Max997 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 was San Fran ready to be successful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieatcrayonz Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Isn't it funny how people call Fitzpatrick, Fitzgerald, all the time? Or is it just sad? They got his name right, at first, but towards the end they called him Fitzgerald. What gives? "This is a team that I think is going to get better and better," Fitzgerald added. "We have some stability, just in terms of the coaches are there, with the systems in place for another year, and we've got a lot of the same players, so we're hoping that that stability really helps us." Amazing. I don't know what to make of the overall article though. Yes, Fitz prepped like Billy Joe Hobart once he signed and yes Williams got the boo boo foot as the ink was drying. Those things played a role but I do think all of them wearing each others t-shirts and stuff also played a role. All teams go through growing pains and some are more painful than others. It makes sense that a team like the Bills, call them small market or cheap whichever you prefer, that lets its top players like Whitner and Evans walk would have more growing pains than average. I think consistency actually will help but they also need to add some talent and Fitz personally needs to ditch the Hobart schtick. It sounds like he might, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUFFALOTONE Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) wow this really speaks some sad volumes. your starting QB who you just dumped a ton of cash on and hedged your future with does not think he/they could handle it. are you fkn kidding me? I am not the sky is falling type but this is just horrible. It starts with Chan as well, I don't care how smart he thinks he is or how forthright he sounds in his press conferences, he is not getting the job done!!!! Its great that you identify the problems, !@#$ING FIX THEM!! that is where a real HC shows his worth, when your guys are down and your back is against the wall. That is what made the old Bills so good. These guys are a bunch of pu$$ies waiting for their turn in the barrel or for that dumb ass show with George Wilson.... Like any company leadership starts at the top, I know they wont axe Chan but I am alllll for it! Edited January 26, 2012 by BUFFALOTONE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I don't think Bills fans could either... We kept talking about 2008...and we got it. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talley56 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Wow, what a leader.Backups can't handle success. Backups? He said "WE" weren't ready for weren't ready for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) I don't see where Fitz's quotes are any different than the things Kelly said back in 1986 when he thought that the Bills needed to "learn how to win." Lots of guys on that team used to say the same thing. It's part of the maturation process of a young team. I don't see any problem at all with Fitz's assessment. GO BILLS!!! Amen! For years we've all sat here and bitched that the franchise needs a culture change, and needs to learn how to win. Well now they have started that process, and there is going to be some growing pains. They have learned they can win, now they need to learn how to deal with success. It's a very complex and delicate mindset, and it's tough to get all 53 guys to change and get on-board all at once. Especially when you are still trying to add much needed talent. There is nothing "loser" about his statement. It's a fair assessment of what happened. It's a GOOD thing they recognize it, so they can address it and continue to grow. was San Fran ready to be successful? Yes, much more so than the Bills. Singletary, while his win/loss record sucked, did VOLUMES to change the attitude of that team. Starting with kicking an immature Vernon Davis out of a game. Davis has done many interviews stating that incident changed the type of player he was. Once the attitude was changed, the 9ers then upgraded the coaching position to get them over the hump. It's basically the same thing Gailey is trying to do now. Edited January 26, 2012 by DrDareustein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heels20X6 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Well this is right up there with Trent's "I'm not a fan" comment. It's been nice knowing you Fitz...I give him one more year tops as QB of this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Well this is right up there with Trent's "I'm not a fan" comment. It's been nice knowing you Fitz...I give him one more year tops as QB of this team. How so? He gave an honest assessment of what happened. Even after the New England win, Gailey said "We've learned we can win, now we'll see how they handle success" (paraphrasing). This is not the first time, or first team to go through this. It part of the rebuilding process. We have been LOSERS for 10+ years. Learning to win, and becoming a winning team, isnt a one step process. Anyone who has played organized sports knows this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaroni Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Maybe next year we can worry more about being a good football team and less about growing beards ... cutesy nicknames for the wide recievers ... our TD celebrations ... where we went to school ... and gloating about how we are all seventh round picks and UDFAs. I tumbled to the feeling that the Bills weren't ready for prime time about the same time as everyone seemed to be more concerned with what David Nelson would do for a celebration if he scored a touchdown in Dallas because of his cheerleader girlfriend, and no one seemed concerned about how we could pound Dallas into the dirt. IMHO throughout the year teams develop a personality ... the good teams develop one by winning games in bunches ... the weak teams develop one by promoting Human interest stories. So I guess I agree with Fitz ... until the team gains enough self respect to let their play generate the press and stops thinking they need to be "cute" they are just not ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Does stability translate to sitting on the curb watching the parade go past ... again? When do they think they'll be ready to be successful? When they get to the 49ers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-8 Forever? Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I don't see where Fitz's quotes are any different than the things Kelly said back in 1986 when he thought that the Bills needed to "learn how to win." Lots of guys on that team used to say the same thing. It's part of the maturation process of a young team. I don't see any problem at all with Fitz's assessment. GO BILLS!!! Yep. I think they will get there. Give me a Bills team next year that has as few injuries as the 49ers had this year and I see 10 wins. Easy. Pile the injuries to key guys up, and they are the Rams and their coach gets fired so not getting a bunch of backups to play like starters and we start this all over again. This team/Coach is the last best chance for the Bills prior to Ralph's demise. Once he is gone, all bets are off. Who knows what happens then, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Fitz says "we're hoping that that stability really helps us" = Please don't cut me Is stability on a team not ready to handle success a good thing? Mentality in sports is very difficult to change. On that note how is a professional athlete not ready to handle success? What are they working for? Imo you practice and train your butt off to be successful, and when that happens they don't know how to handle it? That is a very scary indictment of the team and the team leaders. I am curious about that comment as well. What are you so used to losing that when you finally win, you say to yourself "This is too wierd for me winning!, I'm going back to losing, it feels more comfortable." Winning feels great, enjoy it and keep working hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 WTF? Not ready? Maybe he wasn't ready. I'd like to know if it was them personally or as a team depth wise not ready? Hey Fitzweirdo -- PAY THE BILLS some of that $$ $back then!!!! not ready my Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I am curious about that comment as well. What are you so used to losing that when you finally win, you say to yourself "This is too wierd for me winning!, I'm going back to losing, it feels more comfortable." Winning feels great, enjoy it and keep working hard. It could be anything from over-confidence to too much pressure to overthinking your assignments, and a million other factors in between. Plus, it is easy when talking about an individual being ready or not, but we are dealing with a team dynamic across 53 people. Fitz isnt saying "I wasnt ready", or "Player X wasnt ready". He's saying that the Team wasnt ready. And that can be very true. This is why Merriman was/is a valuable asset before his injury, even if he wasnt putting up big numbers. He is a leader who knows how to win. Same thing with the Offensive drop-off after we lost our leaders Wood and Jackson. Hopefully, by drafting successful players from successful teams (such as Dareus from Alabama), they too will bring that winning mentality and eventually become our team leaders. Another reason why I want us to draft Upshaw so badly. It certainly isnt as simple as asking "Why wasnt that guy ready to win?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Since 1972 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 We kept talking about 2008...and we got it. PTR Wow, we fans really do decide wins/losses. Alright everyone start and keep talking how the Bills will be undefeated in 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 We kept talking about 2008...and we got it. PTR Oh no you didn't....just blame the victims? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section122 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) It could be anything from over-confidence to too much pressure to overthinking your assignments, and a million other factors in between. Plus, it is easy when talking about an individual being ready or not, but we are dealing with a team dynamic across 53 people. Fitz isnt saying "I wasnt ready", or "Player X wasnt ready". He's saying that the Team wasnt ready. And that can be very true. This is why Merriman was/is a valuable asset before his injury, even if he wasnt putting up big numbers. He is a leader who knows how to win. Same thing with the Offensive drop-off after we lost our leaders Wood and Jackson. Hopefully, by drafting successful players from successful teams (such as Dareus from Alabama), they too will bring that winning mentality and eventually become our team leaders. Another reason why I want us to draft Upshaw so badly. It certainly isnt as simple as asking "Why wasnt that guy ready to win?" That's what's so scary about those quotes. Fitz is supposed to be the leader and the face of the franchise. Who spoke up when things were bad? Dareus a rookie! I'm as big of a homer/excuse maker as the next guy (ok maybe not as much as PTR but still) but this is a bad situation. I'll again state that these PROFESSIONAL athletes should not have to learn how to win or how to deal with winning - most come from either a very succesful high school or college team. This speaks volumes about