Fitz 2010 vs. Flutie 1998

So I was watching the Bills - Dolphins game in the same bar where you can find me every Sunday amidst a variety of displaced fans from across the nation. Now, my blood type is 716, but I'm living in Massachusetts, the state in which both Fitzpatrick and Flutie attended college about two decades apart from one another. I wear the Bills insignia from sun-up to sun-down on Sundays on just about everything from my hat to my shoes and have made a name for myself as, "The Bills fan" at this eating and drinking establishment. This past Sunday, the Dolphins' fans swam out of the woodwork to bombard the bar and take what I have claimed as MY seat at MY end of the bar to watch MY game; typical Miami arrogance, bordering on hubris I'd say. To my surprise, these fans turned out to be relatively bearable to the point where I could talk to them about the game in a relatively civil manner with only a few dozen insults spat at one another every quarter. As the game progressed, Henne drew more and more comparisons to the late Trent Edwards not only from the Dolphins fans and myself, but from the bar staff and the collective. I mentioned in passing that Fitz was starting to remind me of Flutie, and of course being in Massachusetts where Flutie is the most popular name for newborn males behind only Bruschi, that started quite a conversation that I hope to bring to Rumblings.



First of all, does anyone else think Fitz's style of play is reminiscent of Flutie's pro bowl season in '98?

Secondly, let's compare their numbers: (Top is PASSING, bottom is RUSHING)


Flutie (1998) - Pro Bowl Season
G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% IntInt% Lng Y/A Y/C Y/G Rate
13 10 7-3-0 202 354 57.1 2,711 20 5.6 11 3.1 84 7.7 13.4 208.5 87.4

G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G
13 10 48 248 1 23 5.2 19.1 3.7



Fitz (2010)
G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A Y/C Y/G Rate
12 12 4-8-0 237 404 58.7 2,749 23 5.7 12 3.0 65 6.8 11.6 229.1 85.9

G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G
12 12 39 255 0 22 6.5 21.3 3.3


Taking a look at the numbers, you can see why I think they're similar: their production is as close to identical as you can get right down to the rushing stats. From my perspective, they have a very similar style of play. Statistically, they have very similar production. These two QBs are products of universities in neighboring cities, both of whom are starting or have started for the Bills and are temporally separated by a decade of mediocrity. In their first year starting the majority of a season for the Bills, they put up eerily similar numbers. Flutie's 1998 campaign was followed by a drop in his production, but was the last winning season the Bills have seen and resulted in our last playoff berth. The Bills have been looking for a franchise QB since Jim Kelly, and if not for some somewhat rash decision making by the front office, Flutie might have been starting in Buffalo another 1 or 2 years and the cascade of failing quarterbacks who found their way behind center for Buffalo may have been stymied before it started; a mere speculation but I can't help but wonder.

Everyone has their own opinion about what should have happened following the music city miracle, but I don't want to talk about the what if's and the past. Here and now we have Fitz who is having one of the best statistical seasons a Bills quarterback has seen despite sitting the first 2 games. I personally don't care about draft order right now. My concern is building this team around Fitz to be our starter in the short and mid-term. He's a man who's making a statement that he deserves to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and who has reproduced Flutie's pro bowl season at an age nearly a decade Flutie's junior on a team with arguably less talent and certainly less experience.

The variables have changed but history can, and does tend to repeat itself. Could Fitz's 2010 season be followed by a 2011 playoff berth, like Flutie in '99? 11 is a denominator of 99, both of which are palindromes so... by that logic it's anyone's guess. What really matters is that though we may want someone like Luck who is supposed to be the next Joe Montana, we do not need him, and we can win, we can make the playoffs with Fitz. It's been done before.

Buffalo Completes "Erie Sweep": Seizes Lake From Cleveland

Long before the NFL-AFL merger, war had raged on the grid-iron; the stakes: Lake Erie. From the French "Lac Érié," and so-named due to the Erie tribe of Native Americans of its Southern shores, this, the 4th largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area and the smallest by volume, remains a vital part of the economies of Detroit, Cleveland, and our belovèd Buffalo. In the midst of the turmoil caused by World War II these three cities feuded for dominance of the invaluable lake. With civil war as the only other viable option, Americans turned to battle on another field to settle the dispute over control of the lake's crystal clear waters.

In 1945, Detroit (Lions) and Cleveland (Rams) already had recognized teams in the NFL, and the NFL was not keen on expanding and accepting upstart franchises, thus control of the Lake was a two way contest. The Rams, facing inevitable bankruptcy, were forced to relocate to Los Angeles, a move that would leave Detroit in uncontested control of the lake if no action were taken. At that very time, however, there was talk of another league, the AAFC, which in 1946 would place teams both in Cleveland (Browns) and in Buffalo (Bisons, later Bills). These two teams battled for the Easternmost part of the Lake while Western Lake Erie was in the firm grasp of Detroit.

The Browns of Cleveland were perennial championship contenders and winners of the only 4 championship games ever played in the AAFC, one of which (1948) was against the Bills. Just before the 1949 championship game, the league was dissolved and 3 of its teams were incorporated into the NFL: the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Colts. The game was still played, and won, by the Browns. Buffalo, left without a franchise, relinquished its lacustrine rights to the Browns.
It wasn't until the formation of the AFL in 1960 that Buffalo once again had professional football representation, and not until the AFL-NFL merger that Buffalo was again eligible to compete for the rights to the lake.

As most Bills fans are aware, the Cleveland/Buffalo share of the lake has been hotly contested the past 4 years. In 2007, after having owned the Cleveland share for 3 years, the Bills lost 8-0 to the Browns and effectively gave Cleveland back it's share of the lake and relinquished its own. In 2008, it was more of the same succumbing in the final seconds by a score of 29-27. Last year, again an inept performance and a 6-3 loss.

As for Detroit, it had been in 2006 that the Lions wrested the rights of the lake from the Bills and fours years without a shot at payback for our wagon-circlers.

That all seems like a distant memory now. Native Buffalonians and visitors to the "City of Light" can now feel free of the tyranny of Cleveland and Detroit's joint control of Buffalo's beautiful beaches and thriving ports. Buffalo snapped an 8-game skid by holding off Detroit in the final seconds of the 4th quarter in a week 10 14-12 victory. Four weeks later, the Bills defended their rights to the lake in a fashion that could only be accurately chronicled in song by someone with a voice the likes of Geddy Lee with a dominating 13-6 victory over their Lake-adjacent rivals, the Browns, in their 4th annual contest that I now refer to affectionately as the "Battle for Lake Erie."

A Lake Erie Sweep, let's call it; something you may see once in your lifetime if you're lucky. In fact, the only other time the Bills have had the opportunity was 1972, a year in which they lost to the Browns and tied the Lions. In a season without much to celebrate we must celebrate this, our undisputed ownership of the American half of Lake Erie. Ice fish this season if that's your thing and sail like a Shaun Hill 2-pt conversion this summer. It's ours!

Is this a sign of greater things to come? I haven't got a clue, but the water of Lake Erie has never felt so good.

The Redemption of Stevie Styles

Why am I so serious? Mainly because the Bills have renewed their patent on choking. No, this season was not going to end in the playoffs, Trent Edwards starting the first 2 games essentially guaranteed that. There's no arguing, however, that a third straight win, and one coming against a much more talented Pittsburgh team, would've been one hell of a statement for everyone in the league who does not believe in the Bills. We WNYers and fans of the Bills know, we actually do have a team, a competitive team who defines parity in the NFL. Going toe-to-toe with the like of Baltimore, NE and Pitt, it looks like this team, this franchise, might be on the verge of a turnaround. Last Sunday's loss was a reminder that we've got a ways to go yet.

This team needs to learn how to win, plain and simple. The offense has been clicking especially since Action Jackson's legs have come under him, and the defense is really coming into it's own. Kyle Williams is making a case for the pro bowl, and Whitner and Poz are both quietly having career years, missing only the game-changing plays that a probowler seems to have in his resume.

What is really of interest this week is how Stevie Johnson responds to "the drop" which could really be called, "the drop game." He hit the national spotlight in a very Buffalo way, being humiliated. Still, the man is class. He took the podium on his own volition after the game and faced the critics head on, and that alone is enough for me to believe that he is willing to put in the work to make himself feel he can overcome the drop stigma and thus continue to perform as he has performed all year since Fitz came under center.

This week, facing off against grand-pappy Favre, is not going to be easy on the offense. If there's one thing that the Vikes are known for aside from dick shots on their phones, it's a tough defense. Buffalo has put up some monster numbers and had some great games versus tough defenses. Let's see if they can put up another great game and close it out this time. It's the finale that this team lacks and what sets their 2-9 record apart from a 7-4 record which could easily be their record if they had been better at finishing games.

One thing's for sure, this looks like a team. A real team that is composed of working parts, not something forced to work in a certain way, which is what we saw with Jauron. Gailey had made the most of the talent he's been given and I'm looking forward to the Bills' future with Chan as our head coach. Stevie, exact your revenge on the field vs. the Vikes.