My before the season thoughts on the Bills

[Bob in STL]

Hello All,

 

I have not posted since the disappointment of last season. Still lurking/reading TSW and following the Bills. I have been a fan of this team since I can remember ... which goes back to about 1963. I will be in town for the home opener against the Pats*. I must say that this is the least excited I have been for an opening game ever and it is all because of the Manuel injury.

 

My assessment of the 2013-14 Bills as we start the season:

 

QB - I cannot believe that we are down to two rookie QBs and seriously face the prospect of starting an undrafted rookie in the opener. Manuel sure looks promising so I need to hold out hope that he comes back and develops. The front office gets a big fat F for bringing in Kolb and no other veteran. I know Fitz had to go given his performance versus his contract … I just wish Fitz would have re-signed for less money.

 

OL – We really did nothing to adequately replace Levitre, our best lineman, and I think we will suffer for it. I am not saying we should have paid him the crazy market price given the situation we are in our perpetual rebuild. More could have been done to address LG. With Hairston injured our depth at tackle is gone. We are one injury away from another disaster at OL.

 

RB – The best player on the team is Spiller so give him the damm ball. Freddy Jackson is a great guy to have around too.

 

TE – If Chandler is healthy he is decent. The others are role players. (No not Butch Rolle).

 

WR – After Stevie we are lacking experience but we definitely have speed and maybe some talent too. It takes WR’s time to develop so I expect a lot of confusion and broken plays this season. I am hopeful that this unit will be good someday.

 

DL – With Dareus, Marion Williams, and Kyle Williams this group should be a strength for this team and I hold hope that the play of the DL translates into better team defense. Maybe Hughes is a player after all?

 

LB – Alonso looks good so far as has Manny Lawson but overall this is not an impressive cast and we are very thin in the middle.

 

DB – Corner is a problem with Gilmore out. Not sold on the safety situation either. An unhappy Byrd will not help. The secondary looks weak as a unit … How did the DB situation get so thin?

 

Kickers – new guys replacing two solid vets (Moorman and Lindel).

 

Coaching – I like Marrone and the new staff much better the previous cast of characters. He has a steep learning curve to climb. I like the youth and energy of his staff.

 

FO – Brandon and Whaley need to get us to the playoffs next year. Other teams have turned around teams in less time.

 

Assessment: Rookie QB, rookie coach, rookie OC, thin OL depth, thin at LB, thin at DB. One experienced WR on the roster. Sorry, but no playoffs. Reality tells me this will be a long and painful season. I want to see a competitive team and if Manuel has a decent season then there is hope for the future.

 

Aside from the home opener I will be back for another home game and I will of course be at all the St. Louis Bills Backers events on Sunday at Lester’s.

 

Someday we will get there, just not seeing it this season.

 

Cheers, Bob

Edited September 1, 2013 by Bob in STL

[buffalobillsfansince1918]

Good write up. The thing that really worries me and I don't really see it ever mentioned here is the fact that Whaley has been here for quite sometime as Nix' # 1 guy and we have as little depth at let positions as we do. I know Gilmore is hurt but look at our CB depth. It boggles my mind how every year we are so lacking in depth. I have my own philosophy on why this happens over and over no matter the GM but I digress. It's so upsetting that every year it's the same old same old with this organization.

 

This team will be as good as Manuel is. I just hope he's back week 2.

[Bob in STL]

Good write up. The thing that really worries me and I don't really see it ever mentioned here is the fact that Whaley has been here for quite sometime as Nix' # 1 guy and we have as little depth at let positions as we do. I know Gilmore is hurt but look at our CB depth. It boggles my mind how every year we are so lacking in depth. I have my own philosophy on why this happens over and over no matter the GM but I digress. It's so upsetting that every year it's the same old same old with this organization.

 

This team will be as good as Manuel is. I just hope he's back week 2.

 

Yes, Whaley has a bigger imprint on this team than most "new" GMs.

 

The lack of talent and depth is related to the amount of change we experience. Every new coach and GM brings in "his people" and gets rid of the players from the previous regime. Starting over all the time is what we are known for.

 

So why not draft a Guard to replace Levitre? Or a corner to replace McGee? Because we have so many other holes I guess.

 

Draft mistakes is a big reason we lack talent and depth. We have done a poor job in the draft for a long time. Heck, we finally drafted a franchise QB. What's up with that?