Dr. Lecter
01-05-2011, 07:13 PM
Rookie of the year – David Nelson.
How sad. An UDRFA is a runaway and easy choice for the Bills rookie of the year. His stats were somewhat impressive (31 receptions, 353 yards and 3 TDs) But he really should have been the teams #4 WR. The lack of output from the top of the Bills draft class (CJ Spiller, Torell Troup and Alex Carrington) is frustrating. Add in the injury plagued season of three more rookies ( Marcus Easley, Ed Wang and Danny Batten) and you get the answer as to why Nelson is an easy choice to be the Bills rookie of the year.
The only other name worthy of any consideration is Arthur Moats who shows some promise as a pass rush specialist. His inability in pass coverage and weakness against the run might limit his long term ability to contribute much else, but if a decent pass rusher is what he turns into, he will provide value as a 6th round pick.
Another UDRFA Cordaro Howard also saw playing time and started a few games and was underwhelming to say the least. Donald Jones made a few nice plays and Naaman Roosevelt was a nice local story. Both at probably fringe NFL receivers who could be #5 or #6 guys who contribute on STs. Nothing wrong with that for undrafted guys.
With Kyle Calloway not even making the roster or practice squad, it is safe to say that this year’s rookie class was disappointing, especially on a roster that is already limited in talent.
Offensive MVP – Ryan Fitzpatrick
At least he had a little competition from Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson.
Fitzpatrick is what he is – a damn solid back-up QB, an acceptable bridge/stop-gap QB and a marginal starter. That also makes him the best QB in Buffalo since Drew Bledsoe in his first season. The man is smart and willing to take a risk so he adds an element of excitement to the game and can make a play at times. He also can make a very negative play, as seen in the second New England game or in OT against Kansas City when he missed a wide open CJ Spiller and threw an Int that left all fans scratching their heads. But at least he does not run out of bounds on 4th down late in the game. He wins the MVP award because this team was absolutely a disaster on offense during the first two games this year with Trent Edwards as starter.
Jackson likely would have won this award had he been featured earlier in the season. Instead the Bills featured Marshawn Lynch and were able to get two picks for him. Since this year was going to be bad one heading into the season, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Johnson’s inconsistency stopped him from being the choice. Too many drops. Way too many. I still feel pain from the Pittsburgh game. He is a good young WR who would be a solid #2 or #3 option on most teams. However, in Buffalo he is in the role of #1 or #2.
Defensive Player of the year and team MVP – Kyle Williams
I loved this guy when they drafted him. Just loved him (I have been right twice in the past decade – Kyle Williams and Aaron Maybin).And he has been the best pick the Bills have made in years. The former 5th round pick surprised many people by playing much better at NT than most thought he could or would. While the Bills defense was absolutely horrendous against the run, he was the one person making plays. The pass rush was also pathetic, but he did lead the team in sacks, not an usual role for a 3-4 NT. The guy is a workhorse and a beast. Surround him with more players in the front 7 and his playmaking ability will expand.
Trying to come up with other players on defense that did much of anything is difficult. I guess by default the next two players are guys that are likely to free agents very soon – Poz and Donte Whitner. Yes I know people’s thoughts on these two guys – but let’sface it – they are best of a very bad group out there. Marcus Stroud is done. Dwan Edwards is average. Spencer Johnson is average. Carrington and Troup did not show much in limited playing time. Chris Kelsay, while he played better in the 2nd half of the season is still Chris Kelsay. Reggie Torbor, Akin Ayodele and Andra Davis are all the same player – marginal NFL players who are depth guys. Antonio Coleman never showed much. Jarisu Byrd was terrible much of the year. Drayton Florence takes too many penalties. Leodis McKelvin is very inconsistent. Terrence McGee looks done.
This is a bad defense that needs major re-building.
Special teams player of the year
This was difficult. Brian Moorman had an off year or is in decline. Rian Lindell was adequate, nothing else. The return game was decent with Spiller having a KO return TD and McKelvin having several nice returns and a punt return TD that was called back. But both men fumbled the ball way too much. Nobody stood out in coverage.
So I am giving this award to Garrison Sanborn. Why? His snaps are fast and accurate. And he went to FSU. And, quite frankly, nobody else is deserving.
Most disappointing player on offense
So many to choose from. Lee Evans did not have great production, but when he went out the offense sputtered. CJ Spiller did very little on offense. No rushing TDs??? Really??? The TEs were all invisible, with only one TD (from David Martin). Eric Wood struggled to come from injury and was not as good as last year. Andy Levitre did not progress. RT was a mess.
I will go with Shawn Nelson. Many thought he had the ability to be the pass catching TE this team has been missing for years. But he did nothing except fumble against Baltimore in OT. His migraines could derail his career.
