starrymessenger

Well our DC had him in Detroit. Bills must know something.

I like the linebacker too.

And Pryor will improvise or read option a million times better. And with his athleticism to complement that of the many other talented athletes on O it would at least be a heck of a roller coaster ride, albeit perhaps bad for one's health. More fun than having to listen to EJ explain how he thought he did ok in post game pressers following every loss.

If he can still game manage with the talent on this team we could make some noise, like for example still being in the picture late in the year. Not likely to happen with EJ under centre. JMO.

I agree. Picking EJ at # 16 was desperation. Now scrambling at the last minute for a backup who could soon be starting is panic. I thought that was the end of the continuum but someone suggested that the next and last step is auto destruct.

I disagree Mitch. I feel we've shown a lot. Nothing good though. Doug is on the verge of losing it completely. I expect a mental breakdown, maybe on the sidelines on national TV or during a post game presser. Coaching the Bills will do that to you. Remember how Chan went from looking like a normal person to sort of hobo level disheveled at the end.

He's playing possum. They've actually got four whole plays in that book.

Thanks for this. May have been a consensus pick but, as I always thought, Buddy was the boss and the man in charge. Still scratching my head tho. If he's not Doug's guy why has he done so much forward planning ie Watkins, on the assumption that EJ will pan out? If he didn't own the pick in the beginning looks to me to have bought in big time. Loved Buddy's comment on how accurate a passer EJ was. One of the things he most liked about him. Well, he does have huge hands I suppose.

I know he stumbled but before even going there the issue to me is whether Easley shortened the route. On the other hand, either way To me JT had a rough nite. Off the top the only half way decent throw he made was maybe the back shoulder to TJ. And it prolly had nothing to do with having to play with the threes. The throws were just no good. That Webb scrub was the best QB on the field.

But maybe feeding Watkins in the short passing game and looking for YAC takes things off CJ's plate, even assuming Hackett knew how to use him, which so far is not the case. And If BB hits the hole better running with speed and more authority, what does CJ add in the power 1 run game? Personally I don't think CJ is traded. The real value added would be for the OC to attend a Chan Gailey tutorial.

Well, what ever else it may or may not be, let's hope it's not prophetic.

Phew! What a relief! Glad the Bills had it all figured out. Not dissing the football evaluators, but they do seem to get it wrong a lot, and not just the Bills of course. Here's hoping they got it right. Time will tell all.

Bud Elliott is legit. He has no axe to grind for or against, and he is about as astute and dedicated a FSU observer as you can find. I came across his article three quarters through the 2013 season. My immediate reaction was "but wait...that's exactly what I thought I was seeing from EJ". It was not a good feeling. Hopefully the Bills know better than Bud. Or maybe they should have read the article. I suppose we will all find out in due course.

She does something for me. She sends me reaching for rubber underwear. What a face! This cheerleader thing is really serious stuff. Saw on TV where cheerleader's mom took out her daughter's cheerleader rival.

I fully expect CJ to have a career year in 2014. The reason? Payday comin up.

I wouldn't say milquetoast but I do hear you. I too like red ass ball players, especially in leadership roles. On the other hand I certainly don't think it's his personality that's the problem. It's the lack of consistency. In a sense that's a real problem, because iI fully expect him to look good, even very good at times, but then inevitably fall back into play beyond which he should have progressed. Amongst some observers of his college play, that was seen as a defining pattern and I don't know that it will change in a more difficult environment. The problem is that it will only fuel more pro and EJ controversy. Whaley says that he will know if and when EJ doesn't pan out. Let's hope he never has to make that decision, but if he does, let's hope he's as good as his word and that he can.

Nothing personal against Fitz but nice guys who can't play do little for me. I'm glad I'm a Bills fan and not a Texan's. Their season is over before it begins. At least we don't know for sure what we've got and are still finding out. Makes for more interest.

900 million...because the Bills are staying in Blo. The Pegulster.

All that can possibly be said about EJ, good and bad, has been said. Time to just sit back and see what all happens when the bullets start flying. Second worse after Kyle (Throatbeard) Orton. JMO.

Andrew Luck is quite simply the prototype especially designed by the football gods to play quarterback.

Football players are big. He is big. Check. Football players have spent years learning how to play the game. He doesn't know a football from a pineapple. X.

Brady's skills have declined IMO, but his experience and smarts are top rung. Overall clearly still one of the top QBs. And he can still execute at the same elite level on most downs/series. It's just that he can't do it as consistently, as in all the time, only most of the time, and he is more prone to having breakdowns in his execution, notably his accuracy. What the Pats did last year was mostly because of a strong running game. As soon as that was shut down, against Denver, they were pretty much done. If the Bills have a good QB (as in Manuel taking that big step up in his game) I see no reason why the Bills cannot be fully competitive in the AFC East, including against the Pats. If EJ fails to improve it will be a long frustrating year IMO. I don't buy the "he doesn't have to be very good to win" business. He absolutely needs to be good for the Bills to have a chance.

If EJ doesn't pan out I agree it may weigh heavily on Whaley's reputation. I personally doubt that Whaley is "all in" on EJ in the sense of being delusional. He understands that there is significant risk. But that is the risk that every GM takes when he drafts a 1st round QB. A first round QB not called Luck that is. And there is only one of those, every 20 years or so. When asked "how do you know if your QB is a franchise guy" he said " when you know you know". And he has recently said that he wants to see EJ take a big step forward this year. He wasn't saying that he knew EJ to be a franchise QB right now, or that he knew for certain that he was going to make that leap. Whaley is not stupid. He's hoping, as we all are. Of course in the meantime he will fully and publicly support his QB, as he should. Should EJ flatline and not show improvement, it will be interesting to see how Whaley reacts, and how long it takes for him to do so. He may be able to buy some time and improvise if the team is otherwise ready to win. He may be able to deal with the adversity in a resourceful way rather than simply succumbing to it. That could turn out to be the real measure of the man as a GM. Obviously it would be great if it never came to that. As has been pointed out, having a first round selection in 2015 does not mean that you get to pick a franchise QB. Far from it. So it's not like Whaley has foolishly passed on one.

I just about choke every time I think about the price paid for Sammy Watkins. He needs to be elite for that trade to work. We gave up a first (and 4th). However most first round picks do not turn into elite players. Most actually underperform relative to expectations. Many are busts. What are the chances of Sammy being not just good but special? IMO they are pretty good so the risk taken is a good one, or at least not a bad one. Whaley has loaded a lot of chips on the EJ square. According to conventional NFL thinking, if EJ fails Whaley is probably done in Buffalo. I am not very optimistic about EJs chances of becoming a reliable to good NFL starter, especially in the time frames needed to help Whaley and Marrone. He could wind up having a late bloomer Doug Williams type of career. For me Bud Elliot's piece on EJ that came out in Tomahawk Nation just before the 2013 draft is pretty much the truth and is confirmed by what I think I saw when he played. I don't know that his "flaws" are easily correctable though I hope they are. Whether EJ pans out or not I fully support and agree with the decision to draft him when and where they did. They had no QB. They took the guy with unquestionably the highest ceiling amongst those available. Trading down netted Kiko who will be a standout for years to come. Picking EJ was the right thing to do. It also ushered in a fresh and radical change in philosophy towards an aggressive risk taking approach. On the monopoly board of the NFL, a conservative, one might even say complacent attitude will send you directly to jail for fourteen years. You need to take some chances and you need to catch a few breaks along the way. Anyone who likes what Whaley did in the 2014 draft has to like what he did in the 2013 draft. Both drafts are products of the same philosophy. So I think Whaley is a very smart football exec who has done well, whether all his moves pan out or not. But I don't think he gets all the credit. Buddy laid some of the groundwork in reforming the scouting network and some of Whaley's senior talent evaluation guys look to me to be pretty good too. It takes time to completely overhaul a failed franchise. Doesn't happen overnight when the rot runs so deep. I agree with what was said earlier about the Steeler precedent. I think Whaley is showing his pedigree in visualizing a team that is physically dominant on both sides of the ball with very high octane potential at the skill positions on offence. Here's hoping he is able to pull it off. If he does then you will have to pay the man to keep him from migrating to a more glamorous venue. The EJ/Ben comparisons are interesting and intriguing. When Ben was a rook he adequately game managed a good Steeler team. He was competent, wasn't asked to do too much and was able to execute competently. Of course that is actually doing a lot if you're a rookie QB, but of course Ben was indeed a franchise guy who was always able to take the next step. Well see if EJ can fit that mould.

Ok yeah sure but on the other hand he was all in on Blaine Gabbert.