twoandfourteen

Whoa, whoa, whoa.... easy there, boys. Let's stay focused on what's really important here. Listen, the Bills might be nearly 200 points behind the Rams in scoring, but they also have 3 LESS turnovers. Take away NOT-READY-NATE PICKERMAN'S 5 INTs and that's 8! So what if the Patriots have scored 150 more points and have punted 25 less times than the Bills? Without the Natetorious I.N.T's 5 spot against the Chargers, the Bills would have 11 turnovers -- that is 1 less than Tommy & the Cheatahs! Oh, and that doesn't even include Tyrod's rushing yards!

There are at least 26-28 QBs that are better than Tyrod Taylor currently in the NFL, not to mention another 5 or 6 (including Peterman) that have higher ceilings and the potential to pass him in the next year. Doesn't it tell you something when you spend your time defending Taylor against guys like Josh McCown or a rookie drafted in the 5th round? Doesn't that tell you about the class of player that TT belongs in? No one ever talks about "Who's better? Taylor or Jimmy Garappolo?" or "Who's better? Taylor or Derek Carr?" or "Taylor or DeShaun Watson?" The reason is that you can't legitimately make a case for Taylor against any of those guys -- never mind the real elite guys Iike Brady, Brees, Ben, etc. As a QB, TT is defined by the things he doesn't do: he doesn't throw INTs, he doesn't read defenses, he doesn't score very many TDs. I'll gladly accept 10 more INTs if it means another 1000 yards passing and 15 more TDs.

While not my first choice, I'd be pretty happy going into next year with this scenario.

Why would the Jaguars take a downgrade at QB? Or is it to backup Bortles? Because that would be pretty smart, actually.

But look at what Josh McCown did with horrible defenses and no weapons!!!!!!!!!! He played for the Cleveland Browns & The NY Jets!!!! They are jokes!!!! If the Jets just gave him a good defense and some real WRs he'd be great!!!!!!!!! Do you see what I've been trying to get through to you here?

I just realized I accidentally left Watson of the list. This list is predicated on the fact that this is a passing league -- 300 yards doesn't really mean as much as it used to, and the top guys are occasionally hitting 450-500 in a game. Now, it's not fair to expect 300-500 yards on a regular basis, but you have to have a QB that has a game or two like that somewhere in his bag to at least stand a chance against the big guys. Flacco & Eli - The criteria here was "If I have one game against Brady, who would I want under center?" These two guys have done it, are still capable of going for 350+ on rare occasion, can read defenses and run a passing attack at a much higher level than Taylor. Palmer/Cutler/Bradford - The only case I can make for them is that they are much better pure passers and that success in the NFL is contingent on throwing the ball. I could see knocking them down though because of Taylor's age and intangibles at the position. These three could go either way, I don't really care. Bradford is probably an upgrade over TT, though. Brissett/Bridgewater/Mariota -- Younger guys who have shown that they have higher ceilings than Taylor, especially in the passing game. If I'm a GM, I go with any of these guys over TT and take a shot at the upside. In fact, the more I think about it... really the only thing keeping Taylor out of the "Osweiler/Savage/Yates" group is that Taylor is much smarter than them, he doesn't blow up in any spectacular fashion. He understands his limitations and works it better. He still costs you games in the end, though. It's just not due to dramatic INTs or some sort of "C'mon Man!" highlight.

In no particular order: Brady Brees Rogers Ben Rivers Ryan Wilson Wentz Goff Stafford Luck Cousins Smith Garappolo Newton Bortles Dalton Carr Bridgewater Manning McCown Keenum Flacco Brissett Prescott Mariota Bradford There are 27. Is that close enough for you? Palmer Cutler Those two don't really count, since they are pretty much done. But they get us to 29. Then there's Tyrod at either 28 or 30, depending on how you look at Carson and Smokin' Jay. Now we get to the rookies. Tyrod is probably better at the moment, but who knows where they end up in the future. Beathard has already had better single game passing production with a garbage 49'ers WR group, but that could just be an anomaly. Trubisky Kizer Beathard Garbage men: Glennon Osweiler Savage Yates etc etc etc.

I would imagine an offensive coordinator's approach and play-calling options are greatly enhanced (Brady/McDaniels) or severely limited (Taylor/Take your pick) by the ability of the player running the offense every play. We need to find that guy and stop pretending that our current guy who can't do any of those things is just outside the top tier of QBs in the league.

