Our greatest fears are coming to fruition in training camp so far. The quarterbacks aren't progressing and are looking pretty bad (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-bills-might-not-have-worst-qb.html). Not one has stood out so far. All three have battled inaccuracy issues much like they have throughout their careers. Tyrod Taylor has made some of the most spectacular plays among the three but has also been spectacular for the wrong reasons as well.
Unfortunately, if they are inaccurate in practice without a pass rush and no one covering receivers, how will they fare then with a furious pass rush and excellent covering corners. I've said it several times, if accuracy is the problem then I want the guy with the best athleticism and ability to make plays with his legs to be the starting qb (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/bills-qb-situation-if-accuracy-is.html). That's Taylor or E.J. Manuel over Matt Cassel.
Unfortunately, if all three are unspectacular, I see them going with Cassel because he's the veteran. Then I'll have to try and get myself excited about the possibility of him managing the game well with this defense and these weapons and not killing this team. Of course if Cassel bombs like he's been, Joe Buscaglia reports he's likely to be cut because of how much they can save with the salary cap (http://www.wkbw.com/sports/nfl/5-notable-bills-players-in-danger-of-being-cut).
There's one way I'd like Cassel to start and that is if I can sign up for his 27 touchdown, 7 interception performance which he accomplished with the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2010. If you can promise me 27 touchdowns, 7 picks then I'll take Cassel right now. That year he led the Chiefs to a 10-6 record and the AFC East Division Championship. If he repeated those same numbers on this team with this talent, I'd say 10-6 is going to happen and that 11-5 is very likely and so is the playoffs.
If anyone had 27 touchdowns, 7 picks we would erect a statue of that QB outside Ralph Wilson Stadium. Heck, I'd even take 27 touchdowns, 14 interceptions that would make us the playoffs. Like I said, I'd be excited if Cassel did that and would sign up for it. Could you imagine if either Manuel or Taylor won the starting job and had 27 touchdowns, 7 interceptions? We would be celebrating our franchise QB. It must be noted that Cassel had 27 touchdowns in his next three seasons, COMBINED!!
I'd even be thrilled with Jay Cutler's season last year where he threw for almost 4,000 yards in 15 games, 28 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, 66% completion, 250+ yards a game, and an 88.6 QB Rating. The interceptions were a lot and Cutler threw a bunch, but he made up for it with passing yards and touchdowns. I wouldn't mind the interceptions too much if the QB makes more plays because QBs throw interceptions. Heck, Andrew Luck threw 16 but offset that with 40 touchdowns and 4,700 yards.
The defense also can bail out a QB's mistake whereas Cutler's Bears had the worst defense in the league. The Bills with Rex Ryan will have a top-5 defense. It would however be great if a QB can bail the defense out as well. I'd like it if the QB can score points so the defense doesn't have to kill itself every game and doesn't essentially have to pitch a shut out.
I'd hate to waste a great defense because our QB is not good. Speaking of not good QB, Buscaglia said the other day on Twitter that Matt Sims was having a better day than Manuel did at training camp (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/ej-struggled-because-of-marrone-sure.html). Let's see what Greg Roman can do with either of these QBs.
On a positive note, Richie Incognito has been spectacular so far in training camp along with other practices. It's been so good that Incognito has been named starting left guard by Ryan. He's been very impressive as he reported to training camp in great shape and has been lights out to the point Ryan named him starting guard after just three days in training camp. It's been an amazing comeback so far for Incognito after being out of the NFL the last year-and-a-half after the Jonathan Martin bullying scandal in Miami.
It's great as one of the starting guard jobs is locked up as Eric Wood, Cordy Glenn, and now Incognito have locked up starting spots on the line, the whole left side/middle of the line. The right guard spot is between rookie third-year guard John Miller and second year Cyril Richardson. Miller is penciled in as the starter, but Richardson is giving him a challenge. Second-year players Cyrus Kouandjio and Seantreal Henderson are battling for the starting right tackle spot. Kuoandjio is currently the favorite over Henderson, last year's starting right tackle.
Hopefully Incognito continues to perform well and play well during the season to help the line block in the run game and hopefully give whichever QB enough time to make a play. The line was really weak last year, but it appears to be a strength, so far. It depends on how Incognito performs and keeps himself on the straight and narrow and doesn't get in trouble, which has ruined his career and almost put it to an end. He's been a very productive guard his entire career, starting all 102 games he appeared in since coming into the league as a rookie in 2005, even making the Pro Bowl in 2012 the year before he was suspended.
