The Facts: If Pete Metzelaars had the chance to improve the Buffalo Bills, then he would begin by replacing Fitzpatrick. "I don't want to throw Fitz under the bus, but you've got to get an answer at quarterback," Metzelaars told me. "That's got to be the No. 1 priority."

Diehards Line:As News staffer Tim Graham noted, Metzelaars has intimate knowledge of Buffalo's offense as the tight ends coach. He was dismissed along with the rest of the staff when the team fired HC Chan Gailey. He didn't dither when Graham asked him what the Bills' biggest problem is. "If you have a dominating defense, you can get by with an average to below-average quarterback," Metzelaars said. "If you don't have a dominating defense, you need a winning quarterback in the NFL. Fitz is an average to below-average kind of guy, and unfortunately he made some bad decisions at the end of games and then didn't make plays at the ends of other games we had chances to win. So it's got to start there. ..." Fitzpatrick completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 3,400 yards and 24 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. His 83.3 passer rating ranked 20th among regulars. He fumbled eight times, losing six. ... Fitzpatrick will compete with Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job this summer.