Justice Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 The way I see it is we have only two things standing in our way of finally becoming a powerhouse in the NFL, health being one and one more solid draft that contributes 2 to 3 new starters, is the other. Buddy Nix and Co have put together a solid roster that can be great in the long run, not just a team with a one or two year window, but a team that can compete for several years. All our guys are young and hungry. Here's a breakdown of the roster the way I see it and what needs to be done to get us over the hump. QB Fitzpatrick started out on fire until he got injured. How much the injury to himself, and some of his weapons around him, affected his play remains to be seen, but if he can duplicate his performance of the first 7 seven games of last year then the Bills should be in decent shape at the QB position. Fitzy will finally have a real off-season as "the Man" and hopefully he can get his accuracy issues and deep ball timing in order. A legit #2 receiver wouldn't hurt, either. RB Not much really needs to be said here. The Bills have an elite combo of backs that compliment each other well. This is the strength of our offense and we need to utilize it as much as possible. WR We desperately need a legit #2 receiver. That guy isn't on our roster as of yet. WRs in free agency have been depleted. The draft is the only way to go, at this point. Look for the Bills to grab a wideout with one of their first two picks in this years' draft. Stevie J is a good #1, Nelson, Easley, and Jones are decent at the 3 to 5 spots. TE Chandler should get better and since Gailey's offense isn't really geared to this position there is no need for an upgrade, here. OL I'd like to see the Bills bring back Bell, but if not we almost have to use our first round pick on an OT. Hopefully this unit stays healthy and RF can actually hold onto the ball longer than just a three step drop-back. This will help the offense immensely. This unit is also a strong suit for the Bills. Levitre, Wood, Urbik and Pears are all young and talented. If we keep these guys together they can become an elite group for the foreseeable future. DL If healthy, this unit is definitely top 3 in the NFL. Kyle, Marcell and Mario are gonna give teams nightmares. I look forward to seeing these guys play together. If Bell is resigned, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Mercilus in the first to go along with this fantastic trio. Kelsay will be serviceable along side these guys to it's no longer a huge need in the first round. Vinny Curry in the second, anyone? LB Aside from Barnett, I'm not too excited about this unit. Morrison should be used for depth, only, and Sheppard is the wild card, we really don't know what we have in him, yet. I'd love to see Melvin Ingram taken in the first if the LT position is already addressed. DB I like this unit as a whole. If we can pressure the QB, this group we already have in place should be sufficient. McGee needs to stay healthy, but I wouldn't count on that. Florence, McKelvin, Williams and Rogers are solid. Byrd and G-Dub are an awesome tandem at safety. Hopefully the Bills bring back Scott for depth. STs Lindell, Moorman and McKelvin make up a solid to strong special teams unit. We're good here. The draft is going to dictate whether we take our team to the next level or not since we still have some glaring holes on our roster. If I were Buddy I would re-sign Demetrius Bell and use our first on any one of these three guys, Floyd, Ingram or Mercilus, in this order, according to need and talent. The team as a whole is growing up together. Most of our guys are under 30 years old and if they all improve together at the same time then we can have all the elements in place for "the perfect storm" that puts this team in contention for the long run. Let's go Bills!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmasThoman Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 The way I see it is we have only two things standing in our way of finally becoming a powerhouse in the NFL, health being one and one more solid draft that contributes 2 to 3 new starters, is the other. Buddy Nix and Co have put together a solid roster that can be great in the long run, not just a team with a one or two year window, but a team that can compete for several years. All our guys are young and hungry. Here's a breakdown of the roster the way I see it and what needs to be done to get us over the hump. QB Fitzpatrick started out on fire until he got injured. How much the injury to himself, and some of his weapons around him, affected his play remains to be seen, but if he can duplicate his performance of the first 7 seven games of last year then the Bills should be in decent shape at the QB position. Fitzy will finally have a real off-season as "the Man" and hopefully he can get his accuracy issues and deep ball timing in order. A legit #2 receiver wouldn't hurt, either. RB Not much really needs to be said here. The Bills have an elite combo of backs that compliment each other well. This is the strength of our offense and we need to utilize it as much as possible. WR We desperately need a legit #2 receiver. That guy isn't on our roster as of yet. WRs in free agency have been depleted. The draft is the only way to go, at this point. Look for the Bills to grab a wideout with one of their first two picks in this years' draft. Stevie J is a good #1, Nelson, Easley, and Jones are decent at the 3 to 5 spots. TE Chandler should get better and since Gailey's offense isn't really geared to this position there is no need for an upgrade, here. OL I'd like to see the Bills bring back Bell, but if