Buftex Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) I have heard (maybe this is old news by now, sorry if that is case) that Tarvares Jackson signed a 1.75 million dollar contract with the Bills, with no guarnateed money. If that is the case, I am thinking the Bills new coaches must have convinced Jackson that he has a very strong chance of starting. Why else would he have stayed in Buffalo? If you believe what he talking heads say, there was some interest in Jackson from other teams... As for Metzelaars, I was real happy when the Bills singed him to their coaching staff, and was hoping he would be a holdover with the new group. But, I would never presume that the new coach should hire someone he is more comfortable with. The way his comments came out, I don't really read it as a "trashing" of Fitz, particularly when you put it into the context with the part of the statement that is not quoted by OP about having a dominating defense allowing a team to win with an average or below average QB. Essentially, he seems to be placing the blame on an underachieving defense as much as he is Fitz. Edited February 20, 2013 by Buftex
Kellyto83TD Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 http://blogs.buffalo...itzpatrick.html "Fitz is an average to below-average kind of guy, and unfortunately he made some bad decisions at the end of games and then didn't make plays at the ends of other games we had chances to win. So it's got to start there." Interesting that he also says that he inquired about a job with Marrone's staff and no one even returned his calls. So OBD keeps Fitz around, and doesn't even return the phone calls of a decent coach who was also a solid contributor and warrior as a player. Classy stuff. Here is my real question - putting aside whether you think Fitz is salvagable or not, how on earth are they going to sell any season tickets if he is the starting QB heading into the season? It boggles my mind from a marketing perspective. What I have found is the Fans are what helps keep the team in the shape it is in. Look the team isn't moving period, and fans have feared that and Ralph has kept that fear over them. The only way things change is when fans leave 40+ K in empty seats and over half the luxury suites aren't filled. But it will never happen. As for as Metz, he is the best I love the guy. He played on a team that could beat the hell outta anyone at just about any given time. He played with a Hall of Fame QB so he knows what a great QB looks like and he is dead on about Fitz. Same old same old since 1996, we have never addressed the QB position with a top talent and until we do we will NEVER contend for a superbowl spot.
JohnC Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Unless they draft a rookie and he pleasantly surprises them, I'm predicting Jackson is the opening day starter. I think they could run the read-option with him. Buddy Nix is transparent to a fault. Checkers and not poker is the game that he would excell at. This new coaching staff isn't dumb. They know exactly what they have in Fitz. Is Jackson much better? Maybe. But what the organization knows for sure is that neither qb is the long term answer. They may not be smart but they certainly aren't irredemmable dopes! Will business considerations be a factor in pressuring the GM into drafting a qb this year? Absolutely. Even "country" buddy knows that he has screwed up and needs to come up with a credible prospect in this year's draft. That position selection doesn have to be in the first round; it could also be in the second round. This disgruntled fan base is not going to give this wretched organization the benefit of the doubt. Whether implicitly or explicitly Brandon has made it clear to the football staff that they will have to come up with a qb prospect that will help market this fading team to the brutalized fans. Edited February 20, 2013 by JohnC
1B4IDie Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 I have heard (maybe this is old news by now, sorry if that is case) that Tarvares Jackson signed a 1.75 million dollar contract with the Bills, with no guarnateed money. If that is the case, I am thinking the Bills new coaches must have convinced Jackson that he has a very strong chance of starting. Why else would he have stayed in Buffalo? If you believe what he talking heads say, there was some interest in Jackson from other teams... As for Metzelaars, I was real happy when the Bills singed him to their coaching staff, and was hoping he would be a holdover with the new group. But, I would never presume that the new coach should hire someone he is more comfortable with. Well TJax sucks at QB. No team wants him or wants to bring him in for competition. He has no chance of winning a QB position on 29/32 teams. Bills are one of the few teams that are completely hopeless at QB so he has atleast a distant chance of seeing some PT on the Bills.
The Big Cat Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 Well TJax sucks at QB. No team wants him or wants to bring him in for competition. He has no chance of winning a QB position on 29/32 teams. Bills are one of the few teams that are completely hopeless at QB so he has atleast a distant chance of seeing some PT on the Bills. Exactly.
Buftex Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Well TJax sucks at QB. No team wants him or wants to bring him in for competition. He has no chance of winning a QB position on 29/32 teams. Bills are one of the few teams that are completely hopeless at QB so he has atleast a distant chance of seeing some PT on the Bills. Yeah, I am in no way saying that I think/want Jackson to start, though he might prove to be better than Fitz. I was just opining as to what his motivation would be to sign a non-guaranteed, relatively low dollar, one year deal with a (lets face it) lower- rung team, when he could have likely got the same money, and served the same function on another team. I guarantee you, if Buffalo hadn't re-signed him, somebody would have. Just as somebody will sign Fitzpatrick when/if he is let go. I am thinking he must have heard something he liked from Marrone & co. to make that decision. Edited February 20, 2013 by Buftex
RealityCheck Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 This is nothing new on Fitz. PM said what the fan base has been saying to each other for a long time. You could drop Fitz into any starting role in the league and that team will not win a championship. All the big throws made by playoff QBs this year were far and away beyond what Fitz could ever do. Flaco didn't throw one pick in the playoffs against quality defenses. Fitz could never pull that off. As long as Fitz is under contract the organization should publicly support him. I don't take any issue with that. I do take issue with the fact that he is on the roster at all. To me he is a classic example of a smart dumb guy. He may be smart in the 2-D world of football, but he is a huge liability when the game becomes 3-D.
K D Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 I'm shocked to hear they didn't at least call Pete back. Total lack of respect for one of the greats. All they had to say was we are going in a different direction if they didn't want to hire him. At least be respectful, jeez. Maybe it slipped through the cracks and it wasn't deliberate. If someone at OBD finds out about this, I hope they take the time to give the guy a call to explain today
marauderswr80 Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 They'll sell tickets via some draft pick or some kind of FA....
TheFunPolice Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) You can bet that he's not the only former or current member of this team that feels that way. These guys play the game. They have friends on other teams. They stand there and watch other QBs make big plays week in and week out while Fitzpatrick throws balls into the dirt, throws picks at the worst times, overthrows wide open guys, and throws routine passes 5 feet over WRs heads so they have to have rockets on their feet just to catch a routine pass. Edited February 20, 2013 by TheFunPolice
T master Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 Sounds like an intelligent guy with an overall good grasp of things. That a coach who was just there and had an insiders view is saying these things is very damning to Fitz. Can't brush him off like whats been happening to myself and others on this board who've been saying same thing for a while. I agree & you would think that even if he does have guys that he has worked with if he would use just a bit of common sense in his choice he could see that even if Pete is a young coach his hands on experience dwarfs what Marrone him self has done. Pete has more time in a NFL shower than Marrone has total in his career & after Marrones choice of coach for the ST unit & now this i have more questions about the guy now than i did in the beginning . I still think with all the coaches available this year that our EXHAUSTIVE & THOROUGH coaching search was more in the 100 yd dash category than the marathon it was made out to be !!
K D Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 I still think with all the coaches available this year that our EXHAUSTIVE & THOROUGH coaching search was more in the 100 yd dash category than the marathon it was made out to be !! Our coaching search can be summed up with: "OMGWTFROFLSMH LETS GET THIS GUY QUICK BEFORE THE BROWNS DO!" and then after that with "Who cares just hire all of your friends to work with you"
Doc Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 I agree with you and think Jackson is the opening day starter too, and I think they draft a QB. This puts the Bills in a bind because Fitz gets his $3 million signing bonus and his salary. But what else can they do? It's a tough spot to be in. They either cut Fitz (doesn't help cap too much) to not pay him the real money and risk Jackson being awful, or keep him and still have to pay him if he gets beat out. I just don't understand what fans would have them do? I don't know if Fitz will still be around. Jackson has been a starter and no worse than Fitz, so why keep him and pay him money to ride the pine? Unless he takes a pay cut, which he'd be smart to do. I have heard (maybe this is old news by now, sorry if that is case) that Tarvares Jackson signed a 1.75 million dollar contract with the Bills, with no guarnateed money. If that is the case, I am thinking the Bills new coaches must have convinced Jackson that he has a very strong chance of starting. Why else would he have stayed in Buffalo? If you believe what he talking heads say, there was some interest in Jackson from other teams... No doubt they told him there would be an open competition/he figured this was his best shot at starting, and took a "prove it" contract.
JPS Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 You know they're picking Geno Smith, right? Fitz should be on the street and TJack will be making less than Thigpen did to be the backup. That's the feel I get anyways.
The Big Cat Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 I mean, we are talking about this guy, right?
bowery4 Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 I like Pete, always did but this is kind of a dumb thing to say and the OPs hyping it (and TG's really to begin with) was naturally going to happen. The obvious inference is, he didn't agree with Gailey keeping him the starter. With out saying that, he said it. He will have trouble finding another job.Just a prediction.
DDD Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 http://blogs.buffalo...itzpatrick.html "Fitz is an average to below-average kind of guy, and unfortunately he made some bad decisions at the end of games and then didn't make plays at the ends of other games we had chances to win. So it's got to start there." Interesting that he also says that he inquired about a job with Marrone's staff and no one even returned his calls. So OBD keeps Fitz around, and doesn't even return the phone calls of a decent coach who was also a solid contributor and warrior as a player. Classy stuff. Here is my real question - putting aside whether you think Fitz is salvagable or not, how on earth are they going to sell any season tickets if he is the starting QB heading into the season? It boggles my mind from a marketing perspective. What's your suggestion? Outside the draft, and even than is tenuous with this years QB class, there are no upgrades available and that includes Alex Smith. I mean, we are talking about this guy, right?
Kellyto83TD Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 Sounds like he has an ax to grind. Didn't return calls to a guy asking to be hired back in an assistant's role? With everything else they had going on, with building out their new staff, I'll give them a pass. Plus, see: no. 1. A personnel decision based on ticket sales? When has this ever happened? Seriously though, fans can't have it both ways. They can't demand personnel decisions by holding their season tickets hostage and chastise the organization for making personnel changes they glean to have been influenced by marketability. Doesn't sound like an Ax to grind, it sounds like a guy with Superbowl exp both as a player and a coach (Colts) and has played with a HOF QB telling it as it is. Fitz flat sucks, he is not the answer.
Just in Atlanta Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Fitz fatigue. I feel tired just writing his name. ... He's had his shot. If he's not the No. 2 next season, It'll be hard for this fanatic to watch games on a regular basis. Edited February 20, 2013 by Just in Atlanta
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