A month after selecting quarterback E.J. Manuel in the first round of the NFL draft, Bills coach Doug Marrone likes what he sees.
Marrone said at the conclusion of the Bills’ Organized Team Activities today that his rookies have developed “better than expected” and that Manuel is ahead of any other rookie quarterback he’s seen.
“From my standpoint,” Marrone said, “E.J. Manuel has done better [as a rookie] than any of the other organizations I’ve been a part of.”
Of course, that isn’t really saying all that much: Marrone has only been a coach on one team that has drafted a quarterback, and that was in 2003, when Marrone was offensive line coach of the Jets and they spent a sixth-round pick on Brooks Bollinger. We would certainly hope that Manuel is ahead of where Brooks Bollinger was.
So when Marrone says Manuel has done better as a rookie than any rookie in any other organization he’s been a part of, Marrone is setting the bar awfully low. But at least Manuel has cleared that bar.