Ramius

EJ had a low deep pass % because of Jimbo's offense, not his reluctance to throw deep. As for his lower completion % on deep balls, i've highlighted the reasons why in my EJ analysis thread.

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On the other hand, this new deal makes Vick much more tradeable than before. This deal doesnt mean that he's staying in Philly. Just gives them more leverage.

CB E.J. Biggers from Tampa is another up-and-comer that would be a solid acquisition to bolster our CB depth. He played quite nicely in Tampa, and could probably hold down the #2 CB spot. I doubt he'll ever develop into a shutdown corner, but as a #2, i think he could play well. And he's only 25 so he can still get better. He'll come much cheaper than the top options too.

To be fair to Buddy, thats how the past few Bills defenses have operated.

Why? Donald Jones is flat awful. He's got no business being on the roster. He brings nothing to the table that says he should be anything more than a 5th WR. Waste of a roster spot.

Maybe the US men's team should set their sights on a more appropriate level of competition, like qualifying for the 2016 special olympics.

Actually, if you claim him off waivers, you acquire his current contract. He's still on his rookie deal, so you'd be getting him for 2 years more and a total of slightly over 1 mil. Contract isn't the issue.

What makes you say that Warren Moon was an "ultra mobile" QB? Was it his career average of 8 rushing yards per game?

Someone will take a flier on him, especially with 2 more years on the contract at minimal cost. You can bring him in, and if he doesn't shape up, cut him at the end of camp.

Exactly. Its as if Stevie following the little booklet will all of a sudden make Fitz a more accurate and better QB, because thats the only thing holding him back from 300 more yards.

EJ is a very good runner. Not top tier, but very good. As I said in my long write-up, he stopped running a lot this year for unknown reasons. As for collegiate YPC averages for QBs, they can be skewed a ton, since college counts a sack as negative rushing yards for the QB.

Thats a great point, because NFL players dont put in any work during the season besides playing the game on sunday.

the only thing holding Stevie back from gaining more yards and TDs is/was Fitz.

I dont are what Astro thinks about Werner. But i am interested about where his "Werner is dumb" comment came from. I've never heard anything of the sort.

You're basing your entire argument on the faulty premise that not keeping players somehow makes them a bad draft pick, when its an entirely separate issue. You rate a draft pick on how good a player turns out to be, not on whether the team keeps him or whether he lives up to his draft position. This draft is about the worst drafts of all time, and those 2 drafts weren't even close. No one is saying they are great, but when 2 drafts get you 4 quality players (1 great, 1 very good, 2 average), that's not horrible in the least. Whitner isn't great, but he's nowhere as bad as you portray him. You're simply still angry that the Bills drafted him, and letting that anger cloud your judgement. He's a solid SS that, as someone said earlier, probably ranks in the top half of SS's in the league. As for Lynch, he's got 4 1,000 yard seasons in his 6 years in the NFL, including 1200 and 1500 yards in the past 2 seasons (to go with 23 TDs) for Seattle. He's only been getting better since we traded him.

2007 and 2006 were nowhere near the disasters that 2000 or 2005 were. In 2007, we got a pro-bowl, top 5 RB in Lynch, and an above average quality MLB in Poz. Lynch has gotten more playing time than Morris because he was a better back. Morris was nothing more than a nice situational back. In 2006 we got an above average (and pro bowl) SS, and a dominating DT. Just because Whitner never lived up to his draft spot doesn't mean he isn't a good SS. Neither draft was a home run, but looking back they were both probably close to an "average" draft. Out of your average draft of all teams, i'd bet most team get 2 (maybe 3) players that play in the league for 6-7 years or more. I think people have astronomical expectations out fo what constitutes a "good" draft. For example, most late round picks are out of the NFL after a season or 2, so i don't know why there's so much teeth gnashing over teams and the Bills cutting 6th and 7th round picks.

SJBF, EJ said this week that the QBs were going to draw straws to determine the starter. Not sure if he was kidding or not. His TD pass was one of the best passes I've seen him throw. That's what we were waiting for him to do consistently here at FSU.

It IS all about the QB. Carroll's seahawks had back-to-back 7-9 seasons prior to lucking into Russell Wilson. So he didn't exactly build this great team. Without Wilson, i doubt they're significantly better than 7-9, and most likely would have missed the playoffs again (given how crowded the NFC was for those final few spots.

So what we're looking at is that Pete Carroll lucking into a 1:1000 shot in the 3rd round is the difference between "active and aggressive" and "complete idiot." Because, that's all it was, pure and simple luck. If Pete Carroll had thought that highly of Wilson, he'd have drafted him much higher.

