twoandfourteen

Mahomes might not be throwing at a historical pace here in Buffalo. But instead of 350 & 4 TDs every game, is it a stretch to think that he'd be good enough to get 235 & 2 every game -- just on talent alone? 235 & 2 would have easily gotten you a win last Sunday. I know I'd be ok with 235 yds & 2 TDs in a game from a Bills QB at this point. The gap between Allen & other young QBs like Mahomes & Beathard last night is basically a canyon.

Very well put. You explained it better than I did.

I admit, it was a bit of hyperbole meant to illustrate my point. However, after two straight weeks of 80 yard passing days -- I'm confident that 200 yards seems impossible at this point, yes.

I would. Hope I have to eat this post someday, but I highly doubt it.

Look at his stats from his rookie year. That is what really is troubling. CJB was competent out of the box. Meanwhile, JA has a lot of trouble executing a basic NFL passing play. Darnold, Mayfield, Rosen -- all of them have at least exhibited the ability to produce respectable passing production at this early stage in their careers. 200 yards seems impossible right now for Josh Allen.

Check his career game log: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BeatC.00/gamelog/ Only one time has this kid been under 200 yards passing in a game. Looks like a star in the making tonight on MNF. Meanwhile, Josh Allen is regularly failing to break 100 yards in a game. Beathard looked competent as a rookie last season with a group of no-name receivers, too. Only 3 more career starts. Allen needs to get really good, really quickly.

YES YES YES The Bills absolutely have a playoff-caliber, if not championship-caliber defense & kicker. Unfortunately, they have a Section VI JV offense. Bring Fitzy home.

No. He's a second-year pro making his 8th career start. His career game log should really make people concerned about Josh Allen. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BeatC.00/gamelog/

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2018/ufa/wide-receiver/available/ After sitting through the past 5 games, I've come to the conclusion that you could grab any four guys off this list and immediately have a better (or at least comparable) group of WRs than what the Bills currently have on the field. Dez Bryant Dontrell Inman Jeremy Maclin Rishard Matthews Not that it really matters anyway. Our QBs can't execute basic NFL passing plays. The UFA QB list is even more depressing. However, I'm sure you could grab any idiot off that list and get better production than what you are currently getting. No matter what, Peterman & Benjamin need to be cleaning out their lockers tomorrow.

He's certainly making a very strong case for the title.

I think that is simply a case of professional courtesy for Taylor. Hue probably wants to talk to him in person first before making any announcement. TT has earned that.

But Bills fans who just wanted to move on are all racists who don't understand that you can win with Tyrod as long as he has the right pieces around him and a good defense.

What are these guys supposed to write? The Bills & Sabres have given them practically nothing to work with over the past two decades. There are only so many ways to write the same article -- but it's not Sully & Bucky's fault that the Bills & Sabres have been stuck in a perpetual, never-ending miasma of failure.

I can't figure out why the kid looks functional-to-decent in the preseason and then looks like a guy who won a "QB FOR THE DAY" fan contest in the regular season. I get it -- it's the preseason, blah, blah, blah... but still, he was able to execute the basic fundamentals of throwing and completing a pass to a receiver.

This is a very good point too -- I could be talked into giving him one more shot under more-favorable circumstances. The kid really has been thrown into some ridiculous games to start his career.

Agree 100% I defended NP after the Chargers game only because it was one game. However, he burned up a lot of rope with that one, and now after the "Baltimore Steamer" he took last Sunday -- unfortunately, it's pretty much game over for the kid. I'm sure he'll have a great career as a financial planner.

Very interesting article. Thanks for posting. I'd really like to see a similar look at other former Bills QBs for comparison -- like Fitz, Tyrod, etc.

I honestly love this place sometimes. Never change, TBD. Never change.

You are most certainly a football savant. I'm so very impressed that you can visually discern the difference between footballs traveling at 52 mph vs. 53 mph, without actually having to be there.

Great point. I definitely agree that your "eye test", conducted while watching the halftime highlights on TV from your couch is definitely a far more objective, reliable, and accurate measuring tool than any sort of in-person radar measurement of velocity.

