According to some, Fitz ranks up there with 'franchise' QB's

[YardRat]

In interceptions, anyway...

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=1&season=2011&seasonType=REG&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&statisticPositionCategory=QUARTERBACK&d-447263-s=PASSING_INTERCEPTIONS&qualified=true

The top 10...

Fitz, Freeman, Grossman, Rivers, Sanchez, Newton, Eli, Palmer, Stafford, Brees.

Bolded have been referred to as 'franchise'.

Add in fumbles, and I believe the order is...

Freeman, Sanchez, Grossman, Rivers, Fitz.

[zone]

He is also #10 in TD's, ahead of big Ben, Vick, Newton,Flacco, Smith, etc

and #11 in yards...

Fitz is not the problem here and a portion of his ints were off receivers hands.

[mrbojanglezs]

misleading because the actual numbers are quite different between fitz and the 5th-10th ranked

[Extremebillsfan247]

Do we really need to have this discussion right now? It's a really long off season. lol JMO

[Ickybaluky]

Interceptions without looking at attempts is misleading.

For instance, Drew Brees has 14 Ints, but his interception percentage is 2.1%. That is good, considering how much he puts the ball in the air.

Here are the worst QB in terms of Interception Percentage:

John Skelton (5.1%)
Carson Palmer (4.9%)
Christian Ponder (4.5%)
Rex Grossman (4.4%)
Ryan Fitzpatrick (4.0%)
Josh Freeman (4.0%)
Curtis Painter (3.7%)
Phillip Rivers (3.4%)
Matt Cassel (3.3%)
Mark Sanchez (3.3%)
Michael Vick (3.3%)
Cam Newton (3.3%)
Kevin Kolb (3.2%)

Everyone else is less than 3.0%.

The two that really stick out are Michael Vick and Phillip Rivers.

Vick has a career Int% of 3.1%, so he is a little worse this year. I think Philly is willing to live with that because he makes so many big plays with his arm and legs.

Rivers he had a poor year. His career interception percentage is 2.6%, so this year is an aberration.

Carson Palmer has been in decline for a few years, and joined his team mid-year. He needs to prove he can reverse that trend.

Skelton, Kolb, Ponder, Painter, Freeman, Newton and Sanchez are young QB, so you expect more mistakes.

I'm not sure Cassel Or Grossman are considered great QB, although both guys have been starters in their career. Grossman is streaky. Cassel threw more picks this year, but his career Int% is a respectable 2.5%.

As for Fitzpatrick, his 4.0 Int% is a little worse than his career 3.7%, but it indicates his biggest issue: Accuracy. He is a streaky player who is capable of playing well for stretches, but who over his career has not proven to be as accurate as you want in a starting QB. If you watch him, sometimes he places the ball poorly even when completed, throwing the ball a little off-target.

I think Fitzpatrick gets more criticism than he deserves this year. He has played well at times for the Bills, and has had to deal with some difficult circumstances at times because of the WR he is throwing to. He is a guy who can come in and win games for you if there is a good run game and solid players around him. He isn't consistently accurate enough to be a franchise guy, and I don't think he is a long-term answer for anyone.

[Ickybaluky]

He is also #10 in TD's, ahead of big Ben, Vick, Newton,Flacco, Smith, etc

TDs alone are not a good indicator. TD% is a better indicator. Fitzpatrick's TD% is 4.1%. That isn't bad, and ranks 15th in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers leads the league with a sick 9.0% of attempts leading to TDs. The rest of the top 5: Drew Brees - 7.0%, Tom Brady - 6.4%, Matthew Stafford - 6.2%, Tony Romo - 5.9%.


and #11 in yards...

Yards are a poor statistic by itself. Yards-per-Attempt may be the single best indicator of QB success. Fitzpatrick's YPA is 6.7 this year and 6.3 for his career. Good starting QB are rarely under 7 YPA.


Fitz is not the problem here and a portion of his ints were off receivers hands.

Sometimes those throws are on the QB. If the ball is thrown behind the WR, he might deflect it, leading to an int. Also, there are throws made that should be Ints but are dropped. Those things tend to even out in the long run, and effect all QB.

[The Jokeman]

For what it's worth ESPN ranked Fitz 18th best with it's new "QBR" system at http://espn.go.com/nfl/qbr/_/type/player-season which puts him slightly below average which is fair. His streakiness though is evident by yesterday when he seemed to be on stride the entire first half and then fell apart in the second half. Thanks in large part to the loss of his second favorite target (Chandler) and benching of his favorite (Stevie) both due to be UFAs this offseason. I say sign em both and bring in another proven #2 WR and we could see Fitz move to the top 12 which with a better D could be enough to make the playoffs as a Wild Card in 2012 assuming we find ways to beat the Jets, Dolphins and a few other non division AFC opponents.

[zone]

TDs alone are not a good indicator. TD% is a better indicator. Fitzpatrick's TD% is 4.1%. That isn't bad, and ranks 15th in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers leads the league with a sick 9.0% of attempts leading to TDs. The rest of the top 5: Drew Brees - 7.0%, Tom Brady - 6.4%, Matthew Stafford - 6.2%, Tony Romo - 5.9%.

Proving even more of my point, look at who they are throwing to and what Fitz has to work with especially after all the injuries.

Yards are a poor statistic by itself. Yards-per-Attempt may be the single best indicator of QB success. Fitzpatrick's YPA is 6.7 this year and 6.3 for his career. Good starting QB are rarely under 7 YPA.

We are really going to split hairs for .3?

