EJ looked calm and in control..

[bowery4]

@ reddogblitz :

 

@ reddogblitz : (03 August 2014 - 05:27 PM)As Jerry Jones would say, he looked good in the shower.

from the shout box

[Billsguy]

The game was too fast for him at FSU too. He plays with blinders on and sees/thinks way too slowly to ever be what we are all hoping for. Unfortunately.

 

You can tell when you watch certain players that they have the natural instincts to succeed. They might have a terrible game, but you can see their innate ability to understand the game and to adapt instantly to changing conditions. You can't teach this natural ability. Unfortunately, EJ Manuel doesn't seem to have this ability.

 

He doesn't have the knack for the game. Sure he's big and has a strong arm etc. but he doesn't know how to play!!!

 

I thought the Bills made a mistake, based on desperation, when they drafted him. I was appalled that they drafted a 3rd rounder at best in the 1st round and I have seen nothing to this point that changes my mind. I thought Tuel showed more instincts and that is not saying much.

 

The Bills near term success will ride on the QB position. EJ Manuel is not the answer. Yikes!

[#34fan]

.. but lousy. His mechanics were good. His instincts were bad.

I think Hackett should get him physically involved in the game in his first series - just to get his juices flowing.

 

Those batted passes were kind of a big deal.... Sammy's technique is also lacking... I'm wondering how these more complex plays are going to unfold. Doesn't seem to be any offensive chemistry at this point. Chris Gragg looks to be a wasted pick. -TJ pretty much confirmed he was the same...(*sigh*) When the Marracket regime falls, it's nice to know that the Schwartz will be with us.

[You herd it hear last]

You can tell when you watch certain players that they have the natural instincts to succeed. They might have a terrible game, but you can see their innate ability to understand the game and to adapt instantly to changing conditions. You can't teach this natural ability. Unfortunately, EJ Manuel doesn't seem to have this ability.

 

He doesn't have the knack for the game. Sure he's big and has a strong arm etc. but he doesn't know how to play!!!

 

I thought the Bills made a mistake, based on desperation, when they drafted him. I was appalled that they drafted a 3rd rounder at best in the 1st round and I have seen nothing to this point that changes my mind. I thought Tuel showed more instincts and that is not saying much.

 

The Bills near term success will ride on the QB position. EJ Manuel is not the answer. Yikes!

 

Was this what was going through your head when he was leading those two 4th quarter comebacks last year of his 10 games?

 

That alone is pretty darn good. Looked OK at that moment.

 

Why do you have to assume he has regressed, when the fact is, most professional athletes actually improve given the opportunity.

Granted, it may not be at the pace we expect of a top pick, but we can't oversimplify things to the degree of "he sucks" quite yet.

It's just not logical.

 

There are more serious things to think about like what the **** do we do if he goes down. I believe they'll start to address that this week.

[JuanGuzman]

My biggest concern with EJ was the sixty sacks he took in two years. It suggested a lack of awareness. In his limited playing time last year, I saw nothing to refute it. I will be rooting hard for him to succeed but im guessing we will have a different qb come 2015 or at least hoping for one.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

.. but lousy. His mechanics were good. His instincts were bad.

I think Hackett should get him physically involved in the game in his first series - just to get his juices flowing.

 

EJ is what he has always been since his college days; good but not great and that is not good enough for us. Gona be a long next two years

[reddogblitz]

Did anyone else notice that all ten of EJ's snaps came from under center? I found that interesting.

[Wayne Cubed]

I thought besides the batted balls, EJs throws looked fine. He led Sammy a bit much, but that's to be expected this early, something to watch and hope it improves. Perfect throw to Mike Williams in the corner of the endzone, that should have been caught. Nice second read throw to Lee Smith, good job looking off the safety.

 

I thought the offense the first team ran was rather basic. 2-wide, basic routes, nothing crazy.

 

Personally, I'd prefer the Bills have EJ week 1, as opposed to being a pre-season all-star. Hopefully with more snaps Friday we'll see a bit more.

[fansince88]

you didn't like the stomping that the 1st D put on Eli? Kyle Williams strip? Robert Woods? new RB guy? Henderson? Duke Williams?

 

 

I thought there were several bright spots. Nothin to hang our heads over here.

That obviously shows how little you know. The only plays that happened in last nights game were the first two drives of the Bills posession.

And the only plays of those first two posessions were the 5 incomplete passes by EJ. And the most important ones to focus on are the ones that got

batted down at the line. So really there was only Two plays by the Bills last night and they were Horrible!

[maryland-bills-fan]

Its the first game of preseason. It is time to churn the bottom of the depth chart. It is time to check out the backup QB situation. Chill.

