Several times Hackett would counsel Manuel on his footwork on his most recent play after the fact. There was one specific instance during 7-on-7 where Hackett saw Manuel hold the ball a second too long before delivering an underneath ball and said, ‘You’re probably sacked on that play.”

But head coach Doug Marrone in general got what he was looking for from Manuel on day one.

“It’s what I expected,” he said. “Again, to work on the footwork and he made some nice throws. What I expected, I didn’t think he’d come in here and be the polished guy that you have. You’re learning a new system. You’re learning new coaches. You’re getting a feel for yourself. I try to look at the players and just say okay, here’s where they are. Here’s how they are on the field. Because I think as a coach, I know I’ve had this problem, if I create expectations in my mind of players that I’ve never coached before, I can find myself getting in trouble. So, I try to go in there open-minded until I get around them and get to know them. But I was very happy.”

“It’s all predicated upon the pass concepts,” said Manuel with respect to the footwork he’s trying to master. ”Just pairing the footwork with the passing play. There’s a lot you have to remember, it’s the first day, but I thought overall the whole team did a great job.”

Participating in an hour long Fan Forum with Bills season ticketholders this week, Marrone explained that an offense can’t blindly go 100 miles per hour all the time, without recognition of time and score.

“I think with tempo what you’re trying to get done is statistically the amount of possessions you have per game equal the amount of points you score, so the tempo you run is not a gadget,” Marrone said. ”The aim is to get more possessions, knowing more possessions will get you more scores. We will use that as much as possible.

“The thing I want to make sure everyone understands is we do have the ability to huddle and the ability to slow the game down if we wanted to. If we’re ahead on the scoreboard and we’re in a four-minute situation and you want to slow the game down, we have the ability to do that. We practice both right now and that will continue in terms of tempo. I like playing fast. I think you have a great advantage with that.”

And when they got together with Florida State QB E.J. Manuel in late March for a private workout, they seemed especially interested in his footwork.

Manuel talked about the workout in an appearance on The John Murphy Show Friday night.

“The workout was great,” he said. ” A lot of the Bills top officials came out, and that was awesome. We had dinner the night before and the next day we had the workout. Coach (Nathaniel) Hackett put me through a great workout. I was able to show a lot of what I could do moving forward into the NFL, and I think they were very pleased.”

Manuel said the Bills seemed especially interested in how nimble he is in the pocket. He says they asked him to move around a bit more than he became used to, in his Florida State career.

“I think the biggest thing they wanted to see was my footwork,” he told host John Murphy. “Every offense is different as far as how you drop, and the type of drops you’ll take.”

“In the offense that Coach Hackett is running, he wants the quarterback to move up in the pocket. At Florida State, we would drop back and try to stay stationary, try to stay in one spot. Obviously, if you get have no pass rush, you can move left, move right, move up, move back. In Coach Hackett’s offense, he always wants your progressions to be moving forward in the pocket. And that was something new , but I picked it up fairly quickly.”

Manuel is projected as a first or second rounder in most mock drafts.

The entire interview with E.J. Manuel is available at Buffalobills.com\johnmurphyshow

“You have to be careful, or you can get lucky,” said Kiper. ”Cincinnati waited for Andy Dalton. Everybody thought Cincinnati was going to trade up to get Andy Dalton or would have to trade up to get Andy Dalton. It didn’t work that way. San Diego, Drew Brees fell to them after they made the deal for Michael Vick to go to Atlanta that year and it allowed them to get LaDainian Tomlinson and then they got Drew Brees.”

Nix was a part of San Diego’s scouting staff at the time, and he was rewarded again for being patient in last year’s draft when Buffalo saw OT Cordy Glenn fall to them at 41.

“It has worked being patient and getting some good luck and some good fortune,” said Kiper. ”But to get Nassib where (the Bills) are picking in the second round, that’s something you would have to say is debatable. That’s at 41 and he could very easily go before that.”

In round two the pick order goes as follows.

33 Jacksonville
34 San Francisco from Kansas City
35 Philadelphia
36 Detroit
37 Cincinnati from Oakland
38 Arizona
39 New York Jets
40 Tennessee
41 Buffalo

Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Arizona and the Jets are all clubs that could consider quarterback and all four pick in front of the Bills in the second round. Kiper, who assumes the Bills would covet Nassib, believes if the Bills truly want him they may need to move up the board.

