OldTimeAFLGuy Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said: If you haven’t checked out Eric Wood’s interview with EJ Manuel yet, it’s a good listen for any Bills fan. https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=68066663&autoplay=1 I’ll say this - EJ sounds like a great guy. He was very positive about Buffalo, though you sense he feels thing would’ve turned out better in a different situation. He says his career didn’t work out but believes it happened for a reason and he thinks his story can help others. Some interesting notes: - He said the Doug Whaley/Buddy Nix plan was always to start Kevin Kolb and have EJ learn from him (bad idea). One Kolb got hurt he had no one to learn from since Jeff Tuel (and later Thad Lewis) were inexperienced QB’s, so Wood was the player who tried to mention him at QB! - After his in-season injury in 2013 he was privately tutored by legendary OC Paul Hackett (Nate’s dad) on reading defenses. - EJ said his confidence was shaken after the infamous JJ Watt pick six. Seantrel didn’t cut Watt resulting in the pick, but he said he takes the blame. Doug Marrone sat him down and said he was their guy but they wanted him to take a step back and watch Kyle Orton play. - He thought that Rex was trying to “bring in his own guys” at QB and felt he earned his roster spot with his preseason play. Dressing as an inactive QB hurt his confidence and relationship with Buffalo and said he didn’t play well in the Jets finale in 2016, because his confidence was completely shot. - EJ said he did well in Oakland under Jack Del Rio. When Gruden came in, he felt he wanted Conner Cook to be the backup. While he played well in the preseason, Gruden cut him and he spent the rest of 2018 trying to get a job....it never happened. - Oddly enough this year, he got a call from Andy Reid about backing up Patrick Mahomes once Chad Henne went down. I think he said KC said “thanks but no thank,” and then later said he was beginning his job at the SEC Network and didn’t want to come back. Like I said, he seemed positive and excited about his broadcasting career, but I also sensed some disappointment over how his NFL career ended. If you think about it, he went from 1st round draft pick to street FA with no offers in less than 6 months. So do you think EJ’s was a victim was a happenstance? Or was he an over drafted QB with a limited ceiling? I’m thinking it was more of the later, but it hard to listen to this interview and not like the guy personally. objectively (I have no ax to grind or want to play the blame game) I think it was a combination of both.....Nix was hell bent on drafting a QB...ironically his 1st choice was Gnome Smith until they flew down for interview and work out...consensus on the plane ride home was, "um...no thanks"......so EJ was 2nd fiddle......I don't think his self-confidence level would rise to being overdrafted nor do I think his collegiate career demonstrated a HIGH ceiling......think he did show a good work ethic and tried to improve...but as Steve Young (yup THAT guy) said, "more collegians fail versus succeed at the NFL level due to the speed and complexity of the game"....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCockSportif Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: objectively (I have no ax to grind or want to play the blame game) I think it was a combination of both.....Nix was hell bent on drafting a QB...ironically his 1st choice was Gnome Smith until they flew down for interview and work out...consensus on the plane ride home was, "um...no thanks"......so EJ was 2nd fiddle......I don't think his self-confidence level would rise to being overdrafted nor do I think his collegiate career demonstrated a HIGH ceiling......think he did show a good work ethic and tried to improve...but as Steve Young (yup THAT guy) said, "more collegians fail versus succeed at the NFL level due to the speed and complexity of the game"....... Kind of agree. It was a comedy of errors, and this could be said for the Bills from 2000 until 2016 (give or take). Nix gave a huge extension to Fitz then found himself needing to get the money back to draft other talent and to sign FAs. I don't blame EJ for having been drafted that early; that was on the Bills. Sadly for EJ -- he was just not a good QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixxxer Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Great guy, not good enough QB, it seems he lacked the mental toughness to overcome adversity, big no-no if you're the leader of the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 9 minutes ago, Groin said: Kind of agree. It was a comedy of errors, and this could be said for the Bills from 2000 until 2016 (give or take). Nix gave a huge extension to Fitz then found himself needing to get the money back to draft other talent and to sign FAs. I don't blame EJ for having been drafted that early; that was on the Bills. Sadly for EJ -- he was just not a good QB. ...and I do know that Brandon called Fitz in asking him to re-negotiate for backup money.....Fitz said, "nope I will get starter money somewhere"........which he ironically did and STILL does..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCockSportif Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: ...and I do know that Brandon called Fitz in asking him to re-negotiate for backup money.....Fitz said, "nope I will get starter money somewhere"........which he ironically did and STILL does..... Speaking of Brandon? Glad that dude is gone once and for all. I grew sick of hearing about him. Good on Fitz though. Had EJ been able to manage his crisis of confidence then he too would probably still be in the league somewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 minute ago, Groin said: Speaking of Brandon? Glad that dude is gone once and for all. I grew sick of hearing about him. Good on Fitz though. Had EJ been able to manage his crisis of confidence then he too would probably still be in the league somewhere. ...his five year, $10 million dollar contract went up in flames because of his indiscretions...BUT...Pegula did give him $2 million severance.......at the same time, he is forever blacklisted from ANY employment in Buffalo and remains unemployed......even his buddy Koch who owns New Era said, "no can do".......Pegs does have some (COUGH) "influence"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCockSportif Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: ...his five year, $10 million dollar contract went up in flames because of his indiscretions...BUT...Pegula did give him $2 million severance.......at the same time, he is forever blacklisted from ANY employment in Buffalo and remains unemployed......even his buddy Koch who owns New Era said, "no can do".......Pegs does have some (COUGH) "influence"... Hope that Brandon is a frugal guy, and again, hope that he never touches another Buffalo sports team again, or is prominent in the area again... ever. Edited April 17, 2020 by Groin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said: EJ may have been big and athletic but he's nothing like the football player Josh Allen is And I wanted the best for EJ but Josh came in heads and shoulders better. EJ was supposed to be this dual-threat quarterback who couldn't even run ...the comparative confidence factor is an Allen strength while an EJ decided weakness before going any further...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoBills Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) An EJ Manuel thread. Thanks for the trip down "Amnesia Lane". 2013: Doug Whaley, Doug Marrone and EJ Manuel. 2020: Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott and Josh Allen. Remember this post draft interview. Edited April 17, 2020 by ColoradoBills 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Just now, Groin said: Hope that Brandon is a frugal guy, and again, hope that he never touches another Buffalo sports team again... ever. ...LOL....bought the neighboring Canandaigua Lake cottage (900 sq ft) for a million, knocked his down and built a new one for TWO million......frugal?.....LMAO...nuts.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 3 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said: He was very positive about Buffalo, though you sense he feels thing would’ve turned out better in a different situation. He would not have turned out better in a different situation. When you can't throw and have no feel for the game, you're simply bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCockSportif Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 10 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: ...LOL....bought the neighboring Canandaigua Lake cottage (900 sq ft) for a million, knocked his down and built a new one for TWO million......frugal?.....LMAO...nuts.... Hope he's sheltering in place then. My god, Brandon. That freaking guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Hucklebuck Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) The structure around EJ was ridiculous. A 73 year old GM, a rookie HC, rookie OC, who also doubled as the QB Coach, Kevin Kolb after his failure in Arizona, with Jeff Tuel and Thad Lewis. But it has to be noted: He had a Coach that punted from the Pittsburgh 36-yard line, down by two scores, in the 4th quarter with a 3-6 record. Also, Florida State went from 8-4 to winning the National Championship when EJ left. Listening to Doug Whaley talk about EJ’s presence when talking to the season ticket holders, but never once mentioning how EJ actually threw a football. Edited April 17, 2020 by Straight Hucklebuck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassHog Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 EJ needed to sit and learn, unfortunately he was thrown into a terrible situation with Doug Moron as head coach and Hackett as OC. They never should have benched him at 2-2. Would he have been better under different circumstances? Who knows. But his situation didnt help him one bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 26 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: ...LOL....bought the neighboring Canandaigua Lake cottage (900 sq ft) for a million, knocked his down and built a new one for TWO million......frugal?.....LMAO...nuts.... Wait...Russ lives on Canandaigua Lake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMF2006 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 29 minutes ago, Groin said: Hope that Brandon is a frugal guy, and again, hope that he never touches another Buffalo sports team again, or is prominent in the area again... ever. Touching the teams didn't get him fired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCockSportif Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 minute ago, JMF2006 said: Touching the teams didn't get him fired Ah, so you went there... NICE!!! ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 23 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said: He would not have turned out better in a different situation. When you can't throw and have no feel for the game, you're simply bad. Yeah I agree. He talked a little about Pat Mahomes and Alex Smith. I really do believe he feels if he was in a situation where he could sit behind a good veteran QB like Smith and brought along slowly, that things would have turned out differently. He also did say he takes responsibility for his career, it’s not like he used it as an excuse. But I just get the feeling he thinks his career could have gone differently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMF2006 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, Groin said: Ah, so you went there... NICE!!! ? Sometimes the set up is irresistible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 10 minutes ago, MassHog said: EJ needed to sit and learn, unfortunately he was thrown into a terrible situation with Doug Moron as head coach and Hackett as OC. They never should have benched him at 2-2. Would he have been better under different circumstances? Who knows. But his situation didnt help him one bit Marrone was coming off a 5-11 season and was under some pressure due to tension with Doug Whaley and Russ Brandon. I think he felt he needed to show progress. There’s a good chance an EJ led team finishes 5-11 again or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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