Why Should Buffalo Wait To Sign Tyrod Taylor?

I remember having to leave the room with anger and disbelief as I watched the Bills go from a 5-2 record on the year, to a 6-10 record.

The year was 2011. After a long overdue come-from-behind victory over the New England Patriots, myself, along with most Bills fans thought we had our pair. Chan Gailey and Ryan Fitzpatrick. The magic between them was palpable. A tossed-around quarterback looking to go out there and just play with a creative, offensive-minded coach. This is what we need. This is what will stimulate this team and take us to the playoffs.

As the season went on, the team crumbled. A once promising year faltered and left me confused. Confused as to why this happens to the Bills over and over. They tempt you and tease you leaving you scratching your head and wondering, Why did I fall for that again?

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Being a Bills fan is a lot like being bad with girls. You take what you can get and when you have that one chance at greatness, you fall apart. You get nervous. You make mistakes. Most commonly, you second guess yourself. Now you know what it’s like to have the Music City Miracle feel like it wasn’t all that long ago.

It wasn’t, right?

The root of the issue takes us to one position; Quarterback.

We’ve had too many to count since our last playoff appearance. Granted, not as many as the Browns but enough to place second in a contest.

We’ve seen gunslingers, old men, young guns, and big prospects walk through that tunnel at Ralph Wilson Stadium but none have seemed to stick.

We’ve seen other NFL teams have quarterbacks that spent their entire career in their respective city while we’ve seen numerous players give it a try.

As a Bills fan watching Tyrod Taylor play, one part of me is screaming, let’s not jump to conclusions, while the other half screams, lock him up! The feeling of being let down previously weighs heavy on my shoulders but the excitement of a new hero weighs just as heavy.

I’m torn.

Do I stay skeptical or do I commit? Let’s look at it this way. Tyrod Taylor is one of the most talented players I have ever seen. He’s a runner with an arm, a double threat of sorts who can huck it or burn you. He’s got the will to say, this is my team and I want to win now.

All of these characteristics make me want to sign him.

You see it in his eyes, in how he speaks, how he plays, how he acts around teammates. He has that one characteristic that makes people in the front office go all-in, determination.

Coming off of his first full year as a starter in the NFL (save for one London game), Tyrod had 7th Best Passer Rating, 7th Best TD to INT Ratio, and broke the Buffalo Bills QB Rushing Record to go along with having the 2nd Most QB Rushing Yards in the NFL in 2016. This was all coming from a man that was under most analysts radar throughout college and the NFL.

Nov 12, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) scrambles in the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Bills defeated the Jets 22-17 Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports /

All of these characteristics make me want to sign him.

With the experience and hindsight that we’ve acquired as Bills fans, we know better. What we need to do is wait. Wait at least until after the first half of the 2016 Season to even think about it. Wait until he proves he can take us to the playoffs. Wait until we’ve seen what we’ve needed to see to make not only a well-thought-out, but an educated decision based on a larger crop of data, rather than making a decision after one year of starting.

We’ve been burned before and we don’t have to look too far back to remember. We just think back to a bearded QB that could sling it and ended up letting us down.

At the end of the day, we can do this Bills fans. We’ve been patient before. Let’s be patient again and watch our future develop.

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