I'm frustrated because I see teams like the Jets and the Dolphins making moves to improve their teams, while the Bills do very little. Let's take a look to see where we've improved from last season, where we've regressed, and where we've broke even:
Note: this is long but there's a conclusion at the end.
1. Coaching: Face it, the coaching staff was a disaster last year. However, different isn't always good. Fewell has no experience as DC and Jauron has never been a winner. Fairchild ran an offense that is not consistent with what Jauron has done, and some say that Martz had a lot of control over the offense (although I'm not sure I buy that because the Rams offense played about the same when Martz was recuperating). I think I have to give this one an incomplete- its just too early to judge.
2. D-line: Even. We got Tripplett but lost Adams (and his attitude problem). We still only have one starting caliber DT. Re-signed Denney- why?
3. O-line: Regressed. We added Fowler, which is an improvement over Teague. We lost Mike Williams, which is addition by subtraction. But we still don't have enough O-linemen and the only Peters and Fowler are really starting caliber at this point.
4. Running backs: McGahee seems to be taking the off-season more seriously, so I'll say we improved here. Still would like to see a better back-up than Shaud.
5. Receivers: Even. Davis added, Reed re-signed, Moulds a ?. Davis isn't as big a name as Moulds, but I bet he could match Moulds' paltry numbers from the last few seasons.
6. DB's: Milloy gone, no replacement named. Clements re-signed despite an awful season. I'll go with even here, although an argument could be made for regression.
7. TE's: Royal is an upgrade over Campbell. Everett should be ready to play. Definite improvement here.
8. LB's. Spikes back, Crowell signed- improvement. Side note: Fletcher and Posey are old and it would be nice to have a replacement in mind, but certainly not high priority given the team's other needs.
9. QB. Even. Nall just adds a ? to the mix.
Conclusion: We improved at LB and TE. However, the OL is in worse shape than it was last year, the DL is at best even, and the coaching staff could go either way. To me, that shows that 2 of the 3 biggest problems from last season have yet to be addressed completely, and the one that has been addressed may or may not be an improvement. I'm irritated at how the Jets and Fish are upgrading while the Bills stand idly by and seem content with the horrid product we had on the field last season.
So, where is anyone finding any hope for this upcoming season? I just don't see it.
Note: this is long but there's a conclusion at the end.
1. Coaching: Face it, the coaching staff was a disaster last year. However, different isn't always good. Fewell has no experience as DC and Jauron has never been a winner. Fairchild ran an offense that is not consistent with what Jauron has done, and some say that Martz had a lot of control over the offense (although I'm not sure I buy that because the Rams offense played about the same when Martz was recuperating). I think I have to give this one an incomplete- its just too early to judge.
2. D-line: Even. We got Tripplett but lost Adams (and his attitude problem). We still only have one starting caliber DT. Re-signed Denney- why?
3. O-line: Regressed. We added Fowler, which is an improvement over Teague. We lost Mike Williams, which is addition by subtraction. But we still don't have enough O-linemen and the only Peters and Fowler are really starting caliber at this point.
4. Running backs: McGahee seems to be taking the off-season more seriously, so I'll say we improved here. Still would like to see a better back-up than Shaud.
5. Receivers: Even. Davis added, Reed re-signed, Moulds a ?. Davis isn't as big a name as Moulds, but I bet he could match Moulds' paltry numbers from the last few seasons.
6. DB's: Milloy gone, no replacement named. Clements re-signed despite an awful season. I'll go with even here, although an argument could be made for regression.
7. TE's: Royal is an upgrade over Campbell. Everett should be ready to play. Definite improvement here.
8. LB's. Spikes back, Crowell signed- improvement. Side note: Fletcher and Posey are old and it would be nice to have a replacement in mind, but certainly not high priority given the team's other needs.
9. QB. Even. Nall just adds a ? to the mix.
Conclusion: We improved at LB and TE. However, the OL is in worse shape than it was last year, the DL is at best even, and the coaching staff could go either way. To me, that shows that 2 of the 3 biggest problems from last season have yet to be addressed completely, and the one that has been addressed may or may not be an improvement. I'm irritated at how the Jets and Fish are upgrading while the Bills stand idly by and seem content with the horrid product we had on the field last season.
So, where is anyone finding any hope for this upcoming season? I just don't see it.
Comment