EJ Manuel Reflects On His Career As The Bills Future QB

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

2 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

If you haven’t checked out Eric Wood’s interview with EJ Manuel yet, it’s a good listen for any Bills fan.  

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=68066663&autoplay=1

 

I’ll say this - EJ sounds like a great guy.  He was very positive about Buffalo, though you sense he feels thing would’ve turned out better in a different situation.  He says his career didn’t work out but believes it happened for a reason and he thinks his story can help others.  
 

Some interesting notes:

 

- He said the Doug Whaley/Buddy Nix plan was always to start Kevin Kolb and have EJ learn from him (bad idea).  One Kolb got hurt he had no one to learn from since Jeff Tuel (and later Thad Lewis) were inexperienced QB’s, so Wood was the player who tried to mention him at QB!

 

- After his in-season injury in 2013 he was privately tutored by legendary OC Paul Hackett (Nate’s dad) on reading defenses.

 

- EJ said his confidence was shaken after the infamous JJ Watt pick six.  Seantrel didn’t cut Watt resulting in the pick, but he said he takes the blame.   Doug Marrone sat him down and said he was their guy but they wanted him to take a step back and watch Kyle Orton play.

 

- He thought that Rex was trying to “bring in his own guys” at QB and felt he earned his roster spot with his preseason play.  Dressing as an inactive QB hurt his confidence and relationship with Buffalo and said he didn’t play well in the Jets finale in 2016, because his confidence was completely shot.  
 

- EJ said he did well in Oakland under Jack Del Rio.  When Gruden came in, he felt he wanted Conner Cook to be the backup.  While he played well in the preseason, Gruden cut him and he spent the rest of 2018 trying to get a job....it never happened.

 

- Oddly enough this year, he got a call from Andy Reid about backing up Patrick Mahomes once Chad Henne went down.  I think he said KC said “thanks but no thank,” and then later said he was beginning his job at the SEC Network and didn’t want to come back.  

Like I said, he seemed positive and excited about his broadcasting career, but I also sensed some disappointment over how his NFL career ended.  If you think about it, he went from 1st round draft pick to street FA with no offers in less than 6 months.  
 

So do you think EJ’s was a victim was a happenstance?

 

Or was he an over drafted QB with a limited ceiling?  I’m thinking it was more of the later, but it hard to listen to this interview and not like the guy personally.  

 

 

objectively (I have no ax to grind or want to play the blame game) I think it was a combination of both.....Nix was hell bent on drafting a QB...ironically his 1st choice was Gnome Smith until they flew down for interview and work out...consensus on the plane ride home was, "um...no thanks"......so EJ was 2nd fiddle......I don't think his self-confidence level would rise to being overdrafted nor do I think his collegiate career demonstrated a HIGH ceiling......think he did show a good work ethic and tried to improve...but as Steve Young (yup THAT guy) said, "more collegians fail versus succeed at the NFL level due to the speed and complexity of the game".......

[TheCockSportif]

1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

 

objectively (I have no ax to grind or want to play the blame game) I think it was a combination of both.....Nix was hell bent on drafting a QB...ironically his 1st choice was Gnome Smith until they flew down for interview and work out...consensus on the plane ride home was, "um...no thanks"......so EJ was 2nd fiddle......I don't think his self-confidence level would rise to being overdrafted nor do I think his collegiate career demonstrated a HIGH ceiling......think he did show a good work ethic and tried to improve...but as Steve Young (yup THAT guy) said, "more collegians fail versus succeed at the NFL level due to the speed and complexity of the game".......

 

Kind of agree.  It was a comedy of errors, and this could be said for the Bills from 2000 until 2016 (give or take).  Nix gave a huge extension to Fitz then found himself needing to get the money back to draft other talent and to sign FAs.  I don't blame EJ for having been drafted that early; that was on the Bills.  Sadly for EJ -- he was just not a good QB.

[Fixxxer]

Great guy, not good enough QB, it seems he lacked the mental toughness to overcome adversity, big no-no if you're the leader of the team. 

 

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

9 minutes ago, Groin said:

 

Kind of agree.  It was a comedy of errors, and this could be said for the Bills from 2000 until 2016 (give or take).  Nix gave a huge extension to Fitz then found himself needing to get the money back to draft other talent and to sign FAs.  I don't blame EJ for having been drafted that early; that was on the Bills.  Sadly for EJ -- he was just not a good QB.

