Ryan Fitzpatrick

Key notes from the article:

Is Buffalo's system better suited for Fitzpatrick than Cincinnati's?

Williamson: I think [Buffalo coach] Chan Gailey is a much better passing-game coordinator. They are very simplistic in Cincinnati. They Bengals often get out-schemed, and that's a real problem with their passing game. They don't do a real good job of using pre-snap movement, formations and personnel groupings to get their best guys open. Gailey is definitely better at that. The other thing that's helped Fitzpatrick early on is when he came to Buffalo, they were known as a running team and he saw consistently eight defenders in the box. Nobody was afraid of their passing game. So it was very friendly for Fitzpatrick to walk in and throw.

Who is having the better season: Fitzpatrick or Palmer?

Williamson: Fitzpatrick. All in all, the Bengals have better football players around Carson Palmer. But I think Palmer has been a liability this season. He's a worse decision-maker, and I don't know if -- maybe by a little -- Palmer is all that more physically gifted as a passer. But he thinks he is, and that's the same problem with Palmer. I still think his head is writing checks his body can't cash anymore. He could a couple years ago and was still making those throws. But now he doesn't. I also think his receivers are not very disciplined and run a lot of wrong routes, or stopping short, and that makes Palmer look worse than he is.

It's a sad day when Buffalo is a better option than the 2010 Bengals. Also, while the receivers might be running wrong routes, it's also a sad day when someone says this about Carson "his head is writing checks his body can't cash anymore".

Any thoughts? I would like to hear from the Carson apologists.

Hiring Hue Jackson: I considered this an inspired hire at the time, and I continue to. Jackson came from Baltimore, where he was instrumental in the development of Joe Flacco, and his magic touch has expanded with the Oakland offense. The offense is scoring 26.5 points per game after scoring 12.3 last year (the Denver game is an outlier, but in reality, it could have been worse). Jackson has tapped into McFadden's strengths. People who gave up on McFadden as an inside runner forget that he hadn't been utilized in another role -- the passing game. Now, he's the team's third-leading pass-catcher, and has 885 yards from scrimmage (and that's after missing two games). Overall, the Raiders are second in the NFL in total offense. It's a stunning turnaround. Jackson has to get credit for his role in the revival.

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