Fire David Lee!!!

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

Fritz's first "pass" attempt to Chandler say's it all about his so called mechanics, accuracy and most of all his "smarts". How many more times will we see that krap again this year from the Harvard genius?

Could not have said it better, an average HS QB makes that throw!

[The Voice of Truth]

Seeing as how you can't even spell "your" correctly, I stand by my original claim.

I know how to use "your" and "you're" properly, believe me. As you can see by reading this entire thread, I have been very active in responding to a lot of responses thoroughly, therefore I did not go back and proof read each post. I apologize for making a couple of grammar mistakes. Should I cite all of my sources next time in APA or MLA style for you too?

Edited September 18, 2012 by The Voice of Truth

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Just out of curiosity, who do you think I should be blaming?

 

Don't want to reprise post from another thread, I'm not happy with the WR performance myself. Briefly, I think we did "more with less" last year when Hixon was coaching. Bicknell has never coached WR in his career, never played WR. His major experience is as on offensive line coach, some as TE.

 

I didn't see the whole game myself, thus hesitate to 2nd guess people who were actually at the game (you?). It's a fact Fitz had 10 incompletions. According to the box score, 2 or 3 were drops (means they hit the receivers hands), 2 were "breakups" (headed for the receiver and the DB got in the way), one was tipped at the line. Thus we're talking about ~5 passes being errant.

 

I have watched games where I did not see one errant QB throw the entire game - these games are vastly outnumbered by games where the QB misfires short long or wide a handful of times.

 

Which two observations do lead me to wonder if all the "Fitz played badly" listing Fitz as a negative etc etc is not in essence, a hangover from last week? The guy threw 2 TD passes, had no fumbles or INTs, made some key throws - perhaps we should wait to fire Lee or take Fitz out to the trash, oh, I dunno - maybe until the 4th week of the season?

Edited September 18, 2012 by Hopeful

[Marv's Neighbor]

They guy's a Coach, not a miracle worker. Look at how much "coaching" Losman got and it didn't help very much at all

 

Before anyone gets fired, let's see what how it goes in Cleveland AND New England!

[benderbender]

How long do we have to wait until we can say Fitz has progressed as much as he will? 3 years? Done. 5 years? Why? He's shown us exactly what he was since he came here: a competent backup with occasional flashes of brilliance. His stats say that yet so many hope against logic that he'll hit some kind of growth spurt as a QB and become Peyton Manning Jr.

[ThurmasThoman]

I'm with you there. Trying to retrain someone who is that old is not going to happen.

 

lol.

 

"that old."

 

the guy is 30!

 

since turning 30, tiger has gone through TWO swing changes, and worked with 3 different swing coaches.

 

for tiger, it's always a matter of taking it from the range, to the course. he'll put a good number up on a friday, but then fall back a little on saturday.

 

then a month later, its 2 good rounds. then 3. then he's winning majors again.

 

same thing with fitz--a bad throw here, then 3 good ones, then a bad one. it's about developing muscle memory, but then being able to recreate that when the bullets are flying.

 

we DO have the number 4 ranked offense in the league right now, and we DID just win this week right? or did i miss something?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

he was driving me crazy. He made a couple of really nice throws, especially the one down the sideline to Chandler. But too many drive killer throws to the dirt for an NFL starter.

 

I wasn't able to watch the whole game. Can you tell me when the "throws to the dirt" occurred? I heard about a handful of misses (wide, short) but no "throws to the dirt". Thanks!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

It seems people can only concentrate on the negative.

 

Yes, Fitz had a handful of horrible throws today. Just atrocious head scratching throws. But you know what? No QB is perfect, every QB had a handful of bad throws in a game (granted they miss a little closer than Fitz did today.)

 

The thing is when a QB isn't that accurate he needs to make up for it with big plays and keep the TOs to a minimum. Fitz did that today but isn't getting credit for it. He had a beautiful pass to Chandler for 30+ yards, a big play to Stevie for 40+ yards and a TD in addition to some nice runs that kept drives going.

 

He was so effective at hitting big gains that his average per pass attempt today was 9.36 (the most important stat for QBs other than turnovers.) 9.36 is a big number and given that his completion percentage was only 52% today that means the passes he did complete were for large chunks of yardage.

