Bills decline to exercise 2017 option for EJ Manuel

[IDBillzFan]

From Johnson to Flutie to Losman to Edwards to Fitz to EJ to Tyrod, it amazes me how many of you knew all along that each and every one of them was going to suck.

 

You'd think more of you would work in the NFL instead of the Piggly Wiggly.

[metzelaars_lives]

From Johnson to Flutie to Losman to Edwards to Fitz to EJ to Tyrod, it amazes me how many of you knew all along that each and every one of them was going to suck.

 

You'd think more of you would work in the NFL instead of the Piggly Wiggly.

Ha I think almost every Bills fan was optimistic about all of those QB's (except Flutie and Fitzpatrick, who clearly exceeded expectations). I was the biggest JP Losman fan I knew.

Edited May 3, 2016 by metzelaars_lives

[Nanker]

I was actually psyched about the EJ pick. To this day, I think it was the right pick at the time. That was the worst draft ever (literally). A guy who still plays right guard went first overall. Freaking Dion Jordan went like third overall, right? Is he even in the league at this point? And EJ came out of the gates great. After two games, even Jerry Sullivan was like "yup, the Bills nailed that one." I'll never forget- I was watching the Carolina game at Nevada Smith's in NYC going nuts: "we've got em! We've finally got out franchise QB!!" After that however, his regression was startling. A season derailed to some extent by injuries, he sucked most of the rest of that year, including debacles in New York, Tampa and Pittsburgh, among others. But top to bottom, ehh decent enough rookie season. Certainly worth handing him the reins his second year to see if he picked anything up in a full offseason as a starter. But then after two wins as a classic game manager, he played two of the most awful football games a player can play as an NFL QB. And then it began. All the TBD goodness that you and I have come to love so much, was born in an instant. You would hear things like "oh sure, ONE play (the JJ Watt play) and now he sucks..." Or my personal favorite, "ya know, Joe Flacco had a bad game against Houston once too..." Then after the 2014 season, there remained about, let's say, a quarter of the people on TBD who were still optimistic that he could pull something out of his ass and reclaim the starting job last offseason. I spent an entire summer telling those people they were crazy (along with my former ally FireChan) but they kept holding onto this dream. He lost the job and his stable dwindled to just 10-15 or so. "He never got a fair shot!" they would say. "He was actually better than Taylor- remember the scrimmage?!?" "The coaches were biased..." And then it happened. Jacksonville. London. The game- YOU WOULD THINK- that would eradicate any EJ believers once and for all. But no. Three men stood strong amongst all the naysayers. One of those brave men, Bills Fan 4 Ever, couldn't take the animosity and it drove him to the brink of madness- so much so, that he had to leave TBD altogether. Hope you're out there, somewhere, reading this little buddy. We miss ya. But two men- two TBD warriors- carry on the torch. And they fight the brave fight every day. Whether it be in the shoutbox or right here on the Wall- you can't miss em. And I commend those two men. Sure they might not know anything about NFL QB analysis and sure, they blatantly hold a grudge against Tyrod Taylor because they are still butthurt about EJ but I appreciate them making this place a little more colorful nonetheless. Ryan L Billz, Gugny... I salute you. We all salute you.

Ya want to buy a carriage return?

 

Ah yes. The infamous JJ Watt pick 6 play. Well, here it is again, in all it's glory.

Please watch. At the snap, the OLB drops back into coverage, and #66 Henderson stupidly skips in place and does nothing as Watt shoots past him on the outside. Likewise, Chandler takes off for his usual spot deep downfield - about two yards past the LOS - and does nothing to impede Watt's progress. It's like neither one of them were there to put a chip on Watt. And, of course what about Fred? He also takes off toward the flat - I'm pretty sure he was EJ's #1 read on that play and well, he also goes by Watt like he's just a shadow. So JJ gets a standing start and a free run to EJ, he makes an easy leap up to intercept the ball and the rest is his-to-wah!

 

I'm sure that Hack-at-it and Maroon still have this play in their arsenal.

 

[FireChan]

Ya want to buy a carriage return?

 

Ah yes. The infamous JJ Watt pick 6 play. Well, here it is again, in all it's glory.

Please watch. At the snap, the OLB drops back into coverage, and #66 Henderson stupidly skips in place and does nothing as Watt shoots past him on the outside. Likewise, Chandler takes off for his usual spot deep downfield - about two yards past the LOS - and does nothing to impede Watt's progress. It's like neither one of them were there to put a chip on Watt. And, of course what about Fred? He also takes off toward the flat - I'm pretty sure he was EJ's #1 read on that play and well, he also goes by Watt like he's just a shadow. So JJ gets a standing start and a free run to EJ, who throws it right at him and he makes an easy leap up to intercept the ball and the rest is his-to-wah!

 

I'm sure that Hack-at-it and Maroon still have this play in their arsenal.

 

[Dorkington]

Ha I think almost every Bills fan was optimistic about all of those QB's (except Flutie and Fitzpatrick, who clearly exceeded expectations). I was the biggest JP Losman fan I knew.

I still think JP could have been something in the right situation, he certainly had the physical tools.

[metzelaars_lives]

Ya want to buy a carriage return?

 

Ah yes. The infamous JJ Watt pick 6 play. Well, here it is again, in all it's glory.

Please watch. At the snap, the OLB drops back into coverage, and #66 Henderson stupidly skips in place and does nothing as Watt shoots past him on the outside. Likewise, Chandler takes off for his usual spot deep downfield - about two yards past the LOS - and does nothing to impede Watt's progress. It's like neither one of them were there to put a chip on Watt. And, of course what about Fred? He also takes off toward the flat - I'm pretty sure he was EJ's #1 read on that play and well, he also goes by Watt like he's just a shadow. So JJ gets a standing start and a free run to EJ, he makes an easy leap up to intercept the ball and the rest is his-to-wah!

 

I'm sure that Hack-at-it and Maroon still have this play in their arsenal.

 

You missed the whole point of what I was saying. Let's say for the sake of argument that you are 100% right in your analysis and that play was 0% EJ's fault. Do you have any idea how bad he played in that game excluding that play? Do you have any idea how bad he played the previous week against San Diego? Do you have any idea how bad he looked that entire offseason and preseason? You should because they went out and signed Kyle Orton in an act of desperation after realizing that the whole EJ experiment might be in big, big trouble.

 

And P.S. people do this all the time and it's so annoying. "Oh sure, it was EJ's fault that they gave up that drive at the end against Jacksonville..." No, it wasn't. What does that have to do with epic his meltdown in the second quarter? The defense essentially gave up 17 points that day. They held up their end of the bargain. After the Cincinnati game, in which the defense actually did suck, they said the same thing. "Oh remember when EJ missed that tackle on AJ Green..." No, the defense and EJ both sucked. Did you not take a logic class? Because the defense sucked doesn't mean that EJ must have been good.

Edited May 3, 2016 by metzelaars_lives

[Nanker]

 

Ya want to buy a carriage return?

 

Ah yes. The infamous JJ Watt pick 6 play. Well, here it is again, in all it's glory.

Please watch. At the snap, the OLB drops back into coverage, and #66 Henderson stupidly skips in place and does nothing as Watt shoots past him on the outside. Likewise, Chandler takes off for his usual spot deep downfield - about two yards past the LOS - and does nothing to impede Watt's progress. It's like neither one of them were there to put a chip on Watt. And, of course what about Fred? He also takes off toward the flat - I'm pretty sure he was EJ's #1 read on that play and well, he also goes by Watt like he's just a shadow. So JJ gets a standing start and a free run to EJ, who throws it right at him and he makes an easy leap up to intercept the ball and the rest is his-to-wah! I'm sure that's never happened to anyone other than EJ.

