Is there any doubt we need a FRANCHISE QB ?

[buffalo_bills]

Fitzys stat line goes: 21/30, 244 yds, 2 td's, 2 ints. Thats a 70% completion percentage, with 244 yards and 2td's, along with 2 picks. He made 3 mistakes the whole game, which did cost us somewhat, however, he made TONS of good throws and decisions and the completion percentage along with the yardage proves it.

 

Yes, he underthrew those two balls for Stevie, which resulted in picks. However, the defense wasn't there at all today! They were able to march down the field too easily on many drives and there was zero pressure on Eli.

 

Nevertheless, the front seven was missing 3 key players ( Williams, Merriman, Kelsay), who happen to be our 3 best pass rushers. With a week off, lets get healthy and get our act together on defense, because i believe we have the talent.

 

Regarding Fitzpatrick, this game is not on him, its on the defense. The offense looked in sync most of the game, which is a sign of solid QB play. Guys, this is the best quarterback we've had in a long time. Let's look at the positives; we're 4-2, with a good chance of going to 5-2 against the Redskins. Once we get healthy again after the buy, i think we'll settle down and start to look like the Bills against the Raiders, Pats and Eagles instead of the Bills against the Bengals and Giants. Go Bills!

[beerme1]

I'm perfectly fine with simply blaming 29.

He owns this loss. He was picked on like a rookie and was a complete joke today. I know he doesn't normally have these days but Leodis could have stepped in and likely done better than him.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Again, in a 60 minute game decided by 3 points, the difference between victory and defeat is razor-thin.

 

One could point to one single play out of no fewer than 6 or 7 that decided the game.

 

In football, you win as a team and you lose as a team.

[dayman]

Today is on Fitz it's simple. There are a lot of reasons we play average football but for some reason we are always in it and Fitzy has to finish it off. Today he didn't. In the past he has. In the future he will I'm sure.

[NoSaint]

That high and wide to end it hurt too. It wasn't an awful game, but wasn't what you hope for.

[PromoTheRobot]

The offense is going to have to win our games. They will fall short at times. Giants did to us what CIN did to us. The D has a way to go yet.

 

PTR

[RyanC883]

I agree w/ the OP. Fitz won 4 games for us. At times your QB will make turnovers. 2 int's in a game is not uncommon, even for GREAT QB's. The defense had to rise to the occassion today and simply stop an average offense from scoring 24 points. They could not do it.

[Green Lightning]

Today is on Fitz it's simple. There are a lot of reasons we play average football but for some reason we are always in it and Fitzy has to finish it off. Today he didn't. In the past he has. In the future he will I'm sure.

 

I gotta agree. The game was in his hands and didn't get it done. He's going to do that every now and again. The game also brought it ever more into focus our need for better CBs. Guess DJ wasn't all wrong.

[KD in CA]

I agree w/ the OP. Fitz won 4 games for us. At times your QB will make turnovers. 2 int's in a game is not uncommon, even for GREAT QB's. The defense had to rise to the occassion today and simply stop an average offense from scoring 24 points. They could not do it.

 

 

Hang on here. Let's not give Fitz credit for winning games for us (especially games where the D scored touchdowns) and then be afraid to pin a loss on him when he plays like crap. Fitz stunk today and cost the Bills the game. Any other assessment is simply dishonest.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Again, I have no problem blaming Fitz for the loss. QB is a high-responsibility position, after all.

 

But I think we're oversimplifying here.

 

In football you win and lose as a team.

 

By blaming Fitz for instance, are we absolving Drayton Florence?

 

How about the non-existent pass rush which exposed Florence to bad coverage situations?

 

It was a 3-point loss.

 

Any number of plays was the difference today.

[ColdBlueNorth]

Fitz played alright, but made mistakes so let's not put it all on the defense.

 

I doubt Fitz would argue the point that he took too long on his sacks and that his long ball needs work, this is a few weeks in a row when he has underthrown receivers one on one on the outside - this time they ended up as picks. If it is his time to shine, then he has to begin making those throws. Starting QB's in the NFL make those throws.

 

The defense needs work, particularly at corner where McGee is our only quality starter, Florence can have good and bad days and we saw one of his worst. I am hopeful that Aaron Wiliams will develop. Also, I think we all know that we are a pass rusher away from having a really good line as well, but as a whole they have definately gotten better at stopping the run. Do they stop every run, no, but they have shown the ability to stuff the short yardage that used to be automatic last year, and force teams to the air. Unfortunately going to the air exposes a secondary that we thought may have some weak links. Another solid draft and a few more pieces and this group could develop around Kyle and Marcell and a young linebacker core. They were sooooo close to getting to Manning on so many occasions, but he was able to get rid of it just before the rush got to him.

 

They went into the Giants backyard and took them down to the wire, and the game was there for the taking if Fitz makes those throws. I guess what we have to ask ourselves is do we think that this team has peaked or not. I don't think they have.

 

I expect this team will fight and claw and pull out a good number of wins that most would not have expected of them this year. If they get everyone on defense back healthy and Fitz develops some touch on his long ball then who knows how far they will go. If they make the playoffs they will be a scarey team for most anyone to play. One thing I do know is that they are a much more enjoyable team to watch and cheer for.

[mrags]

Honestly I agree with the OP. Fitz's statline was fine today. He played a good enough game to win. He DID male a few bad mistakes. I'd say both picks and a few of the sacks were his own doing but it's no different from 90% of the QBs in this league. If you look at other QBs on a consistant basis and show 21-30, 244yrds, 2tds, and 2ints you'll see that quite often. The only guys that don't have this type of game very often are, Brady, Brees, Manning, and Rodgers. Everyone else in the league falls into this catagory almost 50% of the time. Teams that win with these QBs when they have this type of game usually donut on all sides of the ball. The defense didn't hold up well today and hurt is big time. Fitz had us in position to win the game with less than 4 minutes on the clock in enemy territory and it shouldn't have even been on him. Kill the clock, run the ball, make them use thier TOs and take a field goal if you can't get into the end zone. It was a horribly thrown ball but it happens. People don't call Eli a bad QB after what he did against Seattle last week. We shouldn't call Fitz a bad QB for a very similar scenario this week. Games like this will happen. Just look at Brett Favres career.

[ColdBlueNorth]

Again, I have no problem blaming Fitz for the loss. QB is a high-responsibility position, after all.

 

But I think we're oversimplifying here.

 

In football you win and lose as a team.

 

By blaming Fitz for instance, are we absolving Drayton Florence?

 

How about the non-existent pass rush which exposed Florence to bad coverage situations?

 

It was a 3-point loss.

 

Any number of plays was the difference today.

 

 

Like that 3rd down play where Florence mugged the guy with his back to Manning the whole way on that slant to the sideline? How is that the fault of the pass rush?

 

That is just flat out stupid play by a cornerback who should have known by that point of the game that the zebras were watching him - he had already been flagged twice. I hate to say it considering how many picks Jauron threw at the problem, but corner is still a position of need on this team. Jauron picked guys who could play cover two, but we need corners that can play man.

 

Not saying that we could not use better pass rushers off the edge, but not every bad coverage play is the result of a bad pass rush.

[CardinalScotts]

24 pts should be enough

[BringBackFlutie]

Fitz played alright, but made mistakes so let's not put it all on the defense.

 

I doubt Fitz would argue the point that he took too long on his sacks and that his long ball needs work, this is a few weeks in a row when he has underthrown receivers one on one on the outside - this time they ended up as picks. If it is his time to shine, then he has to begin making those throws. Starting QB's in the NFL make those throws.

 

The defense needs work, particularly at corner where McGee is our only quality starter, Florence can have good and bad days and we saw one of his worst. I am hopeful that Aaron Wiliams will develop. Also, I think we all know that we are a pass rusher away from having a really good line as well, but as a whole they have definately gotten better at stopping the run. Do they stop every run, no, but they have shown the ability to stuff the short yardage that used to be automatic last year, and force teams to the air. Unfortunately going to the air exposes a secondary that we thought may have some weak links. Another solid draft and a few more pieces and this group could develop around Kyle and Marcell and a young linebacker core. They were sooooo close to getting to Manning on so many occasions, but he was able to get rid of it just before the rush got to him.

 

They went into the Giants backyard and took them down to the wire, and the game was there for the taking if Fitz makes those throws. I guess what we have to ask ourselves is do we think that this team has peaked or not. I don't think they have.

 

I expect this team will fight and claw and pull out a good number of wins that most would not have expected of them this year. If they get everyone on defense back healthy and Fitz develops some touch on his long ball then who knows how far they will go. If they make the playoffs they will be a scarey team for most anyone to play. One thing I do know is that they are a much more enjoyable team to watch and cheer for.

 

I agree with his post entirely. We haven't reached our ceiling, and Fitz hasn't reached his. You can't tell me he's incapable of shoring up those long balls. Additionally, if the D tightens up a bit and gets healthy, and Fitz fixes MINOR mistakes, then this team will make the playoffs, and they will be tough to beat. I also agree with PTR though, because I think that just about every game, no matter how many points we score, we only win because we score a lot. It's always by 3-7 points.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Like that 3rd down play where Florence mugged the guy with his back to Manning the whole way on that slant to the sideline? How is that the fault of the pass rush?

 

That is just flat out stupid play by a cornerback who should have known by that point of the game that the zebras were watching him - he had already been flagged twice. I hate to say it considering how many picks Jauron threw at the problem, but corner is still a position of need on this team. Jauron picked guys who could play cover two, but we need corners that can play man.

 

Not saying that we could not use better pass rushers off the edge, but not every bad coverage play is the result of a bad pass rush.

