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Official EJ Manuel (1 Viewer)

I'm hopeful that EJ will still develop, and I think the Bills would be foolish to completely give up on him given that they don't have Aaron Rodgers or Steve Young sitting on their bench. But the odds are very clearly against that at this point, and I don't think it qualifies as "hate" to acknowledge as much.
This is a really good point - the Bills seem to think Tyrod Taylor has a shot but why would you keep Tuel over EJ when Tuel has zero shot (due to lack of arm strength) to be a starting QB? At least with EJ the tools are there.

 
I don't get the hate either. My old roommate was a huge Bills fan so we watched all their games during the EJ Manuel era and he didn't all that bad. Sure he dinked and dunked a lot and the INT's were a bit high, but there wasn't anything glaring that needed to be fixed. He could have been developed better and sat at first but he didn't look as bad as people are saying. This year is important for him to show progress, and you never know with the Bills. They could dump him early and we may never know how good he might have been, either way it's way too premature to be talking about letting him go.
His accuracy was a real problem. Right before he was benched last year there were reports of his WRs being kinda pissed because they felt he was going to get them killed by leading them into tacklers, etc.

That said, he is a great kid. Aces in the character department. I think he was sabotaged by a few things. 1. Uneven support among the coaches and staff. 2. A crappy first coach (Marone). 3. The change in ownership putting pressure on everyone to WIN NOW - so impatience with his progress. 4. He was drafted way to high.

He would have had a shot as a 3rd or 4th round pick who held a clipboard for a year with little expectations. He wasn't first round, plug-and-play material, but his coach's desperation forced him into that role.

 
I don't get the hate either. My old roommate was a huge Bills fan so we watched all their games during the EJ Manuel era and he didn't all that bad. Sure he dinked and dunked a lot and the INT's were a bit high, but there wasn't anything glaring that needed to be fixed. He could have been developed better and sat at first but he didn't look as bad as people are saying. This year is important for him to show progress, and you never know with the Bills. They could dump him early and we may never know how good he might have been, either way it's way too premature to be talking about letting him go.
I guess we're seeing different things because from what I saw, almost everything needed to be fixed.

We have to keep these "reports" in context- they're only talking about dumping him if he doesn't show progress this off season, and considering it will be his 3rd one (I know he missed some due to injury), I don't think that is unreasonable.

 
4. He was drafted way to high.
It was unfortunate that his physical tools greatly exceeded his ability to play the game and got him drafted in the 1st. Had he been a 3rd round pick he would have been given much longer to develop before being thrown in the fire.

 
4. He was drafted way to high.
It was unfortunate that his physical tools greatly exceeded his ability to play the game and got him drafted in the 1st. Had he been a 3rd round pick he would have been given much longer to develop before being thrown in the fire.
I don't think being a 3rd rounder would have saved him from the fire. The Bills were planning on starting Kolb in Manuel's rookie year, but Kolb's retirement forced Manuel to start early. Maybe being a 1st rounder just heightened expectations a bit.

 
4. He was drafted way to high.
It was unfortunate that his physical tools greatly exceeded his ability to play the game and got him drafted in the 1st. Had he been a 3rd round pick he would have been given much longer to develop before being thrown in the fire.
I don't think being a 3rd rounder would have saved him from the fire. The Bills were planning on starting Kolb in Manuel's rookie year, but Kolb's retirement forced Manuel to start early. Maybe being a 1st rounder just heightened expectations a bit.
True. But I guess it would have been like the attitude towards Glennon "He didn't play well but what do you expect from a 3rd round QB?"

 
Don Quixote said:
cstu said:
4. He was drafted way to high.
It was unfortunate that his physical tools greatly exceeded his ability to play the game and got him drafted in the 1st. Had he been a 3rd round pick he would have been given much longer to develop before being thrown in the fire.
I don't think being a 3rd rounder would have saved him from the fire. The Bills were planning on starting Kolb in Manuel's rookie year, but Kolb's retirement forced Manuel to start early. Maybe being a 1st rounder just heightened expectations a bit.
Kolb's concussion and retirement really screwed things up. Add in EJ's preseason injury his rookie year and the end of season injury and he really started off with the deck stacked against him.

