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We've had a lot of discussion about Fitzpatrick, whether he's our QB of the future, whether we need to draft someone in Round 1 and so on... I would submit that regardless of all the hoopla thus far, the next 3 games all against division rivals that we've performed poorly against the last few years will determine how the Bills should proceed with him. He's under contract through next year, so if he's going to be THE MAN then two things will happen from that: -- He needs to be resigned in the off-season to a substantial contract (think Matt Schaub) -- Draft plans most likely no long involve a QB in the first 3 rounds So the question is: What do we need to see over the next 3 games in order to proceed in that fashion? -- How many games MUST we win? -- MUST we be competitive in all three, including New England (ie no more Minnesota duds? -- How MUST the offense perform in these games? -- Can injuries on OL and WR be an excuse if Offense doesn't play well? For the Bills now everything is about optimism and confidence for the future and what pieces are in place. Right NOW we feel it, that's great, but if the next three games don't go well, then all the optimism we feel now will have been shattered. Have at it...

That is simply not the way to assess this situation. Neither team is going to the playoffs by a mile, so we're on even ground there... From that point on everything is measured relative to the indicators for the future: -- Are you getting stronger/better during the course of the season and finishing solid (we'll get the final answer on that in the next 3 weeks) -- Do you have you have the coach for foreseeable future? -- Do you have your QB for the foreseeable future? -- How many new starters are you away from contending? .... plus others I can't think of at the moment On both qualitative questions and measurable football metrics we've improved each quarter of the season so far, while the Redskins clearly have gotten worse, despite the high priced coach of the year and the big pro-bowl, possible hall of famer QB that several wanted us trading for The original poster is correct...

I still laughing on that one!! He is a piece of work, but his press conference leading up the Patriots game comparing himself to Brady because they're both married to Supermodels, was also pretty funny! I don't like the tripping incident, but otherwise I'm having a hard time disliking the Jets. If we had hired Rex Ryan instead of the Gregg Williams / Mike Mularky type assistants, I think we'd be a happier bunch.

All right, I'm getting excited now. This topic has gotten some anger going! That's what I'm talking about

Excellent,... I like you anger and your tone! Much better,... who else?

...is that what it is? I'm just kind of amazed that on this Stadium Wall, on Monday, at the beginning of Dolphin week, in December, when the wusses should be coming to Orchard Park, in the snow, instead of being handed a home game by the NFL Schedule maker, who's from Miami and is showing blatant favoritism... that "fans" of the Bills were sympathetic to the Fin who dove at the Jet coach's knee, trying to injure him. That really says it all...

Isn't everyone supposed to be getting up for this game? Didn't you guys see how that cheating Fin gunner dove at the Jets coach leg trying to draw a penalty??? And then Zack Thomas, that meathead, starts crying about a deliberate conspiracy to set up a wall!! Ridiculous... what's next, interviews with Brian Cox?? I can't want to see what the biggest Dolfag, quitter Dan Marino has to say about it on the pregame shows this Sunday, more homer nonsense for certain! ... and, and... and. All right, I'm running out of things to say. Do we even care about this game anymore? Several years back, I used to check the Miami Herald and Florida Sentinel websites on Dolphin stories just as much as I went to TBD. I can't recall the last time I bothered... where have our rivalries gone?

oohhhhhh!!! ... in the face!!!

Chad Jackson? I surprised he was cut in preseason,... not sure if anyone picked him up?

You make a good point. This line of conversation was started based on people wanting to draft QBs next year. I do like what I see from Fitz. I'd think the test on him may be the coming 3 games. Both the Dolphins and Jets have been pretty "middle of the road" lately. I think he needs to look good against both and beat at least one of them to go into the off-season as a convincing choice. If we wilt in the last three games, in the division, then that will be telling. The next three games make or break this discussion...

Would an entirely different strategy work? I've been talking about 9 players who today would be considered Franchise QBs R1 - Vick(x), Rivers(x), Rodgers(x), Roethlisberger(x), Flacco(x), PManning(x), Ryan(x) R2 - Brees(x) R6 - Brady(x) What would it take to target one of the younger ones, that still have 8+ years left... Rivers, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Flacco or Ryan Could any of them be had in a trade? Fitzpatrick plus 2 first rounders, this year's will be a top 7 most likely. We need a TE and maybe RT, but otherwise our offense is greatly improved. We obviously need defenders, which would be day 1 picks plus target 1-2 FA Is that a good strategy? Would you make a trade like that? Would anyone trade with us?

More stats on round 1... Vick(x), PManning(x), EManning, Smith, Bradford, Palmer There's only a 33% hit rate on being able to pick #1 overall. All 6 of these guys were chosen first. Perhaps Sam Bradford ups the % to 50% in a couple years, but that still is an indictment of the QB selection process. There's not a person on the planet who can stand up and say that they could guarantee a success rate for drafting NFL QBs... therein lies the massive problem that teams have. How to get that one guy that you can build the rest of the team around. Adding more uncertainty to the process. Of the 9 guys that I '(x)'ed as "Franchise" QBs, three of them were not selected aggressively. - Rodgers dropped way down to 24th in the first round was projected in Mocks as a top 5 pick - Brees dropped to the 2nd round when he was projected as a possible top 10 pick - Brady lasted 6 rounds and I'll repeat was the luckiest draft pick of all time So even among the measly 9 Franchise QBs, a significant portion of the league dismissed as they were being selected. ... tough business indeed!

