Thoughts on Flutie

[bbills17]

wow for such a nobody Flutie still get accolades here in Buffalo

 

let the midget die already.

 

Playoff claiber teams and good teams in general always found a way to gameplan for Flutie. that's why he has never one an NFL Playoff game, never been to a superbowl, and only once inhis entire career started a 16 game season, where he went 5-11

 

Flutie deserves very little praise for anything in the NFL. In the CFL yes, but in the NFL he was nothing more then an over achiving midget

692771[/snapback]

 

The way you write and spell certainly fits your writing style, very little in the way of facts or intelligent argument, just outright hatred and insults.

[tennesseeboy]

Flutie was surprisingly good and he won a number of games he shouldn't have. He is the best quarterback we've had since Jim Kelly. However, that being said, the competition wasn't all that much since Jim Kelly. I'll always wonder what would have happened if Flutie played against the Titans instead of RJ.

[IndyMark]

Flutie was lucky in every football sense of the word. A winner? This is not baseball, he does not get credited with the wins; nor should any qb. He was lucky....very lucky. Given the Bills defense of the frutie-era the Bills won in spite of frutie not due to him. There was not one game he won it by himself (do not even mention the Jags home game - he did not WIN the game single handedly - he did sabotage a play and get lucky yes, win it no way).

 

My favorite frutie memory was immediately after the Bills mauled the Dolphins at home.....by running the ball and controlling the game. In typical frutie form when asked in the post game interview about the game he looked 'disgusted' and then uttered these words: "....he was frustrated...felt underused...blah, blah". Jeez, we win the game and hammer a nemesis and it was not because of frutie so he pouts? Yes, that is a sign of a winner.

 

If the best memories of the Bills for anyone includes frutie....I am sorry you missed the early 90's. They were fun to watch. frutie very rarely if ever, carried a whole game. Selective post-hoc stats, by the way, are not evidence.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I'll always wonder what would have happened if Flutie played against the Titans instead of RJ.

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Flutie would've scrambled around a lot as the Titans defense poured in unblocked most of the game. He probably would have even been blindsided and coughed up the ball deep in his own end leading to easy points for the Titans. The Bills defense would have been strong, as they had been all year, despite injuries and kept the game fairly close. But the Flutie-led offense would've continued to sputter and fold as it got down close just as it had down the stretch of the regular season against any competent defense -- and the Titans had a plenty competent defense. The 4th quarter Buffalo rally wouldn't have happened as the Titans would've had more film on Flutie and seen how the Jets and other lesser defenses had held Flutie in check and the Bills offense in anemia. Since the Bills would've been losing and never scored the go ahead touchdown, there would have been no kick-off and no miracle homerun throwback play. The guys that didn't stay in their lanes wouldn't have been on the field. Bruce DeHaven would've kept his job and Ronnie Jones wouldn't have been hired for a job he had no clue about through cronyism. A couple years later, Wade Phillips isn't asked to fire his ol' buddy Jones for his complete and total incompetence and ...

[tennesseeboy]

we'll never know what would have happened.

[dave mcbride]

Flutie would've scrambled around a lot as the Titans defense poured in unblocked most of the game.  He probably would have even been blindsided and coughed up the ball deep in his own end leading to easy points for the Titans.  The Bills defense would have been strong, as they had been all year, despite injuries and kept the game fairly close.  But the Flutie-led offense would've continued to sputter and fold as it got down close just as it had down the stretch of the regular season against any competent defense -- and the Titans had a plenty competent defense.  The 4th quarter Buffalo rally wouldn't have happened as the Titans would've had more film on Flutie and seen how the Jets and other lesser defenses had held Flutie in check and the Bills offense in anemia.  Since the Bills would've been losing and never scored the go ahead touchdown, there would have been no kick-off and no miracle homerun throwback play.  The guys that didn't stay in their lanes wouldn't have been on the field.  Bruce DeHaven would've kept his job and Ronnie Jones wouldn't have been hired for a job he had no clue about through cronyism.  A couple years later, Wade Phillips isn't asked to fire his ol' buddy Jones for his complete and total incompetence and ...

