Bills should make it Manuel's job to lose / wgr550.com

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Howard Simon

howard@wgr550.com

Doug Marrone wants to have a competition for the job of starting quarterback.  I completely understand that but I totally disagree with it. It should be EJ Manuel's job to lose.

Marrone's main mission  through the off season OTA's and at training camp as well, should be giving Manuel a steady diet of reps to see if he can handle the number one spot.  Manuel was drafted to be the franchise quarterback the Bills have been searching for since Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season.  Therefore, Marrone and his Offensive Coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, should devote most of their energy and effort to developing the Florida State product.

I'm excited at the prospect of watching Manuel this summer, both at practice and in pre-season games.  I've looked on with envy as numerous teams have entrusted rookies to their starting quarterback job in recent years and have watched them flourish while we sit and wonder when the Bills turn will come.  I have absolutely no desire to watch Kevin Kolb or Tarvaris Jackson run this offense as a stop gap QB.

Marrone's main mission should be to accurately judge Manuel's talents and decide whether or not he can be ready by opening day.  Splitting reps with Kolb and jackson won't help that process.  Manuel needs as much time on the field and as many snaps as he can possibly get, with the starters and not the second or third string.

One of Manuel's strengths is said to be his football smarts.  Manuel reportedly wowed teams during interviews at the combine with his knowledge of the game.  During the Senior Bowl, Manuel earned rave reviews for how quickly he picked up the offense being taught to the South squad by the Detroit Lions coaching staff.

The Bills certainly have a strong running game to help out a rookie quarterback and my guess is this coaching staff will put the ball in the hands of CJ Spiller more often than the previous staff did.  As far as the passing game, Manuel has Stevie Johnson who has proven he can get open against the top corners in the NFL.  After Johnson however, the receiving corps is loaded with questions.  Can TJ Graham take a big step up in year two? Can Robert Woods make an impact as a rookie?  Can Marquise Goodwin's lightning fast speed create problems for opposing defenses? Will Scott Chandler be back healthy and ready to go?

Manuel's chances to start from day one might also improve based on the work of the defense this summer.  If new coordinator Mike Pettine can transform what was an historically bad group the last two years into at least an average unit, that could help cover up for some rookie mistakes.

As I said, I would give the majority of the reps to Manuel which Marrone doesn't appear to be ready to do.  At the very least, I would cut the competition down to two by training camp.  Marrone can use all of the workouts prior to St. John Fisher to basically choose between Kolb and Jackson and the winner can go head to head with Manuel at camp.  Its kind of like the primary before a general election.

Perhaps the Bills QB competition will play out as Seattle’s did last summer.  Following the Seahawks three day rookie minicamp last spring, Pete Carroll announced there would be a three way competition at training camp among incumbent Tarvaris Jackson, free agent pickup Matt Flynn and third round draft choice Russell Wilson.
When camp opened, the three QB’s took turns handling the number one job with Jackson getting it on day one, Flynn and day two and Wilson on day three.  The reps at practice were split almost in thirds.

The turning point came in the third pre-season game when it was Flynn’s turn to start.  But an elbow injury prevented him from playing so Wilson stepped in and led six consecutive scoring drives.  The competition had ended.  The rookie was named the starter that weekend.

According to Clare Farnsworth of Seahawks.com, the team kept “training wheels” on the offense early in the regular season but the more they let Wilson do, the more he did, and did well.  You know where the story went from there.

It used to be when you drafted a quarterback, you’d wait several years before he was ready to take over the starting job.  That is no longer the case in the NFL.

If you look at the projected starting QB’s for the other 31 teams in the league, you will find 13 of those 31 started from day one of their rookie season.  In no particular order they are: Mark Sanchez, Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Brandon Weedon, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Mathew Stafford, Sam Bradford and Russell Wilson.

Seven led their team into the playoffs as a rookie starter while six did not.  None of those 13 teams made the playoffs the season prior to drafting their quarterback of the future.  The 1998 Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning, are the only team that did not improve its win total from the previous season.

Sanchez, Dalton, Flacco, Luck, Griffin, Ryan and Wilson are the seven who made the playoffs in their first season and they combined for a 35 win improvement from their teams previous season.  Tannehill, Weedon, Newton, Stafford and Bradford all led their teams to at least a one game improvement from the year before while not qualifying for the post season. If you combine the records of the 13 quarterbacks, it comes to 101-98.

If you look at all of their statistics from their rookie seasons, you will find six of the quarterbacks completing 60% or more of their passes while the other seven had a completion rate between 50 and 59%. The group averaged more than 33 hundred yards passing with 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

There are seven other quarterbacks who took over the starting job for their club at some point during their rookie year.  That group wasn’t nearly as successful as the rookies who started from day one.  Only one of the seven signal callers led their team to the playoffs(Ben Roethlisberger) while the other six missed out(Alex Smith, Blaine Gabbert, Eli Manning, Josh Freeman, Jay Cutler and Christian Ponder). Roethlisberger went 13-0 as a starter in his rookie year while the rest of that group combined to go just 14-37.


20 of the 31 projected starting quarterbacks for the 2013 season, started at some point as a rookie.  Of the remaining 11, six took over in year two,(Brady, Locker, Vick, Palmer, Kapernick and Brees) one in year three(Rivers) and the remaining three didn’t start until their fourth season(Romo, Rodgers and Schaub).  If Matt Flynn wins the job in Oakland, he would finally be the number one guy in his 6th season in the NFL.

I'll admit that some of my feelings about making the job Manuel's to lose are based on impatience.
Its been 25 years since Jim Kelly and company kicked off the greatest stretch of football (in terms of winning percentage) in the history of the Buffalo Bills.  In a six year period from 1988 through 1993, the Bills won 72% of their games (70-26). To put that in perspective, in their current 13 year playoff drought, the Bills have a total of 82 wins. The Bills made the playoffs in all six seasons, winning the AFC East division each year. The Bills have had just 13 double digit victory seasons in their 53 year franchise history and five of those 13 came in that stretch from 1988-1993.

Its time to begin the process of determining whether or not EJ Manuel can put an end to the "great quarterback drought" and that process should start with the job being Manuel's to lose this summer.

Bills Roundup: Sunday Minicamp Highlights / buffalobills.com

Buffalo Bills' Brandon Kaufman (14) participates in rookie minicamp at the team's NFL football training facility in Orchard Park, N.Y., Friday, May 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

Check out the highlights from day three of the Bills rookie minicamp, plus hear from Kiko Alonso, Duke Williams, Brandon Kaufman and Jumal Rolle.   Click Here: Sunday Minicamp Highlights

Titus Young arrested again / espn.com

(Photo: Tim Fuller, USA TODAY Sports)

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. -- Authorities say former Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young has been arrested in California for the third time in a week.

Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joe Balicki says the 23-year-old Young was arrested late Friday in San Clemente for allegedly breaking into a home.

Balicki says Young fought with deputies after a foot chase. He has been charged with attempted burglary, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. He is in custody Sunday on $75,000 bail.

"There was a brief struggle," Balicki said, according to the Detroit News. "He wanted to fight with the deputies. They ended up subduing him."

Young also was arrested last Sunday in Riverside County on suspicion of driving under the influence, then was arrested again the same day for trying to take his car from a tow yard.

The Lions waived the troubled Young on Feb. 4. A second-round draft pick in 2011, Young was disciplined multiple times last season and was told to stay away from the Lions' facility because he intentionally lined up wrong in a Week 14 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

During his time with Detroit, Young also was sent home by the team on three different occasions -- once for punching teammate Louis Delmas during an offseason workout program, then twice for repeated insubordinate behavior.

Young was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Rams but ultimately released 10 days later.

Information from ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert and The Associated Press was used in this report.

Alonzo looking ahead after troubled past / Buffalonews.com

May 9, 2013 - Source: Rick Stewart/Getty Images North America

By Bucky Gleason | News Sports Columnist | @TBNbucky
on May 12, 2013 - 12:10 AM, updated May 12, 2013 at 12:11 AM
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Kiko Alonso wasn’t sure what to expect while walking off the field after his first practice with the Bills, so he did what came natural. The rookie linebacker stood his ground and tackled the issue before moving on to the next question, the next play of his career, the next step of his life.

Yes, he made mistakes at the University of Oregon, also known as the location where Animal House was filmed in the 1970s. In fact, he screwed up big time. He was arrested for driving under the influence in 2010. Fifteen months later, he passed out in a stranger’s house, bringing new meaning to the term “all-out blitz.”