not we almost have to use our first round pick on an OT. Hopefully this unit stays healthy and RF can actually hold onto the ball longer than just a three step drop-back. This will help the offense immensely. This unit is also a strong suit for the Bills. Levitre, Wood, Urbik and Pears are all young and talented. If we keep these guys together they can become an elite group for the foreseeable future. DL If healthy, this unit is definitely top 3 in the NFL. Kyle, Marcell and Mario are gonna give teams nightmares. I look forward to seeing these guys play together. If Bell is resigned, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Mercilus in the first to go along with this fantastic trio. Kelsay will be serviceable along side these guys to it's no longer a huge need in the first round. Vinny Curry in the second, anyone? LB Aside from Barnett, I'm not too excited about this unit. Morrison should be used for depth, only, and Sheppard is the wild card, we really don't know what we have in him, yet. I'd love to see Melvin Ingram taken in the first if the LT position is already addressed. DB I like this unit as a whole. If we can pressure the QB, this group we already have in place should be sufficient. McGee needs to stay healthy, but I wouldn't count on that. Florence, McKelvin, Williams and Rogers are solid. Byrd and G-Dub are an awesome tandem at safety. Hopefully the Bills bring back Scott for depth. STs Lindell, Moorman and McKelvin make up a solid to strong special teams unit. We're good here. The draft is going to dictate whether we take our team to the next level or not since we still have some glaring holes on our roster. If I were Buddy I would re-sign Demetrius Bell and use our first on any one of these three guys, Floyd, Ingram or Mercilus, in this order, according to need and talent. The team as a whole is growing up together. Most of our guys are under 30 years old and if they all improve together at the same time then we can have all the elements in place for "the perfect storm" that puts this team in contention for the long run. Let's go Bills!!! great great post, and i couldn't agree more. i have been saying to anyone who will listen for awhile now that a) i fully expect the bills to win the division this year and contend for a super bowl title and b) the patriots run has BEEN over im glad the mario williams signing has people on board with these sentiments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I think you're mostly on the mark here. I would disagree with you on our CB situation though. I think that we're somewhat overrated since teams could gouge us in the running game. When we played elite teams they carved up our secondary, and even our DE's greatest success (the Pats the first time) was still allowing record numbers for their receivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) Powerhouse is a bit much. Fringe playoff team with the possibility of a bright future is more realistic. Edited March 18, 2012 by John Cocktosten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frostbelt City Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Totally agreed. I'm not sold on any of our wideouts for the #2 spot and definitely not Kirk Morrison at OLB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I appreciate the optimism, but the Bills still have more questions than answers. I think 8-9 wins is their top end unless they have a dominant rookie sensation at LB or Shep turns out to be Ray Lewis II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Hmmm. Somehow to me, the "Perfect Storm" would incorporate the retirement of Belichick, the firing of Rex Ryan, and the relocation of the Dolphags to Los Angeles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cocktosten Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Hmmm. Somehow to me, the "Perfect Storm" would incorporate the retirement of Belichick, the firing of Rex Ryan, and the relocation of the Dolphags to Los Angeles. Nice...and Brady retiring from football to become a hair-dresser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
....lybob Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I think Kamar Aiken has the potential to be a good #2 WR - looked good in pre-seaason last year plus he has a nice youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1YohHJwnQc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 "TE Chandler should get better and since Gailey's offense isn't really geared to this position there is no need for an upgrade, here." This one sentence speaks volumes about Chan's philosophy when the rest of the league is exploiting the mismatches caused by athletic TEs (NE went out and got 2), Chan continues to ignore the TE. this is especially troublesome when your QB has trouble getting the ball downfield on the outside of the field- teams smothered the Bills offense last year after game 4 when it became evident they could bring their defense within 5 yards of the ball with no fear of getting beat anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thurst44 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I think you're mostly on the mark here. I would disagree with you on our CB situation though. I think that we're somewhat overrated since teams could gouge us in the running game. When we played elite teams they carved up our secondary, and even our DE's greatest success (the Pats the first time) was still allowing record numbers for their receivers. By that logic, you could say the DBs were even better than they seemed, since they had an awful lot of INTs for no one throwing on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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