Bills could avoid most of Fitzpatrick’s new deal

[BLeonard]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/21/bills-could-avoid-most-of-fitzpatricks-new-deal/



Per a league source, the Bills could trade or cut Fitzpatrick before the seventh day of the 2012 league year and owe him nothing further than the $3.22 million base salary he was already due to earn in 2011 and the $10 million signing bonus he was paid upon inking the new deal last month.


Not saying the Bills should or shouldn't... But, if the season continues in a downward spiral, resulting in the Bills getting a draft pick where a "franchise" QB would be available, this could possibly be an option.

-Bill

[PTI]

They should just cut him now. Or trade him to the Bears!!

[Skooby]

Darth Vader would be pleased.

[SABURZFAN]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/21/bills-could-avoid-most-of-fitzpatricks-new-deal/



Not saying the Bills should or shouldn't... But, if the season continues in a downward spiral, resulting in the Bills getting a draft pick where a "franchise" QB would be available, this could possibly be an option.

-Bill


if it'll save The Old Fart money, consider it done.

[Jeff1220]

Why did every Bills QB from the past 10 years including Bledsoe, JP, and Trent get approx. a 50% contingent of fans who blamed the line constantly, yet no one seems to notice that Fitz's issues seemed to coincidentally parallel the rash of injuries to the OL this year.
Not that he's blameless, but having a little more time does wonders for a QB's accuracy.

[BLeonard]

Why did every Bills QB from the past 10 years including Bledsoe, JP, and Trent get approx. a 50% contingent of fans who blamed the line constantly, yet no one seems to notice that Fitz's issues seemed to coincidentally parallel the rash of injuries to the OL this year.
Not that he's blameless, but having a little more time does wonders for a QB's accuracy.

I agree with you. Look through some of my past posts. One thing I'm consistent with is the fact that the offensive line has been bad since before Nix and Gailey got here, yet, they have done NOTHING to remedy the situation.

I just found the layout of Fitz's deal interesting. A lot of people were very concerned about giving him $60 million. Now that the numbers and structure of the contract are coming out, it looks pretty fail-safe for the Bills.

If Fitz performs, he'll get a decent chunk of change for a starting QB in the NFL. If not, the Bills can cut bait and save themselves a good portion of the contract every offseason.

-Bill

[BertSquirtgum]

Fitz has always been consistently inaccurate. This is a trait I do not want in "my" franchise quarterback.

[BillsFanCupp38]

Fitz sucks! All year he has started games SLOW and that is why the offense starts slow. If we had a super dominant defense then Fitz might be average at best.

[THE END OF ALL DAYS]

one month ago fitz walked on water now hes drowning

[Don't Panic]

He just needs to clam down. He looked like he was trying to throw the ball through a brick wall yesterday. I bet we see some of the early '11 Fitz again before the season is done.

As for his deal... I have to imagine it was constructed to reward him while he played well and allow for a clean divorce if the situation warrants it.

[Romes]

They should just cut him now. Or trade him to the Bears!!

Week 6 was the trading deadline. They have to wait until the start of FA now.

[jamze132]

Fitz had some absolutely horrible passes this past Sunday and he was the main cause of the offense stinking up the place. If he hits his receivers on a couple of those third downs where the receiver was open, the entire game is a different one.

[Skooby]

$13 M for one season ? Sure.

[stuckincincy]

$13 M for one season ? Sure.

In 2010, skinflint Owner/President/GM Mike Brown made one of his famous "value" signings, inking damaged goods wr Antonio Bryant. Bryant fleeced him for $ 6.9 million. Laverneus Coles took him to the cleaners the year before.
:laughing:


http://www.cincyjungle.com/2010/8/29/1657065/bengals-terminate-antonio-bryants

[PTI]

Fitz is on the front page of this:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/

'Welcome to Dumpsville"

[Figster]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/21/bills-could-avoid-most-of-fitzpatricks-new-deal/



Not saying the Bills should or shouldn't... But, if the season continues in a downward spiral, resulting in the Bills getting a draft pick where a "franchise" QB would be available, this could possibly be an option.