The incidents could be viewed in numerous ways. One is that he may very well have a drinking problem. Another is that his behavior should be filed under Young & Dumb. A third possibility is that it’s a combination of both. Alonso immediately pleaded guilty to the middle option.

“Definitely college-kid stuff,” he said. “I was a young kid, immature, and I made mistakes. I’ve put it in my past. I’m just trying to focus on football.”

Alonso’s answers sounded rehearsed, but what else can he say? The last thing he needed after his first NFL workout was a discussion about his heavy boozing in college. He’s a polite kid. He didn’t shy away from the subject, but he sounded shy. Ask him for his two cents, and he gives you a penny and makes you scrounge for the other.

Fortunately, his actions didn’t end in tragedy. Rather than pass judgment and jump to conclusions, consider the facts and be realistic. Take a look in the mirror, too. Raise your hand if you have a few regrettable moments from your college days. I’ll raise two hands, only because I don’t have more.

For most kids, the stunts they pulled never reach their parents let alone the newspapers. Amen. That said, nobody is condoning his actions, either, or giving him a free pass after two alcohol-related arrests. He was sentenced to two years probation, 200 hours of community service and ordered to counseling. He said he hasn’t had a drink in years.

“I just put it in my past,” he said. “I’m moving forward and focusing on football.”

Fair enough, it’s time Alonso learns from his mistakes and becomes a functional adult. He’s being held to a higher standard. If he’s going to be a professional athlete, he needs to carry himself like one. The same goes for free agent receiver Da’Rick Rogers, who was signed after failing multiple drug tests. Doug Marrone made his message clear Friday when answering a question about Rogers. This is your second chance, fellas, and there might not be another. Straighten out whatever problems you had before arriving in Buffalo. You’re playing with men now, and it’s time to start acting like one.

“I’ve talked to them just like I have spoken to other players,” Marrone said. “You have an outstanding opportunity. People are going to be watching. It is probably going to be your last shot. As long as you understand that, that is what you get yourself into. It’s all on you.”

Evidently, the Bills saw minimal risk when selecting Alonso with the 46th pick. They’re not looking for angels on defense. They’re desperate for a middle linebacker who has a nose for the ball and can attack the line of scrimmage. If he can stay out of trouble and perform on the field, his troubles in college will be forgotten.

The early returns were promising. He’s 6-foot-3 and 238 pounds but doesn’t have a hulking frame. He’s long and athletic and has good speed after coming back from a torn ACL. In fact, he was rehabbing when he was busted for DUI. He was suspended for the 2010 season, but likely would have missed the entire year, anyway.

Alonso was an energetic and exciting player at Oregon, which was in stark contrast to his quiet demeanor in rookie camp. Marrone planned to talk to him about containing himself from hitting teammates without pads during seven-on-seven drills. Moments later, Alonso barely made a peep.

“I’m much different on the field than I am off the field,” he said. “Football is a lot different from regular life. Football is intense. I save that for the football field.”

Alonso was a standout baseball player as a kid but gave up the sport because he was hooked on the speed and contact that comes with football. He’s been a tackling machine since he played at Los Gatos High, the same school in Northern California that produced Trent Edwards.

Alonso was born in Boston, lived in Texas for 10 years and landed in California before high school. His father is a computer engineer who grew up in Puerto Rico. His mother is a Spanish teacher. Alonso and his two brothers are fluent in English and Spanish, and all three are good athletes.

His older brother, Carlos, is a middle infielder in the Phillies organization and currently playing in Class A Clearwater. His younger brother, Lucas, has aspirations to become a mixed martial arts fighter. Kiko is the biggest, so the other two ganged up on him when they were growing up. He can expect more double-teams next season.

He sounds like he’s ready.

Alonso might have been a first-round pick last month if not for his problems off the field. Scouts liked his instincts for the game, his ability to take on blockers and his ability in pass coverage. He had four interceptions last season and was defensive MVP in the 2011 Rose Bowl, when Oregon beat Wisconsin and quarterback Russell Wilson in a shootout.

It’s funny how things work out. Tom Brady grew up about 30 miles from Los Gatos in San Mateo, Calif. Brady is a legend in Boston but arrived after Alonso moved to Texas. He was a star in Northern California but was gone before Alonso showed up in Los Gatos. Alonso will be chasing him twice this season.

He’s taking the next step.

