Welcome to the Year in Review for the Buffalo Bills. Over the course of the next month or so leading up to the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, I'll be taking a position-by-position look at both the highlights and the times that made you cringe in 2011.
You'll see a familiar format for each and every piece of the series, divided in to seven parts: The Year, The Great, The Good, The Bad, The Downright Ugly, The Future and Draft Considerations.
First stop? A lightning rod of opinions whenever you bring up the position. Unless you have a Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, odds are there is someone out there wanting to switch things up at quarterback. With Ryan Fitzpatrick having a questionable season, opinions regarding his long-term status as the team's signal caller will only linger.
Let's get started with the Bills Year in Review: Quarterback.
The Year
- Heading in to his first season in the NFL where he knew he was the starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick was excited, invigorated and had a new air of confidence about him. While that confidence resulted in a career-high in touchdowns (24), it also came with a career-high 23 interceptions. Fitzpatrick completed 62-percent of his passes for 3,832 yards, was sacked only 22 times and had a quarterback rating of 79.1 in 16 games played.
The Great
- The best game of Fitzpatrick's season had to be the last-minute comeback win over the Oakland Raiders. It was a contest where the quarterback needed to keep the team in it, and that's exactly what happened with Fitzpatrick for the Bills. While Jason Campbell was looking like Tom Brady against the Bills' pass defense, Fitzpatrick fired shot after shot to put Buffalo in a position to win. The first half was one to forget, but the second was one for the highlight reels. Fitzpatrick helped cash in all second half drives for touchdowns on the way to the Bills' 38-35 win. He had three touchdowns, including the game-winner to David Nelson with just 14 seconds to play. He was bailed out a couple of times by his receivers on a bad throw, but he bounced back and hit his guys with accurate passes when it mattered most.
The Good
- Most times when you throw four touchdowns and no interceptions, that will be thought of as 'The Great.' But in Fitzpatrick's game versus Kansas City, his high production in the 41-7 win comes secondary to the last-minute drive for a win against Oakland. There were times in the Kansas City game where Fitzpatrick skipped a pass or two early on, but then the results of hard work put in through training camp shined through by the end of the game. Four touchdown passes, 208 yards and a completion percentage of 68. We saw a hint of this type of production in the preseason game against Jacksonville, but this was the first time it came out in full force. A great win that got Bills' fans thinking 'Hey, maybe this team is better than we thought.'
The Bad
- There were a few candidates for this portion. The Giants game, the Cowboys game or the Chargers game, but ultimately I had to give the distinction to the Bills' first game against Miami on the road. The 35-8 loss yielded no touchdowns for the Bills, and was the loss that signaled the season was probably going the wrong way through the final six games. It was their third straight loss to put them at a 5-5 record, and Fitzpatrick was a big reason for the loss. Completions and interceptions aside, the Bills did not convert on a single third down attempt. They were 0-for-12 in that category, helping set the tone for the outcome of the game. Fitzpatrick threw for 209 yards, two interceptions, completed just 51.3-percent of his passes and was sacked twice. Combined with the loss to Dallas the week prior, kicker Dave Rayner had more points in two games (7) than the Bills' offense (6). To say they were in a funk is a bit of an understatement.
The Downright Ugly
- While Fitzpatrick threw a late touchdown in this game, he was the main reason they lost. The game I'm referring to is the one that started the seven-game slide. The game that exposed the Bills' offense and showed teams the way to beat them. It was the eighth game of the season, a 27-11 loss to the New York Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium. At that point in time, both teams were battling for position to try for a postseason push. The results were more of a crash to earth than anything. It's not as though Fitzpatrick and the Bills didn't have their chances on offense. Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez tried his very hardest to give the game away, leading the Jets to just a 3-0 halftime lead despite badly outplaying the Bills. Fitzpatrick was never able to hit his stride, however. His performance was highlighted by a pair of interceptions that made the fan base cringe. The first showed Fitzpatrick failing to identify where the linebacker in coverage was, throwing it right in the gut of Calvin Pace. The second was his worst of the season. Under duress on second down, Fitzpatrick reared back and threw in to triple coverage. The ball deflected off a pair of Jets, and a fourth defender jumped over and picked off the pass. It was the start of the decline and the first time where doubt started to creep in after a great 5-2 start. For that, it deserves the honors of 'The Downright Ugly.'
The Future
- Despite Fitzpatrick leading the NFL in interceptions, it seems as though he is safe and has another year as the Bills quarterback. Like it or not, Chan Gailey has hitched himself to the Fitzpatrick-wagon, and will either live or die with his success or failure. Gailey made it a point to talk about how this whole thing is to get the Bills back to not just the playoffs, but the Super Bowl. So I asked him if he believed Fitzpatrick can be the quarterback to win the big game. Without hesitation, he answered back: "Yes, he is." Fair enough. You're looking at your starter in 2012 at the very least in Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Draft Considerations
- With Matt Barkley and Landry Jones returning to school, it removes a lot of temptation from drafting a quarterback in the first round. But even if it were there, I don't think this franchise would have drafted one. Instead, look for a mid-round pick at the position so the Bills can carry three quarterbacks on the roster. They got their backup in Tyler Thigpen in free agency last year, now they need a project quarterback. I would expect a third, fourth or fifth round selection to address the position.
