JESSEFEFFER

Here's what I posted to start a thread "Keep an Open Mind": Lot's of people wanting to say that Ryan Fitzpatrick is or isn't worthy of being the Bills" #1 QB going forward. I cite the following: 1) Quick decisions & quick release = very tough to sack. 2) Stands up in the face of pressure and delivers accurate throws-downfield. I'd like to see the numbers on this but when a pass rusher is coming in unblocked he does not wilt. He's got guts and can take a hit. HE CAN BEAT PRESSURE!!! 3) While he has a few flyers-he very rarely has a misread. Wunderlick score aside, he obviously has a clue. 4) While they haven't won much with him, the losses are looking alot like those they had in 1986, if you catch my point. 5) The offensive line and receivers were supposed to be bottom of barrel. Well they don't look like it with him playing. Raising the level of play of one's teammates is the primary sign of a great player, in my way of thinking. 6) He can make plays in the "other" category. A scramble and a dive for a first down or a key block when a back reverses field. I am waiting for him to closeline a defender after a pick or fumble recovery. I think he'd deliver a blow. He is a football player. I think the Bills could win 3 or 4 of their last 7 and go into next year looking like an organization that has an idea. Having a smart, tough, quick thinking, gunslinging, humble, team first and calm under pressure QB to lead them isn't so bad. All this says in my mind that as fans we should let this play out and not let Fitzpatrick's draft round or college team cloud our judgement. Keep an open mind and let his play speak for itself. It's been so long since we have seen consistently productive QB play that it seems many of us have forgotten what it looks like. I think Chan knows it when he sees it. Fitzpatrick is only 14 months older than Kelly was that 1986 season so there is tread left on those tires. Two USFL seasons and Ryan's 5 years in the league are roughly equivalent in experience although Ryan has never gone through a preseason as "the man." So I agree with the analogy (it's an optimistic one) but it most directly applies to the QB, coach and offense. Hopefully the rest of the pieces fall in line.

I wonder if Stevie had a TD celebration planned for today's game. If so, I wonder if he was thinking about his celebration while the ball was coming to his hands. Regardless, Chan has mentioned the humble/humbled line twice in two weeks. Both times it was directed to the play of Steve Johnson. The first in reponse to the "Why so serious?" celebration and the second in regards to his 5 or 6 drop day. The first I took as a warning the second as a "I tried to warn you" admonishment. I get the impression that Gailey is using the adversity that comes with the failure in these close games to teach these guys how to be pros. They may learn faster under these circumstances because the lessons are more painful.

It may have been high or maybe Stevie was supposed to take two more steps up field before the break but cheated his route and blew the timing. We don't know these things for sure. The whole accuracy issue is bogus in my book. Trent was constantly throwing sideways to stationery targets and people were convinced he was poised and accurate. Now we are watching a QB throw the ball down the field to moving targets with plenty of YAC potential but requiring precise timing between QB and receiver. It's football worth watching.

Any rookie quarterback or even just a young inexperieced one playing on this team and we would still be talking about how bad the o-line and receivers were. The national guys would be saying how the rookie "didn't have a chance" and that Buffalo was not a good situation to develop a guy. Fitz can beat pressure, get the ball out quickly and still get it down field. He is optimizing time and space. This is a rare,conversation changing skill, IMO. If this is true I think we see two or three more wins. The Steelers would be a good one to get.

Maybe the time out was arranged prior to the snap. "Hey Ed, if we don't get in we want a time out." That would predispose him toward a quick whistle (the whole it's when I thought about blowing it dead not when anyone actually heard it) and then an instantaneous timeout. Must say I was very angry about the call. Might have been in too much of a rant for my wife's and mother's comfort.

The Steelers represent a huge opportunity for the team and Fitzpatrick. Beating that team would not go unnoticed. Lots of Steeler fans down here in the Southern Tier and at my workplace. Shutting them up would be sweet.

