gumby

The question remains Is Fitzpatrick up to it? Only time will tell

Comparing players stats from different seasons doesn't say much. last year Manning set the NFL record with 15 4th qtr TD passes. Tied the record with 8 game winning drives. Also set the career record for most road playoff wins with 5. What all this tells me is that when the game is on the line Manning consistently rose to the occasion. When Fitzpatrick comes anywhere near to such clutch 4th qtr performances then I'll be willing to entertain such comparisons. Until then it's not even close.

Now I'm scared, I'm really scared. I agree with Bayless.

Thanks to Mr. WEO for the inspiration. I went through past drafts to compile a list of franchise QBs and in what round they were drafted in. The assumption I am going on is that a franchise QB needs to be a starter in the NFL for at least 3 years regardless if the team he played on drafted him or not. So Brett Favre was a franchise QB although being drafted by the Falcons. Also it doesn't take into account the quality of QB, so a David Carr (5 year starter) is considered a franchise QB just as Peyton Manning is. My sample size is from a 20 year period (1989-2008). Reason I stopped at 2008 is that would give QBs from that draft class a chance to establish themselves as a 3 year starter. In each round I will give the number of QBs selected and the number of QBs who became 3 year starters and then the percentage for each. Also for each round (besides the 1st there being just too many) I'll give the names of the guys who became franchise QBs. It should also be noted this list does not include players such as Kurt Warner or Tony Romo who were undrafted QBs. These stats were compiled from http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/QB-1980-now.htm 1st: Players selected: 44 3 year starters: 29 Percentage: 65.9% 2nd: Players selected: 22 3 year starter: 7 Percentage: 31.8 Players: Drew Brees, Charlie Batch, Jake Plummer, Kordell Stewart, Tony Banks, Brett Favre, Billy Joe Tolliver 3rd: Players selected: 25 3 year starter: 3 Percentage 12.0 Players: Matt Schaub, Brian Griese, Neil O'Donnell 4th: Players selected: 35 3 year starter: 4 Percentage 11.4 Players: Kyle Orton, David Garrard, Aaron Brooks, Scott Mitchell 5th: Players selected: 24 3 year starter: 1 Percentage: 4.1 Player: Mark Brunell 6th: Players selected: 36 3 year starter: 6 Percentage: 16.7 Players: Derek Anderson, Marc Bulger, Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck, Jeff Blake, Rodney Peete 7th: Players selected: 41 3 year starter: 3 Percentage 7.3 Players: Matt Cassell, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gus Frerotte The draft had 8 rounds in 1993 and 12 rounds in the years before that. Since today's draft is only 7 rounds I added rounds 8-12 together. 8th-12th: Players selected: 33 3 year starter: 3 Percentage: 9.1 Players: Elvis Grbac, Trent Green, Brad Johnson. So as you can see if a team is looking for a franchise starting QB the 1st round is by far your best bet with almost a 2 in 3 chance. The 2nd round still has some value with just under a 1 in 3 chance. After that the numbers drop precipitously so that the draft really becomes a "crap-shoot" if you are looking for a QB.

You seem to be arguing 2 different points. On one hand you say he would be a good pick as a back-up. I don't see the point in wasting a mid to late round pick on someone who by definition you don't want to have to play. Then you're arguing for a starting NFL QB. I'm not quantifying it by having them be a star, just a franchise QB. Even with that criteria the numbers are low that mid to late round QBs ever develop into a franchise QB in the NFL.

please explain.

"The Bounty Hunters" We can all sit back and watch Roger Goodell's head explode.

If you're not going to draft a QB in the 1st round than don't bother. The chances of mid to late round QBs developing into a starting NFL QB are extremely slim. If you want just a back-up there are better ways to find one.

As I said in other threads I'm not a fan of drafting WRs in the 1st round. I'd be happy with the Bills going with LT Martin in the 1st. Then maybe getting the WR in the 2nd. With a little bit of luck Randle will still be there if not I'd take a look at Sanu, although Sanu might be a slight reach at the top of the 2nd round.

Martin or Hightower. Although I think 10 is a little high for Hightower. I am not a fan of taking a WR in the 1st. I don't think the position is worthy of a 1st round pick unless of course he's a generational talent like Calvin Johnson.

