Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

[BillsImpossible]

NOT SURE if this is true or not, but a friend told me today that he heard that Orton was splitting reps with EJ Manuel this week leading up to the game.

Has anyone else heard this?

Backup quarterbacks usually get very few reps in practices during the regular season, so hearing that Orton is getting a heavy chunk of the reps makes me wonder how short of a leash Manuel has.

If Manuel starts the game and continues to show a lack of progress, will Marrone yank him in favor of Orton in the second half?

If I was a member of Chicago's coaching staff, I'd be game planning against both quarterbacks.

[Jaybird]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

if he is, it's only because he came later to the party. Ej is the starter till he doesn't move the ball in the first few games

[BillsImpossible]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

if he is, it's only because he came later to the party. Ej is the starter till he doesn't move the ball in the first few games

I honestly don't think Marrone and Co. are going to automatically give EJ the first 3 games.

3 games could be the difference between 6-10 and 9-7.

[swiper]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

if he is, it's only because he came later to the party. Ej is the starter till he doesn't move the ball in the first few games

Manuel is young and needs every rep he can get. If Orton is cutting into his reps it is not good news for Manuel.

[feldspar]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

If Marrone is smart and worthwhile, he'll put the guy on the field that gives us the best chance to win...and he'll do that every time. It's up to him to figure out who that guy is. That's his job, which he won't have for long if the Bills flounder this year. The new boss would not like that.

[Meathead]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

is anyone else turned on?

[BillsImpossible]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

This is purely speculative, but if Orton did split reps with Manuel and played better than Manuel did during every practice this week, what would you do if you were the coach?

Start the better quarterback, or start the front office's 2013 first round draft pick?

I personally think that Doug Marrone and Doug Whaley both have their hands tied by their bosses.

Manuel was NOT Whaley's or Marrone's pick.

Buddy Nix drafted EJ Manuel. That's a thread in itself.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/story/_/id/9212988/2013-nfl-draft-buffalo-bills-select-ej-manuel-florida-state-16th-overall-pick

"Not only did he acquire more draft picks by trading back eight spots in the first round, Nix was still able to fill the Bills' biggest need by drafting Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel with the 16th overall selection."

[Meathead]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

theyve obviously been working on the bears gameplan for weeks so manuel can afford to lose some reps in order to get orton ready just in case

the bigger question of course is whytf did it take so long to get a veteran in here in the first place that now you are pretty much forced to steal reps from your young starter to get the vet ready at the last minute? its not like kyle freakin orton was the only option the last two freakin seasons, why did you sit on to very young players instead of choosing one of them and having the vet here the whole time?

i like marrone and hope he stays, but this whole qb mismgmt thing is totally mind bottling. idk who ultimately is responsible for that, if it was him or maybe hackett saying he had it under control when he didnt, or maybe their is some truth to the whaley running interference rumors. but god they couldnt have frocked up the qb mgmt worse if they tried

[CoolBreeze]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

I honestly don't think Marrone and Co. are going to automatically give EJ the first 3 games.

3 games could be the difference between 6-10 and 9-7.

I disagree. No way EJ gets benched until week 6, unless he gets injuried. Reason being you don't bench a 1st round QB before he's even played 16 regular season games. Especially when his rookie season wasn't that bad at all. If he gets benched before then the front office might as well call a press conference to admit to the world how big of failures they are.

Lets hope he doesn't get benched at all. I can't wait for tomorrow... Go Bills! Go Manuel!

[coastal]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

If I was a member of Chicago's coaching staff, I'd be game planning against both quarterbacks.

What exactly do they have to do to game plan EJ?

[BillsImpossible]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

If Marrone is smart and worthwhile, he'll put the guy on the field that gives us the best chance to win...and he'll do that every time. It's up to him to figure out who that guy is. That's his job, which he won't have for long if the Bills flounder this year. The new boss would not like that.

THIS, feldspar is exactly the reason why I think Marrone blew his top after the Bills signed Jordan Palmer.

He's trying to put the best football players on the field, but people above him are wagging their fingers at Marrone telling him how to play football even though they've never played the game.

[BillsImpossible]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

What exactly do they have to do to game plan EJ?

Ouch. I just lost my appetite. That hit home a bit too real.

[swiper]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

What exactly do they have to do to game plan EJ?

Practice jumping up and saying "boo!"

[GingerP]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

Manuel was NOT Whaley's or Marrone's pick.

This is such revisionist horse****. Before the draft, it was rumored that Marrone was enamored with Manuel. After the draft, Marrone couldn't stop talking about how much he loved EJ. He talked about how he went to Florida State to personally work him out and how they talked to everyone from the coaches to the janitors and nobody said anything bad about EJ. He said about how early in in the process they identified EJ as their guy, and how he was worried that by trading down they would lose out on him. Later on, at OTA's, he talked about how EJ was further along than any other rookie QB that he coached.

EJ was/is totally a Marrone guy. You can't change that now, he is the reason the Bills decided to draft him.

[Novacane]

Re: Kyle Orton Splitting Reps With EJ Manuel?

Tell your friend to stop making **** up.