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or, more likely, he would have gone 17-30 for 213 yards, 1 int, 1 td pass, 6 scrambles for about 32 yards, and 1 or 2 sacks (his season average, which he most likely could have matched against a bad pass defense like tennessee's). johnson was 10-22 for 131 yards and was sacked 6 times for a loss of 35 yards; he scrambled 3 times for 9 yards.

[dave mcbride]

I was a supporter of Flutie at the time but quite frankly, I'm not convinced Johnson vs Flutie was the deciding factor in that game and the Bills secondary suffered so many injuries in that game that they wouldn't have made it past through the next round.

692701[/snapback]

the bills would most likely have been eviscerated by indy. they were a horrible dome team throughout the 90s, winning less than a third of their dome games. indy had also clobbered them early on that season.

[Sisyphean Bills]

or, more likely, he would have gone 17-30 for 213 yards, 1 int, 1 td pass, 6 scrambles for about 32 yards, and 1 or 2 sacks (his season average, which he most likely could have matched against a bad pass defense like tennessee's).  johnson was 10-22 for 131 yards and was sacked 6 times for a loss of 35 yards; he scrambled 3 times for 9 yards.

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More likely, my arse.

 

The point is that football is a team sport. Flutie would not have "won" jack by himself. Better blocking and tackling would have won that game. Nothing less and nothing more.

[dave mcbride]

More likely, my arse.

 

The point is that football is a team sport.  Flutie would not have "won" jack by himself.  Better blocking and tackling would have won that game.  Nothing less and nothing more.

692900[/snapback]

??

i never even said that he would have "won" the game by himself. read my post again. the fact of the matter is that tennessee had a bottom of the barrel pass defense in 1999. and the fact of the matter is that flutie was a pretty good weapon against a good pass rush, which tennessee did in fact have. another fact: johnson was terrible at avoiding sacks - in fact, i'm pretty sure that he's still the most sacked qb in league history when measuring by per-pass-attempt.

[Billsjunkie]

Thoughts on Flutie:

 

He's an ass hole.

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I second that. I couldnt stand him or RJ.

[Adam]

Flutie was a decent QB- I think he showed how bad Rob Johnson really was. We had an excellent supporting cast, and he took advantage of it- which is to take nothing away from the fact that he accomplished that feat...as RJ showed how hard that could be to do

[RuntheDamnBall]

Flutie was a decent QB- I think he showed how bad Rob Johnson really was. We had an excellent supporting cast, and he took advantage of it- which is to take nothing away from the fact that he accomplished that feat...as RJ showed how hard that could be to do

693144[/snapback]

Honestly, I don't think Johnson was that bad. What he was was brittle, and not perceptive enough in the pocket to know when to get rid of it. Sort of like Drew without the durability.

 

Johnson was pretty athletic and occasionally fun to watch. I remember fondly his throwing a block that was just sweet. At the time I thought the guy might really make it here.

 

It just wasn't meant to be and it goes down in the annals of Bills blunders. But saying the guy was flat-out bad is sort of reducing it.

 

There was a reason there was a competition between him and Flutie, whether people want to believe it or not. A few games before Flutie's "magic" entered the picture, RJ looked like he was going to turn it around. But the long and short of it is, RJ's performance didn't translate into enough on-field wins -- and that's that.

[Adam]

Honestly, I don't think Johnson was that bad.  What he was was brittle, and not perceptive enough in the pocket to know when to get rid of it.  Sort of like Drew without the durability.

 

Johnson was pretty athletic and occasionally fun to watch.  I remember fondly his throwing a block that was just sweet.  At the time I thought the guy might really make it here.

 

It just wasn't meant to be and it goes down in the annals of Bills blunders.  But saying the guy was flat-out bad is sort of reducing it.

 

There was a reason there was a competition between him and Flutie, whether people want to believe it or not.  A few games before Flutie's "magic" entered the picture, RJ looked like he was going to turn it around.  But the long and short of it is, RJ's performance didn't translate into enough on-field wins -- and that's that.

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What you're saying is that both were inconsistent, but Johnson was more inconsistent. At least from what I can tell......I was very high on him- he had skills, but not sense, and that was his downfall.

