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EJ Manuel can’t be trusted. Don’t be fooled by his preseason numbers (13 of 22 for 188 yards, two touchdowns). Manuel’s practice tape is littered with one incomplete pass into the hospitality tent, one that drilled a cameraman on the sideline and several fumbled snaps. Every 45-yard strike in stride is followed by two or three or four head-scratching throws, which is why Taylor and Cassel have been the quarterbacks getting virtually all of the No. 1 reps. Buffalo took a chance on Manuel at No. 16 overall two years ago. Maybe it was the perfect storm for all the wrong reasons – Kaepernick had just torched Green Bay for 444 total yards and four touchdowns, Robert Griffin III was the rookie of the year, Cam Newton and Russell Wilson were ripping through defenses by air and ground. Manuel seemed like a read-option threat and the Bills were dead-set on taking a quarterback. They simply took one in a horrendous draft class for the position.
Tyrod Taylor is exciting. Can this 6-foot quarterback excel in the pocket consistently? That’s debatable. Is he athletic? Absolutely. Even in Baltimore, Taylor dazzled this time of year with 453 rushing yards on 58 attempts (7.8 avg.) in four preseasons. Here in Buffalo, offensive coordinator Greg Roman has trained Taylor in the read option, and the quarterback almost always makes the right decision. General Manager Doug Whaley said the team had Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick on its mind when they signed Taylor in the offseason – and remember Roman’s San Francisco 49ers chose Kaepernick over the more conventional Alex Smith. So what do you expect a team that’s taken risks all offseason to do? From signing Richie Incognito and Percy Harvin to claiming a back-up linebacker who assaulted a teammate to not firing offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, the Bills are in a perpetual think-outside-the-box state. If Taylor can move the offense a third straight game Saturday, it’d be no shock if he was the choice to start Week 1 over Matt Cassel.
Tyrod Taylor is exciting. Can this 6-foot quarterback excel in the pocket consistently? That’s debatable. Is he athletic? Absolutely. Even in Baltimore, Taylor dazzled this time of year with 453 rushing yards on 58 attempts (7.8 avg.) in four preseasons. Here in Buffalo, offensive coordinator Greg Roman has trained Taylor in the read option, and the quarterback almost always makes the right decision. General Manager Doug Whaley said the team had Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick on its mind when they signed Taylor in the offseason – and remember Roman’s San Francisco 49ers chose Kaepernick over the more conventional Alex Smith. So what do you expect a team that’s taken risks all offseason to do? From signing Richie Incognito and Percy Harvin to claiming a back-up linebacker who assaulted a teammate to not firing offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, the Bills are in a perpetual think-outside-the-box state. If Taylor can move the offense a third straight game Saturday, it’d be no shock if he was the choice to start Week 1 over Matt Cassel.
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