So... Is A.J. McCarron Back in play?

[Reed83HOF]

1 hour ago, wppete said:

This guy can start right away...

Also Bradford will get hurt quicker than this guy

 

[BillsWest]

As long as its not Jay Cutler!

 

[BobDVA]

Take car. Go to Mum's. Kill Phil - "Sorry." - grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. 

[atlbillsfan1975]

3 hours ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

Daboll was only at Bama for one season and he has no direct connection to McCarron. 

While true, I recently heard an interview with Saban saying he can’t believe McCarron isn’t a starter in the NFL. Saban went on and on about it. Daboll I’m sure heard similar from Saban while he spent time there. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

6 hours ago, Figster said:

You can be to short or to tall in my humble opinion.

 

I believe big Brock has a hard time with both over throwing, trying to adjust, and under throwing. 

 

 

...Mark McGuire's "little" brother Dan was 6'8" and drafted at #16 by Seahawks in 1991 as a QB from San Diego State.....and he worked out how?........

[26CornerBlitz]

3 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

While true, I recently heard an interview with Saban saying he can’t believe McCarron isn’t a starter in the NFL. Saban went on and on about it. Daboll I’m sure heard similar from Saban while he spent time there. 

 

Saban is no doubt objective in these comments. 

[swnybillsfan]

7 hours ago, Green Lightning said:

My hope is a QB in round 1, McCarron or Bridgewater for a veteran presence.

i am wondering if those two wouldn't maybe want to go somewhere to have a shot at being "the guy". like maybe arizona if they don't get one of the hot rookies. i am just wondering how appealing it would be to go to a team that is drafting "their guy" with a top pick. 

[Cripple Creek]

8 hours ago, #34fan said:

I sure hope so...

 

Browns don't seem to need him anymore..

Hope not.

[mannc]

7 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Throwing money at McCarron is not a good plan. Trade up and get your guy. I believe that the Bills know exactly who they want and exactly what the cost will be to get them. 

IMO, the Bills need to add a credible vet QB before the draft, and McCaron seems like a good option.  Not adding a vet will cause them to enter the draft in desperation mode, which is when mistakes get made.  Unless the Bills have a deal with CLE for the first overall pick, I’m not sure how they know who their guy is and what it will cost to get him; just too many variables.  I just hope that guy isn’t Darnold.

Edited March 10, 2018 by mannc

[Kirby Jackson]

1 minute ago, mannc said:

IMO, the Bills need to add a credible vet QB before the draft, and McCaron seems like a good option.  Not adding a vet will cause them to enter the draft in desperation mode, which is when mistakes get made.  Unless the Bills have a deal with CLE for the first overall pick, I’m not sure how they know who their guy is and what it will cost to get him; just too many variables.  I just hope that guy isn’t Darnold.

I’d my rather throw $7M at Josh McCown than $15-$18M at McCarron. If you get McCarron at $16M (as an example) you have to add the dead cap space to that to get to the “actual cost.” That is a terrible use of resources when you are looking at trading up for your guy. Use that cap space to build the rest of your roster and use the picks to get your QB.

 

I think it is probably Rosen. They know that the Browns aren’t taking him at 1 and have undoubtedly already discussed 2 & 3 with the Giants and Colts. They may even have something lined up. These teams have a really good sense for what the top of the draft will look like. It would be different if they were trying to get to 10. A lot of chaos can happen in that case. Going up as high as they will pretty much guarantees their guy.

[mannc]

1 minute ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I’d my rather throw $7M at Josh McCown than $15-$18M at McCarron. If you get McCarron at $16M (as an example) you have to add the dead cap space to that to get to the “actual cost.” That is a terrible use of resources when you are looking at trading up for your guy. Use that cap space to build the rest of your roster and use the picks to get your QB.

 

I think it is probably Rosen. They know that the Browns aren’t taking him at 1 and have undoubtedly already discussed 2 & 3 with the Giants and Colts. They may even have something lined up. These teams have a really good sense for what the top of the draft will look like. It would be different if they were trying to get to 10. A lot of chaos can happen in that case. Going up as high as they will pretty much guarantees their guy.

I did not know McCaron would cost that much.  If so, then I agree there are better options.

 

I’d be more than fine with Rosen.  Or Allen. 

[Green Lightning]

1 hour ago, swnybillsfan said:

i am wondering if those two wouldn't maybe want to go somewhere to have a shot at being "the guy". like maybe arizona if they don't get one of the hot rookies. i am just wondering how appealing it would be to go to a team that is drafting "their guy" with a top pick. 

Valid point. But at the end of the day they're going to have to play somewhere. Not sure how many teams would consider them their long-term solution. Maybe a short-term prove-it contract is what they need. Particularly Bridgewater.

8 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Those tow choices would be mystifying.  

 

MacCarron is an absolute nothing and Bridgewater, as has been pointed out by many, is such a low wattage player that his ceiling is the garden level.  Maybe parlor level.

 

There could not be 2 less impressive FA QBs available.

They both throw with anticipation and actually throw to wide receivers. I take that as a huge upgrade.

 

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I think the trade makes it less likely we spend 15M/yr on McCarron. Someone like Matt Moore, with his Carolina connection and UCLA background, could be perfect to backup, transition and develop Rosen.

[Jamie Muellers Ghost]

Strange that McCarron will probably not end up in Cleveland now after they tried trading for him last season of course Dorsey was not there. Perhaps he has a deal already set up with someone ? If Arizona was in on Taylor it probably is not them. 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Jamie Muellers Ghost

[Kirby Jackson]

29 minutes ago, mannc said:

I did not know McCaron would cost that much.  If so, then I agree there are better options.