-Bill


The problem is Fitz and Gailey are connected at the hip, Fitz goes, Gailey will probably go with him. Chan Gailey is an excellent coach in my opinion that is trying to win football games with a sub par QB, sub par WR corp, and a sub Par O-line. Chan's sense of loyalty to his players is the one thing that gets him in trouble, Gailey will always opt to use the next player on the depth chart vs bringing in a new player. Its up to Buddy Nix to put his foot down and do what the Bills need to do and what the Bills should have done in the 2011 draft. Draft a young and promising QB prospect for Gailey to mentor. We could have had Ryan Mallet in the fold, or look at the job Dalton has done in Cincy.

I tried to get on board with Fitz, I really did, but Fitzpatrick is a turnover machine/ backup made starter. His stats will tell you what Fitzpatrick has been doing his whole career, which is turn the ball over with INT's and fumbles and its never going to change.

We still need a QB...

[trapezeus]

so what are people proposing?

Cut the QB who actually won when he had time to throw? not all of his inaccuracy is on the line, but it surely didn't help. Prior tothe washington game, the bills had scored at least 20 points a game. not they are averaging 8. and that coincides with the musical chairs at OL.

If the proposal is to cut him at the end of this year and then hope to draft someone, you realize you are putting that new guy in a losman situation. You'll be throwing him to the wolves. Accuracy be damned, i think fitz is a guy you want in the organization. and i think if you cut him, someone will sign him as backup at the very least.

so you push the rebuild out another couple years and put it on a kid who probably will need some time to get it.

I'm for staying the course, add a qb in camp/later draft unless there is a can't miss guy falling, and then add LB first round, LB OL 2nd and 3rd, two CB's, a WR, and depth whereever it fits.

[Figster]

so what are people proposing?

Cut the QB who actually won when he had time to throw? not all of his inaccuracy is on the line, but it surely didn't help. Prior tothe washington game, the bills had scored at least 20 points a game. not they are averaging 8. and that coincides with the musical chairs at OL.

If the proposal is to cut him at the end of this year and then hope to draft someone, you realize you are putting that new guy in a losman situation. You'll be throwing him to the wolves. Accuracy be damned, i think fitz is a guy you want in the organization. and i think if you cut him, someone will sign him as backup at the very least.

so you push the rebuild out another couple years and put it on a kid who probably will need some time to get it.

I'm for staying the course, add a qb in camp/later draft unless there is a can't miss guy falling, and then add LB first round, LB OL 2nd and 3rd, two CB's, a WR, and depth whereever it fits.


In 51 career game starts Fitz has thrown 56 INTs and fumbled 15 times. Thats over 70 times in 51 games Fitz coughed the ball up in one way or another. So we should disregard his career stats and blame his latest turnovers on the supporting cast?

It is what it is, Ryan Fitzpatrick does not have good enough accuracy/velocity to hit tight windows in the NFL consistently.

[trapezeus]

that's fine. i'll buy that argument, but do you not think he is a piece of the puzzle? You want him tutoring a guy who has the mechanics and arm. jettisoning him out is a bad idea for the rebuild. he proves he can win 4-5 games. isn't that what you want and need out of your backup?

i think he can sheppard this team to the playoffs as is if other positions get fixed. if you can get a guy in to learn from him in the meantime, that's a good thing. but to cut him and just have a rookie sounds like it'll be a different version of what we are going through right now.

I like a LB and OL heavy draft at this point. obviously if there is a great QB in round one or two sitting there, you take him. but i don't think taking a qb is really going to change much.

[PTI]

In 51 career game starts Fitz has thrown 56 INTs and fumbled 15 times. Thats over 70 times in 51 games Fitz coughed the ball up in one way or another. So we should disregard his career stats and blame his latest turnovers on the supporting cast?

It is what it is, Ryan Fitzpatrick does not have good enough accuracy/velocity to hit tight windows in the NFL consistently.

