Mr. WEO Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 The premise of my concerns remain the same. I am not being harsh on EJ about struggling against the blitz and the exotic pressures that he saw this year. You want to use stats that have ZERO to do with my particular criticism. When EJ saw basic cover-2 shells and off coverage AND had time to throw, receivers were getting open quickly and EJ was pure hesitation and either dumped it to the flat or took the coverage hit/sack. As the season wore on those teams played a cover-2 shell just for it to be a cover-3 variant with one safety going high and one diving to the flat. Why? Because teams saw on FILM that EJ's tendencies were to hesitate and dump it against these basic zone looks, and the TEs and RBs were taking massive hits after the catch, in the flat, barely getting back to the line of scrimmage. It was as predictable a move as his little spin move to the weak side with pressure up the middle. If you don't understand coverages and how EJ was reacting to these alignments then just say so, but the bulk of your argument is based on stats from a broad, non-SITUATIONAL pile of numbers for the entire season. What did you see against the coverages I mentioned? I have seen enough of the All-22 to know that the Bills 3rd down problems stem from missing wide open guys that were finding the soft spots in the zones. Look, I know he is young and that it is still to early to judge him. It is just that most of the young QBs that enter the league and become good usually do a lot of damage against that soft zone garbage. The QB position needs more competition as a whole in my opinion. If a real QB competition hurts EJ's development, then he clearly wasn't meant to compete at all at the NFL level. I believe that competing against another young gun will actually help EJ in the long run even if it means that EJ doesn't start the 2014 season right away. Real competitors embrace adversity. They grow from it and gain confidence in themselves and more importantly the confidence of others due to attrition. Please don't respond with the same old stats that you've mentioned twice already. The idea of poor 3rd efficiency not being primarily a function of the QB is intellectually dishonest. If you were EJ's coach, you would not be helping him by denying the truth of his primary weaknesses at this point in his career. If you don't want to discuss EJ based on situational football and coverages specifically then I am comfortable agreeing to disagree. One thing that we do agree on is that EJ's future is far from decided. I hope he can do it. Good post. But it's far less Time consuming for posters to just say "we need a better O-line".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Good post. But it's far less Time consuming for posters to just say "we need a better O-line".... Thanks WEO. I haven't a clue what the Bills might do in FA at QB. What are you thinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 The OL needs to be upgraded. That is a fact and will only help other parts of the offense. And it's easier to accomplish than upgrading the QB position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 The OL needs to be upgraded. That is a fact and will only help other parts of the offense. And it's easier to accomplish than upgrading the QB position. Is there a statistic for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 The OL needs to be upgraded. That is a fact and will only help other parts of the offense. Upgrading the OL would certainly help the defense as well. The Bills were 28th in TOP. Of course some of this is to be blamed on the QB position and head scratching coaching, but a better OL would keep the defense off the field and fresh. That said, EJ needs competition. Jmo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Is there a statistic for that? No, just need to check reality. Upgrading the OL would certainly help the defense as well. The Bills were 28th in TOP. Of course some of this is to be blamed on the QB position and head scratching coaching, but a better OL would keep the defense off the field and fresh. That said, EJ needs competition. Jmo. MY HO is that he needs to be made the man and sink or swim this year, and then move on if need be next year. The great players don't need competition and instead use an innate drive to be/get better. And as I've been saying all along, at the Bills' position in the first round and with there being at least 4 QB needy teams picking before them, they won't have a shot at the top prospects (who themselves aren't considered to be great prospects anyway), and splitting reps with EJ just takes valuable reps away from him. I could see taking a later round flyer on a QB and replacing Tuel, but he won't be real competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 No, just need to check reality. MY HO is that he needs to be made the man and sink or swim this year, and then move on if need be next year. The great players don't need competition and instead use an innate drive to be/get better. And as I've been saying all along, at the Bills' position in the first round and with there being at least 4 QB needy teams picking before them, they won't have a shot at the top prospects (who themselves aren't considered to be great prospects anyway), and splitting reps with EJ just takes valuable reps away from him. I could see taking a later round flyer on a QB and replacing Tuel, but he won't be real competition. Good post. As it's been ignored by some, EJ beat out Kolb last year. If Mallett was on the roster, he would have beat him out. Do people honestly think a guy with EJ's background is going to be a slacker and think he has it made because he's a starter? He was the starting QB for a national championship contender and kept in that his mother had cancer. He's mentailty fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thanks WEO. I haven't a clue what the Bills might do in FA at QB. What are you thinking? I think O-line in FA is a good move. But the TOP was much more a function of shaky play calling and QB play, as you point out. The pass protection was better than advertised on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I think O-line in FA is a good move. But the TOP was much more a function of shaky play calling and QB play, as you point out. The pass protection was better than advertised on this board. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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