“I’m ready to come in here and compete,” Alonso said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s surreal. I’m still in shock. It’s just awesome, and I’m excited.”

email: bgleason@buffnews.com

Goodwin has a full-time position / Buffalonews.com

Rick Stewart/Getty Images North America caption

By Mark Gaughan | News Sports Reporter | @gggaughan
on May 12, 2013 - 12:11 AM
One year ago, Marquise Goodwin was performing in the Big 12 Conference Track and Field Championships and gearing up to represent the United States in the long jump at the Summer Olympic Games in London.
On Saturday he was wearing No. 88 for the Buffalo Bills and blazing down the sideline at the team’s rookie minicamp practice.
This is the first spring of Goodwin’s life that he is practicing football, not performing in track and field. The third-round draft choice from the University of Texas is excited about how much better he might get on the gridiron now that football is his full-time job.
“I have so much room to get better,” Goodwin said after the team’s second rookie minicamp practice Saturday afternoon. “I’m devoting all my time to football. I’ve got so many technical things that could be corrected.”
“I’m really excited,” Goodwin said. “It’s actually been a lot better on my body. I’m a lot more healthy. I’ve got that football mentality year-round. It’s all football right now. Track was then. Now it’s football.”
Speed makes Goodwin a fascinating prospect. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds, the third fastest time of any player since the NFL Scouting Combine started using electronic timing in 1999. Goodwin’s world-class speed helped him excel in the long jump. He won the event at the U.S. Olympic trials last June then placed 10th at the London Games last August.
Goodwin, however, always has considered himself a football player who runs track and says he’s retired from the long jump.
“He’s a football player first,” said Bills General Manager Buddy Nix. “He’s had all that success in track, but I think when you see him play I think you’ll realize he’s a football player; he just needs reps and touches.”
Goodwin is a Texas native who saw significant playing time for the Longhorns right from the start of his true freshman season. He caught 30 passes as a freshman, 31 as a sophomore, 33 as a junior and 26 as a senior. He essentially served as Texas’ No. 3 wideout. He also averaged 10 yards a carry on 35 rushing attempts his last two seasons.
In his final game, a victory over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl, Goodwin scored on a 64-yard end around and caught a 36-yard game-winning TD pass in the final three minutes. After accepting the offensive player of the game award, he struck an archer pose like Jamaican Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man.
“I was just feeling myself a little bit,” Goodwin laughed. “It was the ultimate satisfaction, being out there and getting a team W. I’m looking forward to getting some Ws and doing the same thing here.”
He’s not referring to the archer pose. That was a one-time thing.
Goodwin’s big Texas finish was a cause for some regret among Longhorn fans who thought the Texas coaches should have found more ways to get him the ball the last two seasons. Goodwin scored six TDs on 39 touches as a senior. His long scores – including a 55-yard TD catch and 69-yard run against Ole Miss – epitomized the “shot out of a cannon” cliché.
“Did Texas utilize him enough? Unfortunately, I think we all know how to answer that,” wrote InsideTexas.com after the Alamo Bowl.
Goodwin takes the high road on the question of fans wanting him to get more touches.
“I was pretty aware of it,” he said. “People talk. But they don’t know what goes on on the field in practice and in the meeting rooms. It is what it is. Everybody hopes for a little more. But whatever you get just make the best of it.”
At 5-foot-9, 179 pounds, Goodwin’s small stature probably limits the amount he can be used in an outside position. Even though he estimates Texas used him 80 percent as a wide flanker and 20 percent in the slot, he likely will spend most of his time in a slot position in the NFL. He has a thick, muscular physique, so there is hope he can withstand hits over the middle.
Goodwin knows he must work on his craft with receivers coach Ike Hilliard to earn touches with the Bills.
“Every day out here coach Hilliard has done a spectacular job getting us better,” Goodwin said. “He’s helped me run better routes, he’s helped me get off the line. He’s helped me focus on catching the ball down the field, the little things receivers do.”
Goodwin already shows he needs no help getting deep downfield. He hauled in a perfect deep ball from rookie EJ Manuel early in Friday’s practice. He had to wait up for the first deep throw from Manuel Saturday and hold up again on an early deep ball from Jeff Tuel. Manuel hit Goodwin on a 60-yard bomb
down the right sideline later in Saturday’s workout.
“The fact that I have Marquise Goodwin on my team now, I have to get used to that, just letting it go, because sometimes you want to just be perfect,” Manuel said. “But with that guy you can just throw it out there. ... I don’t think you can really ever overthrow the guy.”
email: mgaughan@buffnews.com

