A look at EJ's past month

[34-78-83]

!@#$ me. Seems OBD won't have the integrity or the balls to flat out say they made a mistake. So what...4 more years of hoping this clown becomes a QB? SOSDD at OBD. I pray the new Owner cleans house from top to bottom

Wow just wow.

Just asinine that you gathered THAT from the OP /Article

[GG]

Even if he doesn't ever become a legit starter, EJ has shown enough to be a competent backup and I think at the very least he can be very good in that role. If he can provide solid insurance for the next ten years (like a Todd Collins), then when you think that the one draft choice gave you Kiko and a very good insurance QB, that's not a bad deal.

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

so EJ just watching the starters uses up his allotted practice time ?

 

that's whacked.

he still practices, just not with first team.

 

!@#$ me. Seems OBD won't have the integrity or the balls to flat out say they made a mistake. So what...4 more years of hoping this clown becomes a QB? SOSDD at OBD. I pray the new Owner cleans house from top to bottom

the team is a playoff contender and one play away from EJ being back under center. So I would hope they are still doing everything they can to help him get to where he is a competent starting QB.

[UConn James]

We talkin' bout practice. There are rules about how long you can practice.

 

Practice, you say?

 

[Captain Hindsight]

Hard not to root for this kid. I went back through some of the early games in the season and you see EJ hesitating. His reads are fine when you watch the tape, but he was late. If he can learn to trust himself and his talent he could be very good.

 

Pulling him was a gutsy move but it has proven to be the right one thus far

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

If there was time for the coaches to run another 100 plays with the backups I will guarantee you they would use that additional time with the starters instead for more practice And certainly the Bills are not unique in thought process either, every team in the league would do the same. When you add in the limitations for practice it makes it worse. The extra time the QB coach spends with EJ,is that now less time he has to work with Orton?

 

I've read/heard that in a typical NFL work week, the back up QB gets around a half dozen snaps with the first team offense. And that statement was made prior to the latest CBA which further limits overall time, so may even be less.

 

For the same reason I always laugh at these posts from people who state the Bill's should draft a QB every year. Well then all you'll have is a bunch of inexperienced QB's who got zero playing time and never got better.

 

good on EJ......shame on the coaches.

 

an extra 20 minutes ?? whoopee!!

 

preparation for the backup QB is whacked.

 

the backup should duplicating exactly whatever the starter did. just with the other backups.

 

if the starter is getting 100 reps, then after the starters are done, the backups should run the exact same routine.

[iinii]

Aaron Rodgers was a backup for 3 years! Give the kid a break

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Well if you're goigt to blame the Bills front office for getting it wrong a QB, you probably need to blast every other team too as they all get it wrong. If the Bills front office were to draft five more first round QB's over the next ten years and they all failed, they'd be doing about average.

 

So just curious, where exactly do you think you're going to find a GM who'll do a better job than Doug Whaley? And please don't suggest 70 YO Bill Pollion. I wouldn't even mind him so much if the son wouldn't come with him. I'll promise you one thing if the Bill's did dump Whaley, he's be scooped up very quickly.

 

 

!@#$ me. Seems OBD won't have the integrity or the balls to flat out say they made a mistake. So what...4 more years of hoping this clown becomes a QB? SOSDD at OBD. I pray the new Owner cleans house from top to bottom

[A Dog Named Kelso]

Hard not to root for this kid. I went back through some of the early games in the season and you see EJ hesitating. His reads are fine when you watch the tape, but he was late. If he can learn to trust himself and his talent he could be very good.

 

Pulling him was a gutsy move but it has proven to be the right one thus far

I totally agree with all of this. I want EJ to work out and have always thought he should not have shouldered this team right away. I saw him become more and more worried about his throws(so not to make a mistake), even last year had Hackett saying he just wanted EJ to air it out. I am hoping he learns what he needs to from Orton and Downing and when he gets his chance he shines.

[enlightener]

!@#$ me. Seems OBD won't have the integrity or the balls to flat out say they made a mistake. So what...4 more years of hoping this clown becomes a QB? SOSDD at OBD. I pray the new Owner cleans house from top to bottom

so you want everyone gone? whaley, jackson, watkins, mario, kiko? Shwarts....WHy would want to go back to being 3-13? we are about to break out and you want a full house cleaning? youre super smart.