He hasn't played in a game or appeared on a football field in pads since October 31, 2013. Let's hope it continues into this season and maybe beyond. Beyond however is up to him if he wants.
Showing posts with label Sammy Watkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sammy Watkins. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
EJ Could Be Cut If He Doesn't Show Progress; Move on From Him If You Don't Think He's the Guy
A lot of buzz has been made by former WGR 550 Buffalo Bills beat reporter and current Bills beat reporter for WKBW Ch. 7 Joe Buscaglia about EJ Manuel's future with the Bills (http://www.wkbw.com/sports/bills/joe-b-sans-progress-ej-may-be-done-in-buffalo). It appears that the honeymoon with the 2013 first round pick and the supposed to be franchise QB is likely over unless he shows major improvement this summer from what has been a disappointing two-year stint. Manuel was drafted to be the franchise QB that this franchise has lacked since Jim Kelly retired in 1996 and so far it has not materialized.
It has been coined a "make or break year" for EJ, who will be battling for the starting job along with newcomers Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor. This new coaching staff has no ties to EJ Manuel and if they don't think he's the guy, he's likely gone. I think that's the right move if that's the case, there's no reason to keep him around if he can't beat out Cassel and/or Taylor. I think if he's not even the starter it might just be time to move on from him, let alone be the backup. Nothing against Cassel and Taylor but they aren't the best QBs in the league and they're here for a reason and if EJ can't beat them out, he'll never be the guy.
Of course Doug Whaley drafted him, well depending on who you ask some say it's Buddy Nix's pick but Whaley doesn't shy away from picking Manuel as it was a Buffalo Bills pick. Whaley I'm sure wants him to succeed and it makes him look a lot better. Some are ridiculous stating since this report came out that EJ is behind Jeff Tuel and is the 4th QB on the depth chart and that's just absolutely bogus. If for some reason he's behind Tuel, then cut him now.
I know Manuel has only 14 starts, which is still not a full 16-game season, but he's had two seasons worth of mini camps, OTAs, training camps, and preseasons and make it three after this summer. I don't think 14 starts is enough but I feel three seasons worth of all the above mentioned practices, preseason and regular season games is enough to tell you whether the guy is good or not and if he's improving or regressing.
It's not that Manuel was awful as he was just 6-8 as a starter (6-7 in games in which he finished after being injured against Cleveland his rookie year), but he continued to regress and show inaccuracy after coming back from injury in the middle of his rookie season. He missed six games due to injury his rookie season as he suffered three separate knee injuries (one was in preseason). His career completion percentage is just 58.6 and he averages 6.4 yards per pass attempt, which is in Trent Edwards territory.
Last season, the Bills traded the 2015 first round pick to move up five spots to draft Sammy Watkins in an attempt to add a big time weapon to help EJ. They basically gave EJ two years at starting QB with the Watkins trade. Manuel was pretty good the first two games of the season as they won the first two. He completed 66.7% of his passes and averaged 7.9 yards an attempt, both were very good. Then Manuel struggled mightily the next two games in which he lost both of them. He was really bad against Houston as his signature moment was throwing a short pass right into JJ Watt's hands, who returned it for a touchdown.
Manuel was benched after that game for a guy who was retired and did not even go to training camp or play in the preseason in Kyle Orton. Orton was not much better except for both Jets games, a half against Detroit, and the 4th quarter against Minnesota. Otherwise he was awful as the team had trouble getting into the end zone. Orton was basically the same as his yards per attempt was basically the same, but he completed 10% more of his passes, big deal considering most of his passes were at or behind the line of scrimmage.
It was sad that the last month or two, Doug Marrone did not bench Orton and put Manuel back in. Now some of that was Marrone being selfish and wanting to win for his own glory to take a buyout and leave after the season to try and get another head coaching job. The other was that sadly, Orton was the "best chance to win." If you couldn't pull an awful Orton for a young first round pick prospect to see what he's done being on the bench, then it doesn't speak very highly for Manuel. It was sad that Manuel was benched for Orton in the first place.
I'd like to see what Manuel can do in Greg Roman's offense. Roman got a lot out of Alex Smith when no one could. Smith is definitely limited but Roman got the most out of him. Then he got a lot out of Colin Kaepernick in terms of throwing the ball down field and especially running for a year-and-a-half until he completely struggled last year. Kaepernick was inaccurate and has always struggled with accuracy issues. But when he throws the ball down the field, he can surely fling it with ease and can make big plays down the field whereas EJ could not. Of course Kaepernick's big time strength was his running ability and can make so many plays with his legs.
