Manziel to enter NFL Draft

[ghz in pittsburgh]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/01/08/texas-am-quarterback-johnny-manziel-declares-to-enter-nfl-draft/4370131/

Widely expected of course. It will help the Bills both ways, either they want him or he pushes a guy to their spot.

The success of Russell Wilson really helps Manziel. I think he will go high, really high.

Of course Tim Couch even went 1st overall.

[jimmifli]

Cleveland?

[Night Train]

Cleveland?
Hamilton ?

(eventually)

[trapezeus]

i don't think manziel's style and size makes him long for an NFL career. however, he does seem like an exciting player. if the bills took him, i'd be a little disappointed, but very excited to see him play....if that makes any sense.

[Night Train]

Could thrive in a dome.

[stuckincincy]

Cleveland?

Could be.

[Buffalogic]

Bust for sure. Worse than Kaepernick, and that's bad. This guy is going to be awful in the NFL.

[The last buffalo fan]

Bust for sure. Worse than Kaepernick, and that's bad. This guy is going to be awful in the NFL.

The one that played superbolw last year, and the one that is playing and winning playoffs games? He is awful!

[ticatfan]

Hamilton ?

(eventually)http://www.buffalorange.com/showthread.php?208611-Johnny-Canadian-Manziel&p=3326883#post3326883

[WagonCircler]

Why would we need to even think about drafting a QB? We have the phenom who dominated the NFL last year.

And in case he gets hurt, which we all know would NEVER happen, we have a couple of Hall of Fame caliber QBs backing him up.

[better days]

i don't think manziel's style and size makes him long for an NFL career. however, he does seem like an exciting player. if the bills took him, i'd be a little disappointed, but very excited to see him play....if that makes any sense.

I would be excited to see Manziel play for the Jets or Fins.

[Dr. Lecter]

Why would we need to even think about drafting a QB? We have the phenom who dominated the NFL last year.

And in case he gets hurt, which we all know would NEVER happen, we have a couple of Hall of Fame caliber QBs backing him up.

Nobody is saying he dominated.

What people do say is that he was a kid and might need some time before he gets dumped.

There is a difference.

[Mr. Pink]

Lombardi apparently really likes Manziel, so it's a possibility.

[DraftBoy]

Nobody is saying he dominated.

What people do say is that he was a kid and might need some time before he gets dumped.

There is a difference.

Liar.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

Why would we need to even think about drafting a QB? We have the phenom who dominated the NFL last year.

And in case he gets hurt, which we all know would NEVER happen, we have a couple of Hall of Fame caliber QBs backing him up.

Amen to that, why Jeff Tuel is the greatest qb I've seen in a Bills uniform since the legendary Billy Joe Hobert. Why he might not be say a JP Lossman, but damn he's the best I've seen since Vince Ferragamo.

[Buffalogic]

The one that played superbolw last year, and the one that is playing and winning playoffs games? He is awful!Stupid comment. Obviously Kaepernick is the weak link on that team. You could have put twenty different qbs on that niner team last year and they would have still made the superbowl and probably would have won. Put kaepernick on the Jags, or the Titans, or the Browns and he'd be out of the league in two years. The guy sucks worse than his mighty wings and Manziel will bust even harder than Kaep.

[WagonCircler]

Nobody is saying he dominated.

What people do say is that he was a kid and might need some time before he gets dumped.

There is a difference.

Well why the hell can't he compete with another QB for the starting job?

We've seen this coddling BS before and it never ends well.

Kid or not, he absolutely doesn't deserve to be handed the starting job based on what we saw this year. He's a project QB who's FAR from ready to be an NFL starter, much less being handed the job.

Without a franchise QB, this team will go nowhere, and this kid is absolutely not a franchise QB. And even if he was, knees don't get stronger after being injured, and he missed almost half the season in his rookie year.

This is why we fans never get to go to playoff games.

[Ed]

I heard that the Browns are very high on Manziel, but Chudzinski was not and that contributed to his firing after just one season.

[Buffalogic]

I want Chud/Kubiak/Turner to be our OC next year so bad. Instead, we will spin the wheels with inexperienced in-over-his-head man for another year.

[swiper]

It's less about the OC and more about the suck**** QBs they used this season.

[BillsFever21]

I want Chud/Kubiak/Turner to be our OC next year so bad. Instead, we will spin the wheels with inexperienced in-over-his-head man for another year.

