Everything you need to know about the QB situation

[OpIv37]

Tyrod Taylor has proven that he is who he is: an NFL backup. He doesn't turn the ball over, he can make plays with his feet, and on occasion he can move the ball. But he doesn't feel pressure and either run or get rid of the ball, and he doesn't see open receivers or anticipate guys coming open. He pretty much never loses games, but he also pretty much never wins a game. He's the quintessential NFL backup.

That being said, the only other QB on our roster is a 5th round rookie. Now, most teams drafting QB's and playing rookies aren't very good, so there is rarely an ideal situation for a rookie to step in. The only examples I can think of are Ben Rapelisberger in Pit and Luck in Indy, maybe Wilson in Seattle. Right now, though, Buffalo is particularly poorly suited to put a rookie in. The OL has struggled in both run and pass blocking, so there is little run support. The best WR and the best TE are injured, and the WR's as a group aren't very good even when healthy. On top of that, the team has outperformed expectations. The D is far ahead of where anyone thought it would be and it's garnered national attention, so there is pressure to win. It's setting Peterman up for failure.

This is where it gets complicated: My personal opinion is that there shouldn't be a QB change, but if the FO is going to do it, it has to be either now or after we are officially eliminated from the playoffs. This is our bye week, so if they want to put Peterman in, he'll have 2 weeks to work with the starters. Following the bye, we have 2 winnable home games- one against an average TB squad, and one against Oakland. Oak is a good team but they have to travel across the country and may be missing their starting QB. They just lost at home to a mediocre Ravens team that had to travel to the east coast. So, if they are gonna do it, they need to do it now or stick with Tyrod til it's over.

[stuckincincy]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Good post.

[Mouldsie]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Yeah pretty much, Tyrod is ideal as a backup though I do think he is a top 30 QB in the league and thus a starter technically.

They will stick with Tyrod until they are eliminated. Sean almost has to. Putting in the rookie is the same as throwing in the towel to many of the vets on the team. (Of course, trading Sammy was the same gut punch to many of them and they recovered from that.)

[Bill Cody]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Yeah pretty much, Tyrod is ideal as a backup though I do think he is a top 30 QB in the league and thus a starter technically.

They will stick with Tyrod until they are eliminated. Sean almost has to. Putting in the rookie is the same as throwing in the towel to many of the vets on the team. (Of course, trading Sammy was the same gut punch to many of them and they recovered from that.)

All depends how Peterman plays doesn't it? If we're winning games nobody's going to be talking about towels being thrown in

[justasportsfan]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

I don't think the bills drafted Peterman to be our future starting qb. More so as the future back up qb. IMO, the best time to get his development towards being the future back up is after we are eliminated . But if it starts sooner, I am not against it either especially if Tyrod plays like he did against tampa like he did last Sunday.


Having Tyrod in there not only prevents us from seeing what we have in Peterman, but it also prevents us from seeing what we have in our receivers since TT refuses to give them chances to make plays. One thing I do remember is that our receivers were better when Peterman was throwing to them in preseason.


I am not against the staff looking to see if Peterman can light the fire underneath this offense which includes Tyrod's arse.

[feldspar]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Who would ever know anything about reality if it wasn't for Opie?

But I agree with him here. No QB change if it were up to me, and it isn't. If they make a change that they feel might save the season, there is no better time than the present. The logic in starting Peterman doesn't work for me, though.

[Skooby]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Get Eli, we win more and make some real noise.

[Joe Fo Sho]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

To me, it's the turnover ratio that we'd be risking with Peterman at QB. As much crap as I give Tyrod, he rarely turns the ball over. It's one of the things that makes him so boring and makes him look like he's not trying.

In terms of productivity, Tyrod is averaging 91 yards passing per half. Why can't a rookie QB put up those pedestrian numbers? Why can't any QB in the league do that? He's 28th in the league right now in yards per game behind Cutler, Kizer, Bortles and Flacco. All QBs who have been on or currently are on the hot seat for their team. Time to add Tyrod to that list.

His rushing stats aren't even a positive lately. He has 28 rushing yards on 16 attempts over the last 3 games, not even 2 yards per attempt and less than 10 yards per game. Those numbers are a joke for him. Tyrod without his running ability might as well be Trent Edwards.

[jamze132]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Tyrod will continue to be the starter until he's hurt, OBD loses confidence in his abilities, or we're eliminated but they're not quite there yet.

It's hard to judge a QB where your WRs run the wrong route, run ****ty routes, or drop the ball. Granted we all understand Tyrod's shortcomings throwing the ball but when he had better WRs, the offense was MUCH more productive and Shady could run loose.

[Arm of Harm]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Jimmy Johnson once said that you can either be safe and be good, or take a chance and be great.

Tyrod Taylor is not "good," but he's safe. Known. He'll get you 150 - 200 passing yards a game, and probably won't turn the ball over. You're not going to lose the locker room by playing him. Most coaches would choose Tyrod, because most coaches are looking for the safe option.

Peterman doesn't give you a chance to be "great"--at least not a significant chance. But he does give you a chance to be significantly better than Taylor. But that upside comes with risk.

[TigerJ]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

It is reasonable to suggest the best time to switch is after the bye or after elimination from the playoffs. The interesting thing about Peterman is one of his better traits is he tends to make quick reads and get rid of the ball. That is in contrast to Tyrod, who holds on to the ball as long as any QB in the league, if not longer. When he faces NFL defenses in the regular season, that may provide a challenge to his quick reading ability, but I think that quick read tendency may accelerate his learning curve.

[Night Train]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

Agree Op but it sounds like it's Tyrod or bust as of now. The change will come when it's too late.

[Mace]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

The change will come when it's too late.

I'm not sure what it would be too late for, besides developing Peterman if the staff holds back when they think the time is right. Not sure they will if they view Taylor as disposable, which I think they do.

I'm sticking to my guns in saying I don't think this is a contender, but rather a well coached, inadequately staffed work-in-progress that needs the next draft to fill out and get to another level, no matter who is at QB.

At least atm, I think Taylor (while inadequate) gives them the best chance to maintain a course as a team. I think we're going to see an offense with different pieces and style next season which will have some core pieces seasoned by this one, and a tested capable defense with a couple new pieces, sharpened by this one.

I think they're promising but not ready to deliver in any case, no matter who is under center.

[Novacane]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

As much as I despise watching TT play I agree you can't bench him for a 5th round rookie. That would likely cause some locker room division. Best case scenario Tyrod gets a minor injury that puts him out a couple games. Peterman gets in there without any controversy and plays well in wins. The team would then be behind him and Tyrods done in Buffalo.

[kgun12]

Re: Everything you need to know about the QB situation

I agree with Op. I'm amazed at some of the people on this board, the way they talked before the season, the D sucked, the coaching staff was lost and didn't know what they were doing, some were even ready to get rid of them. Well the D is the strength of the team, the coaches have done a good job and yet some want a QB change on a 3-2 team. Before the season most all would agree thought we would be 1-4. Hell the most vocal thought this team would struggle to win 4 games all season, I even think I remember some predicting 1-15 or 0-16. Yet there is hysteria by some to put in a 5th round rookie, laughable! Why, some are so fixated on the draft position that I truly think they want us to tank (KC's record is killing these people) and the other reason is they were so sure how bad the Bills would be, that the taste of crow is REALLY horrible.

Is TT the long term answer, hell no, but a change while the Bills are still in the hunt would be stupid. The same people that want this are the same ones so worried about looking stupid nationally and this would be STUPID!