Off-Season Priorities, What’s Most Important?

by Adam “Forward” Lateral

It seems to be a fairly busy off-season for Tom Donahoe and the Buffalo Bills, and the team has a few needs that must be addressed if the Bills have any hope of a play off run next season.

In this article, I will run down the priority sequence in which I believe the Bills have the most needs. It's going to be an active offseason again for the Buffalo Bills- and GM Tom Donahoe will again be active wheeling and dealing to improve the roster.

First, and most importantly is the Offensive Line--- Donahoe needs to find a suitable replacement for Jonas Jennings (signed with San Fran) and then possibly bring in a free agent Guard. So far, he may have found the potential replacement (and possible suprise starter) in Chicago's Mike Gandy- a versatile and talented (but often injured) lineman. If money permits, re-sign Marcus Price for depth, if nothing else. Price can play both Guard and Tackle positions, so he provides 2 backup roles at one roster space, which is very valuable in the NFL nowadays. Travis Henry has been rumored in trade talks with the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for Left Tackle L.J. Shelton, and it is a very good trade for both teams. Shelton would be a very suitable replacement for Jennings, and would cost about half as much.

Secondly is Defensive Line. Obviously, the ideal situation was to resign Pat Williams, but his demands were to high for the Bills and now TD must explore all other options. Those options include standing pat with 2nd year blue-collar workhorse Tim Anderson and veteran backup Ron Edwards filling Pat’s role, or possibly look to Free Agency, or the draft to fill this need. At the End spot, Aaron Schobel is steady, and will give what he always gives, 8-10 sacks, and will work hard day in and day out. Opposite him, is a huge question mark. Ryan Denney and Chris Kelsay split time at Right End last season, with Kelsay finally winning the job near the middle of the season. His play has been good at times, but he’s very inconsistent. Marcellus Wiley is an available possibility, or the Bills could look to the Draft, once again, for a DE.

Question marks are plentiful at Tight End. T.D. must decide, if Campbell and Euhus won't be ready until later in the season, whom the starting TE will be. Could it possibly be Jason Peters, he’s a monster target, but can he run-block? Ryan Neufeld (assuming he's re-signed) is another possibility. Ryan is a great run-blocker, but not much in the receiving department, and with 2nd year QB J.P. Losman at the helm, a good dump-off TE is almost a necessity. TD may look to the draft for a TE also. Ryan Smith out of Stanford is a very intriguing possibility; the only question is, if he’ll be around by the time the Bills pick late in the 2nd round. TD would almost for certain have to move up in order to get Smith. There are a few TE’s available through Free Agency, Bubba Franks is the biggest name available, but his price tag is probably too steep for the Bills. Guys like Jay Riemersma (a former Bill), Roland Williams or Ricky Dudley may also be options, although none are really considered weapons any longer. There are a ton of possibilities here, and this is possibly the most intriguing scenario of this upcoming off-season.

What to do wth the Placekicker. Rian Lindell is not a fan favorite in Buffalo. But let’s face it; what’s out there that is much better? Sure, there are guys like Indy’s Mike Vanderjact, or Philly’s David Akers, but is Tom Donahoe really willing to pay that much money for a kicker? Akers maybe, but Vanderjact has kicked in a dome his entire career, and it’s doubtful that he’d be as accurate in the friendly confines of the Ralph.
Ohio State’s Mike Nugent’s name has been popping up on a lot of Bills fans’ radars, but it seems highly unreasonable that he’ll be around by the time the Bills draft, and even more unreasonable that they’ll move up just for the sake of drafting a kicker.

Backup QB is a priority for the Bills, resolved this weekend with the signing of Kelly Holcomb, the talented journeyman QB. Holcomb did the rare thing in the NFL, he took less money and an opportunity to be named starter in Cleveland for longer term job security and team success. If JP Losman falters or is knocked out of action, the Bills have one of the top backup QBs in the entire league at their disposal.

Finally, we come to Wide Receiver. It’s at the bottom of the list for the simple fact that I don’t think the Bills will have any money left over to make a play for a solid number 3 Wide out. There’s a ton of guys available, but let’s face it, it doesn’t seem to be much of a concern for the Bills, who have Sam Aiken and Josh Reed, whom both were expected to blossom, instead they’ve soured a bit.

It seems to be a busy off-season for Donahoe and the Bills, but with only about 8 million dollars to spend, he’s going to have to be very thrifty and may have to cut out some of the less-important things the Bills need. It should be a very interesting next couple of months, nonetheless, and I, personally, can’t wait.

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