“The strength of their conviction on the quarterback will determine a lot of that,” said Kiper of the Bills. ”If they feel they have to get Ryan Nassib, then they’ll move out and move up.”

That could prove difficult with just six picks in Buffalo’s arsenal in this draft unless they elect to use future picks.

“That’s determined by their feelings,” said Kiper. “Are they hoping to just be lucky and have good fortune? Or are they going to be aggressive and move up to go get him? That’s one of the interesting scenarios in this draft.”

And it’s the first time Bills veterans have had to get a clue on what kind of offense new coordinator Nathaniel Hackett might have in mind.

Based on what they’ve seen the first few days, Bills players are bracing for a fast-paced offensive attack, with a heavy dose of no-huddle.

Center Eric Wood says he expects the tempo to be accelerated based on the type of offense Hackett ran at Syracuse University.

“Ive watched them (Syracuse) beat the dog out of Louisville, and they looked really good then,” Wood said this week.  “I saw them in the bowl game a little bit, too, and they looked good.”

“That’s kind of the way the league is going–New England runs a lot of up-tempo,  Peyton’s done it forever.  I’m sure we won’t be exclusively no huddle,  but we’re going to try to keep people on their heels.  I think that will put guys in more successful situations.”

Appearing on PFC Radio Wednesday morning, Davis said he sat down over dinner with Bills President & CEO Russ Brandon, GM Buddy Nix, head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. When asked for his initial impressions of Marrone, Davis said he came away impressed.

“I think when you meet him, just talking to him, he seems like a player’s coach, down to earth and real and that’s something with a lot of coaches you don’t get a chance to see,” said Davis. ”He was really cool and all the things he talked about you can tell he’s a humble guy that doesn’t make choices because of money. It’s more about what he wants to do in life.”

Davis said he got a “good vibe” from the Bills brass.

“We’ll see what happens when I get there,” said Davis. ”I had a good feeling with them. They’re a good group of guys.”

“I leave tomorrow morning for Buffalo,” Davis told Pro Football Central radio host Brian Harrington Tuesday.

Even though Davis might be traveling Wednesday, his visit to the facility may not happen until the following day.

Davis said he also has a visit lined up with the Jets “in a couple of days.”

The talented tight end is coming off of a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered last October, but said he’s already running.

“I feel good right now,” Davis said. ”I’m only four and a half months out of my surgery and I’m already running and stuff so I know what I’m going to be able to do this year. I will be back to 100 percent.”

He insists he’ll be full go by mid-June, which sounds very amibitious. Typically torn Achilles require 11-12 months of rehabilitation. Davis’ physical will likely be the determining factor in assessing just when he can be expected to get full medical clearance to play again.

The tight end, who insisted he’s more than just a pass catching threat talked about his initial meeting with the Bills saying he dined with President & CEO Russ Brandon, GM Buddy Nix, head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

“It was a good vibe,” said Davis. “It was more positive than I thought. I talked to them and they’re a good group of guys. I respected what they were talking about and it interesting. It was a good showing.”

In the next breath he did admit that the quarterback situation is a factor.

“That’s the main part of any team. You need that quarterback and you need that leadership,” he said. ”I’m sure whatever they do they’re going to go in the draft and try to get someone or make something happen. That’s something you have to think about, but I’m sure they have a plan for that, which every team hopes to have. I hope it works out. That’s an interesting situation.”

At the same time it sounds like Davis wants to look at all his options before making a decision, which means his visit with the Jets could go on as scheduled after his scheduled visit to Buffalo.

“I just want to see where the best opportunity is to be able to win,” said Davis. ”I had a great conversation with the Bills. The head coach was really cool. The offensive coordinator was cool. The GM and the president they were all great guys. I had a good time. We had a lot of good conversation about football and life. I liked the conversation we had, but it’s a business so you’ve got to see all your options and then make a decision. You can’t just make a decision after seeing one choice.”

1 - @ChrisBrownBills would Bills take a flyer on Kolb?

Cparkin2009 12:33pm via Twitter for Android

CB: I’d be surprised if Kolb is on Buffalo’s radar. The Bills have been hard at work this week with a full court press on the quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. Landry Jones, Geno Smith and Tyler Wilson all had pro days this week. Though I wouldn’t rule out the Bills kicking the tires on a veteran free agent, it seems to me that the draft is where their focus lies with respect to quarterback right now.

