Which Failed QB Would Have Been Most Successful

[grammer_police]

I left off Brohm because it's too early to tell with him.

 

What if one of the failed Bills QB's would have been successful if they entered the league with a team like Brady had, or Pig Ben had?

 

I would say JP with his rocket arm and quicks. Perhaps a hall of fame coach could have instilled enough smarts in him to get over his atrocious awareness.

[Hossage]

I vote for all of them except Losman.

[justnzane]

I voted for Losman, as he may have been successful if donahoe didn't tempt with fate and let Green Bay draft him. That said, Todd Collins had a functional environment to work with at the start, but the idiots at OBD and in the press didn't give him time to develop. I would be inclined to think that Todd Collins would have been a long-time starter if given that time by the people previously mentioned. This is based on the fact that he has lasted this long in the league as a backup with very limited opportunities. Usually guys that are older, not all that experienced, and are backups, are not staying in said position long due to the escalating salary for holding a clipboard.

[mob16151]

I went with Losman becausehe had a good season, even when we where (are?? who knows yet) a dysfunctional mess.

[Albany,n.y.]

The only one in the poll who ever led his team to the playoffs, has and will have the longest career of any of them is Todd Collins. He might not be much, but of this group he towers over the rest.

[mob16151]

The only one in the poll who ever led his team to the playoffs, has and will have the longest career of any of them is Todd Collins. He might not be much, but of this group he towers over the rest.

 

 

I'm gonna nit pick this a little bit, but didn't he only start like 6 games that season?

[The_Philster]

Gonna have to say JP on this one

Collins...the only problem that wasn't his fault was the fact that Dan Henning was an awful offensive coordinator for us...a 2-TE base set when we had Lonnie Johnson, Tony Cline, Rob Coons, and a young Jay Riemersma? Talk about trying to fit a square peg into a round hole

AVP...his issue was the shoulder injury he suffered in the 97 preseason...he rushed back from it and it never healed properly. If not for that injury, I think he would've won the starting job and performed better than Collins or Hobert by far ...would've never traded for RJ

RJ...his biggest issue was the lack of trust he had in his WRs...great WRs like Reed and Moulds are considered open when single covered...plus he was coached to look for the big play while in college...something they never drummed out of him in the NFL

JP could put together some solid games but didn't read defenses enough to do it consistently

Trent has suffered from 2 problems...he wasn't gutsy enough with Jauron as his head coach...will Gailey be the remedy for that? But his biggest issue, as evidenced by the 24-25 TD-INT ratio, is the fact he doesn't know how to look off safeties. He stares down his intended receiver BEFORE the snap and follows him through his route until he throws the ball his way. It happened on that pick near the end of the game on MNF against the Cowboys and he was still doing it at the Bills Open Practice a few weeks ago...his arm is decent, but it's nowhere near good enough for him to be able to get away with that and have a good NFL career like Bledsoe did

 

 

I'm gonna nit pick this a little bit, but didn't he only start like 6 games that season?

He started 13 games in 97...AVP getting the other 3

[Pondslider]

Gonna have to say JP on this one

Collins...the only problem that wasn't his fault was the fact that Dan Henning was an awful offensive coordinator for us...a 2-TE base set when we had Lonnie Johnson, Tony Cline, Rob Coons, and a young Jay Riemersma? Talk about trying to fit a square peg into a round hole

 

Don't forget that Henning refused to let the QBs work out of a shotgun formation. I don't think they ran it once that year.

 

Collins biggest sin was that he wasn't Jim Kelly and people weren't ready to wait for him.

[Glass To The Arson]

Losman because he was brought up wrong. I wish he was back.

[Orton's Arm]

This is an easy one: Rob Johnson all the way. If you gave him time in the pocket, he could and did eat defenses alive. His career stats are 7.2 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 83.6, and 30 TDs to 23 INTs (a 1.3 to 1 ratio). By way of contrast, Jim Kelly had 7.4 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 84.4, and 237 TDs to 175 INTs (a 1.4 to 1 ratio).

 

Rob Johnson's downfall was that he took too much time to throw, and therefore took too many sacks. But if you put him on a Super Bowl caliber team (presumably with a first-rate offensive line), then most of those sacks, hits, and injuries don't happen. (The line he had in Buffalo was third-rate, as one generally expects from post-Super Bowl era Bills teams.)

 

Rob Johnson is #1 on this list, because he's the guy most able to benefit from good offensive line play. Back when he had Tony Boselli blocking his left side (with the Jaguars), he looked like the guy at QB.

 

#2 on the list would probably be Todd Collins, if only by default. He has decent career stats--6.6 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 76.0, and a TD/INT ratio of 1.2. Trent Dilfer's career stats are 6.5 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 70.2, and a TD/INT ratio of 0.9. Todd Collins could have been someone's Trent Dilfer.

 

Third on the list is Trent Edwards; who has the skill set to be a good backup QB. Unfortunately, he is deeply flawed, as others on this thread have mentioned.

 

Fourth is Alex van Pelt. He played with a lot of heart, but didn't have the talent to back it up. He'd sometimes give you more than you'd expect, just based on his understanding of the game. But it's hard to imagine him having a sparkling career as an NFL QB under almost any circumstances.

 

Last is Losman, who had all the physical tools one would hope for from a QB. Of all the QBs on this list, only Rob Johnson had comparable physical traits. But Losman lacked Johnson's accuracy and his touch on throws. Moreover, Losman's understanding of the game was by far the weakest of any of the QBs on this list. A quarterback with a million dollar body and a ten cent brain is destined to fail even under positive circumstances, as Kordell Stewart found in Pittsburgh. (Incidentally, the same GM who chose Kordell also chose you know who.)

[brenty]

its hard for others to believe, but i still have faith in trent. New coaches, a tweaked offense. I think we can show something this year.

[The Dean]

JP, I think. He got the worst screw-job of any of the listed QBs and had as more talent than all of them RJ is probably second on that list and might have been better without all the Flutie interference.

 

Here's hoping Trent (or whoever Chan likes) can put together a decent year, and/or career, with an offensive game plan that doesn't completely suck.

[earthtobrint]

This is an easy one: Rob Johnson all the way. If you gave him time in the pocket, he could and did eat defenses alive. His career stats are 7.2 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 83.6, and 30 TDs to 23 INTs (a 1.3 to 1 ratio). By way of contrast, Jim Kelly had 7.4 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 84.4, and 237 TDs to 175 INTs (a 1.4 to 1 ratio).

 

Rob Johnson's downfall was that he took too much time to throw, and therefore took too many sacks. But if you put him on a Super Bowl caliber team (presumably with a first-rate offensive line), then most of those sacks, hits, and injuries don't happen. (The line he had in Buffalo was third-rate, as one generally expects from post-Super Bowl era Bills teams.)

 

Rob Johnson is #1 on this list, because he's the guy most able to benefit from good offensive line play. Back when he had Tony Boselli blocking his left side (with the Jaguars), he looked like the guy at QB.

 

#2 on the list would probably be Todd Collins, if only by default. He has decent career stats--6.6 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 76.0, and a TD/INT ratio of 1.2. Trent Dilfer's career stats are 6.5 yards per pass attempt, a QB rating of 70.2, and a TD/INT ratio of 0.9. Todd Collins could have been someone's Trent Dilfer.

 

Third on the list is Trent Edwards; who has the skill set to be a good backup QB. Unfortunately, he is deeply flawed, as others on this thread have mentioned.

 

Fourth is Alex van Pelt. He played with a lot of heart, but didn't have the talent to back it up. He'd sometimes give you more than you'd expect, just based on his understanding of the game. But it's hard to imagine him having a sparkling career as an NFL QB under almost any circumstances.

 

Last is Losman, who had all the physical tools one would hope for from a QB. Of all the QBs on this list, only Rob Johnson had comparable physical traits. But Losman lacked Johnson's accuracy and his touch on throws. Moreover, Losman's understanding of the game was by far the weakest of any of the QBs on this list. A quarterback with a million dollar body and a ten cent brain is destined to fail even under positive circumstances, as Kordell Stewart found in Pittsburgh. (Incidentally, the same GM who chose Kordell also chose you know who.)

 

Nice breakdown on all accounts. I also believe Rob Johnson could have been good behind a terrific offensive line. He just held on to the ball too long. The poll results thus far have things backwards.

[drg2021]

Nice breakdown on all accounts. I also believe Rob Johnson could have been good behind a terrific offensive line. He just held on to the ball too long. The poll results thus far have things backwards.

I agree Jp wasnt and isnt smart enough to play the game at the NFL level

[genericmattbillsfan]

I think it is way too early to deem trent a "failed" qb. Especially consdering all the talk about bringing guys along slowly. He needs to prove himself this year, but behind a solid line his accuracy is as good as it gets. It's not just because of the checkdowns...

 

BTW First Post. Long-time reader. It's good to be here

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I think it is way too early to deem trent a "failed" qb. Especially consdering all the talk about bringing guys along slowly. He needs to prove himself this year, but behind a solid line his accuracy is as good as it gets. It's not just because of the checkdowns...

 

BTW First Post. Long-time reader. It's good to be here

And I'll be the first to respond to one of your posts.

 

"Way too early?"

 

Trent's played in 32 games with 30 starts in his career. I don't buy "way too early."

 

I would however agree with "a tad premature."

[ConradDobler]

With the wording of the question, I go with RJ. But in the general discussion, I wonder how JP & TE will play out this year. From what I've seen of Pete Carroll, I kind of feel sorry for JP. But both he and Trent have new coaching staffs, and a chance to go to the next level.

[truth on hold]

Joe Dufek: size, arm strength, smarts, intangibles ... guy had it all

[Chandler#81]

I agree Jp wasnt and isnt smart enough to play the game at the NFL level

 

 

I agree, but find it interesting many others don't, and think he just got a raw deal.

 

Sure, he has a cannon, but poor coaching can't be blamed for bouncing 12 yd. patterns in front of his receivers. He has very quick feet, but coaching can't be blamed for his inability to shake a d-lineman.

 

One-dimensional, witless washout.

 

BTW, he was subjected to very poor pro coaching.

 

As for the poll, I vote 'None of the above'.

[C.Biscuit97]

Todd Collins easily. I love how people blame the coaches and the environment for them failings. Maybe, the reason they weren't successful is because they weren't, wait for it, good enough. Maybe these crappy QBs are the reason that the coaches looked bad. The fact remains if you have talent, so team will take a chance on you. All of these got chances with another team (and the fact Losman has to battle to be a 3rd stringer speaks volumes) and Collins is the only one who has ever looked a legit NFL QB. If Collins would have been switched and played when Losman/ Edwards played, he would have been a successful QB. His main problem was he wasn't Jim Kelly.