BackInDaDay

JW - are you taking requests? because if possible, i'd love to hear Ryan or Roman answer these.. how far a distance is there between where EJ is, and where they want him to be? and if he's kept on the active roster as our third string QB, will he get enough work to help him close the gap? thanks edit... what if i promised to fly up and sing 'unsatisfied' on the bar at dave & buster's in a EJ jersey?

its a coach's job to teach players to get better.. that means testing / challenging them in practice, in order to understand where they need improvement, and then teaching them how to improve. i don't know how well EJ, or any other player on this professional roster responds to being taught, but i do know that this is what coaches and trainers do - in every sport - at every level.

i was primarily talking about a controlled practice environment, but the fact that EJ couldn't impress the staff enough with his performance in either the scrimmage or preseason game, only confirms that he's not 'getting it'. i wanted very much for him to take control and earn the starter's job.. failing that, i wanted him to earn the backup.. but it's not what i want or you want, or what EJ wants.. it's what can he do.

remember how your HS math teacher would ask you to 'show your work' when solving test problems? i'm thinking this was to verify whether you had an awareness of how to solve the problems. it let the teacher know that you were able to recognize what steps should be taken in solving the problem before processing them correctly - or it exposed where you got lost, so you could learn to avoid the same mistake in the future. if you were coaching the Bills offense, you might work with your defensive colleagues during practice, to present your QBs with situations that should lead them to a particular response. if they didn't respond as expected, you'd be able to correct whatever mistakes they made while processing what they saw. then you'd expect to see them correct their mistakes in similar situations. from the amount of snaps EJ's been getting the last couple weeks - i have a feeling that he's repeating his mistakes at a rate that must be frustrating to Rex and Roman. unfortunately for him, this makes his beautiful 50 yard TD strike as comforting as a student who fails their test, but does correctly guess an answer or two. edit.. can one Buffalo reporter ask Rex how far a distance there is between where EJ is, and where they want him to be? because even if he's not as close as TT and MC, is he close enough that whatever work he gets as a #3 in season will be enough to help him close the gap? if he's got an upside, will they continue to nurture his development, or pass him off?

EJ can't start at this point.. i was hoping he'd respond well enough in practice to prove that he can make the right decision more often than not - allowing the coaches to keep him on as a back-up. then he could build on the success from camp. this would have been an ideal situation for Roman, Taylor and Manuel, as the two athletic guys could have brought a dimension to the O that Cassel can't. but the reality seems to be, that Manuel just hasn't performed well enough to warrant his being the back-up. i feel bad for him - like i did JP - but he's had his chances. if we were given the tape and the critique of what the staff wanted to see from him, and what they saw, we'd have a better understanding of where he failed - but that's not the coaches job. maybe better informed reporters would ask more pointed questions regarding Manuel's play to illicit an explanation - rather than posting personal observations like "EJ just threw one into the lunch truck". why did EJ throw that one away? what were you running, and what did he miss? understanding why one beautifully thrown ball in a game doesn't alter a coach's perspective isn't something that's gonna be volunteered - but if the right questions were asked, we'd all have a better idea why he's where he is.

in Rex's defense, the closest thing to Cassel that Rex had at QB was Sanchez - and they seemed to be building something until the owner got a woody over Tebow. the best part of all of this, is that Cassel may be as good or better than Orton.. so if he starts- with this O and this OC -we should win more than 9 games. just don't bet the 'over'. as a fan, who couldn't stay seated during the Kelly era, i'd prefer a dynamic offense - but doing enough's enough, when enough's enough.

if that was posted somewhere in this discussion, i agree. if you're referring to my "give him the courtesy of becoming a true #2 elsewhere" comment, then i don't think that such things are uncommon in the pros.

