EJ Manuel might have impressed the Buffalo Bills during the team's minicamp and in the first few days of OTAs, but that still does not change the fact that he is a rookie. As the Buffalo Bills continue to work out who their future starting quarterback will be for 2013, Manuel is sitting behind two veterans to get the job. As expected the rookie appears to be third on the depth chart while Kevin Kolb and Tarvaris Jackson get reps with the first-team offense.
Manuel will play a large role in training camp and the quarterback competition as a whole, but as a rookie, he is still learning. The team knows that he might not be able to jump in and be starter right away. Head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator stress that Manuel still has a lot to learn when it comes to the fundamentals of being a quarterback.
The Bills run a typical West Coast offense, meaning there will be a lot of drop backs and getting the ball in the air quickly. Manuel is still working on how to adjust to the change.
"Footwork is tied into everything. Everything is within your footwork. It's a very big learning process. It's been fun to watch him come along, especially when he was first here, he was kind of a drop back and stand there. Not there's a little more rhythm to it," Hackett said.
While Manuel is impressing with his ability to adjust and pick things up quickly, he is still not in the running for the starting job at the moment. While Kolb and Jackson do not exactly have an abundance of game time experience either, they have been in the league longer and have more knowledge of how the NFL works. Even with Manuel taking snaps as the third-string guy, Kolb is still approaching practice like he is fighting for his job.
"I approach the competition like I'm competing against the playbook, I'm competing against that defense. I'm not competing against the other guys in the red jersey," Kolb said.
While Kolb is the assumed starter for 2013, that does not mean Manuel will not see playing time sooner rather than later. He was the Bills top draft pick for a reason. Once they refine him to the pro level, he could be starting later in the season. It is clear that Marrone sees Kolb as the immediate answer, but Manuel is the the long-term player.
