EJ looked calm and in control..

[RuntheDamnBall]

LOL sorry brother; couldn't stand to read through everything first.

Please don't be sorry. If there's a higher ratio of perspective to out-and-out nonsense, you have done your part.

[dubs]

Are people serious about these knee-jerk reactions?

 

Re: batted balls - He had three batted balls ALL last year. That's a pretty good ratio.

 

It's the first game of pre-pre-season. He played two series. Made a couple nice throws, made a couple bad throws. Pretty much exactly what I expected.

 

In all likelihood, Marrone and Hackett went into the game with the plan to have EJ make a few, quick throws with the goal of getting a little work but mostly to stay untouched. That's exactly how it played out.

Edited August 4, 2014 by dubs

[billsfan_34]

I thought EJ was lousy. He doesnt find passing lanes equaling batted down passes. Cmon man shuffle your feet a little and get it through there. Not to mention overthrowing watkins by ten yards down the sideline. All in all a poor outing by him. Hopefully he improves, but some things you either have or you dont.

[BuffaloBaumer]

There is no awesome, there is no terrible, there is just......blah. it would be nice to see something eventually other than the Carolina drive.

[34-78-83]

I'm pretty sure our head coach called out the O-line in being responsible for 2 of the 3 tipped passes at the line. Henderson mysteriously disengaged his opponent early on the one. Not sure on the other. Also pretty sure our head coach was a former NFL lineman. The one tipped ball to be concerned of was the near interception. Ej needs to see that guy sliding into coverage. Carry on the rants I guess ....

[GG]

I'm also shocked with how many body language experts we have on this board, guys whose athletic careers probably fizzled out shortly after JV ball but know a guy who has 'it' when they see him.

 

Let's retreat to the tried & true method of attacking the posters. How many of the best analysts played the game? Did Joel Buchsbaum ever leave his mother's basement? Yet he was one of the best analysts ever.

 

There's a lot to gleam from EJ's body language in trying to predict his potential. Right now he's still too much of a robotic terminator to be an effective QB. To steal someone else's analysis, you can almost sense the circuits processing each movement - step to line, take handoff, step back, scan field, throw ball.

 

All good QBs have a much more noticeable fluidity to their game. He just doesn't look as natural playing the position as he should be and I don't know if this is something that can be fixed. It's not just fixing a throwing motion or correcting a quirky habit. It's almost his entire game needs to be reworked.

 

You don't need to have played the game to recognize his flaws and question whether there will be enough time to fix them, if they can be fixed at all.

[Best Player Available]

I thought EJ was lousy. He doesnt find passing lanes equaling batted down passes. Cmon man shuffle your feet a little and get it through there. Not to mention overthrowing watkins by ten yards down the sideline. All in all a poor outing by him. Hopefully he improves, but some things you either have or you dont.

So far in his young career. Sideline passes have not been kind to EJ.

[thebandit27]

I was looking for two things from EJ: get the ball out quickly, and take some deep shots.

 

He did both in his very limited work, and so I'm happy.

 

If he's getting 2 or 3 passes batted down in 2 series once the regular season rolls around, I'll worry about that then.

 

For now, I want to see him playing like a guy that isn't holding back or worrying about making a mistake.

 

So far in his young career. Sideline passes have not been kind to EJ.

 

I actually thought his two sideline-ish throws last night were fine.

 

A step too far for Sammy (understandable) and a perfect corner throw for MW (contested catch situation, but the throw was perfect).

 

The batted balls were ugly, but usually batted passes are timing issues between the QB and the OL, so I'm not as worried about them.

[Zac]

Only pass i was concerned about was the almost pick. But that was countered by a pass i REALLY liked...the shot to Williams. Should have been 6 and we would never be having this conversation. which means that this is too small of a sample size to really conclude anything.

[thebandit27]

Only pass i was concerned about was the almost pick. But that was countered by a pass i REALLY liked...the shot to Williams. Should have been 6 and we would never be having this conversation. which means that this is too small of a sample size to really conclude anything.

 

Bor-ring...I demand an over-reaction followed by a half-page of convincing arguments!

[papazoid]

EJ is mediocre.

 

 

[BuffaloBillsForever]

EJ is mediocre.

 

Based on his body of work thus far I wouldn't even go that far.

[Reed83HOF]

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.

 

You did pick up the highlights...the baby I was referring to was EJ

 

I am anxious to see more of the 1st string D and the OL...with the exception of TJ, the WRs can catch and the RBs can run. I really like our skill positions

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Maybe we should wait until after the first game of the season at least before forming an expert conclusion on the upside of EJ.

[BuffaloBaumer]

I think it is completely normal for people to over analyze EJ since this freaking team has not seen a decent, young QB since Kelly. The mammoth whiffs that this team has made on QBs since Kelly is only going to make people more nervous on the development of EJ. He has this year to prove the doubters so we shall see.....

[atlbillsfan1975]

EJ is the Bills QB for the next 2 years unless something crazy happens with a new owner.

Get behind the kid and cheer him on.

This game and the four other meaningless games are a great time for EJ to make mistakes.

It is up to Hackett and the rest of the staff to work with EJ and help him improve through out the year.

[Kellyto83TD]

.. 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.

 

He looked like ****. Still can't read a defense, slow on his reads, stares down WR's. Look there is no way around this, I think we have the wrong QB. Either you have it or you don't and its looking more and more like he doesnt. First pre season game blah blah blah. Its the exact same **** as last year therefore so far he hasn't improved at all in the offseason.

 

I pray for all of us he drastically improves by Chicago or we are Fked

[keepthefaith]

It is very difficult to play the QB position well in the NFL. That's why so few do.

[mrags]

 

 

I noticed. A lot of two back, two wide, power I stuff.

 

If EJ can't succeed running the most boring plays available on Madden, then this team is !@#$ing screwed.

 

He looked fine. If Mike Williams waits one half second longer before he jumps for that ball in endzone, the board will be flooded with "EJ has arrived" threads. Instead, they ran two more plays, a batted ball and a forced pass to Sammy.

 

Gee, shocking.

 

Sammy and EJ had 10 plays together, some of them runs, and people here don't understand why he stared-down and forced the ball to his new toy.

 

I'm also shocked with how many body language experts we have on this board, guys whose athletic careers probably fizzled out shortly after JV ball but know a guy who has 'it' when they see him.

 

And for that matter, rue the day the term "slow eyes" slipped its way into to the TSW critique-machine. Jeebus.

you got it Cat. In fact, just this morning I was realizing while reading this thread that I may have to take a few week break from TBD until were at least halfway through the pre season. These topics and posts are ridiculous. It's the 1st pre season game people. We've had like 10 practices. EJ has been on the field in actual games for about 15-20 plays. HOLY F#%K!!! Get a grip everyone. The sky is not falling.

[Hazed and Amuzed]

Maybe just maybe Marrone didn't want his QB to get hurt and being that we had a 7th rd pick starting at LT against JPP he had EJ out there to just wing it so each player would get a chance to touch the ball. It seemed like Marrone just wanted to get his starters a chance to get any jitters out of the way and then he pulled them. I wouldn't read too much into EJ just dropping and throwing. The guys on the field for the first couple of series aren't fighting for a job. Why don't we see how things progress?