Ryan Fitzpatrick screwed the Bills over

[offyourocker]

It would be insane not to pick a QB with the talent coming out this year. Fitz is a great backup but not a starter.

[folz]

Wow, I'm really surprised how many fans are down on Fitz. Is it just the thought of probably not getting Luck and

assuming Luck will be the next Peyton Manning? Or is it the two embarrassing losses to end the season (one

of which Fitz didn't play in) that has people so down?

 

Now this is coming from a guy who at the beginning of the season thought anyone but Fitz should be our QB.

But I think Fitz should be our starter next year without question. This doesn't prevent us from drafting a QB

to start to groom behind him, even a 1st round pick if the guy you want is there...but Fitz proved me wrong

this year and got a lot of productivity out of a weak team with a shaky O-line. I don't care what the stats say,

this offense was far superior to what we've seen the last few years.

 

People say, sure he's a good leader and can read defenses and is aware in the pocket and has escapability and

gets everyone lined up right and calls the blitzes and knows his hot reads...but he'll never be more than a backup.

But that is exactly what the great QBs do...those are those intangibles that everyone talks about that separates the players

from the busts.

 

I don't know if Fitz is the long term answer, but I think this young team is best served by starting Fitz next year; the way

young players blossomed under his leadership, the way he spread the ball around, the gunslinger attitude. Sure he threw some

picks, but just as when Kelly or Brees or Manning or Favre would throw some, I always felt that Fitz could make up for it and

still come back (it didn't always happen but I felt it could with him). (And no I'm not saying he's as good as those guys, but he

has that same type of mentality.)

 

And then add in the fact that we never had a RT, he played with 2 different centers, at the end of the season we were starting

guys off the practice squads and/or street on the OL and he had receivers that were rookie FAs, plus a defense that couldn't

stop the run which usually meant playing from behind and not getting as many opportunities cause the D couldn't get off the field.

Oh and the fact that it was his first year in this system and he didn't even get the majority of the reps early on because of Trent.

 

I felt like I watched a player grow into a solid starting QB with the potential to get better. Am I crazy? Didn't anyone else feel

that despite the record and the way the season ended?

[Mr_Blizzard]

Im pretty pissed off that Chan Gailey is probably not going to take a QB high in the draft because Ryan Fitzpatrick had a descent year. I would have rather had a hugh flop at QB this year so we could finally draft the high first round pick that this franchise has needed for years. Fitz's play has prevented the Bills from hitting rock bottom and now it looks like we will have 2-3 more years of flopping around with no direction. Fitzpatrick does not win football games.

 

Agreed. Fitz needs to work on rushing the passer and clogging up running lanes so our new linebackers can do their jobs. Wait - Isn't Fitz part of the offense? Oh yeah, never mind.

Edited January 5, 2011 by Mr_Blizzard

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

Yes...and it's 1,000% the QB's fault!! IDIOCY!

 

Idiocy is believing Fitz IS the answer!

 

How many INT's did Fitz throw that cost the Bills the game? Then add the fumbles at THE worst time that also cost the Bills the game.

 

The answer is greater than 3.

 

Blame Stevie Johnson for 1 loss.

 

Let us not forget the saying "You are what your record says you are".

Edited January 5, 2011 by BillsFan-4-Ever

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

The Buffalo Bills combined for 13 turnovers in their final two games this season, blowout losses to the New England Patriots and New York Jets. Only once before in franchise history have the Bills turned the ball over with such ferocity in consecutive games.

 

The Bills lost four fumbles a week ago, with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing three interceptions. Sunday, Brian Brohm and Levi Brown combined for four interceptions, while the offense fumbled the ball twice.

 

A good QB can offset a bad defense.

[Orton's Arm]

Wow, I'm really surprised how many fans are down on Fitz. Is it just the thought of probably not getting Luck and

assuming Luck will be the next Peyton Manning? Or is it the two embarrassing losses to end the season (one

of which Fitz didn't play in) that has people so down?

 

Now this is coming from a guy who at the beginning of the season thought anyone but Fitz should be our QB.

But I think Fitz should be our starter next year without question. This doesn't prevent us from drafting a QB

to start to groom behind him, even a 1st round pick if the guy you want is there...but Fitz proved me wrong

this year and got a lot of productivity out of a weak team with a shaky O-line. I don't care what the stats say,

this offense was far superior to what we've seen the last few years.

 

People say, sure he's a good leader and can read defenses and is aware in the pocket and has escapability and

gets everyone lined up right and calls the blitzes and knows his hot reads...but he'll never be more than a backup.

