Tweet
First off, did anyone really think going into this season that the Bills were really a true contender? Did any of you seriously think that the Bills were even a playoff team going into this year? I certainly didn't, and if you seriously thought they were a contender you're full of ****. I felt going into the season that the Bills were two years away from being a playoff team, and at least double that before they were a serious contender, my mind has not changed a bit.
The Bills allowed the fan base to gain a sense of false hope after starting the season with an impressive (at the time) 4-0 start. But honestly, there were a handful of us that were blowing caution to the wind about not getting too pumped up about it. The teams that Buffalo beat were nothing to be excited about outside of Jacksonville (who as it turns out is no better than the other three of four teams). Was it great to be 4-0? Hell yeah it is/was, but did anyone SERIOUSLY think that Buffalo was suddenly a contender? If you say you did you are full of ****; it's not like they were beating these horrible teams by incredible margins. They were barely slipping by (with the exception of the Seattle game), but still managed to beat them.
In my opinion the near-future (next two years or so) are still pretty dark for the Buffalo Bills. There is great talent on the team is it stands right now, and those positions are something to be very excited about as they will be great building blocks for the future, to name a few:
- Jason Peters - Making a lot of people who wanted him out of town at the start of the season look stupid. He is healthy and is proving why he is one of the best LT's in football every week. Does he slip up at times? Absolutely, but find me a player who doesn't slip up and I'll show you a player that doesn't exist.
- Lee Evans - In my honest opinion there is no better deep threat in the game when the QB play is even average. Lee Evans scares the ever living **** out of opposing DC's with his amazing speed, but not just that, he is willing to sacrifice himself to make the tough catches. He also goes over the middle, something much larger WR's (paging Terrell Owens) refuse to do as of late. He also never gives up on plays (paging Terrell Owens once again), and appears to be a sound leader on and off the field. He is something to be proud of as a Buffalo Bills fan.
- Marshawn Lynch - Again, one of the most talented players at his position in the entire NFL, and now that he's finally allowed to be involved in the offense you are seeing just a glimpse of what is in store. He is a man on a mission every time he touches the ball whether it's in the air or on the ground. He's a guy who has finally brought some much needed "swagger" to a traditionally boring (at least over the past decade) Buffalo Bills franchise. He's another guy who will strike fear into almost any coordinator and NEVER gives up on a play (paging Terrell Owens). He has the "potential" (dangerous word) to become any level of RB he wants to be, he simply needs the opportunity to showcase his talents. He can play on my team any time....
- Leodis McKelvin - I stand behind my saying that this was the wrong selection for the Buffalo Bills to make back in April (god, where have we heard this before). But even I must admit that I wasn't expecting the contribution that he has brought to the Bills on the Special Teams. What he's doing is flat out stupid and yet again, scares the ever living dog **** out of coordinators. Deion always likes to say that there's one thing in football that you can't teach... and that's speed, well, McKelvin has plenty of it. As a CB he is sadly out of place in this style of defense, but he is the type of player who possesses the skill set to play in nearly any defense that requires a man-to-man type coverage. I have a feeling the Bills may see the Cover 2/Tampa 2 go away soon in favor of something that is more of a base front. This would be a beautiful move for both the Bills and McKelvin.
- Donte Whitner - A lot of people will sit there and say "are you crazy?" Well you don't know what you have in Donte Whitner until you have to watch guys like Keith Davis and Roy Williams play every single week. Whitner is another guy who could use a change in scheme and even a change in position. Both DB and I feel that his more natural position would be at the Corner spot, if the Bills do choose to change the defensive scheme I would be willing to bet that you hear the idea being thrown around quite a bit as he's far better at man-to-man than he is this pathetic excuse for a zone scheme. He's another guy who has brought some much needed "swagger" to a typically boring Buffalo Bills team. He can play on my team any time
- Trent Edwards - God I feel dirty saying this, but he has shown some "flashes." He gets another year in my book (just as all rookies) do to prove to me, and everyone else what he's made of. Next season he's going to go one of two ways; it's either going to finally click for him and he's going to be what everyone "thought" he could be, or he's going to continue down the wrong path and he's going to be a virtually unknown on the bench of another team holding a clip-board. The Sophmore year is generally the toughest year for most players, and I have a feeling that Edwards is no different and that it may be the case. The idea that Losman should be starting over him is completely idiotic, has been all season. "Losman" and "future" are two words that shan't be associated with the Buffalo Bills anymore. The only "future" the Bills have at this juncture is Edwards, and you should feel somewhat comfortable with that fact and give him until the end of next season before you lay down the final judgment on him.
Where do the Bills need to improve going into next season? This is an easy one:
- LB - This is probably one of the weakest LB corps in the entire NFL. Unfortunately Mitchell has not lived up to the billing, he was very solid at NYG, but in Buffalo he has proven to be less than stellar as the season has worn on. Posluszny has absolutely no business playing MLB in this scheme, and Ellison is far from the answer. Solution..... draft a proven MLB this April, move Posluszny to the outside, and inform Mitchell that he looks like crap out there and that he needs to pick up the pace.
- C, RG - As it stands right now the Bills are just fine at both Tackle's. Could Walker be a better player at times? Sure, but he does what's asked of him and generally does it well. The issue with this OL is no secret, the middle is just pathetic. A lot of people might ask; "well, what about Dockery?" He's on the same page as Mitchell is right now, he's a guy who has actually gotten worse since coming over to Buffalo after signing a very hefty deal. I don't think that both positions can be fixed via the draft and one may require some work in free agency. Butler will likely get another shot at proving his worth next season, but the Center position needs to be addressed as soon as humanly possible. I've never seen a successful OL/running game that didn't involve a good Center.
- FS - Some of us were aware of Simpson's flaws coming out of college, and we're seeing the same flaws in the NFL. This is one case where it's not merely the system, it's just the fact that he's a below average player who has angle issues (always has.) In my opinion this is a very deep Safety class and one can be found at some juncture between rounds 2-5 that might be able to come in and start from day one. One thing to keep in mind though, even if that person does not come in and start from day one, this is after all a two year building process (in my opinion) and thus you have some space to allow the youth to grow into their position.
Obviously there are far more problems, but these in my opinion are the glaring needs, all needs that can be addressed in both free agency and the draft. Fix these issues and Buffalo will be a very different team this time next year.
The Bills allowed the fan base to gain a sense of false hope after starting the season with an impressive (at the time) 4-0 start. But honestly, there were a handful of us that were blowing caution to the wind about not getting too pumped up about it. The teams that Buffalo beat were nothing to be excited about outside of Jacksonville (who as it turns out is no better than the other three of four teams). Was it great to be 4-0? Hell yeah it is/was, but did anyone SERIOUSLY think that Buffalo was suddenly a contender? If you say you did you are full of ****; it's not like they were beating these horrible teams by incredible margins. They were barely slipping by (with the exception of the Seattle game), but still managed to beat them.
In my opinion the near-future (next two years or so) are still pretty dark for the Buffalo Bills. There is great talent on the team is it stands right now, and those positions are something to be very excited about as they will be great building blocks for the future, to name a few:
- Jason Peters - Making a lot of people who wanted him out of town at the start of the season look stupid. He is healthy and is proving why he is one of the best LT's in football every week. Does he slip up at times? Absolutely, but find me a player who doesn't slip up and I'll show you a player that doesn't exist.
- Lee Evans - In my honest opinion there is no better deep threat in the game when the QB play is even average. Lee Evans scares the ever living **** out of opposing DC's with his amazing speed, but not just that, he is willing to sacrifice himself to make the tough catches. He also goes over the middle, something much larger WR's (paging Terrell Owens) refuse to do as of late. He also never gives up on plays (paging Terrell Owens once again), and appears to be a sound leader on and off the field. He is something to be proud of as a Buffalo Bills fan.
- Marshawn Lynch - Again, one of the most talented players at his position in the entire NFL, and now that he's finally allowed to be involved in the offense you are seeing just a glimpse of what is in store. He is a man on a mission every time he touches the ball whether it's in the air or on the ground. He's a guy who has finally brought some much needed "swagger" to a traditionally boring (at least over the past decade) Buffalo Bills franchise. He's another guy who will strike fear into almost any coordinator and NEVER gives up on a play (paging Terrell Owens). He has the "potential" (dangerous word) to become any level of RB he wants to be, he simply needs the opportunity to showcase his talents. He can play on my team any time....
