There is another side to the story though. Each of these fantastic individuals was a first round draft pick and considered overdrafted by the "experts." Both of these guys were considered a "reach." I was okay with where each of these guys were drafted although I thought each could last a tad longer in the draft. It seems that because they were drafted higher than expected many want or expect them to fail. I thought they would do well and root/rooted for their success, but many wanted them to fail. It is difficult to see why because of the men/people they are, but some people seek enjoyment in that. It seems very premature to me, but people are entitled to think what they are entitled to think. I will explain though why I think that kind of thinking is wrong.
Let's start with EJ Manuel. First, it was an incredibly weak QB class that EJ was apart of. There was no guy that anyone would consider a franchise QB, but I believed EJ would be a very capable starter that could get a team into the playoffs. There was nobody else I or any other team thought that was capable of doing that. The Bills agreed with me and took EJ in the 1st round. If you need a QB and there is only one decent one available, you may have to draft him 10-15 spots higher than expected. QBs get overdrafted all the time. No other QB looked close to NFL capable in that draft other than Geno Smith to some people (not me). Smith was apparently a prick in all his meetings with teams which made the decision easier for Buffalo. EJ was picked in a good spot by them. My concern with EJ had nothing to do with anything on the field, it had to do with durability.
Those concerns were justified when EJ Manuel was hurt several times during his rookie season. A rookie season in which he was supposed to sit behind Kevin Kolb so he could better prepare himself to be an NFL QB. However, Kolb had a career ending injury and Manuel had a fantastic preseason which led many analysts to think he was the right guy for the job. His injury plagued rookie season though limited him to parts of 10 games that rookie season. They went 4-6 with him last year as a rookie. Buffalo was 2-4 without him. Small sample size and not much information to gather. This year Buffalo was 2-2 with Manuel in what was basically still his rookie season. For some reason they benched him and they were able to win the first game post Manuel, but it was a poor decision by Buffalo. It was short-sided and something most teams would not do. EJ Manuel was benched for his low QB rating and performance, but look at the list of guys who had a lower QB rating than Manuel in NFL history of 1st round QBs through the same number of games.... (E.J.'s was 78.5)
Steve McNair 78.0
Michael Vick 76.9
Troy Aikman 76.4
Eli Manning 73.4
Drew Bledsoe 72.0
John Elway 71.9
Alex Smith 69.2
Phil Simms 65.5
Jim Plunkett 61.0
Archie Manning 60.7
Terry Bradshaw 52.9
Look those names don't make Manuel successful, but they help to prove that Manuel has not been that bad. They also help prove that there is a lot of hope for EJ. Still, EJ has handled the very difficult situation with nothing but class, which is the real reason to love the guy. After his team beat Detroit despite being benched, EJ tweeted out...
"Great team win against Detroit yesterday. #BillsMafia"
After getting trashed by fans and the media, that is the class that EJ Manuel displayed while not playing. Last night he tweeted out a good luck message about the Buffalo Sabres starting their season. Manuel loves Buffalo and is nothing, but class. However, Manuel is just one of many FSU Qb's loaded with class.
This obviously brings us to the Christian Ponder situation. Ponder is very similar. He was picked 12th overall when many analysts had him rated as a 2nd round QB in 2011. Most had him behind those he got picked behind and realized it was not the best QB class. Todd McShay did think that Blaine Gabbert was the greatest QB prospect ever at the time, but others were more realistic. It was a weak class. Cam Newton was the obvious #1 pick and he has been the most successful. The next most successful is Colin Kaepernick who was somewhat surprising to be picked at the top of round 2. I do not remember anybody saying Kaepernick would be a stud, but I could be wrong on that. Those are the two QBs that were clearly better than an injury plagued Ponder. 2 were clearly better. Ponder was drafted behind three QBs. He was also drafted behind Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker. Neither of those two has outperformed Ponder so it was more a weak QB class than anything.
