Tweet
My definition of depth goes beyond the normal "when a starter injures himself there is a capable backup to stand in for a game or two." I mean the Ellison type who can stand in for a game or two and threatens to take the job away period.
For a team wanting to surprise people, this is not a luxury, it's a requirement.
For the most part, I think Marv and Jauron are building a team in that direction. Of course every team has a couple of players that are irreplaceable. What kind of record would NE have if Brady were to go down for some lengthy time? For the Bills, I think it is Lee Evans and Losman comes very close behind, even though he's not nearly as established.
For the first time in a long time - maybe going back all the way to HC Marv's era - I feel the Bills have quality backups on both sides of the trenches. The starters may not be world beaters, but up and down, they should be steady throughout the season. No big dropoffs because so and so does not play on a particular day. That gives coaches options to make adjustments on guys who are not effective.
Wide receivers and running backs fall in the same category, but I'm not so sure about TEs, though we have Everett who's supposed to come back full strength this year and somewhat seasoned for two years.
I'm mostly concerned about linebackers because beyond the starting 3 (Ellison, Poz, and Crowell), I think there is big dropoff in quality, and all 3 starters are coming off some kind of injury last year. I actually feel the CBs are a little better in that regard because we know what Thomas and Greer can do and we do have pipeline CBs in the practice squad that are promising. I feel pretty good about safeties.
All in all, given the past history of our LBs and their backups, I really doubt we can survive any extended injury to Crowell, Ellison, or Poz in 2007.
For a team wanting to surprise people, this is not a luxury, it's a requirement.
For the most part, I think Marv and Jauron are building a team in that direction. Of course every team has a couple of players that are irreplaceable. What kind of record would NE have if Brady were to go down for some lengthy time? For the Bills, I think it is Lee Evans and Losman comes very close behind, even though he's not nearly as established.
For the first time in a long time - maybe going back all the way to HC Marv's era - I feel the Bills have quality backups on both sides of the trenches. The starters may not be world beaters, but up and down, they should be steady throughout the season. No big dropoffs because so and so does not play on a particular day. That gives coaches options to make adjustments on guys who are not effective.
Wide receivers and running backs fall in the same category, but I'm not so sure about TEs, though we have Everett who's supposed to come back full strength this year and somewhat seasoned for two years.
I'm mostly concerned about linebackers because beyond the starting 3 (Ellison, Poz, and Crowell), I think there is big dropoff in quality, and all 3 starters are coming off some kind of injury last year. I actually feel the CBs are a little better in that regard because we know what Thomas and Greer can do and we do have pipeline CBs in the practice squad that are promising. I feel pretty good about safeties.
All in all, given the past history of our LBs and their backups, I really doubt we can survive any extended injury to Crowell, Ellison, or Poz in 2007.
Comment