PFW: Bills hope to give Evans bigger role

[jumbalaya]

Now it is the Bills fault that Lee Evans sucks! Before it was JP;s TE's and RF's, the porous line, the coaching, TO, no TO, Stevie wasn't good so Lee got doubled, Stevie was good so did not throw to Lee, blah blah blah. They give this guy more chances and he just does not show up. His stats since he signed his contract are staggering inadequate.

[ganesh]

 

 

Sad as it is to say JP was the only guy that was really able to take advantage of what Lee brings to the table. You have to have the QB who has the cannon to get him the ball and use that speed. Otherwise he is relegated to drawing double coverage deep more of a decoy than every play threat.\

 

You actually nailed it yourself. Lee is a one-trick pony and only play he was good @ was catch the bomb thrown by Losman (Not that, it was bad). When it came to Short Routes and Quick throws, Lee has been found wanting to make those catches and make Yards After Catch (YAC), something that Johnson did consistently last year. I am not a Lee Evans hater, just sick of the excuses being thrown around here for Lee and dreaming that he is a true #1 WR. Last year both statistically and play wise, Johnson was the better player than Evans. Time will tell how good each of them will end up.

 

Inconsistent play and Musical Chair at the QB position affects all the WRs. The same rules applies to all of them. Again, I saw Johnshon being double covered a lot and yet was able to break free.

 

One problem with getting Lee involved in this offense has been the lack of play action. Without a good running game, we have really struggled to add this aspect to our playbook consistently. Without play action (or the time for it), a deep threat like Lee is not a very useful toy and as you say he is primarily forced to be a decoy. The key really comes down to: Can Lee be part of the short and mid-range game...that is where Johnson excelled last year. If we can, then Fitz can definitely get the ball to him, just like how he was able to get to Nelson or Johnson or to even Parrish.

 

 

That being said it appears that there is a concerted effort to get Lee more involved. Fitz wants him more involved. Chan wants him to run some routes that he hasn't been asked to do before. I hope we can really get this thing back on track and be a surprise team for 2011.

 

I would love to see Evans be part of the short/mid range game and use his explosion to get YAC. I also want to see Evans be a blocker like a Hines Ward. Hines Ward makes his presence felt on the field on every play, even when he is not catching the ball. You want to put fear into your opponents just by your presence. I hope Lee will be able to do that one day for this team.

Edited June 14, 2011 by ganesh