BRH Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 It helps that EJ comes from a winning tradition at a big-time college program, I'm sure. He's not used to losing games, and therefore expects to win. Compare and contrast the last several Bills' QBs. Fitz played at Harvard forcrissakes. Trentative got killed at Stanford and won very few games. Losman was at Tulane -- hardly big-time. And Todd Collins went to Michigan and that worked out great for us! Kidding... I agree with your point, to a point.
RevWarRifleman Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 I remember the camera shot of Manuel rallying the troops before taking the field. I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a Bills QB actually doing something like that. Amen to that! Probably have to go back to the Kelly era. EJ has that much competitive fire in him. Go Bills.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 Just win us one Super Bowl, and you'll achieve that legendary status! Heck, I would settle for playoffs CBF
eball Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 Minnie Fans with Christian Ponder may disagree right now. And Todd Collins went to Michigan and that worked out great for us! Kidding... I agree with your point, to a point. Obviously it's no guarantee, just another factor to consider. Winning breeds winning.
HankBulloughMellencamp Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 While we are having fun with of all of the positive vibrations we see with EJ thus far, a point that deserves mentioning is to note how open Stevie and Robert Woods were on their TDs. To the naked eye, EJ made the obvious read, and it's not super-impressive. But these "easy" ones are not solely the result of blown coverages. They happen due to a combination of reasons, and are often generated by the QB in all of the salesmanship that he executed before the ball left his hand. From film analysis, to the breaking of the the huddle, to his pre-snap field scan, to the direction of his eyes/shoulders/feet early in the play, to the ball finally getting airborne ... nice work, EJ. I am in a frickin 3-point stance for this Gets game, and my "up" arm is cocked way back like a sprinter out of the blocks!!!
Kelly the Dog Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 It helps that EJ comes from a winning tradition at a big-time college program, I'm sure. He's not used to losing games, and therefore expects to win. Compare and contrast the last several Bills' QBs. Fitz played at Harvard forcrissakes. Trentative got killed at Stanford and won very few games. Losman was at Tulane -- hardly big-time. There's no question EJ's time at FSU prepared him for the bright lights of the NFL, and it shows in his polish. Now he needs to keep getting comfortable with the offense and start showing off that big arm on more intermediate and deep routes. Agree with others that this is a very good point. EJ is terrific so far under pressure and his leadership and cool cat demeanor has been a revelation. To think that it came this early in his career is astounding. To others, I'm not trying to downplay EJ and what he said about being legendary. It's always been a pet peeve of mine after watching the NFL for 50 years when a quote like that is made and then the team goes down and scored and everyone goes nuts after the game acting like it was so prophetic. Players say that kind of stuff all the time and it sometimes happens and usually doesn't. It's the equivalent to someone saying "I knew that was going to happen! I just had this feeling it was going to!" Well, maybe that's true, you did have that feeling, but you also had that same feeling 1000 times earlier when it didnt come true. I'm surely not trying to throw cold water on what EJ said and what he did. Doing what he did is legendary. Leadership is one of his very best traits and he has a lot of them. We may well have finally found our guy although it is not yet a certainty. But what a start. And what a face of the franchise this guy is going to be.
YoloinOhio Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) It helps that EJ comes from a winning tradition at a big-time college program, I'm sure. He's not used to losing games, and therefore expects to win. Compare and contrast the last several Bills' QBs. Fitz played at Harvard forcrissakes. Trentative got killed at Stanford and won very few games. Losman was at Tulane -- hardly big-time. There's no question EJ's time at FSU prepared him for the bright lights of the NFL, and it shows in his polish. Now he needs to keep getting comfortable with the offense and start showing off that big arm on more intermediate and deep routes. He also came into FSU as a five star recruit, had 50 scholarshio offers, and chose FSU because it had th best looking girls He was expected to do big things there and was constantly under pressue to be big-time. He played in 4 boel games plus the Senior Bowl, won all of them, and was MVP of several. He is the type of guy that excels under pressure and the bigger the moment, the more he embraces it. At least that is how I see it. Fitz, Trent, amd Losman never played in games as big as EJ before coming to the NFL and also weren't really set up to have high expectations prior to starting for the Bills. They weren't used to it, and despite having a some good moments, ultimately couldn't fulfill that role. He was recruited by Chip Kelly when Kelly was at Oregon, and the Eagles wanted to draft him according to several sources, to run that offense. I also love this from his Seminole bio: 2008: Redshirt season...earned scout team MVP honors for the offense. Edited September 18, 2013 by YoloInTheBlo
Tcali Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 "Lets go be legendary"??????........OK OK I'm not his english professor.
Dante Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 this guy is so polished it is ridiculous This is what sticks out to me as well. I had the same thoughts about Russel Wilson last season when I first watched him. Poised beyond his years.
atlbillsfan1975 Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 Obviously it's no guarantee, just another factor to consider. Winning breeds winning. I hear ya and think you are exactly correct. You can tell EJ has the 'it' factor. The presence and commands respect. Lets hope his development is quick and successful because i think sky is the limit for him and then the team.
OCinBuffalo Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 Would love to hear Maddock and Kiper weigh in on this Sure, but, I'd much rather hear what Todd "EJ has slow eyes" and "Wasted Pick" McShay has to say about it. See, the "wasted pick" thing is what gets me. You don't say that if you have done your own work on EJ. You say only say that if you've been getting your info from the teams, and the teams have disinformed you.
