BillsVet

And if he continues to play it won't be the last time. 4 games in they look like a defeated team and are trending in the wrong direction.

Amen CT. They've shown they can't be trusted to build a team. I don't see that changing. Perhaps it's games like this they cement the need to change the organization so fundamentally.

I think the players know they will struggle to win with EJ. No one seems fired up because theyre working at a disadvantage. At the same time I just don't understand throwing 44 times if I'm Hackett or Marrone (whoever called plays) and not trying to win with the run game. Perhaps I'm missing something, but if they've tried to minimize EJ's weaknesses, running more than 23 times seems like a better option.

Only when the guy has no one around him and is standing still.

Especially considering how poor Houston's been defending the run this season.

And Buddy was responsible for switching the defense from a 4-3 coming off 2009 to a 3-4 in 2010, then back to a 4-3 in 2012. In many ways the defense was a self-inflicted thing, despite the fact they drafted heavily on that side of the ball from 2010-2012. Nix also signed off on the DC hires, especially Wannstedt, who he had to have known would want to go back to a 4-3. There were so many errors made during the Nix/Whaley years it's not even funny. And people wonder how the team managed to win 22 games in 4 years.

I'd agree. Over the 14 year playoff drought, I'd say there have been 3 eras (after Butler in 2000): Donahoe (2001-05), Levy/Brandon (2006-09), and Nix/Whaley (2010-present). If they get 1 QB in that timeframe this drought doesn't happen.

But Williams took a nice picture outside with Marrone during that big snow storm. Don't you remember?

The wind also discriminated unfairly against the Bills. It seemed like Rivers never had to throw into it and Manuel had to every time.

I'm most interested in how the Bills run the ball to set up the pass. Without the former it'll be increasingly difficult to do the latter. EJ needs to keep the defense on their toes with some passes down-field. Defensively, I think Buffalo can handle Fitz and Houston's offense. But the Bills can't just hope to Jauron ball and expect to win with defense and a weak offensive performance. Besides, you don't draft Watkins and have the remaining skill players to do that.

Richardson is completely unproven, so they're rolling the dice on a 5th round rookie. Not what I'd call a plan. And Williams has a history of back problems, which typically never completely heal when you play such a physical game. He got a nice contract not long ago. He seemed a lot better when it was Levitre playing to his left. But they couldn't pay Levitre and have tried to replace him with the likes of Colin Brown, Doug Legursky, and now Chris Williams. I'd rather have let Wood go, not re-signed Urbik or signed Williams and kept Levitre. It's the Bills' MO to choose more lower tier players who cost less than proven types who'll cost more. Hopefully Pegula can clear house of the dead weight remaining from the RW years.

Post-Donahoe, this is the common denominator. Whether via the draft, free agency, or trades, it's been miss after miss. And it's not simply choosing the wrong QB, it's how they planned for the position. This latest example of trying to go with the likes of Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel as opposed to a veteran is another theme. It's obvious the Bills are deathly afraid of having a QB controversy and prefer to go with unheralded types to avoid the situation. Inevitably someone will ask here what they should have done and predictably respond with a "hindsight is 20/20" response. But the fact remains they're back in an unenviable position trying to win games with a guy who's not ready to play.

Miami was 2 weeks ago. What value is there to highlighting the good if you're not going to discuss the bad? And isn't it reasonable to say that metrics can help provide a view to whether or not the QB can play? Throw in the All-22 analysis which is a better visual, and you've got evidence something's wrong with the QB despite having offensive skill players said to be better than they've had.

If, on draft day 2013, I told you the Bills first round QB would never be more than a game manager, would you be satisfied with the selection? And more importantly, if fans can see that EJ's inaccuracy is so obvious, then why couldn't the current front office see that and pass? Or were they backed into a corner because the GM responsible for refusing to draft a QB in 2011-12 meant they had to take one? When I think about the QB's Buffalo's since 2006; Losman, Edwards, Fitzpatrick, and Manuel, it tells me they have no idea how to evaluate QB talent. At this point they need to get lucky because they don't seem to know how to find one. Whiffing on 2 1st rounders, a 3rd, and handing a big contract to Fitz point that way. Going 7 of 21 for 49 yards on passes not to RB's is good enough? Perhaps if this is the NFL in the 1930s. The 2-1 record is misleading. Do you honestly believe future opponents don't know how to handle a Bills offense with EJ? And how does that bode for their future?

