Quarterback in the National Football League is like a nice steak dinner at a five-star restaurant. The main course, the steak, is what has everyone’s attention. But we cannot forget about what makes the dinner, and the quarterback, great. To have a successful franchise quarterback, and dinner, we must surround them with options to make them great: wide receivers, green beans, a running game, and mashed potatoes are all crucial. So what young signal caller is ready to take their game from raw, to medium well?
E.J. Manuel. That’s who. His AFC East counterpart, Ryan Tannehill, was also a candidate for this highly prestigious eDraft award. Tannehill's lack of surrounding talent will be his downfall this season . Injuries to Dolphins’ center Mike Pouncey and running back Knowshon Moreno are imperative to the team’s success.
Supporting Cast
If nothing else, the one thing that Manuel does have around him, is a great supporting cast. That cast, is lead by arguably the deepest group of running backs in the league, with C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, and Anthony Dixon. Also to help him, is first-round pick Sammy Watkins, former second-round pick Robert Woods, recently acquired Mike Williams, and speedster Marquise Goodwin.
Adding Cyrus Kouandjio and Seantrel Henderson via the draft, and Chris Williams via free agency should give Manuel the necessary time to go through his progressions, something he noticed he wasn’t doing a good job at last season-
"Obviously being a young guy sometimes you would look past somebody in a progression when you could’ve just held on a half second longer and he may have come open," said Manuel. "So just going through my own film study this offseason is something I noticed." via BuffaloBills.com
Rookie Season
Looking back, Manuel’s rookie season compares nicely with the Lions’ Matthew Stafford’s. Stafford’s 53 percent completion percentage along with 13 touchdowns and 20 interceptions were quite disappointing for the first overall pick. Much like Stafford, Manuel’s rookie season was also abysmal: 58 percent completion with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, in only 10 games.
After Stafford’s rookie season however, his next healthy season, he threw over 40 touchdowns and accumulated over 5,000 passing yards. It’s not probable that Manuel does that, that's pretty much a guarantee. But, it’s also not so far-fetched to think that Manuel can have a good season.
In 2013, E.J. Manuel showed flashes of being a good quarterback. During the season, he did have his inconsistencies, like every rookie signal caller does. But when it came down to it, he was always calm, cool and collective. His second week in the league, he lead the Bills on a scoring drive with two seconds left to beat the Panthers, who had a great year. In Toronto, he got the team in field goal range twice to try and win the game in the fourth quarter and overtime, before fumbles by Steve Johnson and Scott Chandler foiled the game. He also lead a game winning drive in Jacksonville to beat the Jags in the last quarter of play.
One thing to watch with Manuel is his accuracy.In four of his ten games, he had a completion percentage, for the game, of 55 percent orlower. Once again, he did have his flashes. With those inaccurate games, he had some good ones, going over 66.67 percent four other times.
Success
Looking at his tape, he can make the big boy throws. One throw that stands out, is the 47-yard hook-up with former track star, Marquise Goodwin against the Jets. E.J. throws the ball from the 50 yard line, give or take, and drops it right in the bread-basket at the goal-line. Even more intriguing about the throw, when he made it, Goodwin was alongside Jets’ corner, Antonio Cromartie. Manuel trusted his receiver to get separation, as he did, and trusted himself to make the throw. What ensued, was a 37-14 route of the New York Jets. Watch the play, HERE
Success against his division would be a common thing for the rookie quarterback last season. Although his record was only 1-2 (could’ve been 2-1 if New England doesn’t make the field goal with 0:00 left), he completed almost 59% of his passes, and had a quarterback ratingof almost 100. Maybe the most important, against his division, in 97 pass attempts, he didn’t throw a single interception. Winning inside the division is a huge part of making the playoffs.
All in all, basing last season on the future outcome of E.J. Manuel is a crap-shoot. He had four games in which Bills fans would think, “He’s our franchise quarterback.” On the flip side, he also had three games where Bills fans would think, “Oh lord, he’s just next in line after Kelly Holcomb and Trent Edwards.” But, amongst the young QB’s in the National Football League, E.J. Manuel is going to make the nicest steak dinner this season.