Why is Tyrod Taylor not more revered in the Bills fan base?

[DCofNC]

9 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I agree.  Sort of. 

 

Tyrod was a good guy and he helped end the drought.  I'm thankful.

 

But he was a lackluster passer who would never take us far in the playoffs.  

 

Josh overshadows TT and makes him forgettable because Josh is such a better passer who brings the level of hope and excitement to a whole new level.  

 

 

 

 

The crazy part is, he was clearly the best passer in camp the year he won the job.

[SoCal Deek]

Here’s my one sentence assessment of Tyrod:

 

Unless our receiver was standing all alone with nobody within five yards of him, Tyrod simply refused to throw him the darn ball. 
 

He absolutely infuriated me! Although I’m guessing some of it was coaching. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by SoCal Deek

[RichRiderBills]

He was solid, but his limitations were really visible in games like the Jags playoff game. We really could have won that game w some mediocre QB play. 

 

That being said, he's a class act. I thought we should have kept him as a back up, but they chose not to go that route. 

 

I think he's well remembered, but the fact that he did nothing of consequence after he left probably does not make us dwell on him. 

 

Was a good Bill for sure....

 

 

[Teddy KGB]

15 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Except when he did. Jags and Titans games come to mind immediately.

Here we go, now do the playoff game Vs the Jags. 
 

i think he pooped on himself. 

[Doc]

22 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Here’s my one sentence assessment of Tyrod:

 

Unless our receiver was standing all alone with nobody within five yards of him, Tyrod simply refused to throw him the darn ball. 
 

He absolutely infuriated me! Although I’m guessing some of it was coaching. 

 

Agree on refusing to throw the football.  Disagree on coaching.  His body of work says it's him.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Doc

[Gregg]

Tyrod was meh. He had his moments, but he was just another average "at best" Bills QB. In the Bills history there are only 4 QB's worth mentioning. In order of their time in Buffalo. It's Kemp, Ferguson, Kelly, and Allen. That's it. Lamonica could have been on the list, but he made his mark as a Raider. Bledsoe was at the end of his career when he came here, and Flutie was only a Bill for about 5 minutes.

[Rico]

14 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

Not as mmuch as @Rico loved Bledsoe. 😁😁😁

Yes, Tyrod > Bledsoe. Put 2015 Tyrod on the 2004 Bills, and the Drought is over after 4 years.

 

Also,

Tyrod > RJ

Tyrod > JP

Tyrod > EJ

 

Thank you Tyrod! 

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

 

Both actually got credit for the start and the win, which is dumb.  So he's still 22-20. 

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TaylTy00/gamelog/2015/

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CassMa00/gamelog/2015/

 

 

Not true. He is listed as 7-6 on his player page for 2015, and if you scroll down on the second link, you'll see that while the Bills went 8-8, he is listed as having won 7 games and Cassell 1 game. All of the Bills 8 victories were ones in which Taylor was the starter. Hence he was 23-20, as I said.

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TaylTy00.htm
 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/2015.htm

[LV Bills fan]

No hate for Tyrod from me, he did a lot of things well and got us to the playoffs, but I’m not gonna revere someone who absolutely refused to throw the ball downfield unless it was a bomb with no risk of being picked off. We could have lived with the turnovers if he had just tried to throw over the middle for first downs more. He made Trent Edwards look like a gunslinger. 

[JohnNord]

16 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I never ever understood the hate for Tyrod Taylor. He was a dynamic athlete that defenses had to properly game plan against and played a big role in breaking the 17 year drought. I think he is one of the better dual threats of all time and it’s cool seeing the contrast between TT and Allen as runners. Why is he not a bigger part of Bills’ lore? He got done what a **** load of previous QBs couldn’t. It’s not like Losman, Bledsoe, or Fitz didn’t have good defenses too. So I really don’t wanna hear how the defense alone propelled us there. It was also Tyrod’s legs and low turnover rate + big play ability as well. 

I’ve never bought into the fan narrative that Tyrod somehow disrespected by the fan base.  Some have even tried to play race which I think is complete BS.

 

Its not like fans look back at Tyrod and say “ugh, he sucked.”   But he’s mostly regarded for what he was during that era - a game manager at QB.  

 

He was in full game manager mode in 2017 which is why he doesn’t get credit for breaking the drought.  The offense was built around Shady running the ball.  The passing game was anemic both because of the Rick Dennison’s design and the lack of weapons.  Tyrod’s main objective seemed to be to play safe abs protect the football.  This was extremely frustrating to watch.

 

I would agree that Tyrod was the victim of both bad luck and elevated expectations from the Rex Ryan Era.  
 

Tyrod is not different than a Fitzpatrick or Flutie.  The difference is the optics around those QB’s.  Both presented themselves as underdogs and had an exciting style of play.  Tyrod did as well but he didn’t lean as hard into the underdog angle.  

[The Jokeman]

Tyrod was David Garrard. A game manager at best and for some reason after his first year starting he stopped throwing deep whether it be coaching or his wanting to avoid risks to keep his job etc. He just wasn't good enough as a passer to remain a starter. That Jacksonville playoff game was one of the most infuriating games to watch as we were a better team but Tyrod was at his worst that day. 

[JohnNord]

1 hour ago, RichRiderBills said:

He was solid, but his limitations were really visible in games like the Jags playoff game. We really could have won that game w some mediocre QB play. 

