1billsfan

Joe Montana Tom Brady Peyton Manning Johnny Unitas Dan Marino

You're making too much sense. Joe Flacco was ranked 22nd in QBr last year, Eli Manning was ranked 17th in QBr in 2011. Those were the last two winning Superbowl QBs. Anyone trying to make grand statements about what EJ Manuel is going to become based off of the numbers and statistics of his rookie season is an idiot. No one can claim to know what Manuel will become. I happen to think that he can have either just as good of a career or better than Joe Flacco and Eli Manning. In fact, he had a much better rookie season than Eli did in 2006. The main concern for me is his injury problems, other than that he had an average season for a starting NFL rookie QB. There was good, bad and ugly. Baring more injuries, I see no reason to believe he won't look much improved next season when his coaches, receivers and himself will no longer be rookies at their jobs.

I agree. Just look at how Rivers' made a huge comeback when he got Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead, look at how horrible Eli Manning looked when he lost his TE Bennett and Nicks imploded on him. IMO the Bills need a "prime" target for Manuel to progress to the next level. I don't know if that's the first or second round, but I think a very good prospect will be there at either of the Bills' first two draft picks. Graham is a proven disappointment who needs to get replaced asap.

Here are my thoughts on the first two rounds after doing some pre draft research... Round 1: Plan A - Sammy Watkins WR / Plan B - Mack or Barr LB / Plan C - Robinson OT Round 2: Plan A - Richardson or Yankey OL / Plan B - Matthews or Moncrief WR / Plan C - Matthews or Moncrief WR Round 2 selections coincide with their lettered plan counterpart from round 1, they're not meant to be read who I'd want in order as it truly is in round 1. I don't know if I'm the first to mention Donte Moncrief, but from the highlight videos I've watched he looks very smooth and he reminds me of Jerry Rice, he even catches the ball like him. He's tall too for those people who want that in our WR selection. GBN report has him at #58 and Draft Tek has him at #132, but from watching highlight videos, I like him much more than many others receivers that they have ranked ahead of him.

I really think that the Eagles would have drafted Manuel in the 2nd round. Now, if that did actually happen, what would have happened to the Eagles 2013 season? Who would have been Kelly's QB? I think if that did happen, IMO Manuel would have been the eventual starter and he would have had a great rookie season. I think they would have still made the playoffs with Manuel starting. Why so confident? Because Chip Kelly knows how to coach and he and his offensive players trust in his fast pace system. It's not that EJ Manuel is so great, it's what Chip Kelly proved he was able to do with the very average and unathletic Nick Foles as his QB.

There's definitely a new breed of QBs with attitude entering the league. It started with Cam Newton, then RGIII, and now you have Johnny "football" Manziel this year with Jameis Winston soon to follow. These guys seem to love the attention and adulation a little too much. Newton probably finally learned that he needed to tone the "it's all about me" vibe and that's why they're in the playoffs. Gees, take look at how fast RGIII star has fallen. You can tell his team mates really don't like his diva attitude from what you read coming out of DC. Regardless of whether he's the answer or not for the Buffalo Bills, I'm glad that EJ Manuel is a no drama kind of a QB.

I wonder what Dareus' trade value would be in terms of a draft pick in 2014. Maybe a late first rounder? I'm not saying that I want the Bills to trade him, I'm just wondering what kind of player we'd get in return. Seems to me a top TE or OT or OG would be there in the late first.

I think the league is heading this way like it or not. At least the Bills are on the front end of the learning curve though. If the Bills somehow get Sammy Watkins, and add a couple quality starting OL through draft and FA, then I think this team will be very good offensively in 2014. There should be no reason at all why the Bills couldn't do what Philly did in 2013. Watkins, Spiller, Jackson, Woods, Johnson, Goodwin, WOW! EJ Manuel would have a hard time not playing really well given all of those targets and an uptempo QB friendly scheme.

I don't care about EJ's feelings either. I'm just already sick and tired of the nonsense. You "draft another QB" guys hardly ever provide a specific player name of who you'd draft. You even said that Manuel deserves his shot next season. Yet instead of filling out a critical starting OG, OT, TE, or WR roster spot that would greatly help out Manuel, you'd burn a 1st, 2nd or 3rd pick on yet another prospect QB to groom. Its not happening because that's not how franchises striving to become successful would operate. Would you ever see the Steelers, Giants or Ravens do this? It's totally counterproductive to the QB you picked in the first round the year before. There's no miracle Bridgewater or Manziel dropping to #9 happening. That's the reality of the situation. In regards to "annoying" Thad Lewis, IMO he's proven to be one of the top backup QBs in the league. How annoying was it to watch Lewis beat the Dolphins twice this year?

