OK. It’s done. The Buffalo Bills had a nice playoff run ended on the last week of the REGULAR season. I’ve been home for three hours – ate dinner, read the paper and cleaned out and inventoried the freezers – reflection time is over. 9-7 was nice and getting to look at the real playoffs from the outside was a nice tease but like the lovable loser that never gets the girl a tease is still a tease. I will say up front that, overall, I am happy with the season. I thought the Bills would finish with an 8-8 record. However, I am not happy with how they got there.

The Buffalo Bills cannot be blamed for having their seven weakest opponents crammed into the latter half of the schedule. Call it a simple quirk of fate resulting in the appearance of a late season playoff run by the local heroes. Scramble the order of the games around and maybe it becomes a maddening up and down rollercoaster season that still sees the Bills miss the playoffs with a 9-7 record. One win against a team with a winning record isn’t much to be happy about. As nice as it is to be able to build on the season it is time to reflect with critical eyes on the 2004 season that was. This three part series will review the 2004 season. Thankfully, I only have to point out the problems and concerns left behind by the disappointment of not getting to the playoffs. I would have to sit in the President and General Manager’s chair to actually answer them. Speaking of which, we start with:

Tom Donahoe – Thanks to the Buffalo Bills' late season run Donahoe gets an upgrade and a reprieve. What started off as a calamity (tearing down the team and fixing the salary cap) has turned around such that the team is on the correct road. Unlike previous administrations Donahoe cannot be faulted for inactivity. However, he can be faulted for results. As covered in this year in review, there are still holes that need major fixing but overall Donahoe has done enough of the right things covered by the President title to keep that job. Forcing him to relinquish the GM spot is moot. The team turned out to be a winner and handing over the reigns would result in the job going to an insider. Donahoe is back on solid footing and a winning season in 2005 should result in the renewal of his deal.

Mike Mularkey – Rookie coaches and winning in Buffalo are not exactly synonymous. Mularkey showed incredible poise and patience, especially when the season looked lost after a disastrous 3-6 start. He got the Bills to believe and trust in, not only the team, but themselves. This is not to say Mularkey did not struggle in his premiere season. At times he looked all the rookie as did several of his players. That being said, it has been a long time since a young rookie coach has looked so good on the Buffalo sidelines. At this point brighter days do appear to be ahead.

The Offense – After taking four games to get the system devised by new offensive coordinator Tom Clements the offense took off with the insertion of Willis McGahee in to the lineup. The Bills are still fronted by a patchwork offensive line and questions at some of the skill positions. Inconsistency in today’s NFL gets you watching the playoffs on TV. The Bills offense, while excellent when the field was shortened, still had trouble putting together long, time consuming drives. Another season of the system and a full year of McGahee will help.

Drew Bledsoe – In the end it can be argued that Bledsoe’s ineffectiveness cost the Bills a few wins and the playoffs. Better performances by Bledsoe against Jacksonville, the first New York Jets game and the finale against the Steelers and the Bills might be looking at playing well into January. However, the new Buffalo Bills’ brain trust, while salvaging Bledsoe’s career, never made him into more than a highly priced caretaker. There are still a few ingredients that will help Bledsoe get to the next level but at 33 it is time to stop the charade that he is capable of leading this team to a Super Bowl. The only options at QB for next year are Bledsoe or untested rookie JP Losman who basically had a cup of coffee in the league this year. Even though he steered the ship to nine wins Bledsoe’s unspectacular, even lackluster, performance only warrants him the starter’s job next year on a short lease. If the Buffalo Bills come out of the gate .500 (or worse) next year after 6 games Mularkey and Co. will have to seriously think about passing the keys to Losman.

Eric Moulds – Do you ever wonder what kind of career numbers Moulds might have if he had the hands of Andre Reed? Moulds has the skills but he is also prone to drops. Simply, Eric needs to redo his contract to make it more salary cap friendly and then shut up and go play.

Willis McGahee – (NOTE TO SELF: Don’t gush too much). OJ Simpson was the best open field runner and Thurman Thomas the most complete running back to ever play for the Bills. That being said, McGahee has all the tools to someday join them as the best Bills RB ever. Toughness, speed and vision are the qualities that all successful backs command. McGahee appears to have all three. Mix in the determination to prove detractors wrong and show that his knee is a thing of the past and Willis could be the NFL’s next 2000 yard rusher.

Offensive Line – The patchwork continues and 2005 will see more of the same. Tom Donahoe’s first order of business in the off-season is Left Tackle. Jonas Jennings is a free agent and by all accounts is already a former-Buffalo Bill. Jennings internal successors are slim; switch Mike Williams (no pun intended) from RT to LT or move Trey Teague from C to RT. Either choice leaves a hole someplace else in the line. Without a 1st round draft choice the Bills may be left with no option than to try to find a LT in free agency. That will cost big money which is probably why they should throw big money at Jennings in the first place.

Lee Evans – A very nice year by the rookie from Wisconsin. It should be very exciting to him across from Eric Moulds for the next few years.

Josh Reed – If you look really hard the word bust is sneaking up on Reed. Dropped passes, sloppy routes and bad plays catch up to NFL players really quickly. Two terrible penalties against the Steelers only accentuated the anchor that Reed is placing on the offense. Every successful QB has three options at WR. Reed could have provided that but failed miserably. Earlier in the season it would have been easy to suggest that Reed deserve the same short lease that Bledsoe has earned. However, after the season finale Reed can best serve the team by being traded for a draft choice.

Tight Ends – Choose one. Mark Campbell, Tim Euhus, Ryan Neufeld, Rob Trafford, Jason Peters or dare I even say Ryan Denney? Injuries didn’t help but this unit lacks, well, everything. A true third alternative to Evans and Moulds would have helped Bledsoe greatly but the TE was underused. Whether it was the schemes or the personnel the Bills have to get more production from the TE next year.

Tomorrow: The defense.