One thing nobody can dispute about Manuel

[Forward_Lateral]

He has the arm to play in Buffalo. Usually when it's windy like it was yesterday, there's no chance at a passing game for the Bills. See: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Trent Edwards, etc, etc. Even Losman was terrible in the wind.

Manuel played brilliantly yesterday, one would say darn near flawlessly. I'm not anointing him, but I will give credit where it's due. After the awful performance last week and the previous stinker vs the NY Jets, yesterday was a sigh of relief, if you will. A sign that Manuel can play.

I'd also like to start the Goodwin should be a starter petition.

[YardRat]

Yeah, he definitely has the arm in play in Buffalo.

[Night Train]

One thing I hope they see is they should roll him out a bit to create a clean passing lane. I understand the whole pocket theory but he gets a few knocked down and can lock on his primary a bit too often.

He throws a nice ball. Accuracy should improve with experience. A couple were affected by the wind blowing across the field but that happens at the Ralph.

[Meathead]

marrone said ej had the second biggest hands of all the qbs in the draft and was one of the big reasons they picked him over others bc hand size is a big determinate in bad weather throwing ability. sure looked like it today

[ghz in pittsburgh]

The 1st TD to Graham is a bit Roethlisberger-ish, a bit lucky. An unblocked Jets blitzer is on him and he still wings the ball downfield. The ball hung in wind and TJ tracks the ball (what a shocker) while the defender didn't. Maybe the experience of playing in Ralph helped.


The fact EJ fires the ball down field is a good sign regardless the outcome. It's the open secret that even EJ admitted as much in his presser (and many others like CJ said in the past, though some interpret as a shot to EJ) on how teams are defending Bills: stack the box to stop run, flood the intermediate area. You can say all you want about getting receivers big and tall who can win jump balls in traffic, but the most effective way is beat them deep on those defenses. Once is nice; consistency is the key, though.

[Meathead]

... yesterday

[better days]

The 1st TD to Graham is a bit Roethlisberger-ish, a bit lucky. An unblocked Jets blitzer is on him and he still wings the ball downfield. The ball hung in wind and TJ tracks the ball (what a shocker) while the defender didn't. Maybe the experience of playing in Ralph helped.


The fact EJ fires the ball down field is a good sign regardless the outcome. It's the open secret that even EJ admitted as much in his presser (and many others like CJ said in the past, though some interpret as a shot to EJ) on how teams are defending Bills: stack the box to stop run, flood the intermediate area. You can say all you want about getting receivers big and tall who can win jump balls in traffic, but the most effective way is beat them deep on those defenses. Once is nice; consistency is the key, though.

When EJ was drafted, I said he reminded me of Big Ben with his size & arm strength. I really wanted the Bills to draft Russell Wilson & he is tearing it up for the Seahawks, but hopefully EJ continues to develop & become a Franchise QB like Roethlisberger

[better days]

He has the arm to play in Buffalo. Usually when it's windy like it was yesterday, there's no chance at a passing game for the Bills. See: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Trent Edwards, etc, etc. Even Losman was terrible in the wind.

Manuel played brilliantly yesterday, one would say darn near flawlessly. I'm not anointing him, but I will give credit where it's due. After the awful performance last week and the previous stinker vs the NY Jets, yesterday was a sigh of relief, if you will. A sign that Manuel can play.

I'd also like to start the Goodwin should be a starter petition.

Marrone had the team practice outside in the cold & wind during the week.

He said I want to practice in the conditions we will be playing in......................SMART.

And not only Goodwin, but Graham, Hogan & Chandler all had good games yesterday.

Some people on the board have been calling for the Bills to draft a receiver high next year.

Others bagged on Chandler.

I said nonsense to both of that. Receiver is WAY DOWN on the list of Bills needs & Chandler is a weapon.

Chandler does not have Gronks speed, but he does have his size & he has good hands. I still think he should be used more effectively in the red zone like Chan used him.

[trapezeus]

Marrone had the team practice outside in the cold & wind during the week.

He said I want to practice in the conditions we will be playing in......................SMART.