That would be nice but Marrone won't get rid of Hackett after one year on the job. It's his guy from Syracuse and he is running the system Marrone wants the Bills to run. Some of the other guys would want to bring in their own system and that wouldn't fly. It would be different if it was the other side of the football. I would've rather had seen Hackett brought on as a QB coach to start his NFL career when all his other experience in that position was in college at Syracuse nonetheless.

Not to mention that Marrone is still new in his job and the last thing he probably wants right now is an experienced coordinator who also used to be a HC for years. Especially with Kubiak or Turner who had some success and playoff appearances along the way. He would probably be looking over his shoulder and feel threatened of losing his job if the team was playing bad. It makes it much easier for a team to fire the HC during the season when they have an experienced coach on the staff that used to be a HC.

Then even IF Marrone wanted an experienced coordinator like them guys I doubt the Bills would pay the money it would take to get them. They haven't paid big money for any coordinators or positional coaches in years and they always hire them on the cheap. That's why we usually end up with a bunch of newbies who have never held that title before and if they did it was without a huge amount of success. They definitely didn't have any prior HC experience in the NFL either. Then many of our positional coaches are first time coaches along with it.

I just don't see the Bills willing to pay the money it would take to get somebody like them or any other big name coordinators. A great coordinator(especially with previous HC experience) can many times make almost as much money or more then some first time HC's in the NFL like Marrone. There is no way that Ralph will pay a coordinator the same amount of money that he's paying for the HC.

[Buffalogic]

It's not just how poorly EJ did, Hackett had no idea how to use spiller. Every run play the same thing, shotgun one back formation, run up the center's ass. Just uninspired, unimaginative, peewee football type of plays and the repetition of them was mind boggling. Is it really that hard to throw Spiller a screen? We gouged teams hard in the screen game under Gailey, figure it out Hackett.

And Marrone will lose his job in both scenarios billsfever, since the offense will continue to suck under Hackett. If we hired a guy like Kubiak, it would enhance our run game and hide EJ better ala first few years with Schaub. We would win more games probably providing Marrone with more longevity. But it will never happen, we're the bills.

[Dr. Lecter]

Well why the hell can't he compete with another QB for the starting job?

We've seen this coddling BS before and it never ends well.

Kid or not, he absolutely doesn't deserve to be handed the starting job based on what we saw this year. He's a project QB who's FAR from ready to be an NFL starter, much less being handed the job.

Without a franchise QB, this team will go nowhere, and this kid is absolutely not a franchise QB. And even if he was, knees don't get stronger after being injured, and he missed almost half the season in his rookie year.

This is why we fans never get to go to playoff games.


I have no idea what the hell that has to do with my post.

In fact, I am positive it has nothing to do with what I said.

[feldspar]

I'm not entirely optimistic about Manuel's chances of panning out.

I'm 100% behind bringing in some legitimate competition for the starting QB spot.

The end.

[The Beef]

Manzieln to Minnesota makes too much sense.

Pair him up with AP. They've got a big at guy in Patterson and a solid vet in Jennings.

Manziel is like a Baby Flutie. In a situation like that all he has to do is make just enough aha to keep defenses honest. I don't see anything in his track record to say he won't be able to do those things.

Now if he goes to the Raiders all bets are off. The Raiders could land Tom Brady, Megatron, and Jamal Charles and I wouldn't count on them for even 8 wins.

[WagonCircler]

I have no idea what the hell that has to do with my post.

In fact, I am positive it has nothing to do with what I said.

Well, let me try to help. This is, I think we can assume, a thread about Johhny Manziell entering the draft. Since this is a Bills forum, it's fairly safe to assume that it is being viewed and discussed through a prism of "Might the Bills draft him, should the opportunity arise?".

I made a facetious statement positing that the Bills have no need to think about drafting a QB, given the utter dominance displayed by the current savior QB.

You replied with something to the effect of "no one's saying he dominated, just that we shouldn't give up on him (EJ) after just one season."

To which I responded:

Well why the hell can't he compete with another QB for the starting job?

We've seen this coddling BS before and it never ends well.

Kid or not, he absolutely doesn't deserve to be handed the starting job based on what we saw this year. He's a project QB who's FAR from ready to be an NFL starter, much less being handed the job.

Without a franchise QB, this team will go nowhere, and this kid is absolutely not a franchise QB. And even if he was, knees don't get stronger after being injured, and he missed almost half the season in his rookie year.

This is why we fans never get to go to playoff games.

