twoandfourteen

Seriously? The kid looked pretty strong leading the Bills in a blizzard. One thing's for sure, his rookie year has been memorable. Also, McDermott was absolutely right in benching Taylor. His recent performance to that point had been unacceptable by any standard.

How exactly? People throw this racially-tinged line around quite a bit -- Taylor himself said so, too -- and I'm still a bit confused by what exactly this "higher standard" is. Can you be more specific? Is it unfair and racist to want Taylor to maybe hit a receiver in stride once in a while? Is it unfair and racist to criticize an NFL QB in his third full season for not scoring more than a single FG in multiple games this year? What exactly is the "lower standard" for white QBs (as I assume you are implying)? You could make very strong arguments for both Fitz & Kyle Orton being better QBs than Taylor.

The guy has been in the league for 8 years. 3 as a starter. I think we've been patient enough. No signs of improvement, and if anything, has regressed due to defenses figuring out how to completely shut him down. Ironically, opposing teams believe that Tyrod Taylor poses the least threat when he is forced to "play QB". That should be as far as anyone really needs to look into this.

All three of those guys at their best are MILES ahead of Taylor at his best, that's why. I would also prefer to not have Alex Smith anywhere near the Bills roster next year.

1. Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, and YES. 2. Only if one of the QBs from the previous question were playing for the Bills instead of TT.

Yes. His inability to run any semblance of a modern passing offense is by far the #1 problem on this team. Hands down, no contest.

It's a tough penalty to change, though. If you're a DB, you might as well tackle the receiver on any pass attempt over 10 yards. Better to give them 10 rather than 25 or 30.

No one is mentioning Peterman's fumble that was run back for a TD against the Chargers. That never would have happened if Tyrod had started! McDermott is an idiot!

It is ridiculous to say "RB playing QB". He's definitely more of a WR playing QB.

Sure did join 3 hours ago. Needed something to do to kill a couple of hours today until the holiday mayhem kicks in this afternoon. User name was the Bills record when I first started to follow them and become a fan as a kid. Started this thread because it was something that I thought was interesting. You clicked on it, so I can't help you there. Coincidence, I guess?

As a QB, it's part of the job description to avoid contact. I don't hold that against him. 2 learned that lesson the hard way against Indy.

You can't say that for sure. Taylor has never been in a position to demonstrate it to that degree. However, based on what I have seen of TT, I have no reason to doubt that he wouldn't be every bit as "tough" as Edelman.

You might actually have a point there. Edelman has had a far more accomplished and successful career. He will ultimately be remembered as a key component of all-time football dynasty. Tyrod will always have those 3 TDs for every 1 INT that he threw, though. Hmmm, he doesn't really throw very many INTs....

I agree, the 8-year veteran QB in his 3rd season as a starter is currently marginally better than the 5th round rookie drafted 8 months ago. (Even though there is some room for debate.) Congratulations, you win.

Asinine would be "Could Richie Incognito transition into an elite place kicker?" There are many parallels between Edelman & Taylor and considering the ongoing disagreement on Taylor's place in the NFL currently, I think it's a perfectly reasonable hypothetical to bring up on a slow Saturday afternoon.

Considering that is comparable to what the starter put up in two separate games this year in perfect weather, it is a notable performance.

Funny you brought him up. In his rookie season, Brett Favre didn't even complete a pass to his own team. He was 0-4 with 2 INTs and a sack. His first game in year 2, he went 8-14 for 73 yards, 1 INT and 4 more sacks. Peterman is NOT the next Favre. However, the lesson here is to give rookies a little time to figure things out. 2 was an unmitigated disaster against the Chargers. However, he's also showed flashes of ability this season too.

The kid never should have been in the conversation to start a game this year, outside of catastrophic injury. Taylor's abysmal performance and inability to score more than a single FG in multiple games this year pushed NP (who had only been in the league for 8 months, not 8 years) into a desperation option as a starter. Something had to be done. Also, look at it this way: Peterman threw 5 INTs. Gave the ball to the Chargers on 5 different drives, right? Unacceptable and historically bad, without a doubt. Well, how is that really all that different than 5 Tyrod drives ending in a punt? Rivers and Allen were unstoppable that day. They would have just gone on 70 or 80 yard scoring drives instead of 20 or 30. The Chargers defense was lights out -- Taylor gave up a fumble that was run back for a TD, so they got to him too. McDermott had to do something. But, the Bills were not winning that game, no matter who was starting.

Yes, 8-year veteran QB Tyrod Taylor is marginally better than 5th round rookie QB starting in his first ever game. We're all in agreement on that. But is that really the standard for performance you want to go by?

Thank you. That was really what I was trying to get at. I'm not arguing for it either, it was simply a hypothetical. Considering his great work ethic and all of the other things that make him pretty much the ideal professional athlete, it's not hard to imagine him developing from a backup/borderline starting QB into an elite WR and becoming an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses. It would have been interesting to see, had he chosen that path.

Edelman was far from a "scrub" QB. He was a three-year starter and set records at Kent St. He's also become one of the most dangerous WRs in the NFL and has won multiple championship rings as a direct result of his production at the position. Defenses have to game plan and account for him on every single play. That's not a "scrub", by any means. So now it's racist to suggest that Tyrod possesses better mental/athletic skills and abilities to potentially be even better than that? But go on, tell me more about Tyrod's barely .500 w-l record and that 4:1 TD:INT ratio. Maybe you could tell me about that one time he threw for 300 yards, even though it took 5 quarters for him to get there.

His shortcomings are absolutely what he actually produces. Even when you add his rushing totals, Tyrod is still miles behind most QBs passing-only totals. If I were a defensive coordinator, I would much rather give up 165 yards passing & 55 yards rushing (220 total yards) to Taylor instead of 285-315+ passing yards to a guy like Carson Wentz or Phil Rivers.

...And there it is. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to whip that one out. It's amazing you went there, considering I compared Tyrod to a white player who found success transitioning from QB to WR. But you just couldn't help yourself, right?

This is most likely the case. Apparently BB thought very highly of JG and was adamant that they send him to a team where he would be in the best position to build his career.