Where we should go from here

[Bossman]

Here are my position by position thoughts on this past season.

 

QB – Bledsuck is terrible and has got to go. Losman has had a year in which to learn the offense, it’s time to give him the starting nod. If not now, then when? Do we sacrifice the 2006 season for J.P. to learn on the job? Better to do it now. I really believe the coaching staff regrets letting Travis Brown go. He would have been a nice option to replace Bledsoe in the middle of the season.

 

RB – McGahee or Henry? These two really caused a lot of commotion on this board. I was one of the guys who thought we should have traded Henry for maybe a 1st round pick before/during last years draft. Hind sight being 20/20 that would have been best. He probably won’t garner more than a middle 3rd if we decide to trade him now. McGahee has proven to be a stud and if the knee holds up, a prime time performer for years to come. Williams looked good in relief (except botched play between him and Bledsuck during Steelers game).

 

WR – Moulds was a bit of a disappointment, especially down the stretch. He will be entering his 10th year in ’05 and it looks like it’s time to replace him. Evans was a very nice addition and with more playing time will get even better. Reed continues to be a huge disappointment and may be gone after this year’s camp. Aiken shows some promise but doesn’t get enough reps. I still think this unit needs to be addressed during the draft. A late round pick with some height for the red zone would be nice.

 

TE – When utilized Campbell was more than sufficient. The back ups played well. This is a tough position to figure, Campbell is solid but doesn’t scare anyone. Euhus looked good as a rookie and hopefully will be able to come back from injury and continue his progression.

 

OL - Mike Williams played well as did Jonas. Teague and Villarrial were better than solid. Tucker played well, but everyone knows he is a marginal backup at best. It’s imperative that Jennings be resigned. I also believe our first pick in the draft will be used for an interior lineman.

 

DL – I thought these guys were very good. Adams & Big Pat are studs. Pat obviously needs to inked to a deal. The ends were a bit of a concern coming into the season but played very well. Look for continued improvement by Kelsay.

 

LB - Here is where I will get blasted. Fletcher is vastly over rated! He is a solid ILB, no more than that. The whole defense is geared to funnel everything to the middle and London reaps the benefits of the hard work of others. Posey is unsung but plays solid. TKO is an absolute stud! The backups are adequate.

 

CB - Very solid. If McGee continues his improvement it will be tough to resign him. Double duty as a solid corner and a great return man, may result in a team paying a ton of money for him.

 

S - Milloy & Vincent will be a great tandem for a few years but it’s time to start looking for there replacements. Wire has been given every chance to succeed and has failed miserably. It is time fro Coy to go. Baker showed promise. A mid round pick in this years draft at this position would make sense.

 

ST - Bobby April had this unit playing awesome. The only change here would/should be Lindell.

 

Coaching - Mularkey was absolutely wonderful. How he got this team to win six in a row with Bledsuck is one of the greatest coaching jobs the NFL has ever seen. When the Bills get a real player behind center look for Mularkey’s genius to really shine. Gray has proven to everyone that he is a excellent coach. Don’t get use to him being the D coordinator for too much longer. A head coaching job either in the NFL or collegiate ranks will see him gone by the 2007 season.

 

 

There you have it folks. Commence firing at my observations because I know that there are many of you out there that wrongly believe that you know more about the gridiron than I do.

[shoveldog]

Good analysis overall. I think you are wrong about Fletcher. He is one of the better ML in the league. His problem... he gets over aggressive. He over commits on plays (which is why we get big plays against up the middle on running plays from time to time and he gets a lot of those dumb penalties.) Bottom line though... he is a playa.

 

Otherwise, I think you are right on.

[ch19079]

not bad, but a few corrections.

 

bledsoe restructured last year. 2 more years and not that expensive. keep him as backup and a coach for JP.

 

if you use the name TRAVIS BROWN in serious conversations about starting QBs your crazy!!!

 

L. Fletcher is the backbone of our D.

 

Posey has done NOTHING for this team. and is getting paid 3 times as much as he should be making.

 

you cant replace moulds. but he should "renegociate" his contract to open up some cap space. and even if you could replace him, who would you replace him with??? you got another top 10 WR in mind with his experience and leadership?

 

and to say McGee is a solid corner is dificult. cus i dont think he is. hes not bad, and made some plays. but he gets beat to easaly. just look what Randel El did to him last week. i see him as a great 3rd corner, but only an average #2 who opposing Ds will look for man coveage agenst as a mismatch and take advantage.

 

clements is playing like a probowler. (just thaught i would add that)

[Fan in Chicago]

Here are my position by position thoughts on this past season.

 

 

193880[/snapback]

 

QB - don't agree that we need to get rid of DB. Start JP but keep DB to a restructured deal as #2. He won't get a starting job anywhere and if we are fortunate enough that there is such a team, we should get some draft pick(s) in return.

 

RB - If possible let TH run out his contract next year. Agree that Williams did well, but in the unfortunate event of a serious injury to WM, we need a solid back-up. Problem is, I am not sure TH's heart is in it anymore for the Bills. So maybe he should be gone.

 

WR - Don't agree with shipping Moulds. He is not reliable enough to be the #1 but may be very good as a #2 or for spot duty. Restructure and keep him, get a veteran game breaker (like Lofton was).

 

TE - We are okay here. We don't need scary players at each and every position. Shockeys and Gonzalez's are not born every minute so we need to keep what we have and concentrate on other areas of need.

 

OL - This still may be the area of greatest need. Not sure how to shuffle players and boost it. Keep Jennings ? Not if he remains injury-prone.

 

KICKER - We need to find a good, reliable and clutch kicker. Enough said !

