CardinalScotts Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) ol worse, te worse, rb same, qb same, wr worse, lb better, db same, dl better, st same, overall same OL- same TE - better although nothing to sing about RB - better spiller in year two will be better than year one QB - much better Fitz getting first reps all camp, a year in the offense etc. WR - same Lee wasn't much of a factor before hurt, Easley moving in Roscoe back from injury DL - much better Derius for Stroud allows Williams to make plays and Edwards to contribute - good depth too LB - much much better - if healthy Merriman a difference maker, Barnett or Pos hmmm are you joking, What doesn't Barnett do better ? Morrison no throw in DB - same although mckelvin not developing, mcgee healthy would help ST - same Coaching - Wannstadt a tremendous add This team is nowhere near the same they are much much better and considering we played 9 playoff teams last year I don't think that will happen this year. Edited September 5, 2011 by CardinalScotts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maury Ballstein Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Our team is 88 times better without Trent starting.....so theres one major upgrade....we dont start out 0-3 with Capt Checkdowns turrible behind back there.. The defense is a meeeeeeeelion times better with the additions of Dareus, 2nd year Carrington, and Barnett Merriman Morrison. I would say we are way way way better. Not sure why Thigpen is mentioned here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miserable_fan Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Our team is 88 times better without Trent starting.....so theres one major upgrade....we dont start out 0-3 with Capt Checkdowns turrible behind back there.. The defense is a meeeeeeeelion times better with the additions of Dareus, 2nd year Carrington, and Barnett Merriman Morrison. I would say we are way way way better. Not sure why Thigpen is mentioned here. I'd say the only thing that got worse is our WRs. Evans is better than Jones/Easley. I understand they fit the system better, but Evans is still far superior. However, I think the Bills are a MUCH better team overall this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Don't know about you but I was looking at our new 53 man roster and here is what I come up with. QB's - Do be honest with you Thigpen is no better than Edwards, and Smith may be an upgrade on Brown: Slight Upgrade OL - I see no improvement here: No Change TE: - I see no improvement here: NO Change RB's - I see no Improvement here: No Change WR's - We got worse with the Evans trade: Downgrade Overall the offense is not really any better than last year on paper. DL: With Dareas we have an upgrade. LB's: If Merriman and Bennett can stay healthy this is an upgrade. DB's: Slight upgrade with Aaron Williams. ST's: With kick offs basically eliminating kick returns this may be a downgrade. We have some good returners but they no longer mean anything with the new rules. However, we struggled last year tackling: No Change Overall Defense should improve with the upgrades at DL and LB. Depth is better overall. Problem is I don't see the defense staying healthy throughout the year with all these fragile upgrades. We sit here on pins and needles just waiting for Merriman and Bennett to get hurt. Offensively, I see no real improvement on paper unless the offensive line improves. With the lack of a WR that can stretch the field with the loss of Evans, I don't see this offense improving on last year. The addition of Brad Smith offsets the loss of Evans. Based on the defense being better I see this team winning 6 games this year. Overall: we should be able to improve on sacks and stopping the run. This should result in more interceptions. You're the guy who posted mid-season that you thought last year's draft class was a bust, which was also a lousy assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllib olaffub Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 The way I judge a team from one year to the next is by looking at the overall intention of the coaches and GM, where they want to be and how they want to play. As I see it, each H.C. is building a team in the mold he envisions, and so the question is, how do they stack up, position to position, to the ideal? Because, if you go simply on wins and losses, you might have a very weak division one year and do well, and then actually improve over the offseason as a whole, yet do worse the following year because somehow the rest of the division, or teams you face, have gotten that much better. So, last year we were looking at question marks all over the field. By the end of the season, I think we had our starters at C, LG, LT - although that needs to be proven, RB, WR, NT, RDE, FS, and our Corners. Going into this year, did we lose anyone that was counted by this regime as being important starters? I don't think so. We gained, both by the draft, experience with last year's rookies, and F.A., new starters in Dareus, Merriman, Barnett, and Wilson, not to mention quality backups in Batten, Carrington, Searcy, Sheppard, and Williams (cornerback) - all of those guys looking to become starters in the future. So, we're unquestionably better on Defense, with personnel, and also that much better with the experience our DC gained, and with the addition of Wannstedt. On offense, I think our line might regress at first, but we'll see if they're better, and where we're at with them by the end of the year. They could go a long way towards giving Fitz a good year or tanking, so the whole offense's production could be marginalized by the line. However, I think we have our starters in the WR corps set for the near future, and I think our RB's are pretty solid, too. We will be addressing the O-line, QB, and maybe TE in next year's draft and offseason. All in all, I think we're closer to where they want to be, and after next offseason, I think we'll have the real, total nucleus of the team in place - as I just can't see us not landing our future QB next year, as well as fixing the O-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Defense - YES. Offense - Maybe. ST - ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) QB - Fitz is starter from the beginning. Also gained Smith for a new wrinkle. Minor improvement. OL - No change. TE - Chandler should be more productive, but not dominant. Minor improvement RB - Lost depth without Lynch. An improved CJ could offset that. No change. WR - Lost Evans. Gained Smith. Young group with upside. No change... yet. Not much change on offense, in my book. Which, I don't have an issue with... I think we were "fine" on offense last year... not great, but not the reason we lost games. DL - Dareus, nuff said. Improvement LB - Merriman, Barnett and Morrison are good additions if healthy. Batten, Moats and Carrington provide young upside. Improvement. DB - Gained Williams. Lost Whitner. Mostly same group. No change. Defense, on paper, should be seriously improved. If we can stop the run and get pressure on QBs, look for a lot more turnovers. If we can't stop the run, or get pressure on QBs, it's the same as last year, and years previous. The defensive changes will make or break the team. ST - Same solid group, need better coaching. No change. Special teams, I assume, won't really be important or vital outside of solid performances from Lindell and Moorman. Returns are handled by a group of shifty players, but new Kickoff rules probably nullify that. Overall - The Bills should be better than last year. I feel like the team was better than it's record last year, but only by a couple wins. I'm realistically thinking 7-9 or so this year, but with close games that could either bring us down to 4 or 5 wins, or up to 9 or 10 wins. I'm obviously hoping for the latter with some lucky bounces going our way for once. Edited September 6, 2011 by Dorkington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Figure I'd put this here as well, since it seems relevant: ------ Here is what I found against the Defensive starters: Chicago 11 rushes, 46 yards, 4.2 ypc - 1 TD Denver 12 rushes, 33 yards, 2.8 ypc - 1 TD Jacksonville 10 rushes, 30 yards, 3.0 ypc - 1 TD Detroit 3 rushes, 2 yards, .7 ypc Total 36 rushes, 111 yards, 3.1 ypc - 3 TD 2 of those rushing TDs came on QB scrambles, we need to work on that, but otherwise it looks like good news so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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