And not only Goodwin, but Graham, Hogan & Chandler all had good games yesterday.

Some people on the board have been calling for the Bills to draft a receiver high next year.

Others bagged on Chandler.

I said nonsense to both of that. Receiver is WAY DOWN on the list of Bills needs & Chandler is a weapon.

Chandler does not have Gronks speed, but he does have his size & he has good hands. I still think he should be used more effectively in the red zone like Chan used him.

hilarious...he's dropped critical passes all season. an upgrade is needed. maybe not this upcoming draft or high, but i would take a more reliable TE than chandler.

He hurt his leg, not his hands. the drop off this year has been noticable.

as for EJ....good win for him, smart ball placement all game. the knock on him this game and it is something that can take time, but needs to be ready to go next season, is that he needs to scan the field better. he drops and throws to his guy. he needs to learn to look some people off.

but his arm strength in the wind was definitely noticable. he was like 2-3 on long passes and the two went for TD's. the third would have as well.

[better days]

hilarious...he's dropped critical passes all season. an upgrade is needed. maybe not this upcoming draft or high, but i would take a more reliable TE than chandler.

He hurt his leg, not his hands. the drop off this year has been noticable.

as for EJ....good win for him, smart ball placement all game. the knock on him this game and it is something that can take time, but needs to be ready to go next season, is that he needs to scan the field better. he drops and throws to his guy. he needs to learn to look some people off.

but his arm strength in the wind was definitely noticable. he was like 2-3 on long passes and the two went for TD's. the third would have as well.

Gronk has dropped some balls this year as well. Chandler has played with a NUMBER of different QB's this year as have ALL the receivers on the team.

The Bills also drafted Gragg last year. If a TE like Gronk or Graham or Gonzalez is available, great draft him, otherwise I say forget the TE position in the draft.

The Bills have other more pressing needs than TE or receiver.

[trapezeus]

the bills have a huge need to get a big receiver. that will improve woods, goodwin, and 7-11. Easley and Graham are junk. Easley is fine as a ST, but that's it. Graham sucks. that touchdown was his first of the season and he is being billed as a number 2. Woods has him beat.

The bills needs a 6'3 receiver who is a big build. if there is a can't miss guy in the first, i honestly, wouldn't mind the bills going with him.

Chandler has dropped too many 3rd and short this season. he's the only big body we have at receivers and he isn't reliable.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

Graham won't be the #2 receiver very long. I think Woods, Goodwin can easily unseat him next year, if not already (Woods). I know everyone crying about a true #1 receiver, but that's a very difficult proposition, much like franchise QB. You look around the league, how many you will consider to be a true #1 receiver that you can go to every down that demands double team from defense every time? Sure, when you have a chance, grab him in the draft. But to say use a first round pick and you'll get a #1 receiver is far from the truth. On the other hand, if you use a 1st round pick on a G/OLB/TE, in almost every draft you come up with a day 1 starter.

[better days]

Graham won't be the #2 receiver very long. I think Woods, Goodwin can easily unseat him next year, if not already (Woods). I know everyone crying about a true #1 receiver, but that's a very difficult proposition, much like franchise QB. You look around the league, how many you will consider to be a true #1 receiver that you can go to every down that demands double team from defense every time? Sure, when you have a chance, grab him in the draft. But to say use a first round pick and you'll get a #1 receiver is far from the truth. On the other hand, if you use a 1st round pick on a G/OLB/TE, in almost every draft you come up with a day 1 starter.

I agree, Graham is not a #2 WR, BUT he does have the speed to make him a weapon to keep in the arsenal.

You want to loosen up a defense? Put Graham & Goodwin on the field together & send them both deep.

Marrone said " We have two guys that can run by people. Most teams don't have that & we have two."

Graham will be a part of this team at least while his rookie contract is in place.

[The King]

That Goodwin pass carried 50 yards in the air, that was incredible.

[Jry44]

hilarious...he's dropped critical passes all season. an upgrade is needed. maybe not this upcoming draft or high, but i would take a more reliable TE than chandler.

