Watching Kyle Orton sputter in the Buffalo Bills' 22-9 loss to the Miami Dolphins there was one obvious question to ask Doug Marrone: Are you considering going back to EJ Manuel?
"No, right now, that hasn't crossed my mind," Marrone said.
Marrone added that Orton has a toe injury, but the quarterback indicated he wasn't concerned about it moving forward.
In his first few starts Orton exceeded expectations, but he's come crashing back to earth at a scorching pace. Defenses have figured him out, realizing he struggles to hit the deep throws and is not the most accurate on short-to-intermediate throws.
Still, when you consider how anemic the Bills' offense was under Manuel it would be difficult to go back to the second-year player and keep the locker room.
Orton's 64 percent completion percentage in his three starts far outdistances Manuel's 58 percent, Orton averages 58.8 more passing yards per game, has a 10-to-five touchdown-to-interception ratio (Manuel's at five-to-three) and a 93.5 passer rating to Manuel's 80.3. Orton has also far exceeded Manuel on third-down conversion rate.
At this point, going to Manuel might signal to Marrone's team that he's waived the white flag on the season -- something a coach trying to impress a new owner might not want to do.
As we've said from the start of the season: The Bills are a team that is a playoff-ready roster outside of the quarterback. Buffalo thought Manuel could be that player. He's not. Orton's proving why he's not the answer either.
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