1billsfan

It'd be great if Manuel wins the job because we know that Cassel is nothing but a caretaker QB. With Manuel there's at least the hope that he takes off under Roman. I've got to believe that the Bills will try very hard to trade for or sign an older veteran with a good resume next year if Manuel doesn't get it done.

That's bs IMO. They have both had long careers and are essentially the same low level production NFL "back up"/"bottom 10 starting QB". That's not a knock, it is just an indisputable fact. Chris is probably a nice guy, but he should know that Buffalo fans actually have intent access to player stats and video. They don't need a NJ/NYC guy blowing smoke you know where. EJ and Cassel will have a nice training camp tussle and my money's on EJ to win it by a nose. If Cassel wins it then so be it, let's roll.

It's so weird that EJ just didn't take off and run away from the defender on that play and instead rushed the throw to Woods. He must have been drilled by Marrone to stay in the pocket at all costs and not run, right? Because this stationary EJ is not the same player that played at Florida State.

The thing about those guys is that, except for Brees, they all showed they kind of had "it" when they started to play. Maybe not with big stats, but Rothlesberger, Brady, Flacco, Romo, Wilson and Rodgers all won games and had a some what commanding presence about them. I'm just not seeing it with the under 30 QB club. After Luck and maybe Wilson, I see a whole bunch of guys that will not live up to what we've come to know as the highest level of the NFL top 10 QBs. I just went to pro football reference and saw that 8 of the top 10 QBs in TD passes were over 30 and their average age is 34. That's crazy to me. One of the guys in their 20s was Luck and the other guy was Matt Ryan who is 29. Yes things could change and these young guys could prove to be great, but I'm not seeing it. Like I said, those guys you mentioned showed right away they could play winning football consistently.

I think with Marrone quiting, McCoy becoming the full time RB and having a true professional OC who knows what he’s doing, EJ Manuel is prime for a solid season as starting QB for the Bills. Yes, he has some weaknesses (even great QBs do) like his accuracy, but a QB like EJ can minimize it’s importance if he can prove to be accurate when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter. IMO he’s shown this ability. Were it not for two fumbles after picture perfect passes to Stevie and Chandler late in the game against Atlanta, Manuel has a 8-8 record and probably it’s better than that since the team completely checked out the following week. I see EJ as potentially a Joe Flacco type of franchise QB (not necessarily style wise), someone who is good enough to get the job done, but won’t wow anyone with his stats. Though it's funny that this article shows the huge gap in perception vs stats of a comparison of these young QBs. This is when the "EJ doesn't pass the eye test" people start popping up...LOL

The NFL looks to be heading into a dark ages period at the QB position. You look at the top QBs, except for Luck and Rodgers (maybe Wilson), and they all have a LOT of miles on them. Even the younger ones like Rothlesberger and Rivers look worn out and that they probably won't still be in the league three years from now. Patriots, Steelers, Giants, Saints, Broncos, Cowboys...what are all of these teams going to do? Down the road I'm seeing Luck, Rodgers and possibly Wilson but then not much else to get crazy about. Maybe if EJ Manuel gets to even a top 15-20 QB level his stock will rise through attrition when all these guys eventually leave.

I'd like to read your observations on the following game vs the Patriots. They are the team to beat in their division for over a decade now. On second thought, if you like Matt Cassel you had better stop with that Rams game and on move on to another player.

Get the feeling that Tampa isn't ready to commit to Winston until they have to hand in their card? I think it's because they know he could do something stupid at any time and they don't want to have Mariota, or even any player they draft #1 overall, think he was the Bucs' second choice his whole career there.

Marrone was a total poser head coach. He tried to project a "Bill Parcells" aura and then he started to believe he was actually Bill Parcells...LOL He will probably never get another NFL head coaching job again. Because as an NFL owner, when you start seeing a guy like Marrone with such a nothing resume try to throw his weight around, you could only imagine the nightmare he would become if he ever to just get his team in the playoffs. Maybe he'd ask for partial ownership of the team then? Wow, what a whack job that guy was.

First thing for EJ is that I think it comes down to whether he can become a commanding presence in training camp. I expect you'll see a strong and serious demeanor from EJ this camp. Secondly, it kind of comes down to which QB will have the greatest improvement jump this training camp (I think they're even in terms of starting productivity level). That's where I think EJ will create some distance with Cassel in the battle for the starting job. Another part of the decision is who has the X factor in their skill set to make plays down the stretch in a close game. I'd take EJ over Cassel every time at this point in their careers.

The Buffalo print and radio media are very depressing. I live in NJ and I can tell you that I rarely read or listen to anything coming out of Buffalo. My choice for reading football news is ProFootbalTalk and my choice for radio is 97.5 The Fanatic in Philly. That Philly station loves talking NFL football, they always seem excited and it’s a positive experience listening to the hosts. Whenever I’ve tried to listen to WGR it just seems so down in the dumps no matter who is the host. It’s like a cloud hangs over everybody there and having passion for football and the Bills is simply not allowed. The hosts at WGR seem very disinterested in football when it’s not football season. They also never seemed to have a grasp on what’s going on. The Philly hosts are very tuned into to every aspect of the NFL.

