Kevin Kolb has an EJ Manuel problem.
Although Kolb opened Buffalo Bills training camp taking the majority of the first-team reps, his scattershot accuracy and poor pocket presence have Manuel nipping at his heels.
Throwing from a dirty pocket has been Kolb's bugaboo going back to his early days with the Philadelphia Eagles, and it continues to undermine the rest of his game. Journeyman David Carr is the only active quarterback with a higher sack rate than Kolb.
Manuel, on the other hand, reportedly has looked "comfortable, confident, strong-armed and accurate." He was "spectacular" early in the week, outplaying Kolb in three consecutive practices.
In a Tuesday interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio's "Moving the Chains," Bills general manager Doug Whaley sounded like a man ready to go forward with the rookie as his starting quarterback.
"Most successful quarterbacks have that 'it' factor. (Manuel) has that 'it' factor," Whaley explained. "When he walks into a room, there's a presence and people take notice. He's going to be the face of our franchise, and it's not too big for him."
As Gregg Rosenthal likes to point out, the tie goes to the rookie in quarterback competitions. That wasn't always the case, but the NFL culture has changed with the success of so many young quarterbacks over the past few years.
There's nothing to be gained by trotting out a sack-prone Kolb in Week 1 when the coaching staff and the front office view Manuel as the franchise quarterback. The rookie is in the driver's seat for this training-camp battle.
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