Recovering: Who is most important to Bills success this season?

[JuanGuzman]

Why isn't Fitz on the list?

 

I'd second that, his play (like most bills) fell off in the second half. Some people are attributing this to RIB injury suffered against Washington. If he was indeed injury he'd top my list. you pretty much live and die by the QB in the NFL, some teams are able to buck the trend, but in general the Bill's will need to have superior QB performance for the team to succeed( re plyaoffs).

[Dragonborn10]

Great topic, and perfect use of the polls. Love it.

Totally agree... Intersting choices. At first glance you would think Freddie but with CJ on the roster his recovery is not as crucial as Wood and Williams. The other way of looking at it is Freddie and Stevie are alomst 100% sure to be healthy and ready to go. Merriman looks good. Williams and Wood are big question marks if they will be ready by season opener. And lastly Easley is just a mystery.

[RealityCheck]

I believe it's the pilot.

[DefenseWinzChampionshipz]

With all the additions on the defensive front I don't understand how Kyle's role would be more important than Wood's. My priorities would be :

 

1) Eric Wood - Because without him, we have no line... Glenn is not proven yet...

 

2) Kyle Williams - Pro Bowl guy... What don't we love about the guy really? Without him we had no defensive front. This year is different with the additions of Mario and Anderson but none of those guys play DT so Kyle is just as important as last year...

 

3) Fred Jackson - C.J. showed he could handle the running game without Fred but I'm still team Fred. Sorry...

 

4) Stevie - What other WR do we have again? Now that I realized Stevie is our only proven WR, without editing I would like to put Stevie at number 3 and Freddy at 4...

 

5) Merriman, McGee - Both of them are above average players in their positions. If they can contribute ANYTHING at all this year will only make us that much better on D... They can mentor the youngsters off field all day but the best way to teach is on the field...

[billsfan89]

1- Kyle Williams- A huge part of our defensive lines potential dominance is going to be related to how well K.Williams can come back.

2- Eric Wood- A big reason why our O-line fell apart was the loss of Eric Wood. If he comes back its a huge boost to out O-line.

3- Stevie Johnson- Our primary offensive threat can't have him get hurt, however his injury is very minor so not really worried.

4- Fred Jackson- Would be higher but Spiller isn't a bad option as a fall back, but Fred provides a lot to the offense.

5- Merriman- You need a deep pass rush and if Merriman can come back it really adds depth to the pass rush.

[DrDawkinstein]

So would you rather have a pro bowl LT or a pro bowl C? I disagree that C is the key position on the line. Of course you'd rather have a good player there than a bad one, but the drop off is less noticeable than if you lost one of the other line positions.

 

Also.. can you name the C for the giants? You can win championships without a good C...

 

Probowl Center. Every time.

 

A Line's strength comes from the inside-out. The Cardinals went to the Super Bowl with Mike Gandy at LT. The Steelers went with Jonathan Scott at LT.

 

David Baas, the Center for the Giants, is a very good player and was a big FA acquisition for them before last season. In fact, he was their only/main FA acquisition.

 

Baas, a Center, was selected in the 2nd round by the 49ers (33rd overall). The Giants LT, Diehl, who is a good player in his own right, was a 5th round pick.

 

Going back to the Bills Glory Years, our entire OL's success revolved around Kent Hull as their leader.

Edited June 1, 2012 by DrDareustein

[Billsrhody]

Probowl Center. Every time.

 

A Line's strength comes from the inside-out. The Cardinals went to the Super Bowl with Mike Gandy at LT. The Steelers went with Jonathan Scott at LT.

 

David Baas, the Center for the Giants, is a very good player and was a big FA acquisition for them before last season. In fact, he was their only/main FA acquisition.

 

Baas, a Center, was selected in the 2nd round by the 49ers (33rd overall). The Giants LT, Diehl, who is a good player in his own right, was a 5th round pick.

 

Going back to the Bills Glory Years, our entire OL's success revolved around Kent Hull as their leader.

 

Tom Brady was a 5th round pick. Ryan Leaf was a 1st round pick. What does their draft position have to do with anything?

 

I have to disagree with your assessment of value on the 2 positions. If you want to talk about the draft.. why not talk about something relevant. Like the fact that LT are constantly picked in the top 5 draft choices and C don't usually start going until the 2nd round. Doesn't that mean anything about the value that NFL GMs and coaches see in the 2 positions?

 

You can make your argument that you dont need a good LT to win a superbowl, but I can easily make the same argument that you don't need a good C.

 

Giants: Baas

Packers: Wells

Saints: Goodwin

Steelers: Hartwig

 

Thats just the last 4 years. There's a reason that the average fan has not heard of most of the guys on that list.

