Am I crazy for thinking...
by live6453 on Dec 2, 2009 12:10 AM EST
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PrintAm I crazy for thinking that if Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to play well down the stretch that he might be a Chad Pennington-esque veteran stopgap while we develop whatever rookie QB is brought in? He's a cerebral QB in much the same fashion and is still relatively young with a considerably better arm than Pennington ever had. His bouts with inaccuracy can be cleaned up through proper QB coaching and improved technique. In no way am I implying that he be considered a franchise QB. I do think he brings the right mentality and pocket presence to thrive with our current skill position players. If we can solidify the OL in front of him, there's little reason to believe he couldn't succeed in that role. This hypothetical is obviously contingent on him playing well and finishing strong the remainder of the season.
Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.
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He could… that’s about all ill say…. Ws are where it counts and you have to put the ball in the right place. Two weeks in a row, and he has gotten better each week. Alot of times the QB can envelope the mentality of the coach, vice versa, or they can thrive on similar qualities. Fewell has instilled confidence in players, by starting them in certain positions and it is paying off.
Any bit of positive play is good to me
Good Luck With Your Firings Mr. Wilson….Go Bills!
I`m not against the idea...
if we can’t get a better QB to come to Buffalo. And btw, Pennington would be a better QB. He might have a noodle for an arm, but he’s the most accurate NFL QB not named Drew Brees. And his decision making skills are increadibly better then Fitzy`s.
Mind you short of Pennington or McNabb (who’s spot with the Eagles is always in question), Fitzy would be my stopgap choice for QB.
by CanadianBillsFan on Dec 2, 2009 12:39 AM EST reply actions
Rather Pennington over McNabb
McNabb is good, but something about his decision making is a little off. I can’t quite put my finger on it because he is darn good. Still he is frustrating to watch sometimes. I think I understand why Philly fans have a love/hate relationship with the guy.
Rather have Orton then either Pennington or McNabb.
I kinda find myself hoping that Denver misses the playoffs. For some reason I would love Kyle Orton in a Bills uni.
Orton isn’t going anywhere. He might not be a franchise QB. but he is proving to be a great QB for his system. If he doesn’t start, he’ll be the backup in Denver for years to come.
by CanadianBillsFan on Dec 3, 2009 12:44 AM EST up reply actions
Thats the nice thing about backups though
they’re generally easier to trade for than starters. Which is also why I’d like to take a look at Kevin Kolb,Dennis Dixon,David Carr,and Josh Johnson in the offseason as well. I mean at the very least most of those guys will provide a nice lil training camp competition to the Fitz.
I’m going to agree, but I am undecided weather that is because we have had such bad QB’s that Fitz looks that good and I am just that desperate to believe we may have someone who is at least not a total incompetent, or whether he may in fact be a good interim QB. Lets face it in Buffalo the bar is not set very high to get a starting job.
Can he keep his numbers up? Can he continue to do well without TO? Could he teach a future franchise QB? These are questions that I need to know before I can make an informed decision.
Honest question.
Why does everyone think that it’s so simple to fix a QB? Just give him some good coaching and change his arm angle and he’ll be accurate as all hell. We’re not talking about a redshirt freshman in college, we’re not talking about a 22 year old rookie. Fitz is in his 5th season of pro football and 9th season of advanced football. It’s going to be tough to fix him now and you could end up making things worse.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the way he has played the last two weeks. The weeks before that are the exact opposite of enjoyment. And yes, Sunday was really exciting but we’re still talking about a QB who completes just over half of his passes and has almost a 1:2 TD:INT ratio. Bills fans tend to be an over-reactionary type, high high and low lows. Let’s see which Fitz plays out the rest of the season.
I like Fitz.
Vut I’m undecided as to whether or not he’s a viable stop gap. I’d honestly like to see him play more and see if he can continue on his current pace.
Von! Two! Three! FOUR wins on the season!
Bills fan? In Colorado? It's more likely than you think.
by UZ on Dec 2, 2009 4:41 AM EST up reply actions
im sold on Fitz
being a career Buffalo backup. I think he would be very happy with that role too. No one wants to be jounreyman and he could be a permanent backup here with a fanbase which would appreciate him.
"you just have to know there's always going to be adversity. None of these games are going to be easy. Nothing will be given to us" - Paul Posluszny
Now now, let’s not get so hot on Fitz that we’re suddenly promoting him to the big guy next year. He’s still pretty inaccurate, he’s just got a great mind for the game and has an arm on him. I’m all for having him as the 3rd QB or something next season… But either whatever rookie is put in or whatever Vet we pick up will have to be ahead of him.
Bills fan? In Colorado? It's more likely than you think.
It did take him a while to warm up last year in Cinci
"Hold ya chin up...nuh nuh nuh...gone" -Marshawn Lynch-
His bouts with inaccuracy can be cleaned up through proper QB coaching and improved technique.
I completely disagree with that. Fitz is what he is and that is a guy with extreme limitations and he’s not going to get much (probably any) better as a thrower of the football. Decision making is something that a QB could always improve, but guys in their mid 20s can really only hold onto minor tweaks in throwing mechanics.
And even though I’ve bashed him in the past, you’re definitely not crazy for thinking he could be a solid fill in while a rookie learns. Fitz has the mental demeaner necessary to teach his backup, while a lot of guys would refuse to help a kid out in an attempt to hold onto their own job. He’s obviously a smart guy and is enough of a vet to show a rookie the ropes. The Bills need a legit prospect if they’re going to stick with Fitz though. They can’t just grab the best guy left in the 2nd round and hope that guy can be ready in a year. If they aren’t going to go out and get a good vet, they need a top prospect.
I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute
One thing that would make Fitzy work as a long-term-back-up/stop-gap-starter is the fact that he’s smart enough to get better in his decision making skills, good enough to get better as a player, but also smart enough to know his place on the team.
You have to remember that he signed with us knowing that he would be a backup for the duration of his contract, and that any games that he would start would simply be gravy. So it’s not unreasonable to think that he would not only accept, but also appriciate the oppertunity to be a tutor to a franchise QB.
I seriously hope that he stays a Bill for the next 3 to 5 years, if not more.
by CanadianBillsFan on Dec 2, 2009 10:09 AM EST reply actions
I did preface my statement by saying it all depends on how the rest of the season plays out.
If we go 6-10 and he doesn’t seemingly improve week by week to show a more steady, reliable hand, then I have no interest in keeping him on in this capacity. I’m not being reactionary. I’m just putting forth a hypothetical situation which if it came to fruition would be the first positive thing to come out of the QB position in Buffalo in quite some time.
Also, to say that he isn’t still learning and that accuracy is not coachable is just asinine. Quality mechanics are what bring consistency whether it is a QB in football or a pitcher in baseball. Some guys have “quirky” or unconventional mechanics that if given the proper tutelage can be ironed out and improved upon.
I agree we need a top prospect. I addressed that in my post in the first place, but don’t try to lump me in with the bandwagon guys who think Fitz is the second coming of whoever. He’s still a relatively young player in the NFL and if I’m not mistaken, he walked on at Harvard with little or no football experience prior to that. It would be nice if we could get the Pennington-type decision making, with a greater ability to hit the deep ball. Pennington could not have made either of those throws on the bombs to TO the last two weeks. Plus, Fitzpatrick has not had multiple rotator cuff operations.
My issue with Fitz improving his accuracy is that he doesn’t have poor mechanics that need changing. Sure you could tweak this or that, but he’ll always be a QB with limited arm strength and poor accuracy.
And when I say top prospect, I’m talking about a first round guy or trading back into the first or very early 2nd to grab their guy. If Buffalo were to reach on a QB in the 2nd, wait until later in the draft or pray that Brian Brohm is the answer, then the Bills are looking at one year with the vet at a minimum and it could be two full seasons before the rookie is able to win the job. If the Bills get a prospect ready to play in 2011 or maybe towards the end of next season, then Fitz is a good candidate to fill that veteran role. I don’t want Fitz still starting for this team in 2011 though and would rather it be another vet if Buffalo makes the poor choice of going that route with a medicore developmental guy.
I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute
Crazy?
No, you’re not crazy, though my take is that Fitzpatrick is caught up in a temporary wave rather than anything that’ll last more than the remainder of this season. I do think the biggest difference in the Fewell era is that the Bills now have a coach who is not afraid to lose, hence trusts his players more than DJ did. I don’t wish for anyone to get fired ever, but Dick will find a better place in the pros as a less-visible assistant coach.
by WhereisGaryMaranginow? on Dec 2, 2009 5:30 PM EST reply actions
Agreed. This “starting Brohm” stuff is starting to irritate me.
by CanadianBillsFan on Dec 3, 2009 12:46 AM EST up reply actions
It irritates you in regards to starting Brohm this season
or it irritates you because you never want to see Brohm start?
Starting him this season.
I honestly hope that we can develop him into a starter, or at the very least a reliable backup. But truth is that that wont happen this season, so I don’t want to rush him either.
I want us for once to develop a player properly instead of rushing him into action.
by CanadianBillsFan on Dec 4, 2009 3:18 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, Brohm has been in the Bills offense for less than a month and only takes snaps with the scout team offense. Putting him in an actual game would be a disaster. Brohm is a guy who was terrible in the 2nd half of preseason games in an offense that he was actually familiar with. You do him much more harm than good by playing him this season.
I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute
The better FItz plays down the stretch, the more likely he’ll be the starter at the beginning of next year. I don’t think Bills fans would be upset with him starting the first six games of next year while a rookie sits and learns.
"Play like hell and win." - Perry Fewell
Your daily source for Buffalo Bills information.
Wouldn’t upset me at all. Heck I might even give him 8 to 10 depending on how the team does. The most important thing would be not to rush a QB into play before he’s ready. If Fitzy maintains his play, he will be a more then capable starter for us next year.
by CanadianBillsFan on Dec 3, 2009 5:29 PM EST up reply actions
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