The Buffalo Bills appear to be on the verge of completely giving up on former first-round pick, quarterback E.J. Manuel.
Ahead of this weekend's altogether meaningless game against the New England Patriots, Bills head coach Doug Marrone announced that he would be sticking with check-down machine and neck-beard extraordinaire, Kyle Orton, instead of making a move back to Manuel.
"I can understand the question, but the game means a lot to me," Marrone said, per Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News, when asked about the possible merits of playing Manuel. "We're going to play the players who we feel give us the best chance to win. That's just the way that I'm wired and that's what my responsibility is to the team. We all have a responsibility to each other and I have to make those decisions each week. "
While it's admirable that Marrone is committed to winning the game, perhaps his attempt at implementing and developing a positive, victory-oriented culture in northern New York, that decision doesn't bode well for Manuel.
Marrone most likely wouldn't be able to glean much from a single game, but his disinterest in playing Manuel may mean that the young signal-caller has little to no future in the Buffalo organization.
"I think those things are for after the season is over, when you look back and you evaluate those things," Marrone said. "I don't think that, right now, I've put a lot of time into it because we went right to the tape. It's not a cliché. I mean it. We're doing everything we possibly can to win this game."
Marrone, when asked why Orton gives the team the best chance to win, indicated his leadership qualities. He spoke of efficiency, control - positive attributes, no doubt. But they're not the hallmarks of a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
And if it's Orton's mediocre, game-managing traits that are keeping Manuel glued to the bench, then it seems like, barring a miraculous development in the offseason, Manuel may be forever destined to ride the pine - and maybe not in Buffalo.