 

...and I do know that Brandon called Fitz in asking him to re-negotiate for backup money.....Fitz said, "nope I will get starter money somewhere"........which he ironically did and STILL does.....

[TheCockSportif]

1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...and I do know that Brandon called Fitz in asking him to re-negotiate for backup money.....Fitz said, "nope I will get starter money somewhere"........which he ironically did and STILL does.....

Speaking of Brandon?  Glad that dude is gone once and for all.  I grew sick of hearing about him.

 

Good on Fitz though.  Had EJ been able to manage his crisis of confidence then he too would probably still be in the league somewhere.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

1 minute ago, Groin said:

Speaking of Brandon?  Glad that dude is gone once and for all.  I grew sick of hearing about him.

 

Good on Fitz though.  Had EJ been able to manage his crisis of confidence then he too would probably still be in the league somewhere.

 

...his five year, $10 million dollar contract went up in flames because of his indiscretions...BUT...Pegula did give him $2 million severance.......at the same time, he is forever blacklisted from ANY employment in Buffalo and remains unemployed......even his buddy Koch who owns New Era said, "no can do".......Pegs does have some (COUGH) "influence"...

[TheCockSportif]

1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...his five year, $10 million dollar contract went up in flames because of his indiscretions...BUT...Pegula did give him $2 million severance.......at the same time, he is forever blacklisted from ANY employment in Buffalo and remains unemployed......even his buddy Koch who owns New Era said, "no can do".......Pegs does have some (COUGH) "influence"...

Hope that Brandon is a frugal guy, and again, hope that he never touches another Buffalo sports team again, or is prominent in the area again... ever.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Groin

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

EJ may have been big and athletic but he's nothing like the football player Josh Allen is

 

And I wanted the best for EJ but Josh came in heads and shoulders better. 

 

EJ was supposed to be this dual-threat quarterback who couldn't even run

 

 

...the comparative confidence factor is an Allen strength while an EJ decided weakness before going any further......

[ColoradoBills]

An EJ Manuel thread.  Thanks for the trip down "Amnesia Lane".  

2013:  Doug Whaley, Doug Marrone and EJ Manuel.

2020:  Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott and Josh Allen.

 

Remember this post draft interview.

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by ColoradoBills

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

Just now, Groin said:

Hope that Brandon is a frugal guy, and again, hope that he never touches another Buffalo sports team again... ever.

 

...LOL....bought the neighboring Canandaigua Lake cottage (900 sq ft) for a million, knocked his down and built a new one for TWO million......frugal?.....LMAO...nuts....

[Formerly Allan in MD]

3 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

He was very positive about Buffalo, though you sense he feels thing would’ve turned out better in a different situation. 

 

He would not have turned out better in a different situation.  When you can't throw and have no feel for the game, you're simply bad.

[TheCockSportif]

10 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...LOL....bought the neighboring Canandaigua Lake cottage (900 sq ft) for a million, knocked his down and built a new one for TWO million......frugal?.....LMAO...nuts....

Hope he's sheltering in place then.  My god, Brandon.  That freaking guy.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

The structure around EJ was ridiculous.

 

A 73 year old GM, a rookie HC, rookie OC, who also doubled as the QB Coach, Kevin Kolb after his failure in Arizona, with Jeff Tuel and Thad Lewis. 

But it has to be noted: 

 

He had a Coach that punted from the Pittsburgh 36-yard line, down by two scores, in the 4th quarter with a 3-6 record.

 

Also, Florida State went from 8-4 to winning the National Championship when EJ left.

 

Listening to Doug Whaley talk about EJ’s presence when talking to the season ticket holders, but never once mentioning how EJ actually threw a football. 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Straight Hucklebuck

[MassHog]

EJ needed to sit and learn, unfortunately he was thrown into a terrible situation with Doug Moron as head coach and Hackett as OC. They never should have benched him at 2-2. Would he have been better under different circumstances? Who knows. But his situation didnt help him one bit

[Phil The Thrill]

26 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...LOL....bought the neighboring Canandaigua Lake cottage (900 sq ft) for a million, knocked his down and built a new one for TWO million......frugal?.....LMAO...nuts....

Wait...Russ lives on Canandaigua Lake?