[Wayne Cubed]

I'm not sure why fans are making a huge deal on the batted down passes. Yes, it's a QB's responsibility to find the passing lanes, but it's also the OL's responsibility to do a good job of engaging the DL/linebackers and keeping their hands down. Add to that, 3-step drops are what most defenders expect, so it's easy to time a jump to block it, especially in preseason.

 

It's something I'm not at all worried about considering in 10 games last season, EJ had 4 batted down passes. For comparison Andrew Luck, had 18 his rookie season and Tannehill had 16. Last season, Matt Ryan had 14 and Matthew Stafford had 17.

 

I would hope this is improved upon on Friday.

[ganesh]

Definitely annoying to start the preseason like this, mostly because it just fuels the Tuel flame.

 

All of these QBs are still a work in progress. If we're sitting at week 6 below .500, and Manuel is still healthy and making the same mistakes, then I think it's time to try other options.

 

 

 

Agreed. I think the biggest problem tonight was that he just didn't play enough. 7 throws isn't much to work with. I thought a few throws were actually pretty good. For instance, if Williams goes up and gets that perfectly placed ball in the end zone, then this thread probably doesn't even exist.

 

Also, this OL has been decimated by injuries in camp and has been a patchwork line. The Bills just have to bite the tongue here, take the positives (Like the awesome Woods catch, the sack/fumble by the DL) and move on.

Edited August 4, 2014 by ganesh

[Dibs]

Did anyone else notice that all ten of EJ's snaps came from under center? I found that interesting.

 

I didn't notice that.....but it is indeed very interesting.

[Kemp]

I am confused by a lot of you.

 

Saying things like EJ is a slow starter or it's a meaningless game or if Williams had made a great catch etc,.

 

He almost could not have looked worse. Multiple batted down passes, throwing it into the hands of a defender, not a single nice pass other than a very short one.

 

None of this proves he is not the answer, but it inspires zero confidence.

 

Hopefully, this works out.

 

Hope is the best we currently have.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

His mechanics are fine. In fact I love his throwing strength. The game is still too fast for him because...he hasn't played enough yet.

 

Which is why I was curious as to why they pulled him so early. Eli, a more established vet and two time Super Bowl winner stayed in for three.

 

For those worried about EJ's performance on the first two drives, I would like to take a look at Manning's against our starting defense: a three and out, followed by a strip sack fumble on the third play. EJ's arm strength looked fine. I do think he's at least partly to blame for missing the Sammy bomb, but Mike Williams really ought to have had that catch in the end zone, and that's usually what he's good at.

 

We have a month to go folks.

[ALF]

They must have EJ working on his foot work staying under center. That didn't work to well with batted down passes.

 

The OL needs a lot more time to get better, no injuries is important .

[1billsfan]

His mechanics are fine. In fact I love his throwing strength. The game is still too fast for him because...he hasn't played enough yet.

 

The interesting thing about this team and this season is that there really will be no excuses for Manuel not to perform well. They have a very good set of WRs and this league is set up for even average QBs like Andy Dalton to have success.

 

Add in the fact that there will be a new owner soon who's not tied to Marrone and Manuel possibly only gets a half season window to get it together. If I were Marrone, I might even tell Manuel that my trust in you doesn't necessarily last past the midseason point if things aren't fully clicking by then. If you apply that pressure now, maybe EJ makes sure that the offense looks real good in that first game in Chicago.

 

This isn't about last night's game, just a general observation with regards to the QB question mark situation.

[BreezeMafia]

I thought EJ's mechanics looked pretty good here. Not really worried about the batted pass's. He needs to work on looking off defenders. 2 or 3 of the passes should have been pulled in for receptions. Hall of Fame game. No harm no foul.

[truth on hold]

He is 6'3" not 5'9" like Doug Flutie, 3 out of 7 passes shouldn't be batted down.

I thought he was closer to 6'5". Also not sure height has much to do with balls batted down.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Joe_the_6_pack

[BilLions]

 

 

You can tell when you watch certain players that they have the natural instincts to succeed. They might have a terrible game, but you can see their innate ability to understand the game and to adapt instantly to changing conditions. You can't teach this natural ability. Unfortunately, EJ Manuel doesn't seem to have this ability.

 

He doesn't have the knack for the game. Sure he's big and has a strong arm etc. but he doesn't know how to play!!!

 

I thought the Bills made a mistake, based on desperation, when they drafted him. I was appalled that they drafted a 3rd rounder at best in the 1st round and I have seen nothing to this point that changes my mind. I thought Tuel showed more instincts and that is not saying much.

 

The Bills near term success will ride on the QB position. EJ Manuel is not the answer. Yikes!

 

And he seemed so disinterested in his interview and uninspiring. Especially for such a moving HOF Bills weekend. He seems off. Not sure if thats how he was in college.