Fan in Chicago

Exactly what I was thinking. This year, more than most, I miss the likes of Spielman, Paup. Heck, even Takeo Spikes.

He is being paid $100 MM. He shouldn't need anyone to talk to him and motivate him. I am hoping the wrist injury was a primary reason for his under-whelming performance so far. He is paid to be mentioned in the same breath as Clay Matthews, JPP, Peppers. And those saying the entire D sucks - he is paid to do well at his position. As an example, Kyle Williams does not need this excuse as he still makes plays.

Background- Tarvaris Jackson is not yet activated. If we trade for Tebow now, no way Gailey feels comfortable with him as a QB for 4-6 weeks. Tebow will add little to this season. Why give up a draft pick for such minimal gain ? If we get him to be a gimmicky player and not a QB, we already have Brad Smith. I don't see what Tebow will add over his skills beyond a very competitive streak. Secondly, if we trade for him now hoping to use him next season, it is even more silly. First of all, we don't know if this current coaching staff will be around next year. The next staff is quite likely to be averse to Tebow. Looking at it another way, this may be a deterent to coaches coming to Buffalo if they feel they will have to walk into a circus. As it is, we have a tough time getting premium coaching talent. This will make matters worse. Thirdly, this will be about as blatant a marketing move as Donahoe ever did. Lame lame attempt to boost ticket sales when the basic driver of sales -winning-is absent. Finally, much as we have grown weary of Fitz, the biggest problem right now is the D. Till we find a solution to that problem(s), we will not win. ANd I am not even going to discuss the lack of QB'ing skills that others have already pointed out in this thread Bottom line - I realize that much of this is speculation but come on guys ! Tebow will not help us in the win column.

Yes, not absolving the D at all in yesterday's loss. As an example, that long TD run that Chris Johnson ripped off was inexcusable.

Read the board and people are talking more about the putrid D than yesterday's costly mistake by Fitz. But, what I said is that this does not excuse Fitz. Ofcourse turnovers matter. But when they occur matters even more. If he had thrown it mcuh earlier in the game, it would have allowed the O to make up for it. Gailey to call plays accordingly. But that game killing mistake happened at a horrible time. Fitz did this last year in the Giants game. He was mediocre even in the Cardingals game and it was only Byrd that saved our bacon. I am talking only about Fitz because that is the topic of this thread. I have discussed the D in Bill in NYC's thread.

I agree with your thoughts. For those saying we don't have enough talent on the D side, they have to look at the O and its success. For a moment, forget about Fitz and see that from the blocking to the RBs to WR, they are performing extremely well. Another true #2 WR will do wonders but still the O is generating points. Now, consider that Nix and co., built this O by retaining key pieces and adding others. This same team of talent evaluators can NOT have made such major mistakes purely on the D side. I cannot believe that Mario playing hurt, an unmotivated Dareus, a confused Shep, out-matched A Williams etc are coincidences. There is something fundamentally wrong with the D and it cannot be just the lack of talent. They are seriously under-performing. We have a good opportunity with the bye-week. Here is what I would like to see or considered seriously: - Fire DaveW and perhaps promote Bob Sanders. Alternatively, see if an unemployed DC material can come in and help in short order. e.g. is Singletary still out of a job ? - Bench Dareus and start Carrington till the kid gets his mojo back. - MOve A Williams to safety and (gasp) start McK. Not sure I trust Rogers yet. When does Brooks come back from IR ? - Activate Tarvaris Jackson and give him first team reps in practice. He has had enough time to study the playbook. If we traded for him, give him a chance to play.

The pathetic D and Fitz being mediocre are two separate topics. Either one, by itself, does not excuse the other. The D is horrible, yes. But, Fitz had no business throwing that INT. It is partly Gailey's fault for still trusting Fitz in a critical situation after all he has seen since last season. However, a competent QB still has to be able to make that throw (not a particularly easy one but still). For all the credit that Fitz gets for being a cerebral QB who makes quick decisions, he sure makes some incredibly bone-headed ones. He pretty much wiped out an entire game of good QB'ing by throwing that INT and giving the other team the opportunity to win. I get that people in this thread are upset that Fitz appears to be made a scapegoat. But this is a team sport- if the D is not holding up its end of the bargain, the O has to take up the slack and do its utmost to not pile on the mistakes.