I'd like to see Manuel be able to run more as that's supposed to be a strength of his. That's one of the reasons why the Bills drafted him two years ago. He's not the fastest nor most mobile but he can more than make enough plays with his legs. He got injured as a rookie against Cleveland on a spectacular run and Marrone was very cautious to have him run. I don't 100% blame him because you don't want your young QB to get hurt.
The problem was that they never wanted Manuel to run ever, which was a strength of his. When he did run, it was usually just run out of bounds or slide even if it was short of the first down marker because "a punt is better than a turnover" and did not want him to risk injury. Marrone was super conservative. It was definitely Marrone not wanting him to run but when Manuel did run, he would never try and make any sort of move to have a defender miss to pick up a couple of yards and a first down. Get the first down and then slide or run out of bounds.
Marrone and Nate Hackett brought in the Read Option with Manuel's mobility as well as the no huddle and I was super excited. For some reason, they never ran the read option with Manuel running or throwing. Instead, Manuel would just hand the ball off in shot gun to either CJ Spiller or Fred Jackson and getting destroyed for losses. Never did Manuel just take off running after faking a hand off or threw from the read option which is what QBs like Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, RGIII, and even Ryan Tannehill do as they both run and throw to some success. Oh yeah, they scrapped the no huddle as well as injuries and EJ's poor development led to them throwing no huddle out of the playbook.
I did not want the kid to get hurt but if he wasn't going to be play the game right or the way he is capable of playing, then I did not need him in there whatsoever. I'd love to see Rex and Roman let the kid run and try to throw down the field and try to make some plays. Ryan usually let Geno Smith throw down field and Smith would not just run out of bounds when he ran as he would make a move and get the first down. Smith was terrible but Ryan at least let him try to make plays and see if he can play the position or not. I wouldn't mind letting them let Tyrod Taylor loose as they seemed enamored with him and his play making ability.
EJ has a strong arm but he was not accurate down the field. In fact, too many times he'd throw deep passes out of bounds and never kept balls in play for a chance for the receiver to make a play and/or a draw a defensive penalty. Manuel was so inaccurate especially throwing short. He completed only 61% of his passes from 1-10 yards which is very bad. Usually great QBs even decent QBs can complete 1-10 yard passes in the 70% range.
If Manuel can't improve his accuracy the next couple of months, he won't just be on the bench he'll be in the unemployment line. Now Roman can try and improve his accuracy somewhat, but accuracy is something you can't teach and you usually are what you are. I like Manuel he seems like a great person but if he's not the guy then it's time to move on. I just want Ryan and Roman to let him at least try and make plays and if he can't then cut him loose and let's go with Cassel or Taylor.
It has been coined a "make or break year" for EJ, who will be battling for the starting job along with newcomers Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor. This new coaching staff has no ties to EJ Manuel and if they don't think he's the guy, he's likely gone. I think that's the right move if that's the case, there's no reason to keep him around if he can't beat out Cassel and/or Taylor. I think if he's not even the starter it might just be time to move on from him, let alone be the backup. Nothing against Cassel and Taylor but they aren't the best QBs in the league and they're here for a reason and if EJ can't beat them out, he'll never be the guy.
Of course Doug Whaley drafted him, well depending on who you ask some say it's Buddy Nix's pick but Whaley doesn't shy away from picking Manuel as it was a Buffalo Bills pick. Whaley I'm sure wants him to succeed and it makes him look a lot better. Some are ridiculous stating since this report came out that EJ is behind Jeff Tuel and is the 4th QB on the depth chart and that's just absolutely bogus. If for some reason he's behind Tuel, then cut him now.
I know Manuel has only 14 starts, which is still not a full 16-game season, but he's had two seasons worth of mini camps, OTAs, training camps, and preseasons and make it three after this summer. I don't think 14 starts is enough but I feel three seasons worth of all the above mentioned practices, preseason and regular season games is enough to tell you whether the guy is good or not and if he's improving or regressing.
It's not that Manuel was awful as he was just 6-8 as a starter (6-7 in games in which he finished after being injured against Cleveland his rookie year), but he continued to regress and show inaccuracy after coming back from injury in the middle of his rookie season. He missed six games due to injury his rookie season as he suffered three separate knee injuries (one was in preseason). His career completion percentage is just 58.6 and he averages 6.4 yards per pass attempt, which is in Trent Edwards territory.