DC Greg Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 You don't think Ryan Fitzpatrick went into the huddle in similar situations the last couple years and told the offense in the huddle, "lets be legendary and go right down the field no win this game" or "we are going right down the field and scoring and we're gonna win this game?" The sad thing is, everyone probably believed it or him. He even did it once or twice in 2011. If I was in the huddle and Ryan Fitzpatrick told me "Let's go be legendary" I probably would have laughed in his rediculous bearded face. The guy never inspired the team, as evidenced by our blowout losses last year, constant turnovers when he had the ball with a chance to win the game, and general lack of ability to make game changing plays. Certainly never inspired me as a fan. Seemed like a cool person, but not the born competitor we needed to take us where we need to go. I guess we don't know 100% that EJ's going to be 'legendary', but he's certainly done enough for me thus far at least to happily forget everything about the complacent loser leadership duo that was fitz-gailey.
No Cease Fires Posted September 18, 2013 Posted September 18, 2013 If I was in the huddle and Ryan Fitzpatrick told me "Let's go be legendary" I probably would have laughed in his rediculous bearded face. The guy never inspired the team, as evidenced by our blowout losses last year, constant turnovers when he had the ball with a chance to win the game, and general lack of ability to make game changing plays. Certainly never inspired me as a fan. Seemed like a cool person, but not the born competitor we needed to take us where we need to go. I guess we don't know 100% that EJ's going to be 'legendary', but he's certainly done enough for me thus far at least to happily forget everything about the complacent loser leadership duo that was fitz-gailey. How quickly we all forget the back-to-back comeback wins against Oakland and New England, where both times Fitz marched us down the field in the waning minutes to victory. I get what everyone says about EJ having the poise and "It factor" but I guarantee some of the same posters were saying the same things about Fitz two years ago. Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm seeing from EJ. But I also know that I've had this feeling before and been wrong.
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 It helps that EJ comes from a winning tradition at a big-time college program, I'm sure. He's not used to losing games, and therefore expects to win. Compare and contrast the last several Bills' QBs. Fitz played at Harvard forcrissakes. Trentative got killed at Stanford and won very few games. Losman was at Tulane -- hardly big-time. There's no question EJ's time at FSU prepared him for the bright lights of the NFL, and it shows in his polish. Now he needs to keep getting comfortable with the offense and start showing off that big arm on more intermediate and deep routes. I sure hope Jeff Tuel doesn't read this.
ajzepp Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 It's the equivalent to someone saying "I knew that was going to happen! I just had this feeling it was going to!" Well, maybe that's true, you did have that feeling, but you also had that same feeling 1000 times earlier when it didnt come true. In those terms, I can certainly understand why you feel that way...this is a form of confirmation bias and I find it pretty annoying when people talk like they "just knew it was goign to happen", as well. I didn't see the EJ thing in the same light, so that's probably why I couldn't relate to what you were saying. But if that's what you equated it to, then yeah, it makes perfect sense.
KOKBILLS Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 Would love to hear Maddock and Kiper weigh in on this Mayock was pretty clear that he liked EJ's upside a lot going into the Draft...He had EJ the #2 QB WAY before anybody elevated him, and was pretty positive about the pick when the Bills shocked everyone and took him at #16... Now Kiper and McShay? That's another story...I think they both had EJ the #6 QB in their positional rankings...
ajzepp Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 Mayock was pretty clear that he liked EJ's upside a lot going into the Draft...He had EJ the #2 QB WAY before anybody elevated him, and was pretty positive about the pick when the Bills shocked everyone and took him at #16... Now Kiper and McShay? That's another story...I think they both had EJ the #6 QB in their positional rankings... This is why I consider Mayock the most credible analyst out there...he fully admitted that he had EJ ranked much lower mainly because he had only seen tape from some of his weakest games. But when he went back and took more time to evaluate him, he moved him up to his #2 prospect behind Geno. And as you said, he did this before the draft took place and it went against what nearly EVERY other draftnik was saying. I remember this very well because I was NOT wanting the Bills to draft EJ....a buddy of mine at work is a huge FSU guy and he mentioned some things that were red flags to me. I have little tolerance for the Kiper/McShay schtick anymore...if Mayock is on the screen, that's who I'm watching.
RuntheDamnBall Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 "Lets go be legendary"??????........OK OK I'm not his english professor. "Let us go make legends, young squires!" *Teammates beat him mercilessly with 12-sided die*
DC Greg Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 How quickly we all forget the back-to-back comeback wins against Oakland and New England, where both times Fitz marched us down the field in the waning minutes to victory. I get what everyone says about EJ having the poise and "It factor" but I guarantee some of the same posters were saying the same things about Fitz two years ago. Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm seeing from EJ. But I also know that I've had this feeling before and been wrong. I hear ya. Fitz had a very short period where he was capable and when Chan's offense still had enough tricks in the bag to keep 'em guessing. Watching the Oakland and Pats game, the thing that was most evident was that he wasn't scared to STEP UP and STEP IN to his throws. That gave him the ability to deliver it, although still pretty slowly, deep and over the middle of the field. After the hit he took from Fletch the very next week he was never the same. If you payed attention, he did this little half step forward/side step thing when he threw and didn't step up in the pocket. When you already have a weak arm, you can't deliver NFL caliber balls like that. At the very least, I don't think we have to worry about that with EJ. He could throw it 60 yards flat footed.
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