br1ju

In light of EJ's injury I thought about bringing up this old post in trying to figure out whether Kolb was put on season ending IR or if he is able to return in a few weeks based on the new IR rules. Perhaps not a significant thing but was just curious.

Not understanding why they didn't just cut him? What was the purpose of keeping him until next year? If EJ/Tuel is going to play all this year no sense keeping Kolb around for next year? If Kolb plays next year that would just be going backwards. I know they can't designate a player to return until later this week but is it possible that they do keep him to activate him later and use him as trade bait maybe for a desperate playoff team in need of a backup? Trying to find a rational explanation for this.

Don't know if this will work but I thought this was interesting. Noticed he started getting a little more comfortable towards the end. I remember Marrone said that Kolb and EJ had to deal with jitters in their first games. Looking forward to see how he responds against Washington. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9N_bfoYGWE&feature=youtu.be

You made a good point about his body language. More than stats I look to see how QB's respond to certain situations. Is he going through his progressions, how tall does he stand in the pocket, does he have happy feet, etc. It's an inexact science but body language can reveal an underlying disposition, does he have confidence or is he tentative? Then again I thought Losman had nice composure. Totally missed that one.

Watching him last night got me thinking one of two things. He's either really rusty or he's still shell shocked from Arizona. Consider his situation for a moment: -He's still learning a new offense along with having to adjust to new teammates. -He didn't really take many snaps with the 1st team offense this week. -He's been away from the team for nearly a week after the mat incident -This is his first NFL game since October of last year. I would like to see him one more game with a full week of practice to make a judgement on him whether or not he's damaged goods. When he get's into a rhythm he can play lights out. On the flipside he could've had his confidence siphoned out of him in Arizona. I'm a Texans fan who endured David Carr and am seeing the same tendencies. Escaping the pocket at the first sign of pressure and staring down receivers are the result of having a shaky o-line. Carr set the record for sacks at 76. Kolb had 27 in 6 games which was on par for the record last year. If Kolb's confidence is gone and he can't trust his o-line then the coaches need to pick up on that and let him go.

Fixed it for ya.

I wrote a whole spill on a different thread when someone asked the same question. Thank goodness for cut and paste. This is what I wrote: Whisenhunt absolutely had input, the question was to what degree? Graves (their GM at the time) had majority control over player personnel and at the time Arizona had run through a gamut of QB's after Warner retired and needed some stability. There was a lot of pressure to deliver because fans were getting restless. Enter Kolb who had just lost his job to Vick and was the hottest QB in the market. The need along with Kolb's demand precipitated to a deal. You have to remember the circumstances as well, due to the strike shortened off-season there was essentially no time for coaches, and GMs to really sit and discuss, look at enough game tape and do their due dilligence on Kolb. He was obtained a couple weeks prior to their first pre-season game which further put him at a disadvantage to learn a completely different system. At the end of the day Whisenhunt did want Kolb to a certain degree and felt he was their best option at that point, but the problem was that he tried fitting a square peg through a circle. As for the whole "I don't buy it" statement, you have to put yourself in his shoes. He was drafted as the heir apparent in Philadelphia and look how that played out. I don't blame him for saying that as it could also mean he's very confident in what he could accomplish in Buffalo. I'm not arguing for his position but just trying to be level headed about the QB situation. Manuel has impressed thus far with his demeanor and approach as a QB ( I really liked the fact that he spoke with Aaron Rodgers) but let's face it, until they put pads on we really don't know what we have in him.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Kolb-set-for-different-kind-of-QB-competition/a0a1ac38-6069-4014-bc92-cb3cb2cf82a5 Not much new here but was really bored waiting for the season to start. Not sure if allowed to post by the way, if not mods please delete. One thing to note on the article was when he mentioned how he was part of a team where it was clear who the coach wanted to succeed. Having watched Arizona the past few seasons I had an inkling that Kolb didn't fit with what Arizona was doing and that Skelton was more suited for what Whiz wanted to run over there. That may have explained why Skelton got the nod over Kolb as the starter last year even though it was clear Kolb was the better talent.

Whisenhunt absolutely had input, the question was to what degree? Graves (their GM at the time) had majority control over player personnel and at the time Arizona had run through a gamut of QB's after Warner retired and needed some stability. There was a lot of pressure to deliver because fans were getting restless. Enter Kolb who had just lost his job to Vick and was the hottest QB in the market. The need along with Kolb's demand precipitated to a deal. You have to remember the circumstances as well, due to the strike shortened off-season there was essentially no time for coaches, and GMs to really sit and discuss, look at enough game tape and do their due dilligence on Kolb. He was obtained a couple weeks prior to their first pre-season game which further put him at a disadvantage to learn a completely different system. At the end of the day Whisenhunt did want Kolb to a certain degree and felt he was their best option at that point, but the problem was that he tried fitting a square peg through a circle.

