J-Rich is no Scrooge, & Touchdown Tim hasn't ended up Tiny

[top dawg]

I give Jerry Richardson "the business" sometimes, as his salary dump before the last CBA negotiations really left a bad taste in my mouth, as well as his actual crying over the largely baseless public perception that he wasn't sympathetic enough to the issue of domestic violence when he took a hard stand on Greg Hardy. But Richardson, by many accounts, is a good dude (if not necessarily a good owner depending upon one's perspective).

In an article on the Panthers official website, Joe Menzer, perhaps my favorite writer there because he offers a little something "different" at times, has a Q&A with Tim Biakabutuka.

Biakabutuka had the perfect storm of bad luck beset upon him arguably more than any other Panther in history. It was mostly due to injuries, which Thomas Davis, Jon Beason and Dan Morgan certainly know something about, but at least they had the opportunity for appreciable playing time on the field. For Biakabutuka, he just never really got it going, and acknowledges that while talking with Menzer.

 

"Personally, it was a disappointment. I talk about this all the time. The injuries, the timing of the offense I was involved in. The year it almost all came together was the year I got hurt (the worst). Looking back, it didn't come out the way I wanted it to...I just wish I had stayed healthy for a couple of years and had a career where I could look back on it and say I did pretty good."

 

But how can you feel too bad for Biakabutuka? He was an ex-NFL player that saw more money than most of us, even if his career was cut short. Well, as some of us know, a few bad investments can send us straight to the poor house, and Biakabutuka's jewelry business wasn't going as planned. He called upon J-Rich, and is now ultimately the owner of four Bojangles in Augusta, Georgia. Without J-Rich, Touchdown Tim might be a working stiff like most of us.

 

"I stayed in touch with Mr. Richardson even throughout when I owned two jewelry stores. I would meet with him and get his advice. He was advising me even through that. When I was first going into it (buying into Bojangles'), the bank was reluctant to lend me money because I had no experience in the fast food business. So he came with me to the meeting and I got the loan, and so he definitely was a key factor to getting me going."

 

http://m.panthers.com/news/article-2/Tim-Biakabutuka-QA/f3f687f7-d624-4d9a-a3a9-352146e00975

Sure I've heard the story of Richardson affording Greg Olsen and his family the use of his personal plane in regards to Olsen's sick son, but to hear that he helped Touchdown Tim get his footing in a good business is pretty cool. 

Now if he can just give Panthers fans the team's logo at midfield, that would be cool too.

[2jakefansinva]

Doesn't surprise me in the least......

[billionairemonk]

great post, top dawg

doesnt surprise me he'd help out players.  I think the "it's a family" mantra is legit.  with that being said, get the shield off midfield; it hasn't helped us garner any brownie points with the league and we don't share the stadium with another team.

glad biakabutuka is doing well.  I always liked him as a player

[Snake]

Good man yes, but so is kraft and he is also a great owner. 

[pantherclaw]

That's Jerry.

[Malt Liquor]

He a great man but he values loyalty more than winning overall. The NFL shield at the 50 yard line reflects that.

[Davidson Deac II]

20 hours ago, Snake said:

Good man yes, but so is kraft and he is also a great owner. 

He is a great owner because he got a little lucky in hiring Bill B, and quite a bit lucky when the Patriots were able to use a 6th round pick to draft one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.  That is really about the only difference between Richardson and Kraft, at least in terms of quality of performance as a football team owner.

[Jangler]

Or the tuck rule. Without it, Brady bounces all the way to Cleveland..

[mc52beast]

Hard to complain about ownership when you see what's going 

[Snake]

2 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

He is a great owner because he got a little lucky in hiring Bill B, and quite a bit lucky when the Patriots were able to use a 6th round pick to draft one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.  That is really about the only difference between Richardson and Kraft, at least in terms of quality of performance as a football team owner.

There is no such thing as luck. He just knew who to pick as his coach and surround him with good management. 

[Davidson Deac II]

1 hour ago, Snake said:

There is no such thing as luck. He just knew who to pick as his coach and surround him with good management. 

Will have to agree to disagree.  Picking Belichek was a little bit of luck.  Picking up Brady in the 6th round was a great big pile of luck.   I seriously doubt Belichek and company had any idea how good Brady would be, they got lucky.

