CNN/SI and USA Today pieces on EJ Manuel

[chris heff]

Holy crap, that was awesome.

I never saw EJ play. All I have is stats. I realize stats don't tell the whole story. EJ finished with a high completion percentage and also won the bowl games he attended. My question is what kind inconsistently did he have?

 

You seem to know what you're talking about.

What you saw on Sunday was a microcosm of EJ's FSU career. There were games when he played lights out like he did during the two minute drill. Then there were games when he would zero in on a receiver, aim the ball, like in the beginning of the game.

 

Go to YouTube you can watch two games from last year in their entirety. FSU vs Clemson and FSU vs Florida, they represent the good and the bad. I will say this about the bad, Florida was ranked fourth at the time, FSU defense did not help. EJ had five turn overs, one int not his fault and one fumble, in the NFL would have been a personal foul penalty. That being said it was still not a good game for EJ.

Edited August 13, 2013 by chris heff

[Kelly the Dog]

Chris Brown said specifically yesterday, and the tweet above referenced "the play" that EJ called on his own. It was only one play, not the whole two minute series.

[chris heff]

 

Excellent post! Thanks for the thoughts. (That said, I think you meant paramount, not tantamount. )

I did mean paramount and I can't even blame auto correct.

 

Fixed it.

Edited August 13, 2013 by chris heff

[eball]

@buffalobills

Hackett: #Bills practiced situations w/ headset communication down. EJ called his own play in 2-min drill, kept rolling. "It was awesome"

 

Yet another in a growing list of examples of how this coaching staff is light years beyond anything the Bills have seen in well over a decade with respect to getting the team prepared.

[BillsBytheBay]

 

 

Yet another in a growing list of examples of how this coaching staff is light years beyond anything the Bills have seen in well over a decade with respect to getting the team prepared.

yea, from top to bottom they were a different team. Not so much players, but the attitude.

 

Well, and players...

[boyst]

I have to think the radio outage was not accidental. I have no doubt that a team like NE could and would use scrambling equipment. With just a few pieces from radio shack anyone could do it.

[Kelly the Dog]

I have to think the radio outage was not accidental. I have no doubt that a team like NE could and would use scrambling equipment. With just a few pieces from radio shack anyone could do it.

It was one play. Possibly not accidental, but still, one play not a series. They could easily be testing him, but, to think about it, why do that right then when the best possible scenario would be for him to do what he did and go down the field orchestrating what they wanted him to orchestrate, especially after having a subpar start.

[chris heff]

 

It was one play. Possibly not accidental, but still, one play not a series. They could easily be testing him, but, to think about it, why do that right then when the best possible scenario would be for him to do what he did and go down the field orchestrating what they wanted him to orchestrate, especially after having a subpar start.

Who knows, but why not make a difficult situation more difficult and see how he handles it? Isn't that what preseason (practice) is for?

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

 

why wouldnt the old K-Gun work again?

 

thats basically what they are doing with the fast pace and formation

 

Good point Max, I probably should have phrased that a bit better.

 

Referring to the pure, unadulterated K-Gun, it is fair to point out that people did spent a lot of time figuring out how to beat it. There's a great write up here which I think is currently buried in some threads: http://www.buffalowins.com/buffalo-bills/articles/the-k-gun-offense-beyond-no-huddle.html

 

The basic upshot is that the K-Gun did/does have weaknesses. There is a heavy imperative for a WR to be able to alter his own route depending on what he sees at the line, and requires a QB who can diagnose that. As a result, running the zone blitz can be an effective tool to stop it, since it changes what recievers think will be open coverage when they line up on the line of scrimmage.

 

The said, there has been a legacy. Sean Payton used a lot of the same concepts when building the "Gulf Coast" offense, which Marrone was the OC for. There's a great article here: http://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/2011/5/28/2195619/gulf-coast-offense-setting-trends

 

Basically, you use plenty of "role recievers" instead of one or two huge stars, stretching the field vertically, and having both a RB and TE who both need bracket coverage. Throw in the read option, and short screens to Spiller, and we might have a really special offense.

 

Note that I say *might*. EJ has shown good signs, but we're still a long way away.

 

@buffalobills

Hackett: #Bills practiced situations w/ headset communication down. EJ called his own play in 2-min drill, kept rolling. "It was awesome"

 

Nice to hear!

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Seems for some reason not many people wanted to give him a chance. How does a kid with size, speed, talent and mental make up, not have more people in his corner? I mean like banging his drum.

 

There were a handful of vocal posters here banging the drum for EJ. Most of the others were spending their time banging the drum for Geno Smith, Barkley, and Nassib.

 

I know you're probably referring to the media though and it's true. Several NFL people post-draft were still wondering why EJ's stock wasn't higher. I think it was Gruden who rhetorically asked, "Why aren't you the number one pick in the draft?" I think Gruden was incredulous about EJ's generally low position on the QB prospect list.

 

I'd heard his name before but first saw him play in the Senior Bowl. He was very impressive to say the least. The more I read and watched, the more it became obvious that he was the best QB in the draft.

 

Picking EJ was a no-brainer. Trading down was risky. Pulling off the trade down and getting EJ was a master stroke.

 

On top of the full-court press to hire Marrone and the successful recruitment of Pettine, it was clear that the Bills were not being run in the same fashion.

 

But whatever.

 

"Preseason games are meaningless."

 

@buffalobills

Hackett: #Bills practiced situations w/ headset communication down. EJ called his own play in 2-min drill, kept rolling. "It was awesome"

 

Forcing the QBs to call their own plays under duress?

 

Can you see Turk Schonert or Curtis Modkins suggesting this to their head coaches?

 

Can't you just see the blank expressions on the faces of Jauron and Gailey?

[26CornerBlitz]

Forcing the QBs to call their own plays under duress?

 

Can you see Turk Schonert or Curtis Modkins suggesting this to their head coaches?

 

Can't you just see the blank expressions on the faces of Jauron and Gailey?

 

Having the team in general and the QB particularly prepared for whatever situations may arise during the course of a game is very thorough. A number of the best coaches in football do this. It's about damn time OBD joined the party. It's a most welcome change.

[chris heff]

 

 

There were a handful of vocal posters here banging the drum for EJ. Most of the others were spending their time banging the drum for Geno Smith, Barkley, and Nassib.

 

I know you're probably referring to the media though and it's true. Several NFL people post-draft were still wondering why EJ's stock wasn't higher. I think it was Gruden who rhetorically asked, "Why aren't you the number one pick in the draft?" I think Gruden was incredulous about EJ's generally low position on the QB prospect list.

 

I'd heard his name before but first saw him play in the Senior Bowl. He was very impressive to say the least. The more I read and watched, the more it became obvious that he was the best QB in the draft.

 

Picking EJ was a no-brainer. Trading down was risky. Pulling off the trade down and getting EJ was a master stroke.

 

On top of the full-court press to hire Marrone and the successful recruitment of Pettine, it was clear that the Bills were not being run in the same fashion.

 

But whatever.

 

 

 

"Preseason games are meaningless."

 

 

 

Forcing the QBs to call their own plays under duress?

 

Can you see Turk Schonert or Curtis Modkins suggesting this to their head coaches?

 

Can't you just see the blank exp<b></b>ressions on the faces of Jauron and Gailey?

I could not agree more.

[K-9]

The CNN/SI piece is written by Doug Farrar whose work I associate with Yahoo's "Shutdown Corner" column.

 

Not sure if he's changed jobs but he's a pretty knowledgeable writer.

 

Enjoy.

 

http://nfl.si.com/20...ction=si_latest

 

On Monday, Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage said on ESPN that when he put together the rosters for the all-star event, he received alerts from several schools that Manuel was not one of the top six senior quarterbacks in the country, and he should be passed over.

 

Also Jarrett Bell of USA Today wrote a piece on EJ for Monday's edition. He confirms the reports that EJ's radio helmet went dead on the two-minute drill:

 

http://www.usatoday....manuel/2641577/

 

Then came an interesting twist on the learning curve for the Buffalo Bills rookie. The radio receiver in his helmet went dead.

 

Again.

 

It happened twice to Manuel during his one half of work, with the second instance occurring while he was in the midst of directing a confidence-building, makeup job of a 92-yard touchdown drive just before halftime of a 44-20 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

 

"He didn't mess around," Bills coach Doug Marrone told USA TODAY Sports. "He just went on and called the play."

 

Can't be. Why, I read right here in this very forum that EJ didn't go through ANY read progressions while Tuel was consistently finding his 10th, 11th, and even 12th options.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[ChasBB]

...

Picking EJ was a no-brainer. Trading down was risky. Pulling off the trade down and getting EJ was a master stroke.

...

And it was a master stroke in so many ways. Not only did they simply add a few draft picks and still get their QB in round 1 (which all by itself is great), but then they turned around and used the 2nd round pick very well, it appears, in picking up Kiko Alonso. Also, by trading with the Rams, that took Tavon Austin off the board from the division-rival Jets, who desperately needed talent at the skill positions on offense and most certainly had Austin in their plans. And, if there were any Bills fans out there who might have liked to see Austin in a Bills uniform, it seems Buffalo got a comparable, if not better player (if early results are any indication), with Marquise Goodwin in the 3rd round (from same trade with the Rams). Maybe even Chris Gragg (7th rd. pick from Rams) will develop into a contributor one day. Time may prove this to be one of the best trades in team history.

[chris heff]

I have to think the radio outage was not accidental. I have no doubt that a team like NE could and would use scrambling equipment. With just a few pieces from radio shack anyone could do it.

It was accidental, I was re watching the game and at the 9:36 point in the third Harnish makes the same gesture that EJ did.

[reddogblitz]

Forcing the QBs to call their own plays under duress?

 

Can you see Turk Schonert or Curtis Modkins suggesting this to their head coaches?

 

Can't you just see the blank expressions on the faces of Jauron and Gailey?

One Jauron era headset malfunction comes to mind that I'll never forget. We're at home against NE in the Wind Bowl. We get the football late in the half deep in NE territory with no time outs left. The radio malfunctions (against the Patsies, go figure). So Trent runs over to the sidelines to ask Mommy what play he wants him to run. Needless to say we ran out of time and didn't score.

Edited August 14, 2013 by reddogblitz

[chris heff]

 

And it was a master stroke in so many ways. Not only did they simply add a few draft picks and still get their QB in round 1 (which all by itself is great), but then they turned around and used the 2nd round pick very well, it appears, in picking up Kiko Alonso. Also, by trading with the Rams, that took Tavon Austin off the board from the division-rival Jets, who desperately needed talent at the skill positions on offense and most certainly had Austin in their plans. And, if there were any Bills fans out there who might have liked to see Austin in a Bills uniform, it seems Buffalo got a comparable, if not better player (if early results are any indication), with Marquise Goodwin in the 3rd round (from same trade with the Rams). Maybe even Chris Gragg (7th rd. pick from Rams) will develop into a contributor one day. Time may prove this to be one of the best trades in team history.

You forgot that going from 8 to 16 for EJ also changes what you pay for that first round QB.

[RuntheDamnBall]

Forcing the QBs to call their own plays under duress?

 

Can you see Turk Schonert or Curtis Modkins suggesting this to their head coaches?

 

Can't you just see the blank exp<b></b>ressions on the faces of Jauron and Gailey?

A classic example of where the team would have wasted a timeout - maybe two.

[CSBill]

And it was a master stroke in so many ways. Not only did they simply add a few draft picks and still get their QB in round 1 (which all by itself is great), but then they turned around and used the 2nd round pick very well, it appears, in picking up Kiko Alonso. Also, by trading with the Rams, that took Tavon Austin off the board from the division-rival Jets, who desperately needed talent at the skill positions on offense and most certainly had Austin in their plans. And, if there were any Bills fans out there who might have liked to see Austin in a Bills uniform, it seems Buffalo got a comparable, if not better player (if early results are any indication), with Marquise Goodwin in the 3rd round (from same trade with the Rams). Maybe even Chris Gragg (7th rd. pick from Rams) will develop into a contributor one day. Time may prove this to be one of the best trades in team history.

 

Excellent point(s) ChasBB. The kind of insight and observations that you would expect professional writers and NFL insider-types to be able to easily deduct.

 

While it's still too early to make any definite conclusions or judgments on these picks and the outcomes, so far it appears the Bills out maneuvered all opponents involved. But I've not seen one national writer or reporter do this kind of work and figure out the true winners and losers of draft day.

 

Oh well, "so far so good," lets hope it continues. Time will tell.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

I really wonder if the helmet radio receiver malfunction thing was accidental, or by design.

by which staff? The Bills or the Colts?