C.Biscuit97 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 If the guy had swastikas on his shirt I would have said a lot worse. He put himself above the team. Again. Tell me why this should be tolerated. Never said it should. He got benched and the message got sent to the entire team. But let's keep things in perspective. He is not a mean spirited guy and I believe his intentions are good. And he's about as good of an all around receiver we have had since Eric Moulds. Move on and hopefully the Bills find a way to keep him. We didn't score a single point after he left the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Doug Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) If we let him leave, he WILL sign with a team within the division, likely NYJs or NE, and for every 1 game he single-handedly loses for his new team against us, he'll destroy us in 9. We might as well replace him with a 1st round DB we'll draft in the spring. Edited January 1, 2012 by kas23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Squirrel Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I don't particularly love what Stevie did; if it were me, I'd spike the ball and move on. BUT...I reached a point years ago where I am more tired of people complaining about this stuff. By rule, it may have deserved a penalty. The rule should be changed. It was a completely harmless act. There should be three considerations when making an excessive celebration call: 1st, does it delay the game. 2nd, was it done to deliberately provoke a reaction from the other team. And 3rd, was it profane. As far as I am concerned, everything else is fair game. I am not entirely convinced he was benched, either. He has been banged up the whole year, and it is possible that the coaches planned to give him the rest of the day off once he broke 1,000 yards. I certainly wouldn't assume he was being punished just because Randy Cross says so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Yeah, I'm sure pro athletes spend their free time reading some of the garbage "fans" post here. I was a shirt that said Happy New Year. He probably shouldn't have done it but it get deal with. But let's not act like the guy had swaiskas on his shirt or something. Doesn't matter even a little what was on the shirt. He knew what would happen if he did it. His team was rolling when he did it and threatened to end the game early. He went ahead anyway and hurt the team proving once and for all that it is all about him and not the team. He can run a good route, but chokes on the big ones and acts like a child repeatedly. My hope is the Bills can get a couple good FA WR's and not have to sign "Me First", but I doubt that's possible. Particularly with Buddy "build through the draft" Nix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Never said it should. He got benched and the message got sent to the entire team. But let's keep things in perspective. He is not a mean spirited guy and I believe his intentions are good. And he's about as good of an all around receiver we have had since Eric Moulds. Move on and hopefully the Bills find a way to keep him. We didn't score a single point after he left the game. Yes we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyghtewynd Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Chan Gailey certainly sent a message to the team: the message was that he really isn't that concerned about winning games. Today should be his last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Gailey had no choice but to bench him. He doesn't bench Stevie then he looks like punk for doing so. He probably loses a lot of respect in the locker room too. Gailey probably lost more respect from the players in the locker room for the benching. Players want to win, and you don't earn respect from vets and rooks for benching one of your better players for a relatively innocuous play. Gailey showed that his ego/pride is more important than winning, and that sentiment will definitely resonate with the players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 Hey buddy Nix, what happened to "keeping your own"? Who of his did he lose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInUticaTampa Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Totally support the benching, but letting him walk puts the lie to "building through the draft"...if they're not building through the draft, and they're not building through free agency, well then they're all out of options, and they're spinning their wheels. Business as usual = wake me up when they make the playoffs. Exactly. IF they don't resign him, then they are just starting over again and again, it it is annoying. They can't replace some talent, then lose another. The team will go nowhere. I think if they somehow do resign him, I think the benching will be for the best. His nonesense arguably lost us a huge jests game. Thins benching will go a lot farther to get it through his head not to do this crap. If he were on the team next year, and his penalty prevented us going to a the playoffs, we would have really wished he were benched this season just to prevent him from being an idiot. Now, whether or not this benching has taught him a lesson is a different story. He doesn't seem as bad as Ocho, but it is puzzleing to me that he did this stunt in a contract year and after the last one was made into such a big deal. Hard to tell if it was selfishness or stupidy. hoping it was stupidity, because that might be easier to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gale Gilbert Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 At this point, should anyone be surprised over Johnson's actions? Anyone who signs him, the Bills included, know what they are getting. If this 7th round pick can rack up 1000 yards with a patchwork o-line, a QB with confidence issues, and no running game for half of the season, then he is worth retaining. If he wants $7.5 million, sign him. Think if Johnson were drafted in the first round, he would already be making $10 million. The Bills are getting 1st round production