Couldn't possibly be that defenses & defensive coordinators were very quick to catch up to and solve Tyrod's game, could it? Could it be that he was a very limited player and didn't possess the necessary passing skills to adapt to and overcome what defenses were throwing at him? Could it be that defensive coordinators realized that Taylor presented no threat as a passer, so he brought 9 guys in to stop the run? Maybe that was why 25 lost a yard-and-a-half per carry?

1. It's a very relevant and cogent point, actually. If the greatest players are capable of flaming out in games early in their careers, then certainly a 5th round nobody is capable of it and it shouldn't cause anyone to pass final judgement on the kid until he's had a few more games in the regular season. Now, if he goes out there and blows up a few more times -- then all bets are off. You guys were right and I'll happily agree with you that this kid probably won't have much of a career in the NFL. 2. That's my projection for him, as well. He looks like he has a "high-end backup/fringe starter" ceiling to him, like Fitz, McCown, or Tyrod at best. At least we agree on that. I'm talking to the "Peterman has no business being on a football field ever again" crowd, however. My man -- I couldn't have said it any better myself.

I'm sure there were guys like you saying the same thing about the 'Ol Gunslinger after his first two appearances at QB. Favre's stat line from those two games? 8-18 for 73 yards, 0 TDs and 3 INTs. In fact, his first two NFL completions were to members of the other team's defense. Now, it's highly, highly, highly unlikely (bordering on "impossible") Peterman has anywhere near the career Brett Favre had. However, is it really foolish to think that Peterman could become the next Josh McCown or Ryan Fitzpatrick... or dare I say it, a better passing version of Tyrod Taylor? Those guys are all elite backups/fringe starters in the NFL. No reason NP couldn't hit that level and have a nice career. You said it's foolish to think that Peterman will perform any better than how he did last season... for that to be true, you would have to claim that most (if not all) players DON'T improve from their rookie year, and that what you see in the beginning is the ceiling. It's an absolutely ridiculous statement to make -- especially considering how the kid has performed this preseason. Exactly the point -- even the GOATs have bad days, but we didn't make a final verdict on their careers because of it. Give Peterman a chance to rebound and see how he does. So far, it's trending in the right direction, but it could absolutely fall apart once the games are real.

Hypothetically, he could have thrown 8 more INTs in the 2nd half, or 10 or 0. Hypothetically, what if he came back in the 2nd half and tossed 5 TDs? How many successful QBs have thrown 5 TDs in a half after throwing 5 INTs? (See how the 'hypothetical' game works?) The point is that if it can happen to an established, veteran, SB-winning QB -- it can absolutely happen to a 5th round rookie forced into starting his first game on the road because the previous starter was incapable of running a passing offense. Tyrod scored points, yes. Usually between 3 and 17 of them over the course of an entire game. As for his running ability, Tyrod was a defensive coordinator's dream matchup -- of course, no DC would never admit it, but it's true. Look at it this way... a good QB would generally be around 285 passing yards and 2-3 TDs on a given Sunday. Tyrod's production generally looked more like 160 yds passing, 35 yds rushing, and 1 TD. I'm no genius, but 195 total yards is far better than 285. One TD is also far better than allowing 2 or 3. If I'm a DC, I'll take Tyrod running around and producing FGs & punts all day long as opposed to someone who is capable of lighting up my secondary for 4 TDs. Also, if I'm a DC, I also know that once my team has a lead of 7 or more... its game over for Tyrod. He's not bringing his team back from behind, ever. We'll miss Tyrod the person... but definitely not Tyrod the QB.

Ben Roethlisberger threw 5 INTs in a game last year, too. Two of them were run back for TDs. Should he have been sent packing to never play again? If you go back and look, I posted a list containing many examples of QBs who had 5+ INTs in a game. It happens. It happens to Super Bowl MVPs and it happens to 5th round rookies in their 1st ever start. Get over it. Tyrod Taylor had multiple games last year with less than 100 yards passing going into the 4th Q. Were you thinking he should be out of the league for those unacceptable performances? Or because he didn't turn the ball over, those abysmal passing days were ok with you?