Last season, the Bills traded the 2015 first round pick to move up five spots to draft Sammy Watkins in an attempt to add a big time weapon to help EJ. They basically gave EJ two years at starting QB with the Watkins trade. Manuel was pretty good the first two games of the season as they won the first two. He completed 66.7% of his passes and averaged 7.9 yards an attempt, both were very good. Then Manuel struggled mightily the next two games in which he lost both of them. He was really bad against Houston as his signature moment was throwing a short pass right into JJ Watt's hands, who returned it for a touchdown.
Manuel was benched after that game for a guy who was retired and did not even go to training camp or play in the preseason in Kyle Orton. Orton was not much better except for both Jets games, a half against Detroit, and the 4th quarter against Minnesota. Otherwise he was awful as the team had trouble getting into the end zone. Orton was basically the same as his yards per attempt was basically the same, but he completed 10% more of his passes, big deal considering most of his passes were at or behind the line of scrimmage.
It was sad that the last month or two, Doug Marrone did not bench Orton and put Manuel back in. Now some of that was Marrone being selfish and wanting to win for his own glory to take a buyout and leave after the season to try and get another head coaching job. The other was that sadly, Orton was the "best chance to win." If you couldn't pull an awful Orton for a young first round pick prospect to see what he's done being on the bench, then it doesn't speak very highly for Manuel. It was sad that Manuel was benched for Orton in the first place.
I'd like to see what Manuel can do in Greg Roman's offense. Roman got a lot out of Alex Smith when no one could. Smith is definitely limited but Roman got the most out of him. Then he got a lot out of Colin Kaepernick in terms of throwing the ball down field and especially running for a year-and-a-half until he completely struggled last year. Kaepernick was inaccurate and has always struggled with accuracy issues. But when he throws the ball down the field, he can surely fling it with ease and can make big plays down the field whereas EJ could not. Of course Kaepernick's big time strength was his running ability and can make so many plays with his legs.
I'd like to see Manuel be able to run more as that's supposed to be a strength of his. That's one of the reasons why the Bills drafted him two years ago. He's not the fastest nor most mobile but he can more than make enough plays with his legs. He got injured as a rookie against Cleveland on a spectacular run and Marrone was very cautious to have him run. I don't 100% blame him because you don't want your young QB to get hurt.
The problem was that they never wanted Manuel to run ever, which was a strength of his. When he did run, it was usually just run out of bounds or slide even if it was short of the first down marker because "a punt is better than a turnover" and did not want him to risk injury. Marrone was super conservative. It was definitely Marrone not wanting him to run but when Manuel did run, he would never try and make any sort of move to have a defender miss to pick up a couple of yards and a first down. Get the first down and then slide or run out of bounds.
Marrone and Nate Hackett brought in the Read Option with Manuel's mobility as well as the no huddle and I was super excited. For some reason, they never ran the read option with Manuel running or throwing. Instead, Manuel would just hand the ball off in shot gun to either CJ Spiller or Fred Jackson and getting destroyed for losses. Never did Manuel just take off running after faking a hand off or threw from the read option which is what QBs like Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, RGIII, and even Ryan Tannehill do as they both run and throw to some success. Oh yeah, they scrapped the no huddle as well as injuries and EJ's poor development led to them throwing no huddle out of the playbook.
I did not want the kid to get hurt but if he wasn't going to be play the game right or the way he is capable of playing, then I did not need him in there whatsoever. I'd love to see Rex and Roman let the kid run and try to throw down the field and try to make some plays. Ryan usually let Geno Smith throw down field and Smith would not just run out of bounds when he ran as he would make a move and get the first down. Smith was terrible but Ryan at least let him try to make plays and see if he can play the position or not. I wouldn't mind letting them let Tyrod Taylor loose as they seemed enamored with him and his play making ability.
EJ has a strong arm but he was not accurate down the field. In fact, too many times he'd throw deep passes out of bounds and never kept balls in play for a chance for the receiver to make a play and/or a draw a defensive penalty. Manuel was so inaccurate especially throwing short. He completed only 61% of his passes from 1-10 yards which is very bad. Usually great QBs even decent QBs can complete 1-10 yard passes in the 70% range.
If Manuel can't improve his accuracy the next couple of months, he won't just be on the bench he'll be in the unemployment line. Now Roman can try and improve his accuracy somewhat, but accuracy is something you can't teach and you usually are what you are. I like Manuel he seems like a great person but if he's not the guy then it's time to move on. I just want Ryan and Roman to let him at least try and make plays and if he can't then cut him loose and let's go with Cassel or Taylor.
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