 

I’d be more than fine with Rosen.  Or Allen. 

Maybe he won’t cost quite that much but that’s the low end of what Glennon got as a young bridge guy. He is probably a good comp. The Glennon signing didn’t work but the market is there. I’d say $12M annually is the floor on McCarron and $18M probably the ceiling. When you add the dead money that’s a lot to commit to a bridge guy. I’d rather pay half to McCown.

 

Allen is a wild card to me. He is a year away IMO so you have to have a vet that can play a season. I tend to think that they are looking at Rosen or Mayfield. Those guys can play day 1. 

[swnybillsfan]

16 minutes ago, Green Lightning said:

Valid point. But at the end of the day they're going to have to play somewhere. Not sure how many teams would consider them their long-term solution. Maybe a short-term prove-it contract is what they need. Particularly Bridgewater.

 

this was the other part of what i was thinking. if they were to "bet on themselves" with a one year deal, they could try to earn a big money deal for next year, when more teams will inevitably be looking for starting qbs.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Can someone walk me through the AJ McCarron love?

1) in 2016-2017, McCarron has thrown a total of 7 completions in 14 attempts for 4.7 YPA.  Not a lot to look at.  In that time Andy Dalton has given them some pretty mediocre to poor QB play - he started last season with a 4 INT game and didn't throw a TD until Game 3, but not a whiff of McCarron.  I've heard that Lewis is "L for Loyal" but it's the Bengals second season of "no playoffs" and you have to think Lewis is worried about "L for Loser".  Another conclusion is that Dalton >>> McCarron in Lewis's eye.

2) McCarron played to finish the season in 2015, 4 games.  He won 2, lost 2, which is what a backup QB should do.  He did good things - good passes at times, nice throws.  He made some bad throws that got picked and a couple bad decisions under pressure.  Overall, he had an excellent completion percentage, TD/INT, and YPA - 66%, 3, 7.2.  But he didn't throw for a lot of yards (ave 191) - with one of the best WR in the league in Green, a good TE in Eifert, a decent run game, and at the time, 2015, a very good OL.

 

It seems to me we just ran a QB out of town who put up very similar numbers with a worse OL and WR, as just not good enough - didn't pass enough, yes he took care of the ball and didn't throw a lot of picks, but he didn't throw a lot of completions for a lot of yards either.

 

3) McCarron put up some very good numbers at Alabama 2010-2013.  He stayed in school 4 years, was a 3 year starter, 67% completions, threw 77 TD to 15 INT, Tide won 36 games and 2 BCS Championships while he was there.  He played a "pro style" offense while he was there and was projected Rd 2 by by Nolan Nowrocki who said: " An efficient game-managing quarterback who has shown he can carry an offense at times throughout his career, but more often is dependent on a terrific supporting cast. Grades out most highly for his intangibles and decision-making, knowing when and where to go with the ball, and could earn an NFL starting job."  Yet he was actually drafted in the 5th round.

 

To me AJ McCarron seems like Fitz or Tyrod part Three:  a dark horse FA who has done some good stuff and some bad stuff in limited time but to the people who saw him most every day, was not worth giving a starting shot to even when the starter was "meh".  Isn't this how the Bills have been trying to find a QB for the last what 10 years, by shopping the "bargain bin"?

 

I would like to see us go balls-out for a FA who has accomplished something in the NFL or, for the best rookie we can draft.  If we want a "bridge QB", we want a guy who has shown he can start in the NFL.  McCarron, OTOH, fought for FA so he would have a chance to start and entrench himself as a starter. 

 

Is he a good match for us or is he Tyrod Taylor Part Deux, despite his more distinguished college career?

 

 

[billsredneck1]

8 hours ago, PIP said:

I just find it so hard to believe that they traded away TT without a sure thing. They know something we don't.

not really....they know they can get more production at the qb position with nate than tyrod....period.

 

my thoughts on what the process is looking like:

 

plan a  trade for foles  draft qb later

plan b  sign mc carron  draft a qb like rudolph or white

plan c  trade up for rosen or mayfield

plan d  sit tight draft rudolph and another qb later. roll with nate as the starter and knock the hell out of the draft.

 

plans c and d may come with matt moore on a 2yr. deal.

 

i am as of right now calling plan b

[Hapless Bills Fan]

41 minutes ago, mannc said:

I did not know McCaron would cost that much.  If so, then I agree there are better options.

 

I’d be more than fine with Rosen.  Or Allen. 

 

Dude.  If you want Rosen, you should not want Allen.  And vice versa.  Very different guys, with different strengths/weaknesses.  If the Bills are totally convinced Rosen is the guy for them, then Allen won't do and vice versa.

Just now, billsredneck1 said:

not really....they know they can get more production at the qb position with nate than tyrod....period.

 

Urrrrr.....you know that, how?

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Those tow choices would be mystifying.  

 

MacCarron is an absolute nothing and Bridgewater, as has been pointed out by many, is such a low wattage player that his ceiling is the garden level.  Maybe parlor level.

 

There could not be 2 less impressive FA QBs available.

Odds are that the Bills are not going to heavily invest in a free agent qb because they are more likely to move up the draft to acquire their long-term franchise qb. So if that is the case why would they pay a premium for a qb that will be a short term player or starter? The best qb on the market is Cousins. The Bills are not going to pursue him for a variety of reasons, mostly revolving around the price tag. My basic point is if you are expecting the Bills to sign an impressive FA qb, whomever it is, you are not properly reading the situation. Out of curiosity what impressive FA qb do you think the Bills will be pursuing?