1billsfan

Petty's the more accurate passer? Completion percentage coming out of college... Bryce Petty - 62.7% EJ Manuel - 66.9%

You are pining away for a developmental QB after moving on from the current Bills developmental QB after him only playing in 14 games? For the record, Bryce Petty is a much more developmental QB than EJ Manuel. Petty didn't huddle, played in a super simple "one read" passing offense, was never asked to throw into tight coverages and looked foolish when pressured by college players. Throwing a prettier spiral pass than Manuel doesn't mean he's a better prospect. The Jets screwed themselves because they are locked into Petty now. The Bills have set themselves up to be free from any QB commitments should Manuel fail, because there are no expectations from a drafted QB who would be the next guy in line. That means the Bills will probably be at the top of the NFL destinations for the top free agent QBs or even a trade for Brees if Grayson looks good to go for the Saints in 2016. If Manuel fails I think a big name QB comes here one way or the other for the 2016 season. There are so many "good, but old" QBs that some team will want to start over with a 1st round drafted QB next year and deal their star to the star-studded Bills. The NFL will want this to happen to, you watch. Still sickened?

Do you realize how old in the tooth the top drafted QBs are? Brady, P. Manning, Brees, Rothlesberger, Rivers and E. Manning are old. Finding a franchise QB through the draft is like hitting the lottery. Where are all these franchise QBs that have been found since that 2004 draft? I think you guys are just frustrated because the Bills haven’t been one of the lucky ones. Because the NFL draft has provided only Rodgers, Luck, Wilson and Flacco since that 2004 draft. That’s it. That’s like 4 out of what? 100 drafted QBs since 2004? BTW, I don’t consider Newton, Stafford or Dalton as top franchise QBs until they prove they can start winning playoffs games. That’s the real test of having an "NFL franchise QB". The Bills drafted their potential franchise QB in the first round of the 2013 draft. He was a known "project" QB. It's year three and they are giving him his third year to prove he has it or he doesn't have it. It's not like the Bills didn't try. They did using a first round pick and there is still the chance that Whaley will be proven right pushing for the Bills to draft Manuel. The guy has been right on almost everything, so let's take a breath and see if he was right about his most important decision. For those who think EJ's a bust, you only have 7 1/2 short months left to say I told you so if he doesn't prove you wrong. That's a very short time.

It's not about drafting QBs every year it's about the Bills out smarting themselves. They never should have drafted Losman with Bledsoe still on the team. The Bills would have had Aaron Rogers in the next draft if they just let Bledsoe play out his last season. They never should have drafted TJ Graham thinking Russell Wilson would fall to them in the 4th. Currently, it wouldn't have been smart to overdraft Grayson in the 2nd or Petty in the 3rd because the Bills taking them there creates an unnecessary QB controversy with one of these two rookie QBs who need to sit at least a year. The Jets will no doubt have a QB controversy now with the drafting of Petty. It won't be as loud because he was taken in the 4th round, but the Jets have now tied their future at the position to a guy who's a bigger project than Manuel was. I'm much more comfortable with what the Bills did by seeing if their QBs fell to them, but if they didn't not create the drama on a team that is laser focused to make the playoffs. The Bills will find their QB next year if Manuel can't get it done. Buffalo is a very attractive destination now. They may even be able to trade for Brees given that they took Grayson this year.

EJ Manuel's development was cut after two straight bad games way back in week five of the 2014 season. Fans can guess what would have happened, but we don't know for sure what he would've done the rest of 2014. He had two good games and two bad games. So everything since then has just been nothing but talk without anything real or tangible seen on the field. I really think that with the time on the bench last year to settle himself down and now this year with everything surrounding Manuel, that it will be kind of hard for him to fail this year. If he does fail then Whaley can swiftly move on to solve the problem with a clear mind. Whaley knows he's set as the Bills GM regardless of whether Manuel succeeds or fails this year. So at least there will be team continuity and I'm sure he will next go the free agent or trade route for a veteran QB who's got a name and reputation of NFL success.

Also, the Jets basically took themselves out of the QB market next year by taking Petty. Who would you rather be the Jets or Bills? I'd much rather be the Bills and leave the door open (if Manuel doesn't nail down the job of course) to signing a free agent QB like Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Nick Foles or maybe even Bradford if he can solidify himself this year as a strong and healthy viable QB this year and decides to bail on the Eagles. I'm sure not all these players will be available, but you know the chances are good that at least one of them will be and the Bills will be one of the top destinations.

