Rating Worst Quarterbacks in Bills History

With the specter of Nathan Peterman possibly starting Sunday vs. the Colts (I am assuming it will be Derek Anderson, but still...) it got me thinking about some of the bad quarterbacks the Bills have trotted out over the years. I mean Joe Ferguson is probably the third most accomplished quarterback in our franchise history, and I don't remember him being considered as "good" except for a couple years when we made the playoffs under Chuck Knox. Of course, more recently we've had first-round busts like E.J Manuel and J.P. Losman, as well as journeymen like Kelly Holcomb and Tryod taking snaps. But that doesn't really even begin to scratch the surface if you look back through history.

Granted, there are some who feel that Peterman might be the worst quarterback in NFL history.  But,  based on my (somewhat limited) research, memories, and general knowledge of the Buffalo Bills, I rate him only the 4th worst quarterback in our history.

I apologize if I offend anyone with this list, as I am sure all these guys played hard, and some of them went on to success in other areas of life (and they were mostly on some pretty bad teams with passing in the league not nearly as advanced as today), but here goes (in reverse order):

10. Mike Tallaferro/M.C. Reynolds: I don't remember either of these guys, so this is based on numbers only. Tallaferro managed to throw 4 interceptions in 33 attempts (a 12% ratio), which is Peterman territory. A veteran of the Pats and Jets, '72 was his last year in league and only year with the Bills. The '61 Bills somehow managed to win two of the three games Reynolds started, while he threw 13 interceptions against 2 TDs. He threw five passes for Oakland in '63 and then was out of the league. (I cheated by listing two here, but I really felt that 11 players deserved to be on this list.)

9. Ed Rutkowski: This is probably not fair to Rutkowski, because he wasn't really a quarterback. He was a pretty good return specialist who also played some receiver and running back. He doesn't even seem to have played QB in college at Notre Dame. But, in 1968 he was pressed into quarterback duties for a very bad Bills team and managed to go 0-3 as a starter and throw 6 INTs vs. 0 TDs. The closest modern comparison I can think of is if Roscoe Parrish (who reportedly was a great high school QB) had started some games for the Bills when he was on the team a few years back.

8. Jeff Tuel: In 2013, Tuel was considered a hot young prospect by the Bills. So hot, in fact, that the Bills kept him as the primary back-up to unproven rookie starter E.J. Manuel. When Manuel went down to an injury against the Browns in week five, the Bills quickly realized Tuel wasn't the answer and elevated Thad Lewis to starter for the next week. For some reason (maybe Lewis got hurt), Tuel started a few weeks later against the Chiefs, was wholly ineffective, and never attempted another NFL pass.

7. Brian Brohm: A hot prospect coming out of Louisville, Brohm was a second-round pick of the Packers in 2008. I remember being excited when the Bills picked him up the next season. In two years, he started two games with the Bills, went 0-2 and threw no touchdowns vs. 5 picks and then was out of the league.

6. Kay Stephenson: Maybe Kay wasn't that bad of a player in his lone year with the Bills, the awful 1968 season, but for some reason, I feel this stint may have helped him get the head coaching job a few years later, when he took a pretty good playoff team built by Chuck Knox, and in two years turned it into a 2-14 squad. As a quarterback, he was 0-3 as a starter and completed 37% of his passes -well, so, he was pretty bad.

5. Al Dorrow: I have no memory of Al Dorrow. All I know is that he went 0-4 as a starter on a 7-6-1 1962 team coached by Lou Saban, completed 40% of his passes and had 2 TD vs. 7 INTs. It was the end of a journeyman career that included him leading the AFL in TDs in its inaugural year, but also throwing a combined 56 picks in 1960-61 as a member of the Titans (later the Jets).

4. Nathan Peterman: I am assuming you've seen him play.

3. Gary Marangi: Marangi took over for Ferguson midway through the 1976 season when Joe went down with an injury. I was only 10 years old, but I remember being hopeful. Ferguson was having a pretty good year and was coming off a great year in 1975, but maybe we didn't give him the credit he deserved because we felt has was riding O.J.'s coattails. The Bills were 2-4 when Ferguson went down, and Marangi was a third-round pick out of Boston College, so we thought maybe he could revive us., Boy, were we wrong. He went 0-7 as a starter and completed 35% of his passes (an incredibly low number even for then), even with O.J. rushing for 1,500 yards and Bob Chandler grabbing 61 receptions, including 10 TDs. Granted, Saban did quit that year shortly before Ferguson got hurt and was replaced by Jim Ringo, of the career 3-20 coaching record, but still. Marangi never played in an other NFL game.

