Fan in Chicago

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.

"Wilson said his only message to fans was “patience” because he projects it’s going to take several more years to build a contender after the team essentially started from scratch two years ago under new general manager Buddy Nix and new coach Chan Gailey." I agree with you, OP. Several more years ? With no reference to his age, really which generation is he living in ? Which owner in todays age of free agency asks for another few years on top of the two that have already been spent ? The last thing he should be asking for is patience. Yes, I am willing to give the new regime another year but the Bills have sucked for the better part of this millennium.

Link ?

Will there be scantily clad girls ?

And as I see his performance with the Jets, McShay was not too far off from the truth was he? I mean, Maybin is no Peppers but given some time and coaching he has at least started showing good results. And that is the definition of 'upside'

Allow me to add to what you said. They not only had the talent but KEPT IT. They did not get rid of their #1s cos they did not perform like #1s are supposed to. Contrast that with the Bills approach of looking for reasons to create holes without having proven, better replacements. Lynch, Evans, Poz, Whitner all were let go without knowing a proven replacement. The 49ers on the other had, ADDED a few first rounder cast offs in Braylon Edwards, Carlos Rogers, Whitner and Ted Ginn Jr. They have a heck of a list of first rounders on their roster. While individually they may not be performing as top picks, together they have gelled under Harbaugh and now are serious contenders.

Here is why i believe that the DC is the problem. - He is nearing the end of his second season with little improvement to show for it save for improvement on the run D compared to last year - Players out of position: (1) Fiddling around with Moats at ILB when he was clearly more suited to be an OLB.(2) Johnson at LB (3) Keeping Andra Davis on the bench when we still give up huge runs up the middle. (4) Inability to use Maybin who, even if situational, has been productive for the Jets ...... - Two drafts almost all on D and still not showing improvement overall. Individually, several of these players (AWilliams, Searcy, Shep) have shown talent but they have not been able to work cohesively to improve the overall D performance I am aware that we changed scheme but in today's NFL, a turnaround should be possible in less than 2 seasons. Look at what (primarily) a coaching chanege did in San Francisco. Calling for his head is not scapegoating. He needs to go because he has proven himself to be incompetent and in over his head for this job.

If you ever find an offer for alternate employment, please speak to me first. I will double your salary on this board just to ensure you never leave. This is priceless stuff !

Agree and makes me wonder what took so long in putting him in as return man. I think Rodgers is perfectly happy being the main man in Green Bay and his job is secure despite the loss to KC yesterday

I give him a C for fielding a team and coaches that have delivered a worse record than when he took over. And this after 2 years of his leadership. I did not grade him lower cos the 2011 draft class shows a lot of promise. What is your grade ?

Saw MI4 last night - very very good action flick. I was initially unhappy that I was forced to go for an IMAX screening due to the higher price(as there are very few non-IMAX screens this week in my area). But it was fun as I had never seen any on such a huge screen. Besides that, the movie itself was terrific with good acting, terrific action sequences and a half-way decent plot. All you expect from a popcorn movie is present in generous helpings. I highly recommend it.

Except they dont play the exact same opponents (besides each other). Bills play(ed) Bengals, Titans (combined 14-12 so far) Dolphins play(ed) Browns, Texans (combined 14-12 so far) I think the overall SOS will also depend upon where these teams end up. So if we lose this weekend, we should be preferentially rooting for the Browns and Texans from here on out. No ?