But that is exactly what the great QBs do...those are those intangibles that everyone talks about that separates the players

from the busts.

 

I don't know if Fitz is the long term answer, but I think this young team is best served by starting Fitz next year; the way

young players blossomed under his leadership, the way he spread the ball around, the gunslinger attitude. Sure he threw some

picks, but just as when Kelly or Brees or Manning or Favre would throw some, I always felt that Fitz could make up for it and

still come back (it didn't always happen but I felt it could with him). (And no I'm not saying he's as good as those guys, but he

has that same type of mentality.)

 

And then add in the fact that we never had a RT, he played with 2 different centers, at the end of the season we were starting

guys off the practice squads and/or street on the OL and he had receivers that were rookie FAs, plus a defense that couldn't

stop the run which usually meant playing from behind and not getting as many opportunities cause the D couldn't get off the field.

Oh and the fact that it was his first year in this system and he didn't even get the majority of the reps early on because of Trent.

 

I felt like I watched a player grow into a solid starting QB with the potential to get better. Am I crazy? Didn't anyone else feel

that despite the record and the way the season ended?

The question is not whether Fitz is or isn't a reasonably good starter. I think most of us can agree he is that. The real question is whether he's a franchise QB. As far as I'm concerned, he's shown that he isn't that, and won't become that.

 

As you pointed out, he's a good leader, makes good, quick decisions, has good pocket awareness, and is a good on-field general. No one (I think) is questioning any of that. But there's one thing that franchise QBs have that Fitz lacks, and that's the ability to consistently throw the ball accurately. If Fitz hasn't learned that after this many years in the league, I strongly doubt he's going to learn it, period. Joe Montana was remarkably accurate even as a high school QB, let alone a college QB. There's a reason why Fitz wasn't picked until late in the draft, and why when he became a free agent no one saw him as a starter. There's a reason why Fitz' average yards per attempt for 2010 was 6.8--only slightly higher than Trent Edwards' career average of 6.5 yards per attempt. I'd argue that the offensive line Fitz had in 2010 was actually slightly better than the line that protected Trent. I'd also argue that Fitz in 2010 had the better receiving corps, and a much better offensive coaching staff, than Trent Edwards ever had.

 

Yes, Fitz is a good quarterback in all the areas you mentioned--a far better quarterback in those areas than Trent Edwards, for that matter. But you can be the most pocket-aware guy in the world, and make exactly the right decision, but if you follow those things up with an inaccurate throw, it's going to be an incomplete pass or an opportunity for the defense to make an interception. Over the course of the season, the defenses Fitz faced dropped a significant number of potential interceptions. A lot of fans took a, "no harm, no foul" attitude towards those. The problem is that sooner or later you're going to face defenses that won't drop potential interceptions; as the Bills found the second time they faced the Patriots. The Patriots defense simply exposed a weakness that had been there all along.

 

Yes, Fitz is a better quarterback than Trent Edwards, Tyler Thigpen, or Jay Fiedler. But his accuracy isn't nearly as good as the elite quarterbacks in the league. Any time a Fitz-led team faces a Manning- or Brady-led team, the former is going to be at a significant disadvantage. That's why it makes so much sense for the Bills to take Luck, even if it means trading up in the draft to do so.

[Astrojanitor]

Here's two big ways Fitz helped us in 2011 and beyond, even if you don't want him as our future starting QB:

 

* Fitz's play allows the staff to evaluate other key areas of the team. By moving the ball, he exposed the strengths and weaknesses of our OL, wide receivers, TE, etc. If Edwards or Brohm had started, the offense probably would have gone into a black hole and we would not have had nearly enough "evidence" to know where we stood. For example, it's very possible that the Bills wouldn't have known that they now have a viable #2 WR in Stevie Johnson. How much is that information worth to you? In the same sense, Fitz helped us to evaluate our defense, since we got to see how well they perform without having to stay on the field for 40+ min per game.

 

 

exactly right! Look at the potential we now see in SJ and Roscoe. We got a guy in there that really showed what does and does not work on this team. Although I really like Fitz, I don't see him as our QB in 3-4 years. But he is plenty good enough while the rest of the team gets put together. Playing rotating QB every couple years has accomplished nothing in the last decade. I'd love to see the #1 go to a dynamic pass rusher. I'm so tired of seeing opposing QBs have like 10 seconds to make a decision. That kills games far more than Fitz.