Up My Flagpole 10/11/04 - Read Between the Lines

by Frank Stephen

Hollywood, as some say, is the place where dreams come true. All good movies or books start off with one basic principle. A good plot. The story is merely the actions that describe how the plot occurred. In theory, the Buffalo Bills devised a great plot. Going into the Tom Donahoe-era the plot was to have the Bills offensive unit play smash mouth, mistake free football and have a punishing defensive unit that contains the opponent’s offense. There were only two problems. The script has very few lines completed and the scriptwriters placed the wrong actors in the parts of the
offensive and defensive linemen.

After a 0-4 start fans are starting to beat the bushes that they want to see JP Losman and Willis McGahee play in place of Drew Bledsoe and Travis Henry. Fine. So be it. Funny, but the lessons of Super Bowls XXVI, XXVII and XXVIII have been lost on the Buffalo Bills and their fans. The “secret” to winning in the NFL, on a consistent basis, is to have two strong lines and win the battles in the trenches. Yes, every so often a St. Louis Rams team comes along and screws the paradigm but long term success, as scripted by the Bills producers and directors, requires good line play.

Many a fan is blowing a gasket regarding the lack of effort the Bills front office exerted to address the offensive and defensive line worries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tom Donahoe has attempted to address the Bills line problems. The problem is he has failed to be successful doing it. Do you realize that the Bills finally got their first sack from a defensive lineman yesterday?

Let’s take a look at the make up of the lines. The only player, on either side, still here from the pre-Donahoe days is Pat Williams. The entire cast, 10 offensive linemen and 8 defensive linemen (sans Williams) are “Donahoe guys”. That is not failure to address. That is failure to succeed. A deeper analysis shows the problems.

Mike Williams – possibly the defining pick of the Tom Donahoe-era to date. While Bryant McKinney sat there for the picking at #4 in 2002, Donahoe decided to go with Mike Williams. Donahoe selected a RIGHT tackle when the team needed a left tackle. Williams is woefully overpaid for his production and is carrying baggage that would sick a small watercraft (not that Mike wouldn’t on his own).

Jonas Jennings – A third round pick that has actually panned out. When he is healthy! Sadly, JJ is a free agent at the end of the year and will more than likely be gone.

Trey Teague – After playing left tackle with the Denver Broncos, Teague was brought to Buffalo to play Center. Center? He hadn’t played the position since college. After 3 years Teague can’t grasp the shotgun snap.

Lawrence Smith – Hey, the kid is trying but there was a reason he was on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad.

Mike Villarrial – A trade of one solid, older lineman for another solid, older lineman without the penalties.

Some of the other misses on offense? Ben Sobieski, Mike Pucillo and Marques Sullivan. What was the front office thinking?

The personnel decisions on the defense line look just as pitiful. Aaron Schobel is a promising young defensive end that Donahoe snatched up in the second round in 2001. Schobel looks like the perfect replacement for a guy like Phil Hansen. The only problem is the Bills are now asking that a Hansen-like player be Bruce Smith. To make matters worse Schobel gets even more heat from the fans because he has to live up to the cash and expectations of his new contract.

Donahoe and the front office have also whiffed harder than Sammy Sosa on a fat fastball with their other defensive line draft choices. Ryan Denney and Chris Kelsay were questionable picks and right now the former looks like a bust and the latter needs major seasoning. Dohahoe did address the defensive tackle position with the addition of Sam Adams but Adams and future free agent Pat Williams are getting older. Draft choices Ron Edwards, Justin Bannan and Tim Anderson have yet to show that they can play in this league once called upon. Other notable insignificants include Keith McKenzie, Oliver Gibson and Marcus Jones. Donahoe did better with Grant Irons and Chidi Ahanatou.

In the desperate hopes of salvaging a season filled with, I thought, little promise, fans will continue to wail and demand that youngsters JP Losman, Willis McGahee and the like start playing. Behind what? An offensive line that is suspect at best? The problem with the Buffalo Bills is not the QB, not the RBn and not the coach. The real problem with the Bills is at the offensive and defensive lines and a producer who failed to grasp the fact that the plot he designed requires actors like Spencer Tracy and Lawrence Olivier not Ben Affleck and Ben Stiller.