fought against.

What a great response you had.. telling me No.  I'll infer from your unbolded response that you are still willing to gamble others money.. not your own. You'd be out of business in a heartbeat.  If that's okay by you, then so be it.  Principles don't pay the bills.

Rage against the people, the machine is just a construct of theirs.

[...]

2 hours ago, LTS said:

What a great response you had.. telling me No.  I'll infer from your unbolded response that you are still willing to gamble others money.. not your own. You'd be out of business in a heartbeat.  If that's okay by you, then so be it.  Principles don't pay the bills.

Rage against the people, the machine is just a construct of theirs.

Gamble? What about sacrificing an innocent person? Money being the prime motivator to hang the innocent is depraved at best.

[MattPie]

10 minutes ago, ... said:

Gamble? What about sacrificing an innocent person? Money being the prime motivator to hang the innocent is depraved at best.

"Sacrificing" seems a little strong. They guy didn't get the job he wanted, and may now a year later. I'm not trying to make light of it, but it's not like he was in jail.