You missed my point… which is that you win and lose as a team.

 

You can blame Fitz… you can blame Florence… I wasn't absolving anyone.

 

But I wouldn't personally blame one person for the loss.

 

 

Edited October 17, 2011 by San Jose Bills Fan

[White Linen]

Again, I have no problem blaming Fitz for the loss. QB is a high-responsibility position, after all.

 

But I think we're oversimplifying here.

 

In football you win and lose as a team.

 

By blaming Fitz for instance, are we absolving Drayton Florence?

 

How about the non-existent pass rush which exposed Florence to bad coverage situations?

 

It was a 3-point loss.

 

Any number of plays was the difference today.

 

With all due respect "you win and lose as a team" is oversimplifying. Fitz took a crucial sack with penty of time to get the ball out of his hands that took us out of field goal range. The two interceptions where poorly under thrown balls, and basically the same patern and the same mistake. The o line controlled the line of scrimmage for him almost all day and on those 3 particular plays it was all Fitz. They were subsequently the reason we lost. I really like Fitz so I'm not bashing on him. But I bet he'd take responsibility for this loss. As he should. I could see if they were tipped balls or if he was under extreme pressure, but that's not the case, he just didn't get it done and it cost us the game. Florence didn't play well but Fitz had the game in his hands to win.

[NoSaint]

Again, I have no problem blaming Fitz for the loss. QB is a high-responsibility position, after all.

 

But I think we're oversimplifying here.

 

In football you win and lose as a team.

 

By blaming Fitz for instance, are we absolving Drayton Florence?

 

How about the non-existent pass rush which exposed Florence to bad coverage situations?

 

It was a 3-point loss.

 

Any number of plays was the difference today.

 

For sure but he's bound to get the finger for many reasons-

 

He's the qb - he wins games, he loses games. With credit comes blame.

 

Turnovers kill - especially in the redzone. Coupled with the sack he took points off the board.

 

And unfortunately - the look on his face that they kept showing didn't help him appear to be the leader, but instead the goat.

 

It happens. Unfortunately I think this is pretty close to par for the course. I think this team, and especially fitz, can play with playoff teams but won't win consistently. Some weeks they will win, some they will lose. There will be more ugly mistakes than a good team should make, but good gameplans, a lot of heart, and they will work hard. It's looking more apparent that they feed off the friendly crowds of the Ralph.

 

Walking into the bye week I will say they are better than I expected but still recognize many of the faults that I worried about. I was hoping for 3-3 back in august - instead it was 4-2. I hoped take 2 out of 3 (could very easily see 1 of 3 as I thought KC was better) for KC, Oakland, and giants, win cincy lose NE. I was thinking about 6 wins for the season and can now buy closer to 8 but we will see. I've been wrong about a lot so far this year. I think this team still needs a few (more) rare athletes that dictate matchups. We have a good not great qb, the lines held together but LT (even when healthy) still worries me, I hope Merriman is the pass rusher he once was if he can get healthy (any successful d needs that guy) our WR are good but no one that is a matchup nightmare, corners are good, but none lockdown yet.... a couple key pickups could help everyone step up a lot. We've got a great base now it's time for elite playmakers. Honestly- this team has few holes but very few lockdown probowl type players either. Especially at big spots.

 

Realistically I think it comes down to the classic 3-4 spots needing upgrades from good to great - LT and QB on offense, OLB and CB on defense. We have quality starters at those spots, don't get me wrong - but without a rare specimen in a few of those positions, were middle of the pack (still a huge step up from years past). I think hitting on a couple picks this coming year could complete the rebuild and leave us fine tuning for years to come.

 

and no I don't want to just cut any of the starters - add playmakers not replace people.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

With all due respect "you win and lose as a team" is oversimplifying. Fitz took a crucial sack with penty of time to get the ball out of his hands that took us out of field goal range. The two interceptions where poorly under thrown balls, and basically the same patern and the same mistake. The o line controlled the line of scrimmage for him almost all day and on those 3 particular plays it was all Fitz. They were subsequently the reason we lost. I really like Fitz so I'm not bashing on him. But I bet he'd take responsibility for this loss. As he should. I could see if they were tipped balls or if he was under extreme pressure, but that's not the case, he just didn't get it done and it cost us the game. Florence didn't play well but Fitz had the game in his hands to win.

If I HAD to blame one person, I would blame Fitz… and by a fair margin.

 

I'm just not real good with finger pointing in forums or elsewhere but I would have to say Fitz…(after all I've been making the argument for hours now that Fitz blew the INT, not Gailey).

 

I truly believe that when you lose (or win) a game by 3 points, there are so many decisive moments in a game that you can point to.

 

But yes, Fitz has the ball in his hands 60-70 times per game and QB is the most important player on the team.

Edited October 17, 2011 by San Jose Bills Fan

[bills88]

Fitz has enough arm.