The Blue Board

Aside from our OL being a bad joke, here is a write up on Manuel that nails it and really hits home for me

I have zero faith in EJ, i gotta be honest with myself

He will choke or get hurt, like he always does come game time

His doochy little arm sleeve from the spring game was my last straw and this article just reminded me how bitch this kid is with the lights on

Ugh.... ( slits wrists )

EJ Manuel isn't making excuses for a mediocre 2011 season. In fact, Manuel is shouldering more than his share of the blame for last year's disappointments, and he's gearing up to ensure there won't be a repeat performance, as we wrote earlier this week.

But just because Manuel doesn't want to make excuses doesn't mean they don't exist. In fact, few quarterbacks in the country dealt with quite as much adversity as Manuel did last year.

"The guys around him -- he had a different offensive line, a different receiver set, a different running back group," Jimbo Fisher said. "It's not an excuse, and you have to learn through that, but it's part of the confidence level because a quarterback has to trust."

There wasn't much Manuel could trust last year. Florida State's offensive line coughed up more sacks than anyone in the conference, and Manuel was dropped 29 times in 10 games against FBS opponents. Meanwhile, the running game never really got off the ground, and FSU finished 104th nationally in rushing yards.

That's a lot for any quarterback to overcome, so it's no surprise that Manuel, who also played a sizable portion of the season with a shoulder injury, wasn't able to put it all together last year.

But here's the question: How much have those problems really affected Manuel over his career? Is he right to avoid the excuses?

Looking back through the numbers, Manuel has played in 17 career games against an FBS opponent in which he has thrown at least 10 passes. He has a career record of 11-5 in those games, has completed 66 percent of his passes, averaged 205 yards per game through the air and thrown 16 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.

Those are decent numbers, though probably well below the standard Manuel has set for himself -- and perhaps not quite where he'll need to be for FSU to win a national championship, even if the defense remains stout.

What is surprising about Manuel's performance, however, is that he's remained remarkably consistent despite adverse circumstances.

Check out Manuel's career numbers based on how many times he was sacked in a game:

Stat 2 sacks or fewer 3 sacks or more
Completion percentage 67% 65%
Yards per game 198.7 213.3
TD:INT ratio 8 TD, 11 INT 8 TD, 4 INT
Wins-Losses 7-3 5-2

(Note: Manuel has been sacked two times or fewer in 10 of his 17 starts.)

He's definitely better when he's sacked less often, but the difference isn't enormous.

Now take a look at how Manuel's performance has changed based on the success (or lack thereof) of Florida State's ground game:

Stat 120 or fewer 121 or more
Completion percentage 64% 69%
Yards per game 197.1 211.4
TD:INT ratio 7 TD, 9 INT 9 TD, 6 INT
W-L 4-4 8-1

(Note: FSU has rushed for more than 120 yards in nine of Manuel's 17 starts.)

Again, Manuel is better when he has support from his rushers, but it's not a dramatic change.

As you might expect, Manuel has battled through adverse circumstances about as well as could be expected during his tenure at Florida State, and these numbers are a testament to that.

But if there's one stat that stands out here, it's probably the touchdown-to-interception ratios.

It's not that Manuel isn't capable of putting up stats in a game in which he's had little support, it's that he knows the pressure is all on him to make things happen.

The result is probably more completions and more yards than most quarterbacks might provide in those cases, but also more mistakes.

Manuel believes he can be better this season, that he can iron out a number of small details and blossom into a premier college quarterback. Given his maturity and ability, there's a good chance that happens.

But the biggest thing Florida State can do to improve offensively this season probably isn't to ask more of Manuel, but rather to ask less of him.