Bills Bench the Wrong Guy

[Freddie's Dead]

So they have to abandon the game plan because he was incapable of executing it? A better plan would be to play someone more capable of getting the job done. That's what they did.

 

But why was the game plan to throw? That makes no sense at all to me. We ran the ball 6 times after halftime. SIX!!! Throwing against the Texans was brain-dead. That's why JJ Watt owned them. You have to run against a weak run D, but we failed to do so against SD and Houston. I put that on Hackett.

[dave mcbride]

Do people even look at the play by play before complaining about the play calls?

 

No, no they don't.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

 

 

Well yes. That is what I have been saying from the beginning.

 

And why most people have viewed a benching of EJ as tantamount to declaring his career being over, at least with the Bills.

 

This benching is a big deal.

 

You are spot on. That was the resistance and the urging of patience. Now what they have said is what us bills fans have always hated to hear about qb. NEXT!

 

That means they scrap this qb project and they are on to the next.

 

I am pissed because any shred of hope of him being the guy is now done. May as well try to trade him for anything they can get box of tape, balls, socks whatever and pull back Thad or any other freaking player they can. EJM is done.

 

 

 

[dave mcbride]

But why was the game plan to throw? That makes no sense at all to me. We ran the ball 6 times after halftime. SIX!!! Throwing against the Texans was brain-dead. That's why JJ Watt owned them. You have to run against a weak run D, but we failed to do so against SD and Houston. I put that on Hackett.

Look at what the Texans were doing in the second half if you have the game DVR'd. They were loading up against the run, presumably because they concluded that Manuel couldn't beat them through the air. Also, most of his completions in the second half were the equivalents of running plays.

Edited September 29, 2014 by dave mcbride

[Luxy312]

Benching EJ for Orton is a colossal mistake. First and foremost, they are basically saying that now, after less than 1 year of experience starting games, that EJ isn't their guy any more. There is ZERO doubt about it in my mind that this move is simply about Marrone being a good crony to Hackett, and keeping him around. This is going to leave this team in a terrible position for next year with either Orton as the starter OR EJ starting all over again with his development. To say that I'm disappointed is a huge understatement. Ridiculous.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

But why was the game plan to throw? That makes no sense at all to me. We ran the ball 6 times after halftime. SIX!!! Throwing against the Texans was brain-dead. That's why JJ Watt owned them. You have to run against a weak run D, but we failed to do so against SD and Houston. I put that on Hackett.

They loaded the box. There was no threat of the passing game because of EJ. He was flat out horrible yesterday and now he is out. People can continue to act as if it is other people's issues but he is by far the biggest problem on this team. If a guy can't hit open receivers he can't play.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

The Bills should have benched Hackett. 23 runs and 44 passes against one of the worst rushing defenses and best pass rusher in the NFL. Way to attack your adversary's weaknesses Junior. This basically finishes EJ in Buffalo. Now that he's a Duncan Butterfly, this is JP Losman redux. You can't treat your starter like a yoyo. It's over. Time to start looking for the next franchise QB.

 

Yes Hackett was throwing all those knuckleballs

[Freddie's Dead]

Houston actually loaded up against the run in the second half and dared them to throw. After the pick, the Bills had 14 yards on 6 carries. They simply couldn't run it well, and running it more was tantamount to banging their head against the wall. A competent QB would have shredded the Texans in the second half yesterday.

 

SanDiego did. They ran 37 times for 2.0 YPC, and beat us silly in the process. We needed to keep pounding the rock, especially given EJ's suckiness. How many times have we seen CJ and FJ stymied, only to break off the big run? Hackett panicked, and we lost. We used to do the same thing with Gailey and Mauron. Abandon the run down one score. I've seen that movie before, and it was all too familiar.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Fred Jackson Jockstrap

[Kirby Jackson]

Benching EJ for Orton is a colossal mistake. First and foremost, they are basically saying that now, after less than 1 year of experience starting games, that EJ isn't their guy any more. There is ZERO doubt about it in my mind that this move is simply about Marrone being a good crony to Hackett, and keeping him around. This is going to leave this team in a terrible position for next year with either Orton as the starter OR EJ starting all over again with his development. To say that I'm disappointed is a huge understatement. Ridiculous.