[Risin]

What you're saying is that both were inconsistent, but Johnson was more inconsistent. At least from what I can tell......I was very high on him- he had skills, but not sense, and that was his downfall.

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I agree to a point.

 

His biggest downfall, was his ability to get hurt.

 

Everytime I felt he was turning the corner, he would suffer an injury.

[Dawgg]

RJ was a freak of an athlete, which is why scouts and GMs were so enamored with him early on. They quickly realized, however, that it did not translate to production on the field. While he had flashes and moments, like many QBs do, what he lacked was the ability to sense pressure in the pocket.

 

Comparing him to Drew Bledsoe was Drew a HUGE disservice. Drew Bledsoe is one of the most prolific passers of our time. Clearly, when given enough time, Drew knows how to get rid of the ball. The same cannot be said of Rob Johnson. He was bad, and there is no other way to put it. After Buffalo, he latched onto 3 offensive minded coaches who thought they could tap into his potential: Gruden, Spurrier, and Callahan -- all 3 men quickly realized what the Bills painfully realized 5 years and $25 million later -- he simply didn't have what it takes to play in this league as a QB.

 

Johnson was pretty athletic and occasionally fun to watch.  I remember fondly his throwing a block that was just sweet.  At the time I thought the guy might really make it here.

 

It just wasn't meant to be and it goes down in the annals of Bills blunders.  But saying the guy was flat-out bad is sort of reducing it.

693167[/snapback]

[Little to the North]

great qb...just wish he stayed in Buffalo longer. The day he was replaced by retard Rob Johnson was the demise of the Bills, or at least it didn't help our cause. Had he stayed at the helm a little longer who knows where buffalo could of went. At least a few playoff appearances, maybe not a SB.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

i spent some time eading the various posts and pro/anti flutie commentary. it's a pretty good summary of his time here--some people loved him and others would have bought the tar and feathers and stuffed him in the trunk of a mazda miata out of town.

 

for what it's worth, i thought rj was the right choice, ad in retrospect i've had cause to reconsider that particular choice (and by the way---has there ever been a football player who consistently fell more awkwardly than rj, whether when he was hit or made it out of bounds?i truly believe he really struggles even getting out of the shower, needing to take extra precaution to ensure the front foot doesn't land precariously on the slippery tile floor, which would cause it to slip out suddenly, propelling him back and to the left, exposing his finely chiseled and muscled torso stetched over kindling-grade rib cage to suddenly impact the metaphorical soap dish of life)--anyways i digress.

 

flutie was often exciting to watch, but was never a long term answer to buffalo's ongoing qb situation. he excelled when all hell broke loose, but it's hard to consistently win playing sandlot football. for those who suggested he always won, just won, i'd respond he did just win (with that underachieving defense out there lazing around) , except for the games he lost. or, as far as doug was concerned, the games his teammates lost.

 

my favorite flutie quote was after a loss in San Diego, when he said something along the lines of "You can't go out and go 29-31, three passes for touchdowns and 100 yards scrambling every game". this caused me to look for any NFL game where he did that, and i'm still looking.

 

finally, my favorite post-rj ("i was the antichrist in Buffalo, and am hoping for a new start here...") quote came from my brother, who muttered after hearing rj's comments:

 

Well, maybe they'll have better hospitals in Tampa Bay, Rob....

[Sen. John Blutarsky]

I was always a Rob Johnson supporter (sadly, I still have and wear three RJ t-shirts and have a jersey in my closet). 

 

But in hindsight, Flutie was the best thing to happen to this team since the glory days. Really, he was the only born winner we had since then--always finding the knack to make a miracle happen to win a game.  He may have been a locker-room cancer and he may have not been the most talented guy--but he was a winner. We let him go in favor of his antithesis--a guy with all the talent and no winning instinct.

692384[/snapback]

Those two things don't go together. Locker room cancers are losers. Terrell Owens is a loser, Barry Bonds is a loser, Jeff Kent is a loser. All of those guys are tremendously competitive and do tremendous things on the field but their clubhouse/locker room stuff sabotages their on-field accomplishments. Tom Brady is a winner (though it kills me to say it). He isn't the most physically gifted guy either but he sublimates his ego and does what the team needs.