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Should Bills Tackle Demetrius Bell be a FA Target For The Jets?
I saw the Bills first three games this year and I have to say that I didn't believe that Demetrius Bell was the same person I saw in 2009. Yes he had a very solid 2010, and you could say that his athletic ability that year should have made it no surprise that Bell was primed for a breakout year in 2011. However despite going down with a shoulder injury which would limit him to just 6 starts this season, he was one of the best lineman in the league at protecting his quarterback.
I went in search of a few stats to back this up and I wasn't disappointed at all. PFT analysed all starting left tackles in the league towards the end of September. So midway through the season and for Bell this was based on 4 starts before the injury. At that point, the Buffalo Bills QB had dropped back 114 times, and Bell had no sacks to his name and just 3 pressures for a pass blocking efficiency rating of 98% which was good for best in the league.
There are some concerns with injuries but I wouldn't go so far as saying he was injury prone. He is happy in Buffalo and has reiterated that he would like to return. This is football, anything can happen and he wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Buddy Nix has already said that Buffalo will be looking to draft a tackle in the 2012 NFL draft.
Personally I love his game and I love his ceiling, he has come a long way but his pass protection is as good as most tackles in the league. Obviously he would switch over to RT but with his athleticism it wouldn't be a problem. If we offered him a good 3-4 year deal I think there is a good chance we could land a guy who could become one of the premier protectors in the league
