Jimbo Fisher says "I told you so..."

[Orton's Arm]

i don't think the Bills have stopped developing or given up on EJ. I do think things could change if Whaley and/or Marrone are fired after this season because a new regime won't have any ties or investment in him and will want their own guy. But I think they will be back, jmo.

 

> i don't think the Bills have stopped developing or given up on EJ.

 

The United States has a population of about 300 million. Of those 300 million, about a dozen have the ability to play quarterback in the NFL at a high level.

 

In practice, Orton has been noticeably more accurate, and better with timing, than has Manuel.

 

When I first learned to throw a football, I wasn't all that accurate. But then I found that making a few seemingly subtle changes improved my accuracy considerably. Putting my fingers a little farther back on the ball. Spreading my fingers out wider. Making sure my left (non-throwing) shoulder faced the intended receiver. These are all things I figured out on my own. Once I did, I became pretty accurate. Often very accurate.

 

However, Manuel has been playing quarterback at least since high school. By this point in his career, his coaches have almost certainly picked the low lying fruit. By that I mean that if there were something really simple and obvious holding his accuracy back--such as not spreading his fingers apart wide enough--a coach somewhere along the way would have already pointed it out and corrected it. His high school coach. Or one of his college coaches. Or if not a coach from college, then a Bills coach when he was a rookie; or in training camp as a second year player.

 

Are there more advanced things Manuel could be working on to improve his accuracy? Probably there are. But if he isn't an accurate quarterback after the low lying fruit has been picked, odds are very strong that working on the more advanced stuff will help him only at the margin. At this point, the Bills have to be realistic about the fact that Manuel is almost certainly among the 299,999,988 Americans who can't play QB in the NFL at a high level.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Orton's Arm

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

> i don't think the Bills have stopped developing or given up on EJ.

 

The United States has a population of about 300 million. Of those 300 million, about a dozen have the ability to play quarterback in the NFL at a high level.

 

In practice, Orton has been noticeably more accurate, and better with timing, than has Manuel.

 

When I first learned to throw a football, I wasn't all that accurate. But then I found that making a few seemingly subtle changes improved my accuracy considerably. Holding the ball farther back. Spreading my fingers out wider. Making sure my left (non-throwing) shoulder faced the intended receiver. These are all things I figured out on my own. Once I did, I became pretty accurate. Often very accurate.

 

However, Manuel has been playing quarterback at least since high school. By this point in his career, his coaches have almost certainly picked the low lying fruit. By that I mean that if there were something really simple and obvious holding his accuracy back--such as not spreading his fingers apart wide enough--a coach somewhere along the way would have already pointed it out and corrected it. His high school coach. Or one of his college coaches. Or if not a coach from college, then a Bills coach when he was a rookie; or in training camp as a second year player.

 

Are there more advanced things Manuel could be working on to improve his accuracy? Probably there are. But if he isn't an accurate quarterback after the low lying fruit has been picked, odds are very strong that working on the more advanced stuff will help him only at the margin. At this point, the Bills have to be realistic about the fact that Manuel is almost certainly among the 299,999,988 Americans who can't play QB in the NFL at a high level.

thanks for the lesson. I still don't think they have stopped developing him though. Agree to disagree I suppose.,

[BigBuff423]

But I don't trust him. He wants his guys to go as high as possible for recruiting purposes

 

@el_budget: Wow RT @MusikFan4Life: Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher didn't believe that EJ Manuel had the tools to be a starter in the NFL

 

@AdamSchefter: Jimbo Fisher was glowing about EJ Manuel as a man, but very open and honest with teams about how limited he felt Manuel was as an NFL QB.

 

@MichaelDavSmith: Via @AdamSchefter, Jimbo Fisher told NFL teams EJ Manuel is a great guy but limited as a QB. I imagine he'll say the reverse about Jameis.

 

@RyanTalbotBills: Per @ESPN, Jimbo Fisher told teams in pre-draft interviews that he didn't think EJ Manuel could be a starting QB in the NFL.

 

Assuming these statements are even close to accurate, and I know Fisher has since come out refuted he ever made such statements, this begs the question: why did Buddy Nix ignore EJ's own college coach? Is it such hubris that Nix presumed to know better than the very coach who spent years with EJ? This, only highlights the issue of being wise in listening to others even when you disagree...carefully consider the information and its source. Oh well, bring on the 2015 Draft...relax, it's a joke...or is it?

[PromoTheRobot]

This thread is full of ifs and buts.