Tyrod Taylor is praised for his dual-threat ability, but former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon says the Buffalo Bills gunslinger must prove he can function in the pocket.
According to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News, Gannon questioned whether or not Taylor can lead the offense when field position isn’t favorable or the defense can’t carry the Bills.
“[T]he thing they’ve got to find out about him is is can he function in the pocket? Can he bring his team from behind when he’s got to throw it more than 25 times?”
Based purely on the box scores, Gannon’s comments might seem a little out of line. After all, Taylor has completed 75.5 percent of his passes and thrown four touchdowns.
However, as Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports pointed out, Taylor has a tendency to leave a clean pocket if a play doesn’t develop as planned or as quickly as hoped.
Plays I had in 1st half in which Tyrod either left clean pocket or didn't moved into well-protected part of pocket… pic.twitter.com/CBpNw7ZFnN
— Chris Trapasso 🏈 (@ChrisTrapasso) September 22, 2015
Taylor should face his toughest defensive test of 2015 when Buffalo challenges Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon and the Miami Dolphins.
Although the Dolphins defense is off to a slow start in the yardage department, the unit has surrendered just 16.5 points per game, which ranks fourth-best in the NFL. Granted, Miami has only managed one sack through two games, but that trend should change sooner rather than later.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 27, and Taylor will have an opportunity to show a little progress in the pocket.