Buffalo Bills: Rex Ryan continues to joke about Quarterback situation

Fresh off the Buffalo Bills‘ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rex Ryan was in a good mood, and why wouldn’t he be? It may have only been a preseason game, but his team had just put on quite a display, winning 43-19.

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Most encouraging of all, was the showing by the Bills quarterbacks. Between the four of them, they completed 30 of 33 passes, for 395 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

In many respects, this collective performance makes it even less clear who the starting quarterback will be for Buffalo. Fear not though, because Ryan answered the question. Sort of.

The Bills head coach arrived for his post-game press conference with the media, which included Jerry Sullivan of The Buffalo News. Interestingly, he had a serious look on his face, despite just orchestrating a dominating game.

Ryan said: “I guess I might as well address the obvious question with the obvious answer. The question is ‘Who is the starting quarterback?’ The obvious answer to me is …

“Matt Simms. He’s starting against Detroit. So there you have it.”

What’s interesting about Ryan joking around, is that it shows his confidence. This is not a man who is overly concerned about the quarterback situation.

Aug 29, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills guard Kraig Urbik (60) snaps the ball to quarterback EJ Manuel (3) during the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Steelers 43 to 19. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

In fact, about the only thing the 52-year old’s comments confirm is something we already know – Matt Simms will not start on opening day. (In fairness to Simms, he looked as impressive as he could do under the circumstances, completing all five of his passes against the Steelers, for 65 yards and a touchdown.)

Ryan did go on to admit he will make his decision regarding the starting quarterback on Sunday. Unfortunately, he just won’t announce it to anyone. (Ryan had previously said he would leave this until the last possible moment.)

For now though, the Ardmore, Oklahoma native is just enjoying having everyone wonder who his field general will be. It helps that all three contenders have performed well during the preseason.

As Ryan said to the media, including Sal Capaccio of WGR550: “I talked about the problem I wanted. I think I got it, but to me it’s not a problem.

“All three guys had a tremendous preseason and that’s all you can ask. I think we’ll address it at the appropriate time, but, obviously, I feel really good about all the quarterbacks.”

The former New York Jets head coach will spend Sunday having lengthy discussions with key personnel, before making his final decision. Among those expected to be consulted are offensive coordinator Greg Roman, General Manager Doug Whaley, and owner Terry Pegula.

Most analysts still think the starting role will be given to either Matt Cassell or Tyrod Taylor. Therefore, the decision to start EJ Manuel against the Steelers was seen as somewhat of a surprise.

However, the 2013 first round draft pick made the most of his opportunity. He finished the game with seven completions in eight attempts, throwing for a game-high 170 yards and two touchdowns.

Manuel was asked about his chances after the game, by nfl.com: “I don’t know, we’ll see. It’s coach’s decision, but I know I played well.”

The general consensus seems to be that most people would prefer Taylor to start the home opener, but believe it will go to Cassel. For all Ryan’s bravado and aggressive approach on defense, we now all wait to see if he will go with excitement and potential or stick with the safe bet.

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