 

So yeah, some of those passes looked horrible but overall he had a very solid game today.

 

The thing is, when a QB misses just enough that it winds up in the arms of the covering DB who is racing down the field, that's clearly inaccurate.

When a QB misses by a mile, that always begs the question is it inaccuracy, or is it that the WR and the QB weren't on the same page? And it's very hard to tell from the fan seats. Really, only the coaches and players know for sure.

 

The Bills last year (and appear to be trying to keep it) ran an offense with elements of read-option, similar to what the NYG run. This depends upon the WR to read the coverage at the LOS along with the QB and both chose, not just the correct option, but the SAME correct option. As everyone has noted, the QB can't always wait to see where the receiver is and whether or not he's open. He has to throw to where he expects the receiver to be in anticipation that the receiver will be open. This is the essence of an offense with timing elements. Last year, at the beginning of the year, it worked very well for the Bills. This year, it appears to me that Fitz and the receivers are not just on different pages, they are reading different books. We have two new position coaches involved - a QB coach, and a WR coach. It's possible that the QB coach has messed with Fitz's ability to read defenses and choose options. I rather doubt it because Chan is likely mixing it in in the film room, always has, always will. Plus, Lee has years of experience as a QB coach and OC and Fitz has years of experience reading Ds himself. On the other hand, the WR are young, and the coach has minimal NFL experience, mostly as an OL and TE coach. Our TE have gotten better and more active with Metzelaars as coach. Our WR appear to me to have regressed.

 

But that's just me. I can't rule out the alternate hypothesis that a guy who is "laser accurate" on some passes and who says his accuracy is higher than ever, is somehow mysteriously throwing 15 feet to the left of the WR or 10 feet behind him, because "Lee has messed with his mechanics" and should be fired - it obviously plays well here especially with Truth's Mouthpiece. And it could be true.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Hopeful

[Turbosrrgood]

David Lee was brought in and touted as a QB mechanics guru who would help Fitz's accuracy and consistency. Well, we've seen the result of his tutelage. Fitz has been more inaccurate and inconsistent than we have ever seen. He seems to lack confidence completely sometimes when he is throwing.

 

It is clear to me at this point that Fitz is never going to be an elite quarterback. I don't even think there is potential to get into the 2nd tier of guys like Flacco or Ryan. He is in his thirties. It is not the time to be messing with his throwing motion and mechanics. If he has to go out there and mentally focus on mechanics, then we have ourselves a problem. Am I saying he should stop developing? No. However, stick with the throwing motion that he is comfortable with and get the most out of him as you can. This offseason, be certain to exhaust all options to pick up a young potentially elite QB. As a matter of fact make sure you do it! Even if it means giving things up. Begin developing him under Fitz for one year (barring Fitz is good enough to even stick around).

 

In the mean time, fire David Lee! He really isn't helping anything. I want to see some heads roll for this quarterback play.

 

Depending on how good the defense actually is, I think the Bills might have a shot at being decent even with Fitz as more of a game manager. We cannot depend on Fitz throwing 3 TDs and 300 yards for wins. Play to our strengths for now and get a freaking elite QB no matter what this offseason!

 

Can't argue against your point. So far through two weeks, Fitz's accuracy looks as bad as it's ever been. Even in the win. People love to quote the stats "2 TD's no INT's!" but anyone who watched him objectively would realize his throws were all over the place. He only completed 10 passes. We heard all of the stories about how much Lee has been working to change Fitz's mechanics... Maybe that's not always such a good idea...

 

I defended Fitz all offseason, but so far this year he has me scared.

 

I wasn't able to watch the whole game. Can you tell me when the "throws to the dirt" occurred? I heard about a handful of misses (wide, short) but no "throws to the dirt". Thanks!

 

How about the first throw of the game to Chandler? Threw it straight into the ground. If it's even close to on target it's a huge pick up, possibly TD.

 

I would imagine that is what people are referring to. He also threw one in the ground targeting SJ.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Turbosrrgood

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Does anyone else laugh when someone posts "Get your facts straight partner. I just owned you" in a post where he gets basic facts wrong?

 

I more roll my eyes, especially when accompanied by a pretentious screen moniker such as "voice of truth".

