We have a backup QB problem

[BuffaloBillsGospel2014]

I hated the pickup of Trubisky, they didn’t see enough terrible play from him in Pittsburgh? Tannehill would be ideal but I doubt there is much out there at this stage.

[GASabresIUFan]

Just now, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

I hated the pickup of Trubisky, they didn’t see enough terrible play from him in Pittsburgh? Tannehill would be ideal but I doubt there is much out there at this stage.

Tannehill is unlikely to sign here even if offered.  Tannehill is likely waiting for the first major QB injury so that he can jump into a starting role.  Think Flacco last year.

[Bangarang]

Our roster isn't good enough to overcome a significant injury to Josh. I think if he goes down then the season is over regardless of who the backup is. 

[SoCal Deek]

2 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

Our roster isn't good enough to overcome a significant injury to Josh. I think if he goes down then the season is over regardless of who the backup is. 

Correction: Our offense is non existent without Allen 

[Brand J]

22 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I don't want to absolve him of blame, his performance speaks for itself, but it is consecutive years of backup QBs performing poorly for us in the preseason. Other teams' backup QBs are able to pass the ball in preseason. Case Keenum and Kyle Allen have gone to new teams and looked better in their preseason opportunities than they looked here. So my larger point is that if we are expecting something like Purdy stepping onto the field and leading a stacked offense with an elite offensive coach to a top 3 offense, that is not close to realistic. It will be an impressive accomplishment if we have even a top 10 offense even with Allen missing zero games.

Maybe it’s a coaching issue then. You know there are tons of circumstances for why one player succeeds somewhere and fails elsewhere. And by “succeed” we’ll take that term lightly since those players you’re referencing are still backup players.
 

Instead of bringing up Brock Purdy - an MVP candidate QB for another team - and stating the offense would look much like it did with Trubisky at QB, your point would’ve carried more weight had you referenced someone like Jake Browning, the Bengals backup that played admirably in Burrow’s absence. Would Browning look better than Trubisky in the Bills system and circumstances? That’s more up for debate than an MVP candidate from another team.

 

EDIT: Just saw you did exactly that in the post that preceded the one I responded to.

Edited August 18 by Brand J

[SCBills]

16 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Correction: Our offense is non existent without Allen 

Correct.  
 

But how would it look with competent QB’ing?  Or, at the very least, a rookie to develop.

 

If the Chiefs, Bengals, Ravens, Texans, Dolphins etc lose their QB for a few games.. what does it look like?

 

I say a few games, because we’ve seen the Bengals/Ravens stay afloat without Burrow/Jackson, but they’re no longer a contender. 
 

I think they all have enough around a competent backup to compete for a few games with a backup.  
 

Do we?   Maybe if the running game is as we hope, the defense can find itself a top 10-12 unit and Kincaid/Shakir/Samuel elevate in their new roles. 
 

I think our OL, by Week 1, could be up there with KC’s as the top two lines out of the contenders. 
 

But we don’t have a Kelce, Hill/Waddle, Henry/Andrews/Flowers, Higgins/Chase etc.. 

 

We have potential, specifically in Kincaid and a Brady offense that should be able to use the RB’s in various ways, but it’s all projection right now.

 

….and we don’t seem to have a competent backup QB. 
 

 

Edited August 18 by SCBills

[SoCal Deek]

Just now, SCBills said:

Correct.  
 

But how would it look with competent QB’ing?  Or, at the very least, a rookie to develop.

 

If the Chiefs, Bengals, Bengals, Texans, Dolphins etc lose their QB for a few games.. what does it look like?

 

I say a few games, because we’ve seen the Bengals/Ravens stay afloat without Burrow/Jackson, but they’re no longer a contender. 
 

I think they all have enough around a competent backup to compete for a few games with a backup.  
 

Do we?   Maybe if the running game is as we hope, the defense can find itself a top 10-12 unit and Kincaid/Shakir/Samuel elevate in their new roles. 
 

I think our OL, by Week 1, could be up there with KC’s as the top two lines out of the contenders. 
 

But we don’t have a Kelce, Hill/Waddle, Henry/Andrews/Flowers, Higgins/Chase etc.. 

 

We have potential, specifically in Kincaid and a Brady offense that should be able to use the RB’s in various ways, but it’s all projection right now.

 

….and we don’t seem to have a competent backup QB. 

No argument from me! At least for 2024 the Bills are completely dependent on Josh Allen. But I think going into the offseason, we all knew and accepted it. 
 

Do I agree with that as a long term strategy?. No, I don’t. 

[Beast]

I believe the Patriots drafted 10 QB’s after Tom Brady became the starter.

 

How many have the Bills drafted since Allen?

[HappyDays]

8 minutes ago, Brand J said:

Instead of bringing up Brock Purdy - an MVP candidate QB for another team - and stating the offense would look much like it did with Trubisky at QB

 

I have a much lower opinion of Purdy than most people. Him being an MVP candidate was laughable. I think he would look above average in exactly two offenses - the 49ers and Dolphins. Certainly he would have looked better than Trubisky did though, I probably oversold what I was trying to say with that comment.

[Brand J]

2 minutes ago, Beast said:

I believe the Patriots drafted 10 QB’s after Tom Brady became the starter.

 

How many have the Bills drafted since Allen?