Bona’s Jack Butler, NFL Hall of famer, dies / buffalonews.com

St. Bonaventure grad and former Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Butler, left, receives congratulations from Warren Moon after Butler’s election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame was announced in 2012. Getty Images

By Tim Graham | News Sports Reporter | @ByTimGraham

on May 12, 2013 - 12:09 AM

, updated May 12, 2013 at 12:10 AM

Nine months ago, Jack Butler giggled at all the fuss.
In his gold Pro Football Hall of Fame blazer, the Pittsburgh Steelers legend stood on a Fawcett Stadium stage and marveled at the throng of fans, screaming and waving their Terrible Towels for him.
With a smile, Butler told the crowd to knock it off and – on a night when maudlin, rambling speeches are the norm – delivered a snappy, four-minute address. He expressed his thanks to those who came.
“Heck,” Butler said at the end of his speech. “I’m thankful I’m here.”
Butler, a St. Bonaventure alum and one of the greatest overachievers in sports history, waited nearly 50 years to get into the Hall of Fame. He was ecstatic to have gotten the chance to experience his big moment with his eight children, 15 grandchildren and scores of friends.
Butler died Saturday morning in Pittsburgh. He was 85. Butler had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure a year ago and spent the past seven months in hospitals and rehab facilities because of a staph infection in his left leg.
“We just thank God that he was able to enjoy that little time in the sun that he had,” John Butler, who introduced his father at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, said Saturday night. “It wasn’t anything that he hoped to achieve, but it’s something that happened. We were so fortunate.”
Jack Butler didn’t play a down of high school football. The Pittsburgh native attended Mount Carmel College, a seminary in Niagara Falls, Ont., and then St. Bonaventure.
He decided to try out for St. Bonaventure’s football team because some roommates kept talking about how excited they were to play.
He turned into a star receiver for the Bonnies, but went undrafted in 1951. St. Bonaventure’s athletics director happened to be Steelers owner Art Rooney’s brother and wheedled a tryout while Butler was getting on with his life as an apprentice electrician.
Butler somehow made the Steelers as a defensive end and eventually was converted to defensive back. Last year, he became only the 15th undrafted Hall of Famer.
“I look back on my life, and I can’t believe how fortunate I’ve been,” Butler told The News last summer at his home in Munhall, Pa. “I don’t care where I was. Everything just seemed to fall into place, no planning, no nothing. Everything worked out. I don’t know how or why, but I’m grateful.”
Butler, a four-time Pro Bowler, was voted all-NFL three times and was one of two defensive halfbacks on the NFL 1950s all-decade team.
“There’s nobody in the Hall of Fame who’s come further than Jack Butler,” his St. Bonaventure and Steelers teammate Ted Marchibroda said last year. “It really is an unusual story.”
Butler had 52 interceptions, second-all time, when a horrific knee injury ended his career in 1959. John Butler said his father started having problems with staph infections because of that knee, which was replaced twice.
The Buffalo Bills hired Butler as a defensive coach in 1960. Butler still was on crutches, and the pain prevented him from doing the job.
He returned to Pittsburgh and became one of the NFL’s most influential scouts. He was executive director of the BLESTO scouting service for 44 years.
“Jack was a great person and great friend who always placed his faith and family first,” Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement. “Beyond his great play on the field, he was a legendary personnel man who helped so many of us get established in our scouting careers.
“He will be missed, but never forgotten.”
Among those Butler mentored were Colbert, former Bills president Tom Donahoe, former Bills college scouting chief Tom Modrak, Steelers college scouting director Ron Hughes and former Steelers and Jets personnel director Dick Haley. Just last week, the Steelers hired his son, Mike Butler, as a scout.
Doug Whaley, the Bills’ assistant GM, is a Pittsburgh native and came from the Steelers scouting department. He views Butler as a colossus of the profession.
“If you look at Jack Butler’s tree, it’s still reaching out farther today,” Whaley said. “I could say I’m one of those branches because I started under Tom Donahoe and cut my teeth under Kevin Colbert.
“His impact lives on. He’s one of the forefathers of this business.”

email: tgraham@buffnews.com