Measuring EJ's progress

[seq004]

The problem that plagues EJ in the NFL is the same problem he had in college inconsistent throws. He'll make some good ones, then make some bad. The next two games will be a huge measuring stick on Manual and drafting a QB again in 2014 IMO.

[John from Riverside]

What I would like a better understanding of is a trend of EJ picking up his play when his back is against the wall......we have seen him struggle then elevate when the game is on the line.....why does it take this stimuli in order to bring that out of him.

 

To me that means

 

- The ability IS there

- He needs to be coached to be more consistant

 

I would much rather have a qb that picks his game up when the heat is up then one that is prone to the mistake when the heat is up...

 

Just my opinion

[BADOLBILZ]

It doesn't matter if we think Manuel needs competition or whatever, the Bills are very unlikely to be able to draft a top QB now. And whatever FA veteran QB they might bring in will be trash that's not competition. They may just keep Thad and Tuel.

 

Can only hope that EJ improves next year... after 2 seasons, the excuses are done, though.

 

I hope you are wrong. Whaley and Marrone should know better than to repeat the sham of a QB competition they did this past year.

 

I think an outright competition with another high pedigree QB prospect would be good for EJ.

 

Competition is uncomfortable but brings out the survival instinct and gives you a greater focus.

 

I want EJ mastering his craft by trying to outperform a peer rather than battling against his own mental hurdles.

 

And yeah.....starting out every game like hot garbage is a mental block he has been fighting since his days at FSU.

 

But I also don't want this to be a competition against some tired veteran like Ryan Fitzpatrick or Josh McCown.........those guys would beat EJ out and then you are just treading water as an organization with a short term, low ceiling QB as starter.

[dave mcbride]

Well.....I do try to be in touch with my feminine side the chicks do tend to dig it......although I dont know what "demand" you are referring to........just that your opinion doesnt mean more then the poster you are trying to project yourself as "I know more then you" which i total BS

 

People defend Stevie because he is a bill.....thats what fans of a team sometimes do. The problem is that Stevie is playing with a rookie QB who need him to be where he is supposed to be on a route and Stevie "free lances" too much then he pout when he doent get the ball....that doesnt take into account his drops......it is interesting that EJ plays better with his rookie targets then he does with the veteran guys and that situation is probably going to play itself out with Stevie gone......factoring in the on the field issues AND his salary.

 

But.....as I said before....you dont know anything definite it i just your opinion....which you are welcome to.....just dont go around acting like your opinion is any more valid then the one who has posts of all sunshine and flowers....he isnt wrong either.

 

I disagree with Badol a lot (i.e., Reggie White v. Bruce Smith, although I think that's resolved), but truth be told, some opinions are definitely more valid than others. That's what makes some message board better than others -- better opinions. Opinions are not created equal, and Badol's are strong.

Edited December 16, 2013 by dave mcbride

[BADOLBILZ]

And were on a 2 game winning streak

 

 

 

So in order for it to be considered progress it has to be against one of the top teams? You can only play the opponent in front of you. How about because it was on the road and it happened even though the defense was giving up big plays.....

 

Lets keep in mind that this team has not been good on the road this year.....so yes any road win (even againt the jags) should be considered progress no matter how slight it is.

 

3 game winning streak......Houston, Cleveland and Houston. And with key players that were not available on Sunday.

 

Yeah, I want to see a dominant performance against the second or third worst team in the NFL.

 

Truthfully though, we have seen a lot of good performances late in the season by the Bills against much better teams. In none of those cases did it represent progress.

 

How about the Gailey Bills destroying the playoff-bound Tebow-lead Broncos at home? Or beating Shanahan in his last game in Denver and knocking him out of playoff contention under Jauron? In the end, when the season is over the result of the game becomes less important than the individual analysis. Two bad teams playing sloppy, penalty ridden football should hardly inspire either side.

[John from Riverside]

I disagree with Badol a lot (i.e., Reggie White v. Bruce Smith, although I think that's resolved), but truth be told, some opinions are definitely more valid than others. That's what makes some message board better than others -- better opinions. Opinions are not created equal, and Badol's are strong.

 

Yes they are.....and when people talk down in a condesending tone to another poster like they know more I feel it degrades the quality of the post.

[dave mcbride]

I am a lifelong Miami Hurricanes fan and they have long been underachievers.......even during their championship years.......and today had the feeling of when they come out and beat Florida A&M on the road by 10 points after losing at home to Virginia or something.