Heck, since we're imagining, let's imagine that both Manziel and Clowney are there, and Green Bay offers us Aaron Rodgers for the pick, and...

Did you ever notice that no one actually says the name of this mythical franchise QB prospect which falls to the Bills at #9? Because it certainly will not be Bridgwater, Manziel or Bortles. So who they got left? Derek Carr?...LOL I'd much rather have EJ Manuel as a prospect and he's already been seasoned for a year and will have had a full offseason. It's so annoying that will will have to deal with this stupid "draft a QB" talk till the draft. I think the Bills should just outright announce that they are NOT drafting a QB in the first three rounds to squash all this chatter and let the Manuel non-believers know what the deal is. That the Bills are fully invested in Manuel for the 2014 season and Lewis is going to be the backup QB.

Just to put things in perspective... EJ Manuel - rookie season 77.7 QB rating 4-6 QB record 58.8 completion percentage Eli Manning - rookie season 55.4 QB rating 1-6 QB record 58.5 completion percentage Also Manuel was 4-0 in his college bowl career which are the only "playoff" type games in college. So maybe the trick is believing that the Bills found their franchise QB EJ Manuel. Bills fans need to at least give him a shot in 2014. I know I am.

What was Nick Foles ranking last year? What was Eli Mannings ranking his rookie year? No one, including you, has any clue as to how good or bad of an NFL QB EJ Manuel will become. You may not like it, but he still gets his non-rookie 2nd year to prove the doubters right or wrong.

Why do Bills fans continue to debate about Johnny Manziel possibly falling to the Bills #9 spot? It's an epic fail of a debate because there is literally no chance of that happening. He's going to the Texans at #1 or to the next QB starved team that trades up to the Rams spot at #2. There's basically about 6 teams ahead of the Bills spot that needs a QB like Johnny Manziel. Why in the world is there STILL a debate going on about the Bills having the choice to take Johnny Manziel?

When you were talking about Andrew Luck and that your team requires that kind of elite franchise QB I assumed you were talking about elite QBs like Manning, Brady and Brees. So there's no contradiction in what I said. Eli, Ben and Joe are not anywhere near that kind of status. So my point is that it is absolutely NOT a requirement to have an elite franchise QB if your goal is to win a Superbowl or two. I think too many fans on this board have an unrealistic and unhealthy Manning and Brady all time great QB envy, when they should let it go and look at the Bills as a franchise striving to win a Superbowl the way successful franchises like the Giants, Steelers and Ravens do it. With a solid team and a QB that gets hot at playoff time.

Absolutely false statement, if winning the Superbowl is your goal. Eli Manning, Ben Rothlesberger, Joe Flacco all have as many Superbowl rings or more than Peyton Manning. None of those three would ever be considered anywhere near being looked at as an all time great. If Kaepernick, Wilson, Rivers ect win it all this year then the beat goes on dismissing this myth. IMO, EJ Manuel is the type of potential franchise QB who in time could become great enough to win you a Superbowl with a well built team around him. That's the model I see the Bills using. With the defense getting much better, they are starting to look to have the potential of those Giant teams that won it all after getting into the playoffs and getting on a roll as a team.

Nice try. This debate is about you having the gall to bring up Nick Foles name considering Manuel had the exact same up and down rookie season as Foles did a year ago. It's not about measuring fan impatience levels. Obviously the fan impatience level is greater with Manuel if for nothing else than where they were picked in the draft. But that's not the debate. Give EJ a chance to progress like Foles and leave it at that.

Whatever "scouting report weaknesses" Manuel had, Foles must have had slightly worse ones... EJ Manuel / Florida State QB rating 150.4 Passing percentage 66.9 Yards per average 8.6 Nick Foles / Arizona QB rating 138.2 Passing percentage 66.8 Yards per average 7.2 As for the impatience levels with Bills and Philly fans, while different because of starter/backup circumstances, Philly fans saw the same flashes of good play, poor play, average play from Foles in 2012 as Bills fans saw with Manuel in 2013. Philly fans were expecting Chip Kelly to pick his QB in the 2014 draft. Almost no one in Philly thought of Foles as anything put a place holder in the 2013 season. I'm sure that that also includes Chip Kelly. So the point is that bringing up Nick Foles as a reason why the Bills are in a bad position with Manuel is simply ridiculous. You have to wait one year from now to bring up Nick Foles' name.