Only Jake Fromm I believe. And if I remember correctly, after the draft Beane was talking like they had to take him because he was sticking out on their board. He seemed almost apologetic about it, like he didn’t want it to be a reflection of Josh in any way. I also remember there were people saying Fromm would beat out Allen after a few months. Good times. But yeah, the Bills need to start rolling the dice and pick some QBs from rounds 4-7. Another Minshew type is out there somewhere. A guy like that could hold the fort for a couple games. 

4 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I have a much lower opinion of Purdy than most people. Him being an MVP candidate was laughable. I think he would look above average in exactly two offenses - the 49ers and Dolphins. Certainly he would have looked better than Trubisky did though, I probably oversold what I was trying to say with that comment.

I know his offensive weapons make his job infinitely easier, but he still has to make the reads and throws. If it was that easy, Garrapolo AND Lance would’ve succeeded. Or just about anyone else you throw in there. I give Purdy his credit, but it does sound like this offseason has been tough for him. 

[SCBills]

I’m also getting sick of the comments I see about “well, if Josh gets hurt, doesn’t matter anyway”. 
 

No, actually, it does matter. 
 

Josh Allen has played through injuries that would have sidelined 90%+ of other QB’s for a 2-4 weeks. 
 

As of right now, if he actually does miss 2-4 weeks, chalk up 2-4 L’s with this schedule and the difference between making the playoffs or not. 
 

Im not saying some rookie QB or a better option would help, but nobody should have any faith that Trubisky can even win one game against a lighter opponent on the schedule, if needed. 
 

Edited August 18 by SCBills

[NewEra]

4 hours ago, FireChans said:

And this season I don’t think we are really title contenders, so if we miss the playoffs by a game or two because Josh gets hurt, oh well.

 

There’s 2 facets to this argument:

 

#1 There’s only a few specific scenarios where having a good backup QB in the wings is helpful. I.E. this very specific, Josh misses 2 games but we are on the cusp of missing the playoffs scenario.

 

#2 the ROI on mid round or later picks on QB’s is atrocious. Spending a third or a 4th on a guy who ideally will never see the field, when you could alternatively spend that kind of investment on ANY OTHER POSITION to actually help Josh win a SB is ludicrous. It’s completely backwards.

 

When Josh is on his last legs, sure, bring in some young talent with eyes on the future. When Josh is in his prime? I’d much rather see them draft a WR in the fourth over a backup freaking QB. We are fielding an offensive roster of backups in 2024 already, and we want to add more backups to the mix???

I never said we should spend a 3rd or 4th on a QB. I’m against that.  
 

my only argument here is that there is a chance that a backup QB can make or break our season.  Our QB takes more hits than any QB in the league imo, missing a handful of games is possible and having a backup that isn’t trash could save our season.  Take it or leave it- just don’t change what I said. 

[HappyDays]

3 minutes ago, Brand J said:

If it was that easy, Garrapolo AND Lance would’ve succeeded.

 

Garrapolo had them in the Super Bowl 🤷‍♂️

[Dablitzkrieg]

Every team had a backup problem.  Such a drastic dropoff from every QB1 to QB2.  Not really anything new

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Garrapolo had them in the Super Bowl 🤷‍♂️

I don't think these people actually watch the NFL

[Captain Hindsight]

19 minutes ago, stinky finger said:

Yeah I get this, but who is the Chiefs backup? No one knows? 
 

oh because it doesn’t matter. No one else is Mahomes, just like no one else is JA17

[MikePJ76]

5 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Yeah I get this, but who is the Chiefs backup? No one knows? 
 

oh because it doesn’t matter. No one else is Mahomes, just like no one else is JA17

Bad example there.  Andy Reid is from the west coast tree and specifically grew up within Ron Wolfe's Green Bay philosophy of taking quarterbacks in the draft every year and developing them.  

 

Reid has not done quite that but he always has capable backup qb's and because he is such an excellent quarterbacks coach and offensive mind he knows exactly how to get these backups to succeed.

 

Right now he has Carson Wentz and think what you want but in the same/similar system in philly with Doug Pederson in 2017 he was the leading candidate to be mvp until his injury.   Ironically his backup won the superbowl.

 

in 2006 Mcnabb tore an acl and the eagles looked like they were in trouble but Jeff Garcia played great and they won the division and a playoff game.

 

Andy Reid always has capable backup quarterbacks who he then puts in the best situations.

Edited August 18 by MikePJ76

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

20 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I have a much lower opinion of Purdy than most people. Him being an MVP candidate was laughable. I think he would look above average in exactly two offenses - the 49ers and Dolphins. Certainly he would have looked better than Trubisky did though, I probably oversold what I was trying to say with that comment.

Any type of short passing offense like the WC offense Purdy will be successful in.

 

Purdy is a very fast processor and the ball is often on the way before the WR is even making his break.

 

Purdy S2 score coming out of college was very high but I agree he doesn't have great arm strength 

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Yeah I get this, but who is the Chiefs backup? No one knows? 
 

oh because it doesn’t matter. No one else is Mahomes, just like no one else is JA17

This yr it's Wentz

 

Remember the other year tho when Mahomes went down in the wildcard round iirc w an injury? Chad Henne stepped right in and led a 98 yard TD drive

[Brand J]

16 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Garrapolo had them in the Super Bowl 🤷‍♂️

Sorry, I should’ve said Garrapolo AND Lance would be MVP candidates and that neither would’ve lost his job to become a journeyman QB. That’s what I meant by succeeded - sustained success.