The Sports Xchange

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — One week into the great quarterback battle, no blood was drawn at One Bills Drive. During the four workouts, Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor split first-team reps fairly evenly, and without using these exact words, Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan indicated that this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

“At the end of the day, the real competition will start in training camp,” Ryan said. “Right now, you’re not making a decision on who your starting quarterback is in the OTAs. You may have an idea who it may end up being, but this is just leading up and getting guys ready for training camp.”

Ryan held true to his promise that the Bills would literally be conducting two practices at the same time so that the quarterback reps can be spread evenly, and the quarterbacks clearly appreciate it.

“I think it’s great for all of us because we get more reps,” Cassel said. “Sometimes when you just have one group, you sit there watching and you’re getting the mental reps, but right now at this time of year, it’s been great. The more repetition we can get at this time of year, the better it is for all of us.”

Ryan knows what he has in Cassel, an 11-year veteran who has vastly more NFL experience than Manuel and Taylor. He said Manuel caught his eye, though, with his grasp of the new offense being installed by offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

As for Taylor, he’s an intriguing prospect because while he hasn’t played much in the NFL (four years and 35 passes thrown as Joe Flacco’s backup in Baltimore), he flashes such great athletic ability.

“I think they all have something to prove,” Ryan said. “How they’re going to be in this system, we’re going to find out. Some quarterbacks flourish in certain systems and I believe all three guys will have a chance to be successful. I hope that’s the case. And hopefully that decision is going to be tough, on a good note, not that this guy wins it by default. I believe we’re going to have a good competition.”