With all the question marks around the level of QB play for the Buffalo Bills, is it time for the thinktank to look at adding a veteran to the mix ahead of the regular season?
At this point we've had a full season of the QB trifecta of E.J. Manuel, Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel, as well as an additional three games of this preseason and while there have been some improvements made by all three QBs, none of the trio have filled the fans with confidence nor shown a marked difference in their playing standards.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett held the title of Quarterbacks Coach as well last season. In fact, early in November he had to come down to the sideline from his perch up in the box to improve his communication level with the QBs. This season Todd Downing is the QB coach; he had previously held the same position with Jim Schwartz at the Lions where he worked with Matthew Stafford. Downing has some experience working with Lewis when he was on the Detroit roster and with EJ from the Senior Bowl, but we haven't seen any benefits from this working relationship as yet.
Here are the three players stats to date -
2013 Preseason | ||||||||||
PLAYER | ATT | COMP | YDS | COMP % | YDS/ATT | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | RATING |
EJ Manuel | 33 | 26 | 199 | 78.8 | 6.0 | 2 | 6.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 111.9 |
Thad Lewis | 16 | 7 | 132 | 43.8 | 8.3 | 1 | 6.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 93.8 |
Jeff Tuel | 43 | 31 | 299 | 72.1 | 7.0 | 2 | 4.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 106.6 |
2013 Regular Season | ||||||||||
PLAYER | ATT | COMP | YDS | COMP % | YDS/ATT | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | RATING |
EJ Manuel | 306 | 180 | 1,972 | 58.8 | 6.4 | 11 | 3.6 | 9 | 2.9 | 77.7 |
Thad Lewis | 157 | 93 | 1,092 | 59.2 | 7.0 | 4 | 2.5 | 3 | 1.9 | 81.0 |
Jeff Tuel | 59 | 26 | 309 | 44.1 | 5.2 | 1 | 1.7 | 3 | 5.1 | 45.1 |
2014 Preseason | ||||||||||
PLAYER | ATT | COMP | YDS | COMP % | YDS/ATT | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | RATING |
EJ Manuel | 47 | 28 | 263 | 59.6 | 5.6 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2.1 | 66.2 |
Thad Lewis | 33 | 17 | 168 | 51.5 | 5.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 6.1 | 41.0 |
Jeff Tuel | 31 | 21 | 146 | 67.7 | 4.7 | 2 | 6.5 | 2 | 6.5 | 72.8 |
Granted Kevin Kolb's untimely concussion issues probably accelerated EJ's starting curve, but just a brief look at how how Jacksonville are handling Blake Bortles is a good example for the Bills front office to follow. Bortles is a much higher touted prospect than EJ was, but shows better pocket presence and has looked very good so far especially with no pressure to start immediately being placed on him.
Doug & Doug meanwhile have decided they are going to sink or swim with EJ's arm, going as far as stating that this season will be 'Playoffs (or Bust)' for the management group. The team's offense meanwhile has given the fans more heebie-jeebies than warm fuzzies and while we might want to think we will be contending for the playoffs, the Bills might be closer to a top five pick in the 2015 Draft than they are to breaking their streak of playoff futility.
So, what do you think, should the Bills be looking at adding a veteran QB in the next couple of weeks? If so, who are some likely candidates?