Could have easily been talking about the declining Dallas Cowboys he coached in his first go round. That could not have been an easy group to coach. Maybe the worst. Aging superstars with big bank accounts whose best football was behind them and played under the direction of other coaches.

A fair question. I think that in the NFL that if there is a quarterback ahead of you on the roster that has been drafted and/or paid to be "the Man" then your options are limited. He was traded to one team and chose another. As a free agent he must have had other options. As smart as he is, it's not surprising he'd look around and identify the best opportunity. Not surprising he'd pick the Bills-it was a wise choice.

Finishing strong would legitimize this coaching staff. That would be huge. A win against any playoff contender in a meaningful game especially if it were the Jets or Pats would be a shot across the bow for next year. This would be a way bigger boost to the men in the locker room than a few spots in the draft order. Git 'er done Fitz.

This is getting interesting. Yes I can compare his play this year to Kelly's in 1986. Their losses are very similar. Just like I can compare their ages (soon to be 28 for Fitz while Kelly was comparably 14 1/2 months younger. I hold this as an example to refute those convinced the late game failures are evidence of what his future production is to be like. As far as the "immeasurables", he has some going on. I'll start with 99th percentile smart, gutsy, and having the support of the team (he even passed the T.O. test-not easy to do.) He also has no problem standing up and owning his mistakes. Something you'll recall Jim Kelly having a big problem with early in his career. Oops! I just contrasted Fitzpatrick to Kelly. Am I allowed to do that without having my football intelligence questioned?

The thing is deny the point!!! Or consider and accept it. It would be that often times situations, events, or people we have come to view as being great did not immediately show as such. Let's see how he progresses and where he can lead the team. Kelly had many 4th quarter failures in 1986 but the fact that they were in those close games largely becasuse of him was undeniable. Many were not sure that he was Hall-of-Fame/franchise caliber. Not just that year either. The whole play Frank reich thing. Maybe you missed it. A Quote I remember from Jerry Sullivan about Jim Kelly as being just a "bumpkin that throws footballs."

If you are not old enough or can't remember the 1986 season here's a link: '86 Bills It was filled with a lot of games that remind me of what we have seen from these Bills. A QB in his first year under a new coach (actually two) and alot of late game, "in the clutch" failures. Past performance predicts future results right up until it no longer does. Keep an open mind.

My analogy would be from the movie "Some Kind of Wonderful." Don't go lusting after some superficial, high maintenance, socialite (Lea Thompson) when your life long, mechanically gifted, loyal best freind who happens to clean up real nice (Mary Stuart Masterson) is everthing you never realized you could want or need. All we saying......is give Fitz a chance.

Lot's of people wanting to say that Ryan Fitzpatrick is or isn't worthy of being the Bills" #1 QB going forward. I cite the following: 1) Quick decisions & quick release = very tough to sack. 2) Stands up in the face of pressure and delivers accurate throws-downfield. I'd like to see the numbers on this but when a pass rusher is coming in unblocked he does not wilt. He's got guts and can take a hit. HE CAN BEAT PRESSURE!!! 3) While he has a few flyers-he very rarely has a misread. Wunderlick score aside, he obviously has a clue. 4) While they haven't won much with him, the losses are looking alot like those they had in 1986, if you catch my point. 5) The offensive line and receivers were supposed to be bottom of barrel. Well they don't look like it with him playing. Raising the level of play of one's teammates is the primary sign of a great player, in my way of thinking. 6) He can make plays in the "other" category. A scramble and a dive for a first down or a key block when a back reverses field. I am waiting for him to closeline a defender after a pick or fumble recovery. I think he'd deliver a blow. He is a football player. I think the Bills could win 3 or 4 of their last 7 and go into next year looking like an organization that has an idea. Having a smart, tough, quick thinking, gunslinging, humble, team first and calm under pressure QB to lead them isn't so bad. All this says in my mind that as fans we should let this play out and not let Fitzpatrick's draft round or college team cloud our judgement. Keep an open mind and let his play speak for itself. It's been so long since we have seen consistently productive QB play that it seems many of us have forgotten what it looks like. I think Chan knows it when he sees it.

