Luxy312

This in a nutshell. This is exactly why players that even play the year under the tag actually negotiate with the team to NOT allow them to be tagged again. The average NFL career is just over 3 years. That's it. With that said, I will gladly play a game for 1 year and take almost $7 million. Unless you try to live like Richie Rich, you can retire with that kind of coin.

At the end of the day, I'll just chime in and say different is better than more of the same. Sure, the team has a ton of "TBD's" in the lineup. Regardless of that, can anyone say that they would like another year of Chan Gailey and Ryan Fitzpatrick? I for one will decline that option, even understanding our unknowns. The offense and defense have both been below average for almost a decade. You really have to ask the question as to whether it could really be any worse. I'm excited to see what Spiller can do this year on offense. If Mario can have a whole season like he did in the second half last year, it will be fun.

While I don't disagree on the size point, I still believe that he has to be a judicious runner when he does choose to run. Vick and RG3 are really kind of reckless when they run because they're always looking for the homerun play. I would rather see him play like Kaepernick. Get the yards you can and then get down or get out of bounds. Don't take more contact than you need to. Manuel was a little more on the reckless side in college, so I would like to see that reeled in from a coaching perspective.

Why does this Bills team constantly do this and why do fans want to see it? Let's get a guy who's completely in between positions and make him work. The only guy that has worked out in that capacity REMOTELY for this team was Jason Peters. Even for him, he had 1 good season (contract season). He's been average at best for Phily. This is not a shot or ding on Kaufman, but there are only so many roster spots and so many repetitions to get in practice. I don't want a guy taking up a spot or reps, that in all likelihood probably do anything to improve the team. Waste of time and effort.

I didn't mean size. I meant that a lot of time when Vick runs, he's holding the ball in one hand in lieu of tucking it like a running back. If you go back and look at Florida State game tape, EJ was doing similar there. You might get away with that in college, but not in the pros.

Having a quick release and a big arm doesn't make you a great quarterback. Most would put Marino in that top-10 discussion none the less, regardless of being a bills fan. He was simply that good. Pretty much the same with Tom Brady these days. Love to hate him given how much he's beaten our team over the last dozen years, but the guy plays at the highest level year in and year out. Regardless of that discussion, I'm glad the Bills drafted Manuel. Athletically, he has the most upside of any of the quarterbacks in the draft this year.

Not afraid of his running style at all. He's a big guy like Kaepernick, who's also 6'5" and just a little lighter. As long as he can learn to tuck the ball in lieu of trying to run like Vick, he'll be fine.

Also, just for the naysayers, the opening line for the Bills in Vegas in terms of the over/under was 6 games. Post draft, it's 7.5. That is a boatload of movement. Not saying it's warranted and certainly the games need to be played before we know anything, but that tells you where the money is going.

This post completely misstates the NFL odds. The over/under for Buffalo is 7.5 right now. Weekly odds don't matter or suggest that upsets won't happen. Just stupid. http://www.examiner.com/article/nfl-over-under-win-total-projections-for-the-2013-season-detroit-lions-at-7

Great article.

One thing to add here is that the Bills couldn't really afford to waste picks. They had far too many needs on their roster to draft 2 QB's. Seattle really didn't have that problem when they came around and picked Wilson. Heck, Seattle is the current #1 power ranked team on ESPN. The Bills were near dead last on 3rd down conversions last season. They absolutely need defensive players with the potential to turn that around. Absolutely made sense to me.

You really don't need to read past this to get your answer. Why would they draft a player that would create instant controversy during the time that EJ is going to be learning the system? I'm expecting growing pains to a degree. Even a great like Peyton Manning didn't have a stellar first year. Last things we as fans need is to hear Marrone talk about how Nassib "wouldn't have made the same mistake" that EJ makes in a game. Just plain awful idea.

Great video and great first impression from this young man. He's huge!

This is a great listen for those that haven't heard it yet and it makes an absolute ton of sense. This new leadership took an approach to the draft and are taking an approach to the game that we haven't seen. They're actually doing some analytical work. I like it.

For some, it's post-draft crack...