2. Dan Darragh: Darragh started 11 games for the Bills from 1968-70. His record as a starter was 1-11. He completed 43% of this passes and threw 4 TDs vs. 22 INTs. He never played in the NFL again. That's all I know. Maybe the stats lie, but I'm going with the idea that he was pretty bad. He wasn't a good runner either.

1. Tom Flores: Flores gets special treatment due to extenuating circumstances. Yes, he was bad as a Bills quarterback, completing less than 40% of his passes and throwing 9 picks vs. 0 TDs over three years. But, he came to the Bills after a pretty solid season in Oakland, in which he threw 24 TDs. And we got Flores, along with a Pro Bowl receiver named Art Powell, for our back-up QB Daryle Lamonica. How did that trade happen? Well, Al Davis was a smart guy apparently. Because, while Flores and Powell were washed up and the formerly championship contending Bills went into the tank, Lamonica made All-Pro two of the next three years and the Raiders transformed into an AFL/AFC powerhouse - an era that culminated with Flores winning two Super Bows in the early '80s as their coach!


Well, that's it. Quite a litany of incompetence. And people wonder why we think Jim Kelly walks on water. 

Allen's Injury

Well, we still don't know the status of Josh Allen, but it looked like his elbow was hurting him pretty bad when he left the field yesterday. He is reportedly getting an MRI today.  I am not holding my breath for positive news - throwing elbows are pretty important to quarterbacks and I'd think you'd want to be pretty careful with it. And as I said, he looked like he was in considerable pain yesterday.

Of course, we all know that Nate Peterman came in and threw a pick 6 to basically hand the game to Houston. Thanks, Nate. That was very depressing. I mean, we all knew Peterman was bad. In September, the Ringer even ran a piece questioning the decision making ability of the Bills staff based on their continued faith in Nate Peterman.

On Sunday, Peterman came in and threw a touchdown pass to Zay Jones. That was great. They he didn't look too bad, until the Texans tied the game - after a great goal line stand by the Bills defense forced Houston into a field goal. So, with about two minutes left in the game, the Bills get the ball back and attempt to run a hurry-up to get the ball down field for a potential winning score. Peterman's first pass on this drive missed the mark by like 10 feet. It was at this point I became very worried, not only for the Bills, but for my money.

You see I had been Vegas this past week and threw a bet down on the Bills getting 10. I had figured the line on the game would be 4 or 5 based on how both teams were playing, so when it came out at 10, I went for it. A couple special teams miscues had things looking bleak in the first half, but in the second half, the defense and running game stepped up and it looked like we were back on track with our winning formula. After Peterman's TD pass, we even took the lead. Then game the game-tying field goal....

Peterman's second pass on the ill-fated two-minute drive also missed the mark, widely, and this time it ended up in a Houston defender's hands who ran it back and gave the Texans a seven-point lead. And the Bills were getting the ball back, now with a chance to drive down field and tie the game. But, we all knew that wasn't happening. For me, it just became hoping that Peterman didn't throw another pick-six. Of course, he threw another interception, but thankfully the Texans defender was tackled or ran out of bounds or something and Houston just kneeled down and ran out the clock.

Nate Peterman should not be in the NFL. I think he proved that once and for all on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Bills only signed Derek Anderson (yes that retread) last week, but still, even a week-and-a-half signed Derek Anderson has to be better than Peterman if Allen is hurt, doesn't he? Or does Anderson even want to play? Was he just signed as a mentor? That is unclear.

 I am hoping Anderson plans on playing because there is almost no way I can envision Peterman lining up at starting QB next week. And with the way Allen plays, and as shaky as our O-line is, if not this next week (vs. Pats on Monday night football  I mean Indianapolis at home), then somewhere down the line we are going to need a competent back-up. Is Tyrod Taylor available?

Shady on the Block

It appears like the Eagles have inquired about LeSean McCoy and the Bills have answered with an offer. I would say this will only be a matter of time, unless that Eagles think the Bills are out of their tree asking for second- and third-round picks. Yes, Shady is a great player, and has been for a number of years, but is that too much for a 30-year-old back with 10,000 yards worth of mileage?

I didn't see last Sunday's game, but it did sound like Shady played well enough behind what has been an abysmal offensive line for the most part. And I think he's been very good the last two years as well, so I'm not sure he is slowing down. Plus the Eagles, the defending Super Bowl champs, are now 2-3 and I guess Jay Ajayi is out for the season, and with LeGarrette Blount moved on to the Lions, they are awfully thin and young at RB. Now, the Eagles only gave up a 4th round pick for Ajayi last year, but Shady is a two-time All-Pro, Philly's all-time leading rusher, and in 2016 averaged 5.4 ypc and gained 1,267 yards. That wasn't too long ago in the Not For Long League, I hope. Plus, Shady grew up in the Philly area and I think still has ties there.

Sure, his loss would hurt the Bills, but the Bills management has mostly played the long-term game in dumping our other stars. If we could get a decent haul for Shady to invest in the future - go for it. We are sitting on a full draft plus a couple extra picks next year already. Let's go all in on the future. I think our defense, Chris Ivory and Josh Allen, can still pull out a few wins this year by following the formula.

Oh yeah, and we signed Derrick Anderson too. The only question there is (with his Carolina background), what took so long?

Bills Find Winning Formula

In 2017, the Bills went 9-7 and made the playoffs for the first time in like 15 years. They did it by holding opposing teams at 20-points-or-under in 10 out of 16 contests. The Bills won 8 of these games and only one when the opponent scored more than 20 (the Bucs). So far, this year the Bills are 2-3, having given up a combined total of 18 points in their two victories and a minimum of 22 points in each loss. So, the McDermott-era formula for winning seems to be pretty clear.

Yesterday, the Bills passed for only 79 net yards (82 minus 3 for one sack) but managed to outgain Tennessee slightly, 223-221 . Turnovers, which were also a big factor for the Bills in 2017, went in the Bills favor 3-1, which was a big factor, as was an effective (not great) running game that churned out 144 yards on a whopping 43 carries. That's not quite four yards a tote, but it did help the Bills control the clock to the tune of a seven-minute time-of-possession advantage, which obviously keeps that other team's offense off the field and reduces their opportunities for scoring.

Congrats to the Bills on a great (and ugly at times) win, but hell, after the first two games, 2-3 is a good place to be right now, especially in the AFC. I'm not saying we are going to make the playoffs, but if we can continue to repeat this formula of a decent rushing attack, solid defense, and minimizing turnovers while being opportunistic on D, maybe we can squeak out a few more wins.

Next Sunday will be an interesting test, at Houston, which has all sorts of offensive firepower but seems to keep getting in its own way. They are also 2-3. I think a win is possible but not probable, but then again, Houston only scored 19 at home vs. Dallas yesterday. Let's hope we can run the ball effectively and keep JJ Watt and friends from messing up Allen. 

Wisdom of the Odyssey

From Book 17, when Odysseus is back on Ithaca, pretending to be a beggar and discussing his return to his mansion to face the humiliation of the suitors:

"I've had my share of pain in the waves and wars.
Add this to the total. Bring the trial on.
But there's no way to hide the belly's hungers--
what a curse, what mischief it brews in all our lives!
Just for hunger we rig and ride our long benched ships
on the barren salt sea, speeding death to our enemies."

Well, I am heading to Nashville for a business trip today. 😎

Bills Back to Sucking Again

Maybe it just took having some film on Josh Allen, maybe the Vikings were really overlooking the Bills and the Bills were just pumped up - probably a combination of both. Regardless, a Packers defense that had been giving up like 30 points a game going into Sunday, shut out the Bills 22-0. I guess the Bills D only gave up six points in the second half, but I kinda watched the game (on my phone as my son had a game) and it didn't look like we were scaring the Packers at all. Tremaine Edwards looked good and so did Tre'Davious White, from what I saw at least. There also looked to be continuing problems at the left cornerback spot - opposite White.

Bills play the 3-1 Titans at home Sunday. Titans have won three games by a total of 9 points and lost one by seven. Their last two wins have come against Jacksonville and Philly (their loss is go Miami). I really don't know what to make of them. Let's hope Bills offense can do a little more at home and maybe the defense will stand tough.

Without looking I'm calling the line as Titans by five.