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Story of the season:


murra

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There is the possibility that not only is the offensive line bad, but that TE is also not very good. Hold off on the bust for Canton for Fitzgerald. He wasn't that good, and was helped by field position and all those turnovers, and TE was actually 5/5 when he was hurt. We still look like a 4 win team. The defense looked good, despite the injuries.

 

 

Exactly. When a barely average backup highlights the deficiencies of your starter, there are problems. Trent has clearly regressed. He should be benched until he can figure it out.

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Both Fitz and TE benefited from a max protect scheme which I will give credit to AVP and Jauron for coming to their senses.

Putting 4-5 guys out on a pattern while the other team brought pressure and dropped the QB was pretty much our offense

prior to yesterday.

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This week I saw a predominantly rookie O-line show a significant improvement over the previous week's performance in regards to penalties. I Think they did a bit better in pass protection. Run blocking wasn't particularly great, but I can't say how many d b's the Jets had inside.

QB I saw Fitz push to put the ball to recievers which I sure as hell appreciated the effort and results. Some really strong throws mixed in with some really bad throws.

Def 5 picks good. 300yrds rushing bad.

 

Conclusion: (mine of course) O line played better and when the starting QB got hurt, the backup did his job and did enough to win the game. No glowing commendation to crown a new starter, but perhaps.................................. Oh hell, we won a friggin game. I don't know about others, but I was just friggin sure they were going to totally screw up. God I hate that feeling. Wife keeps asking why I keep watching when it makes me so crazy...of course they are probably just trying to get my hopes up again so they can crush me yet again.. sadistic bastards.. its like re-living the 80's

 

Start playing all the rookies. Won't have any prob evaluating who to pin future hopes on and who to dump in offseason. looking at schedule can we truly hope for playoffs. We'd have to pretty much run the division at this point

 

yep, strayed from topic.

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Thought the same thing. Our decimated, rookie-filled excuse for an OL suddenly looked like world beaters? Providing time for the QB and pancaking on runs? WR's suddenly awakening after 5.5 games? All because the starting QB left/quit/got injured??

 

Seems pretty incriminating to me.

 

 

Yeah I question whether Edwards comes back as the starter. Assuming he is out next week we will see how Fitzgerald does with a week of practice. Edwards appears to have lost confidence and is simply too robotic. Fitz improvised on a couple of plays. Sometimes you just have to do that to make the thing work.

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I think watching Fitz play illustrates how much trent has regressed. When Fitz completed a few passes, I was reminded that some quarterbacks actually throw the ball before the WR finishes their route. Some quarterbacks anticipate a player being open before he's standing and waving his hands wide open. Some qBs hit a receiver in stride. Yep.

 

Seriously, you bring to mind a sobering thought: :P

 

How many quarterbacks have the Bills had in recent years who have not regressed while playing for us? The answer is zero. Bledsoe, Losman, Edwards, etc. Perhaps it is more related to the coaching talent than to the skills of the player. If Tom Brady were on this team he might have been considered a bust after a year or two.

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Fitz on his best day is a mediocre NFL QB. I'd say that TE is a better passer. TE is not an NFL QB yet. A mediocre Fitz is a better QB than TE. TE needs time to learn the position, learning it on the fly has not worked. Some people say there is no substitute for experience,that is not universally true. I think TE needed a couple of years under the clipboard just like Aaron Rodgers. Play FItz for the rest of the year, TE will get himself killed out there and ruin the team.

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I think watching Fitz play illustrates how much trent has regressed. When Fitz completed a few passes, I was reminded that some quarterbacks actually throw the ball before the WR finishes their route. Some quarterbacks anticipate a player being open before he's standing and waving his hands wide open. Some qBs hit a receiver in stride. Yep.

 

 

That, my friend, is exactly what I am saying.

 

Edwards under center this season (with the exception of the Pats game), and the offense seems flat. Dull. Dead. Unemotional. Same story when Bledsoe and Losman were under center. Now, for the past 4 games this year same story, different QB.

 

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know that Edwards- along with most NFL QB's these days- are thrown too quickly into the fire. Let us recall, that Trent came from an abysmal college team at Stanford that had absolutely no offensive line. Despite this, there was enough flash of talent that not only NFL legend Bill Walsh but also Marv saw something that warranted more. Giving proper grooming, I believe Edwards does possess the skills needed to become a very successful QB.

 

Now, do the Bills have the time to devote to his development? And is he capable of developing further in this system and under this coaching staff? Arizona really knocked him around last year, and concussions are no joke. He has not been the same QB that started last season 4-0 since the knockout. And now he has another one.

 

He appears skittish in the pocket. When he was put in in place of Losman, he exuded poise and leadership. He made smart, accurate decisions with the ball and was not only a checkdown QB. He possessed that pocket presence all great QB's have. That all appears shattered now.

 

Fitz is not the answer. But this might be a situation where Edwards needs to take a step back in order to take two steps forward.

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There is the possibility that not only is the offensive line bad, but that TE is also not very good. Hold off on the bust for Canton for Fitzgerald. He wasn't that good, and was helped by field position and all those turnovers, and TE was actually 5/5 when he was hurt. We still look like a 4 win team. The defense looked good, despite the injuries.

It's amazing how many times I hear Ryan Fitzpatrick get called "Fitzgerald"...not trying to rip on you in particular because I've made the mistake too but it's starting to become pretty comical to me.