 

I'm sure that Hack-at-it and Maroon still have this play in their arsenal.

 

 

[FireChan]

 

 

Ya want to buy a carriage return?

 

Ah yes. The infamous JJ Watt pick 6 play. Well, here it is again, in all it's glory.

Please watch. At the snap, the OLB drops back into coverage, and #66 Henderson stupidly skips in place and does nothing as Watt shoots past him on the outside. Likewise, Chandler takes off for his usual spot deep downfield - about two yards past the LOS - and does nothing to impede Watt's progress. It's like neither one of them were there to put a chip on Watt. And, of course what about Fred? He also takes off toward the flat - I'm pretty sure he was EJ's #1 read on that play and well, he also goes by Watt like he's just a shadow. So JJ gets a standing start and a free run to EJ, who throws it right at him and he makes an easy leap up to intercept the ball and the rest is his-to-wah! I'm sure that's never happened to anyone other than EJ.

 

I'm sure that Hack-at-it and Maroon still have this play in their arsenal.

 

 

 

 

 

I was actually psyched about the EJ pick. To this day, I think it was the right pick at the time. That was the worst draft ever (literally). A guy who still plays right guard went first overall. Freaking Dion Jordan went like third overall, right? Is he even in the league at this point? And EJ came out of the gates great. After two games, even Jerry Sullivan was like "yup, the Bills nailed that one." I'll never forget- I was watching the Carolina game at Nevada Smith's in NYC going nuts: "we've got em! We've finally got out franchise QB!!" After that however, his regression was startling. A season derailed to some extent by injuries, he sucked most of the rest of that year, including debacles in New York, Tampa and Pittsburgh, among others. But top to bottom, ehh decent enough rookie season. Certainly worth handing him the reins his second year to see if he picked anything up in a full offseason as a starter. But then after two wins as a classic game manager, he played two of the most awful football games a player can play as an NFL QB. And then it began. All the TBD goodness that you and I have come to love so much, was born in an instant. You would hear things like "oh sure, ONE play (the JJ Watt play) and now he sucks..." Or my personal favorite, "ya know, Joe Flacco had a bad game against Houston once too..." Then after the 2014 season, there remained about, let's say, a quarter of the people on TBD who were still optimistic that he could pull something out of his ass and reclaim the starting job last offseason. I spent an entire summer telling those people they were crazy (along with my former ally FireChan) but they kept holding onto this dream. He lost the job and his stable dwindled to just 10-15 or so. "He never got a fair shot!" they would say. "He was actually better than Taylor- remember the scrimmage?!?" "The coaches were biased..." And then it happened. Jacksonville. London. The game- YOU WOULD THINK- that would eradicate any EJ believers once and for all. But no. Three men stood strong amongst all the naysayers. One of those brave men, Bills Fan 4 Ever, couldn't take the animosity and it drove him to the brink of madness- so much so, that he had to leave TBD altogether. Hope you're out there, somewhere, reading this little buddy. We miss ya. But two men- two TBD warriors- carry on the torch. And they fight the brave fight every day. Whether it be in the shoutbox or right here on the Wall- you can't miss em. And I commend those two men. Sure they might not know anything about NFL QB analysis and sure, they blatantly hold a grudge against Tyrod Taylor because they are still butthurt about EJ but I appreciate them making this place a little more colorful nonetheless. Ryan L Billz, Gugny... I salute you. We all salute you.

2 for 2!

[Nanker]

 

 

2 for 2!

That's Ginger. Not Flacco. Or can't you tell the difference?

[Bakin]

 

None of those QBs were worth a shot and was purely a desperation move

Trading down and getting an additional 2nd rounder - not desperation

[FireChan]

That's Ginger. Not Flacco. Or can't you tell the difference?

The "someone else had a bad play against JJ Watt" defense isn't player exclusive. Lest we forget Peyton Manning once threw an interception.

