Wawrow Article Indicates EJ Sees Wall's Writing

[thebandit27]

What is the point of your post? Appreciate the fact that jw comes here please, his article states facts. He works for AP not Fox News. You are reacting like he is some tabloid writer or a columnist/opinionist.

 

Please tell me that you don't mean to question someone else's motive for posting a snide remark while including the bold snide remark in your post?

 

I agree that there's no need to take shots at anyone, including jw, but that message is (IMO) better delivered without that very-obvious political slant.

[Kelly the Dog]

My two cents:

 

1) It's news because it's the first time that EJ has said that kind of thing. It's the definition of news and jw is absolutely right.

 

2) POSSIBLY it's an indication of EJ growing up and a semi-good thing. The only thing I haven't liked about EJ's personality (nothing to do with play) has been his sugar coating and overlooking all bad things and just saying this is good. He was almost Hackett-esque. It's good to have utter confidence but it seemed like he just ignored mistakes like a lot of his followers.

 

3) It probably was the first time he has come to this, also the definition of news, because when asked right after if he has thought about it before said "No, I haven't." Or something to that affect, before kind of a weird follow up. That means this is the first time he has considered that two weeks into training camp there is a possibility he may not win the job. That really doesn't at all mean he sees the writing on the wall as the title to this and the OP suggests. It's more of a mature outlook. He'd have to be blind or lying or just being diplomatic to say that it wasn't a possibility, especially if Tyrod lights it up this week.

 

4) there is a fine line for athletes answering questions to reporters as far as confidence goes. They do believe they will win every job, they do believe they will win every game because you need that confidence when you are playing to do your best. But at some point if you are able to take a step back, it's like having two separate lives, your playing life and the real world. Some players never allow the real world to creep in because they think it is a bad thing to have any doubt in your head. Some players can separate the two because they know that they are not going to win every game but they must have 100% confidence when you are playing to play your best. Those two things can coexist.

 

5) maybe EJ is just maturing.

[Tenhigh]

They both averaged 1 TD and 1 turnover per game. Cassel had no weapons in Minnesota after Peterson went out. But Cassel was 17-26 and 2 TD's in that game, when he wasn't expected to have the team on his shoulders. Personally I want one of the younger guys to be the QB, Taylor or EJ, but EJ is failing. Hopefully Taylor is the guy, but if Cassel wins the starting role, then I support him.

Cassel averaged 1.6 turnover/game, not 1. It's a pretty big difference for that sample size.

[reddogblitz]

The offense Roman is installing is very young QB-friendly, in that it specifically is designed to protect and take the pressure off of the QB. If Roman doesn't believe that EJ can be successful in this type of offense, than I have serious concerns about whether EJ can be successful in any offense, anywhere. EJ is in his third offseason in the NFL; he's also played QB a long time between college, high school, etc. He should be getting it by now. Instead, he's being beaten out by the likes of Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor. I think we're all starting to see the writing on the wall.

 

How do you know this? Looked to me on Friday like Greg is putting in stuff for each QB suited to his talents. Drop back, short to medium passing for Matt. A lot of designed runs and short passing for Tyrod, and a more traditional passing/running attack for EJ.

 

The word on Greg Roman since even before we signed him is he tailors his offense to who his players are. He did that in San Fran as they ran a drop back passing game for Alex Smith and then put in all the running stuff when Colin K got in. So why would he now decide to shoe horn some offense down EJ's (or any of our QBs) throat that doesn't' suit him?

 

I read on here often that Roman want to run a running QB offense and that's what he likes. He didn't run that at Stanford, because he had Andrew Luck. He didn't run that the first year and a half with Alex Smith. When he got Colin K he did.

 

If Tyrod shows he can pass, then he could be the nstarter and run frequently. If he doesn't, then one of the other guys will run an offense that doesn't feature the QB running the football.

 

And I suspect it will be effective with whichever of these 3 guys gets to start.

[Gugny]

My two cents:

 

1) It's news because it's the first time that EJ has said that kind of thing. It's the definition of news and jw is absolutely right.

 

2) POSSIBLY it's an indication of EJ growing up and a semi-good thing. The only thing I haven't liked about EJ's personality (nothing to do with play) has been his sugar coating and overlooking all bad things and just saying this is good. He was almost Hackett-esque. It's good to have utter confidence but it seemed like he just ignored mistakes like a lot of his followers.

