Bill from NYC Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Thad Lewis performed on par with EJ. He is also young and relatively inexperienced. This is something that gets lost around here imo. I think that now, right now, Lewis is a better qb than EJ, or at the very least as good. This SHOULD be a concern to Bills Fans. The Bills would be nuts to not draft another QB next season. And if they truly do like a player, they should do it in round 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 This is something that gets lost around here imo. I think that now, right now, Lewis is a better qb than EJ, or at the very least as good. This SHOULD be a concern to Bills Fans. The Bills would be nuts to not draft another QB next season. And if they truly do like a player, they should do it in round 1. No argument here, but, that doesn't lessen the fact that Graham is a douchebag.(IMO) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 No argument here, but, that doesn't lessen the fact that Graham is a douchebag.(IMO) Well put!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Actually, that was his response. He followed the vanilla answer up with the "What do you think?" though. That's where the debate begins: should TG have taken that hook? Could he have formulated and asked a 23 word question in the time it took them to part ways? Should he have just shrugged it off? Was his "yes" answer more flippant than EJ's question? The troubling part of this story is that TG's piece paints a picture of a young man in a pressure packed, leadership position in a billion dollar business who walked away from a situation angry rather than address it. We don't know EJ's side of it, but that is the take-away. My take away is that Manuel asked a question, received an answer, which was in effect, "I think you are a bust" and he walked away. Should he have entered into a debate with Graham? Should he have responded "I'll welcome the completion"? And then walked away? Should he defended himself, explaining why he is not a bust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 ... doing his job. jw I can still "do my job" while doing it poorly, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 ... doing his job. jw Is his job to make the news or to report it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimer1960 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Why is it snarky? The guy has legit injury concerns and when he played was inaccurate and inconsistent. I can't believe I'm defending Tim graham right now however I think most here just think it's snarky because it's ruffling the feathers of the golden boy. The drama was really started by EJ asking a question This will probably be pinned on me as being an EJ hater, I just see nothing wrong with asking an injured/inconsistent Qb his thoughts on the team drafting another Qb. It would have been disrespectful if he asked anyone that question in any line of business. There is no good answer to the question and he was just baiting Manuel. Can you imagine a reporter asking the President after his first term if he thinks he should be replaced? Should someone ask Graham if he thinks that the News should get some good reporters to cover the Bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Is his job to make the news or to report it? jw's job is to report the news. TG's job is much different; he wears a bunch of hats. Some of the time he's a columnist and his opinion is his job. While he may or may not have "made" the news, his job is not to simply report it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 This is something that gets lost around here imo. I think that now, right now, Lewis is a better qb than EJ, or at the very least as good. This SHOULD be a concern to Bills Fans. The Bills would be nuts to not draft another QB next season. And if they truly do like a player, they should do it in round 1. I sincerely disagree. There are things that Lewis does better, but I did not see his ability to pull out tough games or bring the team back in the late minutes of games, which EJ was able to do a few times this season and not against terrible teams. EJ's YPA was higher by .6, and Thad wasn't dealing with knee injuries. Look, there is no reason to say that EJ doesn't have question marks. Can he correct his footwork? Will the game slow down for him in year 2? Can he stay healthy? Can he make running a part of his game without getting himself injured? These will all be important. These are all questions he can be legitimately asked. This hypothetical challenge that comes with insinuations is all about the person who makes that challenge, not the interview subject. jw's job is to report the news. TG's job is much different; he wears a bunch of hats. Some of the time he's a columnist and his opinion is his job. While he may or may not have "made" the news, his job is not to simply report it at all. Then, as a columnist, he is choosing to limit his audience. I don't really have any respect for the way he's approaching this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I sincerely disagree. There are things that Lewis does better, but I did not see his ability to pull out tough games or bring the team back in the late minutes of games, which EJ was able to do a few times this season and not against terrible teams. EJ's YPA was higher by .6, and Thad wasn't dealing with knee injuries. Look, there is no reason to say that EJ doesn't have question marks. Can he correct his footwork? Will the game slow down for him in year 2? Can he stay healthy? Can he make running a part of his game without getting himself injured? These will all be important. These are all questions he can be legitimately asked. This hypothetical challenge that comes with insinuations is all about the person who makes that challenge, not the interview subject. I agree. And Lewis was on the Browns' practice squad for 2 years and went up against NFL players daily, so they weren't at the same level. As for drafting a QB in the first round, this year's crop looks to be fools gold. I see no can't-miss prospect, much less prospects, so taking one in the 1st might