Rocky Landing

I utterly reject this notion that I have to be classified as a supporter, or detractor. Your own feelings notwithstanding, it is possible to be objective regarding EJ Manual. That means: acknowledging his potential, the improvements he has made, and his positive attributes, as well as his limitations, and the likelihood that he may overcome those limitations. I am skeptical that he will ultimately rise above the level of backup. But, I acknowledge, and hope that he might. He certainly has the work ethic, and character. And, if he wins this competition, and takes us deep into a playoff run, I will have no apologies to make. It is only black and white for those that have cemented their opinions.

During the Gailey years.

This isn't even close. When Vick took over for Geno against the Chargers, and later admitted that he wasn't prepared, he ended his career, in my opinion.

Or Dixon is gone.

Oops. Sorry. It was pretty far down the page. didn't see it. I feel shame.

I'm guessing it gets reduced to two games.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Bills-sign-DT-Andre-Fluellen/41a22bb0-bfb4-4083-abea-027cdb691a3d Is it me, or does this guy seem kind of... mediocre? And, a DT? Is there any part of our D-line that is anything but deep? Why did we just hire this guy? Is he a run-stuffer? This has gotten me thinking about where some of our talent is going to land on the defense. Seems to me like there is an uncanny amount of versatility on our D. Any thoughts on this?

I guess I don't share your opinion, but I accept it as utterly plausible. Actually, gloom and doom notwithstanding, I see things to be hopeful about with all of our QBs, EJ-- has certain progressed, has built rapport with WRs, improved reads, etc. The accuracy issue would be the biggest concern, imo, but we have seen him make some nice throws. He could very well be leading this competition. Taylor-- clearly fast, and athletic. His accuracy was in question at the beginning of his tenure as a Bill, but some of the reports out of OTAs have allayed those fears. Rex has gushed about his accuracy, and long ball. Cassel-- I have never thought that his two exceptional seasons, one with the Pats*, and one with KC, were flukes. I think he has the ability to excel in the right circumstances, those being adequate protection, and a decent run game. If he wins the competition, we could very well provide him with that.

agree.

I have never thought that they "want Cassel to start." I think it's pretty clear what his role is. But, in terms of mobility, Taylor certainly has EJ beat. Why should we assume that Taylor would have to "significantly" beat him? (By that, I assume you mean that Taylor would have to beat him by a significant margin.) Other than being three inches taller, what gives anybody the impression that EJ has an immediate advantage? Especially given Roman's desire for a mobile QB? And, regarding mobility, we shouldn't forget that EJ has suffered three knee injuries. I'm sure Roman hasn't. I also look at Ryan's history. Last offseason in Jersey, they had declared that Geno and Vick were competing for the spot, but it was obvious to everyone-- players, and media-- that Geno was favored. That is not the case here. If EJ is favored, no one is saying it (apart from the EJ enthusiasts, of course).

"Underperformed," is a comparative adjective, whereas "horrible" is particular. As was reported by Carucci, all three had "moments that ranged from mediocre to awful." And this is exactly what I mean by abandoning objectivity. You're more than willing to jump on Cassel's poor play as somehow being evidence that EJ has been "penciled in," yet you willfully ignore EJ's own poor play. And then (maybe not you, but others) will accuse me of being an "EJ detractor," or some such nonsense. It simply isn't true. I would be thrilled with EJ turning into a successful QB, Period. To be objective, one has to drop their preconceived notions. Obviously, Cassel was brought in to be the veteran presence-- it has been stated as such. I suspect (and this was also stated as such) that this was done with the idea of him being either the starter, or backup, dependent on his performance in TC. I also suspect that this makes him the only safe QB to make the roster (unless he truly melts down in practice, a la K. Kolb). I don't think Ryan, or anyone else, is particularly thrilled with any of our four QBs. I consider these to be objective observations because, at this point in the offseason, I am only going off of media reporting (the article headlining this thread notwithstanding), and statements by coaches, and players. And, out of curiosity, where does Taylor fit into your preconceived notions?

Personel are listed as they are on the current roster per BuffaloBills.com: QB (3) M. Cassel, EJ Manuel, T. Taylor (maybe not in that order) C (1) Eric Wood G (4) R. Incognito, J. Miller, K. Urbik, C. Richardson T (4) C. Glenn, S. Henderson, C. Kouandjio, T. Chandler RB (4) L.McCoy, F. Jackson, K. Williams, A. Dixon FB (1) J. Felton TE (3) C. Clay, M. Gray, N. O’Leary W (6) S. Watkins, P. Harvin, R. Woods, C. Hogan, M. Easley, D. Lewis DE (5) M. Williams, J. Hughs, J. Wynn, M. Lawson, M. Buchanon DT (4) K. Williams, M. Darius, A. Carrington, S. Charles LB (5) N. Bradham, P Brown, R.Johnson, Ty Powell, T. Steward CB (5) S. Gilmore, L. McKelvin, N. Robey, R. Darby, R. Brooks S (4) A. Williams, C. Graham, D. Williams, B. Rambo LS (1) G. Sanborne K/P (3) D. Carpenter, C. Schmidt, J. Gay

I envy you. I have a hard time keeping my head above pessimism.

There has been one OTA in which Cassel underperformed EJ, and Taylor was not playing with the first team on that day. Every reasonably objective article leading up to that day had speculated that Cassel would be the most likely starter. Every reasonably objective article since then has speculated that his poor OTA could draw that into question. That's a far cry from EJ being "penciled in." That's only an easy assumption for the EJ supporters who have made a habit of abandoning their objectivity, and only acknowledging those things that support their pro-EJ perspective. Not hating. Not mad. Not in a bad mood. Just being realistic.

Considered by whom? The bozo who wrote this article? Or is there another source I'm not aware of? Do you have any link, or quote, that should lead us to believe he is "penciled in," or is this just your assumption?

Interesting that this thread is just a few spaces away from one about what a dick he is... Must be June.

Not sure if this was brought up earlier in this thread (if so, I apologize), but one of the first things that Shady did when he landed in Buffalo was install his charitable organization in the region, and hold a charity softball game. That cad.

Learned that lesson. I can understand why they don't have a comments section.

Notwithstanding your gloomy perspective, Gus: As the offensive scheme progresses, the QBs build rapport with their skill players, the O-line coalesces, the final roster evolves, and the QB who stands out above the others gets more reps with the first team in the offense that Roman is currently working to install, then yes, we can assume that whoever our starter ends up being will improve. Or, at the very least, we can hope. And, it's not such a far stretch.

Ndamukong Suh sacks Brady, and intentionally steps on his throat after the whistle, ending both players' careers. (The thread title didn't say it had to be a Bills player prediction...)

You're right, Gus, QBs only get worse as training camp progresses-- especially in a new system,

Thank you. This sort of "reporting" makes my blood boil. It's one thing to have an agenda based article, and media bias is a fact of life. Cherry picking data to support an author's claim is all too common. But, to intentionally misrepresent data the way Conley does, is to print a lie. And, to intentionally misrepresent another reporter's statement to further one's agenda? Unbelievable.

I'm not at all familiar with the author of this article, Trevor Conley, but I hope he's reading this. Grammar, and spelling errors aside (and there are plenty), this rubbish really shouldn't be considered journalism. This crappy article isn't just void of objectivity, it is intentionally misleading. A quote from the article: "Manule has gained 8-10 pounds in the offseason, with the goal of remaining healthy while taking an NFL beating. Manuel will just have to keep up the same work, because Cassel and Taylor had "moments that ranged from mediocre to awful."" That last underlined phrase is in quotation marks because it is a direct quote from an nbcsports.com article by Mike Florio quoting Vic Carucci with a link. Conley assumes that most readers won't bother following the link, and discover how badly, and dishonestly he is taking it out of context. The full quote reads: "As Carucci explains it, Manuel, Cassel, and Taylor looked unspectacular during the first week of OTAs, and they all had “moments that ranged from mediocre to awful.”" To remove EJ's name from that quote does more than a disservice to the Buffalo Sun Times' readers. It misrepresents Vic Carucci, and Mike Florio-- two actual journalists with whom Trevor Conley would pretend to be colleagues.

I still haven't seen any link to where any Bills Coach, or any reporter covering the team has said, "These quarterbacks look bad..." There have been problems that have been reported-- Cassel had a poor second half of practice, EJ overthrew someone, etc. But, nothing to the degree that we saw with Garrapolo the other day. But, more to the point, we haven't seen anything that is even remotely surprising. There haven't been any meltdowns, everyone is, more or less, who we thought they were, and everyone is still working hard to improve. (If anything, Tyrod has been a pleasant surprise.) The question should be. "how will they improve between now, and Sept, and who will be most improved?" "Who will be the best fit?" This constant hand-wringing over how "bad" our quarterbacks are is neither enlightening, nor relevant.

You mean game 17, right?