Special mention to Trent Edwards. But he is gone and was only here for three games. I hope the door did not hit him in the ass.
Most disappointing player on defense
I considered Leodis McKelvin but at least he did something, despite being burned more than once.
But can anybody besides Aaron Maybin win this? I hated the pick and thought he would disappoint. But I thought he would at least have one sack after two years. Instead he has none. Zero. It is one thing to be a bust – but at least Mike Williams, JP Losman, John McCargo, etc. all made some plays and were able to contribute something. Maybin is behind the depth chart to undrafted guys and scrap heap vets.
Special mention to Jarius Byrd who lost his ability to cover and continued his horrible play against he run. Right now I would rather see George Wilson starting.
Best game of the year
This was close. Beating Miami is always fun. But the Bengals game was one for the ages. Coming back from 17 down and winning by 18 was historical. It was exciting and gave fans a glimmer of hope. Miami is a team that can’t win at home so I could not put that there as #1.
Of course it had to be one of four games, so I guess choices were limited.
Worst game of the year
This is tough. The blow out against Green Bay? The annihilation against the Patriots? The run for the bus against the Jets? Opening day against Miami? With 12 losses it can be hard to pick.. Kansas City and Baltimore were heartbreakers for sure.
But I have to say losing to Pittsburgh the way this team did was the worst game of the year. Why? It epitomized what they have done for years. The teasing of a big win against a superior opponent. But this one was worse. Three opportunities to win it in OT - McKelvin almost running back the kick off, the bomb to Evans that was a little off and was dropped and the ultimate heartbreaker – the Stevie Johnson drop in the endzone on a perfect pass and perfect route and the perfect play call. In a stadium full of Steelers’ fans nothing could have been better than to see that game end in a Bills victory. But, alas, once again we were left with nothing.
Final Comments
At the end of the day, this team was pretty close to where I thought they would be (3-13). It is hard to be disappointed, but the losing is old. It has to stop. And while there some positives this year, there were many more negatives. The next draft is crucial. It would be nice to get some contributors.
With no positions set on this team save for probably RB/FB and LS (no WR is not set – too many unproven players) there is a lot of work to be done. It will take time. Too much time and will require aggression in FA once a new CBA is signed. But is Buddy Nix, the first time GM up to the task? I am not so sure.
I think expecting 8-8 might be extremely optimistic.
How sad. An UDRFA is a runaway and easy choice for the Bills rookie of the year. His stats were somewhat impressive (31 receptions, 353 yards and 3 TDs) But he really should have been the teams #4 WR. The lack of output from the top of the Bills draft class (CJ Spiller, Torell Troup and Alex Carrington) is frustrating. Add in the injury plagued season of three more rookies ( Marcus Easley, Ed Wang and Danny Batten) and you get the answer as to why Nelson is an easy choice to be the Bills rookie of the year.
The only other name worthy of any consideration is Arthur Moats who shows some promise as a pass rush specialist. His inability in pass coverage and weakness against the run might limit his long term ability to contribute much else, but if a decent pass rusher is what he turns into, he will provide value as a 6th round pick.
Another UDRFA Cordaro Howard also saw playing time and started a few games and was underwhelming to say the least. Donald Jones made a few nice plays and Naaman Roosevelt was a nice local story. Both at probably fringe NFL receivers who could be #5 or #6 guys who contribute on STs. Nothing wrong with that for undrafted guys.
With Kyle Calloway not even making the roster or practice squad, it is safe to say that this year’s rookie class was disappointing, especially on a roster that is already limited in talent.
Offensive MVP – Ryan Fitzpatrick
At least he had a little competition from Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson.
Fitzpatrick is what he is – a damn solid back-up QB, an acceptable bridge/stop-gap QB and a marginal starter. That also makes him the best QB in Buffalo since Drew Bledsoe in his first season. The man is smart and willing to take a risk so he adds an element of excitement to the game and can make a play at times. He also can make a very negative play, as seen in the second New England game or in OT against Kansas City when he missed a wide open CJ Spiller and threw an Int that left all fans scratching their heads. But at least he does not run out of bounds on 4th down late in the game. He wins the MVP award because this team was absolutely a disaster on offense during the first two games this year with Trent Edwards as starter.
Jackson likely would have won this award had he been featured earlier in the season. Instead the Bills featured Marshawn Lynch and were able to get two picks for him. Since this year was going to be bad one heading into the season, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Johnson’s inconsistency stopped him from being the choice. Too many drops. Way too many. I still feel pain from the Pittsburgh game. He is a good young WR who would be a solid #2 or #3 option on most teams. However, in Buffalo he is in the role of #1 or #2.
