Fitz did indeed crack his ribs, per David Nelson

[methos4ever]

I thought so...at least we now have confirmation instead of rumors...

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[mikemac2001]

And then his throwing accuracy dropped

[better days]

And then his throwing accuracy dropped

Well there have been a number of QBs that have had to play with broken ribs. I don't recall any QB with broken ribs play drop off as dramaticly as Fitz did.

[Night Train]

And Thigpen still couldn't get on the field.

[mikemac2001]

Well there have been a number of QBs that have had to play with broken ribs. I don't recall any QB with broken ribs play drop off as dramaticly as Fitz did.


Ya it usually goes hand in hand, also maybe they didnt have them as severe in the same place....

also the Oline falling apart probably didnt build his confidence of not getting hit

[BertSquirtgum]

doesn't change the fact that he still sucks.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

yeah fitz sucks. only lost donald jones ir, stevie- hurt groin all year, roscoe-ir, easley-ir, freddy- ir, evans-traded, bell- hurt all year...

and the d was the worst ever plus broken ribs...

yeah fitz sucks...

[ddaryl]

Well there have been a number of QBs that have had to play with broken ribs. I don't recall any QB with broken ribs play drop off as dramaticly as Fitz did.

.. really. Add in the fact we rotated through 3 LT's and 2 centers, lost much of our WR core, and our top RB... I think people need to back off on the Fitz-hatred.

I know Fitz is not the pro-bowl super-stud long term answer at QB... but I'm ok with him until that magical day happens.

[Skooby]

Excuses are for losers, get someone on the field that can help the Bills win.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

Excuses are for losers, get someone on the field that can help the Bills win.

they are not bs excuses. the defense sucked ass, and we had major major injuries.

everyone knows having a top 10 pass rush is the 2nd most important thing in football outside of qb play.

[BertSquirtgum]

yeah fitz sucks. only lost donald jones ir, stevie- hurt groin all year, roscoe-ir, easley-ir, freddy- ir, evans-traded, bell- hurt all year...

and the d was the worst ever plus broken ribs...

yeah fitz sucks...

He sure does

[YardRat]

After we win the SB, fans will look back fondly on Fitz's toughness.

[PTI]

If he was out there playing hurt and also sucking badly the whole 2nd half of the season then Gailey and Nix should be fired right now then. Thigpen could have played as well as Fitz did if he started all season long. On a crap KC team he had comparable stats to Fitz in his only time of extended play.

[TigerJ]

The timing of the injury certainly corresponds with the start of Fitz's complete ineffectiveness. If it is the whole reason, I guess that is a bit of good news. His ribs shouldn't be cracked to start 2012. It does infer that Buffalo needs to do two things among all of the rest of the stuff they need to do in the offseason.

They need to protect Fitz better. I understand that they had all kinds of injury problems on the offensive line, and that impacted their ability to protect Fitz, but excuses don't keep your QB upright. Hairston should be better prepared if he has to man the left tackle spot again. I would hope that Eric Wood and Craig Urbik can avoid season ending injuries this season. I think Buffalo will probably draft another tackle. I don't know if Bell is in Buffalo's plans next season, but his inability to stay on the field hurts the Bills.

Buffalo also needs to have a backup QB that they can trust to start at least a few games if need be. For whatever reason the Bills thought that a completely ineffective injured Ryan Fitzpatrick was a better option than a healthy Thigpen. Whatever Chan says about Thigpen, his actions say, This guy can't lead this team to a win," and having seen him in the preseason, I have to agree. Well then, find someone who gives you a better chance to win if Fitzpatrick gets hurt again next season.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Well there have been a number of QBs that have had to play with broken ribs. I don't recall any QB with broken ribs play drop off as dramaticly as Fitz did.
Examples?
:thurm2:

[better days]

Examples?
:thurm2:

SERIOUSLY???????

[Goobylal]

Fitz confirms what Nelson revealed: http://blogs.buffalonews.com/billboard/2012/02/fitz.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fbuffalonews%2Fbillboard+%28BillBoard%29

[cookie G]

Well there have been a number of QBs that have had to play with broken ribs. I don't recall any QB with broken ribs play drop off as dramaticly as Fitz did.

Michael Vick didn't play at all for 3 games this year due to broken ribs. In the game he did finish, he had a 32 QB rating.