 2 – Hi Chris,

Thanks for keeping us updated all off-season. If the scenario of Geno Smith falling to the Browns at #6 happens, do you think this would finally be the year the Bills trade up to land the best QB prospect? Andy Reid can probably work with Alex Smith and with the Eagles re-signing Vick it looks like they may not draft a QB but the Cardinals will most likely be looking to draft a QB right before us.    

Thanks,
John

CB: I agree that the Cardinals could still draft a QB despite signing veteran free agent Drew Stanton and jettisoning Kevin Kolb. But Arizona needs help in a lot of places after cutting some high-priced vets. Cleveland has addressed some of their most pressing defensive needs early in free agency, so I don’t think ruling them out for adding a quarterback can be assumed. I realize they drafted Brandon Weeden last year, but they have a new coaching staff and new ownership.

Reporters I’ve talked to in Philadelphia also won’t rule out Chip Kelly drafting a QB, though I don’t believe it’ll happen in round one with the fourth overall pick.

As for trading up, Buddy Nix traditionally does not like to move up and down the board. Now he moved up two places last year to grab T.J. Graham in round three, but it’s a whole different ball game in the top 10 and knowing the Bills only have six picks this year, it’s hard for me to see Nix giving up picks to make a move up higher in the top 10.

3 – Chris,
With Mike Pettine being the defensive coordinator now I assume the Bills are going back to a 3-4.  I was wondering what that means for the defensive line?  Will we see Dareus or Williams move to the end again?

CB: Personally I think Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams are both versatile enough to play end or DT in Pettine’s system. But I’ll let coach Pettine handle this one since he was recently asked about his defense in an appearance on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550 this week.

“We’re not going to be true 3-4 or 4-3 as far as how we’re doing it,” said Pettine. “We’re going to be multiple in our fronts that we run. It’s a work in progress. We’re going to highlight in our playbook what we do well. So again it’s going to be more roster based.

“We have our base concepts that we’re going to run and those have been put in from a playbook standpoint, but we’re still trying to rebuild it. As a new staff we took what we built over four years in New York and then add the experience of the other coaches on the staff. We’ve basically hit the reset button on everything. I didn’t want to come in and say, ‘This is what we’re running.’ Over time you accumulate a lot of tweaks and adjustments. We wanted to go back to the baseline and say, ‘Here is the way we’re going to teach it and then understand that these are all the variations of it.’”

4 – Chris,

What are the odds that the Bills pass on a quarterback in the early rounds this year? And pick one next year in the early rounds? Are there any prospects in next year’s draft that are better than this year? It seems to me that at least this way we can get the defense squared away and add a receiver or tight end and have everything in place for a QB next year. Thanks . I enjoy your column.

Sam from Tupper Lake , NY
Sent from my iPhone

CB: I think with Ryan Fitzpatrick no longer on the roster it’s pretty much a must that the Bills draft a quarterback somewhere in the first two rounds of the draft. Obviously what falls to them will say a lot in what is ultimately done, but with a thin free agent class at QB and the draft class at QB not tremendously deep the Bills have to land a QB early as I see it.

5 – Chris,

I’m wondering what type of offense the Bills will run given coach Marrone and Hackett’s system at Syracuse. During the season last year Nassib was quoted as saying that their success with the no huddle spread offense was due to the fact that they run to set up the pass. This is an unusual description and quite the opposite of a west coast system. Yet, newly resigned QB Jackson was quoted as saying he’s looking forward to playing in a west coast system. What type of system do you think the Bills will run?  Thanks for your insight. Go Bills!

Joe
Sent from my iPad

CB: I think it’s safe to say the offense will be heavily rooted in West Coast principles, but it will have its fair share of power running. That’s coach Marrone’s influence being a former offensive lineman. He and coach Hackett wanted to take the best elements of a number of different offenses and incorporate them into one system. Essentially their offense is a multiple system with West Coast roots.

Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib is one of three quarterbacks on the North roster. And his name has been linked strongly to the Bills, ever since his Head Coach at SU, Doug Marrone, was named the Bills Head coach two weeks ago. And when Marrone brought Syracuse Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to Buffalo to handle the same job, the speculatikon instensified.

At the Senior Bowl Tuesday, Nassib had nothing but praise for his former Offensive Coordinator, and said he made him a better player every year at Syracuse.

“He did a great job of developing me,” Nassib told The John Murphy Show. “He’s a great developer of players, and each and every year I was with him I got better. Statistically, internally, I felt myself getting better every day I was with him. Buffalo is really lucky to have him as an O-C.”

Nassib says playing for the Bills would be a great situation for him, given his familiarity with the Buffalo coaching staff, and his comfort level in Upstate New York. And he dispels the notion that at age 33, Nathaniel Hackett may be too inexpeienced to coordinate an NFL offense.

“All I can say is coaching is in his blood,” Nassib told host John Murphy. “That’s what his family does. His dad (Paul Hackett) has coached in college and the NFL for forty years, so he’s been around football his whole life. He may only be 33-years old , but he’s been a ballboy, a tape cutter, the guy in the film room, since he was ten years old. He’s been around the game, he knows a lot of stuff, trust me. The good thing about that, is that he’s got a great consultant with his father.”

We’ll have more with Ryan Nassib tonight at 7pm on The John Murphy Show live from the Senior Bowl. GM Buddy Nix joins us live as well. The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7pm-9pm on the flagship station of the Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Wednesday night on The John Murphy Show, Van Pelt had nothing but praise for Buffalo’s new offensive play caller.

“He brings a lot of ideas to the table,” Van Pelt said on the radio show. “He thinks outside the box sometimes, which you need. He helped with the quarterbacks, he helped in game planning. He’s a great, young bright mind in this league, and I think he’ll be around for a long time.”

Alex Van Pelt just finished his first season as the Running Backs Coach for the Green Bay Packers. That followed a two year stint as the WRs Coach in Tampa Bay. But Van Pelt remains a Bills fan and a fan of Western New York, where he spent most of his playing and early coaching career. And Van Pelt thinks the Bills got a good one, when they hired Nathaniel Hackett.

“I could not be more excited for the Bills, than to have Coach Hackett calling plays,” Van Pelt told host John Murphy. “The guy is a special talent, there’s no question. He’s filled with energy. He has a football mind. He’s grown up in football, with his dad. I remember him as a ball boy back at the University of Pittsburgh, and the first chance I had to hire him on our staff in Buffalo, as a quality control guy, we jumped on him.”

“Good things are coming to Buffalo. I’m excited to see how he puts it all together offensively. I know he has history in the West Coast Offense, and I know we dabbled a little bit in the ‘K-Gun’ there, and I think he’s found a nice combination of the two,” according to Van Pelt.

The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7-9pm on the flagship station of the Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Van Pelt just wrapped up his first year as the Running Backs Coach for the Green Bay Packers, after two years before that with Tampa Bay. The Pack saw their season end with their divisional round playoff loss in San Francisco last Saturday night.

Tonight, Alex Van Pelt joins us at 720pm and we’ll ask about the Packers season, and about the injury-plagued season of Niagara Falls native James Starks, a Green Bay running back. We’ll also get Alex’s take on the Bills new Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Van Pelt and Hackett worked closely together in 2008-09 when both were members of the Bills offensive coaching staff.

Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas joins us in studio at 8pm for his usual weekly visit. Thurman always has fresh and original takes on the Bills and the NFL.

And at 820pm, another former Bills player, Bucky Brooks, will be on the line with us from the East-West Shrine Game in St Petersburg, Florida. Brooks was Buffalo’s 2nd round draft pick in 1994 out of North Carolina. Since his playing days ended, he’s become a personnel man in the NFL, working with the Seahawks and Panthers. And for the last few years, he’s become a draft expert for the NFL Network and NFL.com. We’ll ask Bucky about the prospects in the upcoming draft.

We always have time for phone calls and comments from listeners. The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7pm-9pm on the flagship station of the Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

It was a week before the regular season and Buffalo’s offense had struggled mightily in the preseason. So much so that then head coach Dick Jauron fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert a week before the season started. Alex Van Pelt was elevated immediately from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator with all of 10 days to prepare for a Monday night opener in New England.

That responsibility pulled Van Pelt away from the time usually allotted for coaching quarterbacks. Van Pelt made the decision to put Nathaniel Hackett in charge of the QBs.

“It was wild,” Hackett told Buffalobills.com. ”When that whole thing went down and all of a sudden he was the coordinator calling plays it was awesome that first year being with a guy I kind of grew up with and kind of the younger guy it was awesome to see his confidence in me.

“For him to let me take the quarterbacks, to work with them during practice and the meetings it was such a complement to me. It was awesome that he let me do that because it was a unique position and just being a quality control guy at that point it was great that he had that confidence in me.”

The experience helped move Hackett’s career forward because come the following year, Hackett was hired by Doug Marrone to be his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Syracuse.

Hackett enjoyed coaching under Van Pelt, a former quarterback that his dad coached at Pitt. Paul Hackett was Van Pelt’s head coach with the Panthers in college.

“Being able to work with Coach Van Pelt was amazing,” said Hackett. ”That’s why I actually originally came here. He’s a guy that I’ve known forever and a legendary quarterback obviously. I wanted to learn from him. I wanted to see how the position is played from his eyes.”

1 - Hi Chris,

Just looking ahead at the possibilities of the Bills filling in some holes with Free Agency and how active they might be this coming off-season. I would love for them to make upgrades at corner, wide receiver, and linebacker (quarterback too, but that would likely be addressed in the draft). How much cap space do the Bills currently have to work with in the off-season? I know that re-signing Byrd and Levitre will be top priorities for them, but once they’re taken care of, how much room will they likely have to work with, if any at all? Would love to see Dwayne Bowe in a Bills uniform!

As always, love the coverage you provide for us … please keep up the great work!
Paul

CB: NFL clubs do not get the established salary cap for the new league year until March, but it’s projected to be around $121M. The Bills do not provide their cap figures as a team policy. Reports indicate they’ll be around $15M under. That number obviously is subject to change between now and the opening of free agency.

Bills GM Buddy Nix has already said a quarterback may be acquired in free agency. He also mentioned the need to add a “big receiver.” I don’t know if Dwayne Bowe is realistic even though he does want to go elsewhere. His price tag will be high. And you’re right Byrd and Levitre are quality players that would appear to be priorities.

2 – Hey Chris,
There has been a lot of talk about the QB position this year & the year before that & the …well you get what i’m saying . Fitz is a Bills kind of guy, hard working, hard nosed kind of QB. I was hoping & still do that he can be that guy. Going forward though in the draft this year a guy is coming out that fits all of the Parcells requirements to drafting a QB of the future . He is a SEC guy (best college conference) A senior , Has been in the program his full time in college , & is prototypical size for the NFL , good arm & college career but not a lot of people are talking about him & i was wondering your thoughts on him . The guy that i have been talking about is Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson, I think he could be a really good QB yet no one is really talking about him . What would your thoughts be on him & his future & the possibility of his & the Bills path crossing down the road ?? Then there is the Alex Smith situation, would you think there would b any for site in that direction as time ticks on ??

Once again Thank you !!
Mr.T from Fort Myers via Nashville
CB: I’m going to be honest and tell you I’m only now getting around to looking at the college players, so I can’t give you an assessment on Wilson. What I can tell you is Alex Smith will not be on San Francisco’s roster later this offseason. I’ve found that if Smith is on the 49ers roster April 1^st, his entire 2013 salary will be guaranteed. The price tag? $7.5M. Now that he’s effectively San Francisco’s backup, I can’t see any way that he stays at that price in his current role.

The rub there is if the 49ers wait until the end of March to release him, it puts teams looking for a free agent QB in a bit of a bind. Free agency opens March 12^th. Do you sit and wait on the 49ers clipping Smith and bypass other QB talent you might have your eye on? Or do you take what you can get at the opening bell of free agency and address the Smith availability when he’s available? Tough call.

3 – Hi Chris,

I applaud the decision to retain Mr. Nix for continuity. I am keeping my fingers cross for the next few years. My question is as follows.

When reporting injuries, the league uses terms like doubtful and probable, etc. What are all these terms exactly means?

Please keep up with the good work.
Regards,
C. J. Wong, Ph.D.

CB: The league allows for four possible listings for an injured player. They are Out, Doubtful, Questionable and Probable. There’s no need to explain out, but the league classifies the likelihood of the injured player playing with these designations as follows.

Doubtful – player has up to 25% chance of playing on Sunday
Questionable – player has up to 50% chance of playing on Sunday
Probable – player has up to 75% chance of playing on Sunday

4 – Chris, 

Can you break down the Bills new coaches’ philosophy and scheme? Run heavy or pass heavy? Since the roster was built for spread how does it affect CJ, Fred, and David Nelson? I know it’s very early to speculate with not all pieces in place or other coaches. What type of offense do you think they have run? Great job on the coverage this week. By far best team website and updates by you! 

Thanks, 
Josh 

CB: Our web staff appreciate the kind words. From what I understand from coach Marrone and coach Hackett, they ran a pro-style offense with up tempo capabilities at Syracuse. I’ve been told to think of New Orleans offense, but with a heavier run game component by those that have observed the Syracuse offense the last few years.

Coach Hackett told me that he and Coach Marrone locked themselves in a room and culled together the best of what several offenses have to offer and came up with their current system. They intend to make use of that in Buffalo.

5 – Hi Chris:
First of all, I don’t miss a blog. Keep it up! Where do you think QB Nassib will fall in the draft, and would it be too risky or too much of a reach to go get him? Or what of the possibilities of a trade with Washington for K. Cousins- I thought we should have nabbed him in the draft last year and just missed by a couple of draft selections.

Thanks,
Mike from Orlando, FL

CB: I think at this point it’s hard to judge where Nassib will land, and even after the Senior Bowl, Combine and pro days it’ll be tough to predict where he goes because all it takes is one team to really like him and take him sooner than the so called experts project. That being said most draftniks see him as a second-round prospect. I know Coach Marrone and Coach Hackett have a lot of respect for his game and how he’s developed. However, I don’t think that guarantees they take him in the draft.

As for Kirk Cousins, I think the knee injury suffered by Robert Griffin almost rules out any chance of the Redskins parting ways with Cousins via trade this offseason.

In a 1-on-1 interview with Buffalobills.com, Hackett explained how his approach to offense centers around developing a comfort zone for the quarterback.

“You have got to make the quarterback successful,” Hackett said. ”He’s such a critical part in all games. He touches the ball every single time in the run game and the pass game. Anything you can do to help him feel more comfortable back there, because when you’ve got 11 guys coming after him and the crowd is screaming at him. He has to feel so comfortable out there and he has to be willing to take on the world at that moment. I think that the more comfortable you can make the quarterback feel the better he’s going to be out there.”

“He’s an old school blue collar guy,” said Hackett. ”He’s a tough, tough guy. He’s very inspirational just how he speaks to the guys. It’s just amazing to see the confidence he can instill in them. I think just the experiences I’ve had with him to see what he’s done with young men and see how they’ve grown and become winners has just been a pleasure to watch. I’ve learned so much from him and that’s the exciting thing about what he brings to the table.”

Now the two are paired again in Buffalo, which should make for a smooth transition on offense.

Hackett, after Syracuse’s Pinstripe Bowl victory over West Virginia was asked about Ryan Nassib’s potential at the NFL level.

“Everybody has their own likes and their wants. If I was in the NFL I know I would want him,” Hackett said on Dec. 28th. “He loves the cold. He’s a tough, tough guy. He took some hits today, but just to see him pop right back up it just shows how tough he is and what a tough quarterback he is. I love the guy so much.”

Marrone, who appeared on NFL Network this week, was asked about Nassib and said the following.

“I love him,” said Marrone. ”He did an outstanding job for our football team, he’s really grown in the last couple of years; he put a lot of emphasis on the leadership role and really took over the team. He’s a player that has gotten quite a bit better during the year. He’s going to be playing in this league. I haven’t studied the draft, I haven’t gone through that; that’s down the road for me as far as the process of what I have to go through. But I do know that he’ll be in this league, so I’m excited for him. I’m excited for other players on our team that will be in this league and you’re going to hear quite a bit about Ryan and a couple of other players coming out of Syracuse.”

Bills GM Buddy Nix was also asked about Nassib at Marrone’s press conference on Monday.

“Nassib, we were looking at him for quite a while,” said Nix. ”He’s one of the quarterbacks out there that’s going to be drafted and we’ll be interested in.”

NFL.com’s Adam Schein, a Syracuse grad himself, drew parallels between the Bills situation on offense to that of the Dolphins last year when they hired Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman as their offensive coordinator and a few months later made his college quarterback Ryan Tannehill their QB in Miami.