EJ Manuel - Thoughts?

[ABQCOWBOY]

EJ Manuel is 6'4" 237 lbs. He's a 4.6/4.7 guy.

As strong an arm as you will find at the position. Fast, athletic, hard to bring down. If you liked Colin Kaepernick, then you should love this kid. He is pretty much the same QB at a similar stage.

The knock on Manual is that he is raw and under developed in his passing skills. Needs work on his motion, throwing mechanics and he has had issues with injuries. However, when healthy, everytime I have watched him he was a monster. His athletic ability allows him to put a great deal of pressure on opposing defenses.

Here are his Career Stats at FSU:

Year GP COMP ATT YDS COMP % TD INT

2008 RS - - - - - -
2009 GP 7, Comp 69 Att 106, Yds 805, Comp% 65.1, TDs 2 INTs 6
2010 GP 10, Comp 65, Att 93, Yds 861, Comp% 69.9, TDs 4, INTs 4
2011 GP 12, Comp 203, Att 311, Yds 2,666, Comp% 65.3, TDs 18, INTs 8
2012 GP 14, Comp 263, Att 387, Yds 3,392, Comp% 68.0, TDs 23, INTs 10

Totals GP 43, Comp 600, Att 897, Yds 7,742, Comp% 66.9%, TDs 47, INTs 28

What you guys think of Manuel?

 

[joseephuss]

Every time I watched him I came away unimpressed. I felt the same when I watched Christian Ponder while at FSU and he went in the first round, so what do I know.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Every time I watched him I came away unimpressed. I felt the same when I watched Christian Ponder while at FSU and he went in the first round, so what do I know.

As a pure passer or even a polished QB, I agree. I am not in love with FSUs ability to develop passing QBs. However, when I watched Manuel, and I did so a lot in his career, I was impressed with his ability to put pressure on opposing defenses. When he was healthy, he was very hard to stop. When either injuries or FSUs inability to execute made him one dimensional, he looked very ordinary.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

Would need to sit a long time before he would be ready. It seems like he has a very hard time reading defenses to me. Now that I think about it he has some resemblance to McGee. Both very mobile, good arm, unpolished.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Would need to sit a long time before he would be ready. It seems like he has a very hard time reading defenses to me. Now that I think about it he has some resemblance to McGee. Both very mobile, good arm, unpolished.

I don't see McGee as comparable. I think Manuel has way more natural ability then did McGee but I see how you can make that comparison.

I also think it depends upon what offense you put him in. If you take him to develop as your backup, you can probably run the spread with him pretty easily. Would be interesting to see how he might project in that offense.

 

[CATCH17]

I think he is a good player that you try and develop but I wouldn't bet the farm on him.

Kaepernick was a legit 2nd rounder to me when he came out.

I think Manuel is a legit 3rd rounder. JMO.

 

[RS12]

The two biggest things I value in a QB are 1) accuracy and 2) decision making. Those are his two biggest flaws IMO. I will guarentee that because he fits the physical proto type and had some highlight reel plays, somebody will over draft him. I'll guess round 2 even though Mayock thought round 4.

 

[lostar2009]

EJ has the talent but he did a choke job against a pretty good Florida defense last year. He played no better in his bowl game. If we would draft him i would be okay with it but i wouldn't expect him to start for another 2 years. I like Arizona Matt Scott a whole like better.

 

[Shinywalrus]

He's got a bit of Derek Anderson, a bit of Joe Flacco and a bit of Byron Leftwich in him. More athletic than any of those (although Anderson was more nimble than he was given credit for), he's still got an ugly delivery.

Physically he's a legitimate 1st round prospect. Taking into account his hitch and the more questionable mental makeup, he'd be 5th round developmental material.

I'd spend a #3 on him as is, or a #2 if my QB coach was sure he could fix that delivery.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The way I see it, Romo is here for as long as he lasts. That's probaly 4 seasons minimum, unless something unforeseen happens.

I would guess that a prospect, any prospect at QB, would have a good 3 years to develop if we drafted him this year.

 

[Shinywalrus]

The way I see it, Romo is here for as long as he lasts. That's probaly 4 seasons minimum, unless something unforeseen happens.