Dude is not getting any push and is rarely beating his blocker. As several others have pointed out, he looks noticibly slower. I realize that he is dealing with personal tragedy. But no matter what the reason, he is not performing and I would argue he needs to sit. Whether he needs time to regain his football focus ir if he needs to start working weight off ir if he needs to have a fire lit, he should get off the field and let someone have a chance to contribute.

Potter, Tarvaris Jackson, SD Howell, Morrison, Urbik, Glenn, Mark Anderson Potter is a surprise unless I missed an injury

I had to think about Harbaugh's decision to not take the safety if it was not a first down. But it makes perfect sense- take possession and take two knees to decisively end the game

Can't believe this is the same Niners offense that trampled the Bills not a long time ago

Can't wait for him to come back as I want to see if what he showed in preseason is real or a fluke. I hope he is a physical corner and we can look to our future with great hope. Gilmore-Brooks-Rogers, AWilliams to safety.

Which begs the question - shouldn't the guy who made the decision to 'promote' Castillo from OL to DC also be fired ? He is right - once that line starts moving back, there is no stopping them

FWIW - Both my teenage daughters use Blackberry's and still appreciate the full keyboard for the amount of texting they do. They also use twitter, fb pretty extensively and I haven't heard any complaints.

Not sure if he will accept the downgrade, but I wouldn't mind having him as an OC and have Gailey concentrate on HC

So you would be okay with us at 2-4 or lower ? We have looked terrible against the Jets and Pats* but that doesn't mean our record doesn't matter. The positive way to look at it is that despite pathetic performances in 3 games, we still have the same record as the 'dominant' Pats*

I second that.

Does that excuse the bad call on 3rd down ?

What frustrates me is that these are players, most making multiple million dollars to come and play their heart out each and every Sunday. They should not require the proverbial fire under their rears to be lit by someone else. I can understand a couple of players having down days but te large majority of players needing to be 'fired up' by speeches ? Come on ! If it is lack of motivation and a general lack of desire to win, it has to come from the coaches. It is quite telling that several players, especially on D, who have performed well in the past happen to suddenly suck or are out of position. Something deeply is wrong with this team.

I would agree as well with that logic. I doubt we will pull a Cordy Glenn and get a guy at #12 who was supposed to go at #7. Just get THE guy and move this franchise forward. And, Nix better not blow that choice else we will be set back for years more.

You are obviously quite upset as am I. If it helps, here is a bit of hope. Since about the time Ben Roethlisberger was drafted, the concept of babying your newly drafted QB seems to have gone out the window. High picks and even a third rounder such as Russell Wilson start in their rookie season and achieve moderate success. Ben R took a ready Steelers team to the playoffs, Cam Newton had a terrific rookie season, RG III and Luck both seem to be on the right path and not being a liability to their teams. Yes, you can point to a Gabbert and feel hopeless but I think there is more evidence in favor of a successful rookie QB than not. I said in an earlier post that Nix should have drafted a QB last year but it is not quite as hopeless for next season unless he gets too cute and sticks stubbornly to his BPA policy to draft some other position. I think even if there is not a QB who could be considered a BPA, Nix should do a mini 'reach' and pick the QB.

If I remember correctly, the comeback game was blacked out right ? (Not trying to be an a$$, just a genuine question)

How about Jimmy Clausen ? Tho' I would tend to agree with others over here and draft our own bust QB

I disagree that Nix can be absolved of blame. He is the GM, he has scouts working for him and is supposed to be a football guy. It is is his job to judge talent and do whats best for the team in the long run. He failed on all accounts by not upgrading the QB position and believing Fitz is an adequate stop gap. I made your latter point (2011 draft was the PERFECT one to get a QB) before and after last year's draft for the reasons you stated. Team building has to be put in perspective of the long run - not necessarily just your current needs. Drafting one in 2011 would have been the right decision no matter how Fitz developed. I agree entirely with all your above points.

What is he talking about ? That the Bills are considering the move ? Or discussing if the move should happen ?