Scrappy Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick joked earlier that he might be in the only profession in which his much respected Harvard degree could actually be regarded as a negative. My link Not a bad season here: Fitzpatrick, 28, started 13 games for the Bills in 2010, passed for exactly 3,000 yards, and had 23 touchdown passes — all career bests. The 3,000 yards were more than those thrown by David Garrard, Brett Favre and Jason Campbell. As unlikely as some might consider it, Fitzpatrick's 23 touchdown passes were more than 14 quarterbacks who started at least 10 regular-season games last year. His 81.8 passer rating was better than that of a half-dozen starters. Yet Fitzpatrick, a five-year veteran who is with his third team since 2005, and who might have the dreaded "journeyman" label unfortunately and unfairly dogging him, can probably stroll down the middle of Genesee Street in Buffalo anonymously. COngrats to Fitz on the baby, I really didn't know: Less than an hour after the lockout was imposed by owners, he and wife Liza welcomed their third child, daughter Lucy Violet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Gun Special Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 not a terribly good season either. Lots of TDs but still only a passer rating better than 6 starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappy Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 not a terribly good season either. Lots of TDs but still only a passer rating better than 6 starters. If any other of those 6 people ahead of him had this bad a O-line, they would be hospitalized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangarang Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 If any other of those 6 people ahead of him had this bad a O-line, they would be hospitalized. Our o-line was better at pass blocking than run blocking. I think it's a little exaggerated at how bad our line was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 What did he earn his degree in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappy Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 What did he earn his degree in? Semantics, LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Helmet of Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 What did he earn his degree in? Economics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T master Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 (edited) not a terribly good season either. Lots of TDs but still only a passer rating better than 6 starters. Maybe not a great season but look at what he had to work with !! You make a couple of moves on the O line to give the guy consistent time to look over the field & not be hurried as much as he was & you have another 7 or 8 TD's along with a higher QB rating . Then couple that with the additions we have made on the defense !! Just think of how many games that we lost by 3 points ???? Baltimore , Pittsburgh , Kansas City , & there's one more but i can't remember but if the D was stout enough to hold just those games in points we go 8 & 8 last year & don't wind up getting Dareus . So i think with the FA they have brought in last season to bolster the O line along with the possibilities of UDFA if this lock out BS stops . I think this year (if there is one) wehave a great chance of going 9 & 7 or 10 & 6 & going to the play offs !! Go Bills !!! Edited May 22, 2011 by T master Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Improvement in our run game is the most important factor in improving our passing offense. Simply stated...our run blocking was putrid. While we weren't the absolute worst rushing offense in the league (ranked 18th), we only scored 6 rushing touchdowns....and we fumbled it 11 times. I am hoping, depending of course on whether we have free agency, that we make a good acquisition to improve our offensive line. We need a big, NASTY, road-grader of a RT. Tyson Clabo would be a phenomenal addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Gun Special Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Maybe not a great season but look at what he had to work with !! You make a couple of moves on the O line to give the guy consistent time to look over the field & not be hurried as much as he was & you have another 7 or 8 TD's along with a higher QB rating . Then couple that with the additions we have made on the defense !! Just think of how many games that we lost by 3 points ???? Baltimore , Pittsburgh , Kansas City , & there's one more but i can't remember but if the D was stout enough to hold just those games in points we go 8 & 8 last year & don't wind up getting Dareus . So i think with the FA they have brought in last season to bolster the O line along with the possibilities of UDFA if this lock out BS stops . I think this year (if there is one) wehave a great chance of going 9 & 7 or 10 & 6 & going to the play offs !! Go Bills !!! I disagree. For example aaron rodgers was running for his life a good amount of the time but he is much better quarterback. Fitz was one of the lesser sacked QBs in the league... so lets not just say his O line sucked. Bradford threw the same amount of picks as a rookie with a terrible o line, and on about 150 more pass attempts. We can continue to