tukafan21

Most backup players you didn't draft in the first round and/or are expecting them to be your long term starters. You need in game reps to grow your game and these guys aren't getting NFL level in game reps with Bryce at QB, I don't know how anyone can honestly think we aren't stunting their growth so far. And yes, I agree some of XL's issues are things he needs to work out on his own to improve his catching and mental side of the game, but he still needs a real life NFL QB throwing him the ball or he'll never improve, no matter what he does on his own.

I agree with this and said as much in the "QB trade" thread last night. However, I think Jameis is the one exception to this rule, especially if we can get him for a 5th or later pick TWO drafts from now. To me, that cost is MORE than worth the return we'll get in the form of expediting the growth of our pass catchers. But literally any other available backup QB in the league and anything other than a pick TWO drafts from now, and I probably then balk at a trade like that.

These guys aren't getting passes beyond 15 yards that are at a true NFL level quality of a throw, that's really not even debatable, it's just a fact with what Bryce is able (or not able) to do. If you don't think that is stunting their growth, then I don't know what else to say, because it 100% is. Even more so with someone like XL since he was so raw when we got him anyways. Wasting 2 years of his development getting thrown balls that don't cut it at this level is without question stunting his growth. You also forget that WRs tend to be the type that get happier when they're getting thrown the ball more, especially downfield. So yes, while they might get frustrated by Jameis' turnovers, the increase in downfield passing will more than offset that to keep them happy.

Yep, exact same thing as last year, fans and the team will see the Wins, remember he "lead game winning drives" (despite him not even throwing a pass on some of those drives), and forget how he actually looked in those games and the paltry passing numbers he put up in them. Then they'll say "well we had a winning record before he got hurt and then the high ankle sprain affected his play the rest of the season and was the reason he struggled, so when he's healthy next year, he'll be great again" This has disaster written all over it

A QB throwing INT's has no bearing on the growth of his pass catchers, it just kills a team's chances of winning games. For all his problems as a QB, Jameis still has one of the strongest arms in the league and is also one of the most fearless throwers of the ball as well (which is part of his problem). Our WRs and TEs would get peppered with targets at all levels, something Bryce isn't able to do and I don't think Dalton necessarily has it left in him anymore either. THAT would 100% expedite their growth, there's no question about it.

2027 5th rounder for Jameis, time to pull the trigger on this one, we should have done it in the offseason anyways. He'll lose us games, but he's also one of the few QB's in the league who will be able to expedite the growth of T-Mac, XL, Coker, Horn Jr, Sanders, and Evans

So when he struggles after he comes back because he's still not 100%, the fans and team will make excuses for him because of that and it will be the reason we give him another year as our starting QB. Perfect. FML.

The real problem rotating Rico and Chuba is that they're more or less the same player, or at least the same type, they're both bruising physical runners, neither are the quick twitch elusive type. RB tandems work best/well when you have two stylistically different players, so when you rotate them, it provides a change in what the defense has to worry about. We have two Montgomery's but no Gibbs.

It's not about making Bryce look good, it's about the fear of Dalton making Bryce look bad. If Dalton goes out there and puts up 300 yards passing and is throwing the ball downfield with success, that in itself will be a REALLY bad look for Bryce, as that's something we're not able to do with him in there. Bryce is 10th in the league in passing attempts this year and has only 1 game over 199 yards this year, which only came because of the crazy prevent defense the Cardinals went to in the 2nd half of that game. I'll give Bryce credit, he's playing significantly better than he did pre-benching last season. However, if old man Dalton is able to step in there on one week's notice and is slinging the ball all around the park, how do you sell Bryce deserving to be the starter to the rest of the team or the fan base? That's why I'm saying the true Bryce believers are going to be afraid of Dalton looking good. If we look like a real life NFL offense in the year of 2025 (i.e. a real passing attack), it won't be a good look for Dalton or even Canales, it will be a bad look on Bryce.

But it's not the 55-60 yard passes where his arm strength issues are a problem, partially because we just flat out don't ever run those plays due to his lack of arm strength. It's the 25 yard downfield passes but to the boundary, so he has to throw the ball 40-45 air yards of distance. In the NFL, you need to drive those throws into those windows so it gets to the WR before any DB can get there to break it up. He flat out is unable to properly make that throw on an NFL level, like, at all. He's able to make those throws when they need to be a touch pass, i.e. the WR beat his defender, no safety help, and he needs to feather it in there for the WR to run under it for a sideline catch. But when there is a deep defender and he needs to drive the ball on a rope between the defender our WR has beat and the safety coming down from above, he just can't. And yes, a SMALL part of that is his footwork problems, but even when he has proper footwork, his arm isn't strong enough to make that throw in the way almost every single other starting QB is able to.

I think that's why they will be worried, as there is no reason for us to have a working passing game with Dalton in there, so if he does, selling people on Bryce becomes that much harder. It's not like bad QB's have good games out of nowhere, especially when it's a backup getting a start, it just happens sometimes and there's no reason it can't happen for Dalton, especially if the Bills focus on our run game and don't prep for him that much.