[JMF2006]

29 minutes ago, Groin said:

Hope that Brandon is a frugal guy, and again, hope that he never touches another Buffalo sports team again, or is prominent in the area again... ever.

 

Touching the teams didn't get him fired  

[TheCockSportif]

1 minute ago, JMF2006 said:

 

Touching the teams didn't get him fired  

Ah, so you went there... NICE!!! ?

[Phil The Thrill]

23 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

 

He would not have turned out better in a different situation.  When you can't throw and have no feel for the game, you're simply bad.

Yeah I agree.  He talked a little about Pat Mahomes and Alex Smith.  I really do believe he feels if he was in a situation where he could sit behind a good veteran QB like Smith and brought along slowly, that things would have turned out differently.

 

He also did say he takes responsibility for his career, it’s not like he used it as an excuse.  But I just get the feeling he thinks his career could have gone differently 

[JMF2006]

2 minutes ago, Groin said:

Ah, so you went there... NICE!!! ?

 

Sometimes the set up is irresistible  

[Phil The Thrill]

10 minutes ago, MassHog said:

EJ needed to sit and learn, unfortunately he was thrown into a terrible situation with Doug Moron as head coach and Hackett as OC. They never should have benched him at 2-2. Would he have been better under different circumstances? Who knows. But his situation didnt help him one bit

Marrone was coming off a 5-11 season and was under some pressure due to tension with Doug Whaley and Russ Brandon.  I think he felt he needed to show progress.  There’s a good chance an EJ led team finishes 5-11 again or worse.  

[Mr. WEO]

He was weak and stupid...

 

[Gugny]

3 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

If you haven’t checked out Eric Wood’s interview with EJ Manuel yet, it’s a good listen for any Bills fan.  

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=68066663&autoplay=1

 

I’ll say this - EJ sounds like a great guy.  He was very positive about Buffalo, though you sense he feels thing would’ve turned out better in a different situation.  He says his career didn’t work out but believes it happened for a reason and he thinks his story can help others.  
 

Some interesting notes:

 

- He said the Doug Whaley/Buddy Nix plan was always to start Kevin Kolb and have EJ learn from him (bad idea).  One Kolb got hurt he had no one to learn from since Jeff Tuel (and later Thad Lewis) were inexperienced QB’s, so Wood was the player who tried to mention him at QB!

 

- After his in-season injury in 2013 he was privately tutored by legendary OC Paul Hackett (Nate’s dad) on reading defenses.

 

- EJ said his confidence was shaken after the infamous JJ Watt pick six.  Seantrel didn’t cut Watt resulting in the pick, but he said he takes the blame.   Doug Marrone sat him down and said he was their guy but they wanted him to take a step back and watch Kyle Orton play.

 

- He thought that Rex was trying to “bring in his own guys” at QB and felt he earned his roster spot with his preseason play.  Dressing as an inactive QB hurt his confidence and relationship with Buffalo and said he didn’t play well in the Jets finale in 2016, because his confidence was completely shot.  
 

- EJ said he did well in Oakland under Jack Del Rio.  When Gruden came in, he felt he wanted Conner Cook to be the backup.  While he played well in the preseason, Gruden cut him and he spent the rest of 2018 trying to get a job....it never happened.

 

- Oddly enough this year, he got a call from Andy Reid about backing up Patrick Mahomes once Chad Henne went down.  I think he said KC said “thanks but no thank,” and then later said he was beginning his job at the SEC Network and didn’t want to come back.  

Like I said, he seemed positive and excited about his broadcasting career, but I also sensed some disappointment over how his NFL career ended.  If you think about it, he went from 1st round draft pick to street FA with no offers in less than 6 months.  
 

So do you think EJ’s was a victim was a happenstance?

 

Or was he an over drafted QB with a limited ceiling?  I’m thinking it was more of the later, but it hard to listen to this interview and not like the guy personally.  

 

It's no secret that I was a huge EJ fan/supporter.

 

I still maintain that he was a better QB than Tyrod.  I still maintain he looked better than Tyrod in practices.   I still maintain that he looked better than Tyrod in preseason.  And I still maintain that the rotten piece of ***** ***** who is Rex Ryan had his simple little mind made up the day he stupidly went out and got Taylor.

 

Was EJ a good QB when it was all said and done?  No.  He certainly was not.

 

But he couldn't have been drafted into a shittier situation if he tried; the Bills were an absolute mess.  And he was/could have been better than that a-hole, Tyrod ever dreamed of being.

