Pittsford, N.Y. — It's the question hanging over everyone's head.

Can EJ Manuel play well enough to help the Buffalo Bills end their 14-season playoff drought? Sure, it's not all on Manuel. General manager Doug Whaley has tried to make that clear by surrounding the second-year quarterback with plenty of talent on offense. But the Bills are going to go as far as Manuel will take them, at least if you ask the fans.

So can Manuel do it?

"I think he can do it," Bills fan Michael Thomas said after a long pause. "I think he can."

Manuel dealt with three separate knee injuries as a rookie and didn't show much when healthy. In many ways, asking how confident fans are in Manuel at this point is tough. He hasn't taken a snap in live action yet this season.

It was tough to find a fan who had full confidence in Manuel at this point, but not many had given up hope yet either. We asked 25 Bills fans to rate their confidence in Manuel on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest confidence one can have.

The majority: 7 (12 responders)

Seven was both the highest confidence anyone had in Manuel and the most common response among those surveyed. It's a somewhat non-committal response, which is only fair given the uncertainty surrounding Manuel.

The average: 6.2

Until Manuel gives fans a reason to believe in him on the field, he'll likely flounder around this confidence level. Who can blame anyone for having just average confidence in an unproven quarterback?

The low: 4

One responder went with a four for Manuel. He didn't provide much explanation, but he's certainly not alone. There are Bills fans out there who don't believe in Manuel, and soon he'll get the chance to prove them wrong.