 

They should have played much better against such an undermanned opponent.

 

The Bills played bad enough to lose this game badly to a good team. The Jaguars were the sisters of the poor today.......but they played hard and pushed the Bills to the brink.

 

I took the opposite message that you did from the game. My take: good RBs are a dime a dozen. The Jags' RB was terrific today. The difference was Henne, who missed a bunch of passes that other QBs don't miss. That INT to Gilmore was lazy and inexcusable. I suspected that the Bills would drop 8 (which they did), and he just tossed a lame heave. It had nothing to do with men being down. It was bad qb play, plain and simple.

 

Yes they are.....and when people talk down in a condesending tone to another poster like they know more I feel it degrades the quality of the post.

Yep, and I try and look past that. The info is always good, but I realize why some people get ticked off.

Edited December 16, 2013 by dave mcbride

[John from Riverside]

3 game winning streak......Houston, Cleveland and Houston. And with key players that were not available on Sunday.

 

Yeah, I want to see a dominant performance against the second or third worst team in the NFL.

 

Truthfully though, we have seen a lot of good performances late in the season by the Bills against much better teams. In none of those cases did it represent progress.

 

How about the Gailey Bills destroying the playoff-bound Tebow-lead Broncos at home? Or beating Shanahan in his last game in Denver and knocking him out of playoff contention under Jauron? In the end, when the season is over the result of the game becomes less important than the individual analysis. Two bad teams playing sloppy, penalty ridden football should hardly inspire either side.

 

Are we talking about the team now or the QB?

 

The team has had a hard schedule...too many teams coming off byes......have beaten teams that are going to be in the playoffs and hung tough with others.....are either league leaders or near the league leaders in interceptions and sacks........and lets face it....the qb situation was a mess.......I truly believe they were gonna start the season off with Kolb and let EJ sit for a bit.......

 

And its a young team.....with brand new coaches

[C.Biscuit97]

Drew Brees is 3-4 on the road. It's a different animal than playing at home.

 

Trash the W all you want but seeing EJ & the players smile was good to see.

[dave mcbride]

3 game winning streak......Houston, Cleveland and Houston. And with key players that were not available on Sunday.

 

Yeah, I want to see a dominant performance against the second or third worst team in the NFL.

 

Truthfully though, we have seen a lot of good performances late in the season by the Bills against much better teams. In none of those cases did it represent progress.

 

How about the Gailey Bills destroying the playoff-bound Tebow-lead Broncos at home? Or beating Shanahan in his last game in Denver and knocking him out of playoff contention under Jauron? In the end, when the season is over the result of the game becomes less important than the individual analysis. Two bad teams playing sloppy, penalty ridden football should hardly inspire either side.

Miami: next week. Let's see what he does.

[John from Riverside]

Drew Brees is 3-4 on the road. It's a different animal than playing at home.

 

Trash the W all you want but seeing EJ & the players smile was good to see.

 

Baby steps....we won on the road

[BillsBytheBay]

 

 

Because he gets open with great regularity

I'd heard this a lot. I don't have that all 22 to watch the whole field, but today..... Well, TJ and Chandler can both get open. A ton. They just don't get the ball. When they do, its late or poorly thrown. TJ may be somtjing special. Never thought I would say that, but man. He gets OPEN.

[Rubes]

Drew Brees is 3-4 on the road. It's a different animal than playing at home.

 

Trash the W all you want but seeing EJ & the players smile was good to see.

 

I'm with you on that.

[DC Tom]

What I would like a better understanding of is a trend of EJ picking up his play when his back is against the wall......we have seen him struggle then elevate when the game is on the line.....why does it take this stimuli in order to bring that out of him.

 

To me that means

 

- The ability IS there

- He needs to be coached to be more consistant

 

I would much rather have a qb that picks his game up when the heat is up then one that is prone to the mistake when the heat is up...

 

Just my opinion

 

Now we're going to complain about a guy stepping up when the pressure's on?

 

Jesus...

[ColdBlueNorth]

Lol, someone feels a bit small down there.

 

Badol is one of the smartest posters on this or any football board. You know it. Everyone knows it. This has to be Badol under another alias, or some poker buddy that owes him money, or has he hired a PR man - no one sucks up this badly.

 

Everyone knows what exactly?

