Year End Review: Quarterbacks

As the season is winding down, it is important to take a look at the season that was and review each position.  Today we will focus on the quarterbacks.  In the off season J.P. Losman was finally let go and Ryan Fitzpatrick was brought in to serve as the backup QB.  The feeling was that he would be good enough to start if something happened to Trent Edwards, but not good enough to start a QB controversy as Buffalo has become famous for this (Losman, Edwards, Flutie, Johnson).  Everything seemed to be going according to plan for the Buffalo Bills.  Then came time to actually take the field and that is where everything changed.

Buffalo had planned on implementing the no-huddle offense, and in theory it appeared to be an intriguing idea.  Stamford educated Edwards was great at checking down and seemed poised to be able to handle the intricacies of the no-huddle offense.  As each preseason game passed, it became more apparent that this offense was a mess.  Edwards was taking far too long to find his receivers and was also taking too long to initiate the offense.  Due to the amount of time Edwards was taking, he was allowing opposing defences to get set up which defeated the purpose of the no-huddle offense.  Towards the end of the preseason, offensive coordinator Turk Schonert was released and his understudy was promoted, Alex Van Pelt.

Buffalo put on a great showing against New England to start the season, and if it wasn’t for a special teams fumble, Buffalo would have won that game.  But the closeness of the game was already masking a serious problem that many were overlooking, Trent Edwards had lost his confidence and could not run the offense the way it was designed.  Buffalo attempted to maintain the offense the way it was after Schonert left, but that was just a mistake as Buffalo would struggle week after week to gain yards and first downs.

Edwards seemed to finally be the answer for this Bills team at QB.  There were a lot of hopes and promise for the young signal caller.  Although he is now injured after a brief stint in the game last week, he is basically a backup QB.  Nothing about Edwards suggests that he will make the transition back to being an adequate starting option in this league.  Buffalo knew going in that he did not have the arm strength and he was unable to make all of the throws a starting QB should be able to make.  Edwards has difficulty with the long ball; not just completing it, but also in just having the confidence to attempt it.  Edwards no longer is playing with confidence and appears to have lost his ability to make several completions and to just make first downs.  His ability to check down and find the open receiver is what made him an attractive option at QB, since he is now unable to do that, he no longer has any value at the QB position.

He has a defeated look and could use a change of scenery to a stable environment if his career is to be salvaged at all.  Possible places to help save his career would be New England or even Indianapolis.  If Buffalo does not cut him, he will turn into J.P. Losman in the sense that he will look uncomfortable under center and it is not a pretty sight.  Edwards is not the answer at QB, but it is not his fault entirely.  Buffalo has made far too many changes, and has been far too indecisive which are two things a QB can’t have in order to be successful.  Buffalo needs to solidify their coaching and their offensive system and then go about choosing their next “face of the franchise.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick has done an admirable job and has shown leadership abilities that Edwards once possessed.  Although he has salvaged a really bad season and upgraded it to just a very poor season, he is not an NFL starting QB.  He should be kept around in order to stay as the backup QB, as he does have leadership qualities and the ability to make some of the throws Buffalo needs.

At this point the only thing Buffalo fans should hope for is that they don’t decide to keep both Edwards and Fitzpatrick and also decide to bring back Brian Brohm and have them all compete for the starting QB position.  It is already obvious to everyone that their is not a starting QB on this roster and Buffalo needs to entertain the idea that they will need to search elsewhere for either their QB of the future, or their QB for the immediate future.

Possible names to keep in mind are Chad Pennington, Michael Vick, Jason Campbell, Kerry Collins, Kyle Boller, Jon Kitna.  I am not saying all of these guys are great options, but they are a serious upgrade over what we have right now and gives Buffalo the time to properly develop a QB which they have yet to successfully do.  The QB position gets a strong “F +” for the year, only because Fitzpatrick has played somewhat decent for a backup QB.  But there is nothing on this roster to indicate that a future starter is waiting for his opportunity.

Tags: Brian Brohm, Buffalo Bills, Chad Pennington, J.P. Losman, Jason Campbell, Jon Kitna, Kerry Collins, Kyle Boller, Michael Vick, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Trent Edwards