The Bills were criticized up and down by the so called draft experts for not taking a quarterback early in the draft. Buffalo did select Troy’s Levi Brown in round seven. Faced with several other needs for their football team Nix, Vice President of College Scouting Tom Modrak and head coach Chan Gailey viewed the quarterback position as one that was already manned by players every bit as capable as the top prospects in the draft.
“Here’s the way we looked at it,” said Nix. “We’ve got guys physically that can do anything as well as anybody in the draft physically. Throw the ball well, make all the throws, mobile, can move around and are smart. We’ve got guys like that. Now obviously they’ve been kind of inconsistent and up and down, but there are a lot of reasons for that.”
Nix pointed to all of the turmoil to Buffalo’s roster and coaching staff just before the regular season began as well as the myriad of injuries that befell the offensive line.
There’s little question that the changes at left tackle and offensive coordinator right before the season put more pressure on Trent Edwards and later Ryan Fitzpatrick to hold things together. Quarterbacks however, are dependent upon several other players in effectively executing their responsibilities.
In no way did Nix indicate that the quarterbacks were blameless, but it’s clear that what he and Gailey saw in their review of the 2009 game film convinced them that Buffalo’s quarterbacks were asked to perform in circumstances that were far from ideal.
With a proven offensive mind like Gailey, the addition of a multi-dimensional game breaking threat in C.J. Spiller, some offensive line depth in Ed Wangand Kyle Calloway and some promising defensive linemen in Torell Troup and Alex Carrington, the Bills believe they can create a better environment in which the veteran quarterbacks on the roster can perform.
Bills news