Any Bryce defender on the coaching staff or in the front office is going to be secretly rooting for us to get utterly destroyed if he is out for the game. The worst case scenario for any of them who still want to be starting Bryce is for it to be like when Dalton came in for him his rookie year. If he comes in and lights it up and we look like a real life NFL passing offense, it's going to be really tough to still sell Bryce to the fans or other players.

Average or maybe slightly below average?!?!?! In what universe does Bryce has about the 16th best arm among the starting QB's in this league? I honestly don't think there is a single QB with a worse arm, and if there is, it's no more than 2 or 3 of them. I agree with you on his footwork problems, but he flat out has one of the worst arms I've ever seen on a starting NFL QB other than those guys who end up with like 3 career starts over 10 years.

You want to see... MORE... of the Atlanta game from Bryce this year? You mean the game where he had 121 yards passing on 24 pass attempts and no passing TDs? I think this is a perfect example of too many fans getting too excited about winning games and not actually registering what they're seeing on the field not being good football. We won that game 30-0, yes, but it was not because of Bryce or anything he did

A QB who can't consistently throw the ball 20 yards downfield has no business being a starting QB in this league. That is a backup QB who you put in there to manage a game when your starter goes down.

The issue isn't the YPA, the issue is the reason why. And it's because he can't consistently drive the ball downfield with accuracy and on time. He has multiple throws every week that the average NFL QB is able to make 90% of the time, but he can't throw if he's not perfectly balanced and even when he is, he can't put enough drive on throws 20+ yards downfield to get them into windows before they close. You can't win consistently or at a high level in today's NFL with a QB like that, and it's not something he'll ever be able to do unless he starts pumping himself full of all sorts of steroids and bulks way up.

Bryce is 10th in the league in Pass Attempts. He is 21st in Passing Yards (and will still be passed by Penix, Stroud, and Mac Jones before this week is over) He is last in passing yards among QB's to have started all 7 weeks so far this season. Why do any fans seriously think he should even be in the discussion for our QB beyond this season? He's not going to become some MVP level playing QB the rest of this year. At best, he's going to have just enough above average games to make you forget about the other way below average games and think he deserves yet another season as our QB, just like last year.

Seriously, all of this. We're squeaking out wins against some of the worst teams in the league right now, and really on the backs of our defense and running game. Making a few decent plays a game doesn't make for a good QB, it makes for someone who made a few good plays a game. It's baffling to me how some people can still look at Bryce and think he can still be our long term solution.

I didn't say celebrating 4-7 win seasons, I said celebrating 4-7 wins each season. Those are two VERY different things. My point is I'm sick of trying to celebrate 4 to 7 times each season when we win. That's not fun, it's more frustrating than fun by a level that can't be accurately put into words. It's been almost a decade since we've had a winning season, but sure, go on celebrating those handful of wins each year while sticking your head in the sand towards the issues this team has, see where that gets you.

See, that's the difference. You see what posters like me are saying as "complaining", but we're not complaining, we're calling out what we're seeing on the field and saying why it concerns us moving forward. If you don't see the difference there, then there isn't much else I can say. We're sick of celebrating our 4-7 wins every year, we want to see ACTUAL success, and if we're not improving on the field, then that's something we're going to voice our concerns over.

Then sign someone, very different than trading for someone. We can't be giving up draft picks, no matter what round, for players who aren't going to help us beyond this season. Jameis is my only exception because I think he has a good enough arm to help the development of our pass catchers. I don't think there is another QB who could be acquired in a trade that would do that as well as him, so I'm not okay with giving up draft picks for any of them.

For twisted ankles yes, but he got stepped on, which would probably make the concern about a fracture which would show up on an X-Ray.

We're not solving our future QB solution with a mid season trade. So what good does it do to give up draft picks for a guy who might get us 3 wins the rest of the year instead of the 1 that Dalton would bring us?

Not where it matters. Yes, our defense has improved this year (although, it would have basically been impossible for it not to). But I honestly see zero improvement on the offensive side of the ball, and in particular, the play calling would be lucky if it's stayed the same, if anything it has actually regressed. In today's NFL, you're not going to make the playoffs with an offense like ours and you'll never regularly be in competitive games against good teams either. THAT is what is frustrating those of us voicing these concerns, and it's why we're not going to get all excited and celebrate wins that we know are only coming because how bad our opponents are. We're seeing things that are going to get us killed when we play against good teams, which is basically the rest of our schedule outside of the Saints.

I didn't have any expectations this year for our record, I was also very clear from before the season ever started, I didn't care what our record was. I cared about what I actually saw on the field, I wanted to see improvement across the board, but in particular, the offensive play calling and Bryce's play. Both of those things have regressed. That so many fans are excited about winning while our offense continues to make the same mistakes we've made for 3 years with Bryce and the 2 years since Canales showed up, is absolutely baffling to me. YOU'RE the fans who have given up, because you blow your load over ugly wins just because of how bad we've done in the past. You don't care about actually improving as a team and ever having a chance at contending or even just making the playoffs. You're basically playing fantasy football in real life and get super excited when you get garbage time production, as those points are just as equal to any others. So to you, winning is just as good no matter how it comes and no matter what the lack of improvement means for the future of the team.