Debate the Buffalo Bills offseason in The Football Fan Forum
Last season: 6-10
2010 Preview:
There’s an old saying that says, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. That is true in the NFL, especially in the AFC East, where everyone figures to be a little bit better this year, whether it be the Patriots with a fully healthy Tom Brady and a fully motivated Randy Moss, or the Jets with their additions at many spots on the football field, or the Dolphins and the addition of Brandon Marshall and the maturation of Chad Henne.
The Bills pretty much stayed pat this offseason, at least where it matters. New regimes normally like to come in and bring in their own quarterback. This regime seems to think all this team needed was a simple scheme change. Trent Edwards behind this offensive line is a tried and failed approach. Ryan Fitzpatrick behind this offensive line is a tried and failed approach. Brian Brohm may have something, but if they thought he did, I don’t understand why you don’t upgrade the line. This line was hands down the worst in the league last year.
I don’t think Chan Gailey’s “genius” scheme is going to be enough to turn their offense around. Notice I put genius in quotation marks. Gailey’s only NFL experience since 2001 was as the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008, a team that went 2-14 and ranked 26th in the league in points per game scored and 28th in the league in yards per passing attempt.
I don’t understand why they waited until the 5th to draft an offensive lineman and the 7th to draft a quarterback. CJ Spiller is a fine player and all, but if their quarterback and their line aren’t playing well, their running game isn’t going the best it could be. Besides, it’s not like they struggled running the football last year. They were one of the best in the league and they still only won 6 games. Their defense could be alright, but if their offense isn’t playing well and the defense stay off the field, their defense isn’t going to be able to play as well as they should be able to play. The team is far from competing in this tough division.
Projection: 3-13 4th in AFC East
Power Ranking: 30
Draft:
#9 RB CJ Spiller (Clemson)
Spiller is not a starting caliber running back. He’s a really cool weapon who will help them a ton on special teams and as a 3rd down and change of pace back, but he does not fill a need. They already have Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch (who is probably on the block now), but they needed a quarterback badly, a left tackle badly, and a nose tackle badly.
For more on this, click here
Grade: C
#41 NT Torrell Troup (Central Florida)
The Bills needed a nose tackle, but Linval Joseph, Cam Thomas, and Terrence Cody were all still available. Troup is not even a starting caliber nose tackle in my mind. Taking any of those nose tackles would have been smart, as would taking Jimmy Clausen, or a left tackle, but they reached for a player.
Grade: D
#72 3-4 DE Alex Carrington (Arkansas State)
Carrington is a good player and fits the scheme, but the Bills didn’t really need another 3-4 end. They signed Dwan Edwards and they already had Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams, so I don’t understand the need to take a guy like Carrington when they still need a quarterback and someone to protect the quarterback.
Grade: C-
#107 WR Marcus Easley (Connecticut)
I am really happy to see Marcus Easley get drafted because of his story as a former walk on, but the Bills really need to start address needs with more value. They don’t have a quarterback. They don’t have anyone to protect the quarterback, but they take a wide receiver who is a bit of a reach here.
Grade: D
#140 OT Ed Wang (Virginia Tech)
He fills their need at left tackle, but I don’t think he actually helps them. Wang is not a good pass protector. He really struggled in the Senior Bowl and was extremely inconsistent last year. But, at least he fills a need, position wise.
Grade: B-
#178 RLB Austin Moats (James Madison)
They needed a quarterback, but this is their best pick so far. They need a rush linebacker opposite Aaron Maybin and Moats projects nicely into their 3-4 longterm. He fits right into the draft range and helps them get after their opponent’s quarterback, which will be helpful, because, from the looks of things, the Bills are going to have mediocre quarterbacks with bad pass protection next year again.
Grade: B+
#192 RLB Danny Batten (South Dakota State)
I don’t like Batten as much as Moats. They need a quarterback, but Batten does have some positional value, even though I don’t like them double dipping on 3-4 rush linebacker guys.
Grade: C-
#209 QB Levi Brown (Troy)
They finally filled the quarterback need, but they didn’t take the right guy. This must be extremely frustrating for Bills fans. Jevan Snead and Jarrett Brown have way more upside than Brown, who doesn’t have a strong arm and really looks like a career backup guy to me.
Grade: C-
#216 OT Kyle Calloway (Iowa)
Finally a pick I like, Calloway looks like a future starter at either right tackle or right guard and I like him a lot more than Ed Wang, their 5th round pick. Calloway is a major 7th round steal and can compete with Jamon Meredith for the starting right tackle job right away. The right side of their line is pretty well off, but the left side is not.
Grade: A
Overall:
The Bills needed to draft a quarterback, a left tackle, and a nose tackle, but they didn’t draft a quarterback until the 7th round, and when they did, it was the wrong one, they didn’t draft a left tackle until the 5th, and I’m not even sure Wang won’t have to move over to the right side, and the nose tackle they drafted in the 2nd was a huge reach, not one of the best available, and was drafted over a franchise caliber quarterback guy in Jimmy Clausen. It must be frustrating to be a Bills fan. They had some decent picks, but they were few and far between.
