Quarterback

Pittsburgh

6-2 211

40 time (projected): 4.96

Draft board overall prospect rank: #113

Draft board quarterback rank: #7

Overall rating: 66*

            3/22/10: Bill Stull is a bit raw as a quarterback prospect and very inexperienced, but there are a lot of things to like about him as a quarterback prospect and a future NFL starting quarterback. Stull has started 2 years at Pittsburgh at the quarterback position. He struggled a bit in 2008 with a mere 57% completion percentage and 10 picks to 9 touchdowns, but the 25 sacks he took probably had something to do with that. He bounced back behind an improved offensive line in 2009 leading upstart Pittsburgh with a 65% completion percentage, a 8.2 YPA, and 21 touchdowns to 8 picks. I realize that one good year is not enough to say, he’s going to be a future starter, but when you consider that those stats were all while running a Pro Style offense at Pittsburgh, against fairly tough competition. He’s got a good arm and has made countless pro style throws in his time at Pittsburgh. He’s not the star Colt McCoy is, but I actually like his chances to be a future starting quarterback better than McCoy’s because of his stronger arm, his experience putting up good production in a Pro Style offense, and because of his more mature reads. He has everything you look for in an NFL quarterback. He did not receive a Combine invite and probably will not be drafted in the first 4 rounds, but I could definitely see him following in the footsteps of guys like Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger, and Jake Delhomme, going from a relatively unknown prospect, to an NFL backup, to an NFL starter for a winning team. All he needs is a team to take a chance on him and then to get lucky and get a shot to start.

NFL Comparison: Jake Delhomme 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

The Bills began the season as the worst team in the league, starting 0-8 before finally beating the Lions by 2 week 10. The Bills would go on to win 4 of their next 6 games, but some argue that wasn’t in the best interest of the franchise. The Bills finished the season 4-12, out of reach of the #1 overall draft pick and Andrew Luck. Ryan Fitzpatrick was decent at times this year, but it was glaringly obvious on many occasions that he’s not the guy who can take this time back to the playoffs.

Overall they had their ups and downs this season. The 0-8 start was certainly depressing, but from week 6 to week 15, they only lost one game by more than 3 points. Losses to the Jets (38-14 and 38-7) as well as 7 turnovers in a 34-3 loss to the Patriots week 16, were certainly low points for this team.

Ryan Fitzpatrick grew a bit of a cult following with the fans in Buffalo. Here was a scrappy kid, a career backup from Harvard who didn’t have all the physical skills, but could get the job done, and the fans loved that when he won, but in their losses his flaws were easily identifiable, namely that he lacked the ability to consistently throw an accurate deep ball. Fitz will probably remain the quarterback in 2011, but they need to look at alternatives for the future. It helps Fitzpatrick’s chances that coach Chan Gailey really likes him and, for the time being, it seems Gailey’s job is safe despite the 4-12 record.

This team has a long way to go before it can become a playoff team, but with a strong draft this year they can work way their way there. A new quarterback is needed, but so are a lot of other things. This isn’t a one year fix, but if it’s fixed right, they can make the playoffs in 2 or 3 years, something this team hasn’t done in a long time.

9/3/11: Shawne Merriman looked decent this preseason. He’s hardly “lights out” again, but if he be even half of his old self, that’ll be a big boost to Buffalo’s pass rush, which sacked Chicago 9 times in their preseason opener. Ryan Fitzpatrick looked good too, despite the loss of Lee Evans.

The last time the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs, Bill Clinton was still president (1999). The main reason for that is inconsistent (or consistently bad) quarterback play. Is Ryan Fitzpatrick that quarterback to get them back to the playoffs? I doubt it. Chan Gailey’s offense has always inflated quarterbacks’ stats (Tyler Thigpen anyone?) without getting real results in terms of points and wins. Plus, Fitzpatrick’s 23 passing touchdowns from 2010 are a little misleading. The Bills only had 6 rushing touchdowns all last year so it’s not like they were scoring a lot.

The Bills do have one thing going for them. They are one of 11 teams that has the same head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, and starting quarterback as last year. That has to give them an advantage going into this season, coming off of a lockout. They will be better than they were last year, when they switched quarterbacks midseason. Hell, they’ll be better than they were last year based solely on the fact that Trent Edwards won’t start any games for them this season. Bills fans can look forward to that, I guess.