necessitate taking another one in the 1st in 2015 if the rookie QB doesn't look good his rookie season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Is his job to make the news or to report it? I'd cynically speculate his Job is to generate clicks and in turn revenue....nothing more nothing less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan1959 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 My take away is that Manuel asked a question, received an answer, which was in effect, "I think you are a bust" and he walked away. Should he have entered into a debate with Graham? Should he have responded "I'll welcome the completion"? And then walked away? Should he defended himself, explaining why he is not a bust? I have written a number of posts in this thread trying to separate all of the peripheral issues from the central issue and this is it. That is exactly the interpretation of Graham's response. That is the point in which it transitioned from professional interview to personal assertion. Graham is the one who should be held to a higher standard here. I retired from the FBI and conducted investigative interviews of thousands of people over thirty years. In each of those interviews I knew what I was saying/asking when I said/asked it - and what the purpose was of saying/asking it. There were many instances where I sat on a stand in a courtroom being questioned about things I said/asked and how I said/asked them. Because that is what I did for a living, I was held to a higher standard, and rightfully so. Graham is a professional and conducting interviews is part of his profession. As such, I wil hold him to the same standard I held myself in any investigative interview I ever conducted. I believe he was fully aware of what he said when he said it, how it was likely to be interpreted, and the types of responses it was likely to elicit. Provocative? Yes. Professional? No. Journalism? No. He could have asked any number of tough questions that would have prolonged the interview, or maybe have resulted in the same response from EJ. The difference is this: In the first instance it was nothing more than a personal insult and EJ had every right to walk away from an interview that became personal. In the second instance, if Graham would have followed up with a professional, tough, question and EJ would have walked away - then EJ could be questioned about ducking the tough questions. Setting aside EJ's performance on the field and all those other peripheral issues, and looking solely at this interview - Graham is not the one to be defended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Nobody ran TG off this board except TG. He threw a hissy fit over some fairly innocuous criticism. He simply does not like to be disagreed with. Ample evidence of this. The irony... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 no, but it certainly raises concerns and leads observant people to begin forming them. jw which is quite fair. Conclusions at this point are questionable though . Wait, what are you saying, that not all athletes and interviews are the same? And different players want and need to be treated differently? There you journalists go again, trying to stir up the pot. LOL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Is his job to make the news or to report it? +1 and the funny thing is, he doesn't seem to realize how he is perceived that many don't take his work seriously. Based on what I have seen from him on Twitter, and his "articles" - I typically assume he is trying to invent a story where there isn't one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) the trouble is how this would affect EJ, who is seemingly under the impression that he is irreplaceable, otherwise why would he be asking others for his opinion. perhaps, a competition might be best? jw I dont pick up that vibe myself ADD . Bills fan 1959 , very good post . Thanks for re centering the issue back to its essence . Edited February 1, 2014 by 3rdand12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) in retrospect, this would have been a worthy discussion say after JP's first offseason, or Trent's, no? they leash is short because of those who preceded EJ. that's not EJ's fault. but he has so far failed to show he's the definitive answer on a team that's not made the playoffs in 14 seasons and not had an answer at QB since Jim Kelly. jw If you mean EJ did not lead us to the promised land after 10 games as a starter, then yes. He's not the guy. Is that the yard stick now? 10 game auditions? Edited February 1, 2014 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bufcomments Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Tim Graham expounds on the exchange: More here: http://bills.buffalo...enough-answers/ Ofcourse Manuel took it personal , that was a direct shot at him. Did Tim go overboard a tad, maybe... But he just said what lots of people have been saying, Manuel might be injury prone. And I agree about the bringing in more comp and the QB spot. Maybe not with the first round pick but later on in the draft yes take a QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Ofcourse Manuel took it personal , that was a direct shot at him. Did Tim go overboard a tad, maybe... But he just said what lots of people have been saying, Manuel might be injury prone. And I agree about the bringing in more comp and the QB spot. Maybe not with the first round pick but later on in the draft yes take a QB. I have no problem with taking a QB in the later rounds, hoping to get lucky. But not in the earlier rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 jw's job is to report the news. TG's job is much different; he wears a bunch of hats. Some of the time he's a columnist and his opinion is his job. While he may or may not have "made" the news, his job is not to simply report it at all. And I'm glad its not my job - nor my desire to actually read of Bills misfortunes - either real or imagined - that Mr. Graham has a predilection to write about so frequently. The distasteful essence of his writings is like a grandmother's haggis gone bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts