Another opinion on Fitz

[NoSaint]

Everything the coaching staff saw from Thigpen in preseason, practices, and meetings apparently made them feel an injured Fitz still gave them a better shot at winning.

 

to be fair, he only had about a month going into the season - it wasnt like he was signed and given a playbook 6 months prior to the season. he also gave chan enough confidence in extended playing time under him to bring him in on a 3 year deal with good money for a backup. that and enough confidence not to chase another guy on the open market (like a jason campbell).

 

theres both reason to be skeptical, and optimistic with the situation. we will see. im worried about him but wouldnt say the entire book on the kid was written last year.

[GG]

 

theres both reason to be skeptical, and optimistic with the situation. we will see. im worried about him but wouldnt say the entire book on the kid was written last year.

 

You're right, the book on Thigpen wasn't only written last year. He has several years of NFL futility.

[BillsWatch]

Right, but didn't Jim Kelly think Trent Edwards was good, or something?

 

I like Fitz, and I love what he showed us the first half of the year. But still, we need more results than that, so hopefully he can put together a full season like he's shown us he's capable of. If he can't this year, then we really need to look at other options.

 

Edwards WAS good. That game in Arizona changed him. He got beat up physically in college but never got injured like that. Some players are able to recover from it but he was constantly anticipating hit before it got there and his game was ruined.

[John from Riverside]

Fitzy is no different then a multitude of other starting QB's not named Brady, Manning, Farve, etc etc

 

They cannot carry a team without a supporting cast.....give Fitz targets, time, and a running game.....and you will see the Fitz of the 1st half of the season when fans were talking about him as a pro bowl QB (and yes....at tht time there were threads discussing this because of his gaudy QB numbers)

 

We took on injuries.....defenses adapted to us......and our defense failed us. by the way....when defenses adapt to what you are doing offensively your DEFENSE HAS TO STEP UP and get stops while the offense makes its adjustments to what the defense is doing.

[Captain Hindsight]

Edwards WAS good. That game in Arizona changed him. He got beat up physically in college but never got injured like that. Some players are able to recover from it but he was constantly anticipating hit before it got there and his game was ruined.

He was great in that San Diego game just two weeks later

[CodeMonkey]

by the way....when defenses adapt to what you are doing offensively your DEFENSE HAS TO STEP UP and get stops while the offense makes its adjustments to what the defense is doing.

Having the offense actually adjust like you stated needs to happen as well. I didn't see that at all last season. Hopefully we will this season.

[yungmack]

Keep in mind that Fitz QB-ed at Harvard. That's a nice enough college program but hardly a football factory. And certainly not a place where you're going to get highly specialized coaching meant to prepare you for an NFL career. That he even wound up in the NFL is a heck of a personal accomplishment. Then he spent several years as a backup, where you are not the coaches focus. When he finally gets the starter role, it's under an interim coach. The next season, he begins as the backup once again, then is suddenly elevated on the fly to starter. Finally, last season he's the designated starter and what happens? No off season interaction with the coaching staff until the labor contract was finalized. So, whatever good we've seen with Fitz has come with a fairly minimal amount to top level coaching interaction, and even that has been intermittent because of circumstances. This season we should see what a full year of focused coaching can do, including the addition of Lee to work with him. Or, to put it another way, this is the real make or break year for Fitz.

[#34fan]

Guy can say what he wants. -Crazy-talk is also protected by the constitution.

Edited April 23, 2012 by #34fan

[Lurker]

Fitzy is no different then a multitude of other starting QB's not named Brady, Manning, Farve, etc etc

 

They cannot carry a team without a supporting cast.....give Fitz targets, time, and a running game.....and you will see the Fitz of the 1st half of the season when fans were talking about him as a pro bowl QB (and yes....at tht time there were threads discussing this because of his gaudy QB numbers)

 

We took on injuries.....defenses adapted to us......and our defense failed us. by the way....when defenses adapt to what you are doing offensively your DEFENSE HAS TO STEP UP and get stops while the offense makes its adjustments to what the defense is doing.

Yeah, that sums up my feeling as well. The depth chart is still being expanded/molded and a good draft will go a long way toward telling us what we have in Fitz.

[CardinalScotts]

Charlie Batch played and won for them last season.

