Buffalo Bills: Debunking the cold weather quarterback myth

Draft analysts, color commentators and media members alike have talked about what type of quarterback is necessary to play in Buffalo: tall, strong armed, big. Well I am here to disprove that myth.

With the quarterback conversation being at the forefront of this year’s draft for the Buffalo Bills, draft analysts have predicted where certain players will end up due to character traits, scheme fits, personalities and so on.

When most national analysts talk about what the Bills need in a quarterback, nearly all of them say the same exact thing: “With the cold and the wind in Buffalo, they need a big strong guy that can play in the elements.”

This type of analysis means several things to me. One, these analysts have never been to a Bills game. Two, they saw the snow game from last year and thought it was like that every single day here (to be fair it has been and it is April). Three, they see a position need and don’t take the time to analyze what the Bills need between the ears.

I firmly believe that the narrative that a big quarterback with a strong arm and big hands is lazy and infuriating. It absolutely drives me crazy because it just isn’t true. It isn’t about a quarterback being big or throwing a football far, it is about a quarterback being good.

That’s the problem for the Bills and their quarterbacks over the years; they haven’t had a good one! EJ Manuel is plenty big at 6-foot-5 and can throw the ball plenty far. He didn’t succeed because he wasn’t those things, he didn’t succeed because he just wasn’t good.

To combat idea of the big quarterback with a cannon of an arm, we need to take a look at what the weather is like in Buffalo during the colder months.

I took a look at the months of November, December, and January – which would bring the inclement weather that analysts allude to when saying the team needs the Incredible Hulk at QB.

This is what I found in terms of average temperature (degrees in Fahrenheit) /wind speed (MPH)/amount of precipitation (inches) in each of the three months since 2013 (courtesy of www.wunderground.com).

Judging by that data, the weather in Buffalo isn’t as cold, wet, or windy that many may have thought. I also took a look at which games the Bills played in each of those months home and away and if they won or lost those games.

2013

Home games: 11/3 vs. Kansas City – Loss  // 11/17 vs. New York Jets – Win // 12/1 vs. Atlanta – Loss // 12/22 vs. Miami – Loss

Away games: 11/10 at Pittsburgh – Loss // 12/8 at Tampa Bay – Loss // 12/15 at Jacksonville – Win // 12/29 at New England – Loss

2014

Home games: 11/9 vs. Kansas City – Loss // 11/24 vs. New York Jets – Win // 11/30 vs. Cleveland – Win // 12/14 vs. Green Bay – Win

Away games: 11/13 at Miami – Loss // 12/7 at Denver – Loss // 12/21 at Oakland – Loss // 12/28 at New England – Loss

2015

Home games: 11/8 vs. Miami – Win // 12/6 vs. Houston – Win // 12/27 vs. Dallas – Win // 1/3 vs. New York Jets – Win

Away games: 11/12 at New York Jets – Win // 11/23 at New England – Loss // 11/29 at Kansas City – Loss // 12/13 at Philadelphia – Loss // 12/20 at Washington – Loss

2016

Home games: 11/27 vs. Jacksonville – Win // 12/11 vs Pittsburgh – Loss // 12/18 vs. Cleveland – Win // 12/24 vs. Miami – Loss

Away games: 11/7 at Seattle – Loss // 11/20 at Cincinnati – Win // 12/4 at Oakland – Loss // 1/1 at New York Jets – Loss

2017

Home games: 11/12 vs. New Orleans – Loss // 12/3 vs. New England – Loss // 12/10 vs. Indianapolis – Win // 12/17 vs. Miami – Win

Away games: 11/2 at New York Jets – Loss // 11/19 at Los Angeles Chargers – Loss // 11/26 at Kansas City – Win // 12/24 at New England – Loss // 12/31 at Miami – Loss

Reviewing all of this information, it does not matter if the Bills play at home or on the road – they lose games at both places when the weather gets cold. It does not matter the size or arm strength of the quarterback, it matters how good your quarterback is.

Nick Veronica of the Buffalo News tweeted this out as well, further comparing weather in Buffalo to other cold weather cites.

People can adapt to weather and climates around them. If you move from the north to the south or south to the north, you eventually get used to the climate in which you are now living. Why wouldn’t that be able to happen for a professional athlete?

This conversation drives me crazy because thinking that the team needs Josh Allen because of his physical attributes is just absurd. Like I said before, EJ Manuel is 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds. He is big, strong, mobile and can throw in the tough elements and see over the line to make plays.

That doesn’t mean everything because while he is all those things, EJ can’t read a defense, can’t deliver a ball accurately and is just not a great quarterback.

The Bills do not need a player that is Allen’s size at 6-foot-5 and 223 pounds; they need a quarterback that is good. They need a quarterback that can accurately complete a pass to all fields and read a freaking defense. Sure, at some point arm strength comes in to play and it is needed, but the myth that we need someone that can throw it 80 yards in the air because it gets windy is stupid.

All the team needs is a good quarterback. That is it.

Another regurgitated line is that California quarterbacks cannot play in the cold weather or that the Bills should stay away from quarterbacks that haven’t played in the north. To that I also say you are lazy in your thought process and do better research.

In 2013, the Buffalo lost to Atlanta on 12/1. Matt Ryan was the starting quarterback for the Falcons then, but how could they? He plays in a dome and that dome is in Atlanta, a place where it snows. How could he win when he only plays in warm places? Well he threw for 311 yards and a touchdown.

Or when Drew Brees and the Saints came into town this past November and dominated the Bills all game. Brees is only about six feet tall and doesn’t have a cannon for an arm. Plus he plays in a dome and only has played professional football in San Diego (warm) and New Orleans (warm), so he shouldn’t be able to come into a cold climate and defeat a cold weather team.

Are you otherwise saying you wouldn’t want him on the Bills? Of course not. Every fan would want him in a Bills uniform. Saying drafting quarterbacks from USC, UCLA, Cal, Arizona, etc. should be stayed away from because they played in warm weather in college or those quarterbacks are from there is nonsense.

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Aaron Rodgers was born in California, played college football in California, and was drafted to Green Bay. He is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league but he plays in a cold city.

Tom Brady is from California and has played his whole career in New England, a northeastern area where it snows.

By the way, Josh Allen is from California and played community college football in California. So if you want him because he has a strong arm but don’t want a California quarterback, what do you feel about Josh Allen?

Players like Cam Newton, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning are all from the south, so would you not want them on your team? Not necessarily now, but in their primes. I would have taken all of them.

Yes, there are plenty quarterbacks that are bad and from California, but there are tons of quarterbacks that pan out no matter where they are from. Like getting a cold weather quarterback, it doesn’t matter. If you are good, you are good.

Both of these arguments drive me insane. I argue with my father on a regular basis because he wants Josh Allen and I want Josh Rosen or Baker Mayfield. He always cites Allen’s strong arm and how tall he is. To him I always say who cares, he has no accuracy. We need someone to get the ball to their receivers, not someone that can throw it wherever the hardest.

I have lived in Buffalo all my life and I was a season ticket holder for six years. I have experienced the weather. I have been to cold weather games. I have seen our quarterback play. I know what we need in a quarterback and it isn’t someone who can throw it a mile or is a giant.

Next: The final mock before the draft gets underway

It is someone who is freaking good. Spare me your lazy analysis and argument about what we need in a quarterback, national media. Do your homework. All we need is a winner, something we haven’t had in a while.