Why wasn't Bishop successful in the NFL?

[michigancat]

Seeing Vince Young on the cover of SI makes me wonder why Michael Bishop failed in the NFL.

He was a better college QB than Young, but had a very similar style.

Was his coach just not as smart as Jeff Fisher, was he not smart enough, or was it a combination of both?

[PoetWarrior]

This type of quarterback "game" was not as developed or proven as it is now.

And it would have taken someone willing to make it work for him to be successful and he didn't get that.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Young is no genius, but Bishop had about the lowest watt bulb ever to go into the draft. Plus, VY is a little better on the short pass.  Bishop's arm just couldn't ratchet itself down for the receivers.  Our offense was run run run big pass with MB.  I also think VY is a little more controlled of a runner.  Bishop had a tendency to put the ball out there trying to make a move. As a consequence, he fumbled a little more often.

[cireksu]

Brains and VY is twice as big as Bishop.  How many 6 foot qb's are in the league? 

[Bookcat]

Bishop couldn't read....



a defense.


Pure athleticism is enough to get by in college..but in the pro's...everyone can run.

[billsnyderrules]

He was a better college QB than Young, but had a very similar style.

I like Bishop too, but Young was a FAR superior QB. He was the best player in college football last year, and much more dominant that Bishop ever was.

[chum1]

Allegedly, Mike Holmgren wanted a backup QB that could make plays running with the ball when the offense breaks down, which you would expect to happen more often with the backup QB in.  Bishop probably could have fit that type of role pretty well.

Bishop also had trouble with being consistently accurate.*

*The Achilles’ heel of almost all "dual threat" QBs.

[pissclams]

Combination of things, the system he got drafted into, his size, maybe he just never really got a shot, who knows.

I think it's a stretch to say that VY has succeeded, or MV for that matter.

[Saulbadguy]

KC KATPAKRS:

Anyone going to see Bishop play for the Brigade?

[pissclams]

Hell yes Saul, those games are a blast.  Have they announced Bishop as the starter? First game is in the first week of March.

[Racquetball_Ninja]

Bishop failed because he simply is not a very bright individual.  Young's a smart kid, I know he scored poorly on the wonderlick (sp) but he's smart where it counts:  FOOTBALL KNOWLEDGE.  Bishop tried to rely on just his athletic ability and he found out quickly that CB's and LB's would have no problem catching him by taking the correct angles or by just flat out running him down.

I heard a report the other day that said Young's always watching film and trying to learn how to spot coverages to make himself better, Bishop continued to try and live on his natural ability.  I still remember a game where they put him in at the end of the 1st half because they needed somebody that could throw the ball 70 yards in the air.  That's all he ever was in the NFL, a sideshow.

[Saulbadguy]

VY actually did not score poorly on the wonderlic.

[pwrcatjd49]

KC KATPAKRS:

Anyone going to see Bishop play for the Brigade?

Damn right. My friend's uncle is a part owner of the Brigade, I got free tickets last year and most def. this year. 

[ksuno1stunner]

young throws like a girl

[Racquetball_Ninja]

This might sum it up, if you can't be a star in the CFL you're probably going to be a nobody in the NFL.

The CFL

Although he has immense physical talent, he has never been able to translate that to solid results on the CFL field since joining the league in 2002. In that year, Bishop was traded from the Calgary Stampeders (who owned his CFL rights) to the Toronto Argonauts along with two 2002 late round draft picks for Michel Dupuis, a 2003 first-round draft pick, and a conditional 2003 draft pick. Bishop had some brief stints as a starting quarterback with the Argonauts, but was predominantly a backup. Between 2002-2005, he completed 206-of-446 passes for 3,192 yards, 17 touchdowns and 32 interceptions for a quarterback rating of 53.2. He also rushed for 768 yards and 7 touchdowns. With his propensity for throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes and an inclination to run with the football, his quarterback intelligence came into question by many CFL fans. Despite the criticism, he performed satisfactorily while Damon Allen was injured during the 2004 CFL season and won a Grey Cup championship with them that year. On April 21, 2006, the Argonauts released Bishop only to re-acquire him four months later on August 11, more than halfway into the 2006 CFL season. In this season, the bulk of Bishop's playing time involved being inserted into the game exclusively during short yardage situations. During the 2006 East division semi-final, however, Bishop came in to replace Damon Allen late in the 4th quarter and heroically threw two spectacular touchdown passes to Arland Bruce III and R. Jay Soward, propelling the Argonauts to the East division Final.

