Starting job is E.J. Manuel’s to lose.

E.J. Manuel will present a strong case for why he should start this season for the Bills.

When they announced that the Buffalo Bills traded down from the 8th to 16th pick in this years draft I looked at my friend and said ‘well, it looks like we are getting a Quarterback’. When we finally got to our pick and they called E.J. Manuel i was dumbfounded.  Geno Smith was passed over for Manuel? But I knew that the bills did their homework on EVERY available QB going into the draft, and the amount of QB prospects they had meetings with was really impressive. They were serious about finding a QB that could be the face of their franchise, and they left no stone unturned in their search.

Over the last few months I have become more familiar with who and what E.J. Manuel is, and the more I see of him the more I really like about him. Manuel is a natural leader that is smart, and respectful.  He is big, and mobile with an incredible arm. At 6’5  and 237lbs he is identical height and just 4 pounds lighter than big Ben Roethlisberger, and because of his size he is capable of running, or spinning right out of tackles. He is able to pick up 2-3 yards just from falling forward after a tackle, as his force of forward momentum is really incredible.

E.J. also has a work ethic that is going to be the reason he wins the starting job before the season starts. Doug Marone said that going into training camp the competition between Manuel and Kolb for the starting job is pretty much a tie. If after OTA’s Kolb and his 6 seasons in the NFL is tied with Manuel who is fresh out of college, you better believe big E.J. is going to start the season. E.J.’s desire and commitment to be a starting NFL Quarterback, combined with his intelligence and athletic ability is going to push him to the head of the class on this one.

I really like Kevin Kolb and I honestly feel he got the short end of the stick with what happened in Philadelphia. I think if the Eagles would of stuck with Kolb instead of committing to the reckless and self destructive playing style of  Micheal Vick, both Kolb and the Eagles would be in a much better place right now. Having a QB that can run 100 yards a game is great, just as long as he’s not picking up his teeth after every play.  You can’t have your QB breaking more ribs than he’s scoring touchdowns, but attempting to turn Micheal Vick into a pocket passer just defeats the whole purpose of his skill set. You have the most mobile quarterback in the NFL and now you want him to just stand there? OK Philadelphia, good luck with all that.

E.J. Manuel is in a completely different category athletically compared to Kolb, and after training camp is through you should not at all be surprised to hear E.J. is the starter. E.J. is a very intelligent athlete that is doing everything he can to prepare for this season. The coaches have thus far been able to install everything with virtually no setbacks as E.J. continues to impress  them on how well he absorbs the information they are throwing at him. When asked about the QB competition Doug Marone gives every indication that E.J. has a good chance of starting this season.  He doesnt come right out and say it, but you can clearly tell he anticipates Manuel being ready to start come week 1 vs. the Pats. Before I go, if you have not seen the ‘ESPN sports science’ they did on Manuel be sure to  check out the link below. Thank you for reading, and please like BLD on facebook and get those tweets out.  Go Bills!