Is Your Opinion Of EJ Tainted By The Fact That He Was A Round 1 Pick?

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Tuel was perhaps judged more harshly because he committed a more obvious and absolutely game changing blunder than Lewis or Manuel have. They would be judged just as harshly(maybe more for Manuel) if they had thrown that INT in that situation.

 

Still seems crazy to me. Experienced QBs throw bad pick 6's just about every week in the NFL. I find it weird that people still would hold one bad mistake against an UDFA starting his first game.

[billieve420]

Apparently EJ Manuel was at the top of the Jets draft board over Geno Smith. Plus it was reported that the Eagles really liked Manuel.

 

http://m.metro.us/newyork/sports/nfl/2013/12/26/source-jets-had-e-j-manuel-rated-higher-than-geno-smith/

 

I am not going to complain after wanting to draft a QB for years. We were able to trade back and draft Kiko Alonso which was a bonus. Hopefully the Bills picked the right guy for the job. Manuel gets another year before we start looking for a replacement. I think it is very important to put some offensive weapons around him and to fix the oline this year.

[Speedy G]

The only thing that taints my opinion is the fact that he can't stay on the field...I mean come on ? Really? He's shown flashes on greatness , and rookie mistakes as well. High expectations are there because of draft status for sure, but that's an obvious. He was said to be a piece of clay before the draft that you could mold, so this is has been the season of shaping and development. Now that he's been through(almost) a season, next year will tell us if he's grown into what we all hope him to be ...the "Franchise" QB the bills have needed for 14 years!! And if Thad Lewis can do well against the Patsies, the QB position could be set for a few years!, that's if Manuel develops like we all hope! #GoBills

[ChevyVanMiller]

Of course the fact that he was a #1 pick matters. Teams need to hit consistent homers in the first round with their picks. The fact that EJ was considered a reach by most draft experts means that he really needed to shine this year to justify the pick. By any standards he didn't.

 

Not saying give up on him, but the injuries coupled with the bad footwork leaves me worried about his future.

[dave mcbride]

I strongly suspect that Manuel would NOT have been there when the Bills made their first second round pick. Te Eagles and Jets both liked him, as is referenced above.

 

Apparently EJ Manuel was at the top of the Jets draft board over Geno Smith. Plus it was reported that the Eagles really liked Manuel.

 

http://m.metro.us/newyork/sports/nfl/2013/12/26/source-jets-had-e-j-manuel-rated-higher-than-geno-smith/

 

I am not going to complain after wanting to draft a QB for years. We were able to trade back and draft Kiko Alonso which was a bonus. Hopefully the Bills picked the right guy for the job. Manuel gets another year before we start looking for a replacement. I think it is very important to put some offensive weapons around him and to fix the oline this year.

 

Good link, btw. It should be read by people engaging in this debate, particularly those who insist Manuel was regarded a consensus fourth round talent.

[Chandler#81]

 

A good, but strange move indeed.

 

Pretend if you will that you were the GM of the Bills in 2013. You are sitting at #8 and there is a QB that you are extremely high on. Or, you are less sure but expect him to be a top 15 qb in the NFL. Would you trade down and risk losing him to 7 other teams? I surely would not.

This makes me wonder what they would have done if another team did draft EJ. From where I sit, I am thinking that they rolled the dice because they had another qb with a similar rating. I can't see any other reason to trade down, but we ARE talking about the Bills.

 

So to answer the OP, I readily admit to having higher expectations from first round picks. Professionals get paid a lot of money to make these decisions. Wrt EJ, his draft slot does raise my expectations but less so because of the above.

 

I'd like to think they were pretty confident what the teams between the 2 picks were looking for -and it didn't include QB. There weren't a whole lot of picks between the two and, IIRC, those teams between the picks drafted who the 'experts' expected them to pick. To me, the surprize was that Kiko was still there with the earned pick.

 

To the OP's question, no, I don't judge EJ by where he was selected. As a Floridian, I had many opportunities to see him play @ FSU and he was just mediocre. Guess what? He's still mediocre.. I do believe QB was gong to be taken early, regardless of the Class level..

[NoName]

Thad has one career start more than E.J. coming in to this year......when Thad went under center as a starter, he had less starts than e.j.......Thad's play is more or less equal to that of E.J.......E.J. is getting the nod because of his 1st round status and therefore is seen as having a higher upside. They are both young with limited experience and should be given an equal chance to develop and compete........heck even Tuel did okay in his start.........having said all of that, I'd like to see the Bills draft a QB 1st round If the guy they want is there....I don't want any2nd or 3rd rounders......

[PolishDave]

Still seems crazy to me. Experienced QBs throw bad pick 6's just about every week in the NFL. I find it weird that people still would hold one bad mistake against an UDFA starting his first game.

 

I agree with your opinion.

 

And another thing, there are people running around this board saying what a beautiful deep ball EJ Manuel throws, which I personally think is humorous. If you are going to base your assessment of the quarterbacks based on deep ball throws then Jeff Tuel should be your number one guy followed by Thad Lewis with EJ being the worst of the three.

 

Checkout the longest pass stat here - http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/longPassing/qualified/false

 

Jeff Tuel has the longest completion for a Buffalo QB this year at 59 yards. Thad Lewis has the second longest completion at 57. EJ Manuel comes in last place at a whopping 45 yarder. And look at how many attempts each QB has had. Those rankings should be reversed if EJ had a good deep ball and was a legitimate deep threat.

 

Now I am not a huge stat guy because I know that stats can easily be twisted to prove a point. But based on live game performance - Jeff Tuel wins the best deep ball argument.

 

Do I think Jeff Tuel should be the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills at this point in time? Hell no. I am just saying I believe Jeff Tuel got more criticism than he deserved just because he was undrafted. But hey Jack, that is how fans treat players. Fans are enamored with high draft picks because some NFL GM decided to take that player earlier than someone else even though draft picks are proven wrong time and time and time again year after year after year. It is really funny how much faith fans put into something so inaccurate.

[CodeMonkey]

I think that EJ has had the deck stacked against him in terms of expectations because all of the "talking heads" said that he was a reach pick in the first round. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Only time will tell.

I think it is pretty clear that he was a reach based on this seasons performance. You typically would not draft a project with your first pick in the first round. But that isn't to say he still can't develop into a good starting QB.

 

As to the OP's question ... my opinion of Manuel is not tainted. However my opinion of the "new" Bills FO is a little.

Edited December 28, 2013 by CodeMonkey

[nuklz2594]

i am living in florida and was at the bar when they selected ej. there was a collective huh???!!! he is a big kid. my concern was and is that he has never seen a cold day ever. i prefer qbs for the bills that have lived in the snow. that's just me i guess. i am hoping his knees will not be a problem especially as he gets older and dealing with the cold.

[Garranimal]

Who's dropping to the Bills? Quick, go check who Kiper's top QBs are and get back to us. Then you can spend the rest of the night convincing us how that QB is such a better prospect.

 

As for the 4th round grades that EJ received? Not from any scout I've talked to. Oh, let me guess, McShay and Kiper must have said "4th round." Or was it Greg Cosell? Were any of them the same ones who said Nassib was the best in the class last year? Or was that just Cosell. In actual circles, EJ was considered a late 1st round talent who would need a couple seasons to develop. But don't let that get in the way of your agenda.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Scouts? Boy Scouts? Eagle Scouts?

[Brandon]

I think it is pretty clear that he was a reach based on this seasons performance.

 

I'm not so sure I agree. He's pretty typical of 1st round QBs drafted outside the top 5 in recent years. There have been 14 total 1st round QBs picked in the last five drafts. At least statistically, EJ had a somewhat better than average rookie year among that group.

[K-9]

If he was picked in the 4th round, where he should have been, then we'd have used a mid round pick to get an adequate back up qb which is all that EJ will ever be.

 

Try answering the question next time. But thanks for playing.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Scouts? Boy Scouts? Eagle Scouts?

 

How clever. You forgot Girl Scouts, though.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Leelee Phoenix]

Good link, btw. It should be read by people engaging in this debate, particularly those who insist Manuel was regarded a consensus fourth round talent.

I know some teams liked Manuel. We also know 2 teams that didn't with proof (Cowboys 4th round on their sheet, Raiders). Consensus is likely that EJ was worthy of a Day 3 pick, but that doesn't matter, it only took 1 other team to draft him before the Bills. They took a risk on a likely bust. That's how it goes.

[Boatdrinks]

I know some teams liked Manuel. We also know 2 teams that didn't with proof (Cowboys 4th round on their sheet, Raiders). Consensus is likely that EJ was worthy of a Day 3 pick, but that doesn't matter, it only took 1 other team to draft him before the Bills. They took a risk on a likely bust. That's how it goes.

The Raiders, who once took Darius Heyward-Bey in the first round? I would hope my team's draft board was the inverse of the Raiders. That they had EJM in the 4th is actually comforting. But if you feel he was a day 3 pick, then he clearly is not a bust. He has already outperformed. He may be eventually viewed as a reach, but if he was so widely thought of as a middle rounder he is incapable of busting.

[BillsBytheBay]

I guess so. If he wasent, we wouldn't have expected him to play good. I think he should be in the NFL. I think he should have been drafted. I even think he could be good, but he was drafted to high. He should have had time to learn. Now he's broken, and made no progress. That normally works out well right?

Edited December 28, 2013 by JaxBills

[RuntheDamnBall]

Now he's broken, and made no progress.

Where do you get your material?

[3rdand12]

I think that EJ has had the deck stacked against him in terms of expectations because all of the "talking heads" said that he was a reach pick in the first round. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Only time will tell.

looks like a reach / But Bills had no choice . We we fans were "screaming for vengeance" I believe the Nix Whaley had to take a shot at one.

Deck is stacked against him for sure.

He was supposed to get educated by Kolb.

Kolb should have started and EJ grown into the position . Maybe Kolb was not the best choice although some of us were pretty okay with that.

They did bring in a vet who had some decent experience , can play the game. But is injury prone.

 

Who thought he epitomized the phrase "injury prone " ? ha ha ( that the Bills curse talkin atcha ).

So Doug is screwed all of a sudden. where's his QB coach .

and here we are. all half arsed again. That the Buffalo Bills sometimes eh ?

[Buffalo Barbarian]

No, has has played just like he did in college, which is what I expected.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

for a rookie he did OK barring the numerous injuries. I think he got most of the ship because he wasn't the highest rated QB on the board.

 

IF he was then the chaff would be much thicker.