Actually, I wasn't referring to Cam or RG's greatness but rather their talent level at this point. Those 2 QB's are undoubtedly so talented that they can find relative success early on. I don't think that's the case with EJ. He has talent as mentioned earlier but not at the level of the aforementioned QBs. Not yet at least. However for comparisons sake, EJ's skill set is similar to the two in that they all have a good arm and all are quick elusive QB's which is why I drew the comparisons. Who knows, EJ might do better than both of them in the long run but my money says he won't put stats like those QB's did their first year. His developmental curve is more along the lines of Aaron Rodgers and as a Bills fan, one could only be excited about the future when that time comes. If they do decide to let him take his lumps I will be front row waiting to see how he responds and again, New England is a good starting point. As for Kolb, it would be hard pressed to say he never showed signs to play well in the NFL. From my understanding, his career ended in Philadelphia because Vick had a renaissance during what was suppose to be Kolb's official first year as a starter. I don't think any rookie would've been able to supplant Vick in 2010. While in Arizona, the debate was well, I already mentioned in my earlier post so no need to further elaborate. The point is Kolb is the at the very least serviceable but with the potential to be similar to Brees. If the latter is the case the Bills would have a trade asset to strengthen the team in the near future and with EJ getting at least a year to absorb the NFL it would only be beneficial.

I kept up with Arizona last year and saw how the whole QB drama unfolded. Based on pre-season performances they were pretty much even from a statistics persepective. Unfortunately, Whisenhunt was the most incompetent and indecisive coach I have ever seen and totally mishandled QB's which eventually lead to his departure. He did the same with Leinart and Kurt Warner. Anyways, Kolb and Skelton were 2 QB's with vastly different skill sets with Skelton being more suited for what Whiz was trying to do which is why Skelton was chosen. Needless to say, he got hurt in the first game only to be replaced by Kolb who led the Cardinals to 4-0.The biggest thing about Kolb in Arizona was that his skill set did not match what Whisenhunt was trying to do. It was maddening to watch Cardinals football. At one point Kolb did a no huddle play which resulted in a TD. Whisenhunt was seen screaming down the sideline to call off the play it seems before they scored. I honestly didn't think they were on the same page. He even alluded to Whisenhunt being set in his way at one point. Kurt Warner commented that Kolb has what it takes to be a starter in Arizona over Skelton. He knew how the offense worked and admitted that Kolb needed some time to learn the offense since he came in after the strike shortened season and was injured most of his first year. In retrospect, during the hurry up offense Kolb was pretty much spot on. The cardinals employed it when they were trying to play catch up and 3 things generally happened. Kolb would make a completion, get sacked or he would run away from pressure only to get sacked due to not only having a clueless coach but having the worst o-line in the NFL. From watching the games it was easy to see he enjoyed the no-huddle and was efficient at it when he wasn't eating grass. Whether it translates here it remains to be seen. EJ is athletic and talented no doubt. He is no Cam Newton or RGIII so it will take some time for him to adjust. With those guys there was more of a consensus on their abilities. Not so much with EJ. No one will know how he will respond come game time. If he starts, the Patriots would be a good litmus test.

Of course it will be a disappointment... for those who want instant gratification. Considering his talent level combined with his learning curve it would be wiser to let him sit however. He is not at Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning's, Andrew Luck or RGIII's talent level who were also more refined at their position. Don't get me wrong, kid has talent but according to scouting reports there are some tendencies, mechanics he needs to work on and putting him in right away will kill him. He will have to learn how to fix mechanics while adjusting to the speed of the game, learning the playbook and more all at the same time while trying to avoid NFL defenders breathing down his neck. Sitting at least a year to allow things to slow down, learn the playbook and adjust to the intricacies of the NFL benefited Aaron Rodgers, heck even Tom Brady.

I don't know where marrone is in his thinking with QB situation but if he truly is willing to let them battle it out I'm willing to bet Kolb will out duel tjax. I don't know enough about ej but if the majority of professional scouting reports are accurate it would behoove the bills to let him sit and learn. He has skill no doubt and I'm sure it will be on display during camp but I think it would be premature to start him and would be detrimental to his development IMO. Thanks! Didn't know about the title function. Actually didn't put much thought on the title and just put up the first thing that came to mind. Never became much of a niners fan when I lived there in the 80s myself. (I was only 8 years old at the time anyways.) Weather is perfect over there. By the way, fair weather fans live everywhere. Speaking of fans, where do Bills fan rank overall? I know they haven't made the playoffs in over ten years but this forum seem more active than other fan forums I've been in which says a lot about the dedication of fans here. I was born in ny but not familiar with buffalo.

Dig your username. Use to live in Santa Clara and was there a week and a half ago.

Thanks! Was trying to register for another Bills forum (not sure if I could post the name) but it would not let me so my search led me here. I keep tabs with 2 other teams (Texans & Cardinals) as well and have to say there's a lot of fans here. Think the Bills had a great draft and will be interesting to follow them this year. Actually like the Kolb pick up and what type of offense Marrone will install. Should be fun to watch.