Reading the observations and predictions by the national scribes as to who is in the drivers seat in the race for the starting quarterback job for the Bills is, in my opinion, a waste of time. Until the pads are on and the Bills are playing preseason opponents the race is wide open.
EJ Manuel was obviously highly thought of by the Bills to use the first round draft pick and he is who they want as a starter. Kevin Kolb was signed as an insurance policy and his upside is that he has played in the league already for seven seasons. At the end of the preseason the Bills will know whether Manuel has the stuff to lead them out of the tunnel against the New England Patriots and not before then.
More than one nationally known broadcaster has predicted that Kolb will be the starter for the Bills and has the edge over Manuel. All of that is based on one mini camp and about ten days of voluntary sessions. That’s not enough time to know if EJ Manuel is a “gamer” and how he will progress with another two months under his belt.
The national writers and reporters from ESPN and the like sometimes have an edge over the local media because they have clout to directly call Russ Brandon, Doug Marrone and Doug Whaley. Historically Bills front office folks have talked off the record from time to time to give the heavy hitters the skinny on what’s what. How do you think Chris Berman knew who the Bills were going to pick all those years when he was doing the NFL draft?
The national media however, rarely get the time to spend more than an afternoon at Bills camp to observe for themselves how players look. The local media has a decided advantage when it comes to grading players ability and especially when it comes to the quarterbacks.
After two preseason games the Bills top thinkers will have a good idea on who will be the starter come September 8th. If it’s close you’ll be able to predict who the starter will be based on number of quarters they each play the final two games. I wouldn’t give up on Manuel being the starter just yet, regardless of what the boys in Bristol Connecticut think.
Filed under: Koshinski's Korner
Tagged with: buffalo bills quarterback, EJ Manuel, Kevin Kolb, NFL
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