Jump to content

Could Frank Reich, in his '92 form, get the 2020 Bills to a Super Bowl?


LB48

Recommended Posts

On 8/26/2020 at 10:37 PM, Mr. WEO said:

In '92, Reich appeared in 16 regular season games and threw 47 passes for 221 yards, 0 TDs, 2 ints and completed 51% of his passes.

 

I think you should consider whether 208 posts is an unreasonable goal.

 

It's amazing how he turned it on in the playoffs though. He was a big part of getting us to that 3rd Super Bowl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, TheBrownBear said:

I don't even particularly like (or dislike) Reich, found his Tebow-esque proselytizing annoying, and always knew that Kelly was the far better QB.  I just couldn't sit back and let the "one bright moment in a career of awful play" comment pass without correcting it.  Reich was fantastic as a backup and spot starter for the Bills.  The passing numbers and his record back this up.  I don't particularly care about what he did for awful teams late in his career.  But to insinuate that he was some sort of bum while he was with the Bills is a straight falsehood.  

 

Also, the 2 losses you reference with Reich as a starter in '90 and '91 were the final games of each season where we rested the majority of our starters and all of our star players.  And Reich only played one half against the Redskins in '90 before giving way to Gilbert.  The previous week Reich helped us wrap up the division and home field advantage against the Dolphins, throwing for 234 yards, 2 TDs, no INTs and posting a 139 QB rating.  So, from '89-'93 in games in which he started for the Bills that mattered, with a full complement of talent around him (and he didn't even have that against the Oilers since Thurman and some of our best defensive players were injured), Reich was 6-0, posted QB ratings of 80.2, 126, 146.8, 139.8, 115.9 and 118.0, and threw 14 touchdowns against 2 interceptions.  

 

The only loss he had as a starter in a game that mattered for the Bills (meaning playoff games, regular season but in playoff contention, not resting starters, etc.) was the '94 New England game that knocked us out of the playoffs.  I was there and he was actually quite good for the first three quarters, but we fumbled on our first three possessions of the third quarter (all on pass receptions) and what had been a 17-3 lead had evaporated and was a 38-17 blowout by the 4th quarter.

 

If what I presented above (without even mentioning the greatest comeback in NFL history), isn't considered "clutch" for a backup QB, then I'd love to hear your definition of clutch.

No reasonable person is going to say Reich had Hall of Fame talent, but I don’t understand people implying he was a bad QB. He played well for us in the prime of his career. Reich did everything you could ask from a backup QB. He played smart football, utilized the talent around him, and didn’t make mistakes. That 14/2 TD to interception ratio in games that mattered says it all. He’s not Fitz,

or some middling QB who throws games away. Reich always gave his team a chance to win. That’s all you want from a backup, and that makes him a good QB. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

No reasonable person is going to say Reich had Hall of Fame talent, but I don’t understand people implying he was a bad QB. He played well for us in the prime of his career. Reich did everything you could ask from a backup QB. He played smart football, utilized the talent around him, and didn’t make mistakes. That 14/2 TD to interception ratio in games that mattered says it all. He’s not Fitz,

or some middling QB who throws games away. Reich always gave his team a chance to win. That’s all you want from a backup, and that makes him a good QB. 


 

But that is not the question asked by the OP.  The question was could that player (1992 Frank Reich) that played very well in minor spot starts lead this years team to the Super Bowl.  
 

To me the answer to that is a resounding No.  There are 2 reasons why I think that.

1) Reich played alright and even well with a team that had a ton of Hall of Fame level talent across the offense.  He was a good guy to fill in for a game or 2, but he did not elevate them or make them play better.  Coming to the 2020 Bills - they would need to rely more on his passing with a weaker offensive team.  I just do not see him being able to take the reigns for a 16 game schedule with a team with less talent and suddenly make it a better team.  I just do not see that happening. 
 

2) When we look back at the time he spent in Buffalo - it was all a game here and there - so yes he looked good in a great offensive system for a week or 2, but to answer this question we need to see what happened when he became a full time starter. So you look at Carolina and the NYJs as signs to what he was when teams expected him to start and he was not good at all.  If I look at that - there is no reason to suspect that he would have been a quality starter and a guy that could have taken this team to the Super Bowl.  If you put him in the right environment - as a seldom used back-up - he was fine, but nothing more.

 

That is how I see this question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/27/2020 at 12:02 AM, Leonhart2017 said:

I do remember at a young age so many fans during the Miracle at Rich playoffs getting mad when the Bills put a healthier Kelly back in the week after a Reich led team beat Pittsburgh in the Divisional round. After Kelly dismantled Miami it made me start to realize fans should not make personnel decisions. 


You aren’t completely wrong about fans not making personnel decisions.
 

 But I think your memory of Kelly’s performance was not as strong in actuality.  I remember Kelly being somewhat Rusty that game.
 He threw for 177 yards and 2 INT and he struggled to get the team in the end zone (same thing happened the next week in SB27) He hardly “dismantled” them and got a huge boost from Thurman and Kenneth Davis both rushing and receiving and course a great defensive performance. 

 

I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Reich could have led the team to victory that day.  
 

 

On 8/26/2020 at 10:37 PM, Mr. WEO said:

In '92, Reich appeared in 16 regular season games and threw 47 passes for 221 yards, 0 TDs, 2 ints and completed 51% of his passes.

 

I think you should consider whether 208 posts is an unreasonable goal.

 


To be fair the majority of this work was mop up duty with 2nd team players or meaningless games at the end of year.  
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...