If you are a Canadian Bills fan, you can come to the Ralph and be one of the 73,000+ there on game day at your will. If you are one of these fans you aren't at all likely to think that the game in the Roger's Centre is much of an attraction. You'd avoid it just like the fans on this side of the border. Now if you happen to be a Bears fan this is the one chance you have to see your team live and the inflated prices and lack of gameday ambiance is much easier to overlook. It is pure supply and demand economics. Only an elite Bills team could have created any buzz in that environment and they have been far from that these past few years. None of these factors are conducive to a great NFL experience.

The point I'd make is that the HC should make sure that the filed goal is the last play of the game. Wade panicked.

in the 4th quarter. In a continuation of a discussion from a few weeks ago regarding the coin toss, deferment, and the third quarter choice of which endzone to defend, why would the Bills choose to kick with the wind in the 3rd quarter? Think of all the crucial kicking plays that occurred in the 4th quarter and how the wind affected the outcome. Word of advice to Chan, it is normally windy near the lakeshore in WNY. Sometimes it is very windy. When playing close games in windy conditions, it is best to have that advantage in the 4th quarter when you are playing the endgame of either trying to hold a lead or make a comeback. It mattered yesterday.

The question has been asked often, How could Tom Modrak still have a job with the Bills? Given some of the poor draft outcomes it is a legitimate question. Given that we rarely have insight into what the information was that was provided, how it was used and by whom, it is plausible to think that he remains because his draft boards have been better than the ultimate decisions that were made. In evaluating the quality of his work, there would be a HUGE data set. Hundreds of draft eligible players every year for multiple years. We have some anecdotal information that suggests that there have often been picks made that deviated from their draft board which have ended poorly. As an organization they are in the perfect position to analyze this. They know the boards as they were set and they know how the information was used and by whom. Tom is still there while many of the other decision makers are gone. To me that makes it easier to believe those anecdotal, draft room stories.

This is the kind of information that I find fascinating but that we rarely get because we aren't "in the loop." The fact that Modrak is still a part of the organization is telling. Usually it takes some kind of disastrous outcome to find out how/why certain decisions got made and by whom. In the case of a college scouting director there would be a huge data set to evaluate. Not just the grades of your picks but the grades that were given all the others. Being good at evaluating players is one thing, making the right decisions is another.

One thing clear to me that explained a lot of their moves was their eye on the bottom line. Faneca, Jones, Coles last week, getting Clemmens to take a pay cut, maybe cutting Tony Richardson. They knew all along that Revis, Mangold and Ferguson were getting new deals and these other moves were made to accomodate them. IMO, paying a corner $150 million over 10 years will hurt the quality of the team almost everywhere else. This is why he is still sitting.

"Just plain stupid these guys are." JP is that you?

Kind of a small sample set but it does look like he has an ability to avoid the big hit. When you play the game at a faster speed than the defense that becomes possible. Thurman was like that and so was Flutie. There is a lot to be said for self perservation.

There still is. The rule was changed in 2008 to include a defer option. Here's one link: My link

This is the basis of the poll, if you can accept it. 1) Most games in the NFL are close. 2) Most close games are decided in the 4th quarter. 3) Given the clock rules, there are typically more plays run in the 4th quarter. 4) Wind is a factor in most Bills home games. 5) By deferring until the 2nd half you let your opponent choose which goal they will defend, assuming you take the ball to start the half. 6) Whether you are ahead or behind it is better to have the wind in your favor and against your opponent, because of the effect it has on both the kicking and passing game. 7) My little brother gets extremely pissed when the Bills are playing the 4th quarter against the wind because even though they won the toss, the HC gave away the option to dictate how the 4th quarter would be played by deferring. 8) By taking the ball at the start of the game, the only way the opponent can dictate the 4th quarter would be by kicking off at the start of both halves, effectively creating at least one, maybe two, extra possessions for the team that won the toss.