BuffaloBill Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Curious to hear what others think but as difficult as the casualty list made it for the Bills to win last year - did it make the "middle" of the roster enough better to truly influence our record this year? Expanding on the thought - do teams that have a strong "middle" fare better than those who do not when you look across the league? No doubt success starts with a solid QB. Do not know of any teams in recent history that successfully played rotating qb's and fared well. The current depth on the Billl's team in other positions does allow for gameplan flexibility and the all important "guy to step up" when someone goes down situations. Given that Buffalo's starters other than Stroud and Mitchell (at the start of this season) have not changed and the 2008 draft class has not yet had significant impact it can be argued that experienced depth has made a big difference for the Bills. Here are a couple of key examples of guys I would argue are "middle roster" contributors (i.e. players who do not start but make a significant contribution to the offense or defense - I've purposefully left special teams out as that could be a separate topic on its own): * Fred Jackson is much more of a threat and must be considered by opposing coaches when gameplanning * Duke Preston appears to have covered acceptably for Fowler * George Wilson - while not strong enough to have to gameplan for - adds strong depth * Keith Ellison - same as Wilson * Before Injury - Ashton Yohbouty was making a very strong contribution * Spencer Johnson appears to be capable in a rotation * Ryan Denney - same as Johnson * Bryan Scott - may have disloged Ko Simpson from a starting role albeit in part because of Dante's abilities to play multiple roles (btw - does anyone else think that Ko's injury - last year - may have set him back more than it should have? Catavolos hard some strong criticism of him - reading between the lines it smacked of a "desire" issue) Not minimizing the impact of Trent's progress but it is hard to think we sit with only one loss if these guys are not on the roster. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterramsey Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Curious to hear what others think but as difficult as the casualty list made it for the Bills to win last year - did it make the "middle" of the roster enough better to truly influence our record this year? Expanding on the thought - do teams that have a strong "middle" fare better than those who do not when you look across the league? No doubt success starts with a solid QB. Do not know of any teams in recent history that successfully played rotating qb's and fared well. The current depth on the Billl's team in other positions does allow for gameplan flexibility and the all important "guy to step up" when someone goes down situations. Given that Buffalo's starters other than Stroud and Mitchell (at the start of this season) have not changed and the 2008 draft class has not yet had significant impact it can be argued that experienced depth has made a big difference for the Bills. Here are a couple of key examples of guys I would argue are "middle roster" contributors (i.e. players who do not start but make a significant contribution to the offense or defense - I've purposefully left special teams out as that could be a separate topic on its own): * Fred Jackson is much more of a threat and must be considered by opposing coaches when gameplanning * Duke Preston appears to have covered acceptably for Fowler * George Wilson - while not strong enough to have to gameplan for - adds strong depth * Keith Ellison - same as Wilson * Before Injury - Ashton Yohbouty was making a very strong contribution * Spencer Johnson appears to be capable in a rotation * Ryan Denney - same as Johnson * Bryan Scott - may have disloged Ko Simpson from a starting role albeit in part because of Dante's abilities to play multiple roles (btw - does anyone else think that Ko's injury - last year - may have set him back more than it should have? Catavolos hard some strong criticism of him - reading between the lines it smacked of a "desire" issue) Not minimizing the impact of Trent's progress but it is hard to think we sit with only one loss if these guys are not on the roster. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterramsey Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 The "middle" of the roster as you explain it could all start without too much if any of a loss. This makes them very important in the 16 game season. Like you said , last year's injuries make us contenders in 08. Actually I would include Losman in that group.. He's better than most back up QB's. I think your point is excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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