 

If you think C is more valuable than LT, than you're ignoring some obvious evidence that points against that argument.

[ieatcrayonz]

the guy who makes the most should perform the best

Well we have a guy who signed a huge contract and then discovered he had a boo boo foot.

[CSBill]

Well we have a guy who signed a huge contract and then discovered he had a boo boo foot.

 

Really? You don't think his injury was that serious? This guy is a difference maker, that's why I put him first. And you may be the only one in the world that questions his effort. There's a reason he's leading the voting.

[Rockinon]

I agree that Wood is a critical piece. When he went down last year, a bunch of linemen had to be shuffled to another position. This ruins stability on the offensive line as a whole. Look at Levitre who had to play center and then later LT instead of his natural position(Guard). While Levitre was not in his natural position a second stringer had to come in and play in his spot. But it is true that Wood is not as critical as last year was because now we have more quality depth to replace him if he can't go. Still, Wood is a crucial piece of this line. He is the only center on this team who does not take a step back when facing the big nose tackles in this league....the only one.

 

Now that I've got that out of the way, I say the most important to come back from injury....

1. Fred Jackson
   
2. Kyle Williams
   
3. Stevie Johnson
   
4. Eric Wood
   
5. Shawne Merriman
   
6. Marcus Easly
   

 

Fred Jackson because he is the heart and soul of the offense. Kyle Williams because he is the heart and soul of the defense. Stevie Johnson because Fitz needs him. Eric Wood, see above. Shawne Merriman because this team can't have too many pass rushers. Marcus Easly because I just did not like what I was seeing happen to the offense when we lost our top 2 WRs. We need depth at that position.

 

I'd second that, his play (like most bills) fell off in the second half. Some people are attributing this to RIB injury suffered against Washington. If he was indeed injury he'd top my list. you pretty much live and die by the QB in the NFL, some teams are able to buck the trend, but in general the Bill's will need to have superior QB performance for the team to succeed( re plyaoffs).

Perhaps. I think that Fitzy's drop off last year had more to do with the loss of talent around him than his own injury. The offensive line was repetitively shuffled around, wide receivers were dropping like flies, the defense wasn't giving him many opportunities to get back on the field(leaving him with the tall task of trying to make something happen without those key players around him).

 

He may have been hurt, but he was still in there. That would not have happened if he didn't think he could help the team.

 

Oh yea, great post!

Edited June 1, 2012 by Rockinon

[sfbillsfan]

I believe it's the pilot.

What about the Jills?

[Beerball]

My list:

Fred Jackson

Eric Wood

Stevie Johnson

Kyle Williams

[Rockinon]

What about the Jills?

Oh no! Did one of them break a nail?

[missthe kgun]

Great poll, Great Topic!

 

 

I went with Wood, because plain and simple after he went down last year, the line was in shambles!

 

 

Go Bills!!!!

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Great topic.

 

I have little to add other than I voted Freddy because all things being equal I go with a premier skill-position player over a lineman… unless that lineman is a premier pass rusher.

 

It's far from a clear cut argument though and there are compelling cases to be made for several of the players.

[NoSaint]

Depends on "success"

 

The guy that turns a good team into elite is merriman - having a healthy explosive merriman is lethal.

 

Freddie is my choice if success is making incremental progress over last year and consistency

[BillyBaroo]

Depends on "success"

 

The guy that turns a good team into elite is merriman - having a healthy explosive merriman is lethal.

 

Freddie is my choice if success is making incremental progress over last year and consistency

Has anyone ever truly made a successful comeback from an Achilles?

[NewEra]

My vote is to Kyle. While I think Fred is our best player, his backup is very good. As another poster said, if Kyle is healthy and plays his "A" game, we could have one of the best defenses in football. When you have one of the best defenses in football, you can win any game. Kyle gets my vote. Fred is a close second. If fitz were on the list, he'd be my 2nd. Qb is the most important position, by far. The difference between fitz before and after injury is monumental. Some think it's partly due to his injury as well as injuries to wood, Fred, jones, LT, chandler and Stevie. Whichever it may be, fitz needs to play like he did before his rib injury. If he plays like he did after injury, we're in BIG trouble.

[You herd it hear last]

if by recover you mean playing to their full potential, then Merriman, by a mile. I would argue his proven play-making ability has the highest ceiling. he, not Mario, would make our D the most feared in football...

[Jeffery Lester]

Why isn't Fitz on the list?

Thank you.... I was waiting to see this post or one similar to this. This team went in the tank once Fitz was injured and could not play like expected. He did not go on IR granted. But he is the key to this year. But if you need an answer to your question as is. I would say Woods. If we get a full season from him the O line could be a flesh eating monster.