Spare me the bashing of politcians and how they ruined the area. These clowns come up for re-election and they are almost all assured to get voted back in. The people of WNY need to accept responsibility for these guys. There was no coup where they seized power the people put them in. And no matter what they do or fail to do they will be voted right back in. In the U.S. people get the gov't they deserve and until the local population pulls their heads out of their collective a$$es nothing much will change. I grew up in Cheektowaga and political discourse can be summed up like this. "Hey he's Polish, I'm Polish too. He says he's for the working man. Hey I'm a working man. He's got my vote." Until that mindset changes nothing else will.

It's encouraging but they need to close the deal.

Let's just hope he turned his clock ahead this past weekend.

Unless he's Calvin Johnson's clone you should not pick a WR in the 1st round.

If you're not picking a QB in the 1st round don't bother taking one later. The percentages are very low a QB picked in the later rounds ever develops into a franchise player. If you're just looking for a career back-up than maybe, but you can find back-ups elsewhere. There's a much higher value taking just about any other position. The Bills have too many holes to fill to be lighting late round picks on fire.

Typical straw man argument. If you think the Bills can do better at QB you therefore must "hate" Fitzpatrick. I think most people cheer for the logo on the helmet not the name on the jersey.

Not a fan of Michael Floyd in the 1st round. My personal belief is not to take a WR or RB in the 1st unless it's a generational talent like Calvin Johnson. I just think you can get good value at those two positions throughout the draft.

Asking "how ya doing?" isn't being polite it's insincere because you don't really give a damn. It's used as a salutation but in fact is actually meaningless drivel. What the hell ever happened to simply "Hello" then get on to your point. Schopp should just implement Tom Bauerle's technique. You ask "How ya doing" you get immediately disconnected.

The Patriots have a good WR core? When did that happen? Their TEs are fantastic but their WR is below average and lacking in speed.

I think most of the downturn can be traced to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s. Before then Buffalo was one of the most important ports on the great lakes offloading grain from the midwest putting it on trains and shipping it to the east coast. With the opening of the Seaway grain ships could bypass Buffalo directly to the east coast. It's more than 50 years later and the area has still to recover from it. Oh wait I almost forgot...Brady sux.

Fire him or don't, it matters not. Until the Bills get a legitimate NFL QB they're not winning squat.

I think he's saying the best scenario is to finish with 7 wins.

This one is from 2010: http://thesportdigest.com/archive/article/economic-impact-sports-facilities The evidence is that whatever economic impact a team has is offset by the amount of tax subsidies flowing to the team. One such subsidy is the 3 million of "working capitol" handed over to Ralph Wilson every year. How does it feel that Wilson just donated 2.5 million to the hall of fame for its “Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Hall of Fame Research and Preservation Center”. That's money being sucked out of WNY and sent elsewhere. There is a lot to be said about the pride that is derived from being in the "big leagues" but lets be clear what we're talking about. The reason I'm even bothering with this is the people of WNY show a much greater support for this team even if they NEVER set foot in the stadium than the out of towners who show up for several Sundays a year. Many of the locals can't afford to attend a Bills game because of the bad economic situation here. Than to have some holier than thou P.O.S. point fingers as to who is a "real fan" and who isn't based on attendance, I'm sorry but that is not to be tolerated.

The NFL has built a multi-billion dollar empire on tax dollars and gambling. Many economic studies have shown virtually no benefit to a city with a professional sports team. In fact several studies have shown it to be a drag economically on the city. http://www.uwlax.edu/faculty/anderson/micro-principles/stadiums.pdf http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv23n2/coates.pdf The reason to have a sports team is for purely entertainment reasons. Not economic ones.

You've become a parody of yourself. You expect every man, woman, and child to foot the bill on a stadium so you have someplace to park your sorry ass on a Sunday afternoon. Exactly what I'm complaining about you never mention. Maybe its the fact that one of the highest taxed areas in the country, with an economy that has been in a recession for decades, can ill afford dumping 100 million into an antiquated stadium. And of course we'll just ignore the fact that the overwhelming majority of people in WNY who you expect to help subsidize your entertainment will never have the opportunity to actually set foot in that stadium. But I suppose that doesn't make them "real fans" right? You use the stadium pal, you help pay for it. There's a word for people like you: Parasite