Last week, I profiled the Cam Newton-to-Buffalo scenario and deemed it as a perfect fit. I figured, on paper, it was a situation conducive to future success for all parties involved: Newton, Chan Gailey and the entire Bills organization. Blaine Gabbert, who’s either the best or second best quarterback prospect in this year’s class, depending on who you talk to, deserves his moment under the microscope as well.
However, I rarely got the chance to watch live Missouri games this year, and don’t have the access to extensive film on Gabbert, so I’ll hold back from delivering a full-blown scouting report that’d mainly be based on what I’ve heard and/or read from other draft “analysts”. (Here’s all I got. Gabbert’s a sound quarterback prospect coming out of a semi-successful Big 12 program that operated in the spread offense. He possesses and “NFL” arm, and is more mobile than you think.)
Instead, I’ll pass along what I’ve come to learn and realize about the Buffalo Bills, their drafting process, and their quarterback situation after lengthy conversations with extremely intelligent and informed Bills ideologists, who, for one reason or another, aren’t seen on TV, heard on the radio, or even write their football opinions on the internet. I’m sure you know of few of them as well. We’ve become enamored with the Todd McShays, Adam Schefters, and John Claytons of today’s mainstream-media sports world, but sometimes, to find the most astute and spot-on opinions, you don’t have to venture any further than a family party.
Each year, the overwhelming majority of the “top” college prospects, whether quarterback or not, have an immense amount of talent and skill. All have slightly differing attributes, but in the end, there’s a reason why they’ve been identified as the best available collegiate players. So, what that means is it’s the space between the ears that almost always separates the “franchise” players from the infamous “busts” we hear about every season.
In the Bills’ case, they are up against the wall a bit, because of the city they call home. They must dig deeper on each prospect and can’t select solely on what they witness on the field. It’s the same reason free agents rarely land in Buffalo.
The weather. The losing-culture. The division. The small-market.
Let’s use Cam Newton as a prime example. Picture this. You’re born in the South (or in a warm weather city on the West Coast) You win in high school. You’re a star recruit. For Newton, after a transgression at Florida, you land at community college in Texas and win a National Title. Next, you’re leading the Auburn Tigers, in a town where college football is king. You never play in a game where the temperature is below, say, 55 degrees. You win the Heisman Trophy. You win the National Title.
Then, you’re picked by the Buffalo Bills at No. 3, and for the first time, life isn’t so peachy. You struggle against the more complex NFL defenses. You start losing. On top of that, the weather is downright depressing for a good portion of the regular season, and even worse for the beginning of each offseason. You start to worry. The word bust gets thrown around. You’re thinking, the move from the Auburn Tigers to the Buffalo Bills feels like a step down. Lastly, you’re stuck in hardly the right place to sprout a booming endorsement career. Not exactly conducive to success for all parties involved if all affects a rookie.
Newton’s not the only one. Gabbert and Mallet enjoyed strong college careers in the spotlight. From this viewpoint, Jake Locker is the only guy that “fits”. Think about it. Now, in terms of skill-set, athletic ability, and on-field promise, Newton is potentially the No. 1 guy.
(Defensive lineman don’t really apply here. Quarterbacks are football’s prima donnas. Defensive lineman are used to getting beat up, manning the trenches, and not getting all the press.)
These are just aspects of Buffalo that every prospect drafted by the team has to meet head-on and get over if they want to succeed as a Bill.
In the end, I’m not predicting that if the Bills select Newton, he’ll ultimately fail because he’s never been in cold weather and hasn’t experienced losing. (I still stand by my initial conviction that working under Ryan Fitzpatrick and Gailey, Newton could really flourish.)
If the Bills drafting committee can peer inside the heads of these top quarterback prospects and determine who can withstand some turmoil early in their careers, they’ll find their franchise guy.
Because honestly, Newton has all the talent in the world to become the next elite quarterback in the NFL. It’s all about his (and nearly every prospect’s) ability that isn’t on film…the ability to handle a little adversity in Buffalo, New York.
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