- Leodis McKelvin - I stand behind my saying that this was the wrong selection for the Buffalo Bills to make back in April (god, where have we heard this before). But even I must admit that I wasn't expecting the contribution that he has brought to the Bills on the Special Teams. What he's doing is flat out stupid and yet again, scares the ever living dog **** out of coordinators. Deion always likes to say that there's one thing in football that you can't teach... and that's speed, well, McKelvin has plenty of it. As a CB he is sadly out of place in this style of defense, but he is the type of player who possesses the skill set to play in nearly any defense that requires a man-to-man type coverage. I have a feeling the Bills may see the Cover 2/Tampa 2 go away soon in favor of something that is more of a base front. This would be a beautiful move for both the Bills and McKelvin.
- Donte Whitner - A lot of people will sit there and say "are you crazy?" Well you don't know what you have in Donte Whitner until you have to watch guys like Keith Davis and Roy Williams play every single week. Whitner is another guy who could use a change in scheme and even a change in position. Both DB and I feel that his more natural position would be at the Corner spot, if the Bills do choose to change the defensive scheme I would be willing to bet that you hear the idea being thrown around quite a bit as he's far better at man-to-man than he is this pathetic excuse for a zone scheme. He's another guy who has brought some much needed "swagger" to a typically boring Buffalo Bills team. He can play on my team any time
- Trent Edwards - God I feel dirty saying this, but he has shown some "flashes." He gets another year in my book (just as all rookies) do to prove to me, and everyone else what he's made of. Next season he's going to go one of two ways; it's either going to finally click for him and he's going to be what everyone "thought" he could be, or he's going to continue down the wrong path and he's going to be a virtually unknown on the bench of another team holding a clip-board. The Sophmore year is generally the toughest year for most players, and I have a feeling that Edwards is no different and that it may be the case. The idea that Losman should be starting over him is completely idiotic, has been all season. "Losman" and "future" are two words that shan't be associated with the Buffalo Bills anymore. The only "future" the Bills have at this juncture is Edwards, and you should feel somewhat comfortable with that fact and give him until the end of next season before you lay down the final judgment on him.
Where do the Bills need to improve going into next season? This is an easy one:
- LB - This is probably one of the weakest LB corps in the entire NFL. Unfortunately Mitchell has not lived up to the billing, he was very solid at NYG, but in Buffalo he has proven to be less than stellar as the season has worn on. Posluszny has absolutely no business playing MLB in this scheme, and Ellison is far from the answer. Solution..... draft a proven MLB this April, move Posluszny to the outside, and inform Mitchell that he looks like crap out there and that he needs to pick up the pace.
- C, RG - As it stands right now the Bills are just fine at both Tackle's. Could Walker be a better player at times? Sure, but he does what's asked of him and generally does it well. The issue with this OL is no secret, the middle is just pathetic. A lot of people might ask; "well, what about Dockery?" He's on the same page as Mitchell is right now, he's a guy who has actually gotten worse since coming over to Buffalo after signing a very hefty deal. I don't think that both positions can be fixed via the draft and one may require some work in free agency. Butler will likely get another shot at proving his worth next season, but the Center position needs to be addressed as soon as humanly possible. I've never seen a successful OL/running game that didn't involve a good Center.
- FS - Some of us were aware of Simpson's flaws coming out of college, and we're seeing the same flaws in the NFL. This is one case where it's not merely the system, it's just the fact that he's a below average player who has angle issues (always has.) In my opinion this is a very deep Safety class and one can be found at some juncture between rounds 2-5 that might be able to come in and start from day one. One thing to keep in mind though, even if that person does not come in and start from day one, this is after all a two year building process (in my opinion) and thus you have some space to allow the youth to grow into their position.
Obviously there are far more problems, but these in my opinion are the glaring needs, all needs that can be addressed in both free agency and the draft. Fix these issues and Buffalo will be a very different team this time next year.
@ the guy trying to sugarcoat possibly the most disappointing season in Bills history, telling someone to watch football sometime.
Comment