The season is a grind, but if you have a combination of a) not having the players and b) poor schemes you're going to be exposed sooner or later. Fitz had a huge hole in his game (the lack of a sufficient arm). EJ's is being wildly inaccurate (so far). Trent Edwards was accurate, but wouldn't throw deep either. Losman was similar to EJ, but could at least drop in a long pass now and then to a receiver in motion. Sooner or later it depends on how you adapt to what opposing DC's are doing. The mark of a good front office-coaching staff is to find the players to do that and then put them into positions. I'm very interested to see what Marrone/Little Nate/and the Schwartz come up with after getting rolled last week. Winning in week 1 and 2 is a lot easier than weeks 11 or 12. But I will agree, the Bills retained some players that previous years would have seen them let go to ensure the Wilson family banked a little more.

So far in his NFL career, after about 400 pass attempts EJ's completing slightly less than 60% of his throws. Some may say this is acceptable given his lack of playing time, but considering his 6.6 average yards per attempt on (which in 2013 puts him in the 27-29 range of QB's) it's not really something to highlight. This year, he's averaging a little over 7 yards per pass and completing 63%, which are improvements. What should be concerning is the performance on Sunday where at one point in the 4th quarter he was 17-27 (63%) for 163 yards (6.04ypa). That's not going to win games even with a stellar defense in today's passing dominated league. Stats can be skewed to support or oppose a position. The question to ask oneself is whether EJ trends back up or continues to slide as he did this past week.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto-arcade/wondering-what-happened-to-sammy-watkins--ej-manuel-happened--that-s-what-155456544.html This writer (and his name isn't Rodak, Graham, or Sullivan) disagrees. Manuel was plain dreadful throwing the simplest routes a QB is asked to throw in the NFL.

Question is, can Marrone and Whaley wait 3 seasons? They might only get 2 if Manuel can't cut it, which is still one more than Mularkey received in Jacksonville and Chudzinski in Cleveland.

Hard to run the ball when you're facing 8 in the box with a QB who won't attempt and/or can't complete intermediate to deep passes. In 2011, Buffalo started 5-2 and hosted NYJ in Week 9. The Jets knew Buffalo's offense was built on Fitzpatrick making quick short throws, so they jammed their receivers at the LOS and disrupted that timing. The Bills went 1-8 the rest of the way (including that game) on the way to a 6-10 season. We're already seeing a similar pattern this year. The blueprint for beating Buffalo was written on Sunday so long as Manuel refuses to attempt (and complete) intermediate or longer passes. Because he can't hurt you that way, teams are going to continue selling out to stop the run knowing he's incapable of making them pay through the air. EJ is the key. The OL was bad, but the majority of the blame should be placed on the tentative QB, who it seems the team is losing faith in quickly.

Oh yeah. And I wouldn't be surprised if every team does it considering the troubles Buffalo had. The San Diego loss cannot be analyzed as a one-off with a fresh start next week. There's much more tape on Manuel that Buffalo needs to adapt and I'm not sure they can do that with Manuel running the offense.

Yes. And reportedly that's why Marrone didn't start him in some pre-season games as I recall. But with 3 games complete, I think we're seeing why Woods had that attitude with Manuel. The guy makes their lives incredibly difficult and they're bailing him out more often than not. EJ needs to get some accuracy or else those guys are going to be more public in their demand for a change.

So many players undergo off-season surgery and to say that because Gilmore did and it affected his conditioning to this degree is a cop out. He's got 2 years under his belt playing in the NFL with, one would think, NFL staff who can advise and guide him in conditioning and returning from injuries. The pick is trending toward bust status early in his third pro season.

They don't have a long term with the Buffalo Bills if they don't make the playoffs in 2014. It's why they traded their 2015 first round pick, in hopes of accelerating EJ's development. If (and it's an if at this point) things get bad, i.e. being 2-3 after week 5, the EJ experiment at least needs to be reviewed. Regardless, the way to beat the Buffalo Bills was on display for the league to see yesterday.

High level executives don't go down on principle. And in this case, the principle is Manuel, who is undoubtedly their pick. They'll cut their losses and go with Orton if they see the season going down the tubes. Besides, which GM and HC would trot EJ out to keep up appearances if the team feels someone else gives them a better change to win?

I buy insurance that I hope like heck I don't have to use. But if I have to, it'll be there. This isn't about EJ's state of mind, because there's 52 other players banking on him to play well so they can win. The body language shown by Mike Williams and Sammy at the end should scream from the mountain tops they're not happy with the way things are going.