Ponder has also like Manuel had an injury plagued career. He only started all 16 games once in his career during that 2012 season that the Minnesota Vikings went to the playoffs. Ponder was injured for the playoff game though and the Vikings went on to lose to Green Bay.
These guys aren't beloved by me and other Seminole fans for their on field heroics in the NFL, but for the way they represent the university. They are loved for what they did for FSU while they were there and helping to start our resurgence. Both of these QBs more importantly are great people. If you look around the NFL right now, good people should be celebrated. Class should be praised and we should root for these kind of guys. Each of them will always have fans for that reason. I will always be a fan for that reason. I had a class with EJ Manuel at FSU and Christian Ponder went to my church, and neither one of them could be nicer to the people around them in those settings. Of course, they must produce on the field as well, but we can be proud of people they are. I must admit that my expectations have lowered some on Ponder, but I will always be a fan. EJ Manuel will be a capable NFL starter IF he can stay healthy. I firmly believe in EJ to succeed. No matter what though, I will always root for these two and many others will as well. It is good to see athletes who uphold the Garnet and Gold.
-Noland
Steve McNair 78.0
Michael Vick 76.9
Troy Aikman 76.4
Eli Manning 73.4
Drew Bledsoe 72.0
John Elway 71.9
Alex Smith 69.2
Phil Simms 65.5
Jim Plunkett 61.0
Archie Manning 60.7
Terry Bradshaw 52.9
Look those names don't make Manuel successful, but they help to prove that Manuel has not been that bad. They also help prove that there is a lot of hope for EJ. Still, EJ has handled the very difficult situation with nothing but class, which is the real reason to love the guy. After his team beat Detroit despite being benched, EJ tweeted out...
"Great team win against Detroit yesterday. #BillsMafia"
After getting trashed by fans and the media, that is the class that EJ Manuel displayed while not playing. Last night he tweeted out a good luck message about the Buffalo Sabres starting their season. Manuel loves Buffalo and is nothing, but class. However, Manuel is just one of many FSU Qb's loaded with class.
This obviously brings us to the Christian Ponder situation. Ponder is very similar. He was picked 12th overall when many analysts had him rated as a 2nd round QB in 2011. Most had him behind those he got picked behind and realized it was not the best QB class. Todd McShay did think that Blaine Gabbert was the greatest QB prospect ever at the time, but others were more realistic. It was a weak class. Cam Newton was the obvious #1 pick and he has been the most successful. The next most successful is Colin Kaepernick who was somewhat surprising to be picked at the top of round 2. I do not remember anybody saying Kaepernick would be a stud, but I could be wrong on that. Those are the two QBs that were clearly better than an injury plagued Ponder. 2 were clearly better. Ponder was drafted behind three QBs. He was also drafted behind Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker. Neither of those two has outperformed Ponder so it was more a weak QB class than anything.
Ponder has also like Manuel had an injury plagued career. He only started all 16 games once in his career during that 2012 season that the Minnesota Vikings went to the playoffs. Ponder was injured for the playoff game though and the Vikings went on to lose to Green Bay.
These guys aren't beloved by me and other Seminole fans for their on field heroics in the NFL, but for the way they represent the university. They are loved for what they did for FSU while they were there and helping to start our resurgence. Both of these QBs more importantly are great people. If you look around the NFL right now, good people should be celebrated. Class should be praised and we should root for these kind of guys. Each of them will always have fans for that reason. I will always be a fan for that reason. I had a class with EJ Manuel at FSU and Christian Ponder went to my church, and neither one of them could be nicer to the people around them in those settings. Of course, they must produce on the field as well, but we can be proud of people they are. I must admit that my expectations have lowered some on Ponder, but I will always be a fan. EJ Manuel will be a capable NFL starter IF he can stay healthy. I firmly believe in EJ to succeed. No matter what though, I will always root for these two and many others will as well. It is good to see athletes who uphold the Garnet and Gold.
-Noland
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