In the 2006 Eastern Final against the Montreal Alouettes, Bishop again found himself replacing the struggling Damon Allen in the 3rd quarter. Down 23-3, Bishop was able to throw touchdown passes to Arland Bruce III and Michael Palmer and was able to guide the Argonauts to within a touchdown of the comeback, however the Argonauts fell short losing 33-24. However, Bishop's play in the playoffs has led some to believe that he may have finally turned the corner in his CFL career.

[edit]

[fatty fat fat]

He was a better college QB than Young, but had a very similar style.

No way.

[tmramrod91]

I think Bishop scored one of the lowest scores ever if not the lowest on the Wonderlick. He got somethin like 5 out of 50 questions right. If you take it and look at the questions, you'll quickly see he's not too smart. An average person could get 35 right easy with little effort.
MB was a freak of an athlete, but he doesnt have the smarts to digest NFL systems or defenses. Snyder scaled back his intricate offense for MB initially and he won with raw talent...and an amazing defense making up for his mistakes.

[Wildcat Jack]

Re: Why wasn't Bishop successful in the NFL?

Because he never wanted to play safety.

[KSU78]

Bishop "failed" in the NFL because of a coaching change.

[ChicagoCat]

Bishop didnt fail in the NFL, the NFL failed in Bishop.  Their loss, he went to the CFL where stars are born, now if only we still had and XFL where he could play along side darnell mcdonald and they could do the "booty dance"

[dmartin]

...but Bishop had about the lowest watt bulb ever to go into the draft...

After having class with Bishop, I'd have to completely agree.  That is when he showed up, or showed up before the class was halfway over.

[Racquetball_Ninja]

...but Bishop had about the lowest watt bulb ever to go into the draft...

After having class with Bishop, I'd have to completely agree.  That is when he showed up, or showed up before the class was halfway over.

   How dare  you say that!  If that's the case and Bishop was dumber than a box of nails how could he have ever stayed eligible?!?!  Are you saying that Bill Snyder wasn't a total saint and that he allowed the not so bright to stay on the field even though they were dying in the classroom?  *oozing with sarcasm* 

[fatty fat fat]

Okay, we get it. Bishop was dumb.

He still accomplished more than all of us put together.

[Racquetball_Ninja]

Okay, we get it. Bishop was dumb.

He still accomplished more than all of us put together.

Meh, not really.  I'd put my real life accomplishments up against his anyday and I'm sure there are many others here that would do so as well.  Playing pro football "kinda" for a year and then being exiled to the CFL where you're a marginal player at best is not really something to build a life resume on. 

Of course, if you're looking to impress young college boys (like Fatty) and you want to live your life measured by what you did as a college football player then... hooray!      

[dmartin]

...but Bishop had about the lowest watt bulb ever to go into the draft...

After having class with Bishop, I'd have to completely agree.  That is when he showed up, or showed up before the class was halfway over.

   How dare  you say that!  If that's the case and Bishop was dumber than a box of nails how could he have ever stayed eligible?!?!  Are you saying that Bill Snyder wasn't a total saint and that he allowed the not so bright to stay on the field even though they were dying in the classroom?  *oozing with sarcasm* 

haha, not saying that at all, after all, it was criminal justice, or justice in society, crap, something like that.  That will tell you how much the class actually mattered.

[Racquetball_Ninja]

...but Bishop had about the lowest watt bulb ever to go into the draft...

After having class with Bishop, I'd have to completely agree.  That is when he showed up, or showed up before the class was halfway over.

   How dare  you say that!  If that's the case and Bishop was dumber than a box of nails how could he have ever stayed eligible?!?!  Are you saying that Bill Snyder wasn't a total saint and that he allowed the not so bright to stay on the field even though they were dying in the classroom?  *oozing with sarcasm* 

haha, not saying that at all, after all, it was criminal justice, or justice in society, crap, something like that.  That will tell you how much the class actually mattered.

You're right though, I met Michael the first night he came into town.  I was working the Outback at Chance and he and some guys started a pick up game when Chance still had a goal on the back patio.  That kid was freaky athletic, he was jumping over people.  Too bad he couldn't take a little of that raw ability and counter it with intelligence.  You have to hand it to him though, he's managed to find a career on his athletic ability and I'm sure he's making a pretty comfortable living. 

On another plus side he's not selling drugs.  Whatever did happen to Marvin Simmons?