imbondz (08-31-2014)
Well that right there is someone who really doesn't know much.
You know the personnel. Glenn has been out most of preseason. Williams is new to the team. Henderson is a rookie. Pears is adjusting to a new position. The key is to give them time playing together so they can gel. Marrone told you he had plenty of talent that he liked. He also is an o-line guru (one of the few coaching things he can actually claim). He told you he was going to take preseason to try people at different positions so he could end up with the best five athletes across the line. They have played together in parts of two preseason games. By week 5 they should be fine.
EJ Manuel has not shown ANY progress at all. That should be concerning. Thad Lewis, Dennis Dixon and Jeff Tuel ALL regressed. Something is wrong there. With the signing of Orton, I am much less concerned.
Last edited by swiper; 08-31-2014 at 10:24 AM.
jlgarsh (08-31-2014)
TacklingDummy (09-01-2014)
Well, I won't lower myself to your level and take a reciprocating shot at your football intelligence, but you've just outlined the exact scenario why ANY QB would have struggled this preseason for Buffalo. An absent LT, injuries, youth, new players and zero continuity on the offensive line. Like it or not, success starts in the trenches, and there are very few QB's in this league, if any, that could overcome and be even mildly successful with the cluster**** we have put on the field, on the line, thus far this off-season. Ironic, that you're willing to give the oline time to gel, but unwilling to give the QB the same benefit of the doubt.
EVERY SINGLE QB on the Bills roster seemingly regressed this offseason, as you actually pointed out. Do you really think that's coincidental that they all allegedly went to hell at the same time, or could it be there is an all important factor that affected all of them to various yet similar degrees? Do you really think Kyle Orton under center is going to remedy that to any level other than barely negligible? If you do, I can't help you there.
Would a better offensive line make EJ more accurate or give him the ability to read defenses better. Not necessarily, but better protection may make him more comfortable in the pocket and more able to concentrate on where and when to throw the ball instead of being distracted by defensive heat.
Dr. Who (09-01-2014)
EJ Manuel will never be Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Drew Brees. He doesn't have to be, if the defense plays up to expectations and they put any kind of offensive line in front of him. He's going to have bad throws. He's going to be fooled by defenses. He's going to have bad days...every QB does, even the great ones, and there isn't a poster on this board that has made the claim that EJ is going to be 'great'.
Im guessing like everyone else. But I suspect that if EJ stinks against the Bears, we may see Orton in week 2.
I think a old bet like Orton can run the O pretty quickly. It will take longer to get timing with the receivers than to learn a game plan. Hopefully their terminology is something close to one of his previous stops.
Im glad and surprised they got him.
smh YardRat you clueless tool. You could have the 92-95 Dallas Cowboys Offensive line and EJ would still be dog-****.
But nevermind all that, what good was drafting one of his kind if he can't scramble/have escapability from a "shaky" line?
Last edited by BillsOverDolphins; 08-31-2014 at 02:12 PM.
Oh no!...We suck again!
My wife told me that if I had a dollar for every girl who found me unattractive, girls would find me VERY attractive.
MY WIFE SAID THAT!!!
jlgarsh (08-31-2014)
I think i sorta gave up on EJ and the "preseason means nothing" mantra watching him miss open wr after open wr... and i'm not talking about missing as in throwing the ball to them. i mean not even seeing them. He's looking for "college football" open. you know where the WR has no one within 5 yards of him. if he doesn't see that he won't throw it. He has zero anticipation or trust a WR will break open as well. Its horrendous.
In the last preseason game, against 2nd string scrubs there was a 3rd down play, where the defense was in a 1 deep, man coverage setup, throwing a MLB blitz at the qb, the left WR (i don't know who it was, never saw a replay) blew past the CB who guessed on a short out and completely flubbed the coverage. I mean he flew right past him, EJ wasn't even at the top of his drop back and I was screaming at the tv in exasperation "THROW IT TO HIM!" He never even looked that way. instead he rolled the other way, and threw the ball out of bounds.
what killed me about the play the most was the horrid read of the defense. It was a clear 1 deep zone, man defense look, you could tell before the snap, i mean high school kids can read that defensive look. You could tell presnap... and at the snap the way the one safety headed to the line should have made it clear even to the dimmest of lightbulbs. I would BENCH a qb on my team that missed that read. I mean seriously, the Lions did not disguise that defense at all. WORSE, he had only 1 wr going deep on the play. No one else had a 9 route. That pass should have left his hand before the WR cleared 15 yards down field. hell a good QB would have started his throwing motion by the time the WR was 8 yards down field (that was where he got a step on the CB)
I get trying to get the 11 yards for a first down in 3rd and 11. and that's where EJ went. But as a coach, i can forgive him for taking that shot down field and missing a lot easier then i can forgive the horrid read of that defense. The 11 yard out was covered. Hell the FS gave up playing centerfield and was on that side of the field before EJ even threw the ball. He never even looked off the man the whole route. The line didn't create a moving pocket, EJ rolled himself away from his open receiver. Hell when the WR popped open there wasn't any pressure at all. He had time, an open WR and a defensive look that DEMANDED he atleast LOOK that way. But he didn't. I almost turned the game off at that point (i should have)
cookie G (08-31-2014),jlgarsh (08-31-2014),TacklingDummy (09-01-2014)
Jeff1220 (08-31-2014)
It's too bad that we can't take a QB, even high, and let him develop without the pressure of starting.
Some can start right away, some can't.
WagonCircler (08-31-2014)
The notion that is ridiculous is completely dismissing the oline shuffle as a non-factor in all of the QB's play this preseason.
There's a reason why all QB's regressed. There's a reason the team had trouble scoring. There's a reason they struggled in the red zone, and there's a reason they couldn't pick up third/fourth and short yardage, and it isn't all EJ.