Rocky Landing

If Kolb ends up starting, it will be as a stop gap until Manuel is ready. I'm optimistic, as well, about Manuel. But, I don't think he has exactly proven himself to the extent that many think he has.

This seemed like a curious acquisition of a fairly unremarkable player (on paper, at least). But, Pettine obviously knows this guy well, so I will trust his judgement. I'd be surprised if we haven't been talking to him.

Someone is going to write a list of the top 10 reasons we WON'T win the division. It won't be me, but someone will.

We should've gotten Tim Tebow when we had the chance.

You're betting on the Bills to win, or cover the spread?

Great topic. These stats are a little incomplete with knowing how much time was spent in the pocket. The point has been made that Fitz spent less time in the pocket than average, which (if true), would skew the results towards a lower hit/att ratio.

No need to get insulting. I'm aware of why Kolb missed the scrimmage, and I certainly don't fault him for it. nor do I think the coaching staff would. I just think that the door has been opened a bit for EJ to step up and he seems to be taking advantage of it.

I've been a firm believer that Kolb would, and should start the regular season. But, given his embarrassing knee injury, his general poor performance in camp, and missing the scrimmage, I'b be surprised if EJ didn't start in the preseason. Especially, considering EJ's progression during the scrimmage. I wasn't there, and only know what I read (including on here- thanks, Mrags!), but it seemed like EJ started very poorly, but then calmed down, and kept his head. I think the coaches would be very interested to see if he can overcome the general criticisms that analysts had of him, pre-draft. It seemed like he exhibited some of them early in the scrimmage, but (perhaps) worked through them.

As either a stopgap until EJ is ready, or as a veteran back-up, Kolb is a great acquisition for the Bills. But, there is absolutely no guarantee that EJ will cut it as a franchise QB. More than one pundit, pre-draft, questioned EJ's potential as a starter. One article I read posited that he was either a "late bloomer," or "not NFL caliber." This was the opinion of several analysts. I trust that Marrone, et al, saw the former when they tried him out. But, "late bloomer" may very well translate to "slow learner." We shall see.

I'm sorry, but Gailey wasn't worse than Jauron. No one was worse than Jauron.

Kind of scares me. Even if his muscle strength is back to 100%, the actual ACL needs to rebuild. I've had two replaced myself. It's a weird procedure. They thread a cadaver's ligament into where the old one was, then new ligament grows around it. It takes time. I hope they're not rushing him.

I hear what you're saying. I'm just looking forward to the day that the time for optimism extends into the middle, or even late into the season. That being said, I think we have great potential, both in our new coaching staff and our new QB. But, a rookie coach and a rookie QB also seems like a terrible combination, so I don't expect them all to gel right away. That's why I see Kolb as a stopgap until Marrone gets his legs, so to speak.

I'm sorry, I'm just going to say it: you're kind of an idiot.

It was right around this time last year that Dave Wannstedt was a defensive genius.

That made me sad.

I was thinking that the Hernandez situation should change the odds for the opener. According to all the casinos I know about that have early odds for the opener, our odds have improved 0.5 points. We went from 7.5 point to 7 point underdogs. I'll bet the odds tighten up further as the season approaches.

I live in Los Angeles (born and raised in Rochester), and work in the motion picture industry. I worked on a commercial for a body wash product that featured Tony Gonzalez from the Falcons. Holy smokes, that guy is a beast!

That's a ridiculously simplistic assessment of Kolb's career. His pattern has been that he plays well early in the season when he's healthy, and then succumbs to injury. And, considering the dismal O-line he was playing behind in Arizona, it's difficult to say if it's a chronic pattern. But, even if it is, the consensus on these boards that Kolb has no value as a starter strikes me as short-sighted. If Kolb had truly "proven that he is nothing more than a back up in this league," then Marrone is a fool for acquiring him. I get that everyone is optimistic about EJ- I am too. But, I'm not willing to ignore everything that was written about him before the draft. Most notably, I am bothered by assessments made at the end of his college career that raised questions about his mechanics, footwork, and inconsistency. Add to this the fact that we have a new coaching staff with a new system, and a very young team overall. In my opinion, we are better off with a veteran under center for the first few games at least. What's so baffling about that?

"Put faith in the coaching staff you just hired, and go with EJ Manuel?" You're making the assumption that Marrone has already decided to go with Manuel? I'm not convinced of that for a moment. The new coaching staff we just hired are also the same people that acquired Kolb. Vince didn't start right away, either. He didn't start until week four of his rookie year. Very good points here.

I just heard a story on the radio during my hour-long morning commute that the talks between the NFL and Anschutz Entertainment Group have stalled out and are at an impasse. I live in the crap-hole that is Los Angeles (born and raised in Rochester). It would feel very weird to have the Rams return to L.A., but someone confirm or correct me if I'm wrong: is it not league rules now that when teams change locations, they are no longer allowed to keep their names?

I was kind of hoping (and I think Doug Marrone would agree with me) to do a little better than 3-13. Even so, you're comparing apples to oranges. Manning, Brees, Luck, and RGIII all started in established systems. We've got a new coaching staff and a new system. Also, all four of those QBs were stellar prospects when they were drafted. This years QB class was widely reported as exceptionally weak, and Manuel wasn't even considered to be in the top three. Now, after a handful of practices without pads, people on here think he's the next Big Ben, and that "it's EJ's job to lose" without having proved ANYTHING in a real game. I don't buy it. Kolb beat the Pats in week two, last season, with one of the worst O-lines in the league. That included a rushing touchdown. I don't know about you, but I would like to win the opener against the Pats. I'm hoping that Marrone will have a game plan- I'm sure he will. But, coming up with one, and using it, will be a lot easier with a known commodity behind center instead of an unproven, project rookie.

I agree with this. But Kolb should last quite a bit longer than he did in Arizona. We have a much better O-line. I believe that Marrone is looking at winning week one- OF COURSE he is! And, in week one, with a new coaching staff, and a new system, there are too many variables as it is. Marrone knows that Kolb can go in and play with consistency and handle the pressure. He beat the Pats in week two of last season. It's a lot easier to come up with a game plan if you know how your QB is going to perform. I think that the Bills should settle in to their new system and coaching staff before throwing a project rookie on the field. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see EJ starting until week six against the Bengals or later.

This I think this is also how you learn bad habits.

Yes, really. I remember Trent coming back from a two week lay-off from a concussion and making a diving TD into the end zone. Trent didn't start his career as Captain Checkdown. He was set up to fail in Buffalo and developed some very bad habits as a result.

Even if I believed that you watched those first four games, that would be a delusional statement. Terrible idea. We didn't draft Manuel because he was a phenomenal talent. We drafted him because it was a position of need and we wanted to find someone who could develop into a franchise QB. Kolb should be a stopgap. Unless we don't care about winning games this season (and I'm pretty sure Marrone and co. does), we shouldn't push Manuel out onto the field until he is ready. Putting him out there too soon would be setting him up to fail, and possibly damaging his future potential.