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Bills' company line on QBs doesn't quite add up
Rex Ryan has hit a bit of a rough patch over the past several days. It’s enough to make me think the honeymoon period is officially over.
On Sunday, the Patriots came to town and shoved Ryan’s tough talk back in his face. On Monday night, the Jets embarrassed the Colts, moving to 2-0 and taking some of the luster off the Bills’ opening-day win. Oh, the Jet defense leads the NFL with 10 takeaways. They had 13 all last year under Ryan.
On Tuesday, General Manager Doug Whaley traded backup quarterback Matt Cassel to the Cowboys, forcing EJ Manuel’s elevation to No. 2 on the QB depth chart. On Wednesday came Ryan’s fumbling attempt to defend the Cassel trade as a strategy to help EJ develop and strengthen the team in the long term.
“We appreciated Matt,” Ryan said. “He did a fine job for us. But when you look at it, EJ is going to develop much more when he’s the two than he would be as the three. At the end of the day, a lot of it, that’s what it came down to.”
OK, any quarterback will develop more as the backup, where he gets more reps. But when did Manuel’s long-term development become the primary consideration? When did it take precedence over the immediate objective, winning?
EJ was third string during the summer. He was third string after the Bills cut Cassel and re-signed him for less money. He was third string for the first two games. So by their actions, it was the coaches who said Manuel was inferior to Cassel. If not, why wasn’t Manuel the backup the first two games?
“That was certainly a discussion at the time,” Ryan said. “I thought EJ played extremely well. But to say EJ is inferior, he’s not inferior to any quarterback.”
Sorry to use a loaded word like “inferior.” I’d hate to hurt Manuel’s feelings by suggesting he’s inferior to Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, or even Tyrod Taylor.
I was no Cassel fan. I felt he would be an uninspiring choice as the starter and agreed that Taylor deserved a shot. I can understand why some fans felt EJ was a better option, especially after the preseason games.
But this isn’t about my judgment, or the average fan’s. It about the coaches, who clearly determined that Cassel was the superior option on more than one occasion. QB coach David Lee said Cassel was the best he ever saw in meetings, a savvy veteran whose insight was an invaluable asset to the younger QBs.
Ryan did his best to put forth a united front, as he did after Whaley cut Fred Jackson. But this is an obvious case of the GM favoring his own guy. Whaley’s reputation is tied to Manuel. So he clears out space for EJ, putting him one step closer to playing and making a first-round draft reach look good.
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Rex Ryan has hit a bit of a rough patch over the past several days. It’s enough to make me think the honeymoon period is officially over.
On Sunday, the Patriots came to town and shoved Ryan’s tough talk back in his face. On Monday night, the Jets embarrassed the Colts, moving to 2-0 and taking some of the luster off the Bills’ opening-day win. Oh, the Jet defense leads the NFL with 10 takeaways. They had 13 all last year under Ryan.
On Tuesday, General Manager Doug Whaley traded backup quarterback Matt Cassel to the Cowboys, forcing EJ Manuel’s elevation to No. 2 on the QB depth chart. On Wednesday came Ryan’s fumbling attempt to defend the Cassel trade as a strategy to help EJ develop and strengthen the team in the long term.
“We appreciated Matt,” Ryan said. “He did a fine job for us. But when you look at it, EJ is going to develop much more when he’s the two than he would be as the three. At the end of the day, a lot of it, that’s what it came down to.”
OK, any quarterback will develop more as the backup, where he gets more reps. But when did Manuel’s long-term development become the primary consideration? When did it take precedence over the immediate objective, winning?
EJ was third string during the summer. He was third string after the Bills cut Cassel and re-signed him for less money. He was third string for the first two games. So by their actions, it was the coaches who said Manuel was inferior to Cassel. If not, why wasn’t Manuel the backup the first two games?
“That was certainly a discussion at the time,” Ryan said. “I thought EJ played extremely well. But to say EJ is inferior, he’s not inferior to any quarterback.”
Sorry to use a loaded word like “inferior.” I’d hate to hurt Manuel’s feelings by suggesting he’s inferior to Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, or even Tyrod Taylor.
I was no Cassel fan. I felt he would be an uninspiring choice as the starter and agreed that Taylor deserved a shot. I can understand why some fans felt EJ was a better option, especially after the preseason games.
But this isn’t about my judgment, or the average fan’s. It about the coaches, who clearly determined that Cassel was the superior option on more than one occasion. QB coach David Lee said Cassel was the best he ever saw in meetings, a savvy veteran whose insight was an invaluable asset to the younger QBs.
Ryan did his best to put forth a united front, as he did after Whaley cut Fred Jackson. But this is an obvious case of the GM favoring his own guy. Whaley’s reputation is tied to Manuel. So he clears out space for EJ, putting him one step closer to playing and making a first-round draft reach look good.
More...
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