Any Idea Why Brad Smith is Still on This Team?

[SpikedLemonade]

Surely he is not going to be our #2 WR.

We have other alternatives to return kicks/punts.

The Wildcat is dead.

Given the other players we have already walked away from why is Brad Smith still here?

Is his salary cap hit neutral such that there is nothing to gain from cutting him now?

[ServoBillieves]

Because we need players on this team and we sure as hell aren't bringing them in?

[Mr. Pink]

Roster versatility.

Third QB, WR, ST gunner, Returner.

[malvado78]

Kelsy handed off the pictures he had to Brad before he retired...

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Roster versatility.

Third QB, WR, ST gunner, Returner.

He's not a QB

[SpikedLemonade]

We signed him in 2011 for $15M for 4 years.

2 years into a 4 year contract.

[Mr. Pink]

He's not a QB

He is on the depth chart or was.

[more cowbell]

He's probably a better QB than the current pile of trash we have there...

[Mr. Pink]

He's probably a better QB than the current pile of trash we have there...

And it really doesn't matter if your third QB is technically a QB anyway...if any team ever needs to play the guy that is the third QB on the depth chart they're in a world of problems regardless.

[feldspar]

He's not a QB

That's for damn sure. He threw TWO passes as a Buffalo Bill, and both of them were intercepted. True fact. He's just not a quarterback, plain and simple. I guess he considers himself to be one, but he just isn't.

He's not REALLY a WR, either...not a good one anyway, or anything close to that. 100 catches over 7 years, fumbling the ball 6 times in the process. I'd rather have somebody like Namaan Roosevelt on the team than Brad Smith at WR.

Forget about kick returner too...we have a couple of guys that are better at it than him IMO. Definitely not the best guy to for the Bills at doing that.

Wildcat? Forget that right now, please. He ran the ball 34 times for the Bills over two years (about once a game average), and it's not like he's been picking up crucial 3rd downs like some people tend to believe. The overwhelming majority of his few runs have been on first and second down.

I really don't care about what else he does on Special Teams as gunner or whatever the hell...

You just cannot justify paying Brad Smith this kind of money. What is he really, though? You know, I'm pretty versatile too: I can walk and chew gum simultaneous. Add up everything he does, and it comes to dead weight. With that money, he should have been gone yesterday.

[PTI]

The Bills as a franchise have supported keeping players like Smith around for versatility, and it is a waste of a roster space, and it sacrifices the development of a player with some potential. Smith never had potential get any better at any position he played.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

He is on the depth chart or was.

That was a meaningless distinction. The 3rd QB has no significance any more, they eliminated that rule. He wasn't going to play QB on any real basis nor should he have.


And it really doesn't matter if your third QB is technically a QB anyway...if any team ever needs to play the guy that is the third QB on the depth chart they're in a world of problems regardless.

It's not about playing him, it's about developing him. IMO, the top two QB slots should be for the guy you think is your franchise guy and a stable veteran. The 3rd QB slots are a place to be sitting longshot projects to eventually become either the vet backup, trade bait, or in a happier world - the starter. Think of Houston with TJ Yates, Oakland with Terrelle Pryor, or the 49ers with Scott Tolzien.

Indeed, we used to do this a lot: Craig Nall, Brian Brohm, Levi Brown. I have no problem with how we handled any of those guys. You bring in a QB who either has a lot of physical talent but who needs time to put it together (Pryor), or a guy who was productive in college but undersized whom you think you can salvage (Brohm, Tolzien). If we had taken Smith 4-5 years ago with the intention of doing that, fine. But the time to make him a QB has long passed. He's a wideout, and he's going to sink or swim on his wideout play.

[SpikedLemonade]

I would have thought that half of the $3 or $4M per year we pay Brad Smith would have been better spent adding to what we were prepared to pay Andy L. to get an amount he would have accepted to stay here.

But if the plan is to save all our pennies and that is why we did not pay Andy L., then why spend the money on Brad Smith?

It is a small point compared to all the larger mistakes Buddy Nix has made.

[feldspar]

I would have thought that half of the $3 or $4M per year we pay Brad Smith would have been better spent adding to what we were prepared to pay Andy L. to get an amount he would have accepted to stay here.

But if the plan is to save all our pennies and that is why we did not pay Andy L., then why spend the money on Brad Smith?


Excellent point.

[Bert102176]

He's not a QB

Technically he is listed as a QB

[OpIv37]

He's not a QB

Not on any other NFL team. On this team.... *sigh.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

Roster versatility.

Third QB, WR, ST gunner, Returner.

Damn right, and you forgot the best part. . . . He completely sucks at all of those positions. He is indeed the face of what this franchise has devolved into.

[YardRat]

True fact. He's just not a quarterback, plain and simple. I guess he considers himself to be one, but he just isn't.

For his college career, Smith has more passing yards than Jay Cutler, Jake Plummer, Dan Marino, Donovan McNabb, Sam Bradford, Brett Favre, and a slew of other 'names'. He was also the first to pass for 8k+ and run for 4k+ for his career, and the first to pass for 2k+ and run for 1k+ in a single season multiple times.

Remember that when looking over the 'quarterbacks' coming out of college every year at draft time.

[feldspar]

For his college career, Smith has more passing yards than Jay Cutler, Jake Plummer, Dan Marino, Donovan McNabb, Sam Bradford, Brett Favre, and a slew of other 'names'. He was also the first to pass for 8k+ and run for 4k+ for his career, and the first to pass for 2k+ and run for 1k+ in a single season multiple times.

Remember that when looking over the 'quarterbacks' coming out of college every year at draft time.

Ha, I thought you were trying to pimp him there for a second, until I read the moral of the story.

I did not know this about his stats, only that he played QB in college.

[coastal]

Cut our version of Wes Welker?

never!!!!!

[feldspar]

our version of Wes Welker


What does this mean? I hope you are kidding too, but sarcasm doesn't read so well sometimes.

[coastal]

What does this mean? I hope you are kidding too, but sarcasm doesn't read so well sometimes.
Of course I'm kidding...

[IlluminatusUIUC]

For his college career, Smith has more passing yards than Jay Cutler, Jake Plummer, Dan Marino, Donovan McNabb, Sam Bradford, Brett Favre, and a slew of other 'names'. He was also the first to pass for 8k+ and run for 4k+ for his career, and the first to pass for 2k+ and run for 1k+ in a single season multiple times.

Remember that when looking over the 'quarterbacks' coming out of college every year at draft time.

So? He was a four year starter in a pass-wacky offense in a pass-wacky conference. Nobody looks at raw yardage numbers alone, otherwise Timmy Chang would have been the #1 pick.

[feldspar]

Of course I'm kidding...

You'd be surprised at what some Patriots fans are saying about him right about now. That's why I wasn't sure.

Even though he played for Miami and then New England, I've always liked Wes Welker.

[Raptor]

Whats the point of cutting anyone at this point when we have cap room?

[The Jokeman]

He's not a QB

and most 3rd QBs aren't.

[YardRat]

So? He was a four year starter in a pass-wacky offense in a pass-wacky conference. Nobody looks at raw yardage numbers alone, otherwise Timmy Chang would have been the #1 pick.

Not once in Smith's four years at Missouri did the team's pass attempts exceed their rushing attempts, and for the first three seasons it was actually closer to 60-40 in favor of the run. Even in Smith's senior season, when they did chuck the ball 469 times, they still ran the ball 512. His first three seasons the splits aren't anywhere near as close, so calling the Missouri offense 'pass-whacky' is inaccurate.

[X-Era]

and most 3rd QBs aren't.I have yet to define what he is.

Quality WR- Nope
Quality returner- Nope
Quality QB- Nope
Quality RB- Nope

I can do that job and will only charge 1 mill per year.

[SpikedLemonade]

I have yet to define what he is.

Quality WR- Nope
Quality returner- Nope
Quality QB- Nope
Quality RB- Nope

I can do that job and will only charge 1 mill per year.

A man for all seasons.

A jack of all trades.

The bottom line is that Buddy signed him for 4 years and on the heels of Buddy admitting his mistake in signing Fitz, Buddy is not ready now to admit another mistake by cutting Smith halfway through the contract Buddy signed him.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

well, smith is a decent returner, 4th wr, backup rb with speed and size, emergency qb, gunner, etc... he could probably play safety too...

you need guys like that... trust me, hes not the problem, not having a real qb is

[feldspar]

well, smith is a decent returner, 4th wr, backup rb with speed and size, emergency qb, gunner, etc... he could probably play safety too...

you need guys like that... trust me, hes not the problem, not having a real qb is

Brad Smith is nothing in particular, and his salary is the problem.

...he could probably play a doctor on TV too.

[BLeonard]

Knowing the Bills, they'll start Brad Smith at Left Guard...

-Bill

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Not once in Smith's four years at Missouri did the team's pass attempts exceed their rushing attempts, and for the first three seasons it was actually closer to 60-40 in favor of the run. Even in Smith's senior season, when they did chuck the ball 469 times, they still ran the ball 512. His first three seasons the splits aren't anywhere near as close, so calling the Missouri offense 'pass-whacky' is inaccurate.
Despite the perception, college football is generally more run-oriented than the pros. A lot more. A rush offense is much easier to install with guys you only get to practice with for 20-odd hours a week for four years. In Brad Smith's 4 years, he threw the ball more than 350 times a season and nearly 1500 times total. That puts him tied for 38th on the Most Passing Attempts in the NCAA All Time list (http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/leaders/pass-att-player-career.html). So, I am comfortable calling it pass wacky.