folz Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Honestly, I'm not trying to rub it in to those on the opposite side of the off-season Fitz accuracy debate (I'm glad we're all on this ride together, it's been a long time coming for all of us), but those discussions crossed my mind as I looked at Fitz's stats (especially the people who were so sure that Fitz could never better his, at the time, career 58%). Sure it's only 3 games so far, but Fitz is completing 64.9% of his passes (and that's with a bunch of drops too---Jones, Martin, Smith, that I can remember). Go Fitzaccurate!
JESSEFEFFER Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Honestly, I'm not trying to rub it in to those on the opposite side of the off-season Fitz accuracy debate (I'm glad we're all on this ride together, it's been a long time coming for all of us), but those discussions crossed my mind as I looked at Fitz's stats (especially the people who were so sure that Fitz could never better his, at the time, career 58%). Sure it's only 3 games so far, but Fitz is completing 64.9% of his passes (and that's with a bunch of drops too---Jones, Martin, Smith, that I can remember). Go Fitzaccurate! He was hit something like 80+ times in his 13 games last year. That's 6 to 7 times per game where he was releasing the ball with a defender one step away or WHILE BEING TACKLED. The o-line has been great so far as I haven't noticed many "throw aways" by Fitz to avoid a sack. Just two throw aways a game would mean about 6% to his completion %.
Zulu Cthulhu Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 I would never have expected Fitz to improve his accuracy by such a big margin so far this year. But OP is right - there are ways to improve almost any QB's accuracy. Better protection, as Jess noted, is a big one. Switching offensive systems (or simply becoming more comfortable in an existing system), i think, is another. Fitz is flourishing in his 2nd year in Gailey's offense. He is a smart QB and can handle the progressions of the spread sets. The passing game seems focused on intermediate routes and short passes to our tailbacks, which suits Fitz, who has struggled with deep ball accuracy. The better pass protection along with a Gailey offense tailor-made to Fitz's strengths has equated to a huge boost in accuracy and an avalanche of points. I'm on board, but am still curious to see how they perform against a great defense.
Simon Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Not to be a nitpicking wanker; but that's completion percentage, not accuracy percentage. And completion percentage and accuracy have little to do with one another, imo. That being said, aside from the occasional wild pitch, Fitz has looked pretty accurate this year.
jr1 Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 A good weightlifting program can help with velocity and distance as well
Cotton Fitzsimmons Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Fitz seems to have really cut down on the wild throws. The other side of this, too, is even if he makes a few mistakes they seems to be able to make up for it. The offense has been moving the ball so consistently, if Fitz does throw a pick here and there it's not nearly as devastating as it would've been in past seasons.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 OP is correct. He said that there were a lot of people dogging Fitz because of his low completion percentage. He didn't ask for reasons why it has improved.
BiggieScooby Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Baseball pitchers are always dealing with accuracy and measuring it. I am shocked that with all the money spent on football there is no internal rating system other than completion percentage that goes into what we determine is accuracy. Tom Brady has made a career throwing passes that travel through the air less than 10 yards, but its because he is so deadly accurate that he has separated himself from other passers.
reddogblitz Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 The passing game seems focused on intermediate routes and short passes to our tailbacks, which suits Fitz, who has struggled with deep ball accuracy. I hear this frequently about Fitz and his "deep ball accuracy". first play of the game vs Patsies was pretty darn long as well as the one to Jones on the last drive. And, he does hold the Buffalo Bills franchise record for longest TD pass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfAHZ4KJ5uE Another one comes to mind, "the drop" in the Pittsburgh game. The Jacksonville one went over 55 yards in the air and hit TO right in the bread basket in mid stride. Can't get much better than that. Fitz can throw the long ball well.
folz Posted September 28, 2011 Author Posted September 28, 2011 Not to be a nitpicking wanker; but that's completion percentage, not accuracy percentage. And completion percentage and accuracy have little to do with one another, imo. That being said, aside from the occasional wild pitch, Fitz has looked pretty accurate this year. Point taken...should have said accuracy/completion percentage (meaning both). His completion percentage is up 7.1% thus far from last year, some didn't think he could improve that much. And I think his accuracy has been great too. How many times are his passes behind the receiver, or sailing too high over the middle, etc. Very rarely. He's hitting guys in the hands or the numbers, putting it out in front of them so they can run after the catch.
Meathead Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 fitz is playing great. but ... - i will be surprised if he ends up over 60% for the season. he still is throwing passes in the dirt and into the gatorade table. theres just something about his ability that appears to doom him to having a few wtf was that throws every game - that decision to throw into double coverage in the endzone, and then to throw a duck, that got picked before it was negated on a flimsy pass interference call was horrendous. at this point in his career he really should NEVER make the choice to throw that ball. heres hoping hes kicking himself and realizes he got SUPER LUCKY the cheaters didnt get the ball on their twenty and drive right down to go up by 14 (their trademark btw)
The Buffalo Kid Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 More throws to Nelson and Chandler. 6'5 and 6'7, bigger wingspans can get those balls that float high. I can think of a few picks last year where Fitz missed high and it bounced off fingertips. Receivers with basketball size = more receptions when a throw sails high.
Boludo Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Fitz in fact has good accuracy. Every once in a while, though, a ball simply gets away from him. Also he will occasionally just make a really bad choice, like one of the near picks against Oakland or that deep ball this week to Nelson that drew the pass interference. So, yah, one gets away here and there and there are also some bad choices, but when he puts a nice throw on the ball it usually ends up right where he's aiming.
bowery4 Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 Improved line play = better qb play. I said it last year. You don't see many bad Oline's with good QB #s.
Alaska Darin Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 I think it's probably easier to be more accurate when you're regularly throwing the ball to WIDE OPEN receivers. There have been more guys running free the first 3 games of this season than probably the last 5 seasons combined. The BILLS are confusing the hell out of defenses with both scheme and formation and Fitz is the direct beneficiary.
TPS Posted September 28, 2011 Posted September 28, 2011 It helps when you know your receivers better too. How does one know whether the ball was thrown poorly or the receiver made a mistake? Don't discount the fact that Fitz hosted the WRs for his mini camps, and they are all in the second year of Gailey's system.
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