QCity

This may be hard to understand, what with hindsight being 20/20 and all, but there was actually a time when Fitz was expected to be our franchise QB. The year was 2011, and we were fresh off a victory over the Eagles and had just raised our record to 4-1. The fans affectionately called him "The Amish Rifle," and had a cute way of purposely mispronouncing his last name as Fitzgerald or Fitzgibbons (a nod and a wink to how unknown he was). There was a huge clamor from the fans to "RE-SIGN FITZ NOW," and even our favorite contrarian Jerry Sullivan got on board with that idea. So he was re-signed, the wheels quickly fell off, and a bunch of "know it all/I told you so" posters came out of the woodwork to tell us how good they are at picking last week's lottery numbers. I was going to type "The End," but the story is not over yet.

See, I don't think that's much of a highlight reel. That may not be Coastal Carolina, but I saw Tennessee Tech, Fresno State, Washington State and Arizona State in that video. Not exactly powerhouses - and incidentally the only 4 teams he managed to get a sack against. Ok, Maybin comparisons are way too extreme, but this guy does scare me.

Reading the first 2-3 pages of this thread is pretty funny.

Kind of surprising to me, I thought we were getting good value at that price.

Now people are starting to claim Fitz has a strong downfield throwing arm. I think this board started drinking too early today...

That I don't know for certain, I just assumed both.

We already paid him $21M out of the $24M we guaranteed him, so he is getting $3M from us regardless if he is cut (unless he restructures his deal of course).

Pshhh. Just an All Pro?? Decastro was a lock for the Hall of Fame! (Seriously, posters were saying that last year and arguing we should take him in the first round) I see this discussion every year. Warmack will not be taken in the top 10. The proof is in history - GMs (not the talking heads or draftniks) simply do not put a premium on guards, that's why there hasn't been one selected higher than 17th in the last 10 years. It's more efficient to grab a tackle in the 2nd or 3rd round and slide him over to guard if you need one badly. Don't take my word for it though, tag this post and we'll review it after the draft!

That would make him the greatest guard to come out of college since David DeCastro!

Ugh I didn't realize his injury was that bad.

How the heck are we ever going to beat KC and Cleveland without Fitz??? DOOMED

Explained it pretty well? Wrong. We've mentioned the cash savings. NoSaint even brought up future cap problems. Wrong. We don't have to pursue anyone and spend $3-$5 million. We might have 2 rookies and a 6 year veteran to fall back on. You may not like Jax, but don't say we have to get a FA. 6-10 with a FA and 5-11 with Jax isn't any different. Wrong. If he gets cut, it will be before his $3MM roster bonus is due March 12th. We ain't paying him $3MM for training camp. Wrong. If they are trying to restructure him right now (highly likely) they wouldn't have cut him already. I'm going to need a lot more explaining before I believe "there is no reason to cut him. he saves nothing," it simply isn't true. How's that for comprehension?

Let me get this straight. You think keeping Fitz on the roster will prevent teams from gouging us for their garbage QBs? And if we cut Fitz the price will go up 50%? And you are the guy claiming to be one of the logical and sane posters? Edit: And as NoSaint said, Jackson is not that much of a downgrade as you try to make him out to be. Edit #2: Countdown - Fitz has 19 days 23 hours to restructure.

I know, that's what scares me!

Do people on this board even read the threads? Seriously?

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe not even directly tell the player, but leak it to the media. Then say "We have not publicly stated how we intend to use our franchise tag." $51MM for Levitre??? You are on crazy pills lol

You're right that it doesn't make sense to cut him with respect to his cap numbers. None whatsoever. But it makes financial sense to cut him (we save $7.4MM by cutting him before March 12th). Now what do you think is more important to the front office, cap space or the bottom line? Do I have to remind you well sell a game to Toronto?

I heard Russert's mother just saw Ted Nolan check into the hotel.

I think most fans approach the free agency period as if it were fantasy football - i.e. simply covet the guy with the best stats. They look at a guy like Bart Scott and say "too old," "on the decline," "loudmouth,' etc. While there is truth to that, they overlook the impact a guy like Scott would have on installing Pettine's new defense. Last time Scott was a FA (2009) he was coming off statistically mediocre seasons of 1.0 and 1.5 sacks, yet Rex Ryan and Pettine literally camped out on his doorstep until the free agency period began at midnight ensuring they talk to him first - he was that vital to have for bringing over their defense from Baltimore. Tim Graham wrote a great article a week ago that illustrates building a defense isn't just about the numbers Why it's important Bills clear room for some of Mike Pettine's Jets If Scott could be signed to a reasonable deal, he could have a huge impact this season even as a part-time player. (It's not like we would have to cut one of our All-Pro linebackers to make room for him either)

They're just trolling us now...

They said he had no idea how to put on his pads in his college sophomore year, and needed help from the trainers lol. He's just completely raw and doesn't know how to play the game yet. I don't think we should take him at 8, but at the same time this is the player that I am most terrified of a division rival drafting.

Fixed. Fitz might not be able to hit the broad side of a barn, but he does get rid of the ball fast. He's ranked as what, the 14th best guard in the league? I hate to rain on the Levitre lovefest, but I honestly think Louis Vasquez might even be a slight upgrade. He's a massive man (6'5" 335), 1 year younger, and a much more physical player. You might have missed the last 30 or so years, as we haven't had a ballhawk since Green in the 70s. Having said all that, I want Levitre back assuming we can sign him to a fair deal.

32 and coming off a bad year. I bet we can get him cheap to help install the new defense.

Referencing Elena Kagan in a Jarius Byrd thread. The Wows have it. Anyways, I think a few people are confusing a free safety with a strong safety that plays in the box. Byrd is a FS.

Now that is very reasonable. The $4.5M figure that was floating around had me baffled.