Probably deserves its own thread

[Dr. K]

In about every game Fitz has played in, besides the Jets game, he has been impressive and competitive. I'm not sure why so many people say he's only good during junk time when teams are playing prevent defense. That is not even the case at all. And what really impresses me with him is he is passionate about playing and winning. You can just see it in him, he is always playing with more heart than most QBs and he's willing to put his neck on the line to win (though I wish he'd learn to slide on some of those QB runs before he gets his neck snapped). Even in the Jets game, when everyone else was done and just ready to pack it in, he was still playing his still doing everything he could to try to get some points at the end. It has to be frustrating for him when he leads the team on a scoring drive only to constantly see the defense go right back out and give up another score. It sucks hearing people who want to go 0-16 just to get the first draft pick. Do you really want to witness that embarrassment just to garauntee the first pick for a QB who may or may not be entering the draft this year and may or may not be a franchise QB? Don't get me wrong, if we can draft Luck, I'd like to do it, but for right now, I am happy with Fitz and I would really like to see where he can lead the team he had better support on defense.

 

+1

 

I posted in some thread after the last game when somebody was saying Fitzpatrick was at best a backup that, if he kept playing like this, why not make him the permanent QB? I was not on that impressed with him last season, but I was wrong. The amount of faith some people put in the hypothetical first-round QB they want to draft amazes me--let's see how far Fitz can go in this direction before deciding we need to use a first round pick on a QB.

 

I can't see how, if the offense keeps playing this way, the Bills will have the first pick anyway. I expect them to win some games in the second half of the season. And yes, that's a good thing.

[KOKBILLS]

Seriously, who would have believed (not hoped) that the Bills could score a TD and a FG in the last six minutes against the Ravens, on the road.

 

This (to me at least) was the most impressive part of a VERY impressive day by The Bills Offense and Fitz...I don't think Fitz is the long term answer but he is clearly a MUCH better QB than I gave him credit for prior to this Season. And he seems to be getting better...No matter what The Bills plan on doing in the future Fitz has earned the right to be here...And The Bills need to make sure he stays around...I really don't know what I'm going to think if this play continues throughout the 2010 Season and Fitz ends up going to the Pro Bowl while finishing 2nd in QB rating to Manning...But at this point that is getting WAY ahead! We'll see I guess...

[Mr. WEO]

I said during the first week of camp that they would be crazy to get rid of Fitz. He made the O-line look far better than it was yesterday.

 

His mind is quick, as are his feet.

[Dr. K]

I said during the first week of camp that they would be crazy to get rid of Fitz. He made the O-line look far better than it was yesterday.

 

His mind is quick, as are his feet.

 

This is what impressed me the most watching the replay of the game on Game Rewind--how quickly he made decisions, how he knew just where to throw the ball, and how often he beat the blitz. He did make the o-line look good (and I suspect Trent Edwards made them look worse than they are, even though I hoped he had improved at the season's start).

 

He really RAN that offense, and got everybody on the same page. He's not the tallest or most physically talented QB, but in this last stretch of games he has shown a real head for the game, which counts for more than being 6'5" or having a big arm.

 

I would think, as someone said above, this should begin to pay dividends as defenses discover they can't stack the box or blitz on every play and get away with it.

 

Now if only the D could hold somebody under 20 points (though the Ravens did score 17 points after turnovers--the TDs before and after halftime, and the field goal in OT--so maybe even the D has some hope).

[GR8PRKN]

I agree 100%. I liked trent and thought Gailey was gonna fix him but that never happened. I have to believe that what we thought Chan was going to do with Trent he is doing with Fitz. Chan is got a great pupil in Fitz an he has been calling some great plays. Fitz also has the confidene to check off and call the deep ball to Lee which is nice to see.....

 

We may be looking for a QB but if this keeps up I can see us going D next draft in the first...an QB in the 2nd

[Dorkington]

I really hope, if he continues playing this well, we focus on defense this coming off season and go for a QB the following year.

[Mr. WEO]

I agree 100%. I liked trent and thought Gailey was gonna fix him but that never happened. I have to believe that what we thought Chan was going to do with Trent he is doing with Fitz. Chan is got a great pupil in Fitz an he has been calling some great plays. Fitz also has the confidene to check off and call the deep ball to Lee which is nice to see.....

 

We may be looking for a QB but if this keeps up I can see us going D next draft in the first...an QB in the 2nd

I doubt Chan has much to do with Fitzy's succcess. This kid has natural insticts that Gailey completely whiffed on.

[eball]

Hell, even though the defense sucked most of the day, they deserve a little credit for the late stops, both in the fourth quarter and in OT.

This is a very salient point. The Bills' D actually stopped the Ravens on four consecutive drives at the end of the 4th Q and OT. Even after the fumble and 15-yard penalty, they held the Ravens to 8 yards and the FG attempt. Yes, they sucked for most of the game, but at crunch time they stepped up.

[C.Biscuit97]

Fact - There's not a QB who is tougher or plays harder than Ryan Fitzpatrick. He gets every ounce of his ability and is making a great career as a NFL QB despite his limitations.

 

His mentality is why so people play football and graduate from Harvard and why others jsut B word and whine all day on a message board. Love Fitz and if we had 53 of him, we'd be in great shape.

[Orton's Arm]

This is what impressed me the most watching the replay of the game on Game Rewind--how quickly he made decisions, how he knew just where to throw the ball, and how often he beat the blitz. He did make the o-line look good (and I suspect Trent Edwards made them look worse than they are, even though I hoped he had improved at the season's start).

 

He really RAN that offense, and got everybody on the same page. He's not the tallest or most physically talented QB, but in this last stretch of games he has shown a real head for the game, which counts for more than being 6'5" or having a big arm.

 

I would think, as someone said above, this should begin to pay dividends as defenses discover they can't stack the box or blitz on every play and get away with it.

 

Now if only the D could hold somebody under 20 points (though the Ravens did score 17 points after turnovers--the TDs before and after halftime, and the field goal in OT--so maybe even the D has some hope).

I agree 100% with what you've written about Fitz! He's clearly playing the game at a much higher level than I'd thought he could. If he keeps this up, I'll have to start thinking about changing my screen name!

 

I'd just like to add to what you've written about the offensive line. Bell is playing much better football this season than he did last year. He's also reached the point where he can play all the snaps, instead of being a rotational player as he'd been earlier in the season. (Early in the season, he was a little out of shape because of the injury.) At RT, getting Green off the field worked wonders right there. Add to that the fact that Green's replacement--Howard--had a good game. Fitz clearly makes the OL look better than it is. At the same time, the line is a lot better now than it had been at the beginning of the season--especially at the tackle positions.

 

As scary as it is to say, the Bills have a guy who's coaching like a real offensive coordinator, a guy who's playing as though he's a real quarterback, an offensive line that (for the most part) is playing like a real line, and receivers that are playing like real receivers. Not too shabby an improvement over a few weeks ago!