Consistently gets guys killed with high passes too, and that monster windup let's defenders close in his targets and allows for breakups, and he just cannot make any deep throws to scare teams away from the line of scrimmage.

His career numbers in November and Decemebr are gruesome too.

In 31 games, he has 180 yards per game, 30 TDs, 38 INTs, 57% completions, 68 QB rating, 6.1 Y/A, and crap ton of fumbles.

He has never been good and never will be.

[BertSquirtgum]

I think he sucks but I don't want to Bills to cut him. They should definitely draft somebody and let him learn under fitzsucktrick for a year. Then opt out of his contract and try to sign him to what they should have signed him for. 5 million a year.

[Figster]

I think he sucks but I don't want to Bills to cut him. They should definitely draft somebody and let him learn under fitzsucktrick for a year. Then opt out of his contract and try to sign him to what they should have signed him for. 5 million a year.



After having a day or two to reflect I've been putting to much blame on one person and Ryan Fitzpatrick/QB is probably the least of the Bills problems right now. I do know one thing, Scott Chandler/TE position needs to be used more more in the passing attack. K-Gun never would have worked without the big play TE's dominating the middle of the football field. Bigger, more physical bodies across the middle are needed against secondary's like Miami's and the Jets. Gailey's best weapon on Offense is Chandler and he needs to be used.


Fitzpatrick is the perfect mentor for a promising young QB prospect in my opinion and could one day make a great coach. For that reason alone I've got no problem with staying the course. Best case scenerio for a promising young Rookie is to watch and learn from the sidelines his 1st season watching a seasoned veteran perform. Fitz can be that guy.

I hope all of our players and all of us Bills fans can put the past to rest for a couple of days and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

[BillsFever21]

It's funny reading these posts. You had many people after a lucky 3-0 and 5-2 start calling Gailey on of the best coaches in the league and an offensive mastermind, Fitzpatrick a franchise QB and that we had one of the best young WR corps in the league.

After reality has set in and they finally realized it wasn't sustainable and that teams would eventually shut down our sad excuse of an offense that can only throw short slants, screens and passes to the flat now all of a sudden they have woke up.

The Bills jumped the gun of Fitzpatrick just like they did with Jauron. Just be glad we they didn't give Gailey an extension too. They will probably both be gone after next season.

I wanted Fitzpatrick re-signed for a short contract at fair value while we groomed another QB but the Bills jumped the gun and gave hm 10 million a year on average when they could have had him for probably 7 million a year on average by waiting for the real Fitzpatrick to come out.

[djjimkelly]

fitz is neither good or bad

while the o line was healthy he was decent

but to defend him we have one nfl level wr and hes a #2

bottom line hes good enough for us to be competitive

stop drafting rbs and get some real players in here

[Cleve]

Fitz has always been consistently inaccurate. This is a trait I do not want in "my" franchise quarterback.

His throws were TERRIBLE in Sunday's blow out loss to the Fish - inaccurate, looked rushed, pulled, whatever. I was watching the game with a friend who is pro Fitz and pointed this out to him - he thought I should take it 'easy' on Fitzpatrick.

Well, then I'm listening to Bob Mathews last night - during the Fred Smerlas show - and both Fred and Bob mentioned the same thing - that Fitzpatrick's throws were terrible. Fred also said that it's been decades since a Buffalo Bills QB has had three back to back games where he's played so horribly.

Look at Blitzpatrick's QB rating - it's been plummeting. His average for the last 3 games is 48.1 - that's below the season average for Blaine Gabbert, the worst QB in the NFL at this point who is at 65. Also, Blitzpatrick is down to 16th place in rankings.

This guy is not a true starter-caliber QB - dunno who pushed for this lucrative contract so prematurely for Blitzpatrick, but the person ought to be fired. Law of averages is catching up to him - by talent he should rank 20-25 in starting QBs.

