Bills and Fitz closing in on a new deal

[ddaryl]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7129249/buffalo-bills-ryan-fitzpatrick-working-contract-extension-according-sources

So for those hoping to see us get a guy signed looks like that may happen.



Fitzpatrick, in the final season of a three-year deal worth $6.9 million he signed as a backup, is scheduled to be a free agent after 2011. His base salary is $3.195 million this season. It is expected he will be paid at least in the range of Kansas City's Matt Cassel (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8644/matt-cassel), who signed a six-year, $63 million contract with the Chiefs.
In leading the Bills to their unexpected fast start, Fitzpatrick has completed 66 percent of his passes for 1,477 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. His QBR rating of 70.9 places him fifth in the NFL, trailing only Aaron Rodgers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8439/aaron-rodgers) (85.5), Tom Brady (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2330/tom-brady) (78.8), Matt Hasselbeck (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1575/matt-hasselbeck) (77.7) and Drew Brees (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2580/drew-brees) (74.8). His NFL passer rating of 95.2 is also among league leaders.

[SquishDaFish]

Already thread from yesterday on this

[SquishDaFish]

But awesome news anyway

[Skooby]

Great update, thanks DD.

[ddaryl]

Damn it I scanned the top posts and didn't see anything posted....

[BillsFever21]

I'd keep him around for a couple years but I wouldn't commit that much money to him. After a fast start the first few games he hasn't been very good the last few.

Defenses are figuring out our offense and he doesn't have the ability to push the ball down the field on a regular basis. Teams are playing them short and forcing him to try and put it over the top. He tried a couple times last week and we see how that worked out. It played a big part in losing the game.

I'd give him a 3 year deal but I don't feel comfortable giving him a contract similar to Matt Cassel unless he can prove his worth over the rest of the season. Three games doesn't make a season. We had a knee-jerk reaction with Dick Jauron after a few games and we saw how that worked out.

Outside of a Philly collapse and giving the ball away we would be on a 3 game losing streak. Anybody would have beat the Chiefs week one. We had two good comebacks but that isn't the normal for the NFL. We will end up winning around 8 games this year.

[ZEUS]

I'd keep him around for a couple years but I wouldn't commit that much money to him. After a fast start the first few games he hasn't been very good the last few.

Defenses are figuring out our offense and he doesn't have the ability to push the ball down the field on a regular basis. Teams are playing them short and forcing him to try and put it over the top. He tried a couple times last week and we see how that worked out. It played a big part in losing the game.

I'd give him a 3 year deal but I don't feel comfortable giving him a contract similar to Matt Cassel unless he can prove his worth over the rest of the season. Three games doesn't make a season. We had a knee-jerk reaction with Dick Jauron after a few games and we saw how that worked out.

Outside of a Philly collapse and giving the ball away we would be on a 3 game losing streak. Anybody would have beat the Chiefs week one. We had two good comebacks but that isn't the normal for the NFL. We will end up winning around 8 games this year.


Holy gloom and doom. They're 7 points away from being 6-0.

I'd like to see a deal get done for Fred Jackson. No one deserves a good deal more than he does.

[JoeMama]

I want Fitz to get paid. But I also want a deal that doesn't bankrupt us if we need to ****can him down the road if he busts.

[YardRat]

Holy gloom and doom. They're 7 points away from being 6-0.

Actually, eight. There are no half-points in football.

[BillsFever21]

Holy gloom and doom. They're 7 points away from being 6-0.

I'd like to see a deal get done for Fred Jackson. No one deserves a good deal more than he does.

We are also 7 points away from being 2-4 or 16 points away from being 1-5. It works both ways.

Outside of a couple great comebacks we haven't played that great the past few weeks. We have lost 2 of 3 and should have been 3 in a row if Philly didn't beat themselves.

One of them 3 point losses you are speaking of was a game we were up by 14 points at halftime playing against a rookie QB.

The first few weeks were awesome. We had two great comebacks but that's not going to happen often and is very rare. Since then we gave away a 2 score lead to the Bengals, almost gave a way a 21 point lead to Philly which beat themselves mostly and then couldn't seal the deal against the Giants.

If it takes 4+ turnovers by the other team along with some fluke plays for them turnovers to win then we are in trouble.

We will find out over the 5 weeks what we are made of. We play the Jets twice, another divisional game against Miami, 2 fairly tough games against the Skins and Cowboys and 3 straight games on the road. How we come out of them games will determine what we are made of and if we will have a shot for a playoff run the final 5 weeks of the season.

We must win both of these two home games coming out of the bye. It's not easy playing 3 straight games on the road. We will most likely lose two of them three games. If you factor in our "home" game in Toronto we only play in Buffalo once over the next 5 weeks.