from him and can get him for cheaper than that. If he takes 2 dumb penalties next season, fine. I'll take the route running ability and the fact that defenses have to game plan for him over the antics any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Gailey probably lost more respect from the players in the locker room for the benching. Players want to win, and you don't earn respect from vets and rooks for benching one of your better players for a relatively innocuous play. Gailey showed that his ego/pride is more important than winning, and that sentiment will definitely resonate with the players. No. Stevie showed that HIS ego/pride was more important than winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternOHBillsFan Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Good players make good plays, can be inconsistent, get over 1,000 yards, and sometimes win games. Great players make great plays, are consistent, get over 1,000 yards, and win games. Stevie Johnson is a good player. You must ask yourself whether or not the Bills should pay a good player $7 mil a year. The choice is clear for me- he is not a great player, hasn't proven himself worthy of $7.5 mil a year, and should walk. What he did today proves that he just doesn't get it- he thinks he's a star, but being a star isn't enough. When you cost your team games, you should be benched and you should lose out on big money. Good for Chan Gailey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endless Ike Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Waive goodbye to Stevie! The next coming of T.O. already has his bags packed. Thats unfair, stevie hasn't called out anybody or thrown anyone under the bus. Say what you want, but he's not a lockerroom cancer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRM33064 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 If we had a real team, with a real winning culture, Stevie's act wouldn't fly. He'd be one talented player among many, and the others wouldn't go for the childish/costly stupidity. Of course, we're not a real team, we have no winning culture, and we don't have a roster of talent players. So - what to do? IDK, it feels like debating which way to rearrange deck chairs on the Titantic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Good players make good plays, can be inconsistent, get over 1,000 yards, and sometimes win games. Great players make great plays, are consistent, get over 1,000 yards, and win games. Stevie Johnson is a good player. You must ask yourself whether or not the Bills should pay a good player $7 mil a year. The choice is clear for me- he is not a great player, hasn't proven himself worthy of $7.5 mil a year, and should walk. What he did today proves that he just doesn't get it- he thinks he's a star, but being a star isn't enough. When you cost your team games, you should be benched and you should lose out on big money. Good for Chan Gailey. This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endless Ike Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Good players make good plays, can be inconsistent, get over 1,000 yards, and sometimes win games. Great players make great plays, are consistent, get over 1,000 yards, and win games. Stevie Johnson is a good player. You must ask yourself whether or not the Bills should pay a good player $7 mil a year. The choice is clear for me- he is not a great player, hasn't proven himself worthy of $7.5 mil a year, and should walk. What he did today proves that he just doesn't get it- he thinks he's a star, but being a star isn't enough. When you cost your team games, you should be benched and you should lose out on big money. Good for Chan Gailey. 7.5 million isn't the market for elite players, it's the market for good players, which Stevie is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heels20X6 Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Gailey probably lost more respect from the players in the locker room for the benching. Players want to win, and you don't earn respect from vets and rooks for benching one of your better players for a relatively innocuous play. Gailey showed that his ego/pride is more important than winning, and that sentiment will definitely resonate with the players. 49 straight points tells me that the team quit on Gailey. Fitzpatrick looked noticeably frustrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Cubed Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I have a honest question for the fans who want to let him walk now. Who do you replace his productivity with? Because Buddy has stated they won't be big in FA with the building through the draft philosohy(which I agree with). And there is no way the Bills go WR with their #1 pick or their #2 one either. Not with the glaring needs at OLB/DE. So how to you replace a WR who averaged 1000 yards and 8.5 TDs in 2 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Gailey probably lost more respect from the players in the locker room for the benching. Players want to win, and you don't earn respect from vets and rooks for benching one of your better players for a relatively innocuous play. Gailey showed that his ego/pride is more important than winning, and that sentiment will definitely resonate with the players. The game is not about one player. Never was. Gailey showed what a head coach must. No players lost respect to Gailey for discilpining a player who refuses to listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 How much does this hurt Stevie financially, if at all? Let's say he wanted 5 years, $35M, $15M guaranteed. Does it now look like 5 years, $30M, $12M guaranteed? Would a team reduce the offer because he is a loose canon, or does his ability cause some team to give him what he wants in spite of the foolishness? Would the Bills still offer him top dollar, or would they be less willing to negotiate at his point? I guess what I am asking is whether this will have a long term impact on Stevie financially, or does talent trump foolishness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts