thewildrabbit

Nix gonna be sleeping?

I didn't state the Bills shouldn't draft a QB this year, in fact I've been saying at #8 they should draft an OT, OG or trade back in the first or wait till the second round. In other posts I even mentioned drafting 2 QB's this year, just not one with that #8 pick. Teams that reach for a QB usually end up making a huge mistake . Now go back and look at the teams drafting a QB in the first round beyond the #1 overall and look at how many have failed Since the 1983 (almost 30 years) draft, Trent Dilfer, Big Ben, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, so recently only 4 out of 63 won SB's in that list. If they can't get that #1 overall then teams have been better off drafting after the 1st round is my point. Several others made it to the SB but didn't win it. Then, Buddy Nix is making this pick, yeah the same Nix who decided he wouldn't take a QB in the draft unless he was graded as an elite QB. He had only Cam Newton with that grade that we know of... he didn't try to acquire FA QB Peyton Manning. He also passed on Colin Kaepernick to draft CB Aaron Williams, selected DT Torell Troupe over TE Rob Gronkowki, moved up in last years draft to pick a 5th round WR in the 3rd instead of drafting QB Russell Wilson. If anything, Nix has shown he knows how to properly evaluate O line talent with his waiver wire pick ups and drafting Cordy Glenn who fell to the 2nd round last year. Kinda why I've been touting the Bills to select an OT vs a QB with that #8.

Where were all those players drafted, not with the #8 overall for various reasons. Joe Flacco couldn't beat out Tyler Palko while at Pitt, then he went to Delaware, not exactly an NFL football factory and he was very raw coming out of college. So he was graded as a late 1st rounder or #2 with a high burst to bust mark! The Ravens drafted Flacco at #18. Flacco was groomed on a team very different then what the Bills have done the last 20 years as they had a great FO, very solid supporting cast, strong run game, solid defense and didn't ask Flacco to win games all by himself. Remember that 2009 WC playoff game with the Ravens playing AT New England. Flacco went 4 for 10 for 34 yards, and yet the Ravens beat the Patriots 33-14 by pounding the ball with 3 OT's in the game. Drew Brees was projected as a first rounder, but slipped to the first pick in round 2 because of his height at 6'0", and preceived lack of arm strength. Aaron Rodgers: only played two years at Cal, and was considered short for the prototypical NFL QB at 6'2" or slightly shorter came from a college known to inflate passing stats (like Geno Smith). So he was drafted #24 overall. Rodgers was able to sit on the bench behind future first ballot HoFer, legend Brett Favre for 3 years, and learn. Alex Smith was the #1 overall that year and Jason Campbell was drafted right behind Rodgers at 25. "Though accurate, lacks top pass placement and has receivers extending vertically to pull the ball out of the air. Must improve his accuracy down the field. Lacks top footwork releasing the ball off a three step drop. Lacks pocket stature." http://gnb.scout.com/a.z?s=61&p=8&c=1&nid=2983568 Tom Brady: was an afterthought and the Patriots just happened to get lucky Jim Kelly: wanted to play for Joe Paterno and attend Penn St, but was offered a scholarship as a LBer. So he went to the U of Miami. Anyway, Kelly suffered a very severe shoulder seperation that ended his senior season while at Miami and had pins inserted in that shoulder. Before that injury he was touted as a Heisman candidate and the Canes for a National Campionship or he could been drafted much earlier. There were reasons these man were not graded in the top 10. But look at the dozens of failed QB's drafted in first round that never even made adaquate back up QB's. 1983 QB's Todd Blackledge #7, Tony Eason #15, Ken O Brian #24, all 3 before Dan Marino^ #27 because Marino supposedly was into drugs (alledgedly he smoked pot) 86 draft, #3 Jim Everett, #12 Chuck Long 87 draft, #1 overall Vinny Testaverde, #6 Kelly Stouffer, #13 Chris Miller, #26 Jim Harbough 89 draft #1 overall Troy Aikman* 90 draft #1 overall Jeff George, #7 Andre Ware 91 draft #16 Dam McGwire, #24 Todd Marinovich 92 draft #6 David Klingler, #25 Tommy Maddox 93 draft #1 overall Drew Bledsoe^, # 2 Rick Mirer 94 draft #3 Heath Schuler, #6 Trent Dilfer* 95 draft, #3 Steve McNair^, #5 Kerry Collins 97 draft #26 Jim Druckenmiller 98 draft #1 overall Peyton Manning*, #2 Ryan leaf 99 draft #1 Tim Couch, #2 Donovan McNabb^, #3 Akili Smith, #11 Dante Culpepper, #12 Cade McNown 2000 draft #18 Chad Pennington 2001 draft #1 overall Michael Vick^ 2002 draft #1 overall David Carr, #3 Joey Harrington, #32 Patrick Ramsey 2003 draft #1 overall Carson Palmer^, #7 Byron Leftwich, #19 Kyle Boller, #22 Rex Grossman 2004, draft #1 overall Eli Manning*, #4 Phillip Rivers, #11 Ben Roethlisberger*, #22 JP Losman 2005 draft #1 overall Alex Smith, #24 Aaron Rodgers*, #25 Jason Campbell 2006 draft #3 Vince Young, #10 Matt leinart, #11 Jay Cutler 2007 draft #1 overall JaMarcus Russell, #22 Brady Quinn 2008 draft #3 Matt Ryan, #18 Joe Flacco* 2009 draft #1 overall Matthew Stafford, #5 Mark Sanchez, #17 Josh Freeman 2010 draft #1 overall Sam Bradford, #25 Tim Tebow 2011 draft #1 overall Cam Newton, #8 Jake Locker, #10 Blane Gabbert, #12 Christian Ponder 2012 draft Andrew Luck, #2 RG3, #8 Ryan Tannehill, #22 Brandon Weeden Roughly 63 QB's taken in the first round, and out of all those 8 have won a SB,and another 7 have been to a SB. Just look at all those bums!! So, explain why the Bills should reach for a QB in this years draft when the odds are against them even finding a starter for very long, particulary with Buddy Nix making the choice. The players that made it to a SB were all on teams that had a great player supporting cast around them, top coaching and a good front office.