Why is that the position that they will be in? I think that Sam Bradford will be the Bills QB next year. A young vet with talent (and some success) but some question marks.

[Freddie's Dead]

Benching EJ for Orton is a colossal mistake. First and foremost, they are basically saying that now, after less than 1 year of experience starting games, that EJ isn't their guy any more. There is ZERO doubt about it in my mind that this move is simply about Marrone being a good crony to Hackett, and keeping him around. This is going to leave this team in a terrible position for next year with either Orton as the starter OR EJ starting all over again with his development. To say that I'm disappointed is a huge understatement. Ridiculous.

 

EJ is done in Buffalo. You don't come back from this, and you don't learn sitting on the bench.

[GG]

SanDiego did. They ran 37 times for 2.0 YPC, and beat us silly in the process. We needed to keep pounding the rock, especially given EJ's suckiness. How many time time have we seen CJ and FJ stymied, only to break off the big run? Hackett panicked, and we lost. We used to do the same thing with Gailey and Mauron. Abandon the run down one score. I've seen that movie before, and it was all too fmiliar.

 

SD was protecting the lead, while Bills were behind. I have no clue of what you are talking about the run working. After Watt's INT, Houston loaded up on the run D. The biggest problem in the second half were the three and outs. It was the second half play that got EJ benched. Read the play by play, not just the box score.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

SD was protecting the lead, while Bills were behind. I have no clue of what you are talking about the run working. After Watt's INT, Houston loaded up on the run D. The biggest problem in the second half were the three and outs. It was the second half play that got EJ benched. Read the play by play, not just the box score.

Watch the All-22 review this week as well. You will be shocked at how open guys were and how bad his throws were. It's Hackett's job to have guys open, it's EJ's job to get them the ball.

[Alphadawg7]

The Bills should have benched Hackett. 23 runs and 44 passes against one of the worst rushing defenses and best pass rusher in the NFL. Way to attack your adversary's weaknesses Junior. This basically finishes EJ in Buffalo. Now that he's a Duncan Butterfly, this is JP Losman redux. You can't treat your starter like a yoyo. It's over. Time to start looking for the next franchise QB.

 

I think they should fire Hackett...I defended him last year with the benefit of the doubt of dealing with injuries, young players, and being new to the team and NFL. This year, its really more of the same and he just doesn't get it. EJ has not been good the last 2 weeks, but neither has the whole offense and especially the game plan. Benching your young QB is not how you develop him, especially for a journeyman QB who has never been very good, just quit on his other team, and has yet to ever hold on to a job.

 

Orton better play lights out, or this was a mistake (and I have little faith he will). But Hackett for me does not play to the strengths of his team and just does what he wants to do, not whats best for the personnel and game plan. I am not impressed with him at all.

 

Benching EJ for Orton is a colossal mistake. First and foremost, they are basically saying that now, after less than 1 year of experience starting games, that EJ isn't their guy any more. There is ZERO doubt about it in my mind that this move is simply about Marrone being a good crony to Hackett, and keeping him around. This is going to leave this team in a terrible position for next year with either Orton as the starter OR EJ starting all over again with his development. To say that I'm disappointed is a huge understatement. Ridiculous.

 

This ^^^^

[dave mcbride]

SanDiego did. They ran 37 times for 2.0 YPC, and beat us silly in the process. We needed to keep pounding the rock, especially given EJ's suckiness. How many time time have we seen CJ and FJ stymied, only to break off the big run? Hackett panicked, and we lost. We used to do the same thing with Gailey and Mauron. Abandon the run down one score. I've seen that movie before, and it was all too fmiliar.