Edited May 3, 2016 by FireChan

[metzelaars_lives]

The "someone else had a bad play against JJ Watt" defense isn't player exclusive. Lest we forget Peyton Manning once threw an interception.

Ahh it feels like the summer of 2015 all over again. Joe Montana also had horrible games. JP Losman had some really good games. None of that changes the fact that any objective observer could see that EJ Manuel was not, nor would ever be, a starting caliber NFL QB.

[VABills]

I still think JP could have been something in the right situation, he certainly had the physical tools.

Losman had all the physical skills, but a 2 cent brain and was a complete !@#$. When Troy Vincent broke his leg because Losman was trying to show-up the defense in practice, you had to know it was over. There was rumor of him being a locker room cancer at Tulane and then when the whole story came out about how he got his leg broke, you knew the team would never fully back him. At that point it was just a matter of time before he was run out of town.

[Maddog69]

I like EJ. Seems like a very good person.

Would've been nice if Kolb didn't get injured and force EJ to start immediately.

I think EJ is a bit timid and I'm not sure starting NFL QBs can be timid.

He lacks the gun slinger mentality that many of the top QBs have.

 

I expect this to be his last year in Buffalo but I do think that he will have a long career carrying a clipboard for other NFL teams. He is smart and has a good attitude.

[Bakin]

I admit I'm one of the few EJ fans left.

I still think he has a chance to become a decent starter in the NFL.

I would bet that the Hall of Fame is unlikely.

 

Nevertheless, while He had more bad games than good - of the 16 he started - it wasn't all so horrible.

 

I think everyone was too quick to give up on him.

The "someone else had a bad play against JJ Watt" defense isn't player exclusive. Lest we forget Peyton Manning once threw an interception.

Exactly. Remember when Russ Wilson threw a pick to close the Super Bowl? I guess he's Fitz....

[Fadingpain]

It's doubtful Tyrod makes it through 16 games unhurt this year. I bet he'll miss a few entire games.

 

Do the Bills play EJ or does Cardale have a chance to move to #2 on depth chart if he impresses in camp?

[YoloinOhio]

It's doubtful Tyrod makes it through 16 games unhurt this year. I bet he'll miss a few entire games.

 

Do the Bills play EJ or does Cardale have a chance to move to #2 on depth chart if he impresses in camp?

i think he has a chance to surpass EJ as the backup, but it's a steep hill to climb IMO since EJ knows the offense, has already been throwing to some of these WRs for years, and has much more game experience. He's not good but most backups aren't (hell some starters aren't). I would be shocked if it happened.

[Gugny]

I really hope EJ lands somewhere with a decent coaching staff, preferably with a head coach who will give him a fair shot at the job, and not another head coach who wants "his guy," instead of, "the better guy."

 

I still think EJ can be a starter and a good one. Much like Fitz, EJ's time in Buffalo is done, whether he's the best QB on the roster, or not.

 

I don't wish injury on any player in the NFL. But if EJ gets a shot this season, which I believe is very likely, I hope he kicks ass and carves out a nice career for himself.

 

He's been a class act and a hard worker since day one. He deserves for great things to happen.

[DasNootz]

From Johnson to Flutie to Losman to Edwards to Fitz to EJ to Tyrod, it amazes me how many of you knew all along that each and every one of them was going to suck.

 

You'd think more of you would work in the NFL instead of the Piggly Wiggly.

You're forgetting Alex Van Pelt, Drew Bledsoe, Kelly Holcomb, Brian Brohm, Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel.

[Augie]

My son attended FSU when EJ was picked. He was SHOCKED by the pick, as was I. We had seen a lot of him. I'm glad we traded back, as that made the gamble more palatable. While I strongly doubt he's ever a quality starter, it seems universally recognized that he's a good guy and I wish him nothing but the best. I suspect he'll get another shot at starting some time next season due to injury, and I hope he makes the most of it.