 

Badol has his hits and misses otherwise known as opinions - just like everyone else on this board. Will EJ pan out... there are more QB's that flame out than make it in the league. He is certainly playing the odds that EJ will fall into the fail category - not genius insight just playing the odds. I think EJ has the tools to make it, but I could be wrong and only time will tell.

 

Either way, I think rational minds will prevail and the naysayers are going to have to buckle-up and come along for the ride because EJ will be given ample opportunity to show whether he is progressing or regressing. If the later, then the Bills will have to move on.

 

EJ sucks. Draft a 1st round QB in April, or spend the next decade regretting passing on several QBs that will be better than him.

[BADOLBILZ]

Are we talking about the team now or the QB?

 

The team has had a hard schedule...too many teams coming off byes......have beaten teams that are going to be in the playoffs and hung tough with others.....are either league leaders or near the league leaders in interceptions and sacks........and lets face it....the qb situation was a mess.......I truly believe they were gonna start the season off with Kolb and let EJ sit for a bit.......

 

And its a young team.....with brand new coaches

 

Don't get me started on the "young team" nonsense. When you look at the stats the difference between younger teams and teams in the middle of the pack age-wise is a fraction of one year. The Bills number was skewed by having no experience at all at the QB position and very young depth.......coincidentally two areas where they have suffered this year.

[Jkgobills]

Throughout the course if the season, EJ has looked better on throws to receivers that are from the right hash marks to the right sideline than he has on throws to the left side of the field. Today was no exception. Surely, we can all recall some good/great throws to the left side of the field...like the two long throws consecutively against the Jets down the left side for the TD drive. However, the general trend on EJ is he has thrown better to the right side of the field.

 

This is due to his mechanics and footwork issues. A right handed QB will naturally throw better to the right side then the left, especially if the QB has issues with mechanics. (Remember Fitzpatrick?).

 

The fact that this has not improved over the course of 10 starts is concerning. Is any one on the board able to think of a QB who has overcome these type of issues?

 

Frankly, we need EJ to be "the guy" at QB. We have enough other holes to deal with. Hope he is, but I can't think of a player who has overcome the mechanical issues/flaws that he has and become a franchise QB. Can anyone think of an example?

[John from Riverside]

Don't get me started on the "young team" nonsense. When you look at the stats the difference between younger teams and teams in the middle of the pack age-wise is a fraction of one year. The Bills number was skewed by having no experience at all at the QB position and very young depth.......coincidentally two areas where they have suffered this year.

 

What I mean by young team is we basically blew this team up and everyone is all new playing with each other.....right down to the incoming coaches that were not in the NFL last year.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

 

So let me get your opinion straight...........you think EJ has the tools to make it but you could be wrong?

 

Me too.

 

If that's all you got then you really have no basis for arguing aside from being butt-hurt.

 

What I mean by young team is we basically blew this team up and everyone is all new playing with each other.....right down to the incoming coaches that were not in the NFL last year.

 

They didn't blow the roster up........not even close.......they added one full-time starter to the defense...Kiko Alonso. 4 of 5 OL starters returned, top 3 rushers returned, top 3 receivers returned.

 

More SHOULD have been done.......but the reality is that they changed coaching staffs but this is still year 4 of Buddy's plan personnel-wise.

[Reed83HOF]

Throughout the course if the season, EJ has looked better on throws to receivers that are from the right hash marks to the right sideline than he has on throws to the left side of the field. Today was no exception. Surely, we can all recall some good/great throws to the left side of the field...like the two long throws consecutively against the Jets down the left side for the TD drive. However, the general trend on EJ is he has thrown better to the right side of the field.

 

This is due to his mechanics and footwork issues. A right handed QB will naturally throw better to the right side then the left, especially if the QB has issues with mechanics. (Remember Fitzpatrick?).

 

The fact that this has not improved over the course of 10 starts is concerning. Is any one on the board able to think of a QB who has overcome these type of issues?

 

Frankly, we need EJ to be "the guy" at QB. We have enough other holes to deal with. Hope he is, but I can't think of a player who has overcome the mechanical issues/flaws that he has and become a franchise QB. Can anyone think of an example?

 

I honestly don't think EJ has it. I hope he does...but I just don't see it.

 

When you start talking about developing a guy or fixing an issue it never works out. The QBs that make it usually just have to learn how to slow the defense down, make reads etc...Physical tools and pocket movement are almost never fixed....maybe hidden or minimized by creative coaching, but here are you really going with that?