 

Parts of it are correct - if you define 1994- groceries 1998 - backup QB - 1999- breakthrough as "bagging groceries the previous year"; if you define >6 yrs with the first team before a trade as "early" in a QB career; if you define drafted in the 4th round by an NFL team and failed to agree on contract terms as "had to go through the canadian league".

 

The 4 out of 6 probowls for Gannon and the Schaub on the bench for 3 years is, AFAIK, actual straight facts, and the overall point that some QB have been "late bloomers" has some merit.

 

So the whole "voice of truth" thing is sort of like "truth in advertising" - there is truth in advertising, the trick is finding it and knowing which part.

 

How about the first throw of the game to Chandler? Threw it straight into the ground. If it's even close to on target it's a huge pick up, possibly TD.

I would imagine that is what people are referring to. He also threw one in the ground targeting SJ.

 

I saw those two passes. They did not appear to be thrown into the ground, they appeared to be thrown reception-height to a different part of the field than that occupied by the intended receiver at the time the ball arrived. This is not a nit, it's a distinction relevant to understanding what may be going on.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Hopeful

[Turbosrrgood]

I more roll my eyes, especially when accompanied by a pretentious screen moniker such as "voice of truth".

 

Parts of it are correct - if you define 1994- groceries 1998 - backup QB - 1999- breakthrough as "bagging groceries the previous year"; if you define >6 yrs with the first team before a trade as "early" in a QB career; if you define drafted in the 4th round by an NFL team and failed to agree on contract terms as "had to go through the canadian league".

 

The 4 out of 6 probowls for Gannon and the Schaub on the bench for 3 years is, AFAIK, actual straight facts, and the overall point that some QB have been "late bloomers" has some merit.

 

So the whole "voice of truth" thing is sort of like "truth in advertising" - there is truth in advertising, the trick is finding it and knowing which part.

 

 

 

I saw those two passes. They did not appear to be thrown into the ground, they appeared to be thrown reception-height to a different part of the field than that occupied by the intended receiver at the time the ball arrived. This is not a nit, it's a distinction relevant to understanding what may be going on.

 

Wow, then you saw something completely different than what I saw. I respect your opinion, but I'd watch that Chandler throw again. I just don't see any other way to describe it than he threw it into the ground. Definitely did not look "reception height" to me. I think we can agree they were off target though.

[Matt in KC]

Wow, then you saw something completely different than what I saw. I respect your opinion, but I'd watch that Chandler throw again. I just don't see any other way to describe it than he threw it into the ground. Definitely did not look "reception height" to me. I think we can agree they were off target though.

I definitely agree with the Chandler throw. Chandler was open, what, 8 yards away (diagonally)? To not get the ball to his feet even before hitting the ground is a big problem. That wasn't some complex mental mapping at that point, he just missed the throw, badly.

 

I forgive a QB one, or a few of those in a game. In this case it looked like the worst example of what was happening all game. RF looked unable to lead a WR on any throw. His timing was definitely off, perhaps because of his mechanics work. You can argue his decision-making was off. It certainly was a bad idea to throw to many of those spots late....

[BuffBill]

I more roll my eyes, especially when accompanied by a pretentious screen moniker such as "voice of truth".

 

Parts of it are correct - if you define 1994- groceries 1998 - backup QB - 1999- breakthrough as "bagging groceries the previous year"; if you define >6 yrs with the first team before a trade as "early" in a QB career; if you define drafted in the 4th round by an NFL team and failed to agree on contract terms as "had to go through the canadian league".

 

The 4 out of 6 probowls for Gannon and the Schaub on the bench for 3 years is, AFAIK, actual straight facts, and the overall point that some QB have been "late bloomers" has some merit.

 

So the whole "voice of truth" thing is sort of like "truth in advertising" - there is truth in advertising, the trick is finding it and knowing which part.

 

 

 

I saw those two passes. They did not appear to be thrown into the ground, they appeared to be thrown reception-height to a different part of the field than that occupied by the intended receiver at the time the ball arrived. This is not a nit, it's a distinction relevant to understanding what may be going on.

You are correct if they have a 2 foot tall receiver who was 5 yards closer to the line of scrimmage then Chandler was on that first throw. The week before all his terrible passes were receiver height to a different part of the field, unfortuneatly there were Jets in that different part of the field. So does that mean he is making progress?