 

 

[Rico]

5 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

It's no secret that I was a huge EJ fan/supporter.

 

I still maintain that he was a better QB than Tyrod.  I still maintain he looked better than Tyrod in practices.   I still maintain that he looked better than Tyrod in preseason.  And I still maintain that the rotten piece of ***** ***** who is Rex Ryan had his simple little mind made up the day he stupidly went out and got Taylor.

 

Was EJ a good QB when it was all said and done?  No.  He certainly was not.

 

But he couldn't have been drafted into a shittier situation if he tried; the Bills were an absolute mess.  And he was/could have been better than that a-hole, Tyrod ever dreamed of being.

 

 

Could've, would've, should've...

[LABILLBACKER]

He just didn't pass the eye test. That 2nd quarter in London against the Jags might be the worst 15 minutes of qb play in Bills history. It was a reach pick and I'm skeptical EJ would've succeeded anywhere. But the fact he couldn't sit for a year or 2 behind a vet did hurt him. At least with Josh we've seen an athletic "moxy" we never saw from EJ.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

It's amazing how bad that draft was for QB's. EJ was the only one taken in the entire first round I think? And not taking till #16 AFTER we traded down from #8. That should have told us everything about how much even those making the decisions thought of EJ. You don't take a chance on missing a QB you really like over 8 draft spots.

 

Amazing that pretty much all the team including the Bills to a degree since they traded back to get EJ, were spot on with the draft being low on QB talent. Has there been a draft since without even 2 QB's going in the top 10? Hard to imagine in today's hyped up QB prospect world only 1 QB going in the first round and none in the top 10.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Sammy Watkins' Rib

[Troll Toll]

He was on a stacked Florida State team and couldn’t seem to throw for 300 yards in a game. 
 

He turned out the same in the pros.

 

I’m fully on board with Josh btw. I don’t want to give the wrong impression with the 300 yard comment.

1 minute ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

It's amazing how bad that draft was for QB's. EJ was the only one taken in the entire first round I think? And not taking till #16 AFTER we traded down from #8. That should have told us everything about how much even those making the decisions thought of EJ. You don't take a chance on missing a QB you really like over 8 draft spots.

 

Amazing that pretty much all the team including the Bills to a degree since they traded back to get EJ, were spot on with the draft being low on QB talent. Has there been a draft since without even 2 QB's going in the top 10? Hard to imagine in today's hyped up QB prospect world only 1 QB going in the first round and none in the top 10.

It was like a car crash you couldn’t look away from. Chan kept refusing to draft a guy to replace Fitz. Then the Bills committed to drafting a QB in the first long before the draft, only to have an epically bad QB class at their feet. We KNEW they were going to draft an awful QB in the first and there was nothing we could do.

[Orlando Tim]

1 hour ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

 

He would not have turned out better in a different situation.  When you can't throw and have no feel for the game, you're simply bad.

The issue I have with this kind of comment is that EJ had his best 4 games in his first 4 games. He was never put into a situation to improve and the offense was never tailored to him at all. We might be better off in his failing so badly but he was never given a chance.

[JaCrispy]

5 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

It's amazing how bad that draft was for QB's. EJ was the only one taken in the entire first round I think? And not taking till #16 AFTER we traded down from #8. That should have told us everything about how much even those making the decisions thought of EJ. You don't take a chance on missing a QB you really like over 8 draft spots.

 

Amazing that pretty much all the team including the Bills to a degree since they traded back to get EJ, were spot on with the draft being low on QB talent. Has there been a draft since without even 2 QB's going in the top 10? Hard to imagine in today's hyped up QB prospect world only 1 QB going in the first round and none in the top 10.

Not only that, But Nix actually admitted they were tempted to trade down AGAIN!!! ?‍♂️
 

But THAT was the QB they had to have leading the franchise...ahhh, such dysfunctional times...thank you, baby Jesus, for our new and improved FO! ?

[TroutDog]

4 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

So do you think EJ’s was a victim was a happenstance?

Yes. ? 

[Mr. WEO]

36 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

It's no secret that I was a huge EJ fan/supporter.

 

I still maintain that he was a better QB than Tyrod.  I still maintain he looked better than Tyrod in practices.   I still maintain that he looked better than Tyrod in preseason.  And I still maintain that the rotten piece of ***** ***** who is Rex Ryan had his simple little mind made up the day he stupidly went out and got Taylor.

