John Doe
07-24-2008, 04:04 PM
Nothing new here - just a summation of what every Bills fan should know by now.
10. Darian Barnes<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Barnes has been criticized as being having limited abilities, and rightfully so: he only has 14 receptions for 87 yards and 5 rushes for 10 yards in his entire 6-year career. It is a reason that he has bounced around the league. The one thing that he can do on offense is lead block – something that was sorely missing in critical third down/short yardage situations last season. He will not be in the backfield on every down, but this guy should really help grind out the key yards when needed. The “H-backs” were not getting that job done last season. Barnes is not a “chip blocker.” Of course, Barnes can also play special teams as well.
9. Kawika Mitchell
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Having an upgrade at linebacker who is fresh off of a superbowl win is huge. He knows what it takes to win the big one and his confidence should rub off on the younger players. His physical style of play will not hurt either.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
8. Continuity<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
The team did not lose any key players over the off-season – a rare feat in today’s NFL. Football is the ultimate team game and the more one knows the system and his fellow players, the better the team performs. This is especially true for the offensive line and the pass coverage of the linebackers and defensive backfield.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
7. Experience<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
The Bills were a very young team last year. They have added some experienced players in the off-season (Barnes, Stroud, Johnson, Mitchell, James), and a big improvement should come from within the core of young players that were drafted by the Bills. Think of the typical 4-year cycle for athletes in highschool and college. The same thing applies to the pros as well. Motivated young players generally get better – it’s a fact of life. Another season of experience should really have helped the second and third year players on the Bills including Edwards, Lynch, Wright, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1:place>Butler</st1:place></st1:City>, McCargo, Williams, Ellison, Pozlusny, DiGiogio, Whitner, Simpson, Wendling, Wilson, Schouman, and Youboty. True, a player like Poz did not get much game time, but just being able to participate in training camp and to learn on the sideline is invaluable.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
6. The Rookies<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Look for some of the Draftees will make an impact in their first year because they will have a lot of opportunities to do so. The prime candidates are, of course James Hardy, Leodis McKelvin, Chris Ellis, and Derek Fine – 4 of the top 5 picks. There is a lot more pressure on Hardy than anyone else – he must contribute, especially in the red zone. The player that he actually replaces on the roster is Sam Aiken who only had 1 reception for 10 yards last year, so it should not be too difficult for him to improve the receiving corps. McKelvin and Ellis need to produce too. Having a superb one on one defender like McKelvin should allow a player like Whitner to have a lot more flexibility in the defensive scheme. It is no wonder why he is trying to get McKelvin up to speed as soon as possible. The added depth at kick returner is another thing that McKelvin brings to the table. Derek Fine immediately becomes one of the most versatile players on the roster: he will get work at tight end, H-back, and all special teams units. If physically able, he should be on the active game-day roster every Sunday. He looks like an upgrade over Gaines by far. Hopefully, Ellis will offer some depth at defensive end.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
5. The new tackles<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Marcus Stroud and Spencer Johnson replace Larry Triplett and (probably) Jason Jefferson as well. That is a huge upgrade in the trenches. Enough said.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
4. Turk Schonert<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
There is some speculation that Schonert may not be the man for the job – but there are plenty of reasons to believe that he will be a big upgrade over Steve Fairchild. Schonert has been around some great football minds in his time: he played for Bill Walsh in college, played under Lindy Infante in <st1:City><st1:place>Cincinnati</st1:place></st1:City>, and coached under Sam Wyche. He is a bright guy, highly motivated to make good on his chance to run an offense, and he knows the abilities of the players. Of course, one of the reasons to think that Schonert will be an upgrade was the rigid offensive philosophy of the departed Fairchild himself.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
3. Health<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Nobody believes that the team will go through a full season without some serious injuries, but it is unlikely that we will see a season quite like 2007. It took some key players out of action almost immediately including Everett, Poz, and Simpson. Everyone knows about the many players who ended up on injured reserve, but the walking wounded were a factor as well. Kelsay and Royal gutted through injuries that needed surgery immediately after the season. Denny had surgery and came back too soon requiring another operation later in the same season. Aaron Schobel certainly could have used some healthy legs on the other side of the line. Keith Ellison was a star of training camp until he got hit with the “dreaded high ankle sprain.” He was not the same the rest of the season. There has been some criticism of the “injury excuse” of last year because more than a few of the injured reserve players were scrubs. See the comments about “continuity.”<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
2. Trent Edwards<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Aside from the valuable experience that he gained last season, Edwards enters this year as the undisputed starter at QB. He will get the lion’s share of the reps in practice – a big change from last pre-season when he came into camp as #3 on the depth chart. He also gets an offense tailored to his strengths, has the opportunity to change his primary receiver on passing downs, and he gets to call audibles as well. Last, but not least, he is bigger and stronger than last year as well. He may not be an all-star, but he should be significantly better than last year and that alone should make the offense much better.
<o:p></o:p>
And, finally…<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
1. Trent Edwards (again)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
His improvement will have such an impact on the team this year that he deserves to be mentioned twice. It's a quarterback's league.
<o:p></o:p>
10. Darian Barnes<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Barnes has been criticized as being having limited abilities, and rightfully so: he only has 14 receptions for 87 yards and 5 rushes for 10 yards in his entire 6-year career. It is a reason that he has bounced around the league. The one thing that he can do on offense is lead block – something that was sorely missing in critical third down/short yardage situations last season. He will not be in the backfield on every down, but this guy should really help grind out the key yards when needed. The “H-backs” were not getting that job done last season. Barnes is not a “chip blocker.” Of course, Barnes can also play special teams as well.
9. Kawika Mitchell
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Having an upgrade at linebacker who is fresh off of a superbowl win is huge. He knows what it takes to win the big one and his confidence should rub off on the younger players. His physical style of play will not hurt either.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
8. Continuity<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
The team did not lose any key players over the off-season – a rare feat in today’s NFL. Football is the ultimate team game and the more one knows the system and his fellow players, the better the team performs. This is especially true for the offensive line and the pass coverage of the linebackers and defensive backfield.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
7. Experience<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
The Bills were a very young team last year. They have added some experienced players in the off-season (Barnes, Stroud, Johnson, Mitchell, James), and a big improvement should come from within the core of young players that were drafted by the Bills. Think of the typical 4-year cycle for athletes in highschool and college. The same thing applies to the pros as well. Motivated young players generally get better – it’s a fact of life. Another season of experience should really have helped the second and third year players on the Bills including Edwards, Lynch, Wright, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1:place>Butler</st1:place></st1:City>, McCargo, Williams, Ellison, Pozlusny, DiGiogio, Whitner, Simpson, Wendling, Wilson, Schouman, and Youboty. True, a player like Poz did not get much game time, but just being able to participate in training camp and to learn on the sideline is invaluable.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
6. The Rookies<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Look for some of the Draftees will make an impact in their first year because they will have a lot of opportunities to do so. The prime candidates are, of course James Hardy, Leodis McKelvin, Chris Ellis, and Derek Fine – 4 of the top 5 picks. There is a lot more pressure on Hardy than anyone else – he must contribute, especially in the red zone. The player that he actually replaces on the roster is Sam Aiken who only had 1 reception for 10 yards last year, so it should not be too difficult for him to improve the receiving corps. McKelvin and Ellis need to produce too. Having a superb one on one defender like McKelvin should allow a player like Whitner to have a lot more flexibility in the defensive scheme. It is no wonder why he is trying to get McKelvin up to speed as soon as possible. The added depth at kick returner is another thing that McKelvin brings to the table. Derek Fine immediately becomes one of the most versatile players on the roster: he will get work at tight end, H-back, and all special teams units. If physically able, he should be on the active game-day roster every Sunday. He looks like an upgrade over Gaines by far. Hopefully, Ellis will offer some depth at defensive end.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
5. The new tackles<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Marcus Stroud and Spencer Johnson replace Larry Triplett and (probably) Jason Jefferson as well. That is a huge upgrade in the trenches. Enough said.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
4. Turk Schonert<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
There is some speculation that Schonert may not be the man for the job – but there are plenty of reasons to believe that he will be a big upgrade over Steve Fairchild. Schonert has been around some great football minds in his time: he played for Bill Walsh in college, played under Lindy Infante in <st1:City><st1:place>Cincinnati</st1:place></st1:City>, and coached under Sam Wyche. He is a bright guy, highly motivated to make good on his chance to run an offense, and he knows the abilities of the players. Of course, one of the reasons to think that Schonert will be an upgrade was the rigid offensive philosophy of the departed Fairchild himself.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
3. Health<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Nobody believes that the team will go through a full season without some serious injuries, but it is unlikely that we will see a season quite like 2007. It took some key players out of action almost immediately including Everett, Poz, and Simpson. Everyone knows about the many players who ended up on injured reserve, but the walking wounded were a factor as well. Kelsay and Royal gutted through injuries that needed surgery immediately after the season. Denny had surgery and came back too soon requiring another operation later in the same season. Aaron Schobel certainly could have used some healthy legs on the other side of the line. Keith Ellison was a star of training camp until he got hit with the “dreaded high ankle sprain.” He was not the same the rest of the season. There has been some criticism of the “injury excuse” of last year because more than a few of the injured reserve players were scrubs. See the comments about “continuity.”<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
2. Trent Edwards<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Aside from the valuable experience that he gained last season, Edwards enters this year as the undisputed starter at QB. He will get the lion’s share of the reps in practice – a big change from last pre-season when he came into camp as #3 on the depth chart. He also gets an offense tailored to his strengths, has the opportunity to change his primary receiver on passing downs, and he gets to call audibles as well. Last, but not least, he is bigger and stronger than last year as well. He may not be an all-star, but he should be significantly better than last year and that alone should make the offense much better.
<o:p></o:p>
And, finally…<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
1. Trent Edwards (again)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
His improvement will have such an impact on the team this year that he deserves to be mentioned twice. It's a quarterback's league.
<o:p></o:p>