given the luxury of a top 5 D, strong STs, and an NFL OC who's 'been there - done that' - i'd go to war with a QB roster that includes Taylor, Manuel, and Brad Smith (ex Missouri QB is still unsigned). guess you can add me to that 'love the fact he's not the Bills GM' list

from what i understand, i don't think NFL third string QBs get enough work during the week to 'leapfrog' the backup. if you're third stringer is getting reps with the first team, i guess that's a possibility edit.. so again, if Cassel is in effect you're #3, then give him the courtesy of becoming a true #2 elsewhere. but i do think this may be moot if the staff is as disinterested in EJ as being reported

he'll be picked up in a flash.. he's a veteran QB who fits well into any run-first scheme that uses play action reads downfield. which, i guess, is why he's here.. i just think our O could be scary with TT - regardless of down and distance.. and i think Manuel could give us some of both TT's and MC's game. but i don't see what the coaches see, and it sounds like i'm wrong about EJ.

i agree.. but are you confident in Cassel's ability to make that play? because if MC isn't capable of hitting anything more than quick timing routes, all our receivers' speed becomes an 'after catch' attribute. DC's will not be threatened after witnessing our inability to take advantage of such coverage. maybe i'm selling Cassel short - no pun intended - but i don't see him having a big arm

in my unpopular scenario, i'd release Cassel out of fairness to him.. letting him latch on as a #2 elsewhere. don't be surprised if whoever our #3 is, becomes the backup on the Jets. just sayin.

like Orton, Fitzpatrick, etc.. Cassel is a fine backup in a current pro-style NFL offense, but i'll be disappointed if he's not released to explore #2 duties elsewhere. because like most the other mediocre back-up pocket passers across the NFL, it's easier for a D to keep Cassel's game in front of them. this compresses where the O can attack, and lets the D pressure both the passing and run game with less consequences. a combination of TT backed up by Manuel would allow Roman to create a dynamic offense that can stretch the field in all directions - keeping the pressure on the D. judging by popular opinion, i guess i'm the looney one.. but regardless of how good our D may be (and frankly, i'm concerned with our CBs in Ryan's D) i can't understand why a coach wouldn't want a QB who could keep the D honest. since Kelly, Bledsoe was the last QB we had with a vertical game. Losman had the arm, but couldn't move the chains. has EJ looked that bad in practice? because he looked like he improved enough to compete - certainly enough to back-up a dynamic player like Taylor, allowing Roman to keep most of his gameplan intact if TT goes down.

agree 100% on Miller.. I honestly didn't know his number, so when i watched the game this am, i had to wait until i got an endzone view of our line to see that the big man with the quick feet was our rookie. he's gonna be Roman's new Lupati. BTW - did anyone notice Kujo manhandling the LDE on one our 2nd team's TDs? i thinmk we got a 1 and 1A at RT

that's the key to any argument made for any QB candidate.. who makes us a better offense?I'm glad Rex has given his old assistant time to think about his defensive approach with Taylor as the starter. These guys may not gameplan to the degree they would in season, but they do attempt to test players' responses within certain situations.. and TT's skill set presents a particular situation. Petine's not gonna let his 1st team D be embarrassed by preparing them for the traditional pocket passer. he's gotta team to build, too - and he knows that Roman will be introducing more of the playbook. If Taylor can pass this test, he's your opening day starter.. Manuel has more potential in Roman's O than Cassel, so if he continues to make plays Thursday, I'd think the best thing Rex can do for Cassel is let him go sign with the Jets asap.. Tyrod and EJ split game 3, and Simms gets to shake the dust off in game 4.

i have to wait to watch him play - specifically, how he looked throwing the ball - but i get the impression that #1 may be Tyrod's job to lose. Taylor is the only QB in the competition that will 'steal' a defender away from coverage or pressure when our line jacks up into pass-protect mode. This will weaken a defense already spread thin by the threat of Roman's initial formations and subsequent motions. for instance.. did we run any bootlegs, and passes off bootlegs with TT in there? were we running receivers or h-backs thru the backfield? just curious if Roman tried any such misdirection with the 2nd team. i'll guarantee he'll be tweeking such plays with TT, Harvin and Clay against the Browns. we'll see how EJ fairs with the 2nd team in this game - i'd be very surprised if he didn't get time with them, because in the same vein as Taylor, Manual gives Roman more than Cassel. into predictions much? Taylor will be our #1; Manuel our #2; Simms our #3; and we get a pick for Cassel - who'll be backing up Fitzpatrick on the Jets. yep.. i didn't see this until i just posted my thoughts on what Roman's building.. and how TT fits.

it's the one you don't see comin that puts you on queer street

looks like a solid defender - the college highlight tape shows speed off the edge, and good pursuit.. and that tweet shows he has the strength to blitz inside. hell, Ryan and Thurman drafted him, or had input on drafting him, right? why is anyone surprised by this?