My overall point is that drafting a QB in the early rounds (hopefully round one--perhaps the aforementioned Mr. Manziell) would not necessarily mean giving up on Manuel.

I elaborated on that concept by opining that the Bills have a history of coddling messiah QBs, and it has gone over like a ham sandwich in a mosque. I further noted that if Mr. Manuel is incapable of surviving a legitimate battle for the job of heir to Jim Kelly, then he will never amount to much anyway.

I bolstered my argument with the fact based observation that Manuel can apparently be hobbled by a gust of lake effect wind.

And finally, I ended with the Bills fan version of my Mom's favorite axiom whenever I broke something as a kid..."This is why we can't have nice things!"

Hope this was helpful.

[Dr. Lecter]

Sigh.

Here is the thing. I never said that there is a problem with having somebody challenge for the starting job. I don't care if they bring a challenge for anybody.

What I was disputing was your line of idiocy about any of us saying he dominated. And, I was trying to point out to you that regardless of what you think of him is that he was a rookie last year.

Let me you in on a little secret - sometimes rookie quarterbacks are not dominating in their rookie year. It really happens. And then - gasp! - they can turn out to be pretty damn good quarterbacks.

So you can continue on with your attitude that apparently puts Manuel somewhere between Willie Totten and Bruce Mathison and act as if QB is the #1 need on the team. Or this idea that he has been injury prone for years instead of having knee injuries in a span of one year. Or, that if they draft Manziel then it means anything else but that it is time to dump Manuel (Let's not act like there is any other real option).

Of course I also never said they should coddle him.

So basically you have gone on a rant telling me not to say things that I never said.

That is why none of it really fit into your response. You can continue to pretend it does if it makes you feel good.

[better days]

Well, let me try to help. This is, I think we can assume, a thread about Johhny Manziell entering the draft. Since this is a Bills forum, it's fairly safe to assume that it is being viewed and discussed through a prism of "Might the Bills draft him, should the opportunity arise?".

I made a facetious statement positing that the Bills have no need to think about drafting a QB, given the utter dominance displayed by the current savior QB.

You replied with something to the effect of "no one's saying he dominated, just that we shouldn't give up on him (EJ) after just one season."

To which I responded:

Well why the hell can't he compete with another QB for the starting job?

We've seen this coddling BS before and it never ends well.

Kid or not, he absolutely doesn't deserve to be handed the starting job based on what we saw this year. He's a project QB who's FAR from ready to be an NFL starter, much less being handed the job.

Without a franchise QB, this team will go nowhere, and this kid is absolutely not a franchise QB. And even if he was, knees don't get stronger after being injured, and he missed almost half the season in his rookie year.

This is why we fans never get to go to playoff games.

My overall point is that drafting a QB in the early rounds (hopefully round one--perhaps the aforementioned Mr. Manziell) would not necessarily mean giving up on Manuel.

I elaborated on that concept by opining that the Bills have a history of coddling messiah QBs, and it has gone over like a ham sandwich in a mosque. I further noted that if Mr. Manuel is incapable of surviving a legitimate battle for the job of heir to Jim Kelly, then he will never amount to much anyway.

I bolstered my argument with the fact based observation that Manuel can apparently be hobbled by a gust of lake effect wind.

And finally, I ended with the Bills fan version of my Mom's favorite axiom whenever I broke something as a kid..."This is why we can't have nice things!"

Hope this was helpful.

Well, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Bills to draft a QB in the early rnds.

Especially in the first rnd.

[GvilleBills]

Well, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the Bills to draft a QB in the early rnds.

Especially in the first rnd.
Not likely that the top QB are still there in the first, meaning Buffalo would have to reach. Definitely not advocating taking a second tier guy with our first rounder. But in the second round??? EJ has shown nothing to this point that should stop the Bills from covering their asses with a Murray-like talent.

- - - Updated - - -


I'm not entirely optimistic about Manuel's chances of panning out.

I'm 100% behind bringing in some legitimate competition for the starting QB spot.

The end.
Bingo

[WagonCircler]

That is why none of it really fit into your response. You can continue to pretend it does if it makes you feel good.

Just because I quoted your post doesn't mean that you need to take every word in my reply personally.

It's not personal. It's Bills.

And far from having dominated, Manuel had the same mediocre first year that Edwards and Losman and every other loser QB going straight back to Todd Collins had.

And I believe, like I did with Edwards, that his inaccuracy is so bad that it's not fixable. And when you combine his inarguable tendency to miss games due to injury, you have the walking dead at QB.

But we've all seen this movie before. The Bills will shield him from the unthinkable damage to his ego that would result from drafting a QB in the first round. And they'll wait another 2 years before finally admitting their mistake.

Same as it ever was.

[The last buffalo fan]

Stupid comment. Obviously Kaepernick is the weak link on that team. You could have put twenty different qbs on that niner team last year and they would have still made the superbowl and probably would have won. Put kaepernick on the Jags, or the Titans, or the Browns and he'd be out of the league in two years. The guy sucks worse than his mighty wings and Manziel will bust even harder than Kaep.

It is your opinión not mine. He is playing at a very respectable level and winning game on his own, like it or not.

[Mr. Miyagi]

HELL NO TO MANZIEL

[feldspar]

I absolutely HATE the mentality that basically gives EJ Manuel a free pass just because he was a rookie, and that the Bills somehow owe him something because they picked him high. We've seen this movie play out too many times (not just on the Bills) where this type of thinking sets a team back years. Putting your eggs in one basket like that is a formula for disaster. MOST quarterbacks don't pan out.

We don't owe Manuel anything...we definitely don't have to hand him the starting QB job for some reason. He never did exactly EARN that spot, either...EVER.

Look at what the Seahawks did. They picked up Matt Flynn and gave him a 3-year $21 million contract, but the guy never really played in Seattle because Russell Wilson looked better. How is that working out for them? That's called a contingency plan based on a real competition, and competition is what any sport is all about.

The teams that pick near the top every year generally have one thing in common: they don't have a good quarterback. You NEED one to be consistently competitive, and that's all there is to it. With the rookie wage scale in place, I don't see any reason why teams that don't have a quarterback shouldn't do EVERYTHING THEY CAN to get one as THE top priority. Otherwise, you got Christian Ponder or Blaine Gabbert for three years, with the rationalization that they need to develop and nobody wants to cover their bases by bringing in any real competition...they'd have to admit that they may have been wrong about "their guy" if they do that. Egos.

Sure, guys need to develop at QB, but it's nowhere near a foregone conclusion that they will. In fact, it's more likely that they won't. You won't get your franchise guy if you stop trying, either. I really didn't see anything from EJ Manuel this year that I didn't also see from Thad Lewis, a guy who came in cold from the practice squad. Some of his major problems may not be "correctable" in my opinion.

I'm not talking about replacing Manuel per se. I'm talking about bringing in some REAL competition for the spot. If Manuel wins that competition then so-be-it...good for him, but I'd feel a whole lot better if the Bills did their due diligence about it without handing Manuel the starting role on a silver platter. I was a huge proponent of the Bills drafting TWO quarterbacks last year...the Bills actually thought very seriously about doing it, but they didn't. Perhaps they would have won a couple more games if they did. I'm a huge proponent of the Bills drafting another one THIS year. Could land a Nick Foles or somebody that could pan out. Gotta explore free agency big-time as well. If they do NOTHING, I'll be pissed, but that's nothing new with this ball-club.

Quarterback is the most important position in all sports. You don't stand pat for years and HOPE your guy pans out when he hasn't shown anything special at all. Hell, I wanted to draft Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, but we apparently already had our "projects" going on. Stupid.

Do you have any idea how much better this team would be with high-quality play at the quarterback position? The difference would be night and day.

[The Jokeman]

Manzieln to Minnesota makes too much sense.

Pair him up with AP. They've got a big at guy in Patterson and a solid vet in Jennings.

Manziel is like a Baby Flutie. In a situation like that all he has to do is make just enough aha to keep defenses honest. I don't see anything in his track record to say he won't be able to do those things.

Now if he goes to the Raiders all bets are off. The Raiders could land Tom Brady, Megatron, and Jamal Charles and I wouldn't count on them for even 8 wins.

The future of the Vikings is Coradelle Patterson. I wouldn't be shocked to see AP on another team as early as 2015.

[swiper]

It's not just how poorly EJ did, Hackett had no idea how to use spiller.

All he had to do was watch video of the Bills 2012 offense.

[The Jokeman]

Lombardi apparently really likes Manziel, so it's a possibility.

And as bad as we Bills fans have had it, the Cleveland Browns might be the worst run organization in the entire NFL.

[Buffalogic]

It is your opinión not mine. He is playing at a very respectable level and winning game on his own, like it or not.Winning games on his own? Maybe in college, not the NFL. The guy averaged like 200 yards/game passing. That's not a QB. Someone in San Fran needs to realize Kaepernick is no more than a gimmicky wide receiver, not a quarterback.

EJ is terrible, no doubt. I'm all for drafting another QB, but not a worse version of the already bad.

[swiper]

And Manuel will struggle worse next year as all the DCs will study his film from this season.

[TacklingDummy]

Do you have any idea how much better this team would be with high-quality play at the quarterback position? The difference would be night and day.

It would be a Playoff team.

[TacklingDummy]

And Manuel will struggle worse next year as all the DCs will study his film from this season.


And then he will get injured again and people will use that as an excuse to give him yet another year.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

It's not just how poorly EJ did, Hackett had no idea how to use spiller. Every run play the same thing, shotgun one back formation, run up the center's ass. Just uninspired, unimaginative, peewee football type of plays and the repetition of them was mind boggling. Is it really that hard to throw Spiller a screen? We gouged teams hard in the screen game under Gailey, figure it out Hackett.

And Marrone will lose his job in both scenarios billsfever, since the offense will continue to suck under Hackett. If we hired a guy like Kubiak, it would enhance our run game and hide EJ better ala first few years with Schaub. We would win more games probably providing Marrone with more longevity. But it will never happen, we're the bills.

I'm really losing patience with the playcalling excuses for Spiller. If your Top 10 pick needs all manner of trickery and misdirection to gain positive yardage, then he shouldn't be the focus of your offense. IMO the question shouldn't be "Why is Hackett calling so many conventional plays for Spiller?" and more "Why can't Spiller do anything out of a conventional playcall?"

[Buffalogic]

I'm really losing patience with the playcalling excuses for Spiller. If your Top 10 pick needs all manner of trickery and misdirection to gain positive yardage, then he shouldn't be the focus of your offense. IMO the question shouldn't be "Why is Hackett calling so many conventional plays for Spiller?" and more "Why can't Spiller do anything out of a conventional playcall?"
We wasted Lynch and he's an every down, versatile back. He's not having any problem being one of the best players in the league for the Seahawks. Buffalo is the problem. Same situation applies to Spiller. If he goes to a team with competant play callers he will be the best back in the league. Coaches should highlight their players strengths and not try to ram a square peg in a round hole. Who cares what creampuff college philosophy Hackett has, if it ain't broke don't fix it. CJ was incredible in 2012 and yet they scrap the proven blueprint for some garbage.

[Mr. Pink]

And as bad as we Bills fans have had it, the Cleveland Browns might be the worst run organization in the entire NFL.

The funny or sad part depending on how you look at it is if the Browns take a QB at 4 who ends up being the real deal, they'll be in the playoffs faster than the Bills.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

We wasted Lynch and he's an every down, versatile back. He's not having any problem being one of the best players in the league for the Seahawks. Buffalo is the problem. Same situation applies to Spiller. If he goes to a team with competant play callers he will be the best back in the league. Coaches should highlight their players strengths and not try to ram a square peg in a round hole. Who cares what creampuff college philosophy Hackett has, if it ain't broke don't fix it. CJ was incredible in 2012 and yet they scrap the proven blueprint for some garbage.

Spiller had one great year of 4. The league is littered with guys who caught lightning in a bottle for a season and never reached that height again - especially running backs. Remember, this was the offense that was supposed to HELP Spiller. Fast snaps so he can take advantage of tired defenses? Speedy wideouts to keep safeties deep? A mobile QB the D has to respect on the read?

And yet he played worse than last year, while people blamed the playcalling, Manuel, the oline, and a sprained ankle that hobbled him for over three months.

He's a fine player and a useful cog. But this fantasy that 'he's gonna take over the league, just you guys wait and see,' has really got to stop. It's holding us back.

[The Jokeman]

The funny or sad part depending on how you look at it is if the Browns take a QB at 4 who ends up being the real deal, they'll be in the playoffs faster than the Bills.

If the Browns take Manziel at 4 I think they're in big trouble. As I don't see him doing well in the NFL. He just feels like countless other athletic Heisman trophy QBs who could dominate in the NCAA because of their skill but when it comes to playing in the NFL it's a total different story. Of course they still need to find a HC etc. So I'll reserve my full analysis until then. Yet Josh McDaniels electing to pass on them is very telling.

[Buffalogic]

Spiller had one great year of 4. The league is littered with guys who caught lightning in a bottle for a season and never reached that height again - especially running backs. Remember, this was the offense that was supposed to HELP Spiller. Fast snaps so he can take advantage of tired defenses? Speedy wideouts to keep safeties deep? A mobile QB the D has to respect on the read?

And yet he played worse than last year, while people blamed the playcalling, Manuel, the oline, and a sprained ankle that hobbled him for over three months.

He's a fine player and a useful cog. But this fantasy that 'he's gonna take over the league, just you guys wait and see,' has really got to stop. It's holding us back.
And how many great years did Lynch have with the bills? None. He had average to good years. He had the talent to do much better, this organization held him back. So saying Spiller had one great year out of four proves my point better than it proves yours, since Lynch had to go to a real team before he was great.

And Spiller is the least of our worries, definitely not holding us back. Our run game is above average with or without him. Our team however, would be much better if we could accentuate our players strengths. I don't care how fast you snap the ball if the defense knows what is coming due to repetitive playcalling and also knows the QB lacks the accuracy to stretch the field, the advantage is with the defense. It's amazing the run game was as productive as it was.

[better days]

Why would we need to even think about drafting a QB? We have the phenom who dominated the NFL last year.

And in case he gets hurt, which we all know would NEVER happen, we have a couple of Hall of Fame caliber QBs backing him up.

As opposed to the future HOF QB's in this draft class sure.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

And how many great years did Lynch have with the bills? None. He had average to good years. He had the talent to do much better, this organization held him back. So saying Spiller had one great year out of four proves my point better than it proves yours, since Lynch had to go to a real team before he was great.

He had to pull his head out of his butt, something Spiller has yet to do. It's not like Lynch is being sprung with ingenious playcalling - he's just a ********* warhammer that Seattle keeps bludgeoning people with until they quit. They increased his production with the read and Wilson, but he was already a 2x pro bowler before Wilson joined the team.


And Spiller is the least of our worries, definitely not holding us back. Our run game is above average with or without him. Our team however, would be much better if we could accentuate our players strengths. I don't care how fast you snap the ball if the defense knows what is coming due to repetitive playcalling and also knows the QB lacks the accuracy to stretch the field, the advantage is with the defense. It's amazing the run game was as productive as it was.

He does hold us back, because repeatedly giving him high-value carries and watching him turn 1st and 10 until 2nd and 9 was infuriating. When you have inconsistency in the passing game, the running game needs to provide stability. Instead Spiller made things worse.

You are right in that he'd look better on some another teams, but that's not because other teams would use him in any meaningfully better way. Other teams with solid QB situations could afford some of his horrible stretches while they wait for him to break one. Meanwhile the Bills feed him 10 times for 25 yards and it kills our offense.

[Buffalogic]

He had to pull his head out of his butt, something Spiller has yet to do. It's not like Lynch is being sprung with ingenious playcalling - he's just a ********* warhammer that Seattle keeps bludgeoning people with until they quit. They increased his production with the read and Wilson, but he was already a 2x pro bowler before Wilson joined the team.



He does hold us back, because repeatedly giving him high-value carries and watching him turn 1st and 10 until 2nd and 9 was infuriating. When you have inconsistency in the passing game, the running game needs to provide stability. Instead Spiller made things worse.

You are right in that he'd look better on some another teams, but that's not because other teams would use him in any meaningfully better way. Other teams with solid QB situations could afford some of his horrible stretches while they wait for him to break one. Meanwhile the Bills feed him 10 times for 25 yards and it kills our offense.
Or we feed him 10 times for 115 yards and never give him the ball again. I agree Spiller isn't a traditional back and he can't sustain drives like a bruising runner, but that doesn't make him terrible. He definitely needs a passing attack, something we don't have. He is the main game plan for all opposing defenses. We have no receivers or any other threats on offense besides him. Teams can easily play us straight up man on the outside and just load the box. That's why dissolving the screen game is even more ludicrous since it protects both EJ and CJ. CJ needs a lead blocker to help him through the muck of the lines. He is an I-formation back. Yet we continually feed him the ball from a one-back shotgun formation. It's ******ed.

Chris Johnson had a terrible year on the ground, but hes still a valuable running back because his game doesn't die with low YPC. Even Munchak could figure that out.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Or we feed him 10 times for 115 yards and never give him the ball again.

It's those tantalizing days that make everyone think he's so much more, and lead to statements like "If he goes to a team with competant play callers he will be the best back in the league."

