Billsrhody Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Fitzpatrick under the gun Mr. Sandman is now looking over Fitzpatrick's shoulder. The Bills signed former Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Vince Young to a one-year contract earlier this month. Young is making backup money (only $350,000 of his contract is guaranteed) and the two-time Pro Bowler is saying all the right things in accepting a backup role, but Young is a 6-foot-5, 243-pound quarterback with a great arm, two Pro Bowls on his resume and more mobility than Fitzpatrick. If the Bills struggle on offense, and the heat gets turned up on Gailey, how long can he wait before making a switch? Fitzpatrick's contract contained $24 million in guaranteed money, of which $15 million -- a $10 million signing bonus from last October and $5 million option bonus from March -- has already been paid. The $2.88 million in partially guaranteed base salary in 2012 is safe, but that's not the case for the remaining $6.2 million. Another average season while running in place in the win column could prompt the Bills to consider cutting ties with Fitzpatrick, whose cap number is set to jump from $6 million in 2012 to $10.45 million 2013. That decision would likely be made before a $3 million roster bonus comes due on the second day of the 2013 league year. Is Vince Young really a threat to start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Not unless he has suddenly learned how to read a defense to save his life. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglukes Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) The Bills have said it time after time that this is Fitzpatrick's team. Edited May 24, 2012 by biglukes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FleaMoulds80 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 If Chan and Buddy viewed Young as a legit threat to take over, I think they would've signed him for more than a 1 year deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsrhody Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 The Bills have said it time after time that this is Fitzpatrick's team. That doesn't mean things cant change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FleaMoulds80 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 That doesn't mean things cant change A player that was only signed for a 1 year deal isn't a legit threat. Unless Vince does a Jeremy Lin, it's not happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 And so it begins. I predict the first loss, this place will be a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndirish1978 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Just another idea of the media drumming up a story based solely upon their own beliefs and without any evidence. The Bills have stated Young was brought in only as a backup and we don't have a cagey FO or HC; they mean what they say. No reason to even pay attention to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) McIntyre's whole storyline seems to 'fly in the face' of everything Nix & Gailey have said to the Buffalo fans, the local & national media, and to Vince Young himself... There wasn't a line of teams forming to sign Young this off-season. The Bills gave him a call only after failing to draft a developmental quarterback in April. So he'll spend his spring and summer competing with Tyler Thigpen to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tyler Thigpen? Ryan Fitzpatrick? The Bills have no illusions of what Young can become — and general manager Buddy Nix and coach Chan Gailey have made sure Young has no illusions, either. "Buddy and I both sat down with him and told him exactly what we expected, exactly the role he was going to play," Gailey said. "Fitz is our starter. He's our guy. We think we can win with him. We told Vince he's going to compete with Tyler for [number] two. He handled that." The Bills haven't had a winning season since 2004. They haven't been to the playoffs since 1999 and haven't won a playoff game since 1995. And Young can't start for them. He could find himself sitting in 2012 behind a pair of seventh-round draft picks from Harvard and Coastal Carolina. Fitzpatrick and Thigpen have both been in this offense for two seasons, so Young will be playing catch-up this spring. He's only in his second week. Link - Rick Gosselin: Why a season with Chan Gailey could be the best thing for Texas-ex Vince Young The only person who needs to be looking over his shoulder is Thigpen. Fitz is the starter. GO BILLSSS!!!! 19 and 0 baby!!!! Edited May 24, 2012 by The Senator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Just another idea of the media drumming up a story based solely upon their own beliefs and without any evidence. The Bills have stated Young was brought in only as a backup and we don't have a cagey FO or HC; they mean what they say. No reason to even pay attention to it. Exactly. This story was going to be written no matter where Vince Young landed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 OP, you should hire yourself out as a headline writer for the Snooze or some other media outlet. You've got the technique down cold... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsrhody Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 So what happens if the Bills start out 0-8 and Fitz has thrown 4 tds and 15 ints? All I'm saying is.. its not impossible that Vince gets a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaroni Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 IMHO ... every one of the 53 men on the team should be "under the gun". If the front office finds a player that provides a better chance to win football games than the one currently filling the position, they'd be remiss if they didn't replace them. That being said Sometimes change isn't better, it's just something different .... sometimes it's even worse. It's also my opinion that "change for changes sake" has been a big part of our problem over the last decade. Alot can be said for continuity (I'm not saying we shouldn't change, just saying we should improve rather than just be different). just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 So what happens if the Bills start out 0-8 and Fitz has thrown 4 tds and 15 ints? All I'm saying is.. its not impossible that Vince gets a shot. Of course. The same goes for ANY QB in the league, including Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees, et al. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 So what happens if the Bills start out 0-8 and Fitz has thrown 4 tds and 15 ints? All I'm saying is.. its not impossible that Vince gets a shot. OMG WHAT HAPPENS IF FITZ THROWS 80 INTERCEPTIONS IN ONE GAME OMG WE SHOULD DEMOTE HIM RIGHT NOW JUST IN CASE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRW Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 So what happens if the Bills start out 0-8 and Fitz has thrown 4 tds and 15 ints? All I'm saying is.. its not impossible that Vince gets a shot. 0-8? Who gives a crap at that point? Hell, put Brad Smith in as the starter if we're doing that poorly. Any QB would be in great danger of losing his starting spot in the scenario you described. But if Fitzpatrick is putting up mediocre numbers and the Bills are in the playoff hunt, no way he gets benched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivermont Mike Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 That doesn't mean things cant change You've nailed it. Nobody can predict what Young will look like in Gailey's system. Watch OTAs and training camp and see if a more mature and focused Young emerges. I think Fitz has great potential to take the Bills to the playoffs. But if he goes down (physically or mentally), I'd rather have a two-time Pro Bowl player and a guy who's actually won NFL games under center instead of Thigpen. There are a lot of very football-knowledgeable people on this board and I learn a ton about the Bills and NFL football, but I tend to go with the football experts at OBD. If Gailey cites Young's wins in NFL games as a positive indicator, I'm going with his assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Fitzpatrick under the gun Mr. Sandman is now looking over Fitzpatrick's shoulder. The Bills signed former Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Vince Young to a one-year contract earlier this month. Young is making backup money (only $350,000 of his contract is guaranteed) and the two-time Pro Bowler is saying all the right things in accepting a backup role, but Young is a 6-foot-5, 243-pound quarterback with a great arm, two Pro Bowls on his resume and more mobility than Fitzpatrick. If the Bills struggle on offense, and the heat gets turned up on Gailey, how long can he wait before making a switch? Fitzpatrick's contract contained $24 million in guaranteed money, of which $15 million -- a $10 million signing bonus from last October and $5 million option bonus from March -- has already been paid. The $2.88 million in partially guaranteed base salary in 2012 is safe, but that's not the case for the remaining $6.2 million. Another average season while running in place in the win column could prompt the Bills to consider cutting ties with Fitzpatrick, whose cap number is set to jump from $6 million in 2012 to $10.45 million 2013. That decision would likely be made before a $3 million roster bonus comes due on the second day of the 2013 league year. Is Vince Young really a threat to start? I think the biggest threat to Fitzpatrick this season is only one person-Fitzpatrick. He has been average at best over a span of several games, with probably more bad games then good. He is being given every chance to take control of this team and be a franchise QB. This team starts a tailspin like they did after the good start last year, I wouldn't hesitate to give almost anyone a chance to Win, since that is what it is all about. Of course. The same goes for ANY QB in the league, including Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees, et al. GO BILLS!!! Not so sure I would but those four QBs in the same group as Fitz. If any of those 4 start out 0-8, they are still the team's quarterback if healthy, not so sure about Fitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Not so sure I would but those four QBs in the same group as Fitz. If any of those 4 start out 0-8, they are still the team's quarterback if healthy, not so sure about Fitz. You forgot the 4 TDs and 15 Ints. that went with the 0-8 start in the above scenario. Any QB gets pulled, regardless. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) If Chan and Buddy viewed Young as a legit threat to take over, I think they would've signed him for more than a 1 year deal. That's not true. They only signed him to a one year deal because they didn't know what they were getting. Nobody can argue that Young has more physical ability in his sleep then Fitz has ever had period, but his problems have been mental and nothing more. If Fitz were to stink the joint up again like he did the second half of last year or get hurt and Young came in and played lights out, there is a good chance that they offer him an extension, which he probably will take since the Bills were the only team willing to give him a chance. Let's just hope Fitz sets the world on fire and that other scenario's don't happen. You forgot the 4 TDs and 15 Ints. that went with the 0-8 start in the above scenario. Any QB gets pulled, regardless. GO BILLS!!! Not a chance that Belicheat pulls a healthy Brady no matter what the stats are, your crazy if you think otherwise. Edited May 24, 2012 by BuffBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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