Chicago_Mike Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'll keep beating this horse. The NFL is about the 4th quarter, and Fitz sucks in the 4th quarter -- despite his "glowing" TD totals. Fitz was 14th in the AFC in 4th quarter QB rating, and 30th overall. In every "pressure" stat I consult, Fitz is worse than average. Inside the opponents' 20, inside the opponents' 10...bottom line, he's worst when it counts most. Know where Fitz looks good, statistically? He was 15th overall in first half QB rating. But that drops to 28th overall in the second half. Everything says the same thing we all saw with our own eyes. When it comes right down to it, Fitz fails, in the most crucial situations. Anyone believing he's going to suddenly be "successful" as a starter in Tennessee is delusional. I'd take Hasselbeck over Fitz in a heartbeat. Agree w/ some of that, but some of the blame has to go to Chan as well. The guy rarely came out in the 2nd half w/ new looks or adjustments on offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 If I remember right Fitz was 1-0 for the Titans last year. He was certainly their best player when we played them. Of course the defense giving up a 91 TD yard run untouched to CJ didn't help either. Or the 60 yard drive resulting in another TD at the end of the game. I believe Fitz was on the sidelines when that happened. It's a team game. The whole team failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Crazy that the worst QB ever got another job less than a week on the market. Fitz is such a loser at life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 While he was not good in the fourth quarter, those stats to me are very, very misleading. There were numerous games that the Bills were well behind, and/or it was clear that the defense could stop stop anyone. In the fourth we threw most every play against teams knowing we were going to throw most every play, and the results were predictable. A lot more INTs. Granted, he also picked up some yards and TDs in garbage time, but most of those fourth quarters were Fitz just trying to make a play to try to win the game and it was no wonder he and his stats sucked. I'm not so sure. The Bills won six, and had the ball with a chance to tie or win in four more, so that's a maximum of six games in which they could have been "well behind" in the 4th quarter. Of the six: Week 1 (@ Jets): Fitz actually lit the Jets up in garbage time (2 TDs, no INTs) Week 4 (Pats*): Game tied at 21 going to 4th, but Pats* scored immediately. Still, down 35-21 with 12 min. to go Fitz threw a killer INT (followed by a garbage time TD) Week 5 (@ 49ers): Awful game, but Fitz threw no picks in 4th quarter Week 9 (@ Hou): Definitely not a game out of reach in the 4th quarter; Fitz fumbled with 3:20 to go in Texans' territory Week 15 (Sea): Another ugly game, but Fitz threw no picks in the 4th quarter (he had done enough damage in the 3rd) Week 16 (@ Mia): Down 24-3 entering 4th; Fitz threw one TD and one INT So, in the games in which the Bills were "well behind" (Jets, 49ers, Seahags, Fish) Fitz put up some garbage stats to the good, and not a whole lot to the bad. Where he failed were the games in which the Bills needed to make a "small" comeback or in game-tying or game-winning drive situations. I'll stand by my earlier comments, and the statistics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm not so sure. The Bills won six, and had the ball with a chance to tie or win in four more, so that's a maximum of six games in which they could have been "well behind" in the 4th quarter. Of the six: Week 1 (@ Jets): Fitz actually lit the Jets up in garbage time (2 TDs, no INTs) Week 4 (Pats*): Game tied at 21 going to 4th, but Pats* scored immediately. Still, down 35-21 with 12 min. to go Fitz threw a killer INT (followed by a garbage time TD) Week 5 (@ 49ers): Awful game, but Fitz threw no picks in 4th quarter Week 9 (@ Hou): Definitely not a game out of reach in the 4th quarter; Fitz fumbled with 3:20 to go in Texans' territory Week 15 (Sea): Another ugly game, but Fitz threw no picks in the 4th quarter (he had done enough damage in the 3rd) Week 16 (@ Mia): Down 24-3 entering 4th; Fitz threw one TD and one INT So, in the games in which the Bills were "well behind" (Jets, 49ers, Seahags, Fish) Fitz put up some garbage stats to the good, and not a whole lot to the bad. Where he failed were the games in which the Bills needed to make a "small" comeback or in game-tying or game-winning drive situations. I'll stand by my earlier comments, and the statistics. Fair enough. My memory of some of those games could have been from last year as well, and of the games that were closer than I remember when he was throwing late picks, and also some of the games where early or in the middle of the third they were getting killed. Good post though, and thanks for the stats. You're probably right. I wasn't really sticking up for him, I thought he sucked the entire year, and I was a Fitz fan, for the most part. I do think though, that a lot of his troubles were directly a result of the defense sucking ass, and that we had to score a lot to have any chance of winning. It was not directly the same, but similar to how the team was when JP was the QB. The fans and posters here used to go crazy how bad he was and took 15 yard sacks and looked like he had no idea what to do with the ball, but a TON of those plays were 2nd and 20 or 3rd and 13 and he was just trying to do anything he could to get a first down. Trentative, in those same situations, would throw a four yard pass and we would punt. I never really minded all that much when Losman would try to make a play on 3rd and long and would look stupid. At least he was trying to make a play. Again, it's not exactly the same, but I think both Chan and Fitz, independently and together, called and played the games rather recklessly simply because our defense sucked and couldn't stop anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton's Arm Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Answer this: After Fitz's fast start 2 years ago, were you one of the majority saying the Bills should sign him to an extention during the year so as to keep his salary down, rather than risking he hit free agency at the end of that season and invariably see his salary demands increase? If yes, you cannot call the Bills front office inept - you saw what they saw. He played extremely well. Everyone was shocked when he failed to maintain that level of performance. The money added pressure he couldn't handle. He stopped being a gunslinger and tried to play it safe and lost that edge that made him successful early in the year. If you answered no, maybe you should go to OBD and tell 'em how it should be done! During the 5-2 stretch when Fitz looked good, I noted that Gailey was experimenting with a new kind of offense. This offense put pressure on the QB to make good decisions quickly, and get the ball out in a hurry. These are things Fitz does well. The throws themselves were typically easy. That was also a good thing, because throwing the ball accurately wasn't one of Fitz's strengths. It wasn't a strength during the 5-2 stretch, before the stretch, or after. When you create a new kind of offense in an effort to emphasize your QB's strengths while minimizing his weaknesses, there's always the risk defenses will figure it out. I pointed out that danger during the 5-2 stretch. I also pointed out that Fitz wasn't playing as well as the Bills' winning percentage made it seem. In the Patriots game, for example, the Bills won by the skin of their teeth. This, despite the fact the Patriots' defense had been devastated by injuries, and despite the fact that Tom Brady uncharacteristically threw four interceptions. Normally, Brady won't throw anywhere near that many interceptions; and normally the Patriots' defense won't be the chopped liver we saw during that injury stretch. Ultimately, defenses figured out how to stop Gailey's new style of offense; starting with the Bengals game. That wasn't Fitz's fault, and had nothing to do with him becoming complacent after his big payday. I'll grant that the big payday may have affected him. If you think of yourself as the underdog with nothing to lose, you might take a few more risks. But for the most part, the apparent decline in Fitz's performance was the result of his weaknesses being exposed. Those weaknesses had been there all along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Fair enough. My memory of some of those games could have been from last year as well, and of the games that were closer than I remember when he was throwing late picks, and also some of the games where early or in the middle of the third they were getting killed. Good post though, and thanks for the stats. You're probably right. I wasn't really sticking up for him, I thought he sucked the entire year, and I was a Fitz fan, for the most part. I do think though, that a lot of his troubles were directly a result of the defense sucking ass, and that we had to score a lot to have any chance of winning. It was not directly the same, but similar to how the team was when JP was the QB. The fans and posters here used to go crazy how bad he was and took 15 yard sacks and looked like he had no idea what to do with the ball, but a TON of those plays were 2nd and 20 or 3rd and 13 and he was just trying to do anything he could to get a first down. Trentative, in those same situations, would throw a four yard pass and we would punt. I never really minded all that much when Losman would try to make a play on 3rd and long and would look stupid. At least he was trying to make a play. Again, it's not exactly the same, but I think both Chan and Fitz, independently and together, called and played the games rather recklessly simply because our defense sucked and couldn't stop anyone. Yes, it's somewhat difficult for me to pick Fitz apart because I wanted him to succeed so badly. I've found it startling, though, to see example upon example of him failing to get the job done in the most crucial of moments. I agree with a lot of what you wrote about not trusting the defense, etc., but all of that is out the window when you have the ball in the 4th quarter with a chance to tie or win the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronc24 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I would LOVE to see Fitz start in Tennessee. Then perhaps, finally, everyone who loves him here will see him for what he is. A mediocre QB who becomes terrible with the game on the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 The Bills haven't drafted enough quarterbacks to make a lemon drop. :lol: Yep, looks for Bills to be 6 - 10 again this year. . Dream on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm not so sure. The Bills won six, and had the ball with a chance to tie or win in four more, so that's a maximum of six games in which they could have been "well behind" in the 4th quarter. Of the six: Week 1 (@ Jets): Fitz actually lit the Jets up in garbage time (2 TDs, no INTs) Week 4 (Pats*): Game tied at 21 going to 4th, but Pats* scored immediately. Still, down 35-21 with 12 min. to go Fitz threw a killer INT (followed by a garbage time TD) Week 5 (@ 49ers): Awful game, but Fitz threw no picks in 4th quarter Week 9 (@ Hou): Definitely not a game out of reach in the 4th quarter; Fitz fumbled with 3:20 to go in Texans' territory Week 15 (Sea): Another ugly game, but Fitz threw no picks in the 4th quarter (he had done enough damage in the 3rd) Week 16 (@ Mia): Down 24-3 entering 4th; Fitz threw one TD and one INT So, in the games in which the Bills were "well behind" (Jets, 49ers, Seahags, Fish) Fitz put up some garbage stats to the good, and not a whole lot to the bad. Where he failed were the games in which the Bills needed to make a "small" comeback or in game-tying or game-winning drive situations. I'll stand by my earlier comments, and the statistics. Fitz was the master at carving up 2nd string defenses that stop blitzing. But hey, it says 20+TDs on his stat line! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heitz Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Terms of the deal are out (on Twitter) Ian Rapoport @RapSheet For QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and the #Titans, his deal is: $3.25M per year for two years. $6.5M total. Interesting that it's close to the reported money the Bills were offering... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 fitz was a turnover machine without an arm though, i don't think you REALLY want him back? I'll be watching with interest to what y'all (and you in particular) have to say about TJax. He does have more arm though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I'll be watching with interest to what y'all (and you in particular) have to say about TJax. He does have more arm though. And that arm throws more INT's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) Terms of the deal are out (on Twitter) Ian Rapoport @RapSheet For QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and the #Titans, his deal is: $3.25M per year for two years. $6.5M total. Interesting that it's close to the reported money the Bills were offering... Not clear. The Bills were reported to be offering an *average* of $3 million per year. That doesn't mean 1) they were offering $3 million this year 2) they were offering any guaranteed $$. Devil's in the details. Other details include signing bonus if any, whether they offered any guaranteed $$, and whether there are any incentives (and how likely Fitz is to reach them). Be interesting to see. And that arm throws more INT's... Ayup, n' takes more sacks too. All that aside, I think TJax is a servicable QB but then I thought Fitz was what he was, a mid-to-lower tier NFL QB. So I am a'waitin' to see what those who liked to spray around hyperbole on how terrible, horrible, no good Fitz was, are going to say. Edited March 20, 2013 by Hopeful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Not clear. The Bills were reported to be offering an *average* of $3 million per year. That doesn't mean 1) they were offering $3 million this year 2) they were offering any guaranteed $$. Devil's in the details. Other details include signing bonus if any, whether they offered any guaranteed $$, and whether there are any incentives (and how likely Fitz is to reach them). Be interesting to see. Ayup, n' takes more sacks too. All that aside, I think TJax is a servicable QB but then I thought Fitz was what he was, a mid-to-lower tier NFL QB. So I am a'waitin' to see what those who liked to spray around hyperbole on how terrible, horrible, no good Fitz was, are going to say. I've been watching them (cough, Ryan!!! ) long enough. He will justify it with saying I told you we should have drafted Smith/Barkley/Sandcastle, that we had a chance to upgrade with Kaep, Dalton, Manning, Montana, Paul Crewe, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 So I am a'waitin' to see what those who liked to spray around hyperbole on how terrible, horrible, no good Fitz was, are going to say. We're going to say he's the same damn QB that Fitz was, only he costs about $9M less per year. He'll be just as good at throwing 2 yard screens to Spiller and watching him run 60+ yards, and he'll be just as good throwing useless TD's when losing by 40 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Doubtful. Fitz is an egomaniac who thinks he is a starter. When Locker beats him out, he will be a problem. You heard it here first. How many accounts do you have? We're going to say he's the same damn QB that Fitz was, only he costs about $9M less per year. He'll be just as good at throwing 2 yard screens to Spiller and watching him run 60+ yards, and he'll be just as good throwing useless TD's when losing by 40 points. That would be a positive outcome. Uncertain it will come to pass. For better and for worse TJax and Fitz are NOT the same QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kemp Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Uh, dude... Fitz was brought to Buffalo as a backup to Edwards. He backed up Edwards in 2009. When Gailey took over in 2010, Edwards won the starting job amd got kicked to the curb after two games. Fitz took over by default and actually earned the job. It wasn't until after he was shown the money that he mailed it in. Bills saw him as a back up too. I believe it was Ralph that put forth the edict to sign Fitz to a lt contract. From an accuracy and arm strength perspective, in no way does he fit Buddy's proclaimed model of a qb. Fitz signing has Ralph's fingerprints all over it... just like with Rob Johnson. If you think Fitz mailed it in you weren't paying attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Crazy that the worst QB ever got another job less than a week on the market. Fitz is such a loser at life. Worst QB ever? Loser at life? Okay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kemp Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Crazy that the worst QB ever got another job less than a week on the market. Fitz is such a loser at life. Loser at life? Guess you're an Ivy Leaguer who made it to the NFL and did better. Every night Fitz cries himself to sleep wishing he were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts