Could EJ have the "yips"?

[WotAGuy]

He clearly has a case of TES - Trent Edwards Syndrome. Fatal.

[The Jokeman]

Interesting idea.

 

Peter King just wrote that EJ is a perfectionist and that Whaley has had to tell him to "just play football."

 

There have been reports, too, of EJ hiring a mental coach. The yips are a mental problem. It fits.

 

Yolo, you might be onto something.

 

It makes sense as to me EJ reminds me a lot of RJ in that both guys did everything they could to avoid making costly mistakes. The difference is we got RJ in his 4th season so he was a little more seasoned. That said I think EJ has a little better pocket presence and can avoid taking big hits/sacks and then checks it down hence some compare EJ to Edwards. Yet I said it back in 1998 and feel the same way that the best way to really see if RJ/EJ really have it is make them play on the field and that will answer the question. We saw in 2000/2001 that RJ didn't. Yet I still wonder what happens if we let RJ come back in 1998 and 1999 if he's a different player. Yet if you really want to go back further had we drafted RJ instead of Todd Collins Bills history could have really been a whole lot different.

Edited October 2, 2014 by The Jokeman

[Ted William's frozen head]

 

 

[cough]...Tebow...[cough]

Loser.......(Cough!)Loser.............

[3rdand12]

He clearly has a case of TES - Trent Edwards Syndrome. Fatal.

Oh Dear.

That Is horrible indeed . Fatal you say ?

[hondo in seattle]

It makes sense as to me EJ reminds me a lot of RJ in that both guys did everything they could to avoid making costly mistakes. The difference is we got RJ in his 4th season so he was a little more seasoned. That said I think EJ has a little better pocket presence and can avoid taking big hits/sacks and then checks it down hence some compare EJ to Edwards. Yet I said it back in 1998 and feel the same way that the best way to really see if RJ/EJ really have it is make them play on the field and that will answer the question. We saw in 2000/2001 that RJ didn't. Yet I still wonder what happens if we let RJ come back in 1998 and 1999 if he's a different player. Yet if you really want to go back further had we drafted RJ instead of Todd Collins Bills history could have really been a whole lot different.

 

Clearly if EJ hired a mental conditioning coach, he must worry there's something wrong with the mental aspect of his game - whether you call it the yips or something else.

 

Anyone watching the last game could see it in EJ's eyes, facial expression, and overall demeanor. He was down on himself and it effected his play.

 

Perfectionism is great. Nonetheless, QBs need to have short memories, as they say. Or as Whaley says, just go play football and not try to be perfect on every play and certainly not beat yourself up when you fall short.

[The Jokeman]

Clearly if EJ hired a mental conditioning coach, he must worry there's something wrong with the mental aspect of his game - whether you call it the yips or something else.

 

Anyone watching the last game could see it in EJ's eyes, facial expression, and overall demeanor. He was down on himself and it effected his play.

 

Perfectionism is great. Nonetheless, QBs need to have short memories, as they say. Or as Whaley says, just go play football and not try to be perfect on every play and certainly not beat yourself up when you fall short.

 

For the most part I think EJ does forget things. As he was looking good in that final drive before the INT. I still maintain that Woods was interfered with and it should have drawn a flag on that play as you look back he was touched after 5 years and the defender wasn't fighting for the ball. That said EJ had other chances in that game that hurt us from winning and ultimately keeping his job.

[Orton's Arm]

Dont worry she says she is always the last to know .

This is going to be q big for surprise her !

Thanks for the offer Augie !

Go Bills !

 

I thought the tweet was juvenille.

I also found no humor in it.

Thats just me .

 

As far as EJ is considered. I hope he has the fortitude to take the challenge he has been given and learn from Orton. ( An experienced QB )

Consider it an opportunity.

Hell! , he might be relieved he can relax a little .

I hope so .

Kid probably hasnt slept in 4 weeks or so

 

The tweet was completely inappropriate. The fan who sent it deserves to be chewed out by other fans. There are some things you don't joke about, and someone's mother's breast cancer is one of them.

 

I also don't understand the idea of having personal animosity toward an underperforming player. Every player does the best he can, given his physical, intellectual, and psychological limitations.

Physical limitations: Holcomb's arm strength

Intellectual limitations: Spiller isn't nearly as good at seeing holes as Fred Jackson

Psychological limitations: Mike Williams (the RT) didn't have the passion needed to work hard at football. At least not on any kind of self-motivated basis.

 

It's the front office's job to determine a player's limitations before signing or drafting him. A player can't help his own level of limitations. Nor is it realistic to expect players to be accurate when describing their limits.

 

Manuel's limitations were obvious long before the draft. No one should attack him or his mother just because the front office saw what it wanted to see.

[Beerball]

Oh, I didn't mean that at all. Poor wording. he was a huge reach at 16. If anyone deserves cheap shots

It is OBD and the usual cast of characters there. Ej had zero to do with his draft slot, even though he clearly is not a first round talent.

