A 5-8 Win Team This Year, Needing Another Off-Season To Aquire Talent

[Night Train]

That's basically my thinking, while sitting in the stands last night.

The Positives - JP slowly is getting better and has some very good receiving options in Evans, McGahee, Royal and Everett at TE, Parrish etc. McGahee looks fast. The Defense looks faster. Lots of talent at LB, CB, Safety. Coaching has an actual plan and the players are responding.

Negatives - OL still needs a RG and LT to replace Chris V. and Gandy. The depth behind the starters is terrible. JP will have games where he is running for his life.
Draft or sign at least 3-4 OL next year. DL lacking in the pass rush. Need a pass rushing DE badly. New coaching staff means schemes will take time with many players.

Conclusion - Unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration. Crying after every loss this season is silly, since this team will struggle to reach .500. This coaching staff needs a year to weed out the pretenders and find more players who can help them win
I do think the Bills are finally moving in the right direction but another off-season is needed to seriously shore up the OL and find 1-2 pass rushers on D.
I do like the Off. playcalling and the Cover 2 D (except for the zone coverage ). Better days are coming.

[Historian]

I agree.

[shelby]

i think we'll go 6-10! :up:
We need to replace Villarial, stat. He sucks, plain and simple.

[YardRat]

I thought the DE's did a good job of getting to the passer last night. I have no problem with Scobel and Denney.

[Jan Reimers]

I also agree. I think that we'll be an exciting team to watch, with big plays and big mistakes occurring several times a game. But it will be fun to watch some of the young guys develop, and to see the team progress in terms of cutting down on penalties and other stupid mistakes.

I don't care so much about our record this year, as long as we grow and improve.

[shelby]

This was the first time this preseason that Schobel made me take notice. It was good to see him back in his usual form.
Fletcher is still a beast. i will always claim he is underrated.
Clements didn't stand out to me last night at all.

[Historian]

I thought the DE's did a good job of getting to the passer last night. I have no problem with Scobel and Denney.

Agreed. Denny has looked very good.

We were spoiled all those years with Bruce Smith, ya know?

[don137]

Addressing the OL is a painful process to watch. I agree that Villarial must go. I am disappointed in Preston has not really shown much to jump in there. The true only stud player is Peters. Let's hope the Bills use the money they save by letting Clements go at the end of the year to address the OL.
If the Bills could have another productive draft and and get a couple horses on the OL they could really have a nice foundation.
I don't think anyone is expecting much other than improvement over last year especially at QB. 7-8 wins would be a good year.

[Kerr]

I didn't get a good look at aaron gibson. How did he look?

[clumping platelets]

7-9 wins and with a couple of breaks maybe challenge for a WC spot......look at our schedule......that is key

[HHURRICANE]

i think we'll go 6-10! :up:
We need to replace Villarial, stat. He sucks, plain and simple.

Dead on. He sucked last night!!

[YardRat]

Peters worries me...it seems to me on more than a few occasions last night he had help from a TE...I'm still not convinced he's the real deal.

[ICE74129]

That's basically my thinking, while sitting in the stands last night.

The Positives - JP slowly is getting better and has some very good receiving options in Evans, McGahee, Royal and Everett at TE, Parrish etc. McGahee looks fast. The Defense looks faster. Lots of talent at LB, CB, Safety. Coaching has an actual plan and the players are responding.

Negatives - OL still needs a RG and LT to replace Chris V. and Gandy. The depth behind the starters is terrible. JP will have games where he is running for his life.
Draft or sign at least 3-4 OL next year. DL lacking in the pass rush. Need a pass rushing DE badly. New coaching staff means schemes will take time with many players.

Conclusion - Unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration. Crying after every loss this season is silly, since this team will struggle to reach .500. This coaching staff needs a year to weed out the pretenders and find more players who can help them win
I do think the Bills are finally moving in the right direction but another off-season is needed to seriously shore up the OL and find 1-2 pass rushers on D.
I do like the Off. playcalling and the Cover 2 D (except for the zone coverage ). Better days are coming.

One correction. JP is QUICKLY getting better. Its the OL that isn't improving that much at all.

[TigerJ]

So far, I'm sticking with my 7-8 win prediction. I do agree that things are moving in the right direction, but another year is needed to bring the O-line up to snuff. It's conceivable that Gandy's and Villarrial's replacements are on the roster right now but need a year of seasoning. If not, I think an offensive lineman could be the Bills' first pick next season (not Brady Quinn).

[Mr. Cynical]

This coaching staff needs a year to weed out the pretenders

My question is who is going to weed out the pretending coaches...

[Night Train]

an offensive lineman could be the Bills' first pick next season (not Brady Quinn).

Agreed. A big LT or DE. We won't pick Quinn.

[John Doe]

I didn't get a good look at aaron gibson. How did he look?

That's a very good question. If Villarial and Preston are as bad as most think, then Gibson becomes the logical replacement.

[PromoTheRobot]

I definitely expect a slow start. But if these coaches are any good, this team should stat getting it by the bye week. Our schedule is pretty easy in the second half. I can see us winning 7, and having a winning record in the last 8 games.

PTR

[Scumbag College]

The offense I feel is coming along. We've seen during the preseason the flash from McGahee we haven't seen since he blew out his knee in the National Championship game. the WR's have gotten weaker with the departure of Moulds, but hopefully a new coaching staff can playcall and gameplan to make up for the weakness at WR. I think Everett and Royal will bring another dimension to the offense that wasn't there last year, and help take some pressure off the WRs.

As much as Villarial has been a weak link on a weak link, The O-Line can only improve with Reyes replacing Fat Bennie. Fowler vs. Teague has been a draw as of now, I haven't seen much pro or con from Fowler. Gandy, although adequate, isn't a franchise LT, but there wasn't one to be had in FA or from where the Bills were drafting from. Peters will only get better and he is locked up long term.

The defense isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think Schobel and Denney starting are a decent DE tandem in comparison to those around the league. I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised at DT with Tripplett and the two rookies in there, they have done OK so far in the preseason games where I thought they'd be just dreadful. TKO is back, Crowell is an upgrade from Posey. I think the DBs are the strength of this team, Whitner has been around the ball more and more. I think the Bills have one of the best CB units in the league, although I think Youboty's rookie year is going to end up to be pretty much a wash. (You really can't fault him for it.)

I can see this team improving from 2005 and going 7-9. I think the Bills will win both agaisnt the Jets, beat the Lions, Packers, Texans, Titans, and steal one more game along the way.