Bill from NYC Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 Defense: I think that our DL will be better than average this season. Although certainly not a great, nor even very good player, Anderson will be in his prime, and I expect more from him this year. Tripplet will offer a consistent pass rush from the DT slot, something the team was lacking for many years. Count me as one who is a believer in Williams, but he IS young. Denney and Kelsy are also hitting their primes. As far as Schobel, I hope he stays healthy because imo, he is approaching greatness. Yeah, I said that. Greatness. Not Bruce Smith great, because that is all-time greatness, but I predict a 15 sack season from a healthy AS. The LBs cannot be realistically assesed imo because of Takeo. IF he is healthy, this is a very good unit. If not, I would still consider them to be about average, but this is a wide descrepancy. The secondary, like the 06 draft, is all about Whitner. Nate is a top corner, and I have no problems with MaGee. Vincent is a question mark but if he hits the wall or is injured, no great loss, and we would seem to have a replacement. Offense: JP is a question mark who has played well in preseason. Nothing else need be said. Who knows about Nall, but I do like his mechanics. Willis will have a very good season, and I think that AT will surprise people if he has any room. I believe that Ricard must have been hurt, because he was much better than Shelton imo. At wr, Evans is a freak in terms of speed, and I like him overall. Peerless had a good preseason, and I truly hope that Aiken sees some playing time. I also hope that they keep the football away from Reed, because he can't catch. Sorry. The OL is strange once again. I like Peters. CV is old and brittle, and I don't expect him to last very long. Fowler seems to be OK. From what I have seen of Reyes, he moves well but is not very strong, or so it appears. He IS an improvement, but I am not satisfied. Hopefully, this will change. Gandy is adequate. I love having him on the team. The question becomes, is adequate enough at the LT spot? I think not. In all, it is a mediocre unit with little depth. Special Teams: Unlike many others, I consider coverage units to be as important as kicking field goals. Our coverage units are second to none imo. I sincerely believe that they will win us a game or 2 this year. Do they have superstars like Tasker and Pike? No. Neither does anybody else. They DO have multiple stars such as Aiken, Stamer, Wire, and lots more who can make great plays. Couple this with Moorman and Lindell and you are in fine shape. Coaching: Too early to say, but I am thinking that getting rid of Gray has to help. As for the rest, I reserve the right to pass judgement. Bottom Line: I would consider anything over 6 wins to be a good season. This will probably be determined by TKO and JP. I still think that this team was built ass-backwards, but there IS some talent, and a few young prospects. Imo, we are still a solid offensive line away from being a contender, but I hold out againt hope that I am wrong. Let's get this party started!!!!!!! GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pyrite Gal Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 Thanks for your cut on things. One thing I would add to this is that I think that a key word for figuring offensive productivity is gonna be how well Fairchild draws up plays. Given the likely RAC oientation of an O built on the Martz model, the Bills using and implementing plays which allow our speedy receivers to get quick separation for the men covering them will be key. The player speed will help this alot if thst forces DBs to give them lots of space or the combination of the speed of Price and Evans )and likely Parrish which is why I think they were trying him in the slot) forces the opposing D into a zone which gives our recievers the space they want to get the ball and then make a move. Fairchild will need to be crafty in designing crosses for the receivers which allow them to set picks on opposing DBs without getting called by the refs and slant patterns that allow for quick separation. If the patterns designed and implemented allow for this separation the O likely will be great as JP will have pretty unencumbered targets to hit and if they gain separation quickly the OL will not need to hold their blocks very long. As far as JP goes, I suspect the key to his game will not be his athletic ability (if only it were that easy) but his mental ability to do good reads and analysis of the D. If he can figure out which of our speedy guys is going to be isolated man to man and audible if necessary for that pkayer to run a fly pattern, he will not even have to be that accurate and can simply loft the ball an agreed upon distance and the receiver can run underneath it as PP did on his pre-season TD. The most important read JP an make will be to see when the D is using a Cover 2, deep zone or the coverage does not allow for one of our recievers to get free and then he checksdown quickly to the safety valve receiver. Whether Fairchild draws up good routes and whether JP does good reads will go a long way toward determining our offesive productivity.
Bill from NYC Posted September 4, 2006 Author Posted September 4, 2006 Thanks for your cut on things. One thing I would add to this is that I think that a key word for figuring offensive productivity is gonna be how well Fairchild draws up plays. Given the likely RAC oientation of an O built on the Martz model, the Bills using and implementing plays which allow our speedy receivers to get quick separation for the men covering them will be key. 761503[/snapback] I do not doubt this at all, but the thing is, the "Martz model" had a LT by the name of Orlando Pace, who literally sealed off the blind side, and was an absolutely crushing run blocker. Perhaps this will be taken into account before the 07 draft. I will never stop hoping.
Dan Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 I agree with much that has been posted. I'll add that the single biggest change from last year is at the top. You cannot underestimate the leadership or positive attitude that Levy will bring. And right along with that is the near complete coachin turnover. MM and co. were greatly outmatched week in and week out. We've had decent talent on this team for years (although I'm not upset to see any player cut at this point). The biggest problem we've had for years has been the coaching. Now, I'm not saying Jauron is the next BB. However, having someone with experience and a decent game plan is bound to make this a better team come Sunday afternoons. I think the coaching changes alone can give us at least 2-3 wins over last year. That being said, this is definitely a young team. And what do all yound teams do... they play erratic. I expect moments that will make us all shout for joy and say that's what we've been waiting for. Followed by bonehead plays and mistakes. Hence an 8-8 season is not out of reach in my opinion, and if a few things go better than anticipated a 9-7 season is definitely possible.
JStranger76 Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 I too hope for a top Olineman to be brought in next year Bill. Only if a devestating pass-rusher is there "and taken" will I be put at ease. All in all, I'd like to get younger at RG, better at LG, and will always keep dreaming of that bookend LT who actually pans out. Who knows, we may have a RT who could become a top 10 LT very soon and make the continued improvement of the line just a little easier.
true_blue_bill Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 Why do you want to see Aiken play? Gees, if we get down to him in the depth chart it will mean Davis, Reed and that kid from Miami are not getting the job done. That's a lot of failure!
Bflojohn Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 One huge key might be J.P. using Robert Royal when the O-line has sprung a leak! I envision Royal being a big contributor to this offense. When J.P. does get time, he will have opposing "D's" on their heals with the deep pass options that he will have. Throw in a Willis McGahee to keep the pressure on D's to have to play 8 in the box, the possibilities are real good IF Steve Fairchild plays his hand well...
mead107 Posted September 4, 2006 Posted September 4, 2006 19 and 0 baby! 761501[/snapback] i am with you on that . GO BILLS
Recommended Posts