Did Lombardi nail it Re: Fitz and offence

[JESSEFEFFER]

I think the Bills have to design more time into their passing game. A DL can do a two count and throw an arm up with a good chance he can tip a ball. If he does that on a 4 sec play he is liable to be totally ineffective on the rush and get a punch to his exposed midsection. Pump fake, roll out, flea flicker, max protect. Use something to make the defense fear having to defend for more than 2.5 seconds. It's tough to do any of those things with an empty backfield though.

[MyHorseAteTheKid]

Everyone has the same film to review.. From week to week coaches change game plans.. It's never as simple as sports reporters make it out to be.. Sure teams (coaches) have tendencies to call certain plays in certain situations, but it's not like adjustments aren't made from game to game... I can't wait for the season to start.. GO BILLS!!!

[CodeMonkey]

If anyone has noticed... there has been a concerted effort to throw deeper routes this preseason

I'm not sure throwing it out of bounds 30 yards down the field as you are getting knocked on your ass counts as a concerted effort to throw deeper.

[todzilla]

I know Chase Daniel was tongue in cheek (at least I think so), but another poster called for the Bills to find the next Matt Flynn. Remember the previous Matt Flynns: Kevin Kolb, Rob Johnson, Scott Michell, Matt Cassel. The only real success I can think of recently is Matt Schaub. Big money to an unproven back up is not the way to go.

 

I think we'll see Chandler and Nelson a lot more involved once the season starts. With a bit of time they can stretch the d and work the middle, like the nice pass to Nelson in the Steelers game. I'm also in the minority of Donald Jones believers, I think he'll be a bigger playmaker than most do.

[Jauronimo]

I know Chase Daniel was tongue in cheek (at least I think so), but another poster called for the Bills to find the next Matt Flynn. Remember the previous Matt Flynns: Kevin Kolb, Rob Johnson, Scott Michell, Matt Cassel. The only real success I can think of recently is Matt Schaub. Big money to an unproven back up is not the way to go.

 

I think we'll see Chandler and Nelson a lot more involved once the season starts. With a bit of time they can stretch the d and work the middle, like the nice pass to Nelson in the Steelers game. I'm also in the minority of Donald Jones believers, I think he'll be a bigger playmaker than most do.

Whats wrong with the current Matt Flynn who couldn't even win the starting job out of camp?

[K-9]

Matt Flynn? Hilarious. Joe Philbin's insatiable pursuit of Matt Flynn in the off season is all I need to know about Matt Flynn.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[NoSaint]

Lombardi on the NFL Network before the Steelers game indicated that NFL coaches caught on to the fact Fitz and the Bills preferred quick passes, often slants, in their pass game and that they have adjusted.

 

I've notice recently how man quick slants to SJ have been batted down.

 

Add to this the fact Stevie is a fantastic route runner but isn't a burner and has fair to good hands and the question becomes is the Bills offence extremely limited.

 

Is the season going to hang on the ability of Fitz to find raw rookie Graham deep?

 

We had to stretch the field horizontally not vertically. We didn't have the speed outside, blockers up front and perhaps qb to go over the top. I've been saying this exact thing for over a year now. We will have a tough go of it but its a process. We are middle of the pack now, not a SB contender. It's a process and is going well. The line is adding pieces, we added a little speed outside. It's getting there.

[KD in CA]

Remember the previous Matt Flynns: Kevin Kolb, Rob Johnson, Scott Michell, Matt Cassel.

 

You forgot the biggest 'Matt Flynn' of all: Billy Volek.

[San-O]

Fitz will answer every question we as fans have about him this season.

 

+ 1

 

Yes, we will know one way or the other. I just hope people will view the season and his performance objectively.

[K-9]

+ 1

 

Yes, we will know one way or the other. I just hope people will view the season and his performance objectively.

 

That's a good one. It will be subjective at best. None of us, as far as I know, will have the context required to really objectively critique his entire body of work. We will only see his passes which, even though can tell us much, don't come near to telling us the whole story.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[billsfan89]

Combo of a lot of things hurt our deep passing game.

 

1- Fred Jackson went down, we run a lot of our offense around the guy. (Kept a lot more teams honest)

2- E.Wood and D.Bell injuries and the declining play of the offensive line. (Fitz couldn't get the protection he once had)

3- D.Jones and receiver injuries (D.Jones was making big plays with Fitz, he got hurt and other receivers got hurt too, what speed we had got hurt).

