metzelaars_lives

And that's where I'd disagree with you. I am not buying a Cassel jersey anytime soon but at his best, he has been much better in this league than EJ has been this far and certainly better than he looks right now. I am fully aware that Cassel comes with a ceiling and EJ may not. That being said, as of now, Cassel's "book," however underwhelming it may appear to you, looks to be better than EJ's book. This is a classic case of bird in the hand. And dude, how in the world can you not see his lack of progress? Since his rookie year, which was serviceable (not one EJ critic has ever mentioned his rookie year), he has regressed at a startling rate. That's just the way it is. If you run into me at Bills-Colts, which I'm flying across the country to attend, and we're talking in the parking lot and you asked me about EJ (if he's still on the team) and I was like, "I don't know man, it doesn't look like it's happening for him" (which is all I've ever said) would you accuse me of not being a fan or not rooting for my players? Like another poster said, when everyone was critical of Maybin, were his few defenders (assuming there must've been a couple) calling out his critics' fanhood?

Why are we not allowed to predict he won't be good? My guess is that if the Bills drafted, say, a guard in the first round in 2013 and he had shown as little progress as Manuel has so far, you wouldn't be as defensive. I'm sure you could go back and find plenty of guards who didn't hit their stride until several years in the league. I read everything you wrote and I respect your opinion but I disagree with this notion that 'how could we possibly have any idea if he's gonna be good or not.' It doesn't appear that it's happening for him right now. I think you could see how someone might arrive at that conclusion.

Thank God it wasn't the Bills. What a distraction. Sarcasm off: Great first episode. Looks to be the best season in a few years. Hopkins is gonna be a stud. Watt was definitely hamming it up for the cameras with that post-practice workout routine. Wilfork is way cool and shockingly good at basketball. Deangelo Hall is such a punk.

I guess we'll see what happens. Have you read anything to indicate that EJ is not third though right now? Even if it's not by a wide margin? I'd be curious to read that. And as much as you don't want to believe it, I do not dislike EJ Manuel or have anything against him. I remember when he beat Carolina in 2013, I was at a bar in NYC jumping up and down, telling my Eagles and Jets fan friends, "We've finally got our franchise QB, I can't believe it!" Unfortunately, I honestly feel like that will end up being the pinnacle of his career.

I'm sorry if you think people are being mean about it. He does seem like a good guy, I agree. I guess ultimately I don't really feel that bad about it because he's going to walk out of here a multi-millionaire. The same way I didn't really feel bad about the Sabres firing Ted Nolan.

For the millionth time, you cannot compare QB TD:INT ratios, or any QB stats for that matter, from 1982 to those of 2014.

If you would really take EJ over Cassel and Taylor in an even odds bet to be the starter then I respect your opinion. I think you're a little crazy but I respect it. Here's to hoping he does emerge somehow and you're right. The clock is ticking on him though.

His second/sophomore/final year. It's rare that I make a mistake like that. Cherish it.

Oh I think we both know I'm getting it very soon.

EJ defense #57: Jameis Winston threw a lot of interceptions in his senior year.

And for the record, by all accounts, Cassel looked good again today. My guess is that if EJ had two consecutive good practices you wouldn't have attempted to minimize it by saying he only had one. Conversely, this board would explode and rainbows and glitter would come shooting out of all of our computers and smartphones.

OK if you think Rex has been/is being fair about it, which I agree with (I also agree with you that Cassel hasn't won anything yet and that him starting doesn't necessarily mean that much), you win $1 million for you and your family by correctly predicting the starter on Sept 13th right now. Even odds. Who you got?

No, that is not true. EJ was never "out in front" for one second. He had the best practice of the three once. Look, if anyone was expecting Aaron Rodgers to emerge from this pack they were sorely mistaken. The pack is still relatively close. But if you asked every last reporter who has attended camp thus far, every single one of them would have EJ third. By a lot? No. But it is becoming pretty clear that Cassel is the odds-on favorite at this point. You guys can keep denying it, you can blame Marrone, you can blame Joe Buscaglia, you can call it a conspiracy- I've heard em all. The fact is, EJ Manuel has gotta get his s**t together pronto or he might be out of a job very soon. Look, here's a new one. Now I really have heard em all.

Someone said in another thread this morning that he doesn't trust Joe B's reports on EJ because he (Joe B) probably can't even throw a spiral. Vic Carucci said today that EJ appears to be fading from the competition. I wonder if that same poster questions Carucci's passing abilities. Regardless, it is still early. Obviously the preseason is the biggest stage of the audition. That being said, I think it's pretty clear that Cassel is in fact the default option if no one really starts to separate themselves from the pack.

Not sure why a guy who's tall, fast, has great hands, a knack for getting open and is excellent on special teams isn't good enough for your team. My only two guesses are that a) he's a white WR or b) he was an undrafted free agent.

I find this story as amusing as anyone. But the bottom line is that the Bills and the Jets are very similar teams, even after this incident. They're both gonna have top 5 defenses, they both have playmakers on offense with their addition of Marshall and they're both gonna start the season with bottom 5 NFL QB's. Enjoy laughing at them for a day but it doesn't really change all that much in terms of where I'd project them to finish. I don't think anyone in our division finishes worse than 8-8.

This website is absolutely unbelievable. Fitzpatrick completely sucks, Tannehill has already hit his ceiling- glad we don't have him, jury still out on EJ...

Again, semantics. Yes he is a below average starting QB. He's probably a bottom five starting QB. But he is a top 32 QB. Do we have one of those?? And I definitely think he is better than Orton was last year and Cassel is right now. He certainly was from 2009-2012 with us. And this is the best team he's ever played on. I guess we'll see.

Yes he is. It may be a matter of semantics here but give me 32 QB's you'd rather have starting for you right now. Yes, he is prone to critical interceptions. So is Jay Cutler, who is also one of the best 32 QB's in football. The truth of the matter is that there are not, nor have there ever been, enough QB's for every team to have a really good one. We, as Bills fans, should be able to grasp that concept better than anyone. AMAZING!!! I'm really high strung, I'm always swingin for the fences...

Who is he not any good compared to? Andrew Luck? Yes, you are correct. Dude I know exactly where he stands as an NFL QB. I wouldn't say he "wasn't able to get it done" anywhere he's been. Again, the Jets also have a top 5 defense, they have Marshall and Decker- they are actually a shockingly similar team to the Bills. Believe me when I tell you, he would be our clear cut starter right now. Believe me also when I tell you we would've made the playoffs with him last season. And I don't think he's that good.

This is the best team he's ever had to work with. He'd be our best QB. The Jets are going to be very competitive. Yes, he's below average for a starter. But he's one of the 32 best QB's in the league. Not certain we have one of those.

Can Bill Belichick throw a spiral? Football is not rocket science, ya know. The kid has a college degree and has devoted his career to the Buffalo Bills. If he sees EJ air mail one or Tony Steward whiff on a tackle, I think he is qualified to report it. This is just such a tired argument. I was friends with Adam Gase growing up. He never even played football. Now he is an NFL offensive coordinator.

Good call, I liked him too.

I always hedge my bet and don't go all in on players but I loved Losman's tools and thought he was gonna be a player. I was very encouraged after his 2006 season. Makes you wonder what would have happened if they never drafted Edwards. Probably not much of a difference. I also loved the James Hardy pick. It was so unlike the Bills at that time to draft a guy with character issues but with incredible physical tools. Thought he was gonna be a stud. Oh and yeah, I loved the EJ Manuel pick at the time and thought he was gonna be our franchise QB after the Carolina game. Little did I know, there would be a massive conspiracy involving the Bills organization and all the Bills reporters to make sure he is never heard from again even though he has looked great in practice this summer and does not really have the accuracy issues that everyone is reporting.

Is that a Mitch Hedberg reference?