Why Fitz's first INT represents him as a QB

[HeHateMe]

I think his whole losing career and awful football resume represents him just fine as the QB he is..

[K-9]

I totally understand the point you are making and against man coverage I think it is a throw he can make. But when someone is sitting in a zone reading the QB/WR, it doesn't matter when he throws it, the time given to Revis to react would still be the same.

 

Then how do you explain all the times he's made that throw with no problem? And against Revis?

 

When he throws it makes all the difference in the world and that's why that pass was late. That ball needed to be out of his hands before SJ made his break. It's routine. For some inexplicable reason, Fitz took three hitches before throwing. That is a mechanical breakdown and it was plain to see.

 

It's best we just agree to disagree I think.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[stony]

You could see that Johnson was open when Fitz made the throw. The problem is the ball floats in. Fitz can't throw hard enough to zip the ball to a receiver. Elite CBs like Revis can recover and make a play in the time it takes the ball to leave Fitz's hand to reach his target.

 

PTR

 

I thought he just threw it too late.

 

Then how do you explain all the times he's made that throw with no problem? And against Revis?

 

When he throws it makes all the difference in the world and that's why that pass was late. That ball needed to be out of his hands before SJ made his break. It's routine. For some inexplicable reason, Fitz took three hitches before throwing. That is a mechanical breakdown and it was plain to see.

 

It's best we just agree to disagree I think.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

That's what I'm thinking.

[Maury Ballstein]

I think his whole losing career and awful football resume represents him just fine as the QB he is..

 

 

 

Boom, lets look at his whole career.....his record does represent who he is. Freakpop we got it you think Fitz is a top 5 qb. There is a percentage of bills fans that think he's a bottom 5 qb.......Face the facts as ESPN would tell you at 4pm weekdays NUMBERS NEVER LIE. He is subpar at best and has way too many holes in his game IMO.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Ryan L Billz

[jonramz]

Then how do you explain all the times he's made that throw with no problem? And against Revis?

 

When he throws it makes all the difference in the world and that's why that pass was late. That ball needed to be out of his hands before SJ made his break. It's routine. For some inexplicable reason, Fitz took three hitches before throwing. That is a mechanical breakdown and it was plain to see.

 

It's best we just agree to disagree I think.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

I agree that we disagree.... but here's the thing, most of the time Revis is in man coverage vs Johnson and is watching the WR. Not playing zone and being able to watch the QB. In this situation Revis was literally 12 yards off the LOS at the snap and was in zone. When I watched the play live I thought the same thing as you in that the reason why the ball was picked off was that throw was late, I even said it to my friends watching it with me. But when I saw the overhead shot I saw that Revis was sitting back in Cover 6 (he had that deep quarter of the field), when a DB can sit back and drive forward on the football you really need to be sure you can get the ball there. At no point did Revis have to turn his hips to worry about being threatened deep.

 

BTW again I do not know the play call... but I wouldn't be surprised if on this particular play SJ has an option reading the DB on whether or not to take the route deep on a fly or to break it off at a comeback. Fitz might have needed to see SJ break before he could throw the football.

 

I do enjoy the discussion with you and appreciate the respectful way you are presenting your points. After all we all are Bills fans in the end and just want them to win

 

-Jon

 

 

 

 

Boom, lets look at his whole career.....his record does represent who he is. Freakpop we got it you think Fitz is a top 5 qb. Face the facts as ESPN would tell you at 4pm weekdays NUMBERS NEVER LIE. He is subpar at best and has way too many holes in his game.

 

Personally I think he is an average QB and the best QB we've had since the 1st season of Bledsoe (which is really sad)

[FreakPop]

Boom, lets look at his whole career.....his record does represent who he is. Freakpop we got it you think Fitz is a top 5 qb. There is a percentage of bills fans that think he's a bottom 5 qb.......Face the facts as ESPN would tell you at 4pm weekdays NUMBERS NEVER LIE. He is subpar at best and has way too many holes in his game IMO.

 

Nope, not at all. Middle of the road is what I think and I just don't think he is as bad as everyone is trying to make him out to be.

 

If they can upgrade the QB position i'm all for it. It's just there isn't a Manning, Brees, Brady sitting around waiting to be traded or currently unemployed looking for a phone call from the Bills. All the bellyaching for Fitz to be replaced by TJ or VY isn't the answer as that would be a lateral move at best, and all the useless and endless threads trying to spin how bad Fitz is, are just idiotic ways of trying to stir the pot. They are non productive.