1st & 10 becoming 2nd & 10 is also generally a punt waiting to happen for this team.

First of all, my original position in all of this was that based solely on ability to play the position of QB, Taylor ranks somewhere in the 30-35 range across the league. At some point, #TeamTyrod started to bring in all of this ancillary stuff -- such as various NFL defenses -- to defend their boy, because there is nothing else to rationally argue. And yes, the Bills defense has played some great games this year and has had some very bad moments this year. Front 7 needs some work. But on the whole, at least it's trending in the right direction. Most of all though, it is pretty much irrelevant to the original argument. So, stop deflecting and just admit that Taylor is better suited for a backup QB role.

So, timely defensive TDs against Atlanta & New England... holding Carolina to 9 points... only allowing 1 TD pass to Tom Brady... that's not a good defense? If anything, they've been hung out to dry by the dysfunctional Ty-gun Offense.

Tyrod Taylor could definitely win with Minnesota's defense. Probably 7 to 9 games, depending on how many TD's the defense can pitch in.

Yes, apparently the Minnesota defense is the reason Keenum has put up far better passing numbers than Tyrod Taylor.

You mean that Bills defense that singlehandedly won the Atlanta game, held Carolina to 9 points, slowed down (relatively speaking) Tom Brady, and owned Alex Smith? That Bills defense that has pro-bowl caliber DBs starting at nearly every position?

And he's having a better season than Taylor did when he had Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Chris Hogan, Charles Clay, and LeSean McCoy. Taylor isn't a Top 10 QB. He's not a Top 20 QB. He's somewhere in the 30-35 range, clearly behind backup/fringe starters like Josh McCown and Case Keenum.

So, now I'm confused. Is this supposed to convince me that Tyrod is a top 10 QB in the NFL or something? Because I see two guys who are both 1 game over .500. Keenum is also a more productive QB.... 45 TDs in 40 games, 214.6 yds/gm career average.... Taylor has 50 TDs in 57 games, 201.2 yds/gm average as a starter (I'll even omit the oddball numbers that drag him down, even though I did include those for Keenum.)

Looks like a backup QB with a winning record over an extended number of games. What's your point?

You asked, I answered. By the way, 3rd-stringer Case Keenum says "what's up?".

Three seasons full of games. 42 starts. This is the best you've got? Tyrod's "key throws" didn't win the Atlanta game. A "key" fumble recovery run back for a TD by the defense won that game. Tyrod did throw a 6 yard TD to Charles Clay in the 3rd Q against Denver, so full marks for that. It sure helped that the Bills defense came up with 2 INTs and 2 turnover-on-downs on Denver's last 4 offensive drives in the 2nd half, though. But Taylor did do his job. I'd also give him full credit for the TB game -- hitting Deonte Thompson for 44 to set up McCoy was a big play. One of the few clutch throws he's connected on in his career as a starter, but still a great toss. Those wins are exactly the type of wins you would want from an elite backup QB.

That's exactly where he fits. Can't bring a team back from any sort of deficit. Can't run a modern passing offense. Needs literally EVERYTHING to go right in the running game, on defense, and on special teams for his team to pull out a win. Doesn't turn the ball over. Can run for the occasional first down to extend a drive or get into FG range. Excellent in the locker room and in the film room. Sounds like the ideal backup QB. Or, 30-35th at the position in the NFL.

I don't really want Taylor in that "mentor" role -- as far as learning how to be a professional, film study, diligence, commitment, etc... he'd be perfect in that regard, there is no question about that. I really like Tyrod as an individual and as a pro. It doesn't get much better than him. The problem is that his overall game relies primarily on things that athletically only he is capable of, and his perspective on the passing game is severely limited by the fundamental things he can't do. I just don't think he'd be a very good candidate to teach a rookie how to run a high-powered passing attack.

I don't want him to start, or ever really see the field. But as a backup/mentor, maybe? I can't think of any other vet that I would like to see work with the new QBs.

Yes. Right now. Where do I sign?

This is just not true. At least, statistically speaking. Just looking at the three years Taylor has been a starter -- McCown has put up better passing numbers, and that was while playing in the with three-ring circuses known as the Cleveland Browns & NY Jets. This year, JMcC has 18 TD passes in 13 games. How about Tyrod? 13 TDs in 14 games. Must be all those weapons McCown has in NY, right? Passing yards? JMcC's lowest yds/gm is still better than Tyrod's best. Oh, and McCown has more rushing TDs this year.