Interesting Article.. Totally Agree.

[Mahdi]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11812689

Yikes... Buffalo ranked second last.

If Schobel doesn't come to play and Mayin and Edwards struggle this ranking will be accurate.

I could actually see the Bills going 3-13.

[OpIv37]

I agree with the premise but Walker at #31? I'm as concerned about this OL as anyone but that seems way too low.

I also have to wonder why he picked McKelvin rather than McGee, because I would put McGee higher than 21 on that list.

That being said, even if they were ranked correctly the Bills would still likely be in the mid 20's.

This could be a brutal season.

[ServoBillieves]

Interesting analysis, but McKelvin over McGee in only one season? Yeah... No.

[ServoBillieves]

I agree with the premise but Walker at #31? I'm as concerned about this OL as anyone but that seems way too low.

I also have to wonder why he picked McKelvin rather than McGee, because I would put McGee higher than 21 on that list.

That being said, even if they were ranked correctly the Bills would still likely be in the mid 20's.

This could be a brutal season.

Beat me by 30 seconds Op!

[Mahdi]

Antwan Odom, Derrick Harvey and Justin Smith ahead of Schobel? No Way...

Mckelvin ahead of Ike Taylor is nonsensical at this point. Maybe this year he shows consistently what he showed in flashes last season, but going off of last year, Ike Taylor is way better.

I also dont understand Backus, Duane Brown, Andrew Whitworth, Alex Barron and Joe Staley ahead of Walker.

[Lexwhat]

I agree with the premise but Walker at #31? I'm as concerned about this OL as anyone but that seems way too low.


I dunno about #31, but there's no way Walker (as a LT) can crack the top 20 on that list.

I'm not familiar with some of the names listed (Donald Penn, Duane Brown, Andrew Whitworth), so I can't directly compare them to Walker. But either way, I'm afraid Walker will be very unsuccessful at the LT position.

[Ginger Vitis]

Branden ALbert LT of the KC Chiefs is ranked way too low.. (25th)

[OpIv37]

I dunno about #31, but there's no way Walker (as a LT) can crack the top 20 on that list.

I'm not familiar with some of the names listed (Donald Penn, Duane Brown, Andrew Whitworth), so I can't directly compare them to Walker. But either way, I'm afraid Walker will be very unsuccessful at the LT position.

very unsuccessful may be overstating it a bit, but I agree with your ranking. I just don't see Walker being in the top 20 LT's in the league.

[Jan Reimers]

Yep, scientific proof positive that we are going to suck in the worst possible way this season. I'll probably cancel my NFL Sunday Ticket and sell my season tix.

There's really no hope in going on when a fantasy football guru, in his infinite wisdom, rates you're team this low.

I'm done.

[OpIv37]

Yep, scientific proof positive that we are going to suck in the worst possible way this season. I'll probably cancel my NFL Sunday Ticket and sell my season tix.

There's really no hope in going on when a fantasy football guru, in his infinite wisdom, rates you're team this low.

I'm done.

yes, because clearly this team has no other holes or flaws and no other indications that this team will struggle- this guy is just the lone voice crying in the wilderness while every other indication is that the Bills are going 13-3 and winning the SB :rolleyes:.

[Jan Reimers]

I just don't believe in giving up in June, and I lack the prescience of you that know with certainty that every offseason move will fail.

[The Juice Is Loose]

i hate ranking. i always feel like as a team and as players the bills are usually undercredited, with the acception of jason peters, whom i just never saw what the big deal was.

imo, langston is the best tackle we've had in a long time. i'm only going to judge him since he's been in a bills uniform because being in oakland has a horrible effect on players.

i honestly think lynch is a top 10 if not top 5 back, and until he stops performing, TO is a top 5 wide receiver.

our questions marks are obvious, but i also feel mcgee has always been underrespected. i think he's an extremely solid corner, solid tackler and fantastic playmaker when he gets the ball in his hands.

schobel has a lot to prove after doing nothing last year. kelsay, ah. we'll see. maybin, we'll see. i think stroud is top 10 and i think mckelvin and poz have the potential to be top 10 type guys at their positions this year.

i think overall the bills are probably around 19th. they rarely are blown out and lose close games. i think the addition of TO puts them around the 11-12 range which would be a wild card. that is if all of our players from last year are exactly the same.

i think schobel could do well. i think trent and our rookie line could do well.

i think we get the 5th afc playoff spot.