Those two guys are high priced failures that no one wants. This includes Chip not wanting Bradford. Both QBs have a long history of failures. With Cutler it's his inability to lead a team and his ability to play just as bad as he can play good. With Bradford the dude is as strong as a china doll. In the AFC East he'll be put in the hospital by the Jets. I know it's old fashioned, but when you pick a first round QB you must give him three years to see what he can do or it's a waste of time. If you cut or trade EJ, and he becomes the next franchise QB of the Steelers, and the Bills are still flailing at the QB position, if that happens you deserve another 20 years of no playoffs. Now the Bills have Matt Cassel waiting in the wings if Manuel bombs out. That's pretty much the best you could do this year. Adding Cutler or Bradford would have been like getting married and knowing full well it's not going to work out. EJ Manuel is going to be our starting QB this year and that's as it should be. It's the natural way of developing a QB and if it doesn't work out for the Bills and EJ you can rest assured that the Bills will make a change in 2016. Remember, the Bills are an attractive destination now. The best FA QBs will want to come to Buffalo first.

Would it be bad form for Matt to hang these pictures of him and his frat boys in his Bills locker?

That's the prefect description of what this photo is!...LOL Cassel looks like he's Tommy's shoeshine boy. Look, I don't care if their friends. What I ultimately care about is Cassel being a Patriot more than a Bill like Bledsoe was. Unfortunately, this photo is a great representation of that perception. He's a hired hand that will be a regular guest on Pats radio after his career is done.

I never said it was a "big deal". I said that this photo hurts Cassel's credibility (not a lot, but some) in regards to the Bills being a "bully". I know people are thinking that I'm taking that term literal. I don't. I'm talking about the supposed new "attitude" of the Bills team wanting to be feared. Remember when the Bills kept getting beaten up by the Jets early in Rex's head coaching career? A big part of that 6-0 streak was because the Bills knew the Jets were tough and they were soft. The Bills were bullied by the Jets in those first few years. They feared the Jets. So that brings me back to this photo. Yes, Kelly was friends with all of those guys, but there was actual discretion back then. These guys were smart enough to know that you kept that "buddy" stuff on the down low. Imagine if there was an actual photo of Kelly and Marino arm in arm with shades in front of a plane with Marino in the middle arms crossed as "The Man" and Kelly just another guy in "The Man's" entourage? Do you know what the reaction would be circa 1990?...LOL Obviously it's a different time, that's why I don't think it's a "big deal", but I do think this photo is like trying to unring a bell. If Cassel is the starter and he looks bad against the Patriots no doubt this photo story gets brought up, because we've all seen it. It's little stuff like that. Or if Rex is 50/50 on who he wants to start, little things like this photo may add up to help sway his decision. If people think that's bs then so be it, it's just my opinion about it.

It's two different issues. The photo hurts his credibility in terms of the new intimidation model of Rex's Bills. The two just don't mix very well. If Cassel beats the pants off of Manuel and Taylor in training than I'll be fine with him as our starting QB. If he doesn't, then I'll be fine if Cassel ends up getting cut because they added another QB in this draft. As for his fire, I just go to the stat sheet and see a guy's QB career go in the tank 5 years ago. He was Matt Shaub before Matt Shaub. BTW, I'm positive that Belichick and Brady are both hoping that Cassel wins the job given the fact that he threw 4 interceptions against them last year. Oh the humanity! LOL

I look at Tom Brady and I see Don Shula. Maybe you were to young to remember the decade long 0-20 Bills record vs the Dolphins, but I know I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy towards the man. I think Cassel's a guy who's coasting as a backup till the end of his career. I know many fans here want to think he still has the fire to lay it all out there, but I don't believe he does.

That's all well and good, but we're talking about Tom Brady here. There's a history. A very long and painful history. The Buffalo Bills want to kick the door in on their face this year. You may not think this photo matters at all, I think it does matter to a certain degree be that even a small one. That is if the Bills truly want to start intimidating Tom Brady. That's what Rex wants to be about. He said so in his opening press conference. This photo kind of hurts Cassel in that respect. It's just my opinion. That's all. I hope that Cassel has an awakening and becomes the next Rich Gannon, I just don't see that happening.

I don't think he stinks, I just think his time on the starting stage was over 5 years ago. I also think that Rex is serious about changing the attitude and wants to intimidate Brady and the Pats. It's just my opinion that he hurt his chances of starting because if it's a very close decision, little things like this will swing the decision towards EJ Manuel.

That's fine that he views him that way. But have some perspective on the 14 years worth of the Bills being beaten down by the Patriots. I think Cassel is a back up QB who's content with that role. I've thought of him that way when the Bills signed him as a free agent. I think that posing for this photo wasn't very smart on his part. Yes he has a nice "bro" photo to hang on his wall, but I think it hurts his credibility of wanting to become the Bills' "point of the spear" vs the Patriots.

Building a bully means an attitude that we play so hard that we might hurt you. So now Tom Brady is just some random "guy"? There's no reference needed of what this QB represents to the Buffalo Bills franchise over the last 14 years?

