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EJ Manuel's fast start yesterday


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Last year we had a LOT of EJ Manuel getting off to slow starts.......yesterday it seemed he got off to to a early start....had a rough 3rd quarter....then made plays in the 4th quarter.

 

Just dont see anyone talking about that

I noticed it too. During the game I kept telling myself that if he is playing like this in the first half, based on his tendency to get better throughout the game, he ought to be playing like an elite QB in the second half. Well, he didn't play elite. But, he played good enough. I am very happy that he played consistently good throughout most of the game rather than sucking at first. I hope this change is one that lasts. This will be a better football team (maybe even playoff bound) if he plays consistently well like that game after game.

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What I like most was the fact that after he threw behind Chandler on the first series, he didn't hang his head (like a lot of Bills fans did at that moment) and the Bills came out swinging on their next series. Come to think of it, he didn't fall apart after the INT, either. There are already commentators (embittered "experts" who were relishing the thought of an EJ-falls-apart opener) qualifying the W because of his <200 yard day. Who cares?! He threw one, ran for one, and had a +70% completion rate. That'll be good enough to be competitive and win most weeks.

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I noticed it too. During the game I kept telling myself that if he is playing like this in the first half, based on his tendency to get better throughout the game, he ought to be playing like an elite QB in the second half. Well, he didn't play elite. But, he played good enough. I am very happy that he played consistently good throughout most of the game rather than sucking at first. I hope this change is one that lasts. This will be a better football team (maybe even playoff bound) if he plays consistently well like that game after game.

my uneducated guess is that the Bears DC didn't have a lot to go on to prepare for the bills offense this year and EJ was able to take advantage of some matchups and creative play calling. The Bears probably made some adjustments at halftime which led to a down 3rd qtr ... Then he made the clutch plays when we needed them in the 4th.
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Third Q was also when Bills players made many mistakes, compounded by Hackett calling it more conservatively. I think he was more content to sit on the lead and have Bears claw their way back by using up time as opposed to gifting them field position with more aggressive playcalling. I think the strategy worked.

 

Hopefully as EJ gets more confidence, they'll be a bit more aggressive.

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What I like most was the fact that after he threw behind Chandler on the first series, he didn't hang his head (like a lot of Bills fans did at that moment) and the Bills came out swinging on their next series. Come to think of it, he didn't fall apart after the INT, either. There are already commentators (embittered "experts" who were relishing the thought of an EJ-falls-apart opener) qualifying the W because of his <200 yard day. Who cares?! He threw one, ran for one, and had a +70% completion rate. That'll be good enough to be competitive and win most weeks.

 

EJ never hangs his head...to the ire of so many of the haters on this board. He is always cool and calm. One of my favorite NFL Films clips from last season, from the Panthers game (EJ's game winning td pass to Stevie in the waining moments), Marrone is on the sideline, looking like he needs a botte of Malox...he keeps saying to EJ, "okay, just stay calm, you can do this, just like we practiced it" or something to that effect. EJ just kind of smiles, and turns to Marrone and says "don't worry about me, I am calm...i got it". For all his accuracy woes, I think he has a lot to work with.

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