Lenny P on Bills 6/6/05

[SuperBills12]

Buffalo Bills

Best move: Moving on from Drew Bledsoe (23-25 in three years as the Bills' starter) and handing the reigns to last year's first-round pick, J.P. Losman. Don't mistake this for a "step back to take a step forward" type deal. No. The Bills' brass sees Losman, despite only five pass attempts as a rookie, as an improvement over the more-proven Bledsoe. Had Losman not gotten hurt, in fact, and the Bills not gone on a late-season run, Buffalo would have started the transition last year. Losman moves much better than Bledsoe (remember, he timed 4.6 in the 40 coming out of Tulane). Expect Mularkey to utilize his QB's athleticism on rollouts, bootlegs, and designed runs, similar to what he did with Kordell Stewart in Pittsburgh. Buffalo signed veteran Kelly Holcomb from Cleveland just in case.

 

Biggest question mark: You mean besides the young quarterback and whether he can effectively lead a veteran team while shedding the "punk" perception some teammates had of him last year? Probably left tackle, then. Starter Jonas Jennings left via free agency for San Francisco, leaving the Bills with Mike Gandy to protect Losman's back side. If Gandy can't cut it, the Bills will be left scrambling, Losman especially, except more in the literal sense. Another unanswered question is: What Buffalo will get in return for unloading disgruntled running back Travis Henry, who is said to have loaded up and moved home to Florida until he's dealt? Team president Tom Donahoe may be forced to come down from his asking price of a first-day pick.

 

Bottom line: The Bills played well enough in the final three-quarters of last season to make the playoffs, only they just stunk it up against the Steelers' scrubs in the regular-season finale. Ten of 11 starters, the exception being defensive tackle Pat Williams (Minnesota), return from the league's second-ranked defense. Stud running back Willis McGahee is another year removed from the devastating knee injury he suffered at the University of Miami. Wideout Lee Evans had a strong rookie year on which to build, and Buffalo added UM speedster Roscoe Parrish in the draft. Buffalo had a quiet spring, but if Losman is what the Bills believe he is, they'll make plenty of noise come fall and winter.