I give it a B, but it has the potential to be an "A". All depends on how Manuel comes along. A good friend of mine had a very interesting point that nobody is really bringing up. It's easy to say that Manuel should have been a 4th or 5th round pick and that Buffalo should have taken a different QB or waited. That's nice and all that we can follow what the scouts and guys like Kiper believe, but there's also a simple reality here. Nobody took another quarterback until round 2. Most QB's didn't even come off the board until round 4. Clearly, even other teams didn't have any of the other QB's rated all that high. So the question is this. Did Buffalo take the QB that was rated by others that high before they had a chance to? Smith was supposed to be first round value and went in the second. Nassib was supposed to be the second best QB and didn't go until the fourth. Whether another team would have picked him between the first and second round picks of the Bills, we'll never know. We do obviously know however that there wasn't another quarterback rated by any other team higher than Buffalo's second round pick. That may say something positive about Manuel.

Quite simply, his baggage dictates that he didn't get drafted. What's the gamble really? Draft a potential head case and have problems right away, or just wait it out. He still gets the wakeup call (i.e. not being drafted) and now will be on a tight leash. Buffalo's front office handled this perfectly.

I wouldn't concur with this statement at all. A QB that's proven to be less accurate (Jackson) isn't suddenly equal to the guy that's more accurate (Kolb). Also, a guy that runs like he's in quicksand (Kolb) suddenly doesn't have the skill set of a natural scrambler (Jackson). That's my point. To emphasize that point, tell me that if you put Tom Brady and Michael Vick in a run-option offense that they start off equal. They clearly don't. Regardless, training camp and the preseason will prove itself to be interesting.

With the drafting of EJ Manuel, I don't see anyone asking the obvious question of which veteran quarterback should actually start for the Bills this next season. While it's very much assumed that Kolb would be the starter because he was acquired, why not Tarvaris Jackson? Can we not assume that the drafting of Manuel was because of his athleticism and ability to not only make the passes, but also make plays with his feet? If you can come to that conclusion (which I think anyone with a little logic would), isn't Jackson better suited to run any offense that Marrone comes up with to maximize EJ's capabilities? Does this not also beg the question of whether the bills simply picked up Kolb in the event that their guy wasn't there and they instead had to settle for a Nassib or Barkley? What about the possibility that if Manuel weren't there that they were really looking at a later round QB? At the end of the draft, every team in the NFL wants to say it worked out exactly as they had planned. I don't think anyone would really dispute that. However, in this case, might there be a suggestion that Kolb was the backup plan all along as well? I really like this draft from top to bottom. I can't say I have a problem with any pick or couldn't see the logic in it. However, in looking at going forward, Kolb seems to be the odd man out right out of the gates. The only way he doesn't is if you assume that Manuel is going to be groomed to be a pocket passer. I don't see that at all. I would be interested in some serious thought/input on this topic. Didn't find another thread comparable, so started this one.

This is about as much newsworthy as if I posted that I just broke wind. Does anyone seriously care?

Excellent quick interview. EJ sounds like a fairly smart kid. Really like the attitude though about the draft in that he said he would have come back had he not been drafted in the first round. Class act! Liking this pick and move more and more.

There's absolutely a way to tell if it's true. He was the first QB selected. Duh! If they wanted another quarterback, they would have drafted them instead. In terms of Nassib, it will be interesting to see where he goes. Could the Bills really shake things up in the second round by taking another one of those guys? Guess we will wait and see. I doubt it given that they already have Jackson and Kolb signed, but it would kind of be fun to see two rookies playing for the right to start.

Personally, I think Kolb will start initially. Now if their record is 1-3 or 0-4 after 4 weeks and Kolb is sucking, I think we'll see Manuel. Not out of the gates though.

Excellent point here. They got their guy and they got extra picks. What's not to like here? You can say it should have been a different QB, but we won't know that until they start making the plays. I've been happy with the Bills first round selections for the last 3 years and this makes 4. Let's see what they address in the next round. Should be fun!

I like the trade down and I applaud this pick for a number of reasons. Everyone expected Nassib. Had the Bills selected Nassib, I have no doubts that he would be the day 1 starter whether he was ready or not. Marrone would not have him sitting on the bench. Had they stayed at #8 and taken Geno Smith, he certainly would have been the immediate starter. How rarely is a top-10 pick not an immediate starter for their team, especially with QB's? To boot, there have been questions about Smith's arm strength and being a bit soft. I'm guessing that's why he wasn't picked in the first round at all. Manuel has the physical attributes needed to play. He can learn a bit from Kolb, who's trying to restart his career. I hope they both have success. Would be a nice problem to have for a change to have 2 good QB's.