Lewis to start / Manuel out

[thebandit27]

He's had three knee injuries in his first season, and not on the same knee. Is there any point in denying that he is injury prone? How many injuries does EJ sustain before we can all agree that he is injury prone? And, what does his weight have to do with it?

 

He's had 2 injuries, one of which was recently re-aggravated. My point is quite clear: taking direct hits to the knee that result in injuries doesn't say that he's more injury prone than any other player that takes a hit to the knee. QBs occasion to have injury-riddled seasons; that's why 19 teams have started more than 1 QB this year.

 

If he's getting hurt in crazy situations like torn rib cartilage from falling on the football or concussions on a routine QB sneak, a la Rob Johnson, then I'd say he's injury prone.

 

As for what his weight has to do with things, check the post to which I responded:

 

OR

EJ is frail. He has a long lengthy frame that can not stand the hits of the NFL.

To me EJ appears to play best when he is able to be mobile, however his body can not take NFL hits. So where does that leave you? trying to turn a mobile QB into a pocket passer? That has trouble written all over it.

Bills blew another first round pick, great!

 

That's not true, he's 6'-4" and 240 lbs...that's not frail at all. He's taken plenty of solid hits and played just fine...the knee is not meant to take a direct shot on the patella; that has zero to do with frailty.

[papazoid]

the way EJ runs EXPOSES himself to injury.....it's going to keep happening. his body is not in the best position to absorb contact safely.

 

an example of a QB who runs in a way that protects himself at point of contact is Russell Wilson. i attribute that to his baseball experience and the proper techniques used for sliding into bases.

[C.Biscuit97]

the way EJ runs EXPOSES himself to injury.....it's going to keep happening. his body is not in the best position to absorb contact safely.

 

an example of a QB who runs in a way that protects himself at point of contact is Russell Wilson. i attribute that to his baseball experience and the proper techniques used for sliding into bases.

 

Good point. Wilson never takes big hits. Manuel is a big dude. If I'm a coach, Manuel needs to work with a baseball coach on sliding techinques.

[YoloinOhio]

the way EJ runs EXPOSES himself to injury.....it's going to keep happening. his body is not in the best position to absorb contact safely.

 

an example of a QB who runs in a way that protects himself at point of contact is Russell Wilson. i attribute that to his baseball experience and the proper techniques used for sliding into bases.

This is a good point - RW is a smaller guy so I would think that he would be hurt more often as much as he throws outside of the pocket an exposes himself to hits, but his baseball experience is probably a really big asset.

[26CornerBlitz]

ICYMI: Bills' Video: EJ Manuel on Knee Injury

 

The Bills quarterback talks about missing this weeks game against the Dolphins with a knee injury. 2:26 Mins

[thebandit27]

 

There was a time when Tom Brady never missed a game either...one direct shot to the knee, and adios.

 

Same thing happened to Brian Hoyer, Sam Bradford, Aaron Murray, and Zach Mettenberger in this season alone.

 

I believe that's a garbage argument.

 

And a guy finishing a game after spraining a knee doesn't exactly qualify him as a "baby that cannot take a shot"...although I bet it felt good to say that about a pro athlete from behind your computer screen.

[YoloinOhio]

EJ did the same thing... and likely would also be playing this week if Bills were in the playoff race. It wasn't EJ's decision, it was Marrone's. I think it is the right one given the corcumstances. It is critical that the Ravens have Flacco play this game. They are in the playoff race and his backup has not played a snap this year. It is not critical that the Bills have EJ play this game. They are not in the playoff race and his backup has played 3 games this year, one of which was against the team they are playing and he won.

[starrymessenger]

 

 

I see this as something else.

 

Management knows EJ isn't the guy. They are basically benching him to save face until the draft, where they'll take a top round QB and call it a competition.

 

It's quite possible that they are sceptical about EJ's chances of developing into a reliable starter.

They probably knew full well what his problems were and had to acknowledge that they might not be correctable- in other words that they knew they would again soon be in the market.

So why did they draft EJ high?

They maybe thought that they should cater to a fanbase that was justifiably outraged at how the team had neglected the most important position for a decade. Drafting a first round QB is always a good marketing decision, at least in the short run.

With the rookie wage scale as it is now, not only can more QBs get drafted earlier and see the field sooner, but maybe a team can also move towards another option more than in the past when the financial commitment was much greater.

The Bills are probably not going to draft a QB early if at all in 2014 even if they doubt EJ is the guy. They have other holes to fill and they probably think they can ride the wave of enthusiasm that inevitably accompanies a highly drafted QB, at least for another year (or part thereof).

But if EJ does not show significant improvement during the first half of next season they will IMO start reviewing their options for the 2015 draft, when they can ride the wave of goodwill again with what may very well be a better prospect.

So the Bills investment in EJ is not that great and despite the hype might never have been. If they were so sure of EJ why would they have looked to add another big, young and athletic QB with something of an NFL track record the very year they drafted EJ?

If Josh Freeman had been signed and if he had played well, which presumably they would want, wouldn't that have generated a QB controversy and what would that have done for EJs chances?

Maybe the right thing, because EJ was probably best served by holding a clipboard for a couple of years.

 

 

[zow2]

I think it's so positively Buffalo-ish when i see articles like this. 4 - QB's coming out in the 2014 draft have graded higher than last years #1 graded QB (Geno Smith).

So of course the year the Bills pick a QB in round 1 is one of the worst QB classes in a while and sandwiched between 2 really good classes. Just our luck right? This doesn't even include Murray and Mettenberger who i think are really good, but injured.

 

http://fansided.com/2013/12/20/nfl-draft-2014-four-qbs-higher-grade-geno-smith/

[BuffaloRebound]

I think it's so positively Buffalo-ish when i see articles like this. 4 - QB's coming out in the 2014 draft have graded higher than last years #1 graded QB (Geno Smith).

So of course the year the Bills pick a QB in round 1 is one of the worst QB classes in a while and sandwiched between 2 really good classes. Just our luck right? This doesn't even include Murray and Mettenberger who i think are really good, but injured.

 

http://fansided.com/...ade-geno-smith/

 

Think the Bills did the right thing going after a QB last year. Think they should do the same this year. It'd be one thing if Manuel tore it up when he actually played, but he didn't. Add to that 3 injuries, including one (Cleveland) where he displayed zero football intelligence, means you have to improve the QB position.

[BADOLBILZ]

Think the Bills did the right thing going after a QB last year. Think they should do the same this year. It'd be one thing if Manuel tore it up when he actually played, but he didn't. Add to that 3 injuries, including one (Cleveland) where he displayed zero football intelligence, means you have to improve the QB position.

 

I said it at draft time last year............it's only wrong to pick a QB with their first pick this year if they are afraid to try it again next year.

 

Pick one every year until you score.

 

In 14 years all the Bills have to show for their first draft picks are Leodis, CJ, Dareus, Gilmore and EJ.

 

If they had just taken the QB that came off the board right after their pick they would have Brees, Rodgers, Flacco, Cutler and Kaepernick.

 

The idea that getting a QB is some kind of mission impossible is incorrect. You just have to be committed to getting one.

Edited December 20, 2013 by BADOLBEELZ

[Heitz]

I said it at draft time last year............it's only wrong to pick a QB with their first pick this year if they are afraid to try it again next year.

 

Pick one every year until you score.

 

In 14 years all the Bills have to show for their first draft picks are Leodis, CJ, Dareus, Gilmore and EJ.

 

If they had just taken the QB that came off the board right after their pick they would have Brees, Rodgers, Flacco, Cutler and Kaepernick.

 

The idea that getting a QB is some kind of mission impossible is incorrect. You just have to be committed to getting one.

 

And by score you mean get one that leads you to the playoffs in his first year? Caaaause that seems to be the only thing that will make some fans happy...

[BADOLBILZ]

And by score you mean get one that leads you to the playoffs in his first year? Caaaause that seems to be the only thing that will make some fans happy...

 

No..........although that is FAR from out of the realm of possibility now that the league is 24/7 QB friendly.

 

I like my chances with young QB's fighting it out for the job on a fairly level playing field. I think that keeps their focus on the job instead of on external distractions like what everyone thinks of them and whether they are living up to expectations. Also earns teammates respect.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

 

 

I said it at draft time last year............it's only wrong to pick a QB with their first pick this year if they are afraid to try it again next year.

 

Pick one every year until you score.

 

In 14 years all the Bills have to show for their first draft picks are Leodis, CJ, Dareus, Gilmore and EJ.

 

If they had just taken the QB that came off the board right after their pick they would have Brees, Rodgers, Flacco, Cutler and Kaepernick.

 

The idea that getting a QB is some kind of mission impossible is incorrect. You just have to be committed to getting one.

 

I would ordinarily say that this is kinda crazy. But the fact that like 90 percent of our 1st round picks are busts anyway, what's the downside? Seriously?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

And by score you mean get one that leads you to the playoffs in his first year? Caaaause that seems to be the only thing that will make some fans happy...

 

I can't speak for all fans, or even some fans, but I didn't need a rookie QB to take us to the playoffs to be happy. I wanted to see accuracy, the ability to make the tight throw and the deep throw, and consistency. I can't say I think EJ's a bust but I haven't seen enough of any of those traits out of him to feel comfortable that he's "the Man" either.

[Boatdrinks]

Good point. Wilson never takes big hits. Manuel is a big dude. If I'm a coach, Manuel needs to work with a baseball coach on sliding techinques.

 

That would make too much sense for many on this board. It's sooooo much easier to just say "he can't do it because I haven't seen it to this point" than to think it may be a coaching point or a technique one might be taught. I though after last season that R Wilson was the most impressive "athletic" type QB as he seemed to have the best sense of when to protect himself/slide/ run OB than the others. He has perfected the baseball slide, and his experience there surely helped. Manuel has a large frame and should be durable. He needs to perfect the slide and avoiding unnecessary hits. He has a much bigger frame than RG III for example.

[BuffaloBillsForever]

Per WGR and Marrone.

 

How does Manuel go from 110% one week to might not play and deflecting questions about it?

 

Manuels development this year has been nothing short of the worst case scenerio. We really have no clue what this guy has to offer to this franchise going forward to next year. Such a huge question mark. Not good.

Edited December 23, 2013 by BuffaloBillsForever

[Dorkington]

I'd be perfectly fine with sitting him, and letting his knees heal. Our season is done, no need to push the guy out there when he's still (clearly) healing.

[Braedenstearns]

Lets go Thad?!

[Chandler#81]

Actually, in the very limited viewing, there have been clues. Some good, others bad. But you're right BBF, we have absolutely no clue what this guy -whose position is the most critical in all of sports, can bring to the table. This has been a complete waste of a season regarding the Bills attempting to solidify the position.