4- Teams adjusting to our offense (Defenses played things differently thanks to the above factors)

5- Fitz's injury (That likely didn't help things)

 

It was a lot of things that led the offense to decline in the second half of last season. But a lot of it is health related, a healthy O-line and receiving core would go a long way for Fitz. But also its up to Chan and Fitz to adjust the offense.

[JPS]

I've gone back and forth with Fitz, but if he was any better, he'd be better. I was shocked the Bills didn't draft a developmental QB over the past 2 years and think it will come back to bite them. I think TJack presents them with different questions rather than answers.

 

Unless the Bills dominate on defense and have a great running game, it's going to put Fitz in some of those situations where he's gone the other way.

[yungmack]

Did Lombardi nail it? The guy couldn't nail a 2x 4 with an air gun. There's a reason he and the other "genius" ex-GMs and ex-Head Coaches are sitting around a studio bloviating instead of running a team.

 

The essence of offensive "gaming" of the defense is having an area that the D has to commit to overly defending. Once they do that, the offense has to be capable of taking advantage of the holes that open up. If the offense doesn't have the talent to do that, it becomes the dreaded "one-dimensional offense."

 

As someone else pointed out on this thread, the short slant pass is intended to counter the blitz and "cheating up" on the run game. Once the D commits to stopping it, the run game AND the long ball come into play. Last year the Bills running game benefitted greatly with that approach, with Fred-Ex on his way to a spectacular season. But the long ball part of the equation was lacking because the Bills didn't have a burner. That's why TJ Graham is on the roster.

 

If TJ has the impact I think he will and if the rest of the offense is at least as good as last year's was, then it's going to come down to Chan's play-calling and Fitz's arm. And that seems to bring us to the heart of the differences of opinion on this board, between those of us who believe that Chan's the Man and Fitz is the right guy for the job, and those who don't. And only time will tell who's right.

[K-9]

Did Lombardi nail it? The guy couldn't nail a 2x 4 with an air gun. There's a reason he and the other "genius" ex-GMs and ex-Head Coaches are sitting around a studio bloviating instead of running a team.

 

The essence of offensive "gaming" of the defense is having an area that the D has to commit to overly defending. Once they do that, the offense has to be capable of taking advantage of the holes that open up. If the offense doesn't have the talent to do that, it becomes the dreaded "one-dimensional offense."

 

As someone else pointed out on this thread, the short slant pass is intended to counter the blitz and "cheating up" on the run game. Once the D commits to stopping it, the run game AND the long ball come into play. Last year the Bills running game benefitted greatly with that approach, with Fred-Ex on his way to a spectacular season. But the long ball part of the equation was lacking because the Bills didn't have a burner. That's why TJ Graham is on the roster.

 

If TJ has the impact I think he will and if the rest of the offense is at least as good as last year's was, then it's going to come down to Chan's play-calling and Fitz's arm. And that seems to bring us to the heart of the differences of opinion on this board, between those of us who believe that Chan's the Man and Fitz is the right guy for the job, and those who don't. And only time will tell who's right.

 

Good point.

 

You take what the defense gives you and they all give you something. Once they adjust you can start taking what you want. Defenses typically give what they perceive to be your worst thing at getting. It's critical to convince them otherwise.

 

I was very intrigued by Chan opening in a 2 TE power running set against Pitt. What was he telling the Jets there, if anything? I wonder.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[yungmack]

I was very intrigued by Chan opening in a 2 TE power running set against Pitt. What was he telling the Jets there, if anything? I wonder.

 

 

 

Good point as well. I thought using the wildcat when he did in Minnesota, and the direct snap to Spiller were done specifically to give the Jets something else to complicate their game planning. BTW, after Spiller made the first down on that play, Stevie dropped that easy quick out from Fitz which seemed to mark the beginning of the offense's collapse.

Edited August 28, 2012 by yungmack

[Orton's Arm]

Combo of a lot of things hurt our deep passing game.

 

1- Fred Jackson went down, we run a lot of our offense around the guy. (Kept a lot more teams honest)

2- E.Wood and D.Bell injuries and the declining play of the offensive line. (Fitz couldn't get the protection he once had)

3- D.Jones and receiver injuries (D.Jones was making big plays with Fitz, he got hurt and other receivers got hurt too, what speed we had got hurt).

4- Teams adjusting to our offense (Defenses played things differently thanks to the above factors)

5- Fitz's injury (That likely didn't help things)

 

It was a lot of things that led the offense to decline in the second half of last season. But a lot of it is health related, a healthy O-line and receiving core would go a long way for Fitz. But also its up to Chan and Fitz to adjust the offense.