I'll also add 2 things to the discussion. 1) Jimbo's play calling did not allow EJ to throw the ball downfield very often. Jimbo liked the short stuff. 2) EJ drove a scooter around campus.

The inconsistency is tough to put a finger on. Many of us were hoping he'd turn the corner this season and play at an elite level. And he did, during some games. But he just couldn't carry it through. I know this may be a goofy way to explain it, but the inconsistency was really visible in a non-quantitative sense. There were some games where he simply needed to make a few plays at some key junctures in the game and simply didn't. Even in some games we won he didn't play as good as he should have and is capable of. As for the disagreements with Jimbo, they weren't anger fueled arguments. They were simply animated discussions. Jimbo tends to be a Saban-esque control freak, and can jump on players when they don't execute exactly the way he wants them to.

I saw some chatter about EJ Manuel in the Senior bowl thread, so i figured i'd give my best, non-homer analysis on him and his play, given that i've seen every collegiate game he's played. If you have any questions, i'll do my best to answer them as well. I'll let you guys look up any individual stats that you want. The Vitals: 6'4" 237 lbs. Career Starts: Career Record: 26-7 Record breakdown by year: 3-1, 2-1, 9-3, 12-2 (his 1st 2 seasons he was in relief of an injured Ponder) Record Breakdown by "tough" opponents: 1-2 vs UF, 2-1 vs Clem, 1-1 vs VT, 0-1 vs OU, 1-1 ACC Championships Bowl Record: 4-0 (wins over WVU, So. Carolina, N.D., and NIU) The Good: EJ’s got all the physical measurables you could want in a QB. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s smart, and he’s got a strong arm. He can make all of the throws required of an NFL QB. He can get the ball downfield without a problem. His short pass accuracy in phenomenal. Here at FSU he was able to distribute the ball around to numerous receivers, so he doesn’t simply lock onto one guy. When he’s at the top of his game, he’s nearly unbeatable. Look at the Clemson game from this past season. When it comes to running, EJ’s very good. He’s got the wheels to make plays with his feet and is a threat in the open field. He runs the option as good as anyone I’ve seen. Quite a few times it appears that he’s going to get tackled for no gain, and yet gets the pitch out at the perfect second, right after the D has committed to him. EJ’s an intelligent kid and by all accounts, a hard worker. The Bad: EJ tends to be maddeningly inconsistent. Rarely did he toss up a complete stinker, but he’ll play excellent one week and then make you scratch your head with his play the next week. On intermediate to deeper patterns, EJ has a tendency to float the ball to open WRs, almost as if he’s trying to put too much touch on the pass. I believe this stems from him not always properly setting his feet and stepping into his passes. This leads to a propensity to throw high passes to WRs in the intermediate range as well. He can drill a 15 yard pass to a covered WR, but then will make an open WR leap to make a catch on what should have been an easy completion. EJ also struggles with indentifying blitzers, specifically from his blindside. He needs to improve on both seeing where the blitz is coming from, and getting rid of the ball faster when it is coming. EJ does need to learn to throw the ball away sometimes, instead of trying to make too much happen with his feet, like all young running QBs tend to do. Other Info: This season, it seems that Jimbo Fisher and EJ were not always on the same page. They had their share of “disagreements” on the sidelines. Jimbo also didn’t always do EJ any favors with the play calling. There were 3-4 games where it was questionable at best. EJ also stopped running after the Clemson game. The reason was unknown, but rumors swirled that it was either Jimbo’s playcalling, or that EJ wanted to show the NFL he could throw and be a passer and not just a runner. EJ came into FSU as a biomedical engineering major. That’s how I ended up meeting him, when he visited my lab. Ultimately: EJ’s got all the physical tools needed to succeed, but really needs to improve his consistency if he’s going to be successful. At this juncture, I don’t see him as a “franchise” QB. However, he does have a lot of the dreaded p-word, potential. So with some seasoning and some good coaching, there’s a realistic chance he could develop into a good QB. Would I Draft EJ: I really want the Bills to take 2 QBs this draft, and I’d be thrilled is EJ was QB #2 drafted. I’d peg him as a solid middle round (3rd-5th) pick for someone that doesn’t need immediate QB help from him.

The pats* organization has lost 4 super bowls. Not exactly world class, considering their only wins came due to cheating.

So what should they have done to make the search "more exhaustive" Interview 10 candidates instead of 5? Also, if Brandon gets credit for the failures of Maybin, does he also get credit for Byrd, Wood, and Levitre? The 2009 draft has been one of the best drafts in a long time for Buffalo?