In 1997, Steve Young pulled himself out of a playoff game against GB due to his broken ribs. Pulling yourself from a playoff game is a pretty dramatic drop off.

[YardRat]

WE DON'T NEED NO STEENKIN' EXAMPLES!

[better days]

Michael Vick didn't play at all for 3 games this year due to broken ribs. In the game he did finish, he had a 32 QB rating.

In 1997, Steve Young pulled himself out of a playoff game against GB due to his broken ribs. Pulling yourself from a playoff game is a pretty dramatic drop off.

Well, Tony Romo not only fractured his ribs, but punctured a lung & still played better than Fitz did. Brady also injured his ribs but because they are the Pats*, we don't know if they were fractured.

[Goobylal]

Well, Tony Romo not only fractured his ribs, but punctured a lung & still played better than Fitz did. Brady also injured his ribs but because they are the Pats*, we don't know if they were fractured.
If you were to swap every player on the Bills and Cowboys minus the QB's, Fitz would have had similar numbers to Romo.

[better days]

If you were to swap every player on the Bills and Cowboys minus the QB's, Fitz would have had similar numbers to Romo.

You really think so? I DOUBT it, & I'm not a Romo fan.

[PTI]

Romo has the 2nd highest QB rating OF ALL TIME for his career!!!!

[Mr Bills]

Yeah his cracked ribs is the reason he tries to force balls into triple coverage or being too blind to see LBs dropping back into coverage. His accuracy has always sucked so there isn't much difference. Actually I don't think the cracked ribs affected him at all. He got worse as the season wore on, you would think he'd get better as the ribs heal.

[Mr Bills]

yeah fitz sucks. only lost donald jones ir, stevie- hurt groin all year, roscoe-ir, easley-ir, freddy- ir, evans-traded, bell- hurt all year...

and the d was the worst ever plus broken ribs...

yeah fitz sucks...

yeah he actually does very much. The only thing he is good at is getting his receivers killed.

[Goobylal]

You really think so? I DOUBT it, & I'm not a Romo fan.
Take a look at Romo's receivers, backs, TE's, OL, and defense. It's not even close, outside of backs.

[BertSquirtgum]

Typical Bills fan **** here. Just eating the bull**** being fed to them. OBD trying to sucker you goof balls into believing in him next year. I'm not falling for it, he still sucks.

[Goobylal]

Typical Bills fan **** here. Just eating the bull**** being fed to them. OBD trying to sucker you goof balls into believing in him next year. I'm not falling for it, he still sucks.
Yet here you still are. Who's the sucker?

[BertSquirtgum]

I still love the Bills but I know we will never see the playoffs with fitzputrid at the helm.

[Mr Bills]

I still love the Bills but I know we will never see the playoffs with fitzputrid at the helm.

The sooner people realize the better...

[Goobylal]

Sadly, there is no quick or easy fix.

[Skooby]

they are not bs excuses. the defense sucked ass, and we had major major injuries.

everyone knows having a top 10 pass rush is the 2nd most important thing in football outside of qb play.

Depth is not a dirty word, ask the Patriots after Bledsoe went down.

[PromoTheRobot]

Anyone convinced cracked ribs are no excuse please volunteer to have your ribs broken and then go to work and tell us how it doesn't affect you.

PTR

[more cowbell]

Typical Bills fan **** here. Just eating the bull**** being fed to them. OBD trying to sucker you goof balls into believing in him next year. I'm not falling for it, he still sucks.

Wow Hurkey we agree on something finally. I like it.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

just food for thought, eli had 32 turnovers last year... i suggest people be a little more patient with fitz considering all the injuries and suck ass defense...

[NOT THE DUDE...]

just food for thought, eli had 32 turnovers last year... i suggest people be a little more patient with fitz considering all the injuries and suck ass defense...

as far as starts fitz is entering his 4th season... people need to put things in perspective...

[Philagape]

just food for thought, eli had 32 turnovers last year... i suggest people be a little more patient with fitz considering all the injuries and suck ass defense...