He hurt his leg, not his hands. the drop off this year has been noticable.

as for EJ....good win for him, smart ball placement all game. the knock on him this game and it is something that can take time, but needs to be ready to go next season, is that he needs to scan the field better. he drops and throws to his guy. he needs to learn to look some people off.

but his arm strength in the wind was definitely noticable. he was like 2-3 on long passes and the two went for TD's. the third would have as well.

He threw the ball to 9 different receivers yesterday. That's not by not scanning the field. Plenty of those were 2nd and 3rd reads.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013111700/2013/REG11/jets@bills#tab=analyze&menu=highlights&analyze=boxscore

As for Chandler, I couldn't agree with you more.

[justasportsfan]

hilarious...he's dropped critical passes all season. an upgrade is needed. maybe not this upcoming draft or high, but i would take a more reliable TE than chandler.

He hurt his leg, not his hands. the drop off this year has been noticable.

as for EJ....good win for him, smart ball placement all game. the knock on him this game and it is something that can take time, but needs to be ready to go next season, is that he needs to scan the field better. he drops and throws to his guy. he needs to learn to look some people off.

but his arm strength in the wind was definitely noticable. he was like 2-3 on long passes and the two went for TD's. the third would have as well.

everyones dropped passes this season. It's not hard to drop the ball when you are playing with 2 rookie qb's and a qb that had just one start prior to this year. You are not going to build chemistry easily when we had musical chairs at the qbposition.

[trapezeus]

He threw the ball to 9 different receivers yesterday. That's not by not scanning the field. Plenty of those were 2nd and 3rd reads.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013111700/2013/REG11/jets@bills#tab=analyze&menu=highlights&analyze=boxscore

As for Chandler, I couldn't agree with you more.

i'm not QB coach, but i felt like when he dropped back to pass, he was still locking on to the first person. Maybe he didn't do that all the time, but that's the change i'd like to see him make to go from pretty decent game manager to game changer.

he did spread it around a bit yesterday.

i'm not saying it to knock him, i'm saying those are the little things that he needs to get more consistently so that he can be the franchise qb and not just another qb. juries out. he doesn't even have to look great doing it this year, just that he's capable and that he can do it more consistently next year when they are potentially a real playoff contender.

one intangible about EJ that i like is that no matter how crappy the first 5-8 drives go for him, he looks just as confident to go out there and make the right play. unlike the other bills qb's who just looked defeated the worse it got, EJ seems to be able to shake off things pretty easily. that is a long term strength if he can keep progressing.

[WagonCircler]

That Goodwin pass carried 50 yards in the air, that was incredible.

And it was on a line, which is something that you don't usually see from EJ on deep passes. Most of them look like the Texas Leaguer that TJ Graham camped out under.

It's almost more maddening to know that Manuel can throw that pass to Goodwin but almost never does.

[The King]

Graham won't be the #2 receiver very long. I think Woods, Goodwin can easily unseat him next year, if not already (Woods). I know everyone crying about a true #1 receiver, but that's a very difficult proposition, much like franchise QB. You look around the league, how many you will consider to be a true #1 receiver that you can go to every down that demands double team from defense every time? Sure, when you have a chance, grab him in the draft. But to say use a first round pick and you'll get a #1 receiver is far from the truth. On the other hand, if you use a 1st round pick on a G/OLB/TE, in almost every draft you come up with a day 1 starter.

Probably 5 or so.

Megatron
Green
Cruz
Fitzgerald
Thomas
Bryant

[bdutton]

hilarious...he's dropped critical passes all season. an upgrade is needed. maybe not this upcoming draft or high, but i would take a more reliable TE than chandler.

He hurt his leg, not his hands. the drop off this year has been noticable.

In case you didn't notice, half of the season has been played by backup qb's and the other half by a rookie learning how to play in teh NFL.

Chandler has been an outstanding player in that time and is the 13th ranked TE in receiving yards. That almost puts him in the top third of the TE's and that's an incredible stat if you consider who is throwing the ball to him. He has good hands. He doesn't have a lot of flash but he reminds me a lot of Metzellars from back in the day.

You want to talk about disappointment look no further than Stevie and TJ.

[kishoph]

That Goodwin pass carried 50 yards in the air, that was incredible.

He threw another one in the 2nd quarter that traveled about 45 yards against the wind and Goodwin, even though it hit his hands, couldn't catch up to it (looked like the wind was pulling it). One thing about that pass is, EJ threw it effortless, anyone saying he has a noodle arm, couldn't be more wrong, the kid can throw the ball.

[WagonCircler]

He has good hands. He doesn't have a lot of flash but he reminds me a lot of Metzellars from back in the day..

Actually, he reminds me of Jay Reimersma, who was at the game yesterday. I love big Pete, but I think Reimersma and Chandler were/are a little more athletic, if not as gigantic.

[WagonCircler]

He threw another one in the 2nd quarter that traveled about 45 yards against the wind and Goodwin, even though it hit his hands, couldn't catch up to it. One thing about that pass is, EJ threw it effortless, anyone saying he has a noodle arm, couldn't be more wrong, the kid can throw the ball.

It's clear that EJ can make the throws when he has time to get his mechanics right, which he had yesterday.

Hopefully he can get to a point where the mechanics work when he's under pressure.

[trapezeus]

In case you didn't notice, half of the season has been played by backup qb's and the other half by a rookie learning how to play in teh NFL.

Chandler has been an outstanding player in that time and is the 13th ranked TE in receiving yards. That almost puts him in the top third of the TE's and that's an incredible stat if you consider who is throwing the ball to him. He has good hands. He doesn't have a lot of flash but he reminds me a lot of Metzellars from back in the day.

You want to talk about disappointment look no further than Stevie and TJ.


top 13th of 32 starting TE? i just don't put much weight into stat ranking TE. Some teams use TE heavily and have superstars. the gap between the top 3-5 TE vs the rest is probably pretty big.

Chandler is dropping passes that hit him in the hands with the game on the line. Either step up and make a play, or be who you are...as you point out a slightly above average TE. If the draft has a can't miss TE or a can't miss big body WR, i'd take either.

Chandler has been a gritty guy, i just don't think he adds much when he drops as much as he does.

[better days]

top 13th of 32 starting TE? i just don't put much weight into stat ranking TE. Some teams use TE heavily and have superstars. the gap between the top 3-5 TE vs the rest is probably pretty big.

Chandler is dropping passes that hit him in the hands with the game on the line. Either step up and make a play, or be who you are...as you point out a slightly above average TE. If the draft has a can't miss TE or a can't miss big body WR, i'd take either.

Chandler has been a gritty guy, i just don't think he adds much when he drops as much as he does.

No drops yesterday. How long are you going to hold those drops he did have against him?

Like I said, Gronk has had drops this year with Brady throwing him the ball.

[feldspar]

marrone said ej had the second biggest hands of all the qbs in the draft and was one of the big reasons they picked him over others bc hand size is a big determinate in bad weather throwing ability. sure looked like it today

Actually, I think that Marrone said that he thinks EJ had the second biggest hands of ANYBODY at the combine or in the draft...something to that effect. Don't think he meant just QBs, cuz I heard that interview too.

[lightningbolt444]

No drops yesterday. How long are you going to hold those drops he did have against him?

Like I said, Gronk has had drops this year with Brady throwing him the ball.

He did actually have one drop yesterday. It was on 3rd down and it would have been a tough catch but it was for sure a catchable ball.

[Typ0]

top 13th of 32 starting TE? i just don't put much weight into stat ranking TE. Some teams use TE heavily and have superstars. the gap between the top 3-5 TE vs the rest is probably pretty big.

Chandler is dropping passes that hit him in the hands with the game on the line. Either step up and make a play, or be who you are...as you point out a slightly above average TE. If the draft has a can't miss TE or a can't miss big body WR, i'd take either.

Chandler has been a gritty guy, i just don't think he adds much when he drops as much as he does.

that's way too far in the micromanagement IMO. I'm personally a happy camper seeing that big guy making catches down the field like he does.