Four of the five things you mentioned were injury-related. The fifth was defenses adjusting to take advantage of the above-described injuries.

 

You are correct to assert those things were part of our offensive decline. But they were only a part. Here are a few others to add to the list:

• The Bills faced a number of bad pass defenses early in the season. This made their passing game look a lot better than it actually was.
  
• Early in the season, defenses had not yet adjusted to Gailey's new style of offense. We first saw those adjustments in the Bengals game, long before our offense had been devastated by injuries. The result: the Bengals largely shut down the Bills' offense.
  
• The Bills' defense generated a lot of turnovers early in the season; such as their four interceptions the first time they faced the Patriots. This meant there were often times when the offense didn't have to drive the length of the field in order to score.

 

The Bills' problems on offense are serious and deap-seated, and they start at the quarterback position. Unless or until that position is upgraded, the Bills are very unlikely to be able to keep up with the best offenses in the NFL.

 

In Nix's first draft, there was no available QB worthy of being picked 9th overall. In his second draft, there was no available QB worthy of being picked 3rd overall. Etc. So the Bills haven't had many opportunities to upgrade the QB position.

 

The time has come to fix that. If (for example) the Bills have the 10th overall pick in the upcoming draft, and if the best QB of the draft is expected to go 7th overall, then the Bills need to trade up to 6th overall or higher! If that means giving up a lot of players and/or draft picks, then you give them up. The Bills need a franchise QB; and they should be prepared to pay a high price to get one. In the long run, they'll be very happy they did.

[BillsVet]

 

3- D.Jones and receiver injuries (D.Jones was making big plays with Fitz, he got hurt and other receivers got hurt too, what speed we had got hurt).

 

Donald Jones caught 23 passes for 231 yards in 2011. He had one big game (NE) and did not have 60 yards receiving in any other game. Hardly the big plays you reference, averaging 10 yards per reception.

 

 

[KollegeStudnet]

No offense, it is quite possible the reason for short slants is due to the two cracked ribs Fitz had after the Redskins game

 

[superbills315]

Fitz will answer every question we as fans have about him this season.

 

Yep its make or break year for him and no matter what i think we draft a QB in the first 3 rounds

[jonramz]

I'm not sure throwing it out of bounds 30 yards down the field as you are getting knocked on your ass counts as a concerted effort to throw deeper.

 

obviously you're trying to be funny w/ you comment, but seriously go re-watch the games again and notice how Fitz is trying a lot more passes 10 yards + past the LOS than usual. Hence the low comp %.

[CodeMonkey]

obviously you're trying to be funny w/ you comment, but seriously go re-watch the games again and notice how Fitz is trying a lot more passes 10 yards + past the LOS than usual. Hence the low comp %.

Ahhh. I guess if your definition of "deeper" starts at 10 yards then I'll take your word for it.

[Glory Bound]

Fitz to Graham deep?

 

You think that's ever gonna be "a thing"?

 

Don't you guys get that FITZ DOESNT CHANGE! -He still has the same effed up throwing motion that leads to INT's and batted balls. He can't let it go. -Just like that stupid beard!

 

Lee came in here and GAVE UP trying to show Fitz the correct way to throw a football. Instead he opted to focus on footwork. -Which IMO wasn't the problem. Now we've added poor Tavaris Jackson to this circus of incompetence, and failure.

 

Fitz managed to save his buddy Thigpen from the axe. -Temporarily. But he won't be able to save himself or his enabling HC.

What a nightmare. The offseason spending spree was all for nothing.

Thank you for such a positive uplifting post! C'mon, be honest...did you even crack a little smile last year when we were 5 & 2 & ranked #2 in the NFL ?

[KOKBILLS]

Combo of a lot of things hurt our deep passing game.

 

1- Fred Jackson went down, we run a lot of our offense around the guy. (Kept a lot more teams honest)

2- E.Wood and D.Bell injuries and the declining play of the offensive line. (Fitz couldn't get the protection he once had)

3- D.Jones and receiver injuries (D.Jones was making big plays with Fitz, he got hurt and other receivers got hurt too, what speed we had got hurt).

4- Teams adjusting to our offense (Defenses played things differently thanks to the above factors)

5- Fitz's injury (That likely didn't help things)

 

It was a lot of things that led the offense to decline in the second half of last season. But a lot of it is health related, a healthy O-line and receiving core would go a long way for Fitz. But also its up to Chan and Fitz to adjust the offense.

 

It's interesting...Not that I disagree with any of your individual points...But you left off the most obvious...Fitz has been an average, to slightly below average QB with an average, to below average arm since he's been in the NFL...He has improved under Gailey no question...But overall the improvement has been streaky at best...Fitz brings problems with him that Teams with elite QB's simply do not have to deal with...

 

The #1 problem the Bills have on Offense is Fitz...Not that they can't win when Fitz is at his best...They can...But when he plays to his average it's rarely good enough...And that just is what it is...

[BillyBaroo]

Yeah, two miscues in a preseason game totally negate his career to date.

 

He said he was "an outstanding route runner". I don't think that has ever been true of Stevie - and he should know the playbook by now. I certainly don't want to negate his "lackluster" career either just criticize it.

[Orton's Arm]

Thank you for such a positive uplifting post! C'mon, be honest...did you even crack a little smile last year when we were 5 & 2 & ranked #2 in the NFL ?

I can't speak for #34 fan. But back when the Bills were around 5-2, I started a thread entitled "The Bills' method of winning is unsustainable." Which it was.

 

As a Bills fan, I'm desperate for a Super Bowl win. But I have no interest in being fed false hope, year after year. If I'm going to give this team my hope and my optimism, it needs to be for something real. Not some flashy Terrell Owens signing, or some idiotic Donte Whitner draft pick defended by those who assume that the Bills' front office knows best. What have they seen over the last 10 - 15 years to make them reach that conclusion?

 

I like many of the things Nix has done as a GM. But he still hasn't found a quarterback. If he tells us he has, then he's wrong.

[gregkash]

If Freddie and CJ are running the ball effectively Fitz is more than enough to get her done. If we're relying on Fitz to throw 300+ every week, we're in trouble.

 

It's really as simple as that.

[NoSaint]

 

Ahhh. I guess if your definition of "deeper" starts at 10 yards then I'll take your word for it.

 

We had games last year with 1 completion over 10 yards downfield (Philly?). Like I said- less horizontal and more vertical spacing will be the test. Even in the 10-20 range will be very important

[K-9]

I can't speak for #34 fan. But back when the Bills were around 5-2, I started a thread entitled "The Bills' method of winning is unsustainable." Which it was.

 

As a Bills fan, I'm desperate for a Super Bowl win. But I have no interest in being fed false hope, year after year. If I'm going to give this team my hope and my optimism, it needs to be for something real. Not some flashy Terrell Owens signing, or some idiotic Donte Whitner draft pick defended by those who assume that the Bills' front office knows best. What have they seen over the last 10 - 15 years to make them reach that conclusion?

 

I like many of the things Nix has done as a GM. But he still hasn't found a quarterback. If he tells us he has, then he's wrong.

 

Buddy has never said he's found his QB. He's always maintained that if there's a "10-15 year guy" available when they pick, they'll take him. Obviously that hasn't happened yet. If you don't want to give them your hope for something not tangible, you need to rethink your position on investing any more emotional energy into the team until they find Fitz's replacement. Just save yourself the grief.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[OldTimer1960]

Exactly. People forget we have more than 2 receivers capable of running routes/making catches.

 

Also, to whomever posted about 3rd and 6-8 and guys catching passes short of the 1st down marker; you're taught in High School to stretch your routes to the marker on 3rd down pass plays, you'd think these guys could do the same.

 

Ah but the defenses also know that. Is it a better strategy to run past the 1st down marker (straight into the teeth of the defense) and *hope* to catch the pass or is it better to stop short of the defense, make the catch and try to elude the defense for the first down? Neither is a winning strategy - the "run past the marker" argument is WAY too simplistic to hold much weight. The best strategy is to have 3rd and short or make first downs within the first two downs (of course, that ain't easy, either)

[Orton's Arm]

Buddy has never said he's found his QB. He's always maintained that if there's a "10-15 year guy" available when they pick, they'll take him. Obviously that hasn't happened yet. If you don't want to give them your hope for something not tangible, you need to rethink your position on investing any more emotional energy into the team until they find Fitz's replacement. Just save yourself the grief.

 

GO BILLS!!!

I do remember Buddy saying that he'd draft a first round QB if the right one was there. On the other hand, Fitz's lucrative contract extension seems to indicate the front office has a greater level of faith in him than I have.