I would guess that a prospect, any prospect at QB, would have a good 3 years to develop if we drafted him this year.

That feels right to me. I'm very much on board with using our #2 on a QB if one of the top 5 guys on our board for the position falls to us there.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The two biggest things I value in a QB are 1) accuracy and 2) decision making. Those are his two biggest flaws IMO. I will guarentee that because he fits the physical proto type and had some highlight reel plays, somebody will over draft him. I'll guess round 2 even though Mayock thought round 4.

Actually, his accuracy is not terrible. He's a career 67% passer. His ability to efficiently read defenses and make decisions is something to be concerned with but again, I don't love FSU's coaching ability where developing QBs are concerned. I have to wonder how much he can improve with a quality coaching staff? In the two years he was the starter at FSU (11 & 12), he threw 59 TDs against 18 INTs. That's not really all that bad.

 

[RS12]

Actually, his accuracy is not terrible. He's a career 67% passer. His ability to efficiently read defenses and make decisions is something to be concerned with but again, I don't love FSU's coaching ability where developing QBs are concerned. I have to wonder how much he can improve with a quality coaching staff? In the two years he was the starter at FSU (11 & 12), he threw 59 TDs against 18 INTs. That's not really all that bad.

Not talking about stats when talking about accuracy. It seemed like alot of times when I watched him this year (on 20 to 30 yard throws) the ball sailed high on him. In the NFL that is going to mean picks. Maybe it can be coached out of him, but that is why the draft is a crap shoot.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Not talking about stats when talking about accuracy. It seemed like alot of times when I watched him this year (on 20 to 30 yard throws) the ball sailed high on him. In the NFL that is going to mean picks. Maybe it can be coached out of him, but that is why the draft is a crap shoot.

If you break him down, that's all about mechanics. I mean, you are right, he needs work on his mechanics. He doesn't put enough air under the ball or throw with the proper touch a lot of times but it's not his arm, per say. It's his setup and delivery IMO.

No question, the guy has some flaws in his game right now. I mean, if he didn't, he would be the first player coming off the board in 2013.

 

[LatinMind]

The way I see it, Romo is here for as long as he lasts. That's probaly 4 seasons minimum, unless something unforeseen happens.

I would guess that a prospect, any prospect at QB, would have a good 3 years to develop if we drafted him this year.

I agree. Romo is most likely going to sign a 5-6 yr contract this yr. And then you still have Orton. I say draft a guy after next yr.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

No no no no

To me he has always been the type of QB that has the looks of a top QB but who will always come up short of expectations.

He has always been over rated and I have never seen him become the consistent QB you look to be your starter and I don't know that he will ever be.

So No No No thank you

 

[KDM256]

Do not want, I rather take a shot at Tyler Wilson or Tyler Bray if were talking about drafting a QB for the future.

EJ Manual lacks consistency and we've had our fair share of that under center

 

[xwalker]

EJ Manuel is 6'4" 237 lbs. He's a 4.6/4.7 guy.

What you guys think of Manuel?

I would prefer that the Cowboys just use the draft pick and the roster spot on a non-QB. What's the point of developing a future QB when you can't win now? Using a draft pick and a roster spot definitely has an effect on a teams ability to win now.

I would just wait until Romo can't play and then tank a season like Indy did in 2011. Then you can get a very high pick and hopefully get a really good QB. By the time you spend years developing a QB, he is at or near Free Agency. I value the roster spot even more than the draft pick. The exception would be to draft a guy that can be the #2 QB from the beginning. Then you're not wasting a spot on a #3 QB.

If you put resources into building a great OLine and the other offensive positions, then a Rookie QB can come in and win. They were winning in SF with Alex Smith before he got hurt. He's not really better than a lot of Rookie QBs but he could win because they had a great OLine and a good offense around him.

 

[ghst187]

thoughts..?
yep and nope

 

[TheCoolFan]

Nothing special about him. I'm no Romo fan but wasting a pick on a QB just for the sake of doing it in a weak year at the position will not help us. No point in getting another Stephen McGee