If we can get through these 5 weeks at 3-2 and have a 7-4 record we will have a shot at the playoffs if we finish strong. We have to at least split the games against the Jets during that span though.

Over the final 5 weeks we have to play the Chargers and the Patriots which I'm sure the Patriots will beat us the 2nd time around especially in New England unless we get lucky and they are sitting their starters because the game doesn't mean anything. The Chargers on the road won't be an easy game.

With that scenario if we lose both of them games and go 3-2 over the next 5 weeks that puts us at 6 losses which means we have to beat Miami, Denver and the Titans to have a shot at the playoffs at 10-6. Even 10-6 doesn't guarantee a playoff spot. Last couple years 10 wins wouldn't get you a WC spot. The Raiders and Jets will be there towards the end and maybe even the Texans/Titans depending on who doesn't win the division. They are in a cakewalk division along with the Raiders. Outside of the other team the rest of their division is terrible and have an easier schedule.

If we go 2-3 over the next 5 games and we are 6-5 we might as well forget about it unless we win out up to the Patriots game. If by some miracle we went 4-1 which is unlikely and were 8-3 we would be in a good position. Especially if we beat the Jets twice which is also unlikely to happen.

I'm not doom and gloom I just see this team with way too many holes to be a contender and will end up with around 8 wins. The defense is terrible and we can't catch teams offguard with our offense as much anymore. Especially with Fitzpatrick's inability to hit the long ball over the top down the sideline. They are playing us short and forcing him to make them throws which he has trouble doing on a consistent basis. Our offense isn't good enough to score enough points to make up for our defense at the levels both are currently playing at.

[HendersonD06]

He's not a very good quarterback at all. Far from a Franchise QB. He's about to turn 29 years old next month. Has been in the league for 6 years. No trips to the playoffs. And who knows, my guess is he wouldn't be able to deal with the pressure of the playoffs to begin with. He has a career QB rating of 76.3. 56 TD's/48 INT's. He's above average at best. He's just not a franchise QB.

[Michael82]

He's not a very good quarterback at all. Far from a Franchise QB. He's about to turn 29 years old next month. Has been in the league for 6 years. No trips to the playoffs. And who knows, my guess is he wouldn't be able to deal with the pressure of the playoffs to begin with. He has a career QB rating of 76.3. 56 TD's/48 INT's. He's above average at best. He's just not a franchise QB.
Sounds like Mark Sanchez, except for the age.

[wmoz11]

I want this to get done right meow. Have a lot of faith in Fitz.

[Joe Fo Sho]

He's not a very good quarterback at all. Far from a Franchise QB. He's about to turn 29 years old next month. Has been in the league for 6 years. No trips to the playoffs. And who knows, my guess is he wouldn't be able to deal with the pressure of the playoffs to begin with. He has a career QB rating of 76.3. 56 TD's/48 INT's. He's above average at best. He's just not a franchise QB.

This from the guy who thinks Maybin is a pro bowler. This post is a joke.

[ddaryl]

Fitz is playing the QB position better then 2/3 of NFL QB's..

Is he a stellar all-pro the 2nd coming of Joe Montana... NO!..

BUT this franchise can ill afford to let Fitz become a FA and try to find someone who is.

If that can't miss QB prospect falls into our laps Nix WILL pull the trigger, but you also have ot understand the Nix is not going to draft a Gabbert/Ponder type unless they know they have a Fitz who can carry the load for 2 -3 years. The fact is QB's like Fitz are going to get $8 - $12 mil a season

[SquishDaFish]

He's not a very good quarterback at all. Far from a Franchise QB. He's about to turn 29 years old next month. Has been in the league for 6 years. No trips to the playoffs. And who knows, my guess is he wouldn't be able to deal with the pressure of the playoffs to begin with. He has a career QB rating of 76.3. 56 TD's/48 INT's. He's above average at best. He's just not a franchise QB.

Are you giving examples of your bum QB again??

[X-Era]

Yep. 10 mill per has been predicted for months.

Stevie is next.

[TedMock]

I like Fitz, but I would not break the bank on him. He's had his moments and the team generally seems to respond to him, but he's not loaded with intangibles and he doesn't have the physical tools to make a ton of plays. He's a slightly above average guy who I like, but certainly feel we can improve on if the right opportunity presents itself. He looks good in our division because aside from Brady there is nothing. Sanchez is below average and Miami hasn't added a QB to the roster yet. I know it doesn't always work like this, but I would love to see the 2 bigger priorities (Jackson and Johnson) locked up first. I don't want to deal with loss of player or holdout issues next year.

[SquishDaFish]

I agree with you Ted in a way. 10M or less really isnt breaking the bank for a QB and we should still draft one to breed behind fitz. But getting him done first is the right direction to go. Freddy is under contract 1 more year so he should be last and out of the QB and WR position the franchise tag if needed is cheaper on a WR than QB.