Grade: D
Key undrafted free agents
RLB Antonio Coleman (Auburn)
WR Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo)
WR Donald Jones (Youngstown State)
S Dominique Harris (Temple)
G Cord Howard (Georgia)
RB Joique Bell (Wayne State)
CB Stephan Virgil (Virginia Tech)
Positions of need:
Offensive Tackle:
Jason Peters was traded in the offseason for a first round pick, but they never replaced him. Langston Walker was supposed to move over from right to left tackle to start the year, but he was cut a week before the season. Demetrius Bell took over and did an awful job of protecting the quarterbacks blindside and was one of the most penalized offensive tackles in the league. The offensive line, as a whole, was one of the most penalized offensive lines in the league, and, no surprise, the offense struggled. Trent Edwards had too potential 1000 yard receivers, but because he didn’t get any time in the pocket, he was benched midseason for Ryan Fitzpatrick who wasn’t much better. They need to find Peters’ replacement this year and if they do, Edwards could continue to be their quarterback of the future.
Drafted Ed Wang (#140), Drafted Kyle Calloway (#216)
Quarterback:
In case they don’t view Trent Edwards as their quarterback of the future, they may want to find a replacement at the position. It is a completely new regime in town so they may be partial to wanting to find a different guy at the quarterback position. However, after Clausen and Bradford are off the board, the quarterback position gets pretty thin unless they want to take a chance on Tim Tebow. If Clausen or Bradford fall, I doubt the Bills pass on either. If not, they will target one in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Their name has also been linked to Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb.
Drafted Levi Brown (#209)
Nose Tackle:
They were 31st in the league against the run last year and now they are switching to a 3-4 defense. They aren’t going to get better unless they add a true nose tackle to the roster which they don’t have right now. Cam Thomas could be a possibility in the 2nd round. They may not want to wait until the 3rd to address the position because this is a thin nose tackle position and they are a lot of teams that need nose tackles. They may have to make a major reach in round three for a guy like Torrell Troup or Jay Ross.
Drafted Torrell Troup (#41)
Middle Linebacker:
The Bills are making a major scheme switch from a zone style 4-3 to a 3-4 and they don’t have linebackers anywhere near big enough to play the 3-4 middle linebacker spot because a zone scheme requires speed at the linebacker position and not size. They may target Rolando McClain at 9 if they view him as the best available prospect. They have to address this need in the first 3 rounds.
Signed Andra Davis
Rush Linebacker:
If anyone is excited by the scheme switch, its undersized 2009 1st round pick Aaron Maybin, who is an ideal rush linebacker. However, they need one opposite him. They only had 32 sacks last year and Aaron Schobel, their sacks leader with 10, could be retiring.
Drafted Arthur Moats (#178), Drafted Danny Batten (#192), Signed Reggie Torbor
3-4 Defensive End:
Not a huge need, because of the lower positional value, but they need some more 3-4 personnel, especially on the defensive line. This need will only be addressed if they feel someone at the position represents best available. If Tyson Alualu falls to them in the 3rd, they could take him.
Signed Dwan Edwards, Drafted Alex Carrington (#72)
Free agents:
#10 WR Terrell Owens- signed with Bengals 1 year 2 million
Owens proved that he could still be a decent addition to a team in the second half last year with 548 yards in 8 games, but he only had 281 in his first 8 games. He caught only 55 passes, the least in any full season since his rookie year. Some of that could be blamed on the quarterbacks and on his primary role as a downfield decoy. If he were the #1 option on a team with an above average quarterback, he very well could have had another 1000 yard year. However, that being said, he’ll turn 37 in December and he hasn’t done anything to prove to me that, at that age, he deserves any more than a one year deal.
WR Josh Reed- signed with Chargers 1 year
WR Justin Jenkins
TE Derek Schouman (restricted)- resigned 1 year
TE Derek Fine
TE Joe Klopfenstein (restricted)- resigned with Bills
OT Jonathan Scott- signed with Steelers
G Richie Incognito (restricted)- not tendered, signed with Dolphins 1 year
DE Ryan Denney
DT Marcus Smith
DT Marlon Favorite
OLB Keith Ellison (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million
OLB Jon Corto (restricted)
MLB Marcus Buggs (exclusive rights)
CB Ashton Youboty (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million
S George Wilson (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million
S Bryan Scott- resigned for 2 years
S John Wendling
Offseason moves:
Bills cut DE Aaron Schobel
Bills sign RLB Reggie Torbor
Bills announce retirement of QB Gibran Hamdan
Bills cut DT Marlon Favorite
Bills sign RB Chad Simpson
Bills re-sign TE Derek Schouman
Bills re-sign CB Ashton Youboty
Bills re-sign S George Wilson
Bills re-sign OLB Keith Ellison
Bills re-sign TE Joe Klopfenstein
Bills sign OT Cornell Green
Bills re-sign S Bryan Scott
Bills tender OLB Keith Ellison
Bills tender TE Derek Schouman
Bills tender CB Ashton Youboty
Bills tender S George Wilson
Bills announce retirement of OT Brad Butler
Bills waive TE Derek Fine
Bills cut WR Justin Jenkins
Bills cut S John Wendling
Bills cut DT Marcus Smith
Bills cut MLB Ashlee Palmer
Bills cut C Marvin Philip
# refers to unrestricted free agent rank
Football Fan Spot 