Rex wants the Patriots to fear playing the Bills. That's what he means. Kind of like how they feared playing the Giants. This photo doesn't help with that image, sorry. You can make light of it all you want, but the optics are killer for Cassel here.

Yes I'm serious. Let me ask you a question, do you think that Rex's "build a bully" talk was bs? The Bills have been doormats for a long time, Rex isn't playing.

Optics matter, unless you think Rex's tough talk is nothing but fake pro wrestling stuff. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways. If Rex wants to say that the "bully" talk was all just him blabbering then at least we it's all good to hang like best bros with the arch enemy of your team who has taken your lunch money for over a decade.

This photo cements even more the feeling I've had that Matt Cassel is a guy who's happy and content at this point in his life. I think the "fire in the belly" version of Matt Cassel left the building after the 2010 season. Just look at how badly his stats cratered after that season. Rex won't say so publicly, but I'm sure Cassel lost some serious credibility points with this photo. It will make Rex's decision to eventually cut him that much easier to do (if he doesn't out perform the young guns by a wide margin) if the Bills do end up drafting a QB tonight. Exactly how is Rex going to talk to the team about rearranging Tom Brady's face when his starting QB is best buddies with him?...LOL That photo doesn't really look like Cassel is on board with the whole "bullying" Brady idea. I know many fans here think this is silly stuff, but Rex Ryan isn't playing when he says he wants to build a bully. I'm just not seeing Rex picking Cassel as his starting QB knowing that in week 2 Tom Brady will have all these warm and cozy feelings about his best friend being the starting QB on the Bills. Cassel had 4 interceptions his last start vs the Vikings, I wonder if Rex starts thinking Cassel's so far up Tom's butt that he gets really nervous going against him.

Would you suggest that the Jaguars draft a QB this year? Because Blake Bortles had a worse rookie season than EJ did. A team needs to look like they have a plan and know what they're doing. Otherwise you end up looking like the Browns. We get that you don't think EJ is the answer. Given that there's a new coaching staff and this is year three for Manuel, you very well may see the Bills draft a QB tonight. However, that won't change the fact that Manuel is still going to get his shot to prove the doubters wrong. I'm a supporter of Manuel and still think he can become a franchise QB on the level of Flacco, but I won't be mad if they draft a QB for more competition. May the best QB win the job.

Technically Taylor is more veteran than Manuel, but they are the same age and Manuel has over 400 more passing attempts than Taylor and 14 games started vs zero. So I'm not sure why Taylor is getting praise or providing comfort for sitting on the bench in Baltimore for four years. I think Manuel's playing time makes him more veteran in that he has real experience under his belt. I think that Bills fans are taking Rex's praise of Taylor to heart way too much. IMO the signing of Taylor was to add a QB with unique skills to put into the QB competition. I also think the Bills are going to draft another QB today in the 2nd to 3rd round. Maybe Whaley told Rex and Roman that they would get to draft a QB to challenge Whaley's Manuel pick in camp. There's going to be a very real QB competition this training camp. Guessing who's staying or going is a farce at this point. I'm a supporter of Manuel, but even I'm starting to think that he had better show some good stuff in training camp or he may be cut. That may have been a concession to the new coaching staff. There are going to be two fields where every QB is going to get the same amount of snaps. It should be crazy especially if they do draft another QB. My take on the EJ Manuel situation is that the Bills are sending him huge blaring signals that he had better get his game, confidence and swagger in gear or he's out the door. I think they believe that's the best way to motivate a player like him who's (for lack of a better phrase) a good guy to a fault. The Bills players want to see a guy who's got serious fire in his eyes.

Doug Whaley has gone on record that he had a huge part in the Bills drafting EJ Manuel. So that begs the question why someone would think that Whaley would consider trading for Ryan Nassib who went in the same draft as Manuel. There is zero chance that the Bills trade for Nassib on the basis that it would require Doug Whaley admitting his pushing for Manuel was a big mistake and that he should have drafted Nassib instead, a guy that is still a complete unknown and has yet to see the field in a real NFL game. IMO Nassib has a very low NFL ceiling, however it's high enough that he'll probably be a good backup QB for a long time. His highest ceiling is probably Fitzpatrick's career.

Two of the last three Superbowls were won by Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh, who are the same type of "rah rah" player coaches as Rex Ryan. I'm not surprised that there was lack of discipline on the Jets last year because it was the worst kept secret that he was going to be fired. Everyone knew he wasn't going to be around so some players took advantage of it. Shocker.

I get the sense that the older reporters are oblivious to what's coming. They have hurt feelings from years and years of bad Bills teams and their "go to" is being critical or apathetic. I think the younger fans have clarity and know how many good players are on the team and they know that this Bills team is going to put up double digit wins regardless of whether the QB is Manuel or Cassel. It will be fun watching these cranky old reporters huff and puff trying to catch the Bills bandwagon after they demolish the Colts and Pats.