Tyrod Taylor Talks Pittsburgh, Contract and Recent Criticism
By Ryan Brennan
Tyrod Taylor has recently received the most intense criticism he’s seen in his two-year career with the Bills. How is he handling it?
After the Buffalo Bills‘ recent heart-breaking loss to the Oakland Raiders — which largely hurt the team’s playoff chances — analysts, fans and everyone alike have sent some heavy criticism towards Tyrod Taylor.
If you’ve watched what the analysts have had to say, or what the fans have been posting on social media, many people think Tyrod Taylor‘s career in Buffalo has come to a screeching end. Although he has several qualities that are rare in quarterbacks, it looks like fans are growing tired of the poor passing display.
Throughout Tyrod’s press conference — following Wednesday’s practice — the young quarterback opened up about all the criticism with one common theme: Get ready for Pittsburgh. In my opinion, that’s really all he has to say and all fans should want him to say.
“I don’t have Instagram on my phone. Twitter. Don’t watch TV, so don’t see it, don’t hear it. Continue to keep pounding away. We’re still in it, last time I checked.”
It must make T-Mobile haters feel much better knowing that he isn’t listening to the criticism, which could be a big reason why it has escalated recently. Taylor added:
"“Critics are going to critique. It’s in their job title. I mean, whether it’s unfair or not, it’s going to happen. Just have to deal with it, ignore it, continue to keep playing football. I don’t let those things affect me. Whether I think it’s fair or not, it’s going to happen.”"
Obviously, the main reason was due to his performance in Oakland on Sunday.
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As for the loss to the Raiders, Tyrod Taylor is trying his best to keep everyone’s faith in tact on whether or not the team will snap their long-standing playoff drought. When one reporter asked him about whether the Bills will pick up his contact or not, Taylor responded: “We’re still in it.”
He added:
"“In this league, you get judged on wins and losses, and we still have a chance to get to where we set our goal, (which) was to get to the playoffs at the beginning of the year. We still have a realistic chance of getting there, so whatever it takes to get there, that’s what I’m on board for.”"
Let’s get to his play vs. Oakland and why fans are so distraught with his performance.
I remember when the game started, Tyrod came out with a type of fire we wish we could see for four quarters every week. He was accurate, taking chances and letting the offense move with ease.
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After the first quarter, Tyrod was 8-9 with 102 yards.
Unfortunately, he would completely cool down for the final three quarters, going 10-26 over that span and accumulating just 89 yards. He finished the game with 191 yards, 0TD and one INT. He added 30 yards rushing and his fifth rushing TD in the past six games.
When asked about his struggles, Tyrod kept the focus on the team playing as a whole and working together to get the win. “Could have been some better balls thrown, we could have made some plays in the air. There was definitely a collective effort that wasn’t good enough. There’s no finger pointing,” said Taylor.
In my opinion, Tyrod Taylor has handled the criticism and intense scrutiny as well as anyone could handle it. He’s not focused on it, not letting it affect his play and not letting any of his teammates get caught in any of the storm. He continues to promote the fact that in this league, it takes a total team effort.
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In order to win, everyone has to do their part and Tyrod isn’t the only one that can improve. In Tyrod Taylor‘s words:
"“I’ve taken everything that y’all have stood up here and asked me right on the chest,” he said. “It doesn’t affect me emotionally or physically. I take it every week, so whatever y’all want to blame, I’ll take that. Like I said, my job is to get the team into a position where we can win on Sundays. Can I be better, yes. But it doesn’t just take me, it’s a collective effort out there on the field each and every Sunday.”"
My favorite thing he said during the whole conference was also the most important thing he stated: “… my future in Buffalo is this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s what matters the most. I don’t feel like talking about my contract right now. We still have games to play.”
The Buffalo Bills have a few more days to prepare for their home game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. With a win, our playoff hopes are still alive. With a loss, we are forced to wait another year for a chance at breaking our playoff drought.
No matter what happens, Tyrod Taylor is our quarterback right now. As much as it stings for some fans, I’m not sure we have a better option moving forward and think we should stick with what we have — for at least one more year.
One more healthy year.
What are your thoughts on Tyrod Taylor and Rex Ryan? Leave your comments below!