Fan in Chicago

I hear what you are saying, in this post and the previous. But this FO does not ensure we have replacements before cutting those they think do not fit the team's strategy (for better or worse). Aaron Williams and Justin Rogers are our definites. Based on injury (McGee) and underperformance (McK, Corner), we may be looking for a lot of CB help. But that is just my take on it. The consensus so far, in this thread, is that McK stays. I think he goes if we get something in a trade. I too doubt he will be cut outright.

This upcoming offseason will be extremely important as I believe Gailey will be fighting for his job next season. Despite Mr Wilson's plea for patience and lowering the expectations by saying it will take a few more years to build a winner, the ticket sales will dictate a different strategy. In that background, a key step is making important personnel moves. While acquiring talent is important, it is also crucial to know when to cut the cord and give opportunities to other personnel to improve the team. Here are my picks for players who may not be Bills in 2012: -Roscoe Parrish: Today it was reported that Nix has not made up his mind. His contract is up and considering his inability to stay on the field, he is a player who occupies a roster spot and has the coaches draw up offensive strategies in the offseason only to see them dashed when he goes down again. - McKelvin: This will be a semi-surprise. McK finally showed some flashes in the return game, suffice to say that he has underperformed. Even if we forget his draft position, he is just not an instinctive and smart CB. He is signed through 2012 but Nix will try to trade him and if we get anything of value, he may be history - Reggie Corner: his contract is up. He is okay under desperate conditions but he is too small and not a very good DB. I think he will not be back unless we just need some CBs for depth (and esp if McK indeed is traded/cut) On the bubble: - Troup: He is an enigma. We just dont know how good a contributor he will be as he hasn't seen the field enough to show us what he has. Perhaps he should have had the back surgery a long time back, but I am no doctor. We have good DTs in Williams, Dareus and maybe Heard. If Troup does not have a good camp, his job with the Bills may be in jeapordy Opinions? Thoughts ?

While we Bills fans may gloat at the Jets' situation, they have the full offseason to fix things. Their reeling has no effect on this season or the next. The mettle of that franchise's administration will be tested, yes, but they have several good players already. Some good management, tough decisions and coaching can make sure that these current troubles do not affect next season.

In the games I have seen, Sanchez seems to have the physical tools but not a quick mind to make decisions. Far too often, he looks like he is over-thinking his throws. Does not seem natural. The FO had built a great OL for him and he should have been in an ideal position to succeed. My vote goes towards Sanchez being the primary reason for their offense's inability to perform at a high level.

A victim of Sanchez's underperformance.

What a terrible tragedy. No parent should have to bury their kid The report

Till now, I was sympathetic to him and recognized that his draft position was not his fault. However, he now makes these statements and burnt up any goodwill fans such as me had towards him. Very un-classy.

No wonder you are full of hot air

Thanx for giving me 2 seconds of happiness before bursting my bubble. Hope the chicken in your lunch is rotten.

I cannot hear from work, but from the summaries here, I am glad that: - he did not preach 'patience' - Did not talk about needing 'runners' - Acknowledged skill gap in WR & pass rushing corps Let us see who they actually draft, but I still think we should draft a QB high if there is one the FO likes. Let him learn behind Fitz. Free Agent wide receiver list is quite extensive and can be found here: Dwayne Bowe, Vincent Jackson are both good choices. Perhaps Earl Bennett as a wild card but not too sure about him.

If I am not mistaken, the 1992 Cowboys had the #1 D under Wanny. They ofcourse also has Jim Jeffcoat, Charles Haley etc but so many years of top 10 Ds cannot be merely coincidences or simply the result of having superior players only. I am sure he will provide input during the free agency and draft. I feel better about the D's prospects already. I was getting tired of these 'promising coordinators' who cannot deliver in Buffalo. A proven DC is a breath of fresh air

Yes ! I think this is a sign of good succession planning where Whaley came 'early' to learn about the organization and its people and ways of working. Now that he is warmed up, Nix will be around for any help needed during the draft and then retire (to a place where naps are the norm and not some cheap target for juvenile fans)

I am all for protecting the team from his stupidity. Yours may not be a bad idea and neither is Beerball's (team fine if more incidents). As I said very early in this thread, these problems are fixable IMHO. A little tough love, as was shown to him by yesterday's benching, should fix the problem. Your suggestion basically gives him another year to prove that he can mend his ways. Look, I think he is stupid but not a criminal. And we need to get (at least one) another stud WR anyway. And the team should not get rid of everyone who is not a perfect team player. These are athletes, a majority of who are not the smartest guys in the room. You are going to get the insolent brats with the pretty boys. The job of the coach is to be part teacher, part disciplinarian and part psychologist. Keep SJ and protect against the downsides.

Wow ! This thread brought on responses fast. So without reading all of them, here is my $0.025 (because I am half a cent smarter than everyone else) - Stevie can get open against some of the best CBs in the league - His occasional childish behavior can be corrected. Those who disagree have never raised teens. He does not get into trouble with the law, a much more serious situation IMHO (ref: Lynch, Marshawn) - The only flaw I see in SJ is his dropsies but they seem to be few and far in-between. Granted they probably cost us two games but the solution may be to get another WR (who we need in the worst way, anyway) and target that WR or Nelson during clutch moments My opinion is that he is like a petulant child who can be disciplined into not causing stupid penalties. He seems dedicated to the sport and hence I am confident he can mend his ways. Re-sign him for a $6-$8 M/year.