I was just giving you a scenario, it wasn't a prediction of what he would do given that scenario. I honestly think that Cassel will have a very hard time beating out EJ. Now if he doesn't win the job, Manuel doesn't seem like the type of guy that gives up easily or be crushed. Dude's a hard worker. So if he did get a final shot during the season for what every reason, then who knows what he might do. Chances are he wouldn't throw 6 TDs, but the chance would be there and NFL football is a weird game.

Even if EJ comes in and only starts the final two games he's not necessarily done. Why? Because he could throw 6 TDs in those games. That's the way NFL football is. If you show even a small slice of greatness at QB, a team will keep you as an option going into the following year. Especially if you have the size and athletic ability of Manuel. You think Whaley is going to cut EJ if he throws 6 TDs in the final two games? The guy who drafted him in the first round and was laughed at for doing so? Not a chance.

Not necessarily. If Cassel either gets hurt or gets benched because of poor play and Manuel looking better in practice, then EJ will have a final shot at showing something. If he looks good, then he won't be done. He'll finish the season as the starter and become a viable option for 2016.

I think it's almost a lock that the Bills are taking an offensive lineman with their first pick. I think them looking at the QBs is more about rd 3 pick and later. My thought is that if they do like either Grayson, Hundley or Petty they probably will probably draft him in the 3rd if he's still there. Probably won't be, but look what happened to guys like Nassib and Barkley.

They knew Tom Brady was the greatest QB of all time yet were willing to wait until the 6th round to pick him? Interesting draft strategy.

I wasn't calling him an idiot, that # was for Marrone.

So if you were Doug Whaley you would have cut EJ? If you "haters" are right then you only have 10 or 11 months to go to get your wish. That's really not a long time.

By season's end it will be a clear decision. Greg Roman was able to get successful QB play out of both Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. So if EJ does not show any significant improvement and just remains stuck in the same low gear then there will be no other option than to move on. I have a feeling that QB options will be much better next year than they were this year. Now having said all that...the funny thing about NFL football is that he could play average to badly for the first 12 games of the 2015 season, but if that "light switch" all of a sudden goes on and he dominates the last four games (maybe Cassel's hurt and Taylor is worse), then almost everyone forgets those first 12 games and they're excited the Bills finally found their franchise QB. #idiot... http://www.jaguars.com/team/coaches/Doug-Marrone/a6a6db00-99e9-441a-bcc6-28af250cc401

You trust the opinion of a guy who went from NFL head coach to offensive line coach for the worst team in the league by choice. I don't.

EJ was a raw QB who needed professional coaching to develop and he got a man who was so stupid, he quit an NFL head coaching job and ended up as the offensive line coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yes, of course EJ is to ultimately blame for not being good right now. However, Doug Marrone has clearly proven to everyone that he's an extremely stupid man and he was the one in charge of EJ's development. That alone should cool the jets of the haters to take a wait and see approach. Ever since Marrone imploded, I've always contended that if that dumb ox thinks EJ sucks then there's probably a very good chance he'll end up to be a great one.

The problem with EJ is not the lifting of the back foot, it's the occasional leaning backwards on throws where pressure was in front of him. IMO, that's correctable and it looks like he's putting the serious work in to smooth out the roughness he came in the league with. At least that's one off season box (putting the work in) being checked.

I think EJ has shown the ability to throw a nice deep ball. He's shown it in college and he's shown it in the pros. The problem is that the ball is either right on the money or it's way off. It seems like his best deep throws are always right in the middle of the field. However, the opportunities to throw it deep were few and far between with Marrone. I still think EJ might eventually prove to have the deep throwing talent to make a difference and help the team win a few games. He obviously needs to get consistent on deep throws, but I think that's something that's still possible.

You either have the ability to make defenses pay for crowding the line by hitting WRs deep or you don't. The highest level of franchise QB you could ever attain by never challenging a defense is Alex Smith. I don't consider Smith a franchise QB. So there really is only one way to develop a franchise QB. Let him throw the ball downfield and either prove he has what it takes or he doesn't.

Where did you get your stats from? Your list is either wrong or Pro Football Reference is wrong (GS means game start)... http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MontJo01/gamelog// Anyways, the point wasn't to make the case that Manuel was just as good as Montana was early in their careers. Montana was a natural QB who had very little rough edges to smooth out. EJ still has a lot of rough edges to his game. The whole point was to show how ridiculous the EJ haters are in their loathing of the guy. According to Pro Football Reference, EJ has the same amount of combined passing/rushing TDs and the same win/loss total as Joe Montana in their first fourteen game starts. It's funny you felt the need to even knock that down and not give him that. This is why you guys are called haters. You can talk about the different eras all you want, I can come back and do the same by talking about Montana having the greatest offensive mind in the history of the NFL coaching him while Manuel was saddled with Doug Marrone. BTW, I know that Manuel is not, nor will ever be, anywhere near the QB that Joe Montana was. Could he attain Joe Flacco franchise level status? Absolutely. If he doesn't prove himself this year will I care if they move on and cut him? No I won't. Give it a rest and give the guy a chance under Greg Roman.