deltbucs wrote:billsfan1212 wrote:Good god... you dont know how bad things are if you seriously want Fitz leading this team.
Fitz is a GREAT dude. He's the consummate teammate. He's the guy that you LOVE to root for bc hes that good of a dude.....
Of all the things Fitz is good at - quarterbacking is not one of them.
Now, has he had spurts where hes been the man? well, ya... you dont stick in the league that long unless you are competent.
Thats Fitzy in a nutshell. COMPETENT.
We had a saying, and the games we won were due to FITZMAgic and the games we lost were FITZTragic.
The magic wore off eventually and it was because of 1 single thing. I've never been able to put my finger on a reason in such a way before or after but it was SSOO painfully obvious.
Sadly, you guys got your first taste of the tragic yesterday.
NEVER FAIL - he throws the pick that puts the nail in the coffin.
Seriously, I kid you not. It happens EVERY...SINGLE....TIME!!!
I've always kinda liked Tampa and after this week I'll go back to doing so but trust me... ya cant have Brett Favre's mentality if you dont have his arm!! Thats his issue.
Now, that aside, he put it to the Bills later year on Thursday Night, and beat em once after leave with the Texans so even though hes lost a lot more than won since parting ways- some people think hes a Bills killer. He may be! But I can PROMISE you this... 9/10 times if you are down a TD and need him to drive down the field for a TD to win THE DRIVE WILL END WITH A GAME ENDING PICK.
His brain makes throws his arm cant.
Shame, because dude is a gamer. Puts it all on the line and is fun to root for.
If you need further proof, look at year 1 and then year 2 with the Jets. yr1 was a fluke (with a lot of bounces offsetting all the picks) and year 2 was just the real Fitz.
Also... Fitz also had a tendency to be terribly erratic. He'd put his receivers (as recently as last yr w/the JETS) in a bad spot with a poorly placed ball. Skipping balls. Balls behind guys... and the dreaded Fitz Rainbow!!!! When he'd throw deep the ball would totally disappear from the screen. I get touch... but this is something totally different. Only 1 of 3 things happens on a Fitz deep pass. 1) INT 2) 10 yards out of bounds incomplete 3) Opposing DBs laugh at how bad a deep ball he has *****BONUS***** sometimes a ball would get tipped up for a completion
You guys have a good thing with the kid down there... keep going that direction and hope he takes that next step.
Maybe this upcoming AFC game isnt as important as your 2 NFC games after and Fitz gets a look just to be safe- BUT- after JW comes back Dont get frustrated!
Truth is, 80% of the league (if not more) would KILL to have JW.
Meanwhile...back in Buffalo......we get to deal with MR sub 200 yrd passing and people calling for the rookie 5th rd backup....
And you guys complain about JW?!?!?!?!
At least our D will keep us in it!
I just hope for your sake that however the game shakes out ( if Fitz plays) you guys arent in a position to drive the field w/2:00 left down by 6. I wouldnt wish that feeling on anyone!!
Good post, dude.
Your comments about throwing a pick to lose the game brings back some vivid memories of Brian Griese in a Bucs uniform.
Lord, that guy could throw "pick sixes" with the best of them!!
I've got a ton of confidence in JW, but was hoping for more from hit at this point in the season.
My biggest concerns are:
1) Whether JL/DK are doing enough to protect and nurture JW during his development. It seems the other young QBs in the league are surrounded by superior O-Line talent and stud RBs, while our O-line has been spotty at best and RB talent/availability/production has been suspect. Meanwhile, JW has been given a slate of great receiving weapons and expected to shoulder the load through the air. I just wonder if he's being asked to do too much too soon. I hope not. My sense is that everyone that has been around JW have found him to have an exceptional understanding of the position. The temptation is to put it all on his plate since he appears to be so advanced at such a young stage of development. But, he still has to develop, and he needs to regularly experience success in order to make the most of that development.
2) I don't see a lot of "easy" throws in this offense. Most of what we see are vertical routes with either: a) throws into tight windows to big targets (Brate, Evans), deep passes that are low % by nature (bombs to DJax), or intermediate routes where JW has to throw over a CB but underneath a safety (i.e., another tight window). Where are the "chain movers" that pick up 7 yards on 3rd and 5? Where are the screens and slants in space? Where are the single read throws off of rollouts. Heck, given the lack of production in the running game, we're not even seeing a healthy dose of play action, which is JW's bread and butter- he's among the best in the league at it!! I'm not necessarily casting stones at DK - the easy throws may be there and JW may simply be reverting to his gunslinger mentality by forcing the issue. If that is the case, though, pull in the reigns!!! I swear the longer throws would be easier if the defense had reason to fear the underneath stuff, too!
3) JW seems rushed this year - instead of slowing down for him, the game seems to have sped up. He's feeling phantom pressure. He's rushing throws that don't need to be rushed - we saw this repeatedly with some of the short throws in the Pats game. He's frantic on the rare occasion he leaves the pocket. My hope is that this is a growing pain, but my fear is that JW is playing with fear. It's hard to coach that out of someone.
4) Finally, I am concerned that JW isn't making plays with his feet anymore. JW has shown stretches of prodigious arm talent, and his anticipation from the pocket is great, but he's truly exceptional when plays break down and he gets to rely on instinct. I think this is a big reason why he is so successful in the hurry up and late in games. He had 6 rushing TDs as a rookie - second in the league among all QBs, and I'd venture to guess that the vast majority of his red zone passing TDs last year were on broken "school yard" plays (especially inside the 10 yard line). I understand wanting to play within a "system," but I fear that this aspect of Jameis' game is being coached out of him.
I'm holding out hope for JW. He has all the tools to be great. He has a lot of time to develop, and hopefully can lead this team for the next decade. I'm willing to be patient, and I believe that he will be an upper-level QB in the league sooner than later. That said, I sure wish things looked better than they do currently, and I wish I got the sense that JW was being nurtured a bit more, rather than force-fed.