 

3) It probably was the first time he has come to this, also the definition of news, because when asked right after if he has thought about it before said "No, I haven't." Or something to that affect, before kind of a weird follow up. That means this is the first time he has considered that two weeks into training camp there is a possibility he may not win the job. That really doesn't at all mean he sees the writing on the wall as the title to this and the OP suggests. It's more of a mature outlook. He'd have to be blind or lying or just being diplomatic to say that it wasn't a possibility, especially if Tyrod lights it up this week.

 

4) there is a fine line for athletes answering questions to reporters as far as confidence goes. They do believe they will win every job, they do believe they will win every game because you need that confidence when you are playing to do your best. But at some point if you are able to take a step back, it's like having two separate lives, your playing life and the real world. Some players never allow the real world to creep in because they think it is a bad thing to have any doubt in your head. Some players can separate the two because they know that they are not going to win every game but they must have 100% confidence when you are playing to play your best. Those two things can coexist.

 

5) maybe EJ is just maturing.

 

Agreed.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

How do you know this? Looked to me on Friday like Greg is putting in stuff for each QB suited to his talents. Drop back, short to medium passing for Matt. A lot of designed runs and short passing for Tyrod, and a more traditional passing/running attack for EJ.

 

The word on Greg Roman since even before we signed him is he tailors his offense to who his players are. He did that in San Fran as they ran a drop back passing game for Alex Smith and then put in all the running stuff when Colin K got in. So why would he now decide to shoe horn some offense down EJ's (or any of our QBs) throat that doesn't' suit him?

 

I read on here often that Roman want to run a running QB offense and that's what he likes. He didn't run that at Stanford, because he had Andrew Luck. He didn't run that the first year and a half with Alex Smith. When he got Colin K he did.

 

If Tyrod shows he can pass, then he could be the nstarter and run frequently. If he doesn't, then one of the other guys will run an offense that doesn't feature the QB running the football.

 

And I suspect it will be effective with whichever of these 3 guys gets to start.

That's odd because each of them are very, very good runners. Luck & Smith are 2 of the top 7 running QBs in the league IMO (the other 5 being Wilson, RGIII, Mariota, Kaep and Cam).

Edited August 18, 2015 by Kirby Jackson

[Kelly the Dog]

How do you know this? Looked to me on Friday like Greg is putting in stuff for each QB suited to his talents. Drop back, short to medium passing for Matt. A lot of designed runs and short passing for Tyrod, and a more traditional passing/running attack for EJ.

 

The word on Greg Roman since even before we signed him is he tailors his offense to who his players are. He did that in San Fran as they ran a drop back passing game for Alex Smith and then put in all the running stuff when Colin K got in. So why would he now decide to shoe horn some offense down EJ's (or any of our QBs) throat that doesn't' suit him?

 

I read on here often that Roman want to run a running QB offense and that's what he likes. He didn't run that at Stanford, because he had Andrew Luck. He didn't run that the first year and a half with Alex Smith. When he got Colin K he did.

 

If Tyrod shows he can pass, then he could be the nstarter and run frequently. If he doesn't, then one of the other guys will run an offense that doesn't feature the QB running the football.

 

And I suspect it will be effective with whichever of these 3 guys gets to start.

Yep. Good post. One of the very best things about Roman.

[reddogblitz]

In 5 games, starting 4 last year. Manuel threw for 58%. 6.4 YPA, 5td, 3ints, 1 fum. I don't see him taking the Bills to the playoffs, much less sustaining it in the years to come.

 

I guess I was thinking of the first game last year where he was 17 for 25 with 2 TDs and a 113.8 rating in a rout. This was when they still had AP. The next game was pretty bad and the next game he got hurt.

 

But if we want to go by stats to show who has potential to be a good starter, let's also consider Tryrod Taylors' career numbers: 19 for 35 with 0 TDs, 2 picks, and a 47.2 rate. Inspires confidence.

[Kelly the Dog]

That's odd because each of them are very, very good runners. Luck & Smith are 2 of the top 7 running QBs in the league IMO (the other 3 being Wilson, RGIII, Mariota, Kaep and Cam).

But they weren't running QBs they were QBs who could scramble and run. Luck and Smith are not going to run read option nearly as much or the run/pass options nearly as much as he calls for Kap. It's almost the same as Cassell (very very few), EJ (around half) and Taylor (quite often)

[Kirby Jackson]

But they weren't running QBs they were QBs who could scramble and run. Luck and Smith are not going to run read option nearly as much or the run/pass options nearly as much as he calls for Kap. It's almost the same as Cassell (very very few), EJ (around half) and Taylor (quite often)

I don't disagree but that is who Smith was as a QB. Luck is just some natural freak that excels at everything. Smith is more of a runner than EJ IMO.