And Marrone and his coaching staff certainly didn't help. Manuel wasn't fantastically accurate when I watched him in college, but he always seemed confident when throwing the ball. With Marrone constantly harping on turnovers and preaching conservative play, you could practically smell the fear coming off of Manuel during games. You could see him constantly ignoring open receivers to make "safer" throws, throwing the ball too late because he wasn't confident, and trying to "aim" the ball instead of just letting it rip.

I don't know what is and isn't correctable, but it sucks for Manuel and the Bills that things played out the way they did so far.

 
The Kevin Kolb thing is a red herring. We have no idea if he would have been the starter had he stayed healthy, and even if EJ was able to sit for a while we have no idea if it would have made any difference in his performance to date.

The main issue is that EJ was a project QB who was over drafted by the Bills, and Buffalo was (is?) a bad spot to develop a project QB. It wasn't a good match from the get-go IMO.

 
Sorry folks, but this talk about him being in better shape if he held the clipboard for a year or was drafted with lesser expectations, better coaches, etc seems a bit absurd. His biggest problem is accuracy. If he can make accurate throws he doesn't belong in the NFL. Hopefully he can improve, but it's likely that he just doesn't have the skills.

 
ScottNorwood said:
Sorry folks, but this talk about him being in better shape if he held the clipboard for a year or was drafted with lesser expectations, better coaches, etc seems a bit absurd. His biggest problem is accuracy. If he can make accurate throws he doesn't belong in the NFL. Hopefully he can improve, but it's likely that he just doesn't have the skills.
This is hogwash. I'm tired of fans, and even more tired of analysts, who just label a QB accurate or inaccurate without trying to determine WHY a QB has been accurate or inaccurate. And yes, it DOES matter. Whether it's due to mechanics, footwork, reaction time, confidence or just simple eye-hand coordination matters. Some of those are more correctable than others.

We already know that Manuel doesn't have mechanical, reaction time or eye-hand coordination issues because of his off the charts scoring by Sports Science: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9749030/buffalo-bills-qb-ej-manuel-stats-charts-espn-magazine

From watching EJ and reading quite a bit, it seems like his accuracy issues stem mostly from footwork that gets off when he is under pressure and a combination of lack of confidence and issues with reaction time in game situations. IMO, the reaction time issues are linked with his lack of confidence for the most part. Now maybe it's possible that his lack of confidence comes from not being able to read a defense and that will never change. Or maybe he does ok reading defenses and his lack of confidence is due to w coaching staff that scared the crap out of him and wouldn't let him take the training wheels off.

Either way, I think it's sloppy analysis just to tag him with the "inaccurate" label without digging into it deeper.

 
ScottNorwood said:
Sorry folks, but this talk about him being in better shape if he held the clipboard for a year or was drafted with lesser expectations, better coaches, etc seems a bit absurd. His biggest problem is accuracy. If he can make accurate throws he doesn't belong in the NFL. Hopefully he can improve, but it's likely that he just doesn't have the skills.
Either way, I think it's sloppy analysis just to tag him with the "inaccurate" label without digging into it deeper.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

 
ScottNorwood said:
Sorry folks, but this talk about him being in better shape if he held the clipboard for a year or was drafted with lesser expectations, better coaches, etc seems a bit absurd. His biggest problem is accuracy. If he can make accurate throws he doesn't belong in the NFL. Hopefully he can improve, but it's likely that he just doesn't have the skills.
Either way, I think it's sloppy analysis just to tag him with the "inaccurate" label without digging into it deeper.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.
Yeah, Grove, I know where you're coming from. But to me, it's sometimes as simple as a guy that just can't make the throws. You can call that sloppy or overly simplistic analysis. From my perspective, you're over-analyzing and trying to find a glimmer of hope for this guy. As Grigs said, agree to disagree. As a Bills fan I hope you're right and I'm wrong.

 
ScottNorwood said:
Sorry folks, but this talk about him being in better shape if he held the clipboard for a year or was drafted with lesser expectations, better coaches, etc seems a bit absurd. His biggest problem is accuracy. If he can make accurate throws he doesn't belong in the NFL. Hopefully he can improve, but it's likely that he just doesn't have the skills.
Either way, I think it's sloppy analysis just to tag him with the "inaccurate" label without digging into it deeper.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.
Yeah, Grove, I know where you're coming from. But to me, it's sometimes as simple as a guy that just can't make the throws. You can call that sloppy or overly simplistic analysis. From my perspective, you're over-analyzing and trying to find a glimmer of hope for this guy. As Grigs said, agree to disagree. As a Bills fan I hope you're right and I'm wrong.
I don't know how to describe it but it's not so much accuracy itself but that he lacks confidence throwing the ball - it's like he 'aims' the ball instead of just throwing it. Not a natural passer.

