Jun 16, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel (3) throws the ball during minicamp at Ralph Wilson Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
1) Who’s the quarterback going to be?
Ah yes. The golden question of the 2015 Training Camp. Who’s going to be the starting quarterback Week 1 when the Bills host the Indianapolis Colts? There is a lot we don’t know, as in what Matt Cassel will bring, how much EJ Manuel has improved and how good the wild-card of Tyrod Taylor actually is. Here is what we do know:
Cassel led a very similar New England Patriots team to an 11-5 record in 2008, throwing 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 63.4% of his passes. Very game-manager like numbers, this is what Rex Ryan would look for. The only downside is he took 47 sacks, the highest number of his career.
He also started 15 games in 2010 with the Kansas City Chiefs, again going 10-5 as a starter and leading his team to the postseason. He completed 58.2% of his passes, tossing 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. These would be the numbers Ryan would look for again, but word out of Buffalo is he has not done really well.
Manuel shows the same type of numbers as Cassel, but with a running ability. In 14 starts, EJ has completed 58.6% of his passes, while throwing 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has also taken 34 sacks. So similar stats, but again, that running ability may come in handy to provide another thing for defenses to be aware of.
Taylor brings the same type of running threat, but the experience under center is next-to-none. The 2011 sixth-round pick by Baltimore played in 14 total games with the Ravens over his four seasons there, but only four in the past two season, with no starts. He is 19-f0r-35 with three interceptions and no touchdowns, but again a very small sample size.
Who it will be is anybody’s guess, but this is the position that needs steady play in order to lead the Bills to the playoffs for the first time in this millennium.
Here’s more on the quarterback battle from our friends at 120 Sports: