HERTFORDSHIRE, England -- The Buffalo Bills have not one, but two quarterbacks that play-caller Greg Roman feels excited about.
With third-year passer EJ Manuel set to fill in for injured starter Tyrod Taylor, we asked Roman if Manuel had a chance to seize the starting job if he lit the world on fire Sunday at Wembley against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"That's a hypothetical question," Roman said. "That's what I plan on doing -- is having him light it up. And we cross bridges when we get to them. Right now, he's playing this game and, believe it or not, that's as far ahead as we're looking."
Still, Roman clearly believes in Manuel, telling reporters that "he played a pretty solid game" against the Bengals and saying: "We have full confidence in EJ and we love the skill set. He's doing really good in his preparation. I really think he's growing as a professional in how he prepares week to week and I think that will really serve him well moving forward."
Roman went on to say that when you watch "elite quarterbacks" in the NFL, "one of the characteristics of these people is that they are simply, in a machine-like fashion, doing what they're supposed to do over and over and over. And I think EJ's got the type of makeup to really go down that path."
Talking one-on-one with Roman later in the day, he acknowledged that Taylor "simply won the job throughout the offseason and we really felt good about him, but at the same time, I felt really good about EJ, too, and what he was able to do and the progress he was able to make. So, it was a tough decision, it really was. It was tough. But (Taylor) won the job, it's that simple."
To most observers, Taylor has been the clear winner on tape, showing a live arm and fantastic mobility. Manuel, though, is draped with a first-round draft pedigree that Roman acknowledged adds some pressure to find out if his promise can be fulfilled.
"I definitely think you want to see how far you can push each and every player and I think that definitely adds something to it when you make that kind of investment," Roman said. "But I think you want to find out on every player."
Asking if he sees a higher ceiling in either one of his two young passers, Roman wouldn't bite, saying: "A higher ceiling? The only ceiling I'm looking at is the guy that's playing. That's it. That's all I care about."
Wake up and watch with the world. The NFL is live on Yahoo. For the first time ever the NFL is streaming a live game on Yahoo. Bills vs. Jaguars live from London, Sunday October 25th 9:30 am ET.