Edited September 13, 2012 by FreakPop

[mattsox]

Basically his first pick represents all the good and bad things about him as a QB.

 

Guy is smart enough to make the correct read but just doesnt have the physical tools to get the ball to where it needed to be.

 

More in-depth analysis at the link below.

 

http://yardsperpass.com/?p=107

 

-Jon

 

I agree with this analysis. He's going to have to be almost perfect for the Bills go anywhere. I now believe we're gonna have to do whatever it takes to go grab a #1 QB in the draft in 2013.

[HeHateMe]

^^That is why you have to draft a QB.. something this regime hasn't done in it's 3 years.

[Maybe Someday]

 

BTW again I do not know the play call... but I wouldn't be surprised if on this particular play SJ has an option reading the DB on whether or not to take the route deep on a fly or to break it off at a comeback. Fitz might have needed to see SJ break before he could throw the football.

 

 

I really hope this is not the case as you can’t run a read and react go rout vs. a hitch against most corners much less against Revis. Meaning, if the route has an option to either be a hitch or a go, that has to be decided before the snap, not after the play has started. You can have a route that may either break in or out depending on the defender but with those the QB can still lead the WR after seeing which way he cut. I don’t think it matters how strong your arm is…if you wait until the received breaks to an out hitch before ever throwing the ball, it’s going to get picked quite often. Stevie was open and he had to wait an eternity for the ball to get there. Either the timing was off or there was some kind of miscommunication. Who knows, maybe Fitz was going to throw it, decided not to and then changed his mind again. I still chalk it up to a bad decision by Fitz.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

 

 

You could see that Johnson was open when Fitz made the throw. The problem is the ball floats in. Fitz can't throw hard enough to zip the ball to a receiver. Elite CBs like Revis can recover and make a play in the time it takes the ball to leave Fitz's hand to reach his target.

 

PTR

 

The Pass was on target and late. Stevie was 5 yards into his break already. Take that little pat of the ball before the throw and it is a catch with revis arriveing late for the push out of bounds.

 

QB coach needs to fix that one.

 

The second pick was either a timing or accuracy problem. I don't know how anyone outside of ONE bills drive knows which.

[JESSEFEFFER]

Mistimed, misfired (accuracy) or misread. I think we saw one of each type. When watching the broadcast replay of the 1st interception, I thought Stevie ran a lazy route. It looked like an out that was run with a bend rather than a driving break. Sure the throw was late but I think Revis was eating up the cushion before the release. Alas, I have no inclination to rewatch it to see if this impression would still remain the same. By the way, if true, I can see where having a having a gimpy groin might cause a receiver to run a pattern that way.

 

I think the 3rd pick is typical in the sense that it was a presnap read that went awry. Teams know Fitz does alot of his decision making presnap so they can bait him into thinking he can make certain throws. What looked like press/man coverage became roll/zone and Fitz did not look to see if his presnap read was legit. It's like the zone/blitz pick that Pace made last year. Personally, I do not think the Bills defense does enough of this type of presnap disguise of coverage.

 

By the way, the Bills defense forced three fumbles that the Jets managed to recover. That's pretty much a matter of luck. It's a much different discussion if they went the other way. Hey, the Bills lost to a good team on the road. They played like crap in all phases of the game but were still within two possessions of the lead with 5+ minutes to go and were attempting an onside kick. No need to panic. Losing to the Chiefs at home would be a legit reason to pull the alarm and yell "Fire!!" But, as of now, I am still in on 10 and 6.

[Orton's Arm]

I don't see it as stating an opinion. I read it as the OP has stated it as factual because he has seemed to figure the game of football and Fitz out. But thanks for playing, Trent's muscle!

He didn't come across that way to me. I saw the OP express agreement with the analysis expressed in an article.

 

My own perspective is slightly different than the one expressed in the article. I think that Fitz is usually good at making decisions, even if he didn't look that way against the Jets. Where he falls short is his accuracy.

 

But! If lack of arm strength was the main reason for that lack of accuracy, then you'd expect him to at least be accurate on shorter throws. One of the reasons Montana lasted until the third round was because he didn't have the world's strongest arm. But Montana was very accurate! Fitz is not, and has never been. Fitz's short throws are nowhere near Montana-like in accuracy; and neither are his intermediate or deep throws. Sure, Fitz's lack of arm strength may be exacerbating his lack of accuracy on deep throws, or on throws to the far sideline. But even if you could give Fitz a Mallett-like arm, he would not become an accurate QB.

