The backup qb issue

[billsfan_34]

3 minutes ago, Reks Ryan said:

He was bad.    But it looked like part of the poor performance was rust.  Coming in cold in crappy rainy weather, to play with a bunch of other guys who haven't played in live action for months is not easy.    Not that that he was great, but he looked a lot more comfortable in the 2nd half once he and the other back-ups got warmed up.

 

1st half :  9 attempts for 29 yards,  1 sack, 1 INT 

2nd half: 26 attempts for 202 yards,  no sacks, 1 INT

 

You could do worse for a back-up QB.  Could do better too. 

2 picks, fumbles, and put nothing in the endzone- color me happy with his performance. His pocket presence was lousy as well.

[Wayne Cubed]

Not for nothing but you are judging the guy when the Bills 2 starting WRs were out, one of starting TEs, the starting RB and half the OL. I’m not a Barkley fan by any stretch and the Bills could do better there but don’t you think you are weighting yesterday’s performance a tad too much?

 

With that many players not playing, Josh would’ve struggled... and did in his 2 series.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Wayne Cubed

[JaCrispy]

27 minutes ago, Beach said:

i dont see him as an issue.  sure he played bad, but he played with all back ups.  

On top of that...he wasn’t exclusively the starter in practice throughout the week....coming in during the game is much different than starting the game...

[eball]

I agree a better backup is needed.  Allen’s playing style asks for an injury here and there, and we need somebody who can keep us afloat.  Gotta believe Beane is aware of this.

[Mike in Horseheads]

A better backup QB should get us over the top. We lost 4 because Frank sucked

[Irv]

36 minutes ago, SF Bills Fan said:

If Andy Dalton wasn't too much money and was happy to be back up an mentor Josh, I'd take him. 

 

Yes - Dalton.  Perfect fit!

[HOUSE]

38 minutes ago, Beach said:

i dont see him as an issue.  sure he played bad, but he played with all back ups.  

^ this

[Aussie Joe]

I think someone else is brought in following FA or drafted late to challenge and probably beat out Barkley in 2020..

[Ya Digg?]

The responses to this topic certainly show that the saying is true - the backup qb is the most popular guy in the team. The Bills have the money and with Allen’s playing style they must get a better backup for next year. I realize he was not playing with the starters, but nothing he did yesterday instilled any confidence that he could handle multiple starts in a row. Seems like a good guy, but I think getting another qb to back up Josh has to be on the list of things to do in the offseason 

[billsfan89]

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing what is on the market. But I am not sure Barkely is that much better or worse than your average backup QB. 

[Curt]

True Barkley didn't play well without RB#1, wr#1, wr#2, TE#1 and without most of the regulars on the OL. Having said that and despite all this, if he starts yesterday's game instead of Josh and add the 2 drops he probably thow the first 300 yarder for the Bills in years. I would give him a chance and Josh and him have a good relationship.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Curt
Spelling

[DuckyBoys]

Lets be honest most teams are dead in the water if the qb1 goes down for anything more than a couple of games.  That said they will at least bring into  camp arm so maybe they find a upgrade.  Whats Kyle Orton doing

[Rc2catch]

Lol Barkley was the man??? Right? 
Last season he was a hero, he was called for in multiple game day threads this year. Now he sucks ??

 

I say go sign Kyle Allen from Carolina. They have Grier and will be heavily in the market for a quarterback if they trade cam. 
 

The Allen/Allen combo will save the announcers from messing up the names. 
I do like the kid though. He’s an ideal kinda backup guy. 

[SirAndrew]

I think many of us fans give Barkley too much credit. The guy has been awful since his senior year at USC. He is a lower tier backup. 

[keepthefaith]

18 minutes ago, Irv said:

 

Yes - Dalton.  Perfect fit!

 

The Bills are paying very little for QB's while Josh is on his rookie deal.  Dalton is paid cheap starter money but also you'd have to give up a pick for him.  Very unlikely IMO as Beane covets his picks for young talent.  I don't think it would be crazy for the Bengals to trade their first pick and keep Andy.  They can get a boatload for it, they have a lot of needs and I think Dalton is a winner on a good team.  I'm sure this comment will generate some criticism but Andy over the next 3 years might be as good as any rookie coming in, even Burrow will take some time to adapt to the NFL. 

 

As for Barkley, he didn't inspire confidence yesterday but to me it points to the need for the Bills to further improve their run game also.

 

[SirAndrew]

Just now, NJKBillsfan said:

Do you people realize Barkley was playing with BACKUPS? 

 

It's laughable that anyone would try to evaluate his performance playing with 2nd/3rd stringers. 

 

I’d also evaluate his performance based on what I’ve seen his entire career, including yesterday. The Jets game last year was an anomaly, and most of this board chooses to remember that. Barkley is not a good backup in any sense of the word imo. 

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

 

 

...and when did he last play?......one start in 2018?......think there could be some "ring rust" as well as many new faces in 2019 vs 2018?......naw, TBDers say "he sucks....a goner"......a shocker....

What I saw yesterday wasn't just rust, and I like Barkley. The velocity on his throws was completely gone. I mean like a 75 mph fastball gone. I mean Chad Pennington with tendonitis gone.

I have no doubt the coaches will be upgrading Matt this spring with someone who has similar size/style as Josh. So the offense doesn't have to change much. Sorry Matt but we'll always have that Jets game.

[SirAndrew]

7 minutes ago, NJKBillsfan said:

 

How do you figure he's not a good QB?

 

He threw for over 230 yards in awful weather conditions... to put that in perspective Allen typically only throws for maybe 130-150 yds/game.

 

Right now one could easily make the argument that Barkley is better than Allen. 

He has zero pocket awareness, panics at the first sign of pressure, turnover prone, fumbles and picks galore, and very bad ones at that. A ton of his yardage came in garbage time trailing by ten, which is something the Allen led Bills haven’t played in much to pile up those stats. Honestly, I’m probably biased though. I watched him at USC where he was overrated , and followed him with the Bears and Eagles where he was also terrible. I’m just not willing to believe he has improved enough to trust him in a backup role. 

7 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

What I saw yesterday wasn't just rust, and I like Barkley. The velocity on his throws was completely gone. I mean like a 75 mph fastball gone. I mean Chad Pennington with tendonitis gone.

I have no doubt the coaches will be upgrading Matt this spring with someone who has similar size/style as Josh. So the offense doesn't have to change much. Sorry Matt but we'll always have that Jets game.

He never had an good arm, and that is a big problem. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by SirAndrew

[skibum]

He hadn't played in months, had no starting receivers on the field, and it was raining buckets at 35 degrees. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by skibum

[Jobot]

Somewhat disagree.  Although Barkley could likely be upgraded next year, I think the Jets pose a more difficult match up for any backup qb.  They've got a solid defense that's carried them the second half of the year. 

 

Also - Barkley was playing without the Beasley/Cole/Singeltary... so he wasn't necessarily set up for success.