I have never seen a single game aside from a couple of drives that showed that this kid has it. or the light has gone on. Not his fault the FO based their choice on a over used cliche. protoypical QB, who can scramble, etc.

 

Whoever sent the pink clipboard "joke" isn't funny IMO

[Don Beebe]

I got over my tennis toss yips. (Golf... Not so much) If JJ Watt was charging at me, I just might toss the ball to him too.

I think in the Houston game some of his problems were caused by JJ Watt going after his knees, remember the two penalties for low hits? I think that Watt got into his head with them.

 

For the most part I think EJ does forget things. As he was looking good in that final drive before the INT. I still maintain that Woods was interfered with and it should have drawn a flag on that play as you look back he was touched after 5 years and the defender wasn't fighting for the ball. That said EJ had other chances in that game that hurt us from winning and ultimately keeping his job.

I agree with you. The way they have been going after corner backs this year there is no way there shouldn't be some kind of a penalty on that play. Edited October 3, 2014 by Don Beebe

[benderbender]

 

 

Sure, I'm familiar with it. And yes, I guess you can take my response as a "no".

 

Mark my words: EJ is done as a QB in Buffalo. Right now they are talking about "when he comes back" and how this is an opportunity for him to "watch the game from the sidelines" or this type of thing.

 

That is talk. EJ is done here.

 

Bank on it.

I take it you're not a banker. Our Oline couldn't put a block on Watt. They made SD look like the Purple People Eaters. And Suh is licking his chops. You'd better hope EJ can turn it around. Or that Tuel has done some Rocky-like montage training since preseason.

[Solomon Grundy]

I want the 2013 EJ Manuel back!!

 

[YoloinOhio]

I want the 2013 EJ Manuel back!!

 

My point exactly. He wasn't GREAT but he wasn't the EJ we have seen this year.

[Solomon Grundy]

I'm saying there wasn't a problem with his accuracy then. He was making those throws he's missing now. He needs to scan the field better and allow plays to develop. It's like he makes the pre snap read decision and go there. Stop rushing his throws. He dumped the ball off to backs when there was no pressure on him instead of waiting for receives to complete routes. Use his legs when there are mounds of yardage to get.

[Big Gun]

I want the 2013 EJ Manuel back!!

 

 

It looked to me like very little if any more than a 4 man rush. DCs went to school and found something on how to stop EJ and EJ didn't react very well at all to that. It's the nature of the game, once somebody figures you out, it will keep happening until you prove you can counter it an beat it.

[Orton's Arm]

It makes sense as to me EJ reminds me a lot of RJ in that both guys did everything they could to avoid making costly mistakes. The difference is we got RJ in his 4th season so he was a little more seasoned. That said I think EJ has a little better pocket presence and can avoid taking big hits/sacks and then checks it down hence some compare EJ to Edwards. Yet I said it back in 1998 and feel the same way that the best way to really see if RJ/EJ really have it is make them play on the field and that will answer the question. We saw in 2000/2001 that RJ didn't. Yet I still wonder what happens if we let RJ come back in 1998 and 1999 if he's a different player. Yet if you really want to go back further had we drafted RJ instead of Todd Collins Bills history could have really been a whole lot different.

 

> It makes sense as to me EJ reminds me a lot of RJ in that both guys did everything they could to avoid making costly mistakes.

 

While there are some similarities, Rob Johnson wasn't afraid to throw intermediate or deep passes. Wade Phillips once said that "Johnson looks long to short; Flutie looks short to long." Which is certainly true. Johnson was a more accurate passer than most of our other post-Kelly QBs. Accuracy isn't exactly one of Manuel's hallmarks.

 

> can avoid taking big hits/sacks and then checks it down hence some compare EJ to Edwards.

 

There's truth to that. Both Edwards and Manuel would check it down to their dump off options, even when big plays were there to be made. Edwards never had a Watkins/Woods/Williams group of WRs, and his OL protection was often bad. If Manuel typically wastes more big play opportunities over the course of a game than Edwards did, it's a reflection on the fact that the Bills did a much better job of creating big play opportunities for Manuel than they had for Edwards.

 

> Yet if you really want to go back further had we drafted RJ instead of Todd Collins Bills history could have really been a whole lot different.

 

I was on Rob Johnson's side in the Flutie/Johnson controversy. I've since realized that Rob Johnson, J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards, and E.J. Manuel all have the same problem. None can rapidly process on-field information. In Rob Johnson's case, that weakness manifested itself by his taking a long time in the pocket. Also, he ignored some information (anything related to the pass rush) so that he could devote his limited bandwidth to other information (whether his downfield targets were open).

 

Quarterbacks in the Edwards/Manuel category had a different approach to the pass rush. If they had the mental bandwidth to pay attention to the rush and to whether their targets were open, they could have dumped the ball off short on plays when the protection wasn't there, while staying in the pocket for a while on plays it was. Instead, both quarterbacks tended to dump the ball off short regardless of whether the protection was there. This is a logical adaptation to a lack of mental bandwidth. It's especially logical for a guy like Manuel; who lacks the accuracy to consistently hit his intermediate or deep targets anyway.