billsfan89 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Just a simple hypothetical if you put other NFL QB's on this team how would they have done with the surrounding cast? The Bills had inconsistent O-line play, no true ground game, no tightend to throw to, a very young receiving core (Out side of Evans), and a defense that consistently forced the offense into being one dimensional. I think that the top tier guys like Peyton Manning, Drew Breese, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady*, Philip Rivers and to a lesser extent Ben Rothlisberger and Matt Ryan do better then Fitz those guys clearly are capable of elevating the talent around them a lot. But then you get to an interesting argument what about the second tier guys. Guys like Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, David Gerrad, and Joe Flacco. How would those pro-bowl playoff caliber NFL QB's have done on this roster. Honestly they probably would have done as good if not worse then Fitz. Obviously its a hypothetical so you can't know but perhaps Fitz did a pretty good job for the Bills. My point is that the Bills this year would have forced a lot of mediocre QB's out of action or to have a terrible year BUT Fitz played solid as the QB for this team in his 13 starts which says something about him and if you put other "good" NFL QB's in his situation how much better or worse would they have done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 This is an interesting question, one that I have asked myself a few times. Imo, Fitz is a modern day Doug Flutie. Please hear me out lol..... When Flutie was here, he did have the advantage of a very good defense. He, like Fitz, had a very poor offensive line. But, Flutie thrived on broken plays and was often able to get out of trouble. In the pocket, often his passes were batted down. Fitz too seems to get his passes blocked just a little too much, and imo his athleticism is underrated. The man is obviously very smart, and a great competitor, as was Flutie. Fitz dives head first and throws blocks. Once Flutie took out a Jet LB with a monster block on a Monday Niight. Fitz too is very good at getting out of trouble, which he is frequently in. In summary, both of them can be called winners imo. Fitz is much more of a team player than Flutie, but imo they are similar. Neither is great, and both have obvious limitations. I think the problem has been the same in Buffalo for years. It is next to impossible to win it all while playing in the cold without good blocking. I suppose that the Steelers can be called an exception this season, but let's see what happens in the playoffs when teams feast on Jonathan Scott. A majority of fans want to draft defense first, and our D is so bad that I can understand this. But, teams that play in NE, Buff, NJ, or other cold, open air stadiums need to also outmuscle their opponents on the offensive side of the ball and the Bills are nowhere near this. Both Fitz and Flutie masked a serious wound on the Bills, which is weakness and lack of talent on the OL. So, to answer your question, I think that most qbs would not have fared as well as Fitz on this team. I just hope that in 2011 we can become stronger and more suited to play in Orchard Park, NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 This is an interesting question, one that I have asked myself a few times. Imo, Fitz is a modern day Doug Flutie. Please hear me out lol..... When Flutie was here, he did have the advantage of a very good defense. He, like Fitz, had a very poor offensive line. But, Flutie thrived on broken plays and was often able to get out of trouble. In the pocket, often his passes were batted down. Fitz too seems to get his passes blocked just a little too much, and imo his athleticism is underrated. The man is obviously very smart, and a great competitor, as was Flutie. Fitz dives head first and throws blocks. Once Flutie took out a Jet LB with a monster block on a Monday Niight. Fitz too is very good at getting out of trouble, which he is frequently in. In summary, both of them can be called winners imo. Fitz is much more of a team player than Flutie, but imo they are similar. Neither is great, and both have obvious limitations. I think the problem has been the same in Buffalo for years. It is next to impossible to win it all while playing in the cold without good blocking. I suppose that the Steelers can be called an exception this season, but let's see what happens in the playoffs when teams feast on Jonathan Scott. A majority of fans want to draft defense first, and our D is so bad that I can understand this. But, teams that play in NE, Buff, NJ, or other cold, open air stadiums need to also outmuscle their opponents on the offensive side of the ball and the Bills are nowhere near this. Both Fitz and Flutie masked a serious wound on the Bills, which is weakness and lack of talent on the OL. So, to answer your question, I think that most qbs would not have fared as well as Fitz on this team. I just hope that in 2011 we can become stronger and more suited to play in Orchard Park, NY. You make some very cogent points about the lack of strength of both our lines, especially in a cold weather environment. I'll go a little farther on that point, the strength of both lines is essential to success in any weather environment. A few years ago Mike Lombardi, a former front office person for a number of teams and currently an NFL analyst, was asked to assess the Bills. He observed that the Bills were simply too small and weak on both sides of the ball. The light and quick structure of their lineup handicapped them. He felt that the roster in general needed to be overhauled in order to get bigger and stronger. I hope I don't get tiresome but I still contend that if the Bills have an opportunity to get a talented franchise qb they need to seize the opportunity. Newton is still on my radar screen. Even if the Bills draft Newton with their first pick Fitz is going to be our starter next year or longer. There was a time when some people questioned the Packers drafting of Rodgers when they already had Favre. How did that work out? Rodgers is currently one of the most prolific qbs in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Well for a time there it looked like we were in discussions for Vick or McNabb. I love Fitz but am almost certain Vick would have been a better qb for us this year. I can't imagine anyone sane disagreeing with this conclusion. McNabb? I don't have a clue what has been going on in Washington, but I just don't see him doing much better than Fitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akm0404 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Fitzpatrick was a bottom-third of the NFL guy in his statistical aberration year. Having an elite-level quarterback would have made the team a contender, instead of a bottom-third irrelevant team. Look at the benchmark franchises with elite quarterbacks - the talent around them comes and goes, but the winning stays the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'm not certain of that. Philly had a better all around team built around the QB. A defense that likely was going to give the offense a shorter field, better receivers and O-line. I think one of Fitz strengths is his ability to make average receivers look good by being able to find the open person. Could Vick have done that as well, kind of doubt that. Defenses could have more game planned to stop Vick from running and may have more easily shut him down. He may have been better, but doubt he would have come close to doing with us what he did in Philly. Well for a time there it looked like we were in discussions for Vick or McNabb. I love Fitz but am almost certain Vick would have been a better qb for us this year. I can't imagine anyone sane disagreeing with this conclusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Well for a time there it looked like we were in discussions for Vick or McNabb. I love Fitz but am almost certain Vick would have been a better qb for us this year. I can't imagine anyone sane disagreeing with this conclusion. McNabb? I don't have a clue what has been going on in Washington, but I just don't see him doing much better than Fitz. No one who is sober would disagree with your Vick/Fitz assessment. With respect to McNabb he was a shadow of what he once was and he was in a system that was ill-suited for him. In addition, he was playing on an offense that had some major OL and receiver deficiencies. I agree with you that I would prefer having Fitz over McNabb taking snaps for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 is he the best of the rest? 2011 NFL Free Agents Matt Leinart (HOU) Alex Smith (SF) Matt Moore (CAR) Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) Brett Favre (MIN) Seneca Wallace (CLE) Marc Bulger (BAL) Todd Collins (CHI) Caleb Hanie (CHI) Brady Quinn (DEN) Drew Stanton (DET) Trent Edwards (JAC) Luke McCown (JAC) Brodie Croyle (KC) Chad Pennington (MIA) Tyler Thigpen (MIA) Tarvaris Jackson (MIN) Jim Sorgi (NYG) Kellen Clemens (NYJ) Kyle Boller (OAK) Bruce Gradkowski (OAK) Dennis Dixon (PIT) Billy Volek (SD) Troy Smith (SF) Kerry Collins (TEN) Rex Grossman (WAS) is this right?? Michael Vick (PHI) Peyton Manning (IND) Tom Brady (NE) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandius Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I suspect Brady and Manning would've gone 10-6. The QB position is just so important and makes other players better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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