| January 18, 2005 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 09:07 PM |
Today BillsZone.com continues the review of the 2004 Buffalo Bills season with a review of the special teams and a look forward to the draft and the off-season. George Allen was one of the first coaches that realized special teams are one third of a football team. Upon his hire Marv Levy's (Allen's special teams coach) first objective was to improve a horrible unit. An excellent sign is that new Buffalo Bills Head Coach Mike Mularkey address the unit right away by bring in Bobby April from the St. Louis Rams. April succeeded in turning the group into one of the best units assembled by a Buffalo Bills team. As the team goes into the 2005 season things look bright but as with the rest of the team there is some room for improvement. Let’s start our review of the special teams with its shining star: Kick Return Team – The emergence of All Pro Terrance McGee sparked a unit that has long failed to give the Bills good field position. McGee, who is only in his second year, returned three kicks for TDs and led the AFC with a 26.3 yard average per return.
Punt Return Team – This unit also displayed great improvement and the days of “punt catcher” are long over. Nate Clements averaged 9.3 yards per return and added a return for a TD against the St. Louis Rams. Rookie “Fast Freddie” Smith showed that the Bills have some depth at the return position by averaging 17.4 yards per return and also added a return for a TD. The only downfall of the pair was a couple of fumbles and critical errors in judgment by Smith. The unit also benefited from a blocked punt against the Cincinnati Bengals by reserve TE Jason Peters that he covered in the end zone for a TD.
Brian Moorman – For much of the early season Punter Brian Moorman was the teams MVP. He not only was the best chance of improving field position but he was also successful on fake punts against Oakland (a pass to Kevin Thomas) and New England (a 34 yard scamper for a first down). Moorman averaged 43.2 yards per punt but had an impressive net average of 36.8 yards per punt. His longest punt of the season was an amazing 80 yards but he only buried 17 punts inside the opponents 20.
Rian Lindell – Although Lindell only missed four kicks all season (24 of 28) and just two inside the 40 fans have grown to not trust his leg. His longest kick was 43 yards which was the shortest in that category in the AFC. The capper was a missed 28-yard chip shot against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season finally that many feel swung the momentum of the game. Lindell is not only inconsistent at reaching the goal line on kickoffs but had only three touchbacks all season. Lindell does not match up to Bills kickers such as Steve Christie and Scott Norwood.
The Draft and Off-season
So what do the Buffalo Bills have to do to improve upon on 9-7 and make the playoffs in 2005? Just having a year under the belts of rookie Coach Mike Mularkey, rookie (for all intents and purposes) Running Back Willis McGahee and rookie Wide Receiver Lee Evans will greatly help this team. Strangely, the injuries in the secondary also helped give players like CB Terrance McGee and S Rashad Baker playing time and they should continue to improve next year. The injury to Troy Vincent also gave the Bills a chance to see if Vincent could play FS. It is possible the Bills will start 2005 with former All Pros Vincent and Lawyer Milloy at safety and All Pro alternate Clements and McGee at CB. That could be a very formidable unit. Offensive line coach and Buffalo native Jim McNally improved a patchwork unit and another year of his tutelage will only benefit them more. Although things look bright what stands in the way of this team making the playoffs in 2005? Following is a priority list that President and GM Tom Donahoe must address this year. After the top five the priority can be moved around based on free agency and the draft.
1. Left Tackle – Yes, QBs and RBs are the glamour positions of the offense but without a strong LT right handed QBs can get killed from the blind side. Drew Bledsoe is not very mobile (a little of an overstatement) and JP Losman is not seasoned at picking up blind side blitzes. Jonas Jennings showed improvement at the position just in time to be an unrestricted free agent. If he leaves the Bills have a few internal possibilities in Trey Teague or Mike Williams. Moving either of them will only leave a hole at another OL position. The Bills could resign T Marcus Price but would still have little depth and Price has not shown that he can stay healthy enough to play a full season. Without a 1st round draft choice the Bills probably won’t get a starting T in the draft. Donahoe will probably have to spend big money to keep Jennings or spend some money to bring in a free agent replacement.
2. The rest of the OL – Does the team stick with continuity and just replace or resign Jennings? If they start moving players around what position do they leave open to address during the off-season? Do the Bills try to upgrade the LG position or will Ross Tucker be fine under another year of McNally’s teaching?
3. 3rd Wide Receiver – Josh Reed is coming very close to being a bust. Dropped passes, sloppy routes and bad penalties are pushing his stock lower. Sam Aiken showed good hands but still made some mistakes in running after the catch. Whether the starter be Bledsoe or Losman a third option is a must for better success next year (thanks to Bob Balistreri for point this out after the Pittsburgh game). The team also has to examine restructuring Eric Moulds contract.
4. Left Defensive End – There is a lack of toughness and strength from the LDE position. Chris Kelsay looks promising but the position needs a more reliable pass rush and neither Kelsay nor Ryan Denney has shown to be a force against the run.
5. Linebacker – After the starters there is little to no depth. Jeff Posey is adequate. Angelo Crowell has to start showing that he was worthy of a 3rd round pick. The loss of any of the starters could be devastating to the defense. This position has to get some depth, quickly.
6. The draft – Because of the JP Losman trade the Bills will send the number 20 pick in the NFL draft to the Dallas Cowboys. Without a first rounder it is likely that the Bills may not get much help among the starting 22. The war room may be a buzz seeing the Bills move a player (Henry?, Reed? or both?) and a draft choice to possibly move into the first round. The Bills could also try to trade a player to move a pick from the low second or third to a higher second round pick.
7. Kicker – Can Rian Lindell be trusted outside of 40 yards or in pressure situations?
8. Quarterback – This question falls to number eight because there are two alternatives on the team and one of them will be the starter in 2005. The Front Office has to decide if Drew Bledsoe is the starter (and on a short leash) next season or if the position is up for competition. There is nothing to indicate that JP Losman will be the starter in 2005. Whatever the case, the Bills cannot let Bledsoe twist in the wind like they did Gregg Williams. If every position is up for evaluation then so be it. If Bledsoe is the starter without competition then the Bills owe it to the team and the fans to say something before camp in July.
9. Back-up Running Back – Travis Henry wants out and who could blame him. The Bills also could use some value for him in a trade. Shaud Williams displayed some nice running and could serve in a pinch but is small and may not be very durable. Donahoe has to decide whether he can get good value for Henry and if he can swing a deal he may have to find a veteran player to come in to back up McGahee.
10. Fan interest – Yup. It is still a business and the Bills have to figure out a way to sell a 9-7 non-playoff team with an aging QB to the fans. The home schedule could sell itself but it isn’t going to be an easy slate by any means. In addition to traditional division rivals Miami, New England and the Jets, the team plays Houston, Denver, Kansas City, Atlanta and Carolina. Four games against playoff teams, two games against strong teams that had weak seasons, a game against an improving Houston and Miami (lock it in as a W!).
The prospects for 2005 look pretty good. A core of young talent interspersed with some veteran leadership and a 9-3 finish have left fans with much hope for next season. A good salary cap situation and the lack of a 1st round draft choice actually give the front office some room to reinforce a few positions on the team. However, many questions remain for a team and a group of coaches that, staring the playoffs in the face, blinked. The off-season is officially underway.