Unfortunately, that might be all they have to look forward to. Their offensive line was decent against the pass rush last season, but really struggled to run block. One of two new starters on their offensive line is right guard Kraig Urbik. Urbik, a 2009 3^rd round pick, will get his first chance to start this season over Cord Howard, who was terrible last year, and Geoff Hangartner, who will now backup Eric Wood at center, his natural position. Wood, meanwhile, is a 2009 1^st round pick. Unlike most of Buffalo’s first round picks, he’s still on the roster, but he’s not a great player or anything. He would be best described as decent.

The other new starter on the offensive line is Erik Pears, a career journeyman backup who will somehow start for the Bills this season. He should struggle, which could force 4^th round rookie Chris Hairston into the starting lineup. The line side of their line is fine. Demetrius Bell rebounded from a terrible 2009 with a decent 2010 season at left tackle. Meanwhile, left guard Andy Levitre might be their best offensive lineman, though that isn’t saying much.

Buffalo should be able to run the ball once again, in spite of their line’s terrible run blocking. Fred Jackson remains one of the league’s most underrated backs. He’s 30, but he doesn’t have a ton of career carries (remember he was a late bloomer) so he should have another solid year in him. They also have CJ Spiller, the 9^th overall pick in 2010, as the backup. Rookie Johnny White will be their 3^rd string running back and won’t see much action unless someone suffers an injury ahead of him. Unfortunately, this team has done well on the ground for the best two seasons and where has that gotten them? This is a passing league and they will once again struggle to throw the ball.

Steve Johnson is a legitimate deep threat #1 receiver for Fitzpatrick, though he does occasionally get a case of the dropsies (6 drops in a loss to the Steelers last year, although apparently that was God’s fault, so there’s that). However, after him, their options kind of suck. Lee Evans is gone and Donald Jones is expected to start is his place. While he has some promise, I don’t expect too much from him. Tight end is even bleaker. Scott Chandler, who has one career catch, is penciled in as the starter. Yikes!

Defensively, things don’t get much better. Good defenses have to be able to get to the quarterback and this team can’t. They had a mere 27 sacks last year. Marcell Dareus will help a little bit, but remember this is a lockout shortened offseason. He won’t be nearly as effective as he would have been in a normal year. Plus, it’s not like he is some sort of Ndamukong Suh esque pass rusher. His strength is against the run, though he can contribute as a pass rusher. After nose tackle Kyle Williams, 5.5 sacks, no one had more than 3.5 sacks on this team last year, so Dareus sadly could be their 2^nd best pass rusher this year.

The only way this pass rush is anything other than terrible to mediocre next year is if Shawne Merriman finds his “lights out” form. However, it’s not like Merriman was “lights out” two years ago or anything like that. His last good season was 2007. He’s a long shot to even stay healthy, let alone be a solid contributor.

Opposite Merriman at the other rush linebacker slot is Chris Kelsay, who had 3.5 sacks last year. He’s also on the decline of his career at age 31 and it’s not like he’s ever been a great pass rusher (career high 5.5 sacks). Danny Batten has some upside at the position, but overall, it looks pretty bleak. Rounding out the defensive line next to Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams will be Dwan Edwards. Edwards, a top reserve in Baltimore prior, got paid big bucks last offseason to start in Buffalo. He managed one sack. The Bills hope 2010 3^rd round pick Alex Carrington can take the job from him, but so far he has yet to do so.

Finishing off the front 7 are Nick Barnett and Andra Davis, two marginal players older than 30. Paul Posluszny might not have been a great fit for their 3-4, but they will miss him now that he has signed in Jacksonville. Rookie 3^rd rounder Kelvin Sheppard could start at some point this season, but not because he’s great or anything, but out of necessity. 2^nd year player Arthur Moats is also in the mix as is Reggie Torbor.