This line of thinking has metastasized for years here. We saw it for JPUFL, Trent, Brohm, name-your-bum. "If (good NFL QB) can do it, so can (Bills QB)!"
What it does is assume that all QBs are the same. It is pure, willful ignorance of the merits of individual QBs. It's nothing but blind homerism, which has no place in serious discussions.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

This line of thinking has metastasized for years here. We saw it for JPUFL, Trent, Brohm, name-your-bum. "If (good NFL QB) can do it, so can (Bills QB)!"
What it does is assume that all QBs are the same. It is pure, willful ignorance of the merits of individual QBs. It's nothing but blind homerism, which has no place in serious discussions.

dude, fitz has show decent ability for 2 seasons. he beat the pats, which hasnt been done since bledsoe.... he threw for 20 plus tds, and 3000 plus yards twice, including almost 4000 last year with all our wrs being hurt....

jp, trent, sucked ass. the most trent did was show up for 5 games in 08...

are you really comparing fitz against those qbs...???

can we please just give fitz some time... like i said, hes eseentially entering his 4th season and has improved during each year...

plus what is the alternative? get peyton? luck and griffin are gone by 3... so please support our qb going into next year and shut the hell up...

[NOT THE DUDE...]

dude, fitz has show decent ability for 2 seasons. he beat the pats, which hasnt been done since bledsoe.... he threw for 20 plus tds, and 3000 plus yards twice, including almost 4000 last year with all our wrs being hurt....

jp, trent, sucked ass. the most trent did was show up for 5 games in 08...

are you really comparing fitz against those qbs...???

can we please just give fitz some time... like i said, hes eseentially entering his 4th season and has improved during each year...

plus what is the alternative? get peyton? luck and griffin are gone by 3... so please support our qb going into next year and shut the hell up...

i can name 20 qbs who took their teams into the playoffs who developed over a long period of time... including eli manning.

fitz has show ability over 2 years, we almost scored 400 pts last year. please give him time. thats all im asking...

[NOT THE DUDE...]

fitz has shown more than chris chandler, vinny testaverde, rich gannon, phil simms, terry bradshaw, eli manning, during his first 50 starts... qbs like fitz with his mind and ability get better over time...

[BertSquirtgum]

fitz has shown more than chris chandler, vinny testaverde, rich gannon, phil simms, terry bradshaw, eli manning, during his first 50 starts... qbs like fitz with his mind and ability get better over time...

:crazy:

[SABURZFAN]

After we win the SB, fans will look back fondly on Fitz's toughness.


and HurkeyNuts will be his biggest fan as well. :snicker:

[Philagape]

After we win the SB, fans will look back fondly on Fitz's toughness.

"Hey remember that QB with the big beard, what, 30 years ago? He was pretty tough."
"Who?"
"Way back when they were in Buffalo."
"Buffalo had an NFL team???? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

[NOT THE DUDE...]

wasnt kelly in his first two years while polian was getting more talent 4-12/7-8?

[BertSquirtgum]

fitz has shown more than chris chandler, vinny testaverde, rich gannon, phil simms, terry bradshaw, eli manning, during his first 50 starts... qbs like fitz with his mind and ability get better over time...
fitzputrid has been in the league for 7 years. throw that horse**** excuse down the toilet. he's had plenty of time to learn how to play in the nfl.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

fitzputrid has been in the league for 7 years. throw that horse**** excuse down the toilet. he's had plenty of time to learn how to play in the nfl.

but hes only started for 3 years. has gotten better each year.

he put up good stats last year when every wr got hurt including 3 lineman and freddy.

[Mike]

but hes only started for 3 years. has gotten better each year.

he put up good stats last year when every wr got hurt including 3 lineman and freddy.

Maybe I should play QB for the Bills. I too can only get better & with all the crap talent, injuries, & the fact that I have never played QB before, none of it will be my fault. And after 7 years you can too compare me with Eli who has won 2SBs.

[Mike]

It you can take Fitz name out of the argument and substitute it with anyone else and the argument is equally valid then you have a very ****ty argument. Some people should never ever be talent evaluators, they would keep all the worst players out on the field with hopes that they will some day get it! Dont quit your day job. Lol.

[jamze132]

as far as starts fitz is entering his 4th season... people need to put things in perspective...
You just quoted yourself. That's awesome.

[justasportsfan]

Excuses are for losers, get someone on the field that can help the Bills win.

Fitz made no excuses . Blast him for his game but he didn't make excuses.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

So what fitz did in his first year with gailey and then during the first 7 games before all the injuries was irrelevant.

watch him make the pro bowl next year!