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Posted: Monday, 04 February 2013 4:48PM

Sunday's Super Bowl reaffirms QB theory



By Joe Buscaglia

JoeB@wgr550.com

During the Baltimore Ravens' 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers to capture Super Bowl 47, one thing kept presenting itself as the game continued to unfold:

If you want to win a championship in the NFL, you need great quarterback play.

The winner and loser both had play from their quarterback in the game that had teams without that franchise guy drooling as the yards piled up. The best part, there isn't one stereotypical skill-set a quarterback has to have to turn in a performance on the league's biggest stage.

Two quarterbacks, two different styles, separated by only three points as the Ravens were crowned.

Whether it was Joe Flacco tearing up the "great" 49ers defense for 287 yards, three touchdowns and countless big throws under duress, or if it was Colin Kaepernick accruing 364 total yards, two touchdowns and just five yards shy of a title for the 49ers, the theory over the past decade was only reaffirmed:

Great defenses can only take you so far. It takes a quarterback to get you the ultimate prize, and a great one at that.

With the Buffalo Bills having a brand new coaching staff and a more youthful approach, it seems the time may be now for the franchise to select a quarterback of the future. It could be the prototypical pocket passer, or the new age dual-threat. The most important factor is to get the right fit.

Without that signal caller to lead you in to the next echelon of teams, you're just a team like the Houston Texans, spinning your gears with a quarterback that disappears in big games. They have a great regular season defense, yes, but their quarterback play has hindered them from becoming a truly great team. Great quarterback play bounced them out of the playoffs almost effortlessly.

Whether it's the eighth overall pick for the Bills, if they wait until the second round or maybe even trade back in to the first round to get their guy, this year has to be the year. For 13 years, fans have been waiting for that answer.

The time is now to take a swing. They've been struck out looking for far too long.
 
With the Super Bowl out of the way, the focus shifts to the draft. Over the next three months, tune in to WGR Sports Radio 550 and WGR550.com for complete coverage of the 2013 NFL Draft. The fun starts later this week with a look at the quarterbacks the Bills will be looking at to find their next face of the franchise.

Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia

All photos courtesy of AP
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Topics : Sports
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People : Colin Kaepernick, Joe Flacco
02/04/2013 4:50PM
Sunday's Super Bowl reaffirms QB theory
Please enter your comments below.
02/04/2013 5:19PM
Not that different.
Both quarterbacks throw efficiently and accurately down the field. In today's NFL, you have to be effective going deep. Everything else is negotiable. This is why Harbaugh replaced Alex Smith.
02/04/2013 6:29PM
@Not that different
Who replaced Alex Smith???
02/04/2013 6:44PM
You sure?
Um.. Mark Rypien and Jeff Hostetler were great QB's?
02/04/2013 9:26PM
So Profound.....
Preach Joe Preach..........but tell us something we don't know. Like water freezes when its below 32 degrees. Really lame article.
02/05/2013 6:14AM
Great QBS
Can only be great on great TEAMS!
02/05/2013 6:48AM
Joe is lame
Blah Blah Blah...cliche cliche cliche...boring boring boring...thanks for stating the obvious, yet again.
02/05/2013 8:09AM
Yes
Try telling that to Buddy Nix, he's still trying to win with Fitzcraptrick!
02/05/2013 8:20AM
You need accurate, not necessarily great
As has been pointed out already, you don't need a GREAT quarterback to win the Superbowl. You do need an accurate one who makes good decisions. He doesn't have to have a cannon for an arm, but he has to be able to hit the tight end down the middle 25 yards past the line of scrimmage. I would be looking for a QB with a good winning record, completion percent, and TD/INT ratio in college -- particularly those who have gotten it done in big games.
02/05/2013 8:41AM
Re: Not that different
Let's replace Fitzpatrick with Alex Smith. That's talking business.
02/05/2013 9:24AM
@You Sure
That was 20 years ago, times have changed drastically since then, time to enter this decade
02/05/2013 1:42PM
RE: You sure?
Examples from over 20 years ago don't really disprove his point. The league was different then. The Giant's beat us with a punishing ground game, eating up clock in order to... that's right, keep our great quarterback off the field.
02/05/2013 4:55PM
re So profound...
LOL! Yeah he must be taking lessons from Paul Hamilton! What mediocrity on WGR, embarassing...
02/05/2013 4:56PM
QB THEORY....
Ya Think!??? FOREVERFORE!
02/05/2013 5:00PM
Told you Ruff would HIDE MILLER in OTTAWA!!!
WOW! Ruff is such a slug! How predictable! No way he's gonna let ALFIE pour more salt in to MR SOFTEE's wounds!!! EXTEND THEM ALL!!! Walmart: The biggest nickle and dime LOOSER franchise in pro sports! Jersies 75% off! The Pieces are in PLace! READY... FFFFFFFFFFFORRRRRRRRRREEEE!!!! Get your GOLF CLUBS SHINED, LOOSERS!!!
02/05/2013 5:04PM
@ re: You Sure? moron...
What! you point out ONE GAME!!?? And you're dead wrong at that! Hostetller was excellent against the Bills, excellent; and Pacells OWNED LEVY! By the way where have the Bills gone WITHOUT that elite QB for 20 years!!??? Stick to Walmart, you idiot. A Great QB IS EVERYTHING to an NFL team.
02/05/2013 5:06PM
Hire Wannstadt for WALMART DEFENSE!!
How could Walmart's defense get possibly worse with Wannstadt? Ruff may even learn something. LOOSERS!!!
02/05/2013 5:08PM
ALFIE CHOMPIN AT THE BIT, RUFF DISAPPOINTS HIM!
ALFIE has made a hall of fame career SPANKING THE ELITE ONE. and was so looking forward to yet another MR SOFTEE TORCHING! But CRABBY OLDMAN RUFF coddles his SOFTEE, and throws Enroth to the wolves!!! Walmart= LAUGH IN!! FIRE PAUL HAMILTON!
02/07/2013 11:04AM
Nice picking out exceptions
Losing to Hostetler was not pleasant, but, really, he is an exception that proves the rule. The point of Joe's article is not obvious to many, who still think if the Bills run Spiller 25 times and have a superior D, they can win it all with Fitz. Ain't gonna happen.
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