blame everyone else but lets just understand Fitz is what he is, we cant close our eyes and pretend he's something more. I know he doesnt have the best weapons, but how many threads are there right now about how awesome our WRs are going to be this year? Listen, Fitz is just a journeyman QB who had a better than normal year. This is not the awakening of the next heir to the QB throne in Buffalo. You can blame the D, and they are certainly part of the problem, but dont forget Fitz threw for more TD's than INT's in a game only 5 times last year. and we only won 3 of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I disagree. For example aaron rodgers was running for his life a good amount of the time but he is much better quarterback. Fitz was one of the lesser sacked QBs in the league... so lets not just say his O line sucked. Bradford threw the same amount of picks as a rookie with a terrible o line, and on about 150 more pass attempts. We can continue to blame everyone else but lets just understand Fitz is what he is, we cant close our eyes and pretend he's something more. I know he doesnt have the best weapons, but how many threads are there right now about how awesome our WRs are going to be this year? Listen, Fitz is just a journeyman QB who had a better than normal year. This is not the awakening of the next heir to the QB throne in Buffalo. You can blame the D, and they are certainly part of the problem, but dont forget Fitz threw for more TD's than INT's in a game only 5 times last year. and we only won 3 of them. Yeah c'mon everybody, let's hate on Fitz. He's crap and you all know it. Stop kidding ouselves. He's not Jim Kelly. Let's all get stuck on the old K-Gun days and whenever something good is noted about Fitz let's dismiss it and cry about not having a HOF QB. Why can't we all just sh*t on Fitz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I disagree. For example aaron rodgers was running for his life a good amount of the time but he is much better quarterback. Fitz was one of the lesser sacked QBs in the league... so lets not just say his O line sucked. #1,Rodgers' line run blocked better and Fitz ran well out of a lot of sacks. Fitz had no functioning RT (most of the year) and a lot of injuries on the line to deal with. Bradford threw the same amount of picks as a rookie with a terrible o line, and on about 150 more pass attempts. We can continue to blame everyone else but lets just understand Fitz is what he is, we cant close our eyes and pretend he's something more. #2 Bradford started all 16 games and was the starter from training camp, he is no where near as mobile and I expect that the Cards actually have a slightly better set of tackles, not to mention Steven Jackson's 1700 all purpose yards. I know he doesnt have the best weapons, but how many threads are there right now about how awesome our WRs are going to be this year? #3 I think any thread that touts our WRs is at least partially to Fitz's credit Listen, Fitz is just a journeyman QB who had a better than normal year. This is not the awakening of the next heir to the QB throne in Buffalo. #4 I will give him a year to see what he can do with a better (should be anyways) team, he could be the man you and I just don't know that, he definitely grew last year and showed a lot more ability than anyone gave him credit for before You can blame the D, and they are certainly part of the problem, but dont forget Fitz threw for more TD's than INT's in a game only 5 times last year. and we only won 3 of them. #5 I do blame the D, I think maybe Fitz lost one on his own, SJ did too if I remember right. The rest yeah it was the D mostly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWings Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick joked earlier that he might be in the only profession in which his much respected Harvard degree could actually be regarded as a negative. My link Good - let's over-analyze something else now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Gun Special Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Yeah c'mon everybody, let's hate on Fitz. He's crap and you all know it. Stop kidding ouselves. He's not Jim Kelly. Let's all get stuck on the old K-Gun days and whenever something good is noted about Fitz let's dismiss it and cry about not having a HOF QB. Why can't we all just sh*t on Fitz? Its not about crapping on Fitz, or as Bowery did make an excuse for any negative point on his ability. There are too many people praising him as the next franchise/answer for QB. True, there are too many saying he's craptastic. I expect we will get more of the same Fitz this year, good yardage, decent amount of TDs and INTs. He has a Favre mentality with a Ivy League arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 #1,Rodgers' line run blocked better and Fitz ran well out of a lot of sacks. Fitz had no functioning RT (most of the year) and a lot of injuries on the line to deal with. #2 Bradford started all 16 games and was the starter from training camp, he is no where near as mobile and I expect that the Cards actually have a slightly better set of tackles, not to mention Steven Jackson's 1700 all purpose yards. #3 I think any thread that touts our WRs is at least partially to Fitz's credit #4 I will give him a year to