[BertSquirtgum]

Pickspatrick is and always has been an above average back up that can come in and win you a few games if need be. He will never be able to carry a team by himself for an entire year or even half a season. This was proven this year. That said, he is going to have to start next year for the Bills. I just hope the Bills aren't stupid enough to not draft a qb they like if he drops to them due to the stupid contract that was given to bearded stink bomb.

[Extremebillsfan247]

Not to make excuses for the guy but it isn't like Fitz has a lot to work with here. He has a porous Oline, and a receiving core that would struggle to make most teams practice squads. JMO

[BertSquirtgum]

Excuses are for losers

[Figster]

fitz is neither good or bad

while the o line was healthy he was decent

but to defend him we have one nfl level wr and hes a #2

bottom line hes good enough for us to be competitive

stop drafting rbs and get some real players in here


Myself personally, the Bills O-line was below average before the injury to Wood, we just happen to have a HC, RB and QB that did a real good job disguising the situation. Our O-line has struggled since Russ Brandon's brain fart of an idea to dismantle a veteran O-line and start from scratch. I've watched Levitre get manhandled and pushed around to many times to even call him good, Levitre is an average lineman at best. Without Wood the Buffalo Bills have one of the worst O-lines in the league. Without proper protection the Bills are unable to run longer pass patterns which shrinks the amount of football field the defense has to defend. The Bills WR corp is sub par as has been previously posted, we have a glorified #2 in SJ playing #1 and after that most of our guys wouldn't even make the roster on other teams. Scott Chandler is the best weapon Fitzpatrick has in my opinion. Once opposing Defenses became wise to the situation and concentrated on shutting down Buffalo's rushing attack and short and intermediate passing game, the Bills Offense has been shut down.

I'm not saying Fitzpatrick is franchise material because he's not, but it all starts up front and it probably wouldn't matter who you put behind Center. Without proper protection and nobody to throw to a QB is going to struggle.


my thoughts on the situation...

[better days]

His throws were TERRIBLE in Sunday's blow out loss to the Fish - inaccurate, looked rushed, pulled, whatever. I was watching the game with a friend who is pro Fitz and pointed this out to him - he thought I should take it 'easy' on Fitzpatrick.

Well, then I'm listening to Bob Mathews last night - during the Fred Smerlas show - and both Fred and Bob mentioned the same thing - that Fitzpatrick's throws were terrible. Fred also said that it's been decades since a Buffalo Bills QB has had three back to back games where he's played so horribly.

Look at Blitzpatrick's QB rating - it's been plummeting. His average for the last 3 games is 48.1 - that's below the season average for Blaine Gabbert, the worst QB in the NFL at this point who is at 65. Also, Blitzpatrick is down to 16th place in rankings.

This guy is not a true starter-caliber QB - dunno who pushed for this lucrative contract so prematurely for Blitzpatrick, but the person ought to be fired. Law of averages is catching up to him - by talent he should rank 20-25 in starting QBs.

Well, I said the same about Fitz in the Miami game myself. He was awful. That said, while his production has gone down, the team has deteriorated around him, both on offense & defense due to injury.

IMO, Fitz can play well when surrounded by a GOOD team. He is not good enough to carry a team on his shoulders.

If the Bills can get a GOOD QB in the draft, GREAT. They will need to lose every game left for that to happen however.

I don't think Fitz's contract is all that outrageous. $10 Mill is the going rate for a starting QB in the NFL today. Great QB's are getting double that. It looks like the Bills can dump Fitz & his contract after next year if they can find someone better.

[OpIv37]

I just have two thoughts on this:

1. What QB would look good behind this porous OL throwing to this group of no-name WR's? I'm not making excuses for Fitz because he's made his share of the mistakes and deserves his share of the blame, but as usual with this team, our coaches and FO are not putting players in a position to succeed.

2. Who are we going to get that's better?

[BertSquirtgum]

Jason Campbell or Matt Barkley if we lose out, which we should.

[better days]

Jason Campbell or Matt Barkley if we lose out, which we should.

Well, other teams such as Miami & Seattle will have to also win which they should as well.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Definitely keep Fitz but we must grab a topflight QB in the draft if we can.