With Josh Allen not able to play Sunday at the Indianapolis Colts because of an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the Buffalo Bills have a choice to make at quarterback between Nathan Peterman and Derek Anderson.
While Peterman’s pair of interceptions to seal last Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans — as well as his track record in seven career regular-season and postseason games of throwing interceptions — would make it seem the Bills’ obvious choice is Anderson, such a decision did not seem as simple when coach Sean McDermott spoke to reporters Monday.
“[Starting Anderson] represents a challenge a little bit because he’s only been here a week,” he told WGR 550.
Here is a look at what the Bills must consider in choosing between Peterman and Allen:
The case for Peterman
Bills players such as running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Zay Jones came to Peterman’s defense in the locker room after the defeat in Houston, but ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported Tuesday that “there is a feeling in the organization” that Anderson must start or “McDermott is in danger of losing the locker room.”
Peterman owns the second-worst adjusted yards gained per pass attempt (minus-0.48) in the NFL since 1950, according to Pro Football Reference, among quarterbacks who have as many regular- and postseason pass attempts as Peterman (82). The metric takes into account touchdowns and interceptions as well as passing yards and pass attempts. Only Randy Hedberg, who went 0-7 and posted a 0.0 passer rating in his only NFL season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1977, has a worse adjusted yards per pass attempt over the past 69 NFL seasons.
Putting Peterman back on the field seems unfathomable to both Bills fans who have closely watched him play over the past season-and-a-half, as well as NFL fans across the country who associate his name with disastrous play at the position. McDermott acknowledged that “sentiment” in his comments Monday but added, “I’ve got to put the right guy out there that I feel like is best for our football team,” implying starting Peterman was still an option.
What seems to give McDermott hope for a better outcome from Peterman, in what would be his fourth career start, is how he initially played when replacing Allen in the third quarter Sunday.
“I thought the early part of his game where he came in, [he] made some good throws,” McDermott said Monday. “[He] had the touchdown to Zay [Jones], moved the ball a little bit for us. [He] had some what I thought were good throws on third down: one to [running back] Chris [Ivory] in the flat, one to [wide receiver] Andre [Holmes] over the middle on a third-and-long.”
The case for Anderson
The primary appeal of starting Anderson in Sunday’s game at Indianapolis should be to avoid a performance Sunday by Peterman that would undermine McDermott’s credibility. McDermott and his defensive coaching staff have done well to improve Buffalo’s defense to rank third in the NFL entering Week 7, but that work would be vastly overshadowed by what would be a viewed by many as a blind spot in his decision-making at the game’s most important position, quarterback. Not yielding to public pressure is noble only to the point where it becomes nonsensical.
McDermott listed two main factors Monday that he would consider in deciding whether Anderson would be ready to start.
“Is he ready to play in a game physically?” McDermott told WGR 550. “[And] does he know the offense well enough to play in the game?”
Anderson, 35, is playing his 14th season in the NFL and for his sixth offensive coordinator, which could give him enough background experience to lead an offense in what would be his 77th career game and 48th start.
This is Anderson’s second stint with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who led the Cleveland Browns‘ offense in 2009. Both Daboll and McDermott said Monday there is some carryover from Daboll’s system that season.
“That’s a long time ago, so it’s like learning a new language,” Daboll said. “He’s a veteran; he’s been around a while.
“He’s picking it up. To come off the street and come in, he’s upstairs right now; he’s upstairs all the time. I don’t think you can put the whole thing on him. He’s played a long time, so concepts are concepts. It’s understanding the language. He’s grinding it out.”
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