Agree on the Tintin movie. As for TTSS, I am quite mad that it is playing at only two theaters in the Chicagoland area, the closest of which is almost an hour's drive away ! This limited release nonsense sucks.

While I agree with most of your stuf, I differ in the end conclusion. Once fallen behind, we had to pass more and plus opposing Ds could cheat and dare us to pass. With few receiving threats, there wasnt much success to be had doing that either. So, in a way, the O was severely hampered in both ways. We absolutely need more WRs and at least one more stud O lineman. With these, Fitz can at least look average until we get a stronger armed QB who can 'make all the throws'

So you think Gailey mysteriously lost his offensive marbles sometime during the middle of the season or can you imagine that he is severely hampered by the combination of a banged up O-Line, loss of his star RB and lack of receiving threats ?

For all their offensive prowess, I have a tough time believing they can get by defenses such as Pittsburgh and Baltimore's. But I really want them to reach the Superbowl and watch their rears get thumped by any one of the 49ers, Packers or Saints. I think the Saints or the Pack can put up 500+ yards on that pass D.

Did he play today ?

Crazy time when you have Brad Bird doing action and Spielberg doing animation (motion capture but whatever). Saw Tintin last night and it is a very good movie. This is not a funny movie per-se but it is a lot of fun. I am a huge fan of the comic books but I think those that are not should also enjoy it.

WR - I agree on that aspect TE - Chandler has done very well this year. Do we need to bolster TE when we have so many other crying needs ? Runner - Seriously ? With FJax and CJ around, still need more ? Fitz - the key is 'until this losing streak' Second year in a row, Fitz started fading around the half way mark. This cannot be a coincidence. Despite the injuries and lack of receiving threats, his mistakes and general inaccuracy on throws can only point to his limitations. He can be serviceable for another year with better weapons, but we need an upgrade to develop. Arguably we should have picked one up last draft He is asking for patience after so many years of not even sniffing the playoffs ? He thinks the fans are going to buy this line when the 49ers, Lions, Bengals have turned things around ? When Pats*, Steelers, Packers are continuously elite teams ? Which century and which decade is his thought process stuck in ? Dude - you are proving my points. (1) At the time they were let go, their replacements were not proven (2) Yes, you can say this was identification of future talent. But I say, this is creating holes and filling them as opposed to growing the team. We need to keep our above average talent and use our picks/FA to add playmakers and leaders

These guys were not super stars but better than average. they had proven themselves. And for most of them, we did not have someone who was better and pushed them out of the job. About the only decision I agree with was Poz and that too cos he would have been quite expensive. Even Kyle Williams and Fitz were not drafted/acquired by this regime but they were still extended. So my point is that Nix has not been consistent in his approach nor does he seem to have direction. See how many first rounders the 49ers have on their squad. Not all of them superstars (whitner, ted Ginn) but look at their success and tell me that loading up on above average high picks does not translate into success And now for the owner to come out and say it is going to take a few more years is the pits in stupidity. Especially in this day and age when teams take no mroe than 2-3 years to turn things around.

I want to laugh but am too angry for that. If this wasn't pathetic, it would be funny. Good job, May Day

I know the question is not directed at me. but i have something to say on that point you made. I supported many of the personnel decisions not because I agreed with them but because I thought Nix is a 'football man' and knows what he is doing. I ratinalized the moves thinking he knows better than me about team building. At the time, for pretty much every player - lynch, Poz, Whitner, Evans I came out against the idea of getting rid of them before having a proven replacement. But finally thought that Nix knows what he is doing. But two years in, we have failed results. I dont see how this team could have been worse off with all these players still on the team. Nix came out first with the 'keep your own' mantra and did the opposite. He also made the famous 'show me the baby' statement which now rings hollower than a drunkard's bottle. I think this press conference/interview is going to blow up in RW's face big time. The media and fans are going to skewer him for these statements and he will be forced to recant them a few days later. This has to be the most idiotic bunch of statements that an owner of a professional franchise can make to his fan base.

Truly, Bill. This interview or press conference has me more depressed than pretty much anything over the past decade. 1. He thinks that Fitz is all right. As most of us here see, he is all right to win a few games but not to win playoff games assuming we ever get there with him. 2. Receivers and TEs and runners ??? I agree with the receiver part but runner and TE is NOT the reason we have a pathetic offense. It is blocking, WR and QB play 3. Where is the accountability on defense ? Admission that the DC simply sucks cos he cannot even put the existing talent to good use. 4. As I wrote before, what does he mean by patience ? Even assuming you forget the previous regime, this regime does not deserve more than one additional year to show success. The NFL is littered with teams that showed a turnaround in a couple of years Finally, an over-arching question. Why is the owner making comments about personnel ? That is the GM's job. For the first time, I am starting to believe the ones who keep telling us that the owner meddles too much. Perhaps he does. Looks like RW is truly out of touch with the times. He thinks this is the 70s and 80s when teams needed several years to rebuild. I think RW is frankly out of his mind. Sorry, but I am incredibly pi$$ed right now for the above reasons.