[Talley56]

What really has me worried is his own college coach said he didn't think EJ had the tools to be an NFL starter. I know some will say "what does a college coach know about NFL quarterbacks". But you would think Jimbo would know enough to try to sell him a little more if he really did believe in him. His accuracy on many of his throws this year was really bad and not just rookie bad or my favorite "everyone throws bad passes" bad. It was inexcusably bad on a number of his throws. That is alarming. I hope he can come off the bench at some point and correct it but we really need to start looking in a new direction for a franchise QB.

 

As far as putting in extra time, as I recall, didn't Trent have a really great work ethic too?

Edited November 1, 2014 by Talley56

[Formerly Allan in MD]

He looks great on the sidelines.

[stevestojan]

It was a fun experiment with EJ but with Kyle Orton, I'm so happy to believe that starting QB is no longer a top position of need. EJ will be a serviceable back up at best, but it's time to admit (as many of us knew on the day he was drafted) that he was a 4th round pick drafted 100 positions too high, and start focusing on OL. EJ is "a good kid" but so was I at 23. Problem is, my accuracy throwing a football is only marginally worse than his.

Edited November 1, 2014 by stevestojan

[BackInDaDay]

“That’s where my job comes in is getting him to believe in what he sees and cut it loose,” Downing said. “That’s what I’m paid for to develop him in that regard and say, ‘Okay you’ve recognized the coverage, you know where to go with the read. Now just let it go.’ That’s what we expect to see from him down the road.”

 

i think this coaching reinforces the message EJ received from losing the starting job.. that the consequence of not taking his shot is worse than taking it and missing.

 

i don't know what motivated this kid to become one of a handful of athletes who could even be considered as potential NFL quarterbacks, but it hasn't been enough to get him to take command of his opportunity here. let's hope he sees that the only one holding EJ back - is EJ... and he decides to go down swinging

[RichVP]

Hard not to root for this kid. I went back through some of the early games in the season and you see EJ hesitating. His reads are fine when you watch the tape, but he was late. If he can learn to trust himself and his talent he could be very good.

 

Pulling him was a gutsy move but it has proven to be the right one thus far

 

Well said. I agree. EJ's issue to me was he was pressed into a role he was clearly not ready for. He came in raw and not confident in his abilities. The smallest hesitation at the professional level of any sport and you will lose that play. When you're not confident you end up playing it ultra conservative and hesitate on the important and clutch plays because you're no longer trying to make a play rather than trying not to screw up.

 

My biggest issue was bringing in a raw, talented, and hard working QB with no QB coach to get his proper footwork, mechanics, and reads down before they became even worse bad habits that a year later they are going to take more time and effort to correct.

 

Now that we have a better surrounding cast of coaches I believe if EJ can get out of his own way we will have a great young prospect. If he can't he will forever struggle to be average. Which is why the comments of playing more aggressive and cutting it loose is very encouraging to me.

 

As for wanting OBD to cut ties and move on to the next prospect I just don't understand those people. We drafted EJ. He is still under contract. I want him to succeed as long as he is on this team. Because that is whats best for this team. Not to give up on a draft pick less than 2 years later. Especially on a prospect many thought would take a few years to get "it."

[bananathumb]

Some of these comments make be believe people think being a QB in the NFL is the equivalent of running a cash register at 7-11.

 

He's a kid who or may not be a starter in the NFL, but give him a break and hope for the best. That's what I'll be doing if and when Orton goes down. Or even if he doesn't.

[3rdand12]

Hard not to root for this kid. I went back through some of the early games in the season and you see EJ hesitating. His reads are fine when you watch the tape, but he was late. If he can learn to trust himself and his talent he could be very good.

 

Pulling him was a gutsy move but it has proven to be the right one thus far

completely agree. ^

and hopefully agree with the rest . ^^

Edited November 1, 2014 by 3rdand12

[Dorkington]

Great article. Love the kid's attitude. Really hope he can grow into the role. Most QBs don't start off immediately great, or even good. EJ's stats weren't too far off of many now great QBs when they were rookies, so I'm not about to say that EJ will never be anything. For right now, he's a pretty decent backup QB compared to the rest of the league, with a high ceiling.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

everyone has a game plan until they get punched in the face.

[Beerball]

It's all good, but to paraphrase Buddy Nix "show me the QB."

 

EJ's work ethic has never been questioned (that I'm aware of). Whether he can "learn" to take command of a game will be more important for him than anything.