 

Was EJ a good QB when it was all said and done?  No.  He certainly was not.

 

But he couldn't have been drafted into a shittier situation if he tried; the Bills were an absolute mess.  And he was/could have been better than that a-hole, Tyrod ever dreamed of being.

 

 

 

But he looked best in that Bills cap on the sideline...

 

Orton was a better QB off his couch.  

 

Fitz was tons better, but Buddy Cornpone thought he was too pricey.

 

EJ was the tiniest dirty bubble in the giant bathtub of the NFL.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Part of the issue is people judge EJ too harshly. He was a specialist. He did his two specialities brilliantly too, I might add: 

 

1) QB sneaks

2) Hard counts. 

[TroutDog]

2 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

EJ was a failed pick and for that Whaley and Nix deserve a lot of blame.

Nix was checked out after that pick. He said he’d draft a QB and he did...even though it was four rounds too early. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

1 hour ago, Phil The Thrill said:

Wait...Russ lives on Canandaigua Lake?

 

...yup...wife is in Buffalo...........

[Aussie Joe]

3 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Right now, Allen has one point higher career qb rating than EJ.  Just saying.  

Im not sure what you are saying?

 

Can you expand please?

 

I’m assuming you are not comparing E.J. to Allen and implying they are somehow close to equal..

 

 

[purple haze]

4 hours ago, FireChans said:

Mahomes and Brady would have been great anywhere. Manuel would have been a more successful bust in a different system.

Brady was in the right place at the right time. If not for Mo Lewis he might never have seen the field.  He was a game manager for a bit too when he got his shot.  He is the GOAT, but I don't know he would have been that elsewhere.  And Mahomes wound up with the perfect coach, although he would have flashed anywhere.

[Augie]

5 hours ago, JaCrispy said:

 EJ’s throwing motion looked like a girl trying to throw a football for the first time...I would say that was his biggest downfall- throwing like a b!+<#...?

 

His slide looked like a giraffe trying it for the first time! Did he never even play Tee Ball? 

 

Did he land in a bad situation? YES.

Was he wildly over-drafted? YES. 

 

We’ll never know what could have been had he landed in a better situation and been brought along properly. He might still be a backup somewhere. But, by all accounts he was a fine young man and I wish him all the success and happiness in the world. 

 

 

.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Augie

[DuckyBoys]

3 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

I will never understand why the Bills didn’t do better than Kevin Kolb as the answer to the play the “veteran mentor.”  He wasn’t exactly a grizzled veteran and there were better options.  It would have made sense if they signed Kolb (knowing his injury history) and another veteran, because they likely knew they were drafting a QB.  

Then...when Kolb got hurt, rather than signing a QB like Kyle Orton in 2014, they were like “ yeah our QB room is good with 2 rookies.”  
 

EJ was a failed pick and for that Whaley and Nix deserve a lot of blame.  But IMO they deserve MORE blame for not having any type of plan to develop the QB or not having the ability modify that plan on the fly.

 

Both Nix and Whaley were terrible GM’s.  Good riddance.

 

I always thought he would be an excellent QB mentor and reliable if presses into action for short stretches

 

Which they once again repeated with the dynamic duo of AJ McCaron and Peterman.  Which Allen was able to survive that 2018 year.  Watching the Bills handle the qb position is way too stressful which is why I desperately cling to Josh being the 10+ year high end starter

[BuffalOhio]

5 hours ago, Rico said:

Should've gone to the Chiefs, he would've had a ring like Rob Johnson.

Or Drew Bledsoe.  Or Bernie Kosar.

[Gugny]

2 hours ago, Rico said:

Could've, would've, should've...

 

 

Could've, would've, should've won that game.  Bills had the game won and the defense lost it in the end.  Plus, Sam took a nice vacation in London while his teammates played a football game.

[bigK14094]

EJ was never going to make it.  He was missing TJ Graham by  10 or 15 yards on all verticle routes  early years.  He had a few good games, but, I will never forget the fiasco in London.  EJ, like Losman, did not have the head for the game imho.  A decade wasted on those two guys.  And, then there was Todd Collins......oh, never mind.  (a failure in Buffalo but 15 years in the league)

Edited April 18, 2020 by bigK14094
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