Ryan Fitzpatrick: My Take on His First Year As Starter

I was asked this question today.  What is your take on Ryan Fitzpatrick?  I would like to go over his stats for this season so far.  Then I will give you all what I think of the job that some people were calling Fitzmagic early on.

Remember back in September when the Buffalo Bills defeated the Chiefs, Patriots, Raiders and the Eagles.  On their way to to a surprising 4-1 record.  The only loss long this way was to the Bengals.  It seems that Buffalo Bills took the NFL world by storm and were heading into a territory that they haven't been to in a decade.  But, wait lets fast forward to today.  The Buffalo Bills are a disappointing 5-8.  They have dropped six straight games and not one fan would have thought that this could happen.  The Buffalo Bills were officially eliminated from post season play.  Now lets get to Ryan Fitzpatricks stats over the span of 13 games.

In the first 8 games.

170-260 passing (65.4%), 1,930 yards, 15 TDs, 9 INTs, 92.3 rating, 18 plays of 25-yards plus.

Last 5 games.

108-189 passing (57.1%), 1,083 yards, 5 TDs, 7 INTs, 67 rating, 7 plays of 25-yards plus.

What this shows is that his production has dropped off.  Now there could be a lot of factors in this.  First they lost Fred Jackson.  That left them relying on CJ Spiller who has been nothing but disappointing at the running back position.  I beg the Bills to use him at WR and see what he can do for them.

Now there are no excuses to be made here.  The Buffalo Bills took a bunch of steps backwards and they are nothing like they were in the beginning of the season.  Fitz is not playing at the level he was and they have a whopping 15 players on injured reserve. But that is not an excuse in my eyes.  Champions over come obstacles and Bills have not done so.

So, my take on Ryan Fitzpatrick is that the 6 game skid is not entirely his fault.  But, when he over throws or under throws a receiver, its all on him.  Yes the play calling has to change.  Maybe its time to get an offensive coordinator and let him design the plays.  Chan Gailey is doing an okay job, but being a head coach and offense coordinator might be too much for him to handle.  This seasons ending will be blamed completely on the entire team.  Yes, we can point fingers at the QB and Coaches.  Or even blame the amount of injuries.  But, in the end here is what the Buffalo Bills need to do. 

• Fire George Edwards
• Hire an Offensive Coordinator
• Draft a QB to take over after Fitz fails again
• Improve the Depth at all positions
• Get a new strength and conditioning team.  There are way too many injuries for the second season in a row.  

If they do not make the playoffs next season.  Its time to pay for a quality coach and players.  Lets put a winning team on the field and start enjoying being a Bills fan again.