[OpIv37]

I just don't believe in giving up in June, and I lack the prescience of you that know with certainty that every offseason move will fail.

There's no way to know what will happen with certainty, and I never claimed to.

But let's look at this realistically.

Our QB is unproven and somewhat inexperienced.

Our star RB is suspended for three games, including the opener on the road, at night, against the best team in the division (maybe best in the league).

TE is still a question mark.

WR looks solid, but we do have a headcase who could be great or could be a big problem.

Our OL is a mess, with two rookie starters and EVERY SINGLE PLAYER in a different position.

Our DL is the same as last year, save for one undersized rookie.

Our LB's are the same as last year, save a rookie and Bowen, who will probably just be depth. Ellison is still a starter- uggh.

CB is looking pretty good, although Florence is a slight downgrade from Greer.

S- we have mediocrity in Whitner, a rookie, a journeyman in Scott, and a bunch of bums in Simpson, Wendling and Wilson.

The schedule is more difficult.

We still have the same stalwart of mediocrity calling the shots. We still have the same tripod of incompetence in the FO.

I just don't see how anyone can look at that objectively and still expect a good season. It just defies logic.

[trapezeus]

There's no way to know what will happen with certainty, and I never claimed to.

But let's look at this realistically.

Our QB is unproven and somewhat inexperienced.

Our star RB is suspended for three games, including the opener on the road, at night, against the best team in the division (maybe best in the league).

TE is still a question mark.

WR looks solid, but we do have a headcase who could be great or could be a big problem.

Our OL is a mess, with two rookie starters and EVERY SINGLE PLAYER in a different position.

Our DL is the same as last year, save for one undersized rookie.

Our LB's are the same as last year, save a rookie and Bowen, who will probably just be depth. Ellison is still a starter- uggh.

CB is looking pretty good, although Florence is a slight downgrade from Greer.

S- we have mediocrity in Whitner, a rookie, a journeyman in Scott, and a bunch of bums in Simpson, Wendling and Wilson.

The schedule is more difficult.

We still have the same stalwart of mediocrity calling the shots. We still have the same tripod of incompetence in the FO.

I just don't see how anyone can look at that objectively and still expect a good season. It just defies logic.

i think of it the same way. and this doesn't mean i know that the bills will be 3-13, but it helps manage expectations. what made last year so horrible was after going 5-1, i looked at the schedule and convinced myself that i couldn't see how the team could lose more than 3 more games. then they lost 8 of the next 10. That sucked so badly.

Jan, you're right, they have to play the game and anything can happen, but if you and odds guy or like to try to predict stuff based on historic norms, 2009 does not look good for the bills on paper. perhaps on the field they'll surprise us. and that's why we dedicate most of our days to this team. for 3-3.5 hours of hoping.

[Mr. Pink]

It's very difficult to see more than 6 wins on the schedule right now.

That could change with injuries and such between now and opening day though.

As of right now, it's not looking like a promising season though.

[TigerJ]

Like Op and others, I agree with the premise, but his rankings of players at those four positions is fraught with subjectivity. We don't really know how good or bad Walker will be. Is a healthy Schobel going to be the Schobel of 2007 or the Schobel of 2005? You can even argue about where Edwards will end up ranked as the season moves forward.

[Lexwhat]

very unsuccessful may be overstating it a bit, but I agree with your ranking. I just don't see Walker being in the top 20 LT's in the league.

Perhaps. But I guess "very unsuccessful" doesn't really mean anything anyway.

So let me clarify. I think that Walker (and Brad Butler) will give up a fair amount of sacks and QB pressures, which will significantly hinder our passing game. Edwards will be getting hit too much, and this is especially bad since he is already injury prone.

Of course, I hope I'm wrong. If Walker / Butler can play well, this offense has enough playmakers to be Top-10 in the league.

[ServoBillieves]

Ryan Clady #1, by the way...

[DynaPaul]

That guy has a very good formula. Unfortunately he has bad data going in. He picks Leodis McKelvin as our top rated corner which was incorrect. I'm sure he screwed up some other teams too. Plus his rankings are probably purely by stats only.

[feldspar]

I didn't really know that there were 17 relatively meaningless positions on offense and defense. I also didn't know that the Special Teams were completely irrelevant.

[OpIv37]

I didn't really know that there were 17 relatively meaningless positions on offense and defense. I also didn't know that the Special Teams were completely irrelevant.

well, you should have known that ST is irrelevent. Buffalo's had the best ST unit in the league since 2003 and it's gotten us 6-10, 9-7, 5-11, 7-9, 7-9, 7-9.

