Surprise and Disappoint Bills so far

[ghz in pittsburgh]

To me, Stevie Johnson is the most surprising player so far. Honestly have you seen a Bill improving this much from last season since Eric Moulds in 1998? Peerless' 2002 season came close or Jason Peters breakout season. This guy is just so dynamic; he's not as strong as Moulds nor as fast as Peerless, which leads me to believe it will be hard for opponent to take him out easily like some of the receivers relying on one specific trait all the time.

Having said that, I'm not going to go along with some here calling for extending him right now. Look, double teams are coming, guys named like Revis will be on him, DC will break out his film to their team more and more, you can bet on that. Let's see if he can still run his routes and get open.

The most disappointing player is Byrd. So much hope on this talent starved team that he was viewed as the most talented guy on this team before the season started. This is the 10th game and it looks like most team members have picked up enough 3-4 to become more effective. Not Byrd. Still not making any sort of impact.

[don137]

Three players for biggest surprise: Bell, Fitz and S Johnson
Disappointment: Byrd and Spiller's production

[OpIv37]

I'll add Kyle Williams to the surprise list. We knew he could play, but he's not well-suited for the 3-4 so I expected him to struggle. So far, though, he's been the best defender on the team. Parrish gets honorable mention- I expected nothing from him but he was playing well before the injury.

I'll add McKelvin to the disappointments list. He settled down in the 2nd half yesterday but really hasn't done much this year. And of course, Maybin. Completely useless.

[ghz in pittsburgh]

I don't think Bell made that big a stride, to be honest. He's on par for normal course as a 3rd year player.

Fitz, he's in the league for 5 years and people have a book on him. I'd say his improvement might be in getting the team into proper blocking scheme. remember when Losman/Edwards are there, there always seemed to have a free guy coming at QB on passing plays. Not any more under Fitz/Gailey.

For Stevie, I think Trent once used the work slippery on him and I can't think of any better word to describe him. He's slippery to cover and slippery to get a hand on once he has the ball.

[justasportsfan]

Disappointed in both Moorman and Lindell.

[Ickybaluky]

It is hard to not be impressed by both Fitzpatrick and Johnson. Fitzpatrick is a guy I have dogged in the past, but he pretty much shut me up. He is playing great. I still don't see him as a guy you build the franchise around, but he has shown he can run an NFL offense pretty well and in this league that puts him as a legitimate starter.

[TheBrownBear]

Surprise: Fitz-Johnson

Disappointment: Maybin and Spiller

[ServoBillieves]

Surprise: Johnson, Parrish, Williams

Disappointed: Stroud, Maybin, McKelvin, Byrd, most of the defense.

[trapezeus]

surprise:(of late), whitner, all receivers, fitz

disappointments: Maybin, Lindell, byrd, edwards (i didn't think he'd end up off the team, 3 weeks into the season.)

[Dujek]

Surprise: Steve Johnson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Demetrius Bell, Kyle Williams

Disappointment: Jairus Byrd, CJ Spiller, Rian Lindell

[alohabillsfan]

Surprise- Fitz, Johnson, Nelson, Jones, Kelsay
Disappointments- Maybin, Mckelvin, Stroud,

[JCBills]

I don't think Bell made that big a stride, to be honest. He's on par for normal course as a 3rd year player.

Fitz, he's in the league for 5 years and people have a book on him. I'd say his improvement might be in getting the team into proper blocking scheme. remember when Losman/Edwards are there, there always seemed to have a free guy coming at QB on passing plays. Not any more under Fitz/Gailey.

For Stevie, I think Trent once used the work slippery on him and I can't think of any better word to describe him. He's slippery to cover and slippery to get a hand on once he has the ball.

With Bell's lack of football experience, his step up in play between this year and last year, or between getting drafted a few years back and now, is massive. The guy went to school for basketball, ended up playing football, and now is fairly solid in pass pro. Still has much work to do, but he's definitely been a surprise.

[Extremebillsfan247]

Surprise of the year thus far goes to Fitz. Biggest disappointment so far is Merriman. He is a waste of a roster spot. They should just cut him now and give the roster spot to someone who can actually contribute on the field. JMO

[Crisis]

Surprise of the year thus far goes to Fitz. Biggest disappointment so far is Merriman. He is a waste of a roster spot. They should just cut him now and give the roster spot to someone who can actually contribute on the field. JMO

how is merriman a disappointment? he hasn't done anything here but no one should've expected much out of him....low-risk high-reward move.

[Extremebillsfan247]

how is merriman a disappointment? he hasn't done anything here but no one should've expected much out of him....low-risk high-reward move.Yeah, that one is kind of my fault. I gave Merriman the benefit of the doubt. lol Silly me.

[Oldbillsfan]

Surprised: Gailey, Fitz, Johnson, Parrish

Disappointed: Maybin

[psubills62]

So basically:

Surprise: Offense (minus the bums at RT)

Disappointment: Defense (minus Kyle Williams)

Does that about cover it?

[BADTHINGSMAN]

Surprised: Bell, Johnson, Fitz, Williams
Disappointing: Byrd, Spiller, Maybin, Lindell

[Historian]

Surprise: Roscoe Parrish. Very sorry to see him get hurt.

Dissapointment: Lindell, and Spiller

Disaster: Maybin.

[OpIv37]

Surprised no one mentioned Shawn Nelson as a disappointment yet.

[Jan Reimers]

Surprised no one mentioned Shawn Nelson as a disappointment yet.
Maybe we just give him an "incomplete," due to his suspension, nagging injury, and not being used much in Gailey's offense. And I don't blame him for the fumble against Baltimore.

I'd like to see more from him in the last 6 games, though.

[EDS]

I have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Steve Johnson and Kyle Williams.

I have been disappointed to various degrees in C.J. Spiller (and really the entire draft class), Jarius Byrd, Leodis McKelvin, Lee Evans, Aaron Maybin and Trent Edwards to name a few.

At the end of the day I think going from bad to decent is an easier step than going from decent to good, so it will be interesting to see how the team progresses over the next 18 months.