The secondary is the strength of the defense. Leodis McKelvin and Terrence McGee are both solid starters. The team drafted Aaron Williams in the 2^nd round to be the nickel back, but then signed incumbent nickel back Drayton Florence to a 3 year deal, a peculiar move. However, they do go 4 deep at the position, not a bad thing. Jairus Byrd at free safety intercepted 9 passes as a rookie in 2009, but managed just one last season. Still, he’s an above average starter. Opposite him, they lost Donte Whitner in free agency, but his backup George Wilson is actually better than he was.

Overall, the Bills continuity in this lockout shortened offseason should be able to help this team win a few more games than they should, but the talent just isn’t there. It hasn’t been there for a long time. The good news for Bills fans, your team might not finish in last place. At least the Bills have their starting quarterback situation figured out, more than you can say about Miami.

Quarterback: C-

Running backs: B

Receiving corps: D

Offensive line: C-

Run defense: C-

Pass rush: C+

Pass coverage: B-

Projection: 7-9 3^rd in AFC East

By Cormac Eklof 

Buffalo Bills (0-2) at New England Patriots (1-1)

This could have been a close game. The Patriots are reeling after a nightmare second half last weekend against the Jets. They themselves are in something of a transition. This could have been the week that the Bills broke the insane streak of 13 straight losses to the Brady Bunch. Instead, Buffalo are making changes at QB and are showcasing a washed up veteran RB instead of riding a healthy young future stud. Lynch is vulturing half Spiller’s carries just so the Bills can get something good in return for a trade from someone desperate for running back help, like Green Bay. Or New England for that matter. Chopping and changing like this the week before traveling to New England is not a recipe for success. Combining the Bills tactics with the Patriots anger from losing last week, with Brady, Welker and Wilfork’s professionalism, with the fact that the game is in New England, with history telling us the Patriots this decade always come back hard after a loss, it’s impossible to see anything but a serious trouncing for the over matched Bills here.

New England 42-13

http://irishbaseballseason.blogspot.com/ 

Defensive End

The Bills managed just 28 sacks in 2011. Marcell Dareus led the way with 5.5 sacks, while Chris Kelsay had 5. After those two, no one had more than 3. They’re switching to a 4-3 defense. They’ll be set at defensive tackle with Marcell Dareus shifting inside next to Kyle Williams, who is expected to make a full recovery from foot surgery. However, defensive end is a different story. Chris Kelsay can be one starter, but he’s a declining player at age 32, 33 in October. At the other defensive end position, they don’t really have anyone. This should be their priority during the draft. I expect them to take either Quinton Coples, Whitney Mercilus, Melvin Ingram, or Courtney Upshaw at 10 and maybe another end at another point. They really need to improve their pass rush.

Tight End

The Bills raised some eyebrows when they started Scott Chandler, a 2007 4^th round pick with one career catch, at tight end. The 6-7 263 pound Chandler was a solid blocker, but managed 38 catches for 389 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. He’s a free agent and if he’s brought back, it should be as a run blocking red zone threat in two tight end sets. They’ll need a complimentary tight end. If Dwayne Allen or Coby Fleener are available when they draft in the 2^nd round, they could be the pick.

Wide Receiver

Steve Johnson just had another great season, catching 76 passes for 1004 yards and 7 touchdowns. However, he’s a free agent. He’ll need to be resigned. Opposite him, neither David Nelson nor Donald Jones were all that impressive this season. Bills GM Buddy Nix mentioned that he wanted to add a big bodied receiver this offseason. This is a strong wide receiver class in free agency, so they may go that route. They could also spend a pick in rounds 2-4 on a receiver, because this is also a pretty deep wide receiver draft class.

Quarterback

I don’t know if these two things were related, but Ryan Fitzpatrick really struggled after being given a long term extension last season. They have an out in his contract that would save them a lot of money, but I expect him to be brought back because there really isn’t a better option available to them. However, they could still use a mid rounder on a developmental quarterback behind him.

Offensive Tackle

Demetrius Bell has grown into a very good left tackle. However, he can’t stay healthy. He was really good in limited action this season, but has just once played more than 8 games in the last 4 seasons. He’s also a free agent. In his absence, Chris Hairston wasn’t very good. Buddy Nix (who is very candid about these things) said that he wants Bell to return for the right price, but that they’d also be looking at offensive tackles in the draft.