 
ScottNorwood said:
Sorry folks, but this talk about him being in better shape if he held the clipboard for a year or was drafted with lesser expectations, better coaches, etc seems a bit absurd. His biggest problem is accuracy. If he can make accurate throws he doesn't belong in the NFL. Hopefully he can improve, but it's likely that he just doesn't have the skills.
Either way, I think it's sloppy analysis just to tag him with the "inaccurate" label without digging into it deeper.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.
Yeah, Grove, I know where you're coming from. But to me, it's sometimes as simple as a guy that just can't make the throws. You can call that sloppy or overly simplistic analysis. From my perspective, you're over-analyzing and trying to find a glimmer of hope for this guy. As Grigs said, agree to disagree. As a Bills fan I hope you're right and I'm wrong.
I don't know how to describe it but it's not so much accuracy itself but that he lacks confidence throwing the ball - it's like he 'aims' the ball instead of just throwing it. Not a natural passer.
I could be completely wrong but that seems correctable with experience and practice at the pro level. Maybe he'll never get there but he has natural talent and doesn't seem to have character issues.

 
Rotoworld:

E.J. Manuel - QB - Bills

During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Bills GM Doug Whaley said the team's quarterbacks are on "equal footing."

That doesn't do much to clear up Buffalo's foggy quarterback situation. E.J. Manuel and Matt Cassel are the frontrunners with Tyrod Taylor as a long-shot dark horse. Coach Rex Ryan has already said the offense will live and die by LeSean McCoy, so whoever wins the job will be little more than a game manager. Obviously, this is a situation fantasy owners will want to avoid.

Related: Tyrod Taylor, Matt Cassel, Jeff Tuel

Source: Profootballtalk on NBC Sports
May 24 - 8:49 AM
 
They're just in shorts and t-shirts, so it doesn't mean a ton, but this is the type of thing I'm looking for to indicate progress for Manuel:

Ryan: "It appears that EJ is getting a pretty good grasp of this system. Hes believing in what hes seeing & hes letting it rip." #Bills
 
Rotoworld:

WKBW Buffalo's Joe Buscaglia believes E.J. Manuel was the best quarterback at Bills minicamp.

Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor were apparently less than impressive, as Manuel "won" the minicamp with one strong performance on the final day. Per Buscaglia, Manuel's footwork looked good, he threw the ball with confidence, and he didn't make mental mistakes. If the season were to start today, Manuel would be the starter in Buscaglia's eyes. Unfortunately, it doesn't start today.

Source: WKBW Buffalo
Jun 19 - 9:32 AM
 
We've got to hope that Manuel or Taylor are good enough to wrest the job from Cassel. It would mean they're really developing.

Cassel just has the highest floor/lowest ceiling of the group.

 
Mike Rodak ‏@mikerodak 9m9 minutes ago

The two completions that I’ve logged for EJ Manuel in three days w/ 1st team are a 5-yard out to Deonte Thompson and screen to Bryce Brown.
Mike Rodak ‏@mikerodak 12m12 minutes ago

I have EJ Manuel as 2-for-10 so far in 11-on-11s that I’ve watched in first 3 days. He’ll likely get 1st-team reps tomorrow night.
Mike Rodak ‏@mikerodak 15m15 minutes ago

The thing about the Bills’ QB competition is that don’t know what to expect each day. Manuel could be worst QB today and best tomorrow.
Mike Rodak ‏@mikerodak 23m23 minutes ago

Matt Cassel has probably been the best Bills QB so far in camp, but that’s not saying much. My full recap: http://es.pn/1VVpH1M
 
Local guys saying Cassel is the worst! I guess it is all perspective. I think everyone agrees they are all bad....ugh.

 
Rotoworld:

WKBW Buffalo's Joe Buscaglia said Thursday's practice was a "good step in the right direction" for E.J. Manuel.

Buscaglia added that he "didn't like" Matt Cassel's day. At this point, it's anyone's guess who the signal caller will be for Week 1. The Bills' pecking order at quarterback seems to change every 24 hours. Buffalo's quarterbacks won't be asked to do much this year as Rex Ryan favors a ground and pound offense. Considering their options, that's probably for the best.