[OldTimer1960]

I am 67, and I learned a long time ago......you are never really as good as you look on your best day, and not as bad as you look on your worst day. Fitz had a worst day...there will be better days.

 

I WANT to believe that, but I think we saw 7 or 8 "worst" days to end last season, too. I am afraid that is a pretty bad trend that it is very hard to ignore.

 

I hate to say it, because I want to root for him, but I believe last week and the last half of last season are more representative of his abilities than the surprising and uncharacteristic hot start

that he had last year (which was fueled by a unsustainably high number of turnovers by the Bills' defense).

[Orton's Arm]

I WANT to believe that, but I think we saw 7 or 8 "worst" days to end last season, too. I am afraid that is a pretty bad trend that it is very hard to ignore.

 

I hate to say it, because I want to root for him, but I believe last week and the last half of last season are more representative of his abilities than the surprising and uncharacteristic hot start that he had last year (which was fueled by a unsustainably high number of turnovers by the Bills' defense).

 

Good post.

 

Just to add to what you've written: Fitz's hot start to last season was fueled by several factors:

• The Bills' defense's unsustainably high level of turnovers (as you mentioned)
  
• The fact that the Bills faced a lot of really bad pass defenses early in the year.
  
• The fact that defenses hadn't yet caught up to Chan's new style of offense. That began changing when the Bills faced the Bengals.

 

Chan's new style of offense looked to me like an attempt to use Fitz's good decision-making to compensate for his lack of accuracy. To succeed in that particular offense, a QB had to make the right pre- and post-snap reads (which Fitz is usually good at). The throws themselves were typically not all that difficult.

[FanofFredJackson]

Basically his first pick represents all the good and bad things about him as a QB.

 

Guy is smart enough to make the correct read but just doesnt have the physical tools to get the ball to where it needed to be.

 

More in-depth analysis at the link below.

 

http://yardsperpass.com/?p=107

 

-Jon

 

I thought Fitz was a much better QB before the team gave him his 59 million dollar contract. Since signing that contract, how many games has he won?

[Maury Ballstein]

Good post.

 

Just to add to what you've written: Fitz's hot start to last season was fueled by several factors:

• The Bills' defense's unsustainably high level of turnovers (as you mentioned)
  
• The fact that the Bills faced a lot of really bad pass defenses early in the year.
  
• The fact that defenses hadn't yet caught up to Chan's new style of offense. That began changing when the Bills faced the Bengals.
  

Chan's new style of offense looked to me like an attempt to use Fitz's good decision-making to compensate for his lack of accuracy. To succeed in that particular offense, a QB had to make the right pre- and post-snap reads (which Fitz is usually good at). The throws themselves were typically not all that difficult.

 

 

 

This is the law in my eyes......I couldn't have said it better......Piss poor pass defenses and the lockout made all qb's solid the first 3-4 weeks.....ayyyyy, at least someone made 60 mil over that. We can dump him after wasting 2 more seasons though. No big deal

[Orton's Arm]

I thought Fitz was a much better QB before the team gave him his 59 million dollar contract. Since signing that contract, how many games has he won?

The contract wasn't the problem.

 

During Bledsoe's first eight games in a Bills uniform, he looked like a Hall of Fame QB. Then Bill Belichick came to town and unveiled the solution to Bledsoe. After the ball is snapped, Bledsoe takes over a full second longer to see what Tom Brady sees. The solution to Bledsoe is therefore to send pressure up the middle. Make him do something he's not good at (making quick decisions). Rattle him. Once the solution to Bledsoe had been unveiled, he never looked like the same quarterback again.

 

Losman had some good games in 2006. But then defensive coordinators began to find the solution to Losman: take away the long bomb, and make him beat you with his underneath attack. Once the solution to Losman had been found, he went from putting up somewhat credible starter numbers to a guy who's currently out of the league.

 

Fitz's first five games of last season came before any team (except the Bengals) had identified the solution to him. That solution has now been found: before the snap, give a misleading impression of what the defense will actually do. After the snap, disrupt or tightly cover shorter routes, and dare Fitz to beat you with his intermediate and deep game. Now that the solution to Fitz has been identified, he will never again have a five game stretch like the one with which he started 2011.

[Orton's Arm]

 

 

 

This is the law in my eyes......I couldn't have said it better......Piss poor pass defenses and the lockout made all qb's solid the first 3-4 weeks.....ayyyyy, at least someone made 60 mil over that. We can dump him after wasting 2 more seasons though. No big deal

Thanks!