Cornerback

Nix also said that he wanted to add two more cornerbacks to the mix. This makes sense. They have some aging players at the position and their lack of depth was exposed this season. One of them should be a young cornerback through the draft to pair with 2011 2^nd round pick Aaron Williams for the future. Leodis McKelvin seems more comfortable as a nickelback, depth cornerback type.

Outside Linebacker

They’re making the switch to a 4-3 without sufficient 4-3 outside linebacker depth. Kelvin Sheppard is probably the middle linebacker, while Nick Barnett is expected to move outside. They’ll need one more linebacker outside, however, because I don’t think Danny Batten is the best fit for a 4-3. Meanwhile, Barnett is getting up there in age so they might want to find a future successor. Kirk Morrison could be an option if he’s resigned. He didn’t play much in their 3-4, but he would be a better fit in a 4-3.

Free agency priorities

Tight End 

Their leading receiver at tight end had 12 catches for 111 yards. That’s just sad. They didn’t draft one, so hopefully they can find one through free agency.

Wide receiver

Lee Evans is at the point where his salary greatly exceeds his production. They should cut him and find a cheaper alternative.

Rush Linebacker

Chris Kelsay, Shawne Merriman, and Aaron Maybin weren’t the answers last year and unless Maybin breaks out and Merriman finds his 2006 form, they won’t be the answers this year. For some reason, they neglected to draft a rush linebacker. Maybe they’re looking at free agents.

Draft Needs

Quarterback

It became painfully obvious that Ryan Fitzpatrick was not the answer down the stretch, but at that point they had won too many games and cost themselves a shot at Andrew Luck. If they like Ryan Mallett or Cam Newton enough, they can take him at 3, or trade down and get one of them later. Most likely, they’ll either just draft a developmental quarterback in the 2^nd round on or not draft a quarterback at all just give it another go next year with Fitz and a better supporting cast.

3-4 Defensive End

The Buffalo ranked dead last in the league against the run this year after ranking 30^th last year so the switch to a 3-4 defense didn’t really help their run defense. They also ranked 29^th in the league with a mere 27 sacks. Nick Fairley is a legitimate option for the Bills at 3.

Drafted Marcell Dareus (#3) 

Rush Linebacker

Focusing on their 27 sacks, the Bills desperately need a #1 pass rushing linebacker for their 3-4 scheme. Aaron Maybin, who should have been a natural for their 3-4 scheme, really struggled in his 2^nd season so the 2009 1^st round pick can be considered a bust. Chris Kelsay led all Bills linebackers with 3 sacks.

Offensive Tackle

If the Bills are going to go ahead with Ryan Fitzpatrick next season at quarterback, they need to upgrade the offensive tackle position. While their interior line is talented, they lack talent at both tackle spots. They want a good offensive line when they eventually add a rookie quarterback.

Drafted Chris Hairston (#122) 

Cornerback

Depth is needed at the cornerback position. Their 16^th ranked pass defense isn’t great, but it needs a bit of help.

Drafted Aaron Williams (#34), Drafted Justin Rogers (#206) 

Wide Receiver

Lee Evans’ abilities have really gone south and he is owed a lot of money next season. They may cut him and in that case, they’d need a receiver opposite Steve Johnson.

Middle Linebacker

The Bills made the transition to the 3-4 without an adequate number of true 3-4 inside linebackers. Depth is needed. 

Drafted Kelvin Sheppard (#68), Drafted Chris White (#169) 

() FA Rank 

QB Brian Brohm

TE David Martin

TE Jonathan Stupar

TE Scott Chandler

3-4 DE Marcus Stroud- signed with Patriots 2 years

3-4 DE John McCargo

MLB Paul Posluszny (#24)

Posluszky had 155 tackles last year, 2^nd most in the league, and has 375 tackles in 3 years as a starter. He also has experience in a 3-4 and a 4-3.