 

Right now, I get the sense that Buddy would draft a QB if a good one was available when the Bills picked. That's good, but may not be good enough. I'd like to see Buddy trade up in the first round, if that's what it takes to get a franchise QB. I'm not sure he's quite prepared to do that just yet, but I'd like him to be.

 

> If you don't want to give them your hope for something not tangible, you need to rethink your position on investing

> any more emotional energy into the team until they find Fitz's replacement.

 

I feel, strongly, that the Bills are highly unlikely to win a Super Bowl until they find their franchise QB. But in the meantime, there are still things about which we can get legitimately excited. I was an early fan of Fred Jackson and of Stevie Johnson. This year I'm excited about players like Gilmore and Glenn. A refusal to accept false hope is not the same thing as a refusal to see positive things which really do exist. I've found that seeing things as they actually are makes it easier to cope with being a Bills fan.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

New England had 31st ranked defense and Green Bay was last. Is defense that important if you have a QB? Just sayin.

 

And how'd that work out for them post-season last year?

 

GB went home early and NE lost the SB Just sayin

[San-O]

It's interesting...Not that I disagree with any of your individual points...But you left off the most obvious...Fitz has been an average, to slightly below average QB with an average, to below average arm since he's been in the NFL...He has improved under Gailey no question...But overall the improvement has been streaky at best...Fitz brings problems with him that Teams with elite QB's simply do not have to deal with...

 

The #1 problem the Bills have on Offense is Fitz...Not that they can't win when Fitz is at his best...They can...But when he plays to his average it's rarely good enough...And that just is what it is...

 

When the Bills throw the ball more than 20 x / game, the Bills lose. A lot of that is on Fitz.

[CardinalScotts]

yes pathetic D and we focus on the offense which was rated 14th overall and broke 20 points 11 times....how many games did we hold the opponent to 30 or below 7. But lets talk about the offense and Fitz and this and that. The D ? oh they were terrific

[WhickedWilliams]

Fitz will answer every question we as fans have about him this season.

perfectly put

[Orton's Arm]

yes pathetic D and we focus on the offense which was rated 14th overall and broke 20 points 11 times....how many games did we hold the opponent to 30 or below 7. But lets talk about the offense and Fitz and this and that. The D ? oh they were terrific

The defense got addressed in a big way in the offseason. The Bills seem to have drafted two starting-quality CBs, signed two starting-quality DEs, and drafted additional talent at linebacker. Plus they upgraded their defensive coordinator. Let's at least wait and see how all those new additions do before assuming defense is still the problem.

 

Let's say that there are a few things about the interior of your house which bug you. So you fix them. Making a few things better only serves to call attention to other flaws. Flaws which you might not have paid much attention to previously. On paper, the Bills have fixed most of their problems on defense, at LT, and at speed WR. Getting that other stuff taken care of only makes their problems at QB more obvious.

[Wagon Circler]

Sometimes Fitz forgets this too.

He targeted Stevie NINE times against the Steelers. Why?

Last years offensive numbers were skewed by the first seven games.

What was our ranking over the last nine?

I wanted to blame injuries too but I don't think that's the case anymore.

[thewildrabbit]

The Bills' problems on offense are serious and deap-seated, and they start at the quarterback position. Unless or until that position is upgraded, the Bills are very unlikely to be able to keep up with the best offenses in the NFL.

 

In Nix's first draft, there was no available QB worthy of being picked 9th overall. In his second draft, there was no available QB worthy of being picked 3rd overall. Etc. So the Bills haven't had many opportunities to upgrade the QB position.

 

The time has come to fix that. If (for example) the Bills have the 10th overall pick in the upcoming draft, and if the best QB of the draft is expected to go 7th overall, then the Bills need to trade up to 6th overall or higher! If that means giving up a lot of players and/or draft picks, then you give them up. The Bills need a franchise QB; and they should be prepared to pay a high price to get one. In the long run, they'll be very happy they did.

 

The Bills problems on offense are serious and deep seated, but they don't start at the QB position! They start with a head coach determined to have QB's molded to fit his style of high powered offensive scheme. Instead of building a scheme most any QB would be compatible in, a dominate run first offense like the one Martyball runs. So far only Fitz with his super gray cells have managed to assimilate Gaileys offense, 1 out of 6 so far.

 

Instead of building an offense that supports and protects the QB, Gailey insists on mostly running a one back spread offense with 4-5 WR sets, with one top 20 WR in Stevie Johnson ranked #19, Donald Jones ranked #61 and the 3rd best WR ranked #167- Naaman Roosevelt #4 ranked 171- Derek Hagan, #5 ranked 177 Brad Smith. Which shows that a lot of those 4-5 WR sets had only one decent WR running routes and catching passes all last year. Shoot, I highly doubt Brady or Brees would have done as well as Fitz has done these last two years, with as little as he has had around him.

