Captain Hindsight Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I've seen more bad than good from him. After each of his bad games, he responded with excellent games His final two games he was the best player on the field IMO. I'm not worried about him at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 If he had a competent coaching staff and oline, I think he'd flourish. Here? I have a feeling he'll be benched within the next two seasons. The coaching staff is the biggest concern. Hopefully Hostler and Downing help out and they can find a RT and a dynamic TE. I am not sure where I stand on EJ. However here are two observations: 1). Everyone talks about how EJ has the work ethic and tools for the job. I have yet to see anyone here comment on his passion. All last year I remember seeing him on the sideline looking void of emotion. I don't want him to be a crybaby like Brady, but it would be nice to see him get fired up once in a while. So you were at every game and whenever he was on the sidelines, he was a robot? Yeah, okay. No, but only one of the three was a direct result of the opponent. Incorrect. The first time, it's not clear when it happened. The second time was obvious. The third time, against Jax, you can hear EJ yell (I believe it was on a "mic'd up" replay) on a play where a defender goes over the he injured in pre-season while he's down on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBuff423 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 The issue for me is, I just don't know....he is a relatively unknown quality for the BILLS. EJ is physically gifted, no doubt...he had good success at a very good school in football in a competitive major conference....he has great size for a QB....his arm strength is definitely NFL caliber....he seems to carry himself well....however, and this is big when it comes to Face of the Franchise QBs, he has difficulty staying healthy SO FAR, which is why I really don't know....I am very willing to give him 2014 as a year to prove, 1. He can stay healthy for 13-14 games, 2. He has learned from his Rookie season, avoiding potential injury through football smarts and developing as a QB in the NFL. I am willing to be patient with him for THIS year. But, and it's a huge a*s, if he either can't stay healthy - because a Franchise QB is a healthy QB (generally speaking), or if he doesn't show he has developed appropriately to the point of absolute, bed-rock confidence in his ability to QB this team, then the BILLS MUST, I say MUST, go ALLLLLLL in on a QB in next year's Draft. I just believe that the BILLS have established, and still are establishing, a wide and deep pool of talent and able playmakers on this team and with the QB being almost the last piece in place, they MUST solve that issue IF, and it's a big IF, EJ is not that Face of the Franchise QB....so, don't know yet, but either way, IMO, we will definitely know this time next year one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I'm 50/50 right now Possibly being Injury prone is my biggest detractor at this point... This. I think one more injury for him and I will think its time to move on. Doesn't matter how good you are if you cant stay on the field. CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDBUFFCUSEFAN Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Odds that EJ Manuel makes more than 1 Pro Bowl in His Career:30:1 Odds that EJ Manuel leads the Bills to a playoff win: 15:1 Odds that EJ Manuel leads the Bills to a playoff appearance: 5:1 I'd like to put $100 on each of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2020 Our Year For Sure Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) I'm sold on him. He has everything it takes both on the field and off, just needs experience to get consistency in his mechanics and learn to anticipate routes. He's clutch, he's tough, he takes care of the ball, he has a short memory, he has the arm, he's mature and in comand of the offense, and when his feet are set correctly he's accurate. This kid is a gamer. He played quality ball at home and poorly on the road- an indication that he only needs time. Just one guy's opinion Edited April 10, 2014 by Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 For the time being - I do. lets see how he fares this year and next No need to rush to judgement after 1 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 No need to rush to judgement after 1 season. Did you hit your head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonkey Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) I see such a mixed result in views of our #1 pick from last year that I am curious as to who actually believes in him and why or why not. IMHO I believe in the kid. He seems to have the right attitude and work ethic. Minus a couple "learning curve" injuries I think EJ is our man. He has all the tools and Buffalo seems poised to put weapons around him and I think he can get it done. Am I in the minority or majority here? I didn't see much that leads me to believe he will be a good starting QB at the NFL level. That's not to say he won't grow into being one someday however. But if Marrone and Whaley think he will that's good enough for me. 1). Everyone talks about how EJ has the work ethic and tools for the job. I have yet to see anyone here comment on his passion. All last year I remember seeing him on the sideline looking void of emotion. I don't want him to be a crybaby like Brady, but it would be nice to see him get fired up once in a while. Actually that's one of the things I like about him. He is level headed and can maintain control of his emotions. That's a quality an athlete in any sport either has or does not have, and it is very important to long term success in my opinion. Leave the cheerleading to the cheerleaders. Edited April 10, 2014 by CodeMonkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clutchwarfare Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) I BILLieve Edited April 10, 2014 by Clutchwarfare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I see such a mixed result in views of our #1 pick from last year that I am curious as to who actually believes in him and why or why not. IMHO I believe in the kid. He seems to have the right attitude and work ethic. Minus a couple "learning curve" injuries I think EJ is our man. He has all the tools and Buffalo seems poised to put weapons around him and I think he can get it done. Am I in the minority or majority here? I do. I think, but for the injuries last year, EJ looked good as a rookie. As good as a rookie CAN look. I think he needs more weapons, especially at WR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jletha Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) To mirror what a lot of people have said on this thread, I think he needs to improve from last year but I ultimately think he will. He has such a good head on his shoulders for work ethic and drive that I cant imagine his improving. He really needs to work on scanning the field in the pocket and not seeming so robotic when he drops back. When he rolls out he seems so fluid and his instincts take of and he looks a lot more fliud, so Im hoping his pocket presence changes as well. My main concern is actually that he will improve, but how much. We have a team now that is pretty talented in many aspects, definitely good enough to get to the playoffs with above average QB play. If EJ does improve, which I think he will, and we make the playoffs, which I actually think we could with him, a lot of fans are gonna want to lock him up regardless of how much he actually improves. We will have to really evaluate who we think he is/can be as a QB before we throw a lot of money at him. I dont want us to make the playoff this year, everyone on this board says "we got our man" just because we ended the drought and then end up with a guy like Dalton. Go Bills Edited April 10, 2014 by jletha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 There's no way to tell with missing half of training camp, and only playing 10 games. He was better than Geno, but that is not saying much. This year will be telling. I've said it before Cam is a good example. He won 6 games his first year with his athleticism. He had a sophmore slump, and put it together in his third year. There's no way to judge EJ this quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxy312 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 There's a couple of things that I believe. First, I believe that he was a rookie last season and only played in 10 games. I believe that but for a very small group of rookie quarterbacks that pretty much all struggled a bit in their inaugural seasons. Guys like Peyton Manning, James Edward Kelly, etc. were pretty inconsistent in their first year as a starter. Hyperbole aside, when I go back to last years games, I remember a couple of important things. At the beginning of the season, I saw way too much checkdown. I was getting pretty tired of seeing 3 and 4 yard passes and almost nothing going down field. Then something changed. I don't know if it was play calling or if EJ simply started looking more comfortable. None the less, we saw a guy being aggressive. He missed some throws, but let's remember that he made some as well. My attitude would best be described as cautiously optimistic. I'm not sold that he's the franchise, but at the same time I'm not convinced that he can't become that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I believe he's the Bills' starting QB and that's what matters. Hopefully the Bills draft an OT and TE with the first two picks and the infusion of talent plus a healthy RB duo plus Manuel's experience last year lead to an improved offense in 2014. We'll see in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBuff423 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 To mirror what a lot of people have said on this thread, I think he needs to improve from last year but I ultimately think he will. He has such a good head on his shoulders for work ethic and drive that I cant imagine his improving. He really needs to work on scanning the field in the pocket and not seeming so robotic when he drops back. When he rolls out he seems so fluid and his instincts take of and he looks a lot more fliud, so Im hoping his pocket presence changes as well. My main concern is actually that he will improve, but how much. We have a team now that is pretty talented in many aspects, definitely good enough to get to the playoffs with above average QB play. If EJ does improve, which I think he will, and we make the playoffs, which I actually think we could with him, a lot of fans are gonna want to lock him up regardless of how much he actually improves. We will have to really evaluate who we think he is/can be as a QB before we throw a lot of money at him. I dont want us to make the playoff this year, everyone on this board says "we got our man" just because we ended the drought and then end up with a guy like Dalton. Go Bills To be fair though, Dalton is a pretty nice consolation prize and he can certainly develop / mature to the point where he COULD carry a team on his shoulders. Dalton is no slouch, he's just not Manning/Brady/Rogers....to me at least. Keep in mind, AJ Green didn't magically cause the ball to appear in his hands - he had to have a QB throwing him the ball and doing it well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) I have more doubt than belief. Lots of teams had him graded as a middle rounds pick. Something of very significant concern to me is Florida State fans do not even endorse him. They do not believe in him. Jameis Winston came in the year after him and won a title. I hope I'm wrong about him. I love his personality and would love for him to succeed but my head says it's unlikely he'll pan out. If I were GM of the Bills and I liked a QB in this draft, I'd go after him. I live in Florida, I know a lot of FSU fans, my nephew is a student at FSU and I can state with all certainty that you are wrong. I had a conversation with a FSU alumnus and avid FSU fan who told me he had become a Bills fan because of EJ. Your statement is a generalization. Rookie NFL QB can't make it out of training camp without getting injured. Rookie NFL QB can't make it through the NFL season without getting injured. Rookie NFL QB gets three (3) injuries in his first year. LMAO!!! Please Google Phil Simms. Edited April 10, 2014 by chris heff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxy312 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 To mirror what a lot of people have said on this thread, I think he needs to improve from last year but I ultimately think he will. He has such a good head on his shoulders for work ethic and drive that I cant imagine his improving. He really needs to work on scanning the field in the pocket and not seeming so robotic when he drops back. When he rolls out he seems so fluid and his instincts take of and he looks a lot more fliud, so Im hoping his pocket presence changes as well. My main concern is actually that he will improve, but how much. We have a team now that is pretty talented in many aspects, definitely good enough to get to the playoffs with above average QB play. If EJ does improve, which I think he will, and we make the playoffs, which I actually think we could with him, a lot of fans are gonna want to lock him up regardless of how much he actually improves. We will have to really evaluate who we think he is/can be as a QB before we throw a lot of money at him. I dont want us to make the playoff this year, everyone on this board says "we got our man" just because we ended the drought and then end up with a guy like Dalton. Go Bills End up with a guy like Dalton? Do you mean the same guy that has 80 TD passes to only 49 INT's? If that's the kind of guy we end up with, then I'll gladly take him. That's comparable to a Phillip Rivers, who I don't think anyone would argue, is NOT a slouch at QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starrymessenger Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Maybe a 30-35 percent chance of developing into a reliable starter. He's got all the physical tools. The question has always been whether he can use them to full advantage. He got by on superior athleticism at FSU. You need a lot more than that to succeed in the pros. People say he's got 2014 to prove himself. Some say 2015 too. Whaley and Marrone are in a win now mode and they are quietly building an O that should be competitive, especially if they can land a RT and add another weapon or two. EJ needs to step up big time from the get go. If he fails to progress I doubt that the Bills sacrifice 2014 to his development, let alone 2015. If he is holding the team back, they will sit him IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QB Bills Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 There's no way to tell with missing half of training camp, and only playing 10 games. He was better than Geno, but that is not saying much. This year will be telling. I've said it before Cam is a good example. He won 6 games his first year with his athleticism. He had a sophmore slump, and put it together in his third year. There's no way to judge EJ this quickly. didn't Cam Newton throw for 4000 yards in each of his first two seasons? Not sure that's a good comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts