Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

[Yasgur's Farm]

...But good news for Bills fans as a whole

NFL.com, Elliot Harrison – No. 23
Buffalo should be in an excellent salary-cap situation, meaning it can fill several small holes at linebacker, on the offensive line and in the secondary, and figure out what to do with Jairus Byrd. Coach Doug Marrone has so much young talent; it will be up to his staff to develop it. Drafting another 'backer would be pleasant, too.

Yahoo Sports, Frank Schwab – No. 23
Doug Marrone already announced quarterback EJ Manuel will be his 2014 starter, and that was the right move. But now it's on Manuel to show that was the correct call.

Bleacher Report, David Daniels – No. 24
Four of Buffalo's 10 losses were decided by seven points or less, despite EJ Manuel missing six games due to injury. It's a competitive club that's one strong offseason and a healthy core away from playoff contention.

ESPN.com – No. 25
If EJ Manuel can stay healthy, the Bills could compete next season. The defense finished top five in sacks, interceptions, opponent completion percentage and opponent Total QBR.

CBS Sports, Pete Prisco – No. 26
It's all about the growth of EJ Manuel next season. He has to improve. And he will.

Pro Football Focus – No. 26
Kinks remain in need of ironing, but the Bills showed some fight and with that defensive line and a talented rookie linebacker in the middle, there’s already plenty to look forward to for 2014 – just have to keep the QB on field to be sure of what they have in him.

SB Nation, Jason Chilton – No. 26
New Year's Resolution - One foot in front of the other. It may not have been totally reflected in their 6-10 record, but the Bills did a lot of things right in 2013. They've assembled a defense with talent at all three levels and put together a solid cadre of weapons for E.J. Manuel, though his triple dose of knee injuries kept him from exploiting them for much of the season. Sticking to the plan will have the Bills in as good a position as anyone when Tom Brady finally falters. Of course, apportioning snaps with the realization that C.J. Spiller is one of the NFL's five most explosive players wouldn't be a bad idea either.

USA Today – No. 28
Will strides made on defense be lost without departed coordinator Mike Pettine around?

Bleacher Report, Eric Mack – Offseason prediction
Quarterback
Yes. EJ Manuel showed enough in his first year to at least get a few years of a leash on his development.

Offseason Prediction
The Bills need to keep their defense intact, which require a second-year franchise tag or a long-term contract for Jairus Byrd. We will go with the latter and pencil in University of Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack (no relation to the writer) as their No. 1 pick. New defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz should like that collection of talent he inherits.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Power-rankings-and-outllooks-on-the-2014-season/16c943d0-615b-4d39-90c3-0572d5ae2d68

[K-Gun]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

if, if, if

Yeah, I think EJ deserves the start next season. But if he doesn't have a winning season, straight up, we draft another qb in 2015.

[Night Train]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

They can root for his kidneys to fail.

[JoeMama]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

Bleacher Report, Eric Mack – Offseason prediction
Quarterback
Yes. EJ Manuel showed enough in his first year to at least get a few years of a leash on his development.

No, I don't think he bought himself "a few years" with his oft-injured rookie campaign. He bought himself another 7-8 games as the unquestioned starter tops, subject to change if he stinks up the joint.

We need to treat EJ like he's on a month-to-month lease with the Bills. No coddling the kid and telling him he's got 3-4 years to do whatever.

He either shows great strides and remains healthy or we need to move on without him. We can't afford to put all our eggs in another bust QB's basket.

[better days]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

No, I don't think he bought himself "a few years" with his oft-injured rookie campaign. He bought himself another 7-8 games as the unquestioned starter tops, subject to change if he stinks up the joint.

We need to treat EJ like he's on a month-to-month lease with the Bills. No coddling the kid and telling him he's got 3-4 years to do whatever.

He either shows great strides and remains healthy or we need to move on without him. We can't afford to put all our eggs in another bust QB's basket.

EJ bought himself one year minimum to prove himself, not 7-8 games.

The only way EJ does not start every game next year is if he gets injured again.

[JoeMama]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

EJ bought himself one year minimum to prove himself, not 7-8 games.

The only way EJ does not start every game next year is if he gets injured again.

And what's the over/under on that happening, I wonder?

I agree the kid did enough good things to justify giving him another shake.

But I disagree with the notion that he earned another 2-3 years as unquestioned starter based on his rookie season. He wasn't good enough to receive that kind of leverage.

If you think he deserves more than 8 games, fine, I won't split hairs over it. But no way does he deserve more than a one year commitment based on what we've seen so far. He needs to prove himself as he goes.

[Yasgur's Farm]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

IMO... He's got 2014. If he doesn't achieve the following stats, we draft again in 2015...

My clear definition of necessary progress... At least 14 healthy starts with projected 16 game stats of >60% completion >3,500 passing yards, >7 YPA, >20 passing TD's, <12 INT's, >80 passer rating, >9 wins.

[Skooby]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

I like EJ & would love for him to succeed. I feel we need an insurance policy where if EJ sustains another injury (which isn't out of the realm of possibility), we have the ability to potentially move forward with a new project. I hope we draft another QB in the first 4 rounds this year for the just in case, I don't see EJ holding up a whole season after having both knee injuries.

[The Popcorn]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

I don't understand all the EJ hate. So he struggled in his rookie season... big deal. He's not the first and he won't be the last. I hope he learned a few things and continues to get better. Get him a WR and some OL help and he should be ok.

[Skooby]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

I don't understand all the EJ hate. So he struggled in his rookie season... big deal. He's not the first and he won't be the last. I hope he learned a few things and continues to get better. Get him a WR and some OL help and he should be ok.

It's health concerns for me, not hate. We need to find a QB who can stay on the field & be consistent, EJ hasn't shown anything close to it yet.

[The Popcorn]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

It's health concerns for me, not hate. We need to find a QB who can stay on the field & be consistent, EJ hasn't shown anything close to it yet.

I can see you feeling that way after two seasons but one? I don't think he had any kind of injuries prior to last season. Aren't you going into the 'Sky is falling' mode a little early?

[Albany,n.y.]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

I don't understand all the EJ hate. So he struggled in his rookie season... big deal. He's not the first and he won't be the last. I hope he learned a few things and continues to get better. Get him a WR and some OL help and he should be ok.

It's not hate, it's impatience. There's a good reason for impatience. The Bills have not made the playoffs in 14 years. 3 active QBs (Brady, Roethlisberger & Wilson) won the Super Bowl in their 2nd seasons. With a few exceptions, by the end of their 2nd seasons, you pretty much know if a QB is a bust or is NFL starter material. That's especially true of a guy who has started as a rookie. Look at Cleveland-I think it's pretty safe to say that they really screwed the pooch when they drafted Brandon Weeden. He looks like a backup at best. Meanwhile QBs drafted 2 years ago in the 1st 3 rounds are pretty well established after their 2nd year: Luck, Wilson, & Foles are entrenched as starters. Tannehill has shown enough to remain the Dolphins starter. RGIII was injured after a stellar rookie year and if he returns to form from the injury add him to the list, if not, he won't get too much more time & will go down as a star whose career was ruined by injury. Of the highly drafted QBs the only one we have no clue about is Brock Osweiler, because he has been buried behind Peyton Manning the past 2 years.
EJ better have a good season next year, because in this day & age there's no such thing as giving a QB a few years.

[YardRat]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

He absolutely has to stay healthy for the vast majority of next season.

[better days]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

It's not hate, it's impatience. There's a good reason for impatience. The Bills have not made the playoffs in 14 years. 3 active QBs (Brady, Roethlisberger & Wilson) won the Super Bowl in their 2nd seasons. With a few exceptions, by the end of their 2nd seasons, you pretty much know if a QB is a bust or is NFL starter material. That's especially true of a guy who has started as a rookie. Look at Cleveland-I think it's pretty safe to say that they really screwed the pooch when they drafted Brandon Weeden. He looks like a backup at best. Meanwhile QBs drafted 2 years ago in the 1st 3 rounds are pretty well established after their 2nd year: Luck, Wilson, & Foles are entrenched as starters. Tannehill has shown enough to remain the Dolphins starter. RGIII was injured after a stellar rookie year and if he returns to form from the injury add him to the list, if not, he won't get too much more time & will go down as a star whose career was ruined by injury. Of the highly drafted QBs the only one we have no clue about is Brock Osweiler, because he has been buried behind Peyton Manning the past 2 years.
EJ better have a good season next year, because in this day & age there's no such thing as giving a QB a few years.

If RG III does not perform like his rookie year, I think it will have more to do with Opposing teams having learned how to defend against him much more than his injury.

[Albany,n.y.]

Re: Not Good News For The Anti Ej Group

If RG III does not perform like his rookie year, I think it will have more to do with Opposing teams having learned how to defend against him much more than his injury.

I don't buy that because nobody has stopped Kaepernick or Wilson & both play a similar style. The reason RGIII had a bad sophomore season was he lacked mobility, which was directly due to his injury.