Defensive Player of the year and team MVP – Kyle Williams
I loved this guy when they drafted him. Just loved him (I have been right twice in the past decade – Kyle Williams and Aaron Maybin).And he has been the best pick the Bills have made in years. The former 5th round pick surprised many people by playing much better at NT than most thought he could or would. While the Bills defense was absolutely horrendous against the run, he was the one person making plays. The pass rush was also pathetic, but he did lead the team in sacks, not an usual role for a 3-4 NT. The guy is a workhorse and a beast. Surround him with more players in the front 7 and his playmaking ability will expand.
Trying to come up with other players on defense that did much of anything is difficult. I guess by default the next two players are guys that are likely to free agents very soon – Poz and Donte Whitner. Yes I know people’s thoughts on these two guys – but let’sface it – they are best of a very bad group out there. Marcus Stroud is done. Dwan Edwards is average. Spencer Johnson is average. Carrington and Troup did not show much in limited playing time. Chris Kelsay, while he played better in the 2nd half of the season is still Chris Kelsay. Reggie Torbor, Akin Ayodele and Andra Davis are all the same player – marginal NFL players who are depth guys. Antonio Coleman never showed much. Jarisu Byrd was terrible much of the year. Drayton Florence takes too many penalties. Leodis McKelvin is very inconsistent. Terrence McGee looks done.
This is a bad defense that needs major re-building.
Special teams player of the year
This was difficult. Brian Moorman had an off year or is in decline. Rian Lindell was adequate, nothing else. The return game was decent with Spiller having a KO return TD and McKelvin having several nice returns and a punt return TD that was called back. But both men fumbled the ball way too much. Nobody stood out in coverage.
So I am giving this award to Garrison Sanborn. Why? His snaps are fast and accurate. And he went to FSU. And, quite frankly, nobody else is deserving.
Most disappointing player on offense
So many to choose from. Lee Evans did not have great production, but when he went out the offense sputtered. CJ Spiller did very little on offense. No rushing TDs??? Really??? The TEs were all invisible, with only one TD (from David Martin). Eric Wood struggled to come from injury and was not as good as last year. Andy Levitre did not progress. RT was a mess.
I will go with Shawn Nelson. Many thought he had the ability to be the pass catching TE this team has been missing for years. But he did nothing except fumble against Baltimore in OT. His migraines could derail his career.
Special mention to Trent Edwards. But he is gone and was only here for three games. I hope the door did not hit him in the ass.
Most disappointing player on defense
I considered Leodis McKelvin but at least he did something, despite being burned more than once.
But can anybody besides Aaron Maybin win this? I hated the pick and thought he would disappoint. But I thought he would at least have one sack after two years. Instead he has none. Zero. It is one thing to be a bust – but at least Mike Williams, JP Losman, John McCargo, etc. all made some plays and were able to contribute something. Maybin is behind the depth chart to undrafted guys and scrap heap vets.
Special mention to Jarius Byrd who lost his ability to cover and continued his horrible play against he run. Right now I would rather see George Wilson starting.
Best game of the year
This was close. Beating Miami is always fun. But the Bengals game was one for the ages. Coming back from 17 down and winning by 18 was historical. It was exciting and gave fans a glimmer of hope. Miami is a team that can’t win at home so I could not put that there as #1.
Of course it had to be one of four games, so I guess choices were limited.
Worst game of the year
This is tough. The blow out against Green Bay? The annihilation against the Patriots? The run for the bus against the Jets? Opening day against Miami? With 12 losses it can be hard to pick.. Kansas City and Baltimore were heartbreakers for sure.
But I have to say losing to Pittsburgh the way this team did was the worst game of the year. Why? It epitomized what they have done for years. The teasing of a big win against a superior opponent. But this one was worse. Three opportunities to win it in OT - McKelvin almost running back the kick off, the bomb to Evans that was a little off and was dropped and the ultimate heartbreaker – the Stevie Johnson drop in the endzone on a perfect pass and perfect route and the perfect play call. In a stadium full of Steelers’ fans nothing could have been better than to see that game end in a Bills victory. But, alas, once again we were left with nothing.
Final Comments
At the end of the day, this team was pretty close to where I thought they would be (3-13). It is hard to be disappointed, but the losing is old. It has to stop. And while there some positives this year, there were many more negatives. The next draft is crucial. It would be nice to get some contributors.
With no positions set on this team save for probably RB/FB and LS (no WR is not set – too many unproven players) there is a lot of work to be done. It will take time. Too much time and will require aggression in FA once a new CBA is signed. But is Buddy Nix, the first time GM up to the task? I am not so sure.
I think expecting 8-8 might be extremely optimistic.