Also, Kurt Warner was un-drafted. I think its hard to expect enough from a later round pick. Its a big leap to think that one can be developed and be a franchise star. Here is the top 31 QBs currently on ESPN stats for 2010 in order of stats. 16 of the 31 came in Round 1. R1 - 16, Vick(x), Rivers(x), Rodgers(x), Roethlisberger(x), Flacco(x), PManning(x), Ryan(x), EManning, Cutler, Freeman, Campbell, Smith, Bradford, Palmer, McNabb, Sanchez R2 - 4, Brees(x), Henne, Favre, Clausen R3 - 0 R4 - 3, Garrard, Schaub, Orton R5 - 0 R6 - 3, Brady(x), Hasselbeck, Anderson R7 - 2, Cassel, Fitzpatrick UD - 3, Romo, Kitna, Hill I 'X'ed all QBs who could be considered Franchise QBs right now. Lets make this the test... would you trade our first round pick for this guy straight up? Favre, Mcnabb too old, EManning, Cutler haven't proven it consistently and Freeman, Bradford, Sanchez haven't done enough yet. So that leaves 9 Franchise QBs, with 7 of them drafted in the first round. Brees was projected first round and was the first pick of the 2nd round when he dropped. Brady is the luckiest pick of all time.

Great story,... love you how connected it to the Bills!!

I think the trade down problem is probably due to draft position. When you're in the top 10, difficult to trade down as nobody wants to pay the price and salary. When you're drafting in the 20's, its much easier. There's always some coveted player that fell out of the teens that somebody is willing to jump up for to get. So I think the Pats "weaker" draft position is actually a "strength" in maneuvering.

Exactly!! What a concept,... you mean a player is not an automatic eternal bust with no capacity to improve, requiring immediate replacement with a high priced free agent or #1 pick because had some struggles in his first year starting in a highly dis-advantageous situation??

I like the reasoning... I've been saying in a few threads that we're way to fast on this board to declare people as "not good enough". We have to take into account the capacity to learn, grow and adjust! Perhaps Fitzpatrick is an example of that. As a Harvard guy, we should put some great hope into that capability for him... if we believe that, then we might just have our QB after all these years... I hope, I hope, I hope!!

21) Must show the ability to learn, improve and adjust during course of the game and season I think he's hit that too, as most of our noise has been in the 2nd half where adjustments to the game plan were made. I'd have to say we need to ride this and see if he has the staying power, but I've really come around to him!! If you consider the 3 OT losses and the Bears, he did everything to win in each of those, it was lost by others. If those plays were made by others, he would be 6-0 as starter, a sure-fire Pro-bowler and would be in most MVP conversations... thats not too bad given what we had leading up to him taking over and the last few years.

Fitz,... I have no idea how you can conclude what you're saying. One of the things that drives me nuts on this board is how dismissive people are of a player's ability to grow, learn, adjust and improve. I don't have a clue where Fitz's limits are and neither does anyone else on this board. However, he's clearly a very smart guy with a an excellent offensive coach with some growing, learning and improving OL, RB and WRs around him. He has fast release, quick decision making and is fearless, all critical traits to an upper level QB. Let's keep moving forward with what we see rather than make definitive conclusions bases on sporadic play in previous years'. Chan,... Not a fair comparison at this time. Marv had plenty of issues. Lets see where we are in 2 year's time. Marv came into Buffalo as a failed HC, with zero excitement around his being hired, just like Gailey. Way too soon to say on this. Nix,... I kind of agree on this one. Don't like Cornell Green sign/waive. Don't like Kelsay extension. They're doing better mainly with players from the previous regime, who are reaching their potential. We have to see him make some good moves to tell.

I missed the game unfortunately as I was traveling all day Sunday... so a bunch of questions not about Stevie Johnson -- Anyone know the extent of Dwan Edwards injury and who would start in his place? -- Noticed Alex Carrington played and recorded a sack,... any other info on his overall play? -- Plus looking at the highlights it appears Maybin was on the field... unfortunately the play I saw had Barry Sanders (I mean Ben Rothlisberger) shucking and jiving for 10+yds and a first down, with nobody on defense being able to catch him Anyone with any updates on any of these three would be appreciated!!

Haha,... got my morning to a laughing start!!

AMEN!!

Who would have thought that after 10 weeks... Bills fans would be a more optimistic bunch than fans of the Cowboys, Vikings and 49ers, all forecast as playoff teams... WOW!

Yeah,... I suppose we could part ways with TM for a first or second rounder. I'm sure nobody on the board would be upset about that!

The year before last I (and others) were advocating that we should let McGee become a free agent and the contract should have been given to Jabari Greer instead. It would probably have been a smaller contract, to a younger guy, who is just as good, if not better. Another bad move by FO, another mis-allocation of resources. TM will be long gone by the time we get respectable in the next 1-2 seasons (I hope)