 

if your starting qb gets injured like almost every other team your not going to win much...as for Pittsburgh - big difference when you can win games with 20-17-14-13-13-10 points

[Alphadawg7]

Fitzy is no different then a multitude of other starting QB's not named Brady, Manning, Farve, etc etc

 

They cannot carry a team without a supporting cast.....give Fitz targets, time, and a running game.....and you will see the Fitz of the 1st half of the season when fans were talking about him as a pro bowl QB (and yes....at tht time there were threads discussing this because of his gaudy QB numbers)

 

We took on injuries.....defenses adapted to us......and our defense failed us. by the way....when defenses adapt to what you are doing offensively your DEFENSE HAS TO STEP UP and get stops while the offense makes its adjustments to what the defense is doing.

 

A running game? How can you say that, we have one of the best backfields in football, if not the best overall. Both FJ and CJ averaged over 5 yards per carry last year, how much better of a running game do we need to have for it not to be an excuse for Fitz? Do we need a back field of Barry Sanders and Walter Payton? We didnt have a more dominant running game because we kept throwing and going 3 and out, but we were highly effective when we ran. Unfortunately we ran into 3rd and long way too much because of missed throws, bad sacks, short throws for little to no gain, etc. on downs 1 and 2. And he was inconsistent even when he had time...our OL wasn't that bad last year despite all the injuries.

 

And the further we get from the first half of the season the more exaggerated it gets. People forget he twice gave the game away to the Raiders with INT's in the endzone that the Raiders just dropped before we got the 3rd attempt and go ahead TD...or the NE game the week after where he threw what should have been a likely game ending INT in the endzone on a woefully underthrown ball, but was again bailed out by an unrelated PI call that wouldn't have affected the outcome of the play. We then got a second chance and capitalized on it, which is great, but eventually those breaks stop coming and then you lose games and lead the league in turnovers (see rest of year).

 

Point is, in the first half of the season we were given lots of breaks with an uncharacteristic number of turnovers we got (like picking Brady and Vick off 4 times each, and we needed every single one to pull those games out) and a lot of lucky breaks on some very bad throws by Fitz.

 

Yes, Fitz played very well at times, but his first half of the season performance was not nearly as legendary as people hype up on here. Fitz has still never put it together for a full season, is very streaky, and again was among the league leaders in INT's.

 

As far as the OP comments...For every football expert that thinks we are fine at QB, there are experts who feel he is not the answer at QB. I would love nothing more than to see Fitz prove me and all the doubters wrong as I like him as a person and some of his intangibles. I just want the Bills to win, but Fitz just hasn't shown me he can be more of an asset than a liability consistently enough.

Edited April 23, 2012 by Alphadawg7

[Optometric Insight]

I don't honestly see why that many people hate on Fitz. He has a different style for QB, he's a gunslinger. He's not like "the Brady" who acts like a ballerina in the pocket, he's way tougher than that. Reminds me of Farve

[Alphadawg7]

I don't honestly see why that many people hate on Fitz. He has a different style for QB, he's a gunslinger. He's not like "the Brady" who acts like a ballerina in the pocket, he's way tougher than that. Reminds me of Farve

 

And what makes him tougher than Brady? The only games Brady has missed are when his knee was bent backwards and it was blown out. Do you know how many other games Brady has missed as a starter other than the one major injury? Zero...so, come on, I get you hate Brady and love Fitz, but Brady has been the pillar of iron man just like Manning with the one exception of having his knee folded in half on one fluke play.

 

The attempted lore of Fitzmagic continues...

[eball]

 

The attempted lore of Fitzmagic continues...

As does the belief that one is a better "fan" by denigrating one's own team's players, and mucking up a thread about an outside (yet well informed) observer's opinions about the Bills' starting QB.

[Bronc24]

As does the belief that one is a better "fan" by denigrating one's own team's players, and mucking up a thread about an outside (yet well informed) observer's opinions about the Bills' starting QB.

 

I'm with the A-Dog here...comparing Fitz to Brady is like taking a McDonald's "hamburger" and comparing it to Kobe beef. It's nice that this guy thinks we have no worries, but I am choosing to wait and see because what I saw last season was not a QB who can take us to a Superbowl.

[Alphadawg7]

As does the belief that one is a better "fan" by denigrating one's own team's players, and mucking up a thread about an outside (yet well informed) observer's opinions about the Bills' starting QB.

 

Huh? Where did I say I was a better fan? What, because I differ in opinion of one of our own players I am somehow saying I am a better fan? Seriously, how do you even get to that conclusion?

