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Sammy Watkins says quarterback EJ Manuel is a ‘totally different guy’

By Andrew Ross

Dec 28, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) warms up before the start of the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) warms up before the start of the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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For the sake of his career, EJ Manuel better hope that Sammy Watkins is right.

The should-be future of the Buffalo Bills was supposed to be EJ Manuel, but that has looked less and less likely after every time we’ve seen him play.

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Manuel was – surprisingly – the first and only quarterback selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft when the Bills took him with the 16th overall pick.

The former Florida State Seminole played 10 games in his rookie season and threw for 1,972 yards (58.8 completion rating), 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions for a total quarterback rating of 42.3. He actually wasn’t terrible and showed a lot of promise at times, but that quickly changed last year.

The Bills gave up on Manuel early in the season, so he only ended up playing five games last year. In that time, Manuel passed for 838 yards (58 completion rating), five touchdowns and three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 19.8. The numbers from his two seasons aren’t incredibly different, but he still looked like a different player last year. Usually you can find some positivity when a player is doing bad, but Manuel didn’t even give us anything to build hope on last year.

It was especially shocking that Manuel looked so bad last year considering the team went all-in on the draft to gift him star receiver Sammy Watkins with the fourth overall pick. Those two were supposed to be the tandem of the future for Buffalo, but it all went wrong – at least for last year.

While many of us have already given up on Manuel, Watkins is doing the right thing and has his man’s back.

He’s not pulling a T.O. by bringing out the tears and saying “that’s my quarterback,” but this is probably the next best thing. Confidence plays a big role is anything we do, and Manuel’s confidence had to be at an all-time low after last season. Little boosts of support like this from a teammate can go a long way. Obviously Watkins wouldn’t come out and straight up bash his teammate or anything like that, but let’s just hope that his statement was genuine and Manuel really is a totally different guy.

Not to rain on Watkins’ positivity parade, but most of us will need to see it to believe it. After all, the Bills recently brought in a new coaching staff with Rex Ryan in charge of things, and he hasn’t always had the best success with quarterbacks.

The Bills have also said that they will give all their quarterbacks first team reps while they decide who their starter is for next season. Among those competing with Manuel will be Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor and Jeff Tuel.

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