twoandfourteen

All very true. The guy is an excellent example of what you would want in a professional athlete. Works hard, great teammate, great citizen... couldn't ask for more. Except when it comes to actually performing the requirements of his job on the field. There, he is severely lacking in just about every capacity.

I look at it this way.... You're out at the bar and start chatting up a really nice girl. Things are going very well throughout the night. She asks you for a ride home. You get back to her place... and she says "goodnight", slams the door and shuts off the light, leaving you standing on the porch. I mean, I guess you could say you "went home" with her... but did you really, though? 298 isn't 300.

He had 48 yards passing in OT. So at the end of regulation, he had 281 yards passing.

So -- aside from my own burning commitment to procrastination -- the impetus for putting that list together really stemmed from a desire to provide a resource for people to use when the inevitable "BILLS ARE SO STUPIDZ AND RACIST!!!!!" scorching hot takes start rolling in from the national & social media when the team parts ways with Tyrod Taylor. Simply pick your favorite Tyrod stat from the list above and go to town. There should be an answer for just about anything thrown our way over the next few months. Plus it was kind of interesting to really take a look at where the narratives surrounding Taylor come from, and if they are based in any statistical reality. As I was going along, it occurred to me that what I was doing was really defining what exactly we have watched over the past 3 years. "He doesn't turn the ball over" - TRUE. He has not thrown an INT in 68.1% of his games. "His passing numbers don't reflect his rushing contribution." - MOSTLY FALSE. Only 61% of his games has he thrown for more than 150 yards and rushed for more than 25. That means that for roughly 40% of his games as a starting QB in Buffalo, he has personally been responsible for LESS than 175 yards of total offense. (Let's be honest, 175 yds of total offense from your QB is kind of a low bar to cross.) I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. I used the "play index" tool at pro-football-reference.com to pull all of the stats above. I've been screwing around with it for the past few days, and once you get the hang of it, it doesn't take long at all to find information. It can be found here: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi

Pretend for a minute that I am an agent and you are a GM. I call you up and describe the following QB to you and ask for an $18M contract: Has not thrown an INT in 68% of his games. Over 200 yards passing in 48% of his games. Over 50 yards rushing in 23% of his games. Has nearly as many games without a passing TD (12) as he does with 2 or more passing TDs (13) Has only 4 games with 0 passing TDs & 1 rushing TD. Has thrown for 2 TDs in 16% of his games. Has thrown for 3 TDs in 14% of his games. 1+ passing TD and 1 rushing TD in 23% of his games. You would hang up on me instantly.

Have you ever watched the Army-Navy Game?

Since there was quite a bit of consternation regarding the omission of rushing stats in the previous TT breakdown, I have included it here. Mods, please either merge or delete the previous thread as you see fit. TYROD TAYLOR 44 total games as the Bills QB: INTs Games with 3 INT: 1 - 2.2% Games with 2 INT: 0 - 0.0% Games with 1 INT: 13 - 29.5% Games with 0 INT: 30 - 68.1% Games with 1 or 0 INT - 43 - 97.7% Games with 1+ INT - 14 - 31.8% Games with 2+ INT - 1 - 2.2% INT W-L 0 — 19-11 1 — 4-9 3 — 0-1 Passing Yards 43 games under 300 - 97.7% 38 games under 280 - 86.3% 30 games under 230 - 68.1% 23 games under 200 - 52.2% 16 games under 180 - 36.3% 7 games under 130 - 15.9% Passing TDs Games with 3 passing TDs: 6 - 13.6% Games with 2 passing TDs: 7 - 15.9% Games with 1 passing TD: 19 - 43.1% Games with 0 passing TD: 12 - 27.2% 31 games with 1 or 0 passing TDs - 70.4% 38 games with 2 or fewer passing TDs - 86.3% 13 games with 2 or more passing TDs - 29.5% 12 games with 0 passing TDs - 27.7% Rushing 3 games with 70-79 rush yds - 6.1% (2-1) 6 games with 60 rush yds or more - 13.6% (4-2) 10 games with 50 rush yds or more - 22.7% (6-10) 34 games with 49 rush yds or less - 77.2% (17-17) 33 games with 25 rush yds or more - 75.0% (18-15) 11 games with 24 rush yds or less - 25.0% (5-6) 4 games with 10 rush yds or less - 9.0% (1-3) 14 games with 1 Rush TD - 31.8% (7-7) 30 games with 0 Rush TD - 68.2% (16-14) Passing & Rushing 4 Games with 200+ PYDS, 50+ RYDS - 9.0% (1-3) 7 Games with 175+ PYDS, 50+ RYDS - 15.9% (4-3) 27 Games with 150+ PYDS, 25+ RYDS - 61.3% (15-12) 1 Game with less than 125 PYDS, 25 RYDS - 2.2% (0-1) Combined TDs 2 Games with 3 Pass TD, 1 Rush TD - 6.8% (1-1) 1 Game with 2 Pass TD, 1 Rush TD - 2.2% (0-1) 7 Games with 1 Pass TD, 1 Rush TD - 15.9% (4-3) 4 Games with 0 Pass TD, 1 Rush TD - 9.0% (2-2) 21 Games with 1+ Pass TD, 0 Rush TD - 47.7% (13-8) 8 Games with 0 Pass TD, 0 Rush TD - 18.8% (2-6) Some lists for context, just click the link: 2015-2017 QBs with 200 yds passing/50 yds rushing in game http://pfref.com/tiny/HufzQ 2015-2017 QBs with 175 yds passing/50 yds rushing in game http://pfref.com/tiny/1ekux 2015-2017 QBs with 175 yds passing/25 yds rushing in game http://pfref.com/tiny/B58DG 2015-2017 QBs with 275 yds passing/35 yds rushing in game http://pfref.com/tiny/wxycM

Because the purpose of the post was to isolate and identify the overall performance trends in his passing game. QB rushing yards are largely irrelevant and ridiculously overvalued by the #teamtyrod, probably because there is no other positive statistical measure for Taylor to argue for his value. I'm actually curious to see how his rushing #s correlate with wins, so maybe I'll take a look at that later. As for now, I have to get back to more important things... those fries aren't going to cook themselves, you know.

1. The W/L record had nothing to do with the original post, because it is focused simply on Taylor's passing production. Wins and losses depend on so many other factors, that it really has no impact on evaluating Taylor's value as a QB. What we are doing here simply isolating his passing ability and projecting what we can expect moving forward. Also, 2 or 3 games above .500 isn't really anything to be bragging about. 2. He's actually probably worse. 3. He absolutely is, as illustrated by the numbers in the beginning of this post. High-end backup, all day long. 4. I see this thrown around all the time. It's simply not true. Find me 10 starting QBs in the NFL with at least 2 years of experience that throw 2 TDs or less in 86% of their games, or 1 or 0 in 70%. Sure you can. You get that TD:INT ratio by being as non-existent in the passing game as possible, and a .500 record on the strength of an all-world RB and opportunistic defense.

JB - 3098 yds 13 TDs 7 INTs (2nd NFL season, 1st as a starter on a new team) TT - 2799 yds 14 TDs 4 INTs (7th NFL season, 3rd as a starter on the same team) Remember, I said "comparable".

I literally just looked at the entire picture. All 44 games.

Younger guy with a much higher ceiling. In his second year in the league and first year as a starter, has comparable numbers to Taylor in his 7th and 3rd. He's not miles better (yet), but will probably be in time. Next?

The weather in Buffalo is bad. If Taylor played for a team with a dome, he'd be UNSTOPPABLE.

Nope. Because there are teams with multiple players on their rosters that are better than Taylor. Just because there are 32 teams, doesn't mean that the best 32 are starting. For example, Minnesota has 3, Indy has 2, New England had 2 before trading 1. There are 7 guys between 3 teams better than Taylor. Then factor in the young guys coming in next April, the departure of Palmer, Cutler, etc... and Taylor sits in the mid-low 30s.

Brees and Newton sure filled up the highlights in one day yesterday. Dalton hit one of the biggest passes in Bills history just last week. Those are the ones that immediately came to mind before I finished even reading your post. Taylor can't make any of those plays. I wish he could, because I'd like to have him as the face of the franchise. But he's been put in a position he doesn't have the skill for, and is better suited as a quality #2.

He is absolutely a backup quality player, nothing more. Take a look here if you want some numbers: Sure looks like a game-managing backup to me. He is somewhere in the 35-30 range as far as NFL QBs are concerned, but I like my QBs to actually be able to throw for yards and TDs so I'd put him closer to 35-38. But at this level, I can see the value in having a backup who won't throw INTs, so I can see why most would slot him at 34 or 35. There is absolutely no justification or evidence that puts him in the top 15 or even top 25 of players at the position. None.

It was an honest question. No hostility. I can't think of any big plays from this year, or any other really eye-popping throws from any other year aside from the bomb to Harvin against the Colts and the Sammy game against the Chiefs. But the justification for my question was the "only throws that he and Russell Wilson" can make part. Surely those plays would immediately come to mind, no? What he was talking about is a far different thing than hitting a wide open Nick O'leary for 6 against the packed-it-in Dolphins.

44 total games as the Bills QB: INTs Games with 3 INT: 1 - 2.2% Games with 2 INT: 0 - 0.0% Games with 1 INT: 13 - 29.5% Games with 0 INT: 30 - 68.1% Passing Yards 43 games under 300 - 97.7% 38 games under 280 - 86.3% 30 games under 230 - 68.1% 23 games under 200 - 52.2% 16 games under 180 - 36.3% 7 games under 130 - 15.9% Passing TDs Games with 3 passing TDs: 6 - 13.6% Games with 2 passing TDs: 7 - 15.9% Games with 1 passing TD: 19 - 43.1% Games with 0 passing TD: 12 - 27.2% 31 games with 1 or 0 passing TDs - 70.4% 38 games with 2 or fewer passing TDs - 86.3%

There's one. Any others? He's been a starting QB for 43 games in the NFL, surely there are tons big-time throws. We'll wait.

I wonder the same thing. He looked like a guy on the verge of a breakthrough that night. I was really hoping he'd become a rock star QB -- he had everything else going for him to be the face of the franchise for years -- but his play and production on the field went into the toilet.

"Don't leave home without it!"

Name 5 that are worse.

Ok... still a major flaw and a detriment to being classified as a "good passer". It is possible that Tyrod chooses not to throw those passes because he is aware of his limitations and plays within them, whereas Bortles isn't as sophisticated. Also, let's not kid ourselves, Tyrod's accuracy leaves lots and lots and lots to be desired. I remember going to training camp before EJ's last season here and was simply in awe of the number of passes that ended up airmailed out of bounds, over the receiver's head, or into the radio tent. The guy was brutal.

Sure! Do you have your Andy Dalton Bonus Club Card?