Sometimes those throws are on the QB. If the ball is thrown behind the WR, he might deflect it, leading to an int. Also, there are throws made that should be Ints but are dropped. Those things tend to even out in the long run, and effect all QB.

No ****, but a lot of times they are on the receiver too! I am in no way saying all of Fitz's throws are on the money but he has trusted his WR's to make plays like the professionals they are and they have failed him on more than one occasion including Stevie giving up on numerous passes.

[Extremebillsfan247]

Fitzpatrick needs glasses. lol

[The King]

Fitz also gets no YAC

[BleedinGreenNC]

In interceptions, anyway...

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=1&season=2011&seasonType=REG&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&statisticPositionCategory=QUARTERBACK&d-447263-s=PASSING_INTERCEPTIONS&qualified=true

The top 10...

Fitz, Freeman, Grossman, Rivers, Sanchez, Newton, Eli, Palmer, Stafford, Brees.

Bolded have been referred to as 'franchise'.

Add in fumbles, and I believe the order is...

Freeman, Sanchez, Grossman, Rivers, Fitz.

Please dont mention Sanchez, he doesnt deserve to be a starter in this league

[superbills]

Fitzpatrick needs glasses. lol

Hey, it did wonders for Ricky Vaughn :idunno:

[PTI]

Fitz also gets no YAC

A lot of this are players being put off balance because he is so inaccurate and Fitz paying his WRs out to dry. I am surprised the YAC Fitz even did get, and many of those were being the LOS passes to Fred Jackson that he took downfield.

I still contend Fitz did cost the Bills the Bengals game. It was a short slant that was an easy pitch and catch but was thrown behind and low to Johnson, who did make the clean catch but appeared to trap the ball and was a horrible review by the refs. It is throws like that of which just stinks on.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

we need to put fitz's production in context. stevie had a bad groin all year, limiting deep balls and that extra gear. parrish-ir, easley-ir, jones- ir....

so we have a banged up johnson, nelson and roosevelt for most of the year. and fitz still threw 24tds and almost 4000 yds. we almost scored 400pts, something we havent done in 5000 years.

this is the bottom line- if you put fitz on the 2009/2010 jets teams- they might have gone to a superbowl.

our biggest problem is outside pass rusher. we need two new outside pass rushers regardless of 34,43,52 or whatever the **** system. WE NEED A OUTSIDE PASS RUSH!

[PTI]

we need to put fitz's production in context. stevie had a bad groin all year, limiting deep balls and that extra gear. parrish-ir, easley-ir, jones- ir....

so we have a banged up johnson, nelson and roosevelt for most of the year. and fitz still threw 24tds and almost 4000 yds. we almost scored 400pts, something we havent done in 5000 years.

this is the bottom line- if you put fitz on the 2009/2010 jets teams- they might have gone to a superbowl.

our biggest problem is outside pass rusher. we need two new outside pass rushers regardless of 34,43,52 or whatever the **** system. WE NEED A OUTSIDE PASS RUSH!

Why do people compare what today's stats are with past Bills stats instead of comparing today's stats with the coutnerparts of the today's quarterbacks? I mean, 22 teams had over 20 TD passes, it just is not that big of a deal, and Fitz is dreadfully average to below average. Only 9 teams had more INTs than TD passes, so I am pretty sire those TD passes are a wash for the Bills. To add a little more perspective to passing yards, those high flying Cardinals, Redskins, and Titans had more yards passing then Buffalo did and the Bills had 1 yard passing more a game then the Buccaneers did .

[Night Train]

A lot of this are players being put off balance because he is so inaccurate and Fitz paying his WRs out to dry. I am surprised the YAC Fitz even did get, and many of those were being the LOS passes to Fred Jackson that he took downfield.

I still contend Fitz did cost the Bills the Bengals game. It was a short slant that was an easy pitch and catch but was thrown behind and low to Johnson, who did make the clean catch but appeared to trap the ball and was a horrible review by the refs. It is throws like that of which just stinks on.

My problem is the 4-5 shots downfield you get during a game.

Hagan was inserted into the lineup the last 3 games and was getting major seperation from his man. Fitz shorted the ball to him every single time, costing us big gains. Once he was lucky enough to get a Pass Interference flag but those opportunities can't be missed.

The guy has guts but is so limited in his skillset, meaning opposing teams can successfully scheme against him more so than an athletic QB with an actual arm.

He defines system QB with limitations...or solid backup.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

Why do people compare what today's stats are with past Bills stats instead of comparing today's stats with the coutnerparts of the today's quarterbacks? I mean, 22 teams had over 20 TD passes, it just is not that big of a deal, and Fitz is dreadfully average to below average. Only 9 teams had more INTs than TD passes, so I am pretty sire those TD passes are a wash for the Bills. To add a little more perspective to passing yards, those high flying Cardinals, Redskins, and Titans had more yards passing then Buffalo did and the Bills had 1 yard passing more a game then the Buccaneers did .

he played average with a banged up johnson, nelson and naaman. imagine if he had jones and easley all year along with jackson and no levitre at lt? what if johnson was 100% with no groin issue. probably more deep balls... i think fitz was 14th in tds, and middle of the road for the rest of his stats. basically a solid starter. is he a franchise qb? no. will we have a chance at one this offseason? probably not. can fitz take us to the playoffs, yes. so we have to build around what the options are, not cut fitz and have no option. fitz is the card we were dealt. newton was taken 1st overall. ponder/gabbert/dalton are not better options than fitz.

fitz is our starter until we have a chance at drafting a franchise qb. until then, we have no choice.