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I think watching Fitz play illustrates how much trent has regressed. When Fitz completed a few passes, I was reminded that some quarterbacks actually throw the ball before the WR finishes their route. Some quarterbacks anticipate a player being open before he's standing and waving his hands wide open. Some qBs hit a receiver in stride. Yep.

 

This!

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Edwards is not able to buy himself the extra split second that even slow footed honest to goodness NFL QBs can. He freaks out under pressure.

 

He can not anticipate his receivers coming open and he can not 'throw them open'. He can not hit a moving target coming out of a break.

 

Because he can't buy himself time, keep his focus downfield, trust his receivers, hit them coming out of the break etc. his only option is the 3 yard completion.

 

He's really not very good.

 

The fact that it has again taken an injury to put a more capable player on the field is just another nail in Dick's coffin.

 

Spot on post right there.

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Spot on post right there.

 

Agreed.

 

Also, to those saying Trent has "regressed" from his first starts taking over JP, I have to challenge with that. Trent looked great in those first appearances, by comparison. For anyone who's watched JP in the UFL, they'll know the fumbled snaps, the mindless scrambling, all of it had NOTHING to do with The Bills.

 

So why the sudden dip in Trent's efficacy? Easy. He's demonstrated to opposing DC's that he's a one dimensional player, and once he's forced out of his comfort zone, the whole thing falls apart.

 

Why did he look so "good" against New England? Because nobody had ever seen this offense with TO, and it was just enough of a wrinkle to keep them guessing.

 

It was quite clear last week that Mangini knew exactly how to neutralize our offense with Trent back there, and it was starting to unfold again yesterday, until another wrinkle was introduced (Fitzy).

 

**For me, the most refreshing thing yesterday was watching Fitz throw to receivers who weren't yet looking for the ball, it's been mentioned several times already in this thread, but I have to agree whole heartedly with that evaluation. He was also doing a MUCH better job of sliding up into the pocket when the pressure was coming from the ends, something Trent wasn't doing (especially against Miami).

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Apparently you and I watched different games. Maybe my futuristic DirecTV and LCD TV speed up the motion of the play. Sure looked like Fitz had MORE zip on the ball than TE to me.

 

 

Wow...I guess I wasn't watching the game you were watching either... Fitz had little "zip" and made some horrible throws, of the underthrown/off- target variety. If I recall, he had 4 passes that were nearly picked off.

 

It was great to get a win yesterday, but I don't think anyone should deny that the Jets ineptness was a huge factor. Sanchez obviously had problems with the wind (or he is just really bad)... had this not been the case, the Bills would be 1-5 right now...

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I realize that we were able to see Fitz vs. a Jenkins-less defense...

 

BUT, after you get past that one legitimate excuse, you can't deny that Fitz made "heavy" pressure seem average. The big difference between Trent and Fitz wasn't awareness. Trent knows when the blitz is coming just as well if not better. The difference is what happens next. Fitz just had faith in the extra second or two, bought himself time and continued to check the field. Trent would call it a done play a little bit too early, causing our plays to disrupt.

 

The offensive line is forced to look bad when the QB quits on the play early every single pass attempt. It's still too early, since Fitz wasn't planned for, etc., but I'm very excited to see next weeks game now. If Fitz is able to fend off the blitz, then I think its safe to say that the story of our season (assuming we end up missing the playoffs of course) is Trent's inability to play with pressure. If I'm right about this, and Fitz makes our O-line appear better... we need to seriously consider an offseason QB acquisition. If Fitz can make the Offense look average, I'd be willing to bet a 1st round QB/veteran FA pick-up could really do the trick.

Fitz was also playing against a defense that was way down towards the bottom of the league in sacks too, something like only 4 or 5 going into yesterdays game. We give up that many every game almost to good defenses.

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It's amazing how many times I hear Ryan Fitzpatrick get called "Fitzgerald"...not trying to rip on you in particular because I've made the mistake too but it's starting to become pretty comical to me.

That is what happens when you are a nobody. Alot of people just call him "Noodle Arm" that way we all know who we are talking about.

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It's amazing how many times I hear Ryan Fitzpatrick get called "Fitzgerald"...not trying to rip on you in particular because I've made the mistake too but it's starting to become pretty comical to me.

Actually I get confused. His roomate was Patrick Fitzryan. Led for a lot of interesting comments about Ryan Fitzpatrick and Patrick Fitzryan.

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Ryan Fitzpatrick completed five passes to wide receivers, including a screen to Owens that went for a loss. Two to Owens, two to Evans, one to Reed. That's not good. That's comprable to the numbers Edwards put up last week in that train wreck.

 

I'm not sure that Fitzpatrick is worse than Edwards, but it's not enough to make a difference.

True but Edwards had the benefit of actually practicing the Bills plays all week as opposed to runninig the Jet's plays as Fitz did. Not saying by a long styretch that Fitz is the answer but he showed me much more than Trent. The problem for TE is he is gun shy.

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True but Edwards had the benefit of actually practicing the Bills plays all week as opposed to runninig the Jet's plays as Fitz did. Not saying by a long styretch that Fitz is the answer but he showed me much more than Trent. The problem for TE is he is gun shy.

 

So you're saying that Fitz's "success" (as it were) is born of ignorance from lack of practice?

 

Because given my belief that these coaches ruin quarterbacks...I can agree with that. I expect Fitz would regress with practice time.

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