Tyrod Taylor Emerging as Potential Starting QB For Bills?
By Joe Wedra
Despite the draft pick of E.J. Manuel – a blemish in the eyes of just a few Buffalo Bills fans – the team has a peculiar glimmer of hope entering the 2015 season.
It was evident that after seeing what Manuel flashed during his short time at the helm, competition was required to further the team’s chances for the immediate future. Thus, the Tyrod Taylor and Matt Cassell era will seemingly be experimented this training camp, realistically giving the former Baltimore Ravens signal-caller an opportunity to swipe the starting job away from the Florida State alum.
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You can’t blame the Bills for adjusting fairly rapidly. Talent is simply too good around the QB spot to be wasted. Manuel’s time as a locked-in starter is up for good reason. He’ll presumably have to watch the battle that will lock in eyes around the NFL-viewing country: Cassel vs. Taylor.
The experimental clash will be compelling to say the least. Take Manuel out of the picture for the time being to grasp the root of the training camp storyline.
In one corner stands a well-traveled veteran who has earned the right to battle for the keys of this offense. Cassel has taken the route of your average NFL journeyman with classic paths and now sits in a position to finally settle down for the rest of his career.
Buffalo seems to be that potential abode.
On the other side, Tyrod Taylor looks to shed the shadow of Joe Flacco once and for all, taking advantage of his first true opportunity to lead an NFL team – one he’s certainly earned. The Ravens didn’t cut Taylor because he wasn’t performing.
Quite the contrary.
John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome are a classy duo. They know Taylor had bigger fish to fry and simply couldn’t keep him around. The former Virginia Tech Hokie can take reps under center and compete for a starting job … why can’t it be in Buffalo?
Luckily for Taylor, leeway will follow his every move during camp. He doesn’t have to be perfect.
Buffalo can look out into the future with Taylor, 25, with confidence. He has plenty of time to develop and learn the ropes. If he shows an adequate amount of promise and mental capacity to run the show, he’s going to get the nod – it’s fairly simple.
Things are a bit more complex with Cassel. Unlike Taylor, he’s had his chance. Beginning in July, his missed opportunities will loom much, much larger than Taylor’s. He’s entering the building expected to take the job and run with it. If a journeyman enters camp and performs accordingly, his chances diminish.
For Cassel, that’s just the risk he’ll be taking.
When theoretically inserting Taylor into the lineup, things begin to shape up into a potentially promising situation.
For starters, there’s finally a viable running game ready to thrive. LeSean McCoy can and will take a heavy load off of whoever is under center, allowing a youngster like Taylor to take a few breaths on game day.
Combine that and Taylor’s superb mobility with threats in Sammy Watkins, Charles Clay and Robert Woods, and you have the potential for a potential new era in Bills football history.
Sure, it’s a longshot.
The team has to view the Manuel situation as more than murky and Cassel will have to falter.
If all the pieces do end up falling into place, it could by Tyrod Taylor’s year to shine as the NFL’s next young quarterback.