Seriously?! So NOW Bills fans are officially allowed to start pining away for Nick Foles? The same Nick Foles who had an "EJ Manuel" type forgettable rookie season in 2012 even though he had a 14 year veteran head coach/offensive/QB guru Andy Reid as his head coach? The same Nick Foles who wasn't even Chip Kelley's starting QB at the start of the year? The same Nick Foles who wasn't as good as EJ Manuel was in college? This board is ridiculous if people start bringing up Foles and not seeing the irony that Philly fans were saying the same thing about Foles as Bills fans are saying about Manuel not even 3 months ago. Anyone bringing up Nick Foles' name should only be doing so to point out Nick Foles as a reason WHY EJ Manuel can realistically become a top QB as quickly as his second season if given the right coaches and players. I'm convinced that EJ Manuel would have been an Eagle if he landed at their 2nd round pick. I listen to a lot of Philly sports radio (because the Bills radio people suck), it was no secret that Chip Kelley was not a fan of Foles. In fact, Kelley recruited EJ Manuel and Manuel turned him down because he wanted to stay closer to home. I'm also convinced that EJ Manuel would have had a great rookie year if the Eagles took him, Vick went down and he was pressed into starting. Don't forget, rookie EJ Manuel had to deal with two unimaginative and conservative rookie NFL coaches guiding him.

I was pushing for Sammy Watkins since the Bills season ended and the draft season began. The good news bad news is that while Watkins confirmed what I was seeing on youtube, he will now most probably go to the frikken Raiders who love drafting guys like him...LOL Bills should not trade up because they will have a realistic shot at having a monster LB there be it Mack or Barr. Then go OG/WR or WR/OG with their 2nd and 3rd rd picks. This draft is deep, let the talent come to you.

In today's NFL It's about moving towards arena football, it's more about scoring points than stopping them from scoring. Yes, having a great safety would be great. But you first need to have your QB, your offensive line and your set of targets in place. I'd flip out if they drafted a safety (who is not going to be rated anywhere near #9) before an offensive line or WR/TE widely rated as one of the top 10 players in the draft.

There's no chance of that happening at #9. The changing rules of the NFL have made DBs of lesser importance than OL, WR, DL, TE, QB... ect The only way any NFL team picks a safety THAT high is if they have an embarrassment of riches at almost every other position.

The Bills actually had only 103 fewer yards passing than last year. Fitzpatrick was better, but SJ isn't a slot guy and Graham isn't a starter IMO. Is there anyone here who wouldn't want TJ replaced by Stevie? Go back and look at SJs highlights on youtube, the guy has a real knack at winning those sideline pass battles. Is he a deep threat like Green or Megatron, no, but is it worth chasing that kind of a player who might not even be there in this draft and missing out on a possible monster defensive player in the 1st round?

The numbers say so. Only four less games played than in 2012, yet he had half the number of yards and half the number of touchdowns. Is it time for Marrone and Hackett to say "our bad, SJ's much better suited for the outside"? Time that TJ Graham needs to be cut from this team and for the Bills to have a trio of Johnson, Woods and with Goodwin playing the slot role? I seem to remember that Stevie was able to own the baddest cover CB on the planet when playing on the outside. I think crossing patterns (aka pick plays) with Johnson and Goodwin could cause fits for opposing DCs. I remember Stevie being great at winning the sideline battles. The reason I'm thinking about this subject is because the fix to the WR position may already be here. Maybe this team could draft a defensive monster like Mack or Barr, or maybe even a top OL prospect, and not have to burn it on a position that could wait for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th round WR prospect to groom.

1st Sammy Watkins WR 1st Tiny Richardson OT (thru trade up) 3rd Xavier Su'a-Filo or Zach Martin OG (btw, I think the Bills just acquired their TE of the future in Moeaki) EJ Manuel would have no excuses in becoming the Bills franchise QB in his second year with a monster running game and the targets he'd have in the passing game.