 

And why is it on this board if you criticize Fitz you are classified as a "hater" or "not a true fan" (just like Trent lovers did too) because you are being to critical of a Bills player...yet those same people who are whining about it were the same ones constantly bashing Whitner, Maybin, Hardy, etc. Seems to me, they just resort to that kind of response because they don't have enough excuses to over come the product he produced overall on the field since being in Buffalo and need to resort to those levels to somehow prove the Fitzmagic.

 

Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong about Fitz, I just have yet see him do enough on the field to feel like his ceiling is much higher than what we have seen.

[You herd it hear last]

There are people who are not very confident in Fitz on this board and there are people who think he is good enough to lead this team back to an elite level. There is no point worrying about it and arguing about it. he will we our Qb this year. Fitz will be the one who makes it clearance this year if he's capable of being a great Qb or not. If he falters this year, it's time to look for the next starter. If he shows he can do the job and take the team to the next level, we should all be very happy. Barring injury, it's all on Fitz.

I think the worst that could happen is he plays just well enough to give us hope for the next year, and making things uncomfortable during the off season... Honestly I hope he either bombs out or lights it up... nothing in between please...

 

Not that I wanna see him bomb out... that would suck

 

 

So Just light it up fitz!

[Spun]

I would like to agree. I believe the Bills history of fielding a less than formidable offensive line has hindered the development of their QBs. At times it has appeared constant pass rush assaults have rendered whatever QB knowledge unrecognizable (Bledsoe,Losman, Edwards). A wall for an offensive line would be very, very nice! And different!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

You're right, but what if he does falter or is injured? We have no credible backup.

 

How can an organization go into yet another season with only one guy who can compete in the NFL and a questionable one at that?

 

Oh yeah, it's the Bills we are talking about.

 

Hopefully, they'll draft some kid who is ready to step up, but what are the odds of that?

 

It is a possibility that with a full offseason to learn the system and a full set of OTAs and camps, Thigpen might improve to the level of credibility.

I'm not saying it's a high probability, but give Lee and Gailey and Thigpen their due - it is possible, right?

[NewEra]

1335188707[/url]' post='2443304']

You're right, but what if he does falter or is injured? We have no credible backup.

 

How can an organization go into yet another season with only one guy who can compete in the NFL and a questionable one at that?

 

Oh yeah, it's the Bills we are talking about.

 

Hopefully, they'll draft some kid who is ready to step up, but what are the odds of that?

 

The same can be said for over 50% of the teams in the nfl. Most teams don't have backup qbs that have shown they compete in the nfl.

 

1335216587[/url]' post='2443832']

A running game? How can you say that, we have one of the best backfields in football, if not the best overall. Both FJ and CJ averaged over 5 yards per carry last year, how much better of a running game do we need to have for it not to be an excuse for Fitz? Do we need a back field of Barry Sanders and Walter Payton? We didnt have a more dominant running game because we kept throwing and going 3 and out, but we were highly effective when we ran. Unfortunately we ran into 3rd and long way too much because of missed throws, bad sacks, short throws for little to no gain, etc. on downs 1 and 2. And he was inconsistent even when he had time...our OL wasn't that bad last year despite all the injuries.

 

And the further we get from the first half of the season the more exaggerated it gets. People forget he twice gave the game away to the Raiders with INT's in the endzone that the Raiders just dropped before we got the 3rd attempt and go ahead TD...or the NE game the week after where he threw what should have been a likely game ending INT in the endzone on a woefully underthrown ball, but was again bailed out by an unrelated PI call that wouldn't have affected the outcome of the play. We then got a second chance and capitalized on it, which is great, but eventually those breaks stop coming and then you lose games and lead the league in turnovers (see rest of year).

 

Point is, in the first half of the season we were given lots of breaks with an uncharacteristic number of turnovers we got (like picking Brady and Vick off 4 times each, and we needed every single one to pull those games out) and a lot of lucky breaks on some very bad throws by Fitz.

 

Yes, Fitz played very well at times, but his first half of the season performance was not nearly as legendary as people hype up on here. Fitz has still never put it together for a full season, is very streaky, and again was among the league leaders in INT's.

 

As far as the OP comments...For every football expert that thinks we are fine at QB, there are experts who feel he is not the answer at QB. I would love nothing more than to see Fitz prove me and all the doubters wrong as I like him as a person and some of his intangibles. I just want the Bills to win, but Fitz just hasn't shown me he can be more of an asset than a liability consistently enough.

 

My thoughts exactly.