 

That being said, he's a class act. I thought we should have kept him as a back up, but they chose not to go that route. 

 

I think he's well remembered, but the fact that he did nothing of consequence after he left probably does not make us dwell on him. 

 

Was a good Bill for sure....

 

 

They were able to trade him for a 3rd round pick which is incredible considering that it’s the same value Jalen Ramsey was traded for

2 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Tyrod was David Garrard. A game manager at best and for some reason after his first year starting he stopped throwing deep whether it be coaching or his wanting to avoid risks to keep his job etc. He just wasn't good enough as a passer to remain a starter. That Jacksonville playoff game was one of the most infuriating games to watch as we were a better team but Tyrod was at his worst that day. 

There were many Jacksonville-like games that season and I think fans remember these games more so than the good moments from Taylor’s career

[The Jokeman]

3 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

They were able to trade him for a 3rd round pick which is incredible considering that it’s the same value Jalen Ramsey was traded for

There were many Jacksonville-like games that season and I think fans remember these games more so than the good moments from Taylor’s career

You're only as good as your last performance and his last performance was horrible. Yet ultimately he allowed to get us Josh Allen which was a great thing. 

[hondo in seattle]

8 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Probably is insinuating that there was more love for Fitz due to the fact his is white. Which I honestly think could be true on some subconscious level. Not because fans are raging racists but rather the way Fitz was portrayed by the media was different than Tyrod possibly due to race. Fitz was a white QB who played for the Ivy League and was an underdog story. Tyrod had the same underdog story but was not portrayed as the same loveable hard-nosed player. 

 

But I think in addition to a different media portrayal due to who Fitz was (white QB from the Ivy League that played with his wedding ring on), Fitz also showed a love for the community that Tyrod didn't. Tyrod by almost any measure was a better QB for the Bills yet fans seem to remember Fitz more fondly. I hope that fans do show Tyrod some love down the line and I hope Tyrod shows some love back. But I think the disparity in fans perception is multi-faceted and race could be a part of that.

 

 

 

I know racism is real and has real effects on fandom.  But I don't think it's the operative thing here.  Fitz is loved because he's Fitz.  His personality makes him a very likable guy.  As you mention, Fitz showed a love for the community that TT didn't show.  How many times have we heard Fitz explain his deep appreciation for the fans of Buffalo?  What other QB has shown up in the stadium, shirtless, cheering his heart out for the Bills?

 

The love for Fitz transcends our love for (white) JP Losman, (white) Trent Edwards, (white) Doug Flutie, and (white) Drew Bledsoe not mainly because he was a better QB but because he's a more ebullient person.  If I was asked which QB from the drought era I'd want to quarterback the Bills again, of course, I'd say none of them.  But if forced to choose, I'd consider picking Tyrod because I do recognize the talents he possessed.  But if asked which QB I'd want to hang out with, it would be an easy decision: Fitz because of his fun-loving personality.  

 

Incidentally, in 2016, the Bills finished 10th in the league in scoring with TT under center.   It was an above-average offense.  2016 was the year Anthony Lynn started out as the RB coach, became the OC when Greg Roman was fired, and then finished the season as the HC when Rex was let go.  It seemed Roman's running concepts, together with ALynn's play calling, were an effective combination for a dual-threat QB like TT.  

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

12 hours ago, BigDingus said:

This thread is another symptom of the mindset "QB gets credited for everything," regardless of good or bad. 

 

To say "Tyrod got us to the playoffs" feels dirty.

 

He will always have my thanks for contributing to that, but leading the league's 1st or 2nd worst passing offense for years doesn't quite feel worthy of crediting him for sneaking into the playoffs, especially when it ultimately came down to a crazy upset that even made it possible. 

I said he was a big part. Not the sole reason. 

[buffalostu2]

Good post Tyrod

[Orlando Buffalo]

Part of the lack of love for Tyrod is he was kinda boring to watch unless he was running. I prefer Flutie and Fitz because they were exciting, sometimes really bad things for Fitz but exciting. The boring is why I could not stand watching Orton, he was so predictable and it was often not good enough. 

[pigpen65]

I have a ton of respect and appreciation for Tyrod and what he did for the Bills. My annoyance with Tyrod was that he had all the tools to ascend to the next level, but he just wouldn't pull the goddamn trigger. And it's completely possible he wasn't doing anything wrong. It may have been that he was doing what the coach was telling him to do. But check down, check down, check down. It was maddening to watch. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by pigpen65

[Robert Paulson]

18 hours ago, Capco said:

Ironically, I was just thinking about this yesterday.  Granted, the league wasn't as pass-friendly in the 80s and 90s as it is today, but Tyrod has a higher career passer rating (88.2) than Jim Kelly (84.4).  His passer rating during his three years as a Bill was 92.5, and he only committed 21 turnovers (16 INTs, 5 lost fumbles).

He almost broke the record for the highest single season passer rating by a Bills QB in his first year as a starter (99.6 vs Kelly's 101.2 in 1990), and I believe that season counts as the third-highest passer rating in team history (behind Kelly in 1990 and Allen in 2020).

skewed by the type of low risk/low reward passes he threw- there is a flaw in the ranking calculation that favours that

[kota]

He never took responsibility for his poor play.