 

If Gailey wants to run a high powered offense like the great teams have he needs at least one other top WR. Most of the top teams have 2 or more outstanding WR's. Stating that, the WR position should have been the highest priority in the draft. But Buddy Nix drafts on how the draft falls to him. So the Bills drafted yet another CB.

 

While I agree that Fitz is not an elite QB, what he is tho... is a gunslinger, try and make a play, tough as nails Journeyman QB who can get the job done if he isn't running for his life or getting hit every play. The sad thing is Fitz will get all the blame when this offense fails to win games. I'm sure the offense / QB will put up some good numbers in many losing contests this year, even with a better defense.

 

From what I've seen Chan Gailey knows how to get a QB to light it up. He did it in KC back in 08 with Thigpen running his pistol offense, 14 games, 2600 yards 18 TD's / 12 INT's and they went 2-14. I would hate to think what record the Bills would have had in 2010- 2011 if not for Fitz being able to get the ball out to the open receiver in under 3 seconds.

 

Still awaiting the proverbial baby...to see the light of day.

 

 

PS. It is rather perplexing as to why the Bills haven't drafted a QB in the first round since Jim Kelly (besides JP) considering they have been drafting one of the first 15 players for the last decade.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Fear the Beard

[ganesh]

When the Bills throw the ball more than 20 x / game, the Bills lose. A lot of that is on Fitz.

 

And that is a direct reflection on Fitz's biggest weakness....Consistency. !!

[ganesh]

PS. It is rather perplexing as to why the Bills haven't drafted a QB in the first round since Jim Kelly (besides JP) considering they have been drafting one of the first 15 players for the last decade.

 

Year: QBs picked before Bills Pick : QBs picked after Bills pick (in 1st Round)

2012: Luck, Griffin Tannehill | Weeden

2011: Newton | Locker, Gabbert, Ponder

2010: Bradford, | Tebow

2009: Stafford, Sanchez | Freeman

2008: Ryan | Flacco

 

2007: Russell | Brady Quinn

2006: Young | Leinart, Cutler

2005: Smith | Rodgers, Campbell

2004: Manning, Rivers, Rothelisberger, | Losman

 

I will stop here... The bottom line is the QBs that have been picked after the Bills pick in the 1st round have all been crap except for Flacco, Rodgers and Cutler...We definitely should have picked up Cutler when we had the chance, but that is the year Marv and Dick blew it up.. Of course, the situation was also that the Bills still hadn't given Losman a decent chance to start. The same with Rodgers. Rest of those years, the QBs that are franchise QBs in Manning, Rivers, Rothelisberger, Ryan, Stafford and Newton were all long gone. Remember these players were also drafted in an era where besides doling out many draft picks, the team also had to sign them to 30-50M guaranteed contracts....The Bills were in no position to do that.

 

The closest miss was not getting Rothelisberger....We were hoodwinked by the Steelers by fate...

[thebandit27]

Year: QBs picked before Bills Pick : QBs picked after Bills pick (in 1st Round)

2012: Luck, Griffin Tannehill | Weeden

2011: Newton | Locker, Gabbert, Ponder

2010: Bradford, | Tebow

2009: Stafford, Sanchez | Freeman

2008: Ryan | Flacco

 

2007: Russell | Brady Quinn

2006: Young | Leinart, Cutler

2005: Smith | Rodgers, Campbell

2004: Manning, Rivers, Rothelisberger, | Losman

 

I will stop here... The bottom line is the QBs that have been picked after the Bills pick in the 1st round have all been crap except for Flacco, Rodgers and Cutler...We definitely should have picked up Cutler when we had the chance, but that is the year Marv and Dick blew it up.. Of course, the situation was also that the Bills still hadn't given Losman a decent chance to start. The same with Rodgers. Rest of those years, the QBs that are franchise QBs in Manning, Rivers, Rothelisberger, Ryan, Stafford and Newton were all long gone. Remember these players were also drafted in an era where besides doling out many draft picks, the team also had to sign them to 30-50M guaranteed contracts....The Bills were in no position to do that.

 

The closest miss was not getting Rothelisberger....We were hoodwinked by the Steelers by fate...

 

The Bills did not have a 1st round pick in 2005, so they did not pass on Rodgers.