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Five Bills to keep an eye on
Cornerback Ashton Youboty — There has been a lot of crabbing about the Bills not drafting a cornerback in April to replace the departed Nate Clements, but Youboty was the sixth cornerback taken in the 2006 draft and he has an impressive resume. He starred with Ohio State’s superb defenses, covered the best receivers in the Big Ten and each day in practice dealt with three Buckeyes who went on to become first-round draftees, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez.
Rookie middle linebacker Paul Posluszny — A week before the draft GM Marv Levy volunteered that “we need a run stuffer.” Undersized London Fletcher was a tackling machine, but unless he had someone the size of Sam Adams or Ted Washington playing in front of him, many of his tackles came 3 or 4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. No less than Hall of Famer Jack Ham calls Posluszny “the greatest Penn State linebacker ever.”
Guard Derrick Dockery — The most important free agent signing, Dockery gives the Bills the potential for something, along with left tackle Jason Peters, they haven’t had in years. That’s a blocking combination that has the ability to move the pile and allow the ball carrier to produce the short yardage that allows drives to continue to the goal line.
Tight end Kevin Everett — Not since Jay Riemersma’s productive seasons in 2001-2002 have the Bills had a tight end who actually worried opposing pass defenses. Everett has good receiving skills but a knee injury and then slow rehab kept him from even approaching his potential. His late blossoming would be a gift for J.P. Losman.
Quarterback J.P. Losman — Losman improved measurably last season and now the plans of offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild have expanded to four- and five-receiver sets. What enemy defensive back could handle Roscoe Parrish as Losman’s fourth or fifth receiver? Dockery and the other line newcomers could make life less hazardous for J.P. Rookie running back Marshawn Lynch could be a more explosive complement to the quarterback than Willis McGahee. But breakthrough season? We won’t be sure of that until the snow flies.
Rookie middle linebacker Paul Posluszny — A week before the draft GM Marv Levy volunteered that “we need a run stuffer.” Undersized London Fletcher was a tackling machine, but unless he had someone the size of Sam Adams or Ted Washington playing in front of him, many of his tackles came 3 or 4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. No less than Hall of Famer Jack Ham calls Posluszny “the greatest Penn State linebacker ever.”
Guard Derrick Dockery — The most important free agent signing, Dockery gives the Bills the potential for something, along with left tackle Jason Peters, they haven’t had in years. That’s a blocking combination that has the ability to move the pile and allow the ball carrier to produce the short yardage that allows drives to continue to the goal line.
Tight end Kevin Everett — Not since Jay Riemersma’s productive seasons in 2001-2002 have the Bills had a tight end who actually worried opposing pass defenses. Everett has good receiving skills but a knee injury and then slow rehab kept him from even approaching his potential. His late blossoming would be a gift for J.P. Losman.
Quarterback J.P. Losman — Losman improved measurably last season and now the plans of offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild have expanded to four- and five-receiver sets. What enemy defensive back could handle Roscoe Parrish as Losman’s fourth or fifth receiver? Dockery and the other line newcomers could make life less hazardous for J.P. Rookie running back Marshawn Lynch could be a more explosive complement to the quarterback than Willis McGahee. But breakthrough season? We won’t be sure of that until the snow flies.
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