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]

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]

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]

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.

http://www.bullshift.net/data/images/2014/02/z0m813-36.gif

[feldspar]

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]

http://www.bullshift.net/data/images/2014/02/z0m813-36.gif

is anyone else turned on?

[BillsImpossible]

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 (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/30224/ej-manuel) with the 16th overall selection."

[Meathead]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

Practice jumping up and saying "boo!"

[GingerP]

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]

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

[Meathead]

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?


depends on where the locker room is on the qb sitch. and i seriously doubt they are ready to jettison ej already

the team needs to be behind its qb so im sure theyre heavily emotionally invested in ej right now. if you just pull the plug and cram in a journeyman vet right now, without even giving your second year starter that everybody has worked hard with for over a year a chance, youre potentially disrupting chemistry in a way that might damage the team for half a season or more. it would have to be a future hofer to have any chance of surviving that relatively well, and kyle freakin orton isnt that

now if ej has stunk it up for a couple games in close proximity and been the obvious weak spot for the team, all that changes. now youve established one reality and can move on to the next attempt with a sense of agreed desperation. so i think ej gets the first four games easy, and only loses the job if he sucks out loud for any two of them. honestly i dont see ej stinking the place up that bad happening. ej didnt suck that bad for any short (3-4 games) period last season so he probably wont regress badly enough to get pulled. probably

almost nothing that happens in the first two games is going to prompt any coach to pull him imo, it would have to be a total meltdown of epic proportions like ej in tears rocking back and forth in a fetal position at midfield

now if we get to the half season mark and ej hasnt sucked out loud but also appears to not have progressed any from last year, then yeah i could see a switch happening then. youre probably at three to four wins by then and if your second year qb isnt part of the solution then hes part of the problem at that point. they would make the switch then even if ej hasnt sucked donkey ass bc they dont see him being good enough to make the push to the playoffs at that point and want to use the second half of the season to see if the vet can spark them into a run

so jump on the ej bandwagon and settle in for the next eight games, peoples. bring a bucket full of confetti and another full of monkey feces, just to be safe

[BillsImpossible]

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

Nice post, Meathead. Good questions.

All I know is that Doug Whaley and Doug Marrone did not draft EJ Manuel. Buddy Nix and the old regime did.

[Typ0]

If Orton can come in on a weekend and then outperform a guy whose been here for two years at the position then Orton should start. You guys need to get your heads out of your asses with this panzy pussy bull****. If EJ gets sat down it's because he's overwhelmed and having processing troubles has ZERO reflection on where he's going to end up--Manual would need to understand this type of thing to be successful as a professional and if he's doesn't have that then he doesn't.

As far as where we are at...53 Men are about to go out and put their emotions, minds and BODIES on the line the team had better put the best men on the field or the mess is only going to get worse....Manual can keep working he will get there just like they said...that doesn't mean he's not going to take major steps backwards were he to go in and get crushed right now along with the whole ship he's tanking with him!

[BillsImpossible]

I wouldn't mind if EJ held the clipboard tomorrow. Rodgers rode the pine for what, 3 years behind Favre?

If the ownership situation was not in flux, I'd say start EJ....but the ownership situation changes everything for the Bills.

They have to win now, and can't afford to lose games for the sake of developing a young quarterback.

[elroy16]

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


I wondered about about the timing as well.

"The Bills had Orton on their radar for more than a month, but had their previous offers rebuffed."

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/football/2014/08/30/kyle-orton-signs-nfl-buffalo-bills/14854171/


Orton was probably the only vet qb on their radar and unfortunately he wanted to wait and weigh his options.

[Meathead]

ok so orton kept them dangling, that still doesnt leave them off the hook for putting the team at risk like that if he didnt eventually sign, not to mention mishandling the entire thing last season

you should know by now, im not a complainer, i give them the benefit of the doubt when i can. this one just appears so obviously fubared that the point makes itself. theyve recovered reasonably well by hiring downing (qbs), hostler (oc/qb specialist), and signing orton (strong backup and potential serviceable starter). but their previous mistakes still count against them in an evaluation

idk what they were thinking not doing those kinds of things IMMEDIATELY after drafting ej. how can you NOT want to surround your huge investment with the information he needs to succeed? leaving all that up to hackett seemed bizarre at the time, which i pointed out loudly, and now its obvious it was. how can just a fan on a message board get that right and they get it wrong, even if that fan is incredibly intelligent and handsome?

if ej makes the progress everybody wants, shows hes obviously growing, and starts being a consistent factor in increasing the win totals then all this will be forgotten. but if he doesnt, those mistakes could easily haunt them right into a premature spot in the gubmint cheese line

[Typ0]

I agree but we don't really know the source of those symptoms either. I have been a big proponent for years of how the whole organization has botched the QB position up. I had it resolved to their not really wanting to win as much as they wanted to stay a lean mean financial machine with little risks. But Wilson died and then opportunity came along to change it and they waited until camp because they thought Lewis would be OK I guess....no excuses the QB situation is a mess and EJ doesn't deserve any form of loyalty and/or babying let him earn it. That's where they have gone wrong right from the get go.


ok so orton kept them dangling, that still doesnt leave them off the hook for putting the team at risk like that if he didnt eventually sign, not to mention mishandling the entire thing last season

you should know by now, im not a complainer, i give them the benefit of the doubt when i can. this one just appears so obviously fubared that the point makes itself. theyve recovered reasonably well by hiring downing (qbs), hostler (oc/qb specialist), and signing orton (strong backup and potential serviceable starter). but their previous mistakes still count against them in an evaluation

idk what they were thinking not doing those kinds of things IMMEDIATELY after drafting ej. how can you NOT want to surround your huge investment with the information he needs to succeed? leaving all that up to hackett seemed bizarre at the time, which i pointed out loudly, and now its obvious it was. how can just a fan on a message board get that right and they get it wrong, even if that fan is incredibly intelligent and handsome?

if ej makes the progress everybody wants, shows hes obviously growing, and starts being a consistent factor in increasing the win totals then all this will be forgotten. but if he doesnt, those mistakes could easily haunt them right into a premature spot in the gubmint cheese line

[Mike]

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 (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/player/_/id/30224/ej-manuel) with the 16th overall selection."

Did you ever think to QUESTION this baseless article? What evidence do they offer or is it another national sports writer writing about a topic that most of us know more about?

Whaley has come out MULTIPLE TIMES rights after the draft and during offseason and made it clear that he & his administration (scouts, couches, etc) made the decision & that decision 100% and that Nix had Zero to do with it!

[starrymessenger]

Did you ever think to QUESTION this baseless article? What evidence do they offer or is it another national sports writer writing about a topic that most of us know more about?

Whaley has come out MULTIPLE TIMES rights after the draft and during offseason and made it clear that he & his administration (scouts, couches, etc) made the decision & that decision 100% and that Nix had Zero to do with it!

It doesn't matter.
After the 2014 draft Whaley owns the EJ pick.

[BillsOverDolphins]

Sammy Watkins, Mike Williams, and Robert Woods would actually become viable fantasy options if Orton were to start