No he won't. The best back in the league doesn't need a passing attack to be successful, they don't need a specially tailored gameplan just to look competent, and they don't get repeatedly outplayed by a 30+ year old UDFA on their own team. Jamaal Charles has been dominant with four different coaches. McCoy did the same under two. Peterson put together one of the best seasons by any football player ever mere months after blowing out his knee. Those are the guys who belong in the best back conversation. Not a guy who can only be successful if we run him behind a fullback and throw him screens, but not too much or else he gets hurt.


I agree Spiller isn't a traditional back and he can't sustain drives like a bruising runner, but that doesn't make him terrible.

I didn't say he was terrible, but he's not elite either.


Chris Johnson had a terrible year on the ground, but hes still a valuable running back because his game doesn't die with low YPC. Even Munchak could figure that out.

What has Tennessee accomplished with him? Even his signature season came about when the coach said "**** it, we're going for the record." and just fed him the football

[Buffalogic]

Tennessee has the same problem. 0 threats outside of CJ2K. Fitzpatrick...Enough said, and he's throwing to who exactly? Journeyman Nate Washington? Kendall Wright is good but he can't carry a team. Ray Rice was considered elite. When Bolden left and while Pitta was injured all year his numbers plummeted.

Adrian Peterson is the best back of his generation and even with him going completely psycho the vikings barely made the playoffs with an average record. It's a team game and the coaches set their talented players up to succeed or they set them up to fail. Every team in the NFL has talent, the difference between the good teams and the awful teams is coaching. It is that simple.

[BillsFever21]

One team that is in a great position are the Rams once again. Unless they decide to give up on Bradford then they are sitting there with the #2 pick in a draft with several highly rated QB's and at least 6 teams in the Top 10 that could covet a single QB or one of the QB's.

They could easily get another good trade package from a team that falls in love with one of the top few QB's in the draft. Either from a team further down in the Top 10 that would miss out on the top few QB's or a team around the Top 5 that covets one of them and doesn't want to miss out on them.

They could easily end up swapping first round picks with somebody in the Top 10 along with picking up their 2nd round pick, 1st round pick next year and maybe other middle round draft picks. Not too shabby when it's the draft pick they got from the Redskins when they got a kings ransom from the RG3 trade. They won't get that many picks again but they are in a great position to pick up another extra 1st in 2015, 2nd in 2014 and possibly other draft picks as part of the package.

[GingerP]

One team that is in a great position are the Rams once again. Unless they decide to give up on Bradford then they are sitting there with the #2 pick in a draft with several highly rated QB's and at least 6 teams in the Top 10 that could covet a single QB or one of the QB's.

Or... they could trade Bradford and take one of those QB for themselves. Bradford has been a tease thus far in his career, and while the team hasn't been great around him he hasn't developed like expected after being the ROY in 2010.

[Mace]

Or... they could trade Bradford and take one of those QB for themselves. Bradford has been a tease thus far in his career, and while the team hasn't been great around him he hasn't developed like expected after being the ROY in 2010.

Well, the big problem with this, is that he's had 3 OC's and offenses in 4 years, one of them being with McDaniels minus Belichick and two more of them being "utilized" by Brian Schottenheimer the famous Sanchize developer of talent, still on his golden roll to an inexplicable HC hire.

[Buffalogic]

The one that played superbolw last year, and the one that is playing and winning playoffs games? He is awful!See what I mean with Kaep now? He's a total bust. Definitely not a quarterback. 150 yds passing two strip sacks two ints, 3 turnovers in a row to end the game and lose.

Manziel will be just like this. Buyer beware!

[JediMindPowers]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/01/08/texas-am-quarterback-johnny-manziel-declares-to-enter-nfl-draft/4370131/

Widely expected of course. It will help the Bills both ways, either they want him or he pushes a guy to their spot.

The success of Russell Wilson really helps Manziel. I think he will go high, really high.

Of course Tim Couch even went 1st overall.


Manziel is nowhere near as athletically gifted as Russel Wilson.

[WagonCircler]

Manziel is nowhere near as athletically gifted as Russel Wilson.

Nothing like a subjective, non-provable, non-fact based statement.

I like Russell Wilson. A lot. But I have to say, he was by far the less physically gifted QB on the field Sunday. Yet, he's a better QB than Kaepernick.

Manziell may or may not be as gifted as Wilson, but they're not far apart.