The Bills since Wade Phillips have been mired in mediocrity with bad coaches, players, scouts. Its what happens when you just try to find the least expensive in everything. About the only area they excel in is with marketing, and keeping the stadium filled.

Jeez guys, stats and production in college doesn't always translate into the NFL. Just Google failed first round QB's and look at all the bums. Kinda why its so difficult for NFL teams to find a franchise QB. Looking at some college players stats you would think that they would be NFL HoFers once drafted, and instead some don't even make decent back up QB's! So, all in all stop throwing stats and highlights at others, instead look how they played in adversity and "IF" they can win in bad situations. No matter how great the college defense they have faced, its still college its not the pro's. There is a reason why Smith and Barkley are not graded higher then mid first round picks by almost every scout.

Doug Marrone has an opportunity to build his team properly from day one, and it starts with the O line. If you can find a player you know will be an all pro from day one... you draft him, period! According to Mike Mayock, Warmack is arguably the best player at his position in the draft. The pick might not be sexy, but it will fill a need at far less money then what Levitre wants. I'd prefer one of the top 3 LT's Fisher, Joeckel, Johnson, and move Glenn to RT because that right side is still a weakness. The Bills need depth on that line instead of band-aids. From NFL.com "Bottom Line Sturdy guard with dominating strength at the point of attack and enough mobility to clear the way for Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, 2012 top five pick Trent Richardson, and probable first round pick Eddie Lacy over the last three seasons. His toughness and durability are outstanding, and he grades out as one of the elite talents in the 2013 draft, and as a probable starter day one on Sundays -- and he'll stick around for a long time. " "3) Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama (5): There are plenty of scouts who believe Warmack is the best player in this draft. He is a dominant interior blocker with the capacity to overwhelm defenders with his combination of size, strength and power." http://www.nfl.com/n...ft-big-board-20

Just sayin that thru some of the things I've read about USC QB's leads me to believe they suck. I dunno, Barkley might just be different. The guy is graded by some as a second round pick http://walterfootbal...013mbarkley.php Feb. 20: I've heard from multiple sources that NFL teams are souring on USC quarterbacks because they are viewed more as Hollywood stars than football players. Matt Barkley's decision not to throw at the Combine has prompted similar sentiments from two scouts: "Here we go again, another L.A. movie star quarterback who needs his own day to throw," a veteran scout told Yahoo! "And you wonder why guys from Southern California (are bad)?" a veteran team executive said. "Everything is like they have to draw attention to themselves." When Barkley not being cleared was mentioned, the executive just grew angrier. "I'm telling you, it's always [something] with guys from down there… not just USC, the whole area. I don't know what it is." Its clearly not just me. I do recall almost everyone on this board stating they didn't want another USC Rob Johnson type. Johnson left USC holding virtually ever major passing record and spent much of his senior year as a HT candidate. In his final game for the school, Johnson led his team to victory in the 95 cotton bowl, dominating Texas Tech by a final score of 55-14 How players play in college doesn't always translate to the NFL and USC seems to be the opposite of a QB factory for the NFL. I just don't trust Geno Smith either because in some games where his team got behind in the score he couldn't bring them back, and looked very defeated on the sidelines. Jeez, haven't we Bills fans seen enough of that?

Hey, I'd almost be happy if at least they try to sign some of them, and land one of them.The Bills have so many holes after 3 years of screw ups by Nix,and Band-aid after band-aid philosophy . I'm not entirely convinced he even knows what players would help the team the most. Anyway, here is hoping Marrone knows what he wants and goes and gets them.

"Nassib may be the top overall QB from a physical tools standpoint in this draft." http://nflsfuture.com/2013/01/16/ryan-nassib-scouting-report/ "Arm Strength: Nassib is loaded with arm talent. He throws the ball with a ton of velocity and can fit the ball into tight windows. There isn’t a throw on the field that Nassib can’t make." "I came away very unimpressed with his ability to throw the deep ball. For someone with his arm speed, his throws vertically down the field lack accuracy and often fall short of the target" "Accuracy: Year to year, Nassib has grown in the accuracy department. As a redshirt sophomore he really struggled with overall accuracy. Fast forward to 2012 when he threw at a 62% clip. Nassib excels with accuracy on short to intermediate throws. His accuracy on deep balls leaves a bit to be desired. I have concerns with his ball placement at times. In a clean pocket with open receivers he too often will throw the ball in areas that cause the receiver to transition. While it’s a catchable ball, he will need to work on putting the ball in optimal spots to allow for YAC." Like I stated in an earlier post, His arm strength / accuracy issue has more to do with his deep ball misses. But then like pointed out by others, it simply could be that he has never had the talent at WR or O line for protection to make those deep throws on a consistent basis. So consequently with no practice he can't make it perfect. No QB in this years draft is worthy of that #8 pick, so why reach for a QB when you solidify other areas of the team, and take a decent QB to develop in the 2nd round.

According to the Yardbarker.com "The Buffalo Bills have a number of holes to address this NFL offseason and according to a ”highly regarded source” within the Bills organization they plan on addressing a number of those holes when free agency starts." You know, deep within! Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings will both be perused by the Bills. According to IBN Sports Wrap, if the price is too high for Mike Wallace they will set their sights towards Greg Jennings. http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/big_changes_in_buffalo_coming_wallace_or_jennings_to_be_pursued/13082434 Sounds good to me! Signing some of these free agents is a great way to fill some of the holes in the team asap !!! WR, Packers Greg Jennings- Steelers WR Mike Wallace LBer, Ravens Dannell Ellerbe DL, NY Jet Mike Devito Safety, NY Jet Laron Landry TE NY Jet Dustin Keller http://ibnsportswrap.com/article.php?articleID=96# Lord, lets hope so...

Jeez man, the NFL cast off wagon is littered with #1 scrub QB's that didn't make it. Why reach for a player who isn't graded as a #1 or even a top 10 player. Its not just Kiper, its every scout out there! I trust what Mike Mayock over anyone else and he is also stating there isn't an elite QB that should be taken in the top ten this year. But, some idiot teams will fall in love with some scrub and draft him way earlier then they should. Blane Gabbert, Tim Tebow, JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn. Jake Locker, Vince Young. Cam Newton who was ranked by just about everyone as a #15-32 player and was drafted #1 overall still hasn't gotten his team near the playoffs. http://profootballta...aft-another-qb/ To the people that want to draft Matt Barkley didn't learn anything from the Mark Sanchez at #5 in 2009, didn't learn anything from at # 10 in Matt Leinart in 2006. USC QB's are babies. While very QB thats ever drafted looked awesome in his highlight reels, what about when the game is on the line and his team is down by 10+ points. Geno Smith folded in games like that this year. ESPN has Geno Smith ranked at #22. Barkley not even in the first round. Scout.com has Geno Smith ranked at #15, Barkley at #18. I'm hoping Doug Marrone has some say in this years draft and the Bills skip on the prospect for reaching for a scrub QB. This is the year for OT's! They should build up that O line now that there are 3 OT graded to be top ten players, Fisher, Joeckel, Johnson or even Mike Mayocks best player in this years draft OG Chance Warmack to replace Andy Levitre. If they gotta take a chance on a player I'd rather see them go WR Cordarrelle Patterson . http://profootball.s...nid=124&yr=2013 http://www.drafttek....spects-2013.asp

Jeez guys, for the record. Joe Montana was said to not have a very strong arm. My take is Bucky Brooks is more concerned about his deep ball accuracy vs arm strength to make those deep throws. Anyway, here ius what he said: "Nassib wrapped up the workout by throwing a variety of intermediate routes on the run. From bootleg and rollout comebacks to a variety of play-action corners and crossers, he attempted to show his capacity to make "pro" throws by driving the ball on the move. Now, he certainly looked good in those drills, but scouts never had the opportunity to watch him throw from the opposite hash to the sideline. Although rolling out to complete comebacks is definitely a part of some offensive schemes, the majority of pro systems require the quarterback to make deep outside throws from the pocket. For Nassib to eliminate the concerns about his arm strength, he must show this capacity in private workouts over the next few weeks." http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/0ap1000000148770/article/ryan-nassib-lacks-elite-qualities-to-be-considered-franchise-qb

If they do draft one this year...they will probably need to draft another next year. The man that is doing the drafting is the same guy that said Chan Gailey is his HC for 2013 and beyond. He also stated he thought Gailey was one of the best offensive minds in the NFL.... the very same man now currently unemployed! Isn't amazing how much Bills fans love their team! The circle jerk cycle of rebuilding never ends with the Buffalo buffoons in the FO, and yet games keep selling out year after year... All because Jim Kelly and Co. went to some super bowls two decades ago.

I'd be cheering I'd cheer if the Bills take any of the top 3 OT's and move Glenn to RT or guard. Or if they take Cordarelle Patterson, or OG Chance Warmack to replace Levitre. Any one of those 3 OT's and Warmack are just about can't miss picks, A decent QB can be had in the 2nd round, and there are good free agents LBers out there this year.

Will Wolford, Jim Richter, Kent Hull, Ruben Brown,Jason Peters, Stew Barber, Billy Shaw, Dave Behrman, Al Bemiller, Dick Hudson, Dave Foley , Joe DeLamielleure Have all made the pro bowl at least once, and some many many times. Glenn isn't at their level yet.

Good idea, but it would require some brains in the FO to bring in the Dolphins team MVP of 2011. The Bills are lacking in that dept. I don't know wth you guys are thinking, first you denigrate Nix and then want him to draft a QB in any round? He should draft on of the can't miss top 3 LT's with the 8th pick. Then looking back at the last 3 drafts Nix was responsible for...he should then take a nap for the rest of the draft after that #8 as he hasn't hit on anybody after that first pick.

What does it say about Brandon keeping Nix when looking at how this team is in worse shape then when he started. Remember the line from the bumpkin in 2010 just after he came out of retirement as head scout and took the GM job..."your going to think I'm crazy, but we're not that far away" Yea, that was right before the 0-8 start to the 2010 season that saw 4-12. He also stated he wasn't "the smartest guy in the room" to a bunch of media types, and he was right! The line when free agency opened in 2010 "I'm going to get some sleep", then signed RT Cornell Green. Wow, reminds me of Hank Bullough and his stoopid speak. My god, the warning signs of a blithering idiot in charge have been going crazy for 3 years and Nix is still with the Bills. I'm thinking a lot of the Bills bad drafts might have more to do with Nix's poor scouting then anything else. I don't trust Russ Brandon or Doug Whaley either considering they are right there and saying nothing. How long can this crap of an org keep going, why are fans still buying season tickets? As lame as this franchise is...the fans... http://www.huliq.com/3257/90070/buffalo-bills-choose-buddy-nix-new-gm

While I like the hiring of Doug Marrone and the coaching staff by Russ Brandon. Why on gods green earth is Buddy Nix involved in anything anymore? This is the man who stated in his first press conference that he wasn't the "smartest guy in the room", and he has proved that many times over the last three years. Jeez, if Nix is this bad and is still with the team what does this say about Brandon's ability to judge a GM. I guess this is what happens when you put a money man in charge of the football side too. I yearn for the Polian / Butler days... naa, they just lost Kelsay so they need another pass rusher. Its just the way they went about obtaining a top DE / pass rusher, and then handed him over to a moron who had forgotten how to run a 4-3.

Thanks for the link. QB Matt Moore, hrmmm buh bye fitz

What I just don't get is that when Nix / Gailey came in everyone, and I mean everyone was defending their first year mistakes by stating that they need a year to analyze the players on the roster to determine who can play and who can't. Then they defended the 2nd year by stating that there simply isn't enough talent on the roster and it needs to take longer to bring in top talent. Ditto with the 3rd year. What a crock! Now suddenly everyone thinks that because a few QB's came into the NFL last few years and had success by taking their teams to the playoffs, that any new QB the Bills draft is destined for that same outcome, they are not! It usually takes 3-4 years or more to develop a QB properly, which is exactly what happened with super bowl winning QB's Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers. These new QB's having great success are not the norm. RG3, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and even Tim Tebow had their offenses transformed to fit their play style in college. Look what happened to RG3 running the ball so much, very very serious knee injuries that he can't sustain every year or he will have a very short NFL career. Cam Newton had a tremendous rookie year stat wise, but fell very short win wise. All of those players can't continually run the ball every year or they will end up with injuries like RG3 / Mike Vick. Andrew Luck is that once in a decade special player like John Elway that should have immediate success because of his outstanding talent. But even he needs a good surround cast of players to win a super bowl. The Bills bad luck to not suck as much as they should have, of if he had come out early the Bills would have gotten Cam Newton. Lots of Bills fans here stating they don't want an Andy Dalton type QB, but that is exactly what the Bills want IMO. A young QB who has the tenacity to play hard, take hits and still make plays while he is developing. Face facts here, very few QB's come into the NFL and have the surrounding player talent / coaching talent on the offense that Joe Flacco has had. Dalton has one top WR and some half way decent talent on his team, but no where near the talent the wizard of OZ has built in Baltimore. Do the Bills need a franchise QB...hell yeah! If they draft a QB this year will he be that player his first year, second year, third year? Probably not considering how badly Buddy Nix has failed to bring in top talent to a team starved for talent at almost every position but RB. But then considering the talent in this years crop of QB's, a new rookie QB may never succeed. We fans don't know what Marrone will accomplish as the new Bills head coach in his first year. But I can tell you this, that O line still isn't ready for a rookie QB even with everyone on the line healthy. So unless the bills draft Alabama G Chance Warmack to replace Levitre if he leaves, or one of the 3 top LT's in the draft, that rookie QB will be running for his life, just like Fitz did in 2010. I think everyone has forgotten what it was like to have Trent Edwards at QB. Called "captain check down" because he didn't want to throw an INT as he didn't trust his receivers and for good reason, where are they all now? That O line has been very bad since they traded away LT JP. In 2010 Nix / Gailey brought in players like FA RT Cornell Green in 2010 at 2 mill per, a player who was horribly bad! So bad that the Bills quietly benched him in week 5 and then then cut him in week 7. That line is still not a top line despite the rep of giving up so few sacks because Fitz had the ability to get rid of ball so quickly, and he still took many hits after the ball was out in 1.5 seconds. Bills fans will see that right away with TJax or a rookie behind center. Frankly, IDGAD who the QB is this year as long as this new HC can produce a season equal to or better then Jauron / Gailey. So eff the idea of any QB in the first round. I'm hoping the Bills go WR, OT, G with that first pick at #8. While you guys worry about who the starting QB is, I'll worry if this new HC can get it done with any QB.

Man o man you are gonna be one crying, whiny, unhappy dude when Fitz starts

That is "IF" he can learn the playbook. There was a reason the Seahawks traded him away with only Matt Flynn and a rookie QB on the roster. Every time the game came down to the QB making a play to win the game TJ was just as bad as Fitz, perhaps even worse... miscues, turnovers, fumbles, INT's.

Thanks You are right, he could be a first round pick. He probably will be a late first round draft pick when the Bills trade back into the first to select him Fitz OTOH has recently been led by morons, Perry Fewell aside. Both Mike Martz and Chan Gaileys offensive philosophy's both proved to be worthless in the long run. Martz's system only worked with great players at almost every position! But then again what scheme doesn't? Gailey however never won more then 6 games with the Chiefs and Bills, and he went downhill with that awesome super bowl Cowboy team loaded with HoFers. How about we wait to see if Marrone can improve on Fitz. My take is he almost has to improve in every way considering if Marrone utilizes the run heavy offense that he used at Syracuse. Not to mention should the Bills draft an OT / WR with that first pick at #8 will help the offense immensely. If the Bills draft a QB this year Fitz or TJ should be the starter while Marrone builds the rest of the offense his way, and develops the rookie QB. As I see things TJ won't be an improvement over Fitz unless that O line gets a new LT.

What fans fail to realize is... The org / franchise hasn't failed in the eyes of the owner. Time hasn't been wasted, and Its not stuck in the mud according to Ralph Wilson who makes a fine profit every year. There is a reason why a marketing / money guy in Russ Brandon was promoted to president / CEO and now controls the football side. 10 mill a year extra for that Toronto deal, whats not to like. This owner would rather have Russ Brandon running his team then someone like Bill Polian. A man who would want to spend money on a real GM, top players and coaches....AND WANT TO WIN!!

Well, in 2006 Marv Levy / Dick Jauron first hired OC Steve Fairchild away from the Rams to run a version of that Mike Martz offense. Now Fairchild never called the offensive plays for the Rams but he setup the offense and game plans. In his first year as OC the Bills offense was fairly balanced with 431 attempts passing vs 420 attempts rushing with JP Losman at QB / Willis McGahee at RB. Most fans complained that the offense was too boring and that the Bills ran to much. My thoughts were that this was exactly what the Bills needed to do to develop a young QB Losman properly. Fairchild left after one season to become the HC at Colorado, and instead of hiring an experienced NFL OC like Marv had done in the past. Jauron promoted then QB coach Turk Schonert to be the new OC. So I suspect it was to maintain continuity of the same offensive system for the young QB. What it did was allow an unproven OC a free hand to setup game plans and call plays. Schonert called mostly shotgun passing plays The Bills drafted RB Marshawn Lynch and QB Trent Edwards in 2007. Alex Van Pelt who was quality control for the offense became the new QB coach. The Bills then went on a musical chairs approach to the starting QB switching between Losman and Edwards which eventually ruined the confidence of both players. Schonert continued to the call plays in 2008 while virtually ignoring play action passing for constant shotgun plays. Two weeks before the 2009 season started Jauron fired Schonert and again promoted the QB coach to OC I suppose to maintain that continuity of the offense for the young QB's. Now, anyone familiar with the Mike Martz passing offense knows it relied on having a great O line, and running game to go along with that all out 5-7 step drop back passing attack. Martz had that when he won a super bowl with the Rams. He also had pro bowl O linemen and Marshall Faulk at RB to take the heat away from the QB. He also had some pretty great WR's to catch those deep balls. Once the O line weakens and the RB isn't as great that offense sucks and gets the QB injured from all the deep-drop back pass plays. Kinda why Martz was eventually fired by the Rams, Fired by the Lions, fired by the 49ers, fired by the Bears. His offensive system gets his QB's sacked / injured from all the deep passing plays called. Marv Levy tried to build the O line with high priced free agent O linemen, which worked as long as the Bills had veteran O line coach Jim McNally. Once he retired that line went to hell. Plus the fact that Levy never did find an adequate center. Anyway, Fitz got to Buffalo in 2009 and he was originally drafted by Mike Martz, and the Rams back in 2005. So Fitz knew the offense when he got to Buffalo. Probably why he had 8 GS in 2009, and went 4-4. With the hiring of Chan Gailey in 2010 the "new" offensive scheme changed to a mostly spread offense with short / quick passes type system. When Gailey gave Trent Edwards the majority of the reps in pre season and Brian Brohm and Fitz split the rest of the reps is the reason for the 0-8 start that year, and the 4-12 finish as Fitz had to learn the offense as he played. EDIT: If Marrone / Hackett can take an unknown QB in Ryan Nassib and turn him into a 2nd round draft pick. Then I think those two can help Fitz a great deal.