Nothing new here.. EJ's not a natural talent at QB. Jon Gruden jokingly summed up his throwing ability as "go get it" , when he had him in to watch gamefilm before he was drafted.. EJ could only watch his receivers climb defenders to get the ball, and agree. The good news is, we've surrounded all the QBs with a diverse set of talent. That, and a pretty solid staff will bring out his best.. whatever that looks like.

don't be so sure..

first off, thanks for the reports - especially gems like this: the assembly of this quality staff is what comforts me when i grow concerned over our QB situation.. i'm confident they'll make the best lemonade they can.

i have to believe that our current OC and WR coach will pay better attention to our receivers getting into and out of their patterns as drawn up, than their predecessors. this speaks to the comments of the NFL passing game being all about timing - which i agree with. it has to be this way because the reaction time and recovery speed of the defenders is unparalleled at lessor levels of the game. unfortunately, the only way to get an inaccurate passer to complete his throws is to widen his passing lanes - to extend the time his receiver has to adjust to where the ball's thrown. we don't have the luxury of letting teams sit back and react to our routes, because our QBs will not complete enough tight throws. Roman must get the defense to choose where and how it will weaken itself - and if he's as good as i think he is - he will lead them where he wants them, enough to allow his mediocre QBs make plays. his ability to communicate his gameplan to his QBs - and his ability to probe, attack, adjust, in game - will be the difference between making critical plays that keep scoring drives alive, and turning the ball over on downs or picks. he has a diverse set of skill players to work with, and unless the O-line is a disaster, i expect that every pass play he calls will be set up from something else. there aren't many elite QBs in the league. this is how the majority of teams must operate. if last year's staff had a clue how to manipulate a defense, we may have scored enough for 1 or 2 more wins. i'm not too worried about our QBs accuracy issues because of this.. yet.

At this point, Roman is probably more concerned with his QBs ability to recognize coverages, make the right decision where to go with the ball, and make the throw. The idea of rotating the QBs through multiple levels of talent in practice was designed to give the coaches an idea of who can best perform these tasks consistently. Frankly, he's probably disappointed that none of them has risen above the others. As far as the poor throws, go.. inaccurate passers must make a sound read on who their first and second options will be presnap, because they need a bigger a window to be successful. Inaccurate passers who are unsure where their first couple options are, will try to force the ball where they shouldn't.. often throwing to the receiver's vicinity.. away from the defenders they can see. Balls delivered high, low, and behind are symptomatic of a confused QB who lacks the accuracy to recover from his poor choices. Bringing a QB up to speed is like any other learning process - complete with tests. It appears that none of our guys are passing their tougher tests with flying colors. Even if Roman and Ryan are disappointed that none are killin it, they shouldn't be shocked. They both knew that it's imperative that they force opponents to bring defenders to the LOS by running the ball successfully. Roman's all about gaining a numbers advantage, and if he can force opposing DCs to sacrifice cover people to stop our runs, he should be able to incorporate play action pass into his gameplans, along with formations and and motion that can move a thinned out secondary out of passing lanes - to open those windows for our inconsistent QBs. Hopefully, the 'high, low and behinds' will only surface in practice when the season gets moving.

screw the draft.. news is.. contract talks with Rivers will be tabled if nothing is hammered out before Chargers 8/13 preseason opener against Cowboys - http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/1813/philip-rivers he seems more than willing to test FA next season, so if he wants a SB ring or two to help him get fitted for a gold jacket - there's no better opportunity than the 2016 Bills.