San Diego was ahead and the game was never in doubt after they went up 20-3. They could have scored 34 points if they tried in the 4th quarter. It was a game with basically 20 minutes of garbage time. Before they went up 20-3, they ran it 26 times and dropped back 25 times. Basically, they threw it a lot when the game was in doubt, and got all of their big plays through the air. Teams with the lead run the ball more than they pass; teams that are behind pass it more than they run it. It's been that way for decades. In the 4th quarter, over 2/3 of the Chargers' plays were running plays. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201409210buf.htm

[xsoldier54]

Benching EJ for Orton is a colossal mistake. First and foremost, they are basically saying that now, after less than 1 year of experience starting games, that EJ isn't their guy any more. There is ZERO doubt about it in my mind that this move is simply about Marrone being a good crony to Hackett, and keeping him around. This is going to leave this team in a terrible position for next year with either Orton as the starter OR EJ starting all over again with his development. To say that I'm disappointed is a huge understatement. Ridiculous.

Completely disagree. This team needs to win right now and they have the talent to win right now. EJ was holding them back and that was obvious the past two weeks. Both of those games were winnable and in both instances EJ was the primary culprit for losing. It was the right time to make a change in order to give the team a chance to win this year. EJ may or may not be able to keep developing and learn from Orton and he may or may not come back better for it. But that is for later. Like I said, this move gives the team it's best chance to win right now.

[GG]

Watch the All-22 review this week as well. You will be shocked at how open guys were and how bad his throws were. It's Hackett's job to have guys open, it's EJ's job to get them the ball.

 

Even on the broadcast Rewind, you can see how badly he played. All-22 will be ugly.

[San-O]

Benching EJ for Orton is a colossal mistake. First and foremost, they are basically saying that now, after less than 1 year of experience starting games, that EJ isn't their guy any more. There is ZERO doubt about it in my mind that this move is simply about Marrone being a good crony to Hackett, and keeping him around. This is going to leave this team in a terrible position for next year with either Orton as the starter OR EJ starting all over again with his development. To say that I'm disappointed is a huge understatement. Ridiculous.

 

Maybe they can't afford to waste another season behind a QB who just can't throw?

[Rob's House]

The Bills should have benched Hackett. 23 runs and 44 passes against one of the worst rushing defenses and best pass rusher in the NFL. Way to attack your adversary's weaknesses Junior. This basically finishes EJ in Buffalo. Now that he's a Duncan Butterfly, this is JP Losman redux. You can't treat your starter like a yoyo. It's over. Time to start looking for the next franchise QB.

 

This is a really weak excuse. Even Roy wouldn't use this excuse. I agree we should have stuck with the run, but how does that absolve Manwel from missing wide open receiver after wide open receiver? Half his completions were off ****ty throws. Trying to develop Manwel is pumping a dry well.

[tennesseeboy]

I thI think benching EJ is right but it doesn't excuse other poor performers. I'm less than impressed with Sammy Watkins on any number of passes that he fails to execute on. He has great moments but certainly isn't a two first round draft choice kind of guy by a long shot.

[Freddie's Dead]

Houston actually loaded up against the run in the second half and dared them to throw. After the pick, the Bills had 14 yards on 6 carries. They simply couldn't run it well, and running it more was tantamount to banging their head against the wall. A competent QB would have shredded the Texans in the second half yesterday.

 

You're right, I stand corrected. The 2nd half runs after the INT:

 

FJ +7 yards on first down, then 2 incomplete passes and punt.

CJ +8 on first down, +3 on 2nd down, 1st down, 3 more passes, then CJ for -4, incomplete pass, punt.

Incomplete on 1st down, CJ -2 on 2nd, incomplete on 3rd, punt

Fred has a 2 yard run on the next series, then it's pass the rest of the way.

 

So I guess those -4, -2, and 2 yard runs scared Hackett so much he couldn't run the ball any more and EJ was his best option. Got it. Boy was I wrong.