 

In short, beef up the OL, get a new kicker, WR, switch at QB and we pretty much got a good to great team. I think MM is going to be one of the great coaches in the league. If he gets the personnel he needs in the off-season, the Bills-NE games will be a thing of beauty as two geniuses try to outwit each other. With DB not starting, BB will have to think hard at ways to beat the Bills.

[scribo]

So the bottomline of your analysis is that we need to dump Drew and London, and draft a new left guard?

 

I think it is a bit more complicated than that. Agreed that Drew must go, but I think the o-line needs a serious upgrade at LT, LG and even C. Posey needs to be demoted and a better run stuffing end needs to be brought in. Oh yeah, and we need much better depth for the OL and the defensive backfield.

[BuffaloWings]

WR – Moulds was a bit of a disappointment, especially down the stretch.  He will be entering his 10th year in ’05 and it looks like it’s time to replace him.  Evans was a very nice addition and with more playing time will get even better.  Reed continues to be a huge disappointment and may be gone after this year’s camp.  Aiken shows some promise but doesn’t get enough reps.  I still think this unit needs to be addressed during the draft.  A late round pick with some height for the red zone would be nice.

193880[/snapback]

I'd have to disagree with you on this one. Moulds needs to stay. I have no idea why he was dropping everything, but we can't go into camp with Evans and Josh Reed as 1-2. The Moulds and Evans tandem actually scares people now.

LB  -  Here is where I will get blasted.  Fletcher is vastly over rated!  He is a solid ILB, no more than that.  The whole defense is geared to funnel everything to the middle and London reaps the benefits of the hard work of others.  Posey is unsung but plays solid.  TKO is an absolute stud!  The backups are adequate.

193880[/snapback]

Fletcher is the QB of the defense. This isn't a comparison, but he's to the Bills what Mike Singletary was to the Bears. He knows the defense as well as Jerry Gray does. He's part of the unit that can't be replaced right now.

ST -  Bobby April had this unit playing awesome.  The only change here would/should be Lindell.

193880[/snapback]

Agreed. April was a Godsend. Note how many times Clements did not get a chance to return a punt on Sunday. That's like walking Barry Bonds with the bases empty and 2 outs. Shows a ton of respect...

[DeeRay]

I'll say that Fletcher is a damn good player.... period. He aint over paid. He plays every game... covers WRs, RBs, TEs, blitzes... he's an every down player and a special teams warrior to boot.... He is a good value...period. Yes... he has an occaision brain fart and gets penalized for stupid stuff... but when you look at the big picture... leading the team in tackles year in and year out and all the other stuff... he is a player you want.

 

As far as the other positional analysis...

 

I'll agree with you on Bledsoe. However, on grading the rest of the offense, you kinda short change everyone... simply because they had to live with Bledsoe. The car can only go as fast as the driver allows it to... It will be great to see JP in there as the starter... All of the offensive players are suddenly going to be playing way better than they have. There may be issues early on, because he is still sort of a rookie... However... if you compare him to Carson Palmer's situation.... They both have similar weapons. Palmer was healthy all last year, but never took a snap and got the starting nod. He was not real productive the first 4 or 5 games... then he strted putting up numbers before he got hurt. At least JP played in a few games and got some snaps... plus working with Sam Wyche and Tom C also gives him an advantage that I don't think Palmer had.

[Bossman]

you cant replace moulds. but he should "renegociate" his contract to open up some cap space. and even if you could replace him, who would you replace him with??? you got another top 10 WR in mind with his experience and leadership?

 

Didn't people say the same thing about Andre Reed? All's I'm saying is that his cap hit did not match his return this season. And the cap hit will be what? 8.5 this season? Is he worth that?

[RuntheDamnBall]

I'll say that Fletcher is a damn good player.... period.  He aint over paid.  He plays every game... covers WRs, RBs, TEs, blitzes... he's an every down player and a special teams warrior to boot.... He is a good value...period.  Yes... he has an occaision brain fart and gets penalized for stupid stuff... but when you look at the big picture... leading the team in tackles year in and year out and all the other stuff... he is a player you want.

194018[/snapback]

I think the thing about Fletcher is he has great production but doesn't get a lot of sacks or INTs, and we aren't inundated with his name by the media. He gets zero attention because there are several other good MLBs in the league with more notoriety.

[ganesh]

Good post...My comments

 

QB: I think they should let both JP and DB compete for the starting spot. Whoever wins the spot gives the bills the best chance to win.

 

RB: Remember TD owns the cards in this game. He does not have to trade

TH next year. So either the player rots one more year or another team has

to wait for another year to get him. My guess is if the trade happens before

the draft then we probably get a 2nd rounder this year. If the trade happens

after the draft, then we probably can get a conditional pick for him that can

be a 1st rounder next year if he plays the daylights out.

 

WR: Moulds will stay. Reed might be gone..With Aiken entering his3rd year

we might let him compete for the 3rd spot with a FA acquisition.

 

TE: Campbell was ok and Euhus was really coming on. Neufield will be fighting

for a roster spot come next year.

 

OL: Need a starting caliber LG. Re-sign JJ has to be a priority. Line needs

continuity..You cannot have two new starters on the left side of the line. We

might start 0-3 again.

 

DL: Need to resign PW to a capfriendly deal. Otherwise, need Anderson, and

Edwards to step up in their 2nd and 4th years. Denney might be the odd man

out, especially if they sign some mid-level FA.

 

LB: Fletcher tends to overplay the ball, but he is the heart and sould of this

defense and a strong leader. That has been one position we have not had to

worry in 4 years. Need more depth and Posey might be in trouble.

 

CB: Need more depth. Need to re-sign McGee to a deal. Clements might

get franchised next year. I wish they had re-signed him to a long-term deal

this year, using some of the cap-dollars available.

 

Safety: Need better depth...Vincent and Milloy are not getting any younger.

Wire might be on the bubble to not make the team