BOB’S NFL QUARTERBACK RANKINGS: BILLS/TYROD TAYLOR 19th
I’m a Tyrod Taylor backer. I’ve always thought his critics among the fans and media in western New York are quick to criticize his faults and reluctant to praise his abilities. I think a 19-16 career record as quarterback of the Bills is commendable all things considered.
But I’m also a realist. I believe Taylor is good enough to help take the current Bills to a playoff berth but probably not likely to lead them to more than one win. (And I worry that his long-term ability to make plays with his legs will diminish as he gets older).
Here are my current NFL Team Quarterback Rankings, taking into account injuries and success probabilities for this season only. Past accomplishments and projections for the future are not considered.
I’m sure you won’t agree with all of my rankings but I hope you’ll think I’m being reasonably fair:
Prefer over Tyrod (16):
1-New England – Tom Brady. He’s 40 but as amazing as ever. Smart. Accurate. A fiery leader.
2-Kansas City – Alex Smith. Never better. Uses his many weapons well.
3-Philadelphia – Carson Wentz. Eagles gamble is paying off.
4-Seattle – Russell Wilson. What’s not to like?
5-Atlanta – Matt Ryan. Reigning league MVP isn’t playing up to his standards.
6-New Orleans – Drew Brees. Savvy veteran for the surprising Saints.
7-Pittsburgh – Ben Roethlisberger. Has some juice left in that old arm.
8-Washington – Kirk Cousins. I’m not his biggest fan.
9—Carolina – Cam Newton. Waiting for more.
10-Detroit – Matt Stafford. Really like his talent. Expecting more.
11-Oakland – Derek Carr. Very good but not the most consistent.
12-Tampa Bay – Jameis Winston. I love his talent and passion for the game.
13-Dallas – Dak Prescott. Tough to fault.
14-Tennessee – Marcus Mariota. A true franchise QB.
15-Houston – Deshaun Watson. I know, he’s a rookie. So what?
Toss-up with Tyrod (3):
16-Los Angeles Rams – Jared Goff.
17-Los Angeles Chargers – Philip Rivers.
18-Cincinnati – Andy Dalton. I’m not a fan.
Tyrod Taylor’s spot: 19 – He would rate a few spots higher if this list reflected specific needs for certain teams. For example, the Bills stress running over passing and keeping giveaways to a minimum. Tyrod delivers on both counts.
Prefer Tyrod over these guys:
20-New York Giants—Eli Manning. A poor fit for this battered team.
21-Jacksonville -- Blake Bortles is showing signs of life.
22-Baltimore – Joe Flacco.
23-Denver—Trevor Sieman.
24-San Francisco – Brian Hoyer/C.J. Beathard.
25-Miami – Jay Cutler (could Matt Moore do worse)?
26-New York Jets – Josh McCown.
27-Minnesota – Case Keenum version (Teddy Bridgewater mighty be an upgrade).
28-Chicago Bears – Mitchell Trubisky.
29-Indianapolis – Jacoby Brissett (don’t expect to see Andrew Luck this season).
30-Green Bay – Brett Hundley (not easy filling in Aaron Rodgers).
31-Arizona – Drew Stanton (now fans will more appreciate Carson Palmer).
32-Cleveland – DeShone Kizer/Kevin Hogan/Cody Kessler.
SOME PROPS FOR THE BILLS
The Buffalo Bills rank 15th in this week’s NFL Power Rankings by ESPN and Bleacher Report.
ESPN notes that the Bills have the seventh-best chance to make the playoffs in the AFC and a 12.2 percent chance to win the AFC East.
FiveThirtyEight projects a 9-7 record for Buffalo with a 49 percent probability to0 make the playoffs and a 17 percent chance to win the AFC East.
BILLS HAD A FEW GOOD STARTS IN PLAYOFF DROUGHT
The Buffalo Bills are 4-2 and fans are thinking playoffs after a 17-year drought.
The Bills have had only three starts 4-2 or better through six games since 2000.
2008 – Started 4-0, lost Game 5 41-17 at Arizona and Bills QB Trent Edwards suffered a concussion and never was the same. Buffalo won 23-14 over San Diego to improve to 5-1. The Bills lost Game 7 25-16 at Miami and finished 7-9.
2011 – Started 4-0, then lost 23-20 at Cincinnati and won 31-24 over Philadelphia to improve to 5-1. Lost 27-24 at the New York Giants and won 23-0 over Washington in Toronto to boost record to 5-2. Then lost seven in a row and eight of last nine games to finish 6-10. The only win over that span was at home over Denver in a game blacked on Christmas Eve due to poor ticket sales.
