Should the Bills start fresh at Backup QB?

[Dozerdog]

I'm not enamoured with Alex Van Pelt or Travis Brown.

Sure, they were adequate backups on a 3-13, 8-8 team.

But now that the Buffalo Bills are serious contenders not only for the division but to make a run deep into the playoffs next year, shouldn't we take the backup position more seriously?

I would hate to build a contender only to see the Bills window of opportinity slam shut if Bledsoe went down. Do we bring in a cheap veteran backup along the lines of Buerline or Frerotte?

Do we get a QB in the draft? Happy with Doughboy and Travwys Brown?

[German]

I would say maybe next year.
But if the Bills see a guy with potential in the late rounds, go for it.

[don137]

Actually my choice is not up there which is waive AVP, keep Brown and draft a QB (but not early). I think Brown has enough under his belt to be the backup.

[BillsNYC]

avp is the greatest living bill, and the team loves and respects him as a leader....and t brown has potential...so i think its not a dire need right now...

[LABillsFan]

I don't if I would use the word happy, maybe content, but with the time, money and effort put into AVP and Brown, and many holes to fill, I think keeping them makes sense for this upcoming season. No 1st. round draft choice is big so I would dedicate the draft to other positions. FA leaves the door open during the year if DB gets knocked out for the season. AVP may not have the strongest arm but neither does Peddington who was very effective this year. Brown (wildcard) needs to get more work in preseason to be truely evaluated, but he knows the system where as a late round draft pick would just be taking up space on the pine.

[Earthquake Enyart]

They need to decide next season if Brown can be the QB of the future. If not, the 2004 draft is the time to get a QB. They shouldn't draft one this year because the obvious needs, along with needing more depth for special teams.

[Dozerdog]

Originally posted by don137
Actually my choice is not up there which is waive AVP, keep Brown and draft a QB (but not early). I think Brown has enough under his belt to be the backup.

Sounds good- I put it up as a choice!

[Dozerdog]

I really think that if Price does not re-sign , then we should invest $750,000 in a veteran backup. Someone with playoff experience. I would hate to see an 8-4 Bills team get stung by a QB injury and tank the rest of the season.


Look at Tampa Bay- They would be eliminated by now if they didn't grab a decent backup this offseason. Not to say that King and RJ did well, but imagine if they were bringing in some no name journeyman?

Everybody got spoiled on the Tom Brady story- Superbowl MVP's don't fall out of trees every day.

[Romes]

why not keep both, and either draft a guy late round or FA and see how it unfolds in camp. Thats what i would do.

[Romes]

Originally posted by Dozerdog
Everybody got spoiled on the Tom Brady story- Superbowl MVP's don't fall out of trees every day.

I agree. It actually happened three times in a relativley short period with Warner, Brady and Brooks. Eventhough Brooks did not win a SB he is a very solid QB. This leads people to believe that everyteam has a future star QB sitting on their bench when that simply is not the case.

[WG]

I'm w/ don137 here.

BTW, how on earth does anyone have any clue as to how good Brown is?

Many of the QBs starting in this league were backups who only started due to injuries to the starters ahead of them. They only became known for that reason. Some of them are:

Maddox, Holcombe, Fiedler, Brady, Gannon, Green, Favre, Brooks, Garcia, Warner, and Bulger. If not for injuries or trades by their teams only treating them as backups, then not one of those QBs would ever have developed into anything. Nothing at all.

So I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone can say that Brown isn't a good QB simply b/c some coach who isn't even respected by many of the same people making the statement says so. Apparently the same "pro" NFL coaches thought the same about those QBs above and others. Meanwhile, b/c they "we're supposed to be good coming out of college," QBs like Plummer, Hasselbeck, Carter, Couch, and Stewart get the nod while their teams lose games as a result. It's mindboggling I tell you.

[Earthquake Enyart]

They do the same thing with Joe Burns.

Another case of The Man keeping you down.

[justasportsfan]

Why fix what isn't broken? If we are hoping for back-up qb's that would emerge to be the likes of Holcombe, Feeley(sp) ,Brady , Lucas (j/k) , then yes.

Right now, I don't think there is a need for it. Keep AVP who has been steady and should anything happen , TB is still there.

The best time to look into this would be training camp and pre-season.

[don137]

Brown looked decent against Miami in the season finale two years ago. With another year under his belt I would like to see what he can do. I wonder if the Bills can send him to NFL Europe just to get some game experience and give him a closer look.

[don137]

One more thing. Since this is a deep year for QB's a team can draft a decent QB in the mid to late rounds.

[TigerJ]

I would not drop either AVP or Travis Brown before the draft. AVP is a known quantity. He'll never be great, but he may win you a couple games with a decent team around him. TB is an unknown quantity. He has good athleticism, a strong arm and apparently has enough smarts to do the job. The only thing he really lacks is experience under the gun. We don't know if he can do the job because he's never been in a position where he's had to do it. I would draft a QB in the mid to late rounds if I saw one I really thought had good potential to become a starter some day, but he would have to come in and compete.

[Halbert]

OMG. I could not disagree more. Youse must be crazy.

The Bills ARE going to be SB contenders next season. With all their room in the salcap and all the good young talent on this team that has matured together, a few key FA's will greatly strengthen the defense and fill the holes elsewhere on the team.

What a championship team wants out of it's backup QB is a guy who can stand the pressure, won't lose games, and knows how the system works. Given Drew's excellent durability, it is most likely that he would only lose a couple of games max and in that span AVP would be an ideal backup. You wouldn't want him as your 16 game starter, but he can fill in more than adequately with a solid team around him.

Another thing is his incredible bargain price for all the experience he has. Sure, you could go out and get another strong armed vet, but you are guaranteed to pay more to have him stand around and perhaps play 2-3 games next season - essentially a very expensive insurance policy that probably would not even repay you the premiums. I'd rather use that money to add another vet someplace else (ie. defensive depth) and gamble that we won't need an extended start from a backup QB behind Drew.

Even if he had to start 5-6 games, AVP would still likely win 3-4 of them with a strong running game, great receivers, and a solid defense. Spending money on some other QB would likely be a waste.

And puhleeze don't tell me you'd want Travis as your starter when the Bills are in the stretch drive for the division around the beginning of December. Jeez.

[justasportsfan]

Like I said, why fix what isn't broken?

AVP may never pull a Brady or Pennington type of performance , but he is able and knows the team.

[Dozerdog]

Originally posted by justasportsfan
Why fix what isn't broken? If we are hoping for back-up qb's that would emerge to be the likes of Holcombe, Feeley(sp) ,Brady , Lucas (j/k) , then yes.

Right now, I don't think there is a need for it. Keep AVP who has been steady and should anything happen , TB is still there.

The best time to look into this would be training camp and pre-season.

So you are comfortable if the Bills are 8-4 at thanksgiving, and Bledsoe goes down for 3 weeks with a bruised knee.

Would yo wand AVP, Brown, or a FA vet like Testeverde, Buerline, Batch, Chandler? (Chandler was for wys:))

[lordofgun]

I think AVP's more than adequate for next year, but he's getting up there in age and I wouldn't mind drafting someone or letting Travis Brown eventually become the #2 based on how he performs.

There are FAR more pressing needs right now.