Well said Joe, you hit the nail on the head like you have done all season. Fitzpatrick is such a topic for discussion for me because the quarterback is the top position in the NFL. You need a quarterback to win in this league and we need a great one. We have not had an elite QB since Jim Kelly and its not a surprise this franchise and our fans have suffered for so long. I have never been sold on him and even in the best days of the season, i never thought he was elite, but i thought he was good enough to win in this offense. Then the bottom fell out and you know the rest of the story. I can honestly say he's been responsible for the wins early on, but he is definetly responsible for the losses. He might not be the sole reason because of a horrible defense, but he's a big reason as the QB is judged on wins and losses fairly or unfairly. But he was awful in just about all 10 of the Bills losses with the Giants and second Jets game he was average at best but not good enough to pull out a win in very winable games. He was outplayed by Andy Dalton severly in the 2nd half and now Dalton is in the playoffs as a rookie while Fitz and the Bills are once again sitting home in January. the first Jets game made me very mad at the throws he was making. I was like "are you kidding me?" Then against Miami, he can't convert a single third down? In fact, he failed to convert a single third down in both games against a bad Dolphins team. He was just horrendous against mediocre Cowboys and Chargers. This team needs a quarterback. I wish we could have either Cam Newton or Dalton or even Jake Locker who I like. I also wished we were drafting Andrew Luck or even in position to draft Robert Griffin. That would make me more comfortable. Having Fitz again just shows us we are again striving for mediocrity. We can go after Matt Barkley but they'll win 5-6 games and they will be no where near the top pick. Same old garbage each and every year
01/06/2012 12:39PM
Drafting A QB
In regards to drafting a QB, what would be the point of drafting a 3-5th round QB? They have no intentions of him starting, and the odds of him being the "future" are slim to none. It seems with QBs you have your top crop that go in the first two rounds, then basically a bunch of backups (unless you're incredibly lucky). My opinion is the Bills would have better luck drafting for another position than wasting it on a QB. Like the Levi Brown pick from a few years ago. What was the point of drafting him at that point? He clearly had no chance at ever being more than a backup. To me, if you're not getting one in the first round or two, then don't even bother.
01/06/2012 12:53PM
My review in simplicity
Fitzpatrick: Not good enough to my liking. The Bills should get out of that contract and find a way to get Andrew Luck. Final Answer. PERIOD!
01/06/2012 1:15PM
interceptions
how many of those hit donald jones and spiller right in the hands and bounced up for a pick? I can think of at least 5. might be more to different people.
01/06/2012 1:24PM
HA
Add another year of no playoffs next season with Fitz being the starter. I'm sorry Chan but no, he can't win the big game.
01/06/2012 3:28PM
"average" is okay if you have a great supporting cast.
The "Fitz bandwagon" rolls along if he has the weapons around him. When injuries to the center, tight-end, receivers, and running-back piled up, Fitz looked awful. A healthy offense will help in 2012. But we still need to groom a successor.
01/06/2012 4:30PM
Bean counters RULE
this team. Never a sniff of the playoffs to be had.
01/06/2012 11:38PM
Trade up
Do whatever it takes to get RG3 we need a real number 1 qb Fitz stinks and how long is Ralph gonna live die already you joke
01/07/2012 7:18AM
Being figured out
The Bills had been figured out long before the home Jets game. In Cincinnati, Buffalo was denied the middle of the field, resulting in David Nelson noticeably becoming absent with only 2 catches for 18 yards that day. Buffalo failed to score 30 points from their offense the rest of the season after doing so the first 3 games.
01/07/2012 1:55PM
Deflections
I would love for someone to research how many INTs were off of deflections and late in games when the Bills were trailing. Not an excuse because I feel Fitz made some bad decisions and even worse throws, but the final Pats game was case in point...at least 2 of his 4 INTs were in and out of the hands of his receiver.
01/07/2012 2:23PM
The obvious.
The bills miss it, which is why this team has been so abysmal for so long. It is ridiculously clear that Fitzpatrick is NOT a top notch QB, but it will apparently take the slow to figure things out bills another season to figure that out, which means another losing season, and another year needed to find a true top notch QB. I'd rather be trying out unknowns and miss on some until we find the QB we need, than continuing to waste season after season on mediocre QBs. Really, anyone who thinks the Bills can win a superbowl with fitz at QB simply doesn't have a clue. Too bad for us, the bills 'braintrust' apparently thinks they can, lol.
01/07/2012 2:27PM
RE: Drafting a QB
The bills should be spending SEVERAL picks drafting QBs until they find a franchise QB. It's that important. If you want to talk about 'wasting' picks, then the Bills are wasting picks on secondary positions while they clearly have a need at the most important one, QB. While the pats have been owning us for the past decade, has it been because the pats have a great tackle, or LB or RB? Nope, it's because they have a great QB, plain and simple. Did the colts contend for the past 10 years because they have awesome CB's or offensive linemen? Nope, they had a great QB. You need a great QB to win in this league, it really is that simple, which is why it is so maddening that this organization, and apparently some of its fans, just don't get it.
01/09/2012 5:14PM
No need to draft a QB
Why couldn't the Bills pick up a QB from another team's backups? Someone like T J Yates? Or how about Matt Moore if the Dolphins let him go? And why not give Levi Brown some reps with the first-or second-string? Is he really worse than Thigpen? Maybe we would be surprised much like Miami or Houston.
01/12/2012 2:27PM
need a QB
no matter how you spin it Fitz is a backup. The Bills need a quality QB. If you are truly gooing to compete for a championship you need the QB. But until we get new ownership this is not going to happen. Personnally after years of being a die hard fan I GIVE UP.
01/14/2012 3:16AM
This team is a joke
I just can't even think of watching fitzpatrick throw passes either into triple coverage or straight to the defender for the next 6 yrs n there is no way I will b supporting this team by buying tickets this yr for the 1st time in over 10 yrs
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