Ever since the Marv Levy days, Buffalo fans have overrated S/T because we've been good at it (save the Wade Phillips years), but the reality is that S/T is only on the field for a handful of plays a game and that S/T prowess has come at the expense of overall depth.

[SABURZFAN]

opinions are like A-holes.... everybody has one.

[jamze132]

I think if we try hard enough, we could have a top 5 draft pick next year!

[SABURZFAN]

I think if we try hard enough, we could have a top 5 draft pick next year!


i hope not. i've been pissed off for the last decade and none of us are getting any younger.

[jamze132]

i hope not. i've been pissed off for the last decade and none of us are getting any younger.
I truly hope not either, but...

[THATHURMANATOR]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11812689

Yikes... Buffalo ranked second last.

If Schobel doesn't come to play and Mayin and Edwards struggle this ranking will be accurate.

I could actually see the Bills going 3-13.
How could you see this?
We have upgraded the team at many Positions. (Wr, FS, G, TE)

Schobel didn't even play last year.

Edwards struggled last year and we were 7-9, and hell if Losman hadn't completely blown the Jets game we would have been 8-8.

[Dr. Lecter]

I don't think this is unrealistic at all.

Last year the Bills were 7-9. 6 of those wins came against the AFC or NFC West, two of the weaker divisions in many years in the NFL. This year, the non-conference schedule is much more difficult with the AFC and NFC South. Losing the "easiest" AFC East game to Toronto sucks, but I still think they can beat the Jets. In addition, after a 5-1 start, they went 2-8 at the end of last season.

I am really worried that this season will be ugly. I am not giving up, but I don't think 3 wins is all that unrealistic.

[OpIv37]

How could you see this?
We have upgraded the team at many Positions. (Wr, FS, G, TE)

Schobel didn't even play last year.

Edwards struggled last year and we were 7-9, and hell if Losman hadn't completely blown the Jets game we would have been 8-8.

Schobel is overrated and useless.

How can you say we upgraded G, FS and TE since all we have are completely unproven rookies (especially since Bird hasn't even been in OTA's)? And why did you fail to mention the downgrade at LT?

And Losman is gone but the idiotic coaches who called that play in the first place are still here.

[Don't Panic]

Branden ALbert LT of the KC Chiefs is ranked way too low.. (25th)

His name is misspelled too... I guess disrespect comes in waves.

[ddaryl]

How could you see this?
We have upgraded the team at many Positions. (Wr, FS, G, TE)

Schobel didn't even play last year.

Edwards struggled last year and we were 7-9, and hell if Losman hadn't completely blown the Jets game we would have been 8-8.

[feldspar]

well, you should have known that ST is irrelevent. Buffalo's had the best ST unit in the league since 2003 and it's gotten us 6-10, 9-7, 5-11, 7-9, 7-9, 7-9.

Ever since the Marv Levy days, Buffalo fans have overrated S/T because we've been good at it (save the Wade Phillips years), but the reality is that S/T is only on the field for a handful of plays a game and that S/T prowess has come at the expense of overall depth.

Too bad they took away the groan button. I'd groan you five times for this if I could.

Special Teams are irrelevant? You've got to be kidding me.

A lot of games are games of field position; Special Teams are responsible for a lot of that. Kickers are almost always the highest scoring players on the team.

Special Teams might only be on the field for a handful of plays a game, but those are big plays where anything could happen. Special Teams obviously don't mean as much as offense or defense, but they are ALWAYS big-time wide-open plays.

[OpIv37]

Too bad they took away the groan button. I'd groan you five times for this if I could.

Special Teams are irrelevant? You've got to be kidding me.

A lot of games are games of field position; Special Teams are responsible for a lot of that. Kickers are almost always the highest scoring players on the team.

Special Teams might only be on the field for a handful of plays a game, but those are big plays where anything could happen. Special Teams obviously don't mean as much as offense or defense, but they are ALWAYS big-time wide-open plays.

irrelevant may be an overstatement, but think about it. Over the last 6 seasons, the Bills ST has ranged from very good to dominant, but the team as a whole has ranged from terrible to mediocre. That ST dominance comes at the price of depth and does not help us win games.

[Typ0]

it all hinges on TE staying on the field and playing well. He does that and it could kick some tail. He doesn't and it's going to be a long road.