Field-stretcher TJ Graham..another NixFart?

[stuckincincy]

Pfft. 10 games, 7 starts, long of 24, 1 td, 19 catches, 7.8 ave. Do we blame this on Fitz?

[The King]

I think we have to.

[Joe Fo Sho]

Fitz has become the least accurate quarterback in the NFL. His deep passes are pretty much guaranteed incompletions or interceptions. It's really fun to watch..

[justasportsfan]

I don't think Graham was brought in to stretch the field. They already had a field stretcher in Lee Evans and they got rid of him. Looks like TJ was brought in for screens.

[stuckincincy]

That, and that the draft gurus jaws dropped when BUF picked him in the 3rd.

[DraftBoy]

We could blame this on the fact that Graham has never been the kind of player many Bills fans made him out to be when he was drafted way higher than he should have been.

[OpIv37]

It's a double-variable scenario so there is no way to draw a conclusion.

It could be that Graham sucks, or it could be that Fitz can't get him the ball. Or it could be both. Until Graham has a real QB throwing to him, it's impossible to tell.

[stuckincincy]

We could blame this on the fact that Graham has never been the kind of player many Bills fans made him out to be when he was drafted way higher than he should have been.

Yes. Passed-over draftee Sanu would have been more in tune with BUF's passing offense proclivities. Fast receivers with no downfield moves running along the sidelines as long as nobody breaks their chops at the LOS, are a dime a dozen. That type that have good hands are rare.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

Pfft. 10 games, 7 starts, long of 24, 1 td, 19 catches, 7.8 ave. Do we blame this on Fitz?

You have to give a receiver two or three years to turn the lights on. Also, I think that 7.8 could be greatly improved if we had a qb who could throw a pass further than five yards through the air. I think Graham could impress or at least enjoy a nice career if he had someone to throw him a pass.

[stuckincincy]

You have to give a receiver two or three years to turn the lights on. Also, I think that 7.8 could be greatly improved if we had a qb who could throw a pass further than five yards through the air. I think Graham could impress or at least enjoy a nice career if he had someone to throw him a pass.

With today's show biz NFL, and fans wallowing in immediate gratification, I don't know that a 2 -3 window exists these days.

[Night Train]

I really like Graham. If we had a QB with an actual arm, he'd be seeing some long balls. But with the Holcomb/Trentative/Fitz experience at QB, 7 yards is considered a bomb and anyone that can stretch the field is wasted.

[trapezeus]

was it the patriot game in buffalo where fitz had graham wide open and over threw him by like 2 steps while graham had two steps on his guy. that literally was a 90+ yard TD waiting to happen.

fitz is done. and frankly i think donald jones probably is a stud. that guy is walked into more brutal hits and defenseless hit possitions than any of the other receivers on this team. when they put the ball in stride, he gets a lot of YAC and a TD.

Accuracy is important for the Bills and they don't have it.

i wasn't pumped about the Graham pick, but he's here now. and they don't hvae a qb. i'd rather fix qb.

[stuckincincy]

I really like Graham. If we had a QB with an actual arm, he'd be seeing some long balls. But with the Holcomb/Trentative/Fitz experience at QB, 7 yards is considered a bomb and anyone that can stretch the field is wasted.

I see your point. Spending a 3rd round pick on a decoy that doesn't fit into the plan is pretty dumb in my book. There's a reason why the big names in football aren't grabbed up by the business community. Leadership my fanny - they are a closed club of narcissists working in a very narrow field of endeavor.

[better days]

It's a double-variable scenario so there is no way to draw a conclusion.

It could be that Graham sucks, or it could be that Fitz can't get him the ball. Or it could be both. Until Graham has a real QB throwing to him, it's impossible to tell.

You are right except there is another variable. Chan Gailey refuses to give most rookies playing time. He was forced to make Gilmore a starter & Glenn, but look how little he used CJ as a rookie.

[Mike]

It's a double-variable scenario so there is no way to draw a conclusion.

It could be that Graham sucks, or it could be that Fitz can't get him the ball. Or it could be both. Until Graham has a real QB throwing to him, it's impossible to tell.

It may be impossible to tell for the average fan, but the game tape does not lie. Does he get open, does he create separation, and how constant is he?

[kingJofNYC]

Graham isn't very good, can't beat press or run routes, just has speed. He could get by on speed for a while, has actually gotten open deep a few times but our QB can't throw 20+ yards with consistent accuracy, so yeah Fitz is holding him back from being a bit better than what he is now but that's not saying much. Graham's a limited player, maybe he develops but I doubt it.

[Mr. Pink]

Nix's fault. Over reached on the guy.

[kishoph]

was it the patriot game in buffalo where fitz had graham wide open and over threw him by like 2 steps while graham had two steps on his guy. that literally was a 90+ yard TD waiting to happen.

fitz is done. and frankly i think donald jones probably is a stud. that guy is walked into more brutal hits and defenseless hit possitions than any of the other receivers on this team. when they put the ball in stride, he gets a lot of YAC and a TD.

Accuracy is important for the Bills and they don't have it.

i wasn't pumped about the Graham pick, but he's here now. and they don't hvae a qb. i'd rather fix qb.

I like our receiving corps, Stevie can not be covered 1 on 1 or jammed at the line and believe it or not is on pace for another 1,000 yard season, his 3rd in a row (no Bills receiver has ever had even 2 in a row). Coming into the season, I wasn't sure about Jones, but he has shown toughness, has deceptive speed and can turn in a big play, he's on pace for close to 60 catches, 900 yds. and 6 TD's, for a #2 WR on a team without a QB you can't ask for more. David Nelson 61 catches, 5 TD's his rookie year, great hands, possession receiver. TJ Graham has shown he can catch the ball, but is being wasted with 2 yd. routes, he has got open deep, but needs a QB that can get him the ball. All of these receivers are being under utilized by a conservative passing game and a QB that can not hit a receiver in stride, or down field, these guy continuously have to leap and dive for balls, even on the shortest of passes. Get a QB that get the ball to his receivers more than 4 yds. down field and these guys will produce results.

[mrbojanglezs]

Whenever he does stretch the field he is open so that's not Nix's fault

[OpIv37]

You are right except there is another variable. Chan Gailey refuses to give most rookies playing time. He was forced to make Gilmore a starter & Glenn, but look how little he used CJ as a rookie.

Look how little he uses CJ now.

But you're right- Chan does seem hesitant to use rookies. Some people here have noted an apparent riff between Chan and Nix- maybe he doesn't trust Nix's drafting? Either way, it's the age of free agency. You have to get production out of rookies because you are only guaranteed to have them for 4 or 5 years. After that, they're either gonna walk or eat up a huge chunk of cap to keep you from putting the pieces in place around them. When you look around the league, rookies are succeeding even at the notoriously hard positions like QB. Chan needs to get with the times.

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It may be impossible to tell for the average fan, but the game tape does not lie. Does he get open, does he create separation, and how constant is he?

Hard to tell on TV with the angles they show. You need the All-22 for that.