[Kelly the Dog]

I guess I was thinking of the first game last year where he was 17 for 25 with 2 TDs and a 113.8 rating in a rout. This was when they still had AP. The next game was pretty bad and the next game he got hurt.

 

But if we want to go by stats to show who has potential to be a good starter, let's also consider Tryrod Taylors' career numbers: 19 for 35 with 0 TDs, 2 picks, and a 47.2 rate. Inspires confidence.

Cassell has been a very decent player if not sorta good (10-5) in two of the three years he has had good skill players around him. Eight of his years he has had average to poor or he didn't play.

[BuffaloHokie13]

 

I guess I was thinking of the first game last year where he was 17 for 25 with 2 TDs and a 113.8 rating in a rout. This was when they still had AP. The next game was pretty bad and the next game he got hurt.

 

But if we want to go by stats to show who has potential to be a good starter, let's also consider Tryrod Taylors' career numbers: 19 for 35 with 0 TDs, 2 picks, and a 47.2 rate. Inspires confidence.

Most of that came in a week 17 Bengals game where Flacco and several other key offensive players (Ray Rice, Torrey Smith, etc.) were sat to rest for the playoffs. If you need to tear down the other options to support the candidate you want then you're doing yourself a disservice.

[Kelly the Dog]

I don't disagree but that is who Smith was as a QB. Luck is just some natural freak that excels at everything. Smith is more of a runner than EJ IMO.

Luck excels at running but Roman isn't going to call more than two runs a game for him. The big difference is in those run pass options that are called, too. Smith could run decent but he isn't any more of a runner than EJ. They want guys like EJ and Smith to run a few times to be a threat, so they can catch the defense napping once or twice a game, and even more so to keep them watching for it the times the QB hands off to help the RB and real run game. roman uses guys like Kap and TT as a weapon.

[PolishDave]

EJ was asked if his days were numbered, and he provided the quote that included the phrase "somewhere else."

rather than let that dangle and me rush off to my computer and write a "gotcha" story," i followed up with a question about whether he's considered "somewhere else."

 

to which his mixed response is included in the story.

 

jw

 

Here is the snippet from the story:

----

Asked if he's considered the possibility of playing somewhere else, Manuel gave a mixed response.

"I haven't. I don't know how that works," he said. "But I also understand the business of it. I don't know. All I can do right now is continue to play well."

----

He specifically answered "I haven't."

I don't see how that is ambiguous at all. He said no he hasn't thought about it.

That suggests to me that he isn't dwelling on that subject. Has the thought ever crossed his mind? I am sure it has. I am 100% positive it has crossed every single person's mind on that roster. They all understand how football works. Their agents explain it to them. They all know they could be gone tomorrow regardless of how good they think their standing is with the coaches and front office.

In my opinion, EJ said nothing and revealed nothing. He sounds like he is trying to stay focused on what he can do here in Buffalo, which is exactly what any fan could hope for out of a guy regardless of how good they think that player is.

[reddogblitz]

Most of that came in a week 17 Bengals game where Flacco and several other key offensive players (Ray Rice, Torrey Smith, etc.) were sat to rest for the playoffs. If you need to tear down the other options to support the candidate you want then you're doing yourself a disservice.

 

I don't have a candidate that "I want". I want whoever gives us the best chance to win. If stats can be used to tear one guy down, why not all of them? Especially if taken in a small sample size, like the last 5 games.

[Rico]

I honestly feel for EJ's superfans. They've invested so deep of a commitment he'd prove the naysayers wrong, so much energy defending every unbeliever attack, so much emotional capital hoping EJ would arise from the depths and vindicate their perfect faith, that I honestly wonder if they'll be able to continue on as Bills fans if/when he's cut. It will crush them.

The same people who got over RJ and got over JP will get over EJ.... and if/when the Bills make another big investment in another flawed QB, they will fall in love all over again. Rinse and repeat.

[negativo]

The same people who got over RJ and got over JP will get over EJ.... and if/when the Bills make another big investment in another flawed QB, they will fall in love all over again. Rinse and repeat.

 

I think you're probably right.

[LeGOATski]

 

I think you're probably right.

I'm on board with a couple 2016 QB prospects already.

 

Do you have any opinion on them right now?

[You herd it hear last]

Media creates news so they can report news. What's new? They ask questions, get vague answers they don't like from coaches, etc. So they use conjecture to draw up scenarios to report on. It's faux journalism.

[Gugny]

Media creates news so they can report news. What's new? They ask questions, get vague answers they don't like from coaches, etc. So they use conjecture to draw up scenarios to report on. It's faux journalism.