[Lumps]

Great character and a good person, though many owners do goi person type things, I can give JR that.

 

Besides extreme negative behaviors, I care very little of his moral compass because besides not really being my business, it doesn't matter. You shop at wal mart? Goodwill? Grocery stores? As a customer do you care about their owners moral compass? Highly doubtful because if you did you'd be disgusted. 

With all do respect, as a fan, I don't give a fug. Because as an owner he puts the NFL before the Panthers and business before winning, that's a fact. What's also a fact is since inception his team is bottom 1/3 of the league in winning games. As much as JR may mean or want to win a please fans, sending apology letters to his PSL owners stating he didn't know it'd be 'this bad' after fuging them after the CBA where he fought for a football lockout, the fact remains he can't win. He isn't able to do it, it's a fact backed up by simple W/L stats which put his franchise in the bottom 1/3. As a fan, that's all I care about along with effort that shows a dedication to winning and to the fans before business and before the NFL...to me that's what a fan of the team (not JR fans) should care about. 

 

JR fans claim him to be the bringing of a team to the Carolinas but I give that one to demand, PSL owners, and the good people of Charlotte who pay taxes for this like stadium upgrades when JR refuses to help himself. Honestly and ironically, JR would probably fire anyone in the bottom 1/3 of their job and performs as he has.

 

Just giving a perscpective from a pure Panther fan/investor and nothing else.

[Fox007]

3 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Will have to agree to disagree.  Picking Belichek was a little bit of luck.  Picking up Brady in the 6th round was a great big pile of luck.   I seriously doubt Belichek and company had any idea how good Brady would be, they got lucky.

Luck is how unsuccessful people describe successful people.

They didn't just pick Brady they also trained him in their system and were going to win the SB anyway without him. Drew Bledsoe was not bad in that system and went to a SB himself before Brady even got there.

Also they knew Bill as he was THE protege of Parcells and was their Assistant HC and DB coach during that 96 SB appearance lol...luck...LOL...child plz he was always their next big man after Parcells was to retire...they traded a first rounder to the Jets to acquire his rights since he was following his mentor until he retired.

That's called know your history.

Swear to god Panther fans are the least knowledgeable of the NFL...never hear this crap from storied franchises fanbase.

[Davidson Deac II]

3 hours ago, Fox007 said:

Luck is how unsuccessful people describe successful people.

They didn't just pick Brady they also trained him in their system and were going to win the SB anyway without him. Drew Bledsoe was not bad in that system and went to a SB himself before Brady even got there.

Also they knew Bill as he was THE protege of Parcells and was their Assistant HC and DB coach during that 96 SB appearance lol...luck...LOL...child plz he was always their next big man after Parcells was to retire...they traded a first rounder to the Jets to acquire his rights since he was following his mentor until he retired.

That's called know your history.

Swear to god Panther fans are the least knowledgeable of the NFL...never hear this crap from storied franchises fanbase.

My apologies oh knower of all things football related.  We all fail in your August presence.   But I do guarantee the IQ of the fanbase will improve if you leave.  

Its takes a lot to win a Super bowl.  It takes a combination of hard work, talent, and yes some luck. You have to know how to get the right people in the coaching staff,  then that staff has to bust their ass, and you have to get the right combination of players.  Getting the right combination of players does involve some luck, and some skill at assessing those players.  Also involves some luck irt injuries.   Truth is , a team can do almost everything right and still not win it all.

 

Its laughable that you think the Patriots were headed for a Superbowl before Brady got there, given that they looked horrible before he took over.  They were 5-11 the season before, and got off to a horrible start in 2001.   If that is what you believe, then I seriously doubt you have much knowledge of football history.  

 

Don't get me wrong, Bill b is a great coach.  But do you remember who the quarterback was the last time the Patriots didn't make the playoffs? Or know what Kraft and Belichick's record is without Brady as quarterback?   How many superbowls have the Patriots won without Brady as qb?   Or how many times he has been to the playoffs without Brady as qb?  Maybe BB would be as good as say Bill Cowher, with a lot of good seasons, but maybe at most one or two rings, but no one would be talking about Kraft being a great owner.  Patriot fans might even be complaining about Kraft being the owner who fired Pete Carroll.