(In 2014, Started 3-3 and were 5-3 at the bye week; 4-4 the rest of the season to finish 9-7).
2016 – Started 4-2. Lost the first two games 13-7 at Baltimore and 37-31 to the Jets, then won four straight over Arizona, at New England, at the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco. Then lost three in a row and 7 of the last 10 games. They finished 7-9 with a New Year’s Day 30-0 giveaway loss at the New York Jets.
EX-BILLS RECEIVERS STILL GOING GOOD
Here are how four former Buffalo wide receivers fared last week and (for this season):
Chris Hogan (New England) 4 catches for 71 yards (28/378/5 TDs)
Marquise Goodwin (San Francisco) – 4 catches for 80 yards (20/349/0 Ts)
Robert Woods (LA Rams) – 5 catches for 59 yards (27/381/0 TDs)
Sammy Watkins (LA Rams) – 3 catches for 42 yards (18/264/2 TDs).
BROCKPORT GOLDEN EAGLES SOARING UP STATS CHARTS
Brockport State’s football team is 7-0 and ranked 13th among the nation’s 243 Division III teams.
Here are some of the awesome numbers for the Golden Eagles:
Outscoring opponents 276-86....36 TDs for and 12 TDs against.
Outgaining opponents per game 570.4 yards to 252.7 yards.
The balanced offense ranks 15th in passing and 23rd in rushing.
179 first downs for and 105 first downs allowed.
7.12 yards per play...opponents 4.21 yards per play.
30 sacks by and 4 sacks allowed (+26).
Turnovers +8 (17 takeaways/9 giveaways).
14 interceptions by...4 passes had intercepted.
The Golden Eagles play at the Buffalo State Bengals (4-3 record) Saturday. They’ll host Alfred University November 4 and finish the regular season at St. Lawrence November 11.
Brockport State appears likely to make the NCAA Division III tournament.
Among the possible teams looming are top-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor (7-0; outscoring opponents 268-41) and mighty second-ranked Mount Union (7-0; outscoring opponents 426-52).
TIMELY WINS FOR SABRES AND CANADIENS
The Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens earned much-needed victories in the NHL Tuesday night. And they both won at home for the first time this season.
Buffalo beat Detroit 1-0. The Sabres are 3-5-2 (1-2-1 home; 2-3-1 road) and have 8 of 20 possible points in the standings. They’ve been outscored 36-26 (-10). That’s not good but things could be worse – for example, in Montreal and Arizona.
Montreal beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 to end a seven-game losing streak. The Canadiens are 2-6-1 and have 5 of 18 possible points. They’ve been outscored 34-18 (-16).
The pitiful Arizona Coyotes are giving coyotes a bad name. They lost 5-3 Tuesday night at the New York Islanders to plunge to 0-8-1. They have 1 of 18 possible points and have been outscored 39-21 (-18).
Meanwhile, the success of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights continues to be a hot story in the NHL. They’re 7-1-0 and have earned 14 of 16 points in the standings. They’re 5-1 at home and 2-0 on the road. Four of the wins were by one goal, including three in overtime.
SHORT SHOTS
The New York Mets reportedly paid $18 million for the International League Syracuse Chiefs franchise.
The 2018-19 National Lacrosse League expansion team will be called the San Diego Seals.
Irad, 18th in the 2017 Kentucky Derby and third in the Travers, winner of the Indiana Derby and Indiana Derby, has been euthanized after complications from surgery after he suffered fractured sesamoids in the left front leg in the Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 13...Grade 1 winner Dortman has been retired to stud duty. He won 8 of 16 career starts and $1,987,505. He was third to American Pharoah in the 2015 Kentucky Derby.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Wednesday, October 25
Chandler Parsons (29)...Colt Anderson (32)...Pedro Martinez (46)...Wendel Clark (51)...Pat Swilling (53)...Brian Kelly (56)...Mike Eruzione (63)...Dave Cowens (69)...Dan Issel (69)...Dan Gable (69)...Bobby Knight (77). Katy Perry (33) is invited to the birthday party.
Thursday, October 26
Monta Ellis (32)...Sasha Cohen (33)...Francisco Liriano (34)...Nick Collison (37)...Antonio Pierce (39)...CM Punk (39)...Jessie Armstead (47)...Tony Casillas (54)...Roger Kingdom (55)...Bob Golic (60)...Chuck Foreman (67)...Wayne Garland (67)...Mike Hargrove (68)...Steve Rogers (68). Keith Urban (50), Hillary Clinton (70), Jaclyn Smith (71) and Pat Sajak (71) are invited to the birthday party.