Related: Matt Cassel

Source: Joe Buscaglia on Twitter
 
Step in the right direction meaning what? He missed guys by 5 yds instead of 10? Hate to be a wet blanket here but it's so bad some context is needed.

 
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Heading back out to camp tomorrow. Manual improved each day I have seen him so far. Additionally he seems to have the best relationships with his other teammates. Who ever it is......Bills fans will need to support them!!!!!

 
jurb26 said:
Step in the right direction meaning what? He missed guys by 5 yds instead of 10? Hate to be a wet blanket here but it's so bad some context is needed.
One local reporter had EJ as 18-20 in team drills today with 2 elite type throws and a terrible INT. Said his accuracy was definitely better. That's 2 decent practices on a row for him. The thing I heard that I really liked was that he looked much more decisive in both his decision making and in his throws.

Taylor also reportedly made some really nice throws today. Rex even singled him out as having two very nice days in a row.

Cassel is reportedly making all of the short and short-intermediate throws with no problem, but has been pretty bad at anything deeper (if he even makes the attempt).

 
Bills GM Whaley: Plan was to sit Manuel behind Kolb 'one or two years'

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/buffalo-bills-ej-manuel-sit-behind-kevin-kolb-080615
Of course. And then things were made even worse with Manuel getting injured and missing most of his first preseason and then getting injured and missing the last 3rd of his rookie season. Toss in that Marrone didn't have a QB coach and the deck couldn't have been stacked against EJ much more.

Everyone knew he was a project and then Kolb's career ending changed all expectations. Everything about the start of Manuel's career has been grossly unfair to him.

 
I was ready to give up on Manuel last season, but that was before I realized just how badly Marrone mishandled the guy. Not getting my hopes up and still skeptical, but given that he's already on our roster and we're QB-starved, I can't see the logic in not giving him an honest shot.

 
The Duff Man said:
humpback said:
So tired of the excuses.
Exactly! Development QBs are the worst!Be Luck or be nothing!!
Development QBs are the worst, when they are drafted way too high by an organization with zero track record of finding or developing QBs. But, hey, let's "say" the plan was for the great Kelvin Kolb to carry the torch and mentor him, since he had such a great track record.

My point isn't that EJ has had it easy, it's that I"m sick of hearing Whaley and co. make excuses instead of taking the blame themselves. They're the ones who put together this clown show.

 
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The Duff Man said:
humpback said:
So tired of the excuses.
Exactly! Development QBs are the worst!Be Luck or be nothing!!
Development QBs are the worst, when they are drafted way too high by an organization with zero track record of finding or developing QBs. But, hey, let's "say" the plan was for the great Kelvin Kolb to carry the torch and mentor him, since he had such a great track recordMy point isn't that EJ has had it easy, it's that I"m sick of hearing Whaley and co. make excuses instead of taking the blame themselves. They're the ones who put together this clown show.
Yep. Not only passed on Wilson but Foles & Cousins as well. Then reach for EJ following yr - passing on consensus #1 Geno Smith. Smith has struggled but shown more potential than EJ. And all reports are Geno much improved in camp. Bills fans would be salivating if they heard that for EJ.

 
Rotoworld:

E.J. Manuel - QB - Bills

E.J. Manuel will be the Bills' No. 3 quarterback for Friday's preseason opener.

Coach Rex Ryan hinted that won't necessarily be the case for the second preseason game, but Manuel's current standing is crystal clear. He must really be struggling in practice to fall behind journeyman Matt Cassel and unproven commodity Tyrod Taylor. It's not a given Manuel keeps his roster spots if things keep trending in the same direction.

Related: Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor

Source: ESPN.com

Aug 11 - 1:59 PM
 
Rotoworld:

E.J. Manuel - QB - Bills

E.J. Manuel will be the Bills' No. 3 quarterback for Friday's preseason opener.

Coach Rex Ryan hinted that won't necessarily be the case for the second preseason game, but Manuel's current standing is crystal clear. He must really be struggling in practice to fall behind journeyman Matt Cassel and unproven commodity Tyrod Taylor. It's not a given Manuel keeps his roster spots if things keep trending in the same direction.

Related: Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor

Source: ESPN.com

Aug 11 - 1:59 PM
could be the best thing to happen to him. would prefer if he actually just improved, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

 
I really don't see the Bills cutting EJ. Clearly he's been a big disappointment, but there's no way he's not worth keeping considering what a mess this position is in.

 

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