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The Bills have been mired in a rebuilding project gone bad for the past decade. To call this organization inept would widely be viewed as a huge understatement. The current regime is now about to begin their third year, which is the barometer for determining whether their plan is quite simply... Working.
I think their defensive plan, schemes aside, has been to get bigger. In that regard, they have largely been successful. Mario, Williams, Dareus and Anderson give the Bills a legitimate defensive line, something they haven't had in 10+ years. The question after them is twofold... Depth on the line and the line backing corp behind them.
First, the depth... Kelsay, Troupe, Carrington, Merriman, and Johnson round out what amounts to a CFL caliber grouping. Kelsay And Spencer Johnson are clearly the best of the group, but all they can honestly be accused of is taking up a roster spot.
Second, our linebackers are less than what Bills fans long became accustomed to. They're no Paups, Talleys, Conlans, or Bennetts. There may be a Carlton Bailey or Ray Bentley. The defensive system we are running puts the pressure on the linebackers to clean up what the defensive line helps to create. I'm not overly confident this group can do that at or close to the line of scrimmage.
The strength of this D... Appears to be the secondary. We have a good smattering of youth and veterans with a lot of diverse talent. I am really impressed with this group. If we can get a lead and stop the run consistently, we have the makings of a group that can turn the ball over.
All in all... The defense should be improved over its bottom of the barrel performances we've had over the past 2 years. Is it top 5? No. Top 10? Maybe. Top 15? It better be.
As far as the offense... I'm just approaching his from a philosophical stand point. I hate the spread offense! I repeat... HATE the spread offense. It isn't a mans offense, doesn't suit this city, and isn't designed to be successful with a second tier quarterback.
Here's the deal... Fitz is no Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers, or Tom Brady. Asking him to throw 30+ times a game is a recipe for not playing to the strengths of yet another quarterback. Not to mention, past Stevie Johnson, we have one of the thinnest talent pools at wide receiver as any team in the league. Yet... We are going to run an offense that puts 3-4 of them on the field at any given time. Not smart at all.
Long story short... I don't see much if any improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Fitz would have to make a huge step up in performance in order to prove this wrong. Rib injury or not, I didn't see from Fitz the kind aloofness to pain that the elite quarterbacks seem to possess. He looked defeated most of last year.
Overall... I do see an improvement on the D and can talk myself into some pretty exciting outcomes, but honesty and reason suggest this team is not a Baltimore... Patriots... or Steelers.
They're the Buffalo Bills and from an organizational perspective I still view them as dysfunctional. An NFL season needs the entire organization, not just the pieces, functioning at a high level in order to bring home the bacon. When things get tough this year... this more than anything will merit out.
8-8
"That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is."
I think their defensive plan, schemes aside, has been to get bigger. In that regard, they have largely been successful. Mario, Williams, Dareus and Anderson give the Bills a legitimate defensive line, something they haven't had in 10+ years. The question after them is twofold... Depth on the line and the line backing corp behind them.
First, the depth... Kelsay, Troupe, Carrington, Merriman, and Johnson round out what amounts to a CFL caliber grouping. Kelsay And Spencer Johnson are clearly the best of the group, but all they can honestly be accused of is taking up a roster spot.
Second, our linebackers are less than what Bills fans long became accustomed to. They're no Paups, Talleys, Conlans, or Bennetts. There may be a Carlton Bailey or Ray Bentley. The defensive system we are running puts the pressure on the linebackers to clean up what the defensive line helps to create. I'm not overly confident this group can do that at or close to the line of scrimmage.
The strength of this D... Appears to be the secondary. We have a good smattering of youth and veterans with a lot of diverse talent. I am really impressed with this group. If we can get a lead and stop the run consistently, we have the makings of a group that can turn the ball over.
All in all... The defense should be improved over its bottom of the barrel performances we've had over the past 2 years. Is it top 5? No. Top 10? Maybe. Top 15? It better be.
As far as the offense... I'm just approaching his from a philosophical stand point. I hate the spread offense! I repeat... HATE the spread offense. It isn't a mans offense, doesn't suit this city, and isn't designed to be successful with a second tier quarterback.
Here's the deal... Fitz is no Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers, or Tom Brady. Asking him to throw 30+ times a game is a recipe for not playing to the strengths of yet another quarterback. Not to mention, past Stevie Johnson, we have one of the thinnest talent pools at wide receiver as any team in the league. Yet... We are going to run an offense that puts 3-4 of them on the field at any given time. Not smart at all.
Long story short... I don't see much if any improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Fitz would have to make a huge step up in performance in order to prove this wrong. Rib injury or not, I didn't see from Fitz the kind aloofness to pain that the elite quarterbacks seem to possess. He looked defeated most of last year.
Overall... I do see an improvement on the D and can talk myself into some pretty exciting outcomes, but honesty and reason suggest this team is not a Baltimore... Patriots... or Steelers.
They're the Buffalo Bills and from an organizational perspective I still view them as dysfunctional. An NFL season needs the entire organization, not just the pieces, functioning at a high level in order to bring home the bacon. When things get tough this year... this more than anything will merit out.
8-8
"That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is."
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