MLB Keith Ellison

MLB Akin Ayodele

CB Drayton Florence

CB Ashton Youboty

S Donte Whitner

S George Wilson- resigned 3 years

S Jon Corto- resigned 

Offseason moves:

Resigned Jon Corto

Resigned Donte Whitner

Cut Marcus Stroud

Draft 

By Steve Janis 

Haha.. yeah the Buffalo Bills aren’t going to to lose this week. HEY OOO! Plus we as Bills fans get to actually watch some good football the whole weekend. We won’t be subjected to an awful 0-5 team with no upside, draft busts all over the place and an old mediocre head coach. The only question for the rest of the season other than if Aaron Maybin can get the field is whether the Bills are historically bad, meaning 0-16.

The defense is clearly inept. Any time the team needs a stop or a big play or even a freakin sack the Bills D will fail. The change to 3-4 was a blunder of all blunders. There may not be one player in the front 7 that is a capable 3-4 player. The team has six total sacks this season( two are from DBs one from a player that got cut). They can’t get to the quarterback, they can’t get any pressure and it kills any chance of the secondary playing well. Then again even if there was pressure wouldn’t our safeties still get burned? This defense is the worst in the league and may be the worst of the decade.

Unfortunately, or fortunately if you want the Bills to run the table in reverse, the offense may be equally as abysmal. How is there still no tightend on the roster worth mentioning (7 total receptions by a TE this season)? Nix and co. knew Nelson would be out at least 4 games and your only other tight end is named Stupar. Jeez, bring someone else in. The offensive line is bad. There is no depth and the tackles are not starting caliber. Ryan Fitzpatrick is Ryan Fitzpatrick a subpar journeyman loser. For every good play he makes there are two that kill the team.

Basically this team could easily lose their next eleven games. Let’s take a quick look at the schedule:

Week 7 – @ Baltimore

Easily a loss, even more of a reason it is a definite L, I’ll be there.

Week 8 – @ Kansas City

Much better than the Bills at this point. They still aren’t good but have way more talent, we could keep it close but definitely will lose in a tough environment.

Week 9 – Chicago in Toronto

This game will be ugly and could be played in front of the worst audience of all time. The Bills don’t win in Toronto.

Week 10 – Lions

First chance the Bills have of winning a game. The crowd will be a non-factor but the Lions don’t ever win on the road. Stafford may torch us and we will be a dawg at home to Detroit, ouch.

Week 11 – @ Cincinnati

Cinci isn’t good but the Bills are much worse and aren’t winning a game on the road.

Week 12 – Pittsburgh

Rapelisraper makes his return to Buffalo and will kill us and prob rape some chicks.

Week 13 – @ Minnesota

Bret might be IR’d by this time but that dome is loud. If Minny has any playoff chance this will be a blow out even against Tarvaris.

Week 14 – Cleveland

This may be the #1 pick bowl. Cleveland has won three straight but Colt McCoy? Hmm tough to predict. Hopefully Brohm is in by now.

Week 15 @ Miami

Rivalry but we aren’t winning on the road c’mon.

Week 16 – New England

Make that 15 straight L’s v N.E.

Week 17 – @ Jets

0-15 against a team with probably nothing to play for? Will we have the #1 overall locked up by now? Could be a game we would win.

1-15 Billieve it

http://wnywatercooler.blogspot.com/

OT Mike Adams (Ohio State)

S Mark Barron (Alabama)

WR Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)

DE Andre Branch (Clemson)

G James Brown (Troy)

MLB Tank Carder (TCU)

CB Morris Claiborne (LSU)

QB Kirk Cousins (Michigan State)

DT Fletcher Cox (Mississippi)

DE Vinny Curry (Marshall)

CB Jamell Fleming (Oklahoma)

CB Stephon Gilmore (South Carolina)

G Cordy Glenn (Georgia)

MLB Dont’a Hightower (Alabama)

DE Melvin Ingram (South Carolina)

OLB Bruce Irvin (West Virginia)

DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse)

OT Matt Kalil (USC)

CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)

MLB Luke Kuechly (Boston College)

OT Jonathan Martin (Stanford)

DE Shea McClellin (Boise State)

CB DeQuan Menzie (Alabama)

DE Whitney Mercilus (Illinois)

QB Brock Osweiler (Arizona State)

WR Brian Quick (Appalachian State)

RB Trent Richardson (Alabama)

CB Central Florida (UCF)

QB Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M)

DE Olivier Vernon (Miami)

QB Russell Wilson (Wisconsin)