After a loss in a very winnable game to the only undefeated team in the NFL on Sunday, head coach Doug Marrone was frustrated.
“I’m going to go home, not talk to anybody, just shut it down,” said Marrone. “I’m going to be by myself, I’m not going to pet my dog and I’m going to get fired up.”
Marrone certainly had a lot to be excited about Monday, as rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel said he has been cleared to play by team doctors , but Manuel says it will be up to Marrone to determine whether he plays or not against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, with the criteria being who gives Buffalo the best chance to win.
“Definitely looking forward to getting to practice, full course, taking as many reps as coach allows me to get,” said Manuel, who has missed the last four games with a right knee injury. “Then moving forward from there it’s his decision at the end of the day, so I’m just going to go out there and continue to work hard and get back to where I was.”
With Manuel coming back to the roster and that Thaddeus Lewis should also be available, according to Marrone, the Bills decided to release Matt Flynn after a three-week stint in Buffalo. To replace him on the roster, Buffalo signed FB Evan Rodriguez, who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2012 in the fourth-round, and has some H-back skills to him, though he has only four career catches for 21 yards.
Despite missing some time on the field, Manuel said he didn’t think the injury set back his development.
“Whether I was up in the box watching it from up top or on the sideline watching my teammates play, I still took a lot away from it, the good and the bad,” said Manuel. “From Thad (Lewis)’s success and Jeff (Tuel) yesterday watching the game, just try to learn from everything.”
The offense’s key components surrounding whoever plays under center are also dealing with injury issues, as both rookie receivers Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin left the game. Marrone said that Woods had something with his ankle, and would rest Monday and Tuesday, and then see how he looks on the field, while Goodwin would be checked out on the field regarding something with his hamstring.
C.J. Spiller’s constant ankle issues didn’t stop him from garnering 155 yards from scrimmage on Sunday, but still didn’t look at full speed. Marrone said that he had spoken with Spiller, and said Spiller felt good but was concerned about how he would feel when someone landed on it.
With the injury issues Buffalo has had and Manuel’s previous experience against the Browns, he made it clear that he would have still tried to get the first down on the play, but then immediately get down and get out of bounds.
“That’s just a part of playing football,” said Manuel. “That could have happened playing basketball too. I’m not going to play scared or anything like that. I’m going to continue to try to get as many yards as I can, but at the same time just slide or get out of bounds or throw it away when you get out of the pocket.”
Marrone expressed his belief in the team, which is why he has been so disappointed with the losses, both on the field and personnel wise.
“At the end of the day I feel and I know that we have a good football team, but we just can’t get ourselves healthy enough or get ourselves over that hump,” said Marrone. “That’s what gets to me. If I said just the one thing that kind of gets me down a little bit, that’s probably the thing. I can live with going out there and playing full strength and I said it afterwards. I also don’t like the point of people hanging their heads or feeling sorry for themselves and that’s the one thing I haven’t seen on this team.”
Photos by Derek Zeller for PPI