the culture of the entire organization and again is a very scary statement. This to me is akin to Jauron's "it's hard to win in the nfl." I'm with you on Upshaw and think that "the culture" needs to be one of excellence "the Yankee or (eff me for even saying this but) the Patriot way." ....and it starts at the top! Edited January 26, 2012 by section122 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickelCity Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 There is nothing "loser" about his statement. It's a fair assessment of what happened. It's a GOOD thing they recognize it, so they can address it and continue to grow. bingo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 That's what's so scary about those quotes. Fitz is supposed to be the leader and the face of the franchise. Who spoke up when things were bad? Dareus a rookie! I'm as big of a homer/excuse maker as the next guy (ok maybe not as much as PTR but still) but this is a bad situation. I'll again state that these PROFESSIONAL athletes should not have to learn how to win or how to deal with winning - most come from either a very succesful high school or college team. This speaks volumes about the culture of the entire organization and again is a very scary statement. This to me is akin to Jauron's "it's hard to win in the nfl." I'm with you on Upshaw and think that "the culture" needs to be one of excellence "the Yankee or (eff me for even saying this but) the Patriot way." ....and it starts at the top! We in agreement on a number of things, but I think you are still misunderstanding me on a couple of points. The largest one being, it's not the "professional athlete(s)" who dont know how to win, it's the TEAM as a whole. They are two completely different things. We all know about "mob mentality" and that's what we are dealing with here. I am surprised that Fitz isnt more of a leader on the team as well. Especially since he ran Camp Fitz for his WRs. But it was widely reported that Freddy had assumed the offensive leader position back in camp, and Wood was behind him. Either way, I dont think what Fitz said is anything that horrible, nor is it surprising in the least. After watching this team flounder for over a decade, it was obvious that they needed to learn how to win, and how to handle success. We've all said it, Buddy has said it, now Fitz has said it. And he didnt say they didnt know how to win, it was that they werent ready to handle success, and that's a valid assessment. Changing that culture is a process that has a number of steps. It's good to see that the players are recognizing it, and their mistakes. It's the only way to grow and learn. We just have to be patient in the meantime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section122 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 We in agreement on a number of things, but I think you are still misunderstanding me on a couple of points. The largest one being, it's not the "professional athlete(s)" who dont know how to win, it's the TEAM as a whole. They are two completely different things. We all know about "mob mentality" and that's what we are dealing with here. I am surprised that Fitz isnt more of a leader on the team as well. Especially since he ran Camp Fitz for his WRs. But it was widely reported that Freddy had assumed the offensive leader position back in camp, and Wood was behind him. Either way, I dont think what Fitz said is anything that horrible, nor is it surprising in the least. After watching this team flounder for over a decade, it was obvious that they needed to learn how to win, and how to handle success. We've all said it, Buddy has said it, now Fitz has said it. And he didnt say they didnt know how to win, it was that they werent ready to handle success, and that's a valid assessment. Changing that culture is a process that has a number of steps. It's good to see that the players are recognizing it, and their mistakes. It's the only way to grow and learn. We just have to be patient in the meantime. I'm with you on the team needing to learn to win and feel strongly that a culture change needs to happen. I'm suprised to learn that Freddy and Wood were the leaders especially as you said with Camp Fitz and I hadn't heard that before. I'm also very disappointed. The qb should be a leader and someone that is leaned on when times are tough. Could you imagine Brady or Manning or Brees deferring to someone else? I guess we do agree on the majority of things, except whether that what he said was said was something bad or not. To me it is an indictment of the entire organization. Not a player, coach, unit, or otherwise but the entire organization. Chan's job should be making sure his team stays humble and prepared. This would be where more Merriman and Barnett (FAs from winning teams) would be an asset. It also is why building through the draft is not all its cracked up to be. Until the culture is changed bringing young players into this mess won't help things. I was an athlete and winning was the end goal. When we won it didn't change anything about how I prepared. Then again I didn't have media hounding me for interviews, my time, etc... is there someone on the staff who handles this for players? Is that the media relations guy's job? I remember a quote after Stevie dropped the Steelers ball in ot and an analyst said he dropped that ball not on sun but tues-sat bc of all the media he had done from the Cincy game. Seems someone dropped the ball on preparing/managing these players interviews/appearances. p.s. great discussion nice to have a convo without attacks/name calling but honest discussion about our Bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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