Bills QB EJ Manuel continues to seek consistency

This was a good time for a breather. After four days of an intense quarterback competition, Tuesday’s break in the schedule was just what EJ Manuel, Matt Cassel, and Tyrod Taylor needed, and all admitted as much following Monday night’s practice.

For Manuel, it might mean a little more.

Although he denies it every time he’s asked, it just seems like there’s a little more pressure, a little more sense of urgency, for Manuel than his fellow competitors in this training camp at St. John Fisher College.

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Cassel is an 11-year veteran who has seen all there is to see, particularly in training camp quarterback competitions. Based on the delegation of first-string reps thus far, and Rex Ryan’s penchant for favoring veterans, he appears to be the early favorite to win the job.

Taylor is playing with house money every time he takes a snap. He is an unproven commodity who doesn’t know what it’s like to start in the NFL, so it’s as if he’s competing with almost nothing to lose. Few observers think he can win the job, so there shouldn’t be any pressure; just let it fly and let the chips fall where they may.

Manuel is in a different situation. He’s now in his third year with the Bills, and he has not lived up to his 2013 first-round draft status. He struggled with injuries as a rookie, then was benched after four games last year by Doug Marrone and never saw the field in a meaningful situation the rest of the season.

It feels very much like a make-or-break camp for Manuel, where he either has to win the starting job, or perhaps face the possibility of being released.

Yes, it was good for Manuel to take a day off, even though the always optimistic quarterback does not believe he’s shouldering more than the others.

“I dont look at it as a burden, I look at it as what it is; it’s the situation I’m in,” he said. “I’m in my third season and my focus is just getting better every day. The only time I’m frustrated with myself is when I don’t feel I got better that day. I feel like it’s not necessarily a step back, but I think it’s not helping me in winning this job. I think what coach is looking for the most is a consistent guy, a flat line quarterback who doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low.”

Manuel thought he had a decent first practice. He wasn’t very happy Saturday or Sunday, but then Monday — with a big night crowd on hand — he felt he got back on track. There were the usual array of misfires, including a near interception by Bacarri Rambo on a total misread, but he also threw a couple of nice TD passes and he said he felt like he had a better rhythm.

The goal now is to have more days like Monday, and start an ascending trail.

“Just be consistent, I think that’s the biggest thing,” said Manuel. “Be consistent every day. Don’t show flashes of greatness and then show flashes of not greatness.”

Ryan said Monday it’s too early to start thinking about who’s ahead in the race to be the opening day starter, but when practice resumes Wednesday morning, things will start to ramp up for everyone, including the quarterbacks, culminating with a Saturday night intrasquad scrimmage that will be a major evaluation tool.

“I think that scrimmage that we’re gonna have is important,” said Ryan. “I think that’s just as important as a preseason game. You’ll see the cream rise to the top that day, generally. And that’s when it needs to.”

It sure won’t be easy for Manuel and the quarterbacks Saturday night, just as it hasn’t been in the first four practices, because the Buffalo defense has given the offense fits. The quarterbacks have been pressured, the receivers have been blanketed, and that combination has yielded some ugliness.

“They do a great job, and I think that’s going to be our best friend as an offense,” Manuel said. “Come game time, we understand that. We feel if we can execute against our defense, we can execute against anybody. No doubt, I think that’s going to be a huge test for the quarterbacks.”

It’s a test Manuel has to ace. Think about this: Manuel was drafted before Ryan got to Buffalo, while Cassel and Taylor were both acquired with Ryan’s full backing. Clearly, the Bills organization would like Manuel to finally justify his draft status, but when push comes to shove, Ryan and offensive coordinator Greg Roman have no particular allegiance to Manuel. If he’s not good enough, he’s expendable, so it is incumbent on Manuel to start making a move.

“It’s still early and if I were to focus on that, I’d have the wrong focus,” he said. “It’s a long race, that’s something I’ve learned. The biggest thing is just focusing on myself. Being in a competition like this you can’t worry about what another guy does, whether they do good or bad. You know your reps are what matters, so I think you’ve gotta be your own critic and just make sure you’re getting better.”

MAIORANA@DemocratandChronicle.com

Bills' upcoming training camp schedule:

Wednesday: 10 a.m.

Thursday: 10 a.m.

Friday: 10 a.m.

Saturday: 7 p.m.*

*-ticket required