see what he can do with a better (should be anyways) team, he could be the man you and I just don't know that, he definitely grew last year and showed a lot more ability than anyone gave him credit for before #5 I do blame the D, I think maybe Fitz lost one on his own, SJ did too if I remember right. The rest yeah it was the D mostly #1 Buffalo averaged 4.3 yards per carry, tied for 10th in the NFL, whereas Green Bay averaged 3.7, which was 25th. In no way did Green Bay's line run block better than Buffalo's. #2 With respect, I'm not sure what your argument is...the other poster had a valid point about Fitz's interceptions; whether it's the result of needing to force plays or not, he gets too aggressive with the ball and throws picks. #3 Agreed #4 I'll leave room for the possibility that he could be the man, but I'm definitely more convinced that he's a stop-gap guy than a franchise QB. #5 Total team effort last year, all-around we weren't very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Its not about crapping on Fitz, or as Bowery did make an excuse for any negative point on his ability. There are too many people praising him as the next franchise/answer for QB. True, there are too many saying he's craptastic. I expect we will get more of the same Fitz this year, good yardage, decent amount of TDs and INTs. He has a Favre mentality with a Ivy League arm. Yeah that bomb to Stevie in OT against Pittsburgh was an Ivy League heave for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 (edited) Kgun Yeah you see it as excuses and I see it as Fitz had the best season of any QB in a Bills uni is years. My support of him is because he may and IMO should keep improving. Even his accuracy was better last year and I know he throws bad passes at times, who doesn't? I never said he was anywhere as good as Rodgers. I just think he is getting better. If he tanks it this year I want a franchice guy as much as anyone (hell even if he is great it doesn't hurt to draft a great QB, who can argue that?). And really he reminds me of Kemp, I just like him, you don't. I get it. Bandit, hmmmm 2 halves to a season (and GB did much better at rushing the ball in the 2nd half) even with that the Bills only out rushed the Pack by 100 or so yards on the year and 6 yards a game. I don't know how a half of yard average makes for a difference of 15 spots in total but it does show you how much more important GBs passing game was. Also, he compared Fitz to a rookie on another team saying see Fitz sucks more than this rook, I just was giving my opinion that the comparison was flawed for the reasons I stated (in my first post). I think his intent is to just say how crappy Fitz is based on his statement that "lets just understand Fitz is what he is, we cant close our eyes and pretend he's something more." I understand about his throwing bad balls sometimes and hope that will improve with a better run game (i.e. the one Stafford has) and overall line play (as evidenced by Fitz's stats under pressure vs not, in a thread on here recently). Lastly I think it was mostly the D, I think the O had a bad few games but kept us in it more than the D most weeks. The team in general needs improvement and maybe Fitz is stopgap but I hope he is more than that. I also think they are addressing the issues though (new coach and better guys should help on D). I hope they make some decent FA moves if there is a season to help the O too. Personally, I prefer to see the glass 1/2 full. Edited May 24, 2011 by bowery4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K Gun Special Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Yeah that bomb to Stevie in OT against Pittsburgh was an Ivy League heave for sure. It was a great pass for sure. But not a bomb, it was 50 yards. Fitz is limited by his arm strength. Greg Cosell, a highly regarded NFL man, regularly cited by King in MMQB, has the same opinion on Fitz's arm. """Fitzpatrick: Aggressive mindset, Willing to make stick throws in tight windows, Erratic accuracy, Undisciplined w/footwork + balance""""" He is inaccurate. Bowery, I understand your points. He did have the best season in years for a bills qb and i think that skews the analysis. I just dont think many QBs have that much improvement when they are 29 years old. His limitations are physical not mental or i would think differently. I just dont think he will improve his accuracy. Its not about the occasional bad throw, its about too many bad throws. I compared him to other qbs for several purposes. One was Rodgers, who had just as bad pass protection and still enjoyed success. There are other teams with just as bad pass protection but are able to succeed. We cannot wait for a Pats like line giving our QB ten mintues to throw to be successful. See also Pitt. I also compared him to Bradford. Yes he had a run game, but as a rookie put up very similar numbers to Fitz, who some are touting as the answer here. My point is not to simply say he "sucks" but to note that he is a band aid or a stop gap until we can find someone better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Haven't we fretted over Fitzy's Harvard lambskin enough? http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/124851-fitzs-harvard-degree/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts