Buffalo Bills: Season Preview 2008

The Buffalo Bills

It's been a long time since fans of the Buffalo Bills had much to cheer about. The last time the team won a playoff game was 1995, and since the team cut Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed at the end of the 2000 season, the Bills have been a franchise with no faces. The glory days of the early nineties, when the Bills made four straight superbowl appearances (let's not dwell on the four straight losses...) have been replaced with a barren, playoff-free wilderness. In fact, their last playoff appearance was probably one of the more memorable - the music city miracle.

The Coach

Dick Jauron has quietly risen into one of the NFL's better coaches over the last two years. Since taking over in Buffalo, he has overseen the drafting of several key players, but perhaps his biggest asset - GM Marv Levy - has now retired. The enigmatic Levy brought much needed stability to the team, and Bills fans will be hoping that, as Levy's guy, Jauron is able to continue the progress made in recent seasons. Offensive co-ordinator Steve Fairchild left, and former QBs coach Turk Schonert will be hoping to do better than the predictable Fairchild as he enters his first job as an OC in the NFL.

2007 season

The Bills finished 7-9 last season. Although they finished second in the AFC East, they missed out on a playoff place after losing their last 3 games. The most important move of the season was the replacing of J.P. Losman with rookie Trent Edwards at the Quarterback position. Losman rarely looked like turning into the QB they envisaged when the Bills invested a first round pick on him back in '04, and his cards were marked even before he sustained an early season injury. Edwards, who was selected in the third round last year, but already looks more likely to cement the position as his own - something that Losman never achieved in 3 years.

Draft class of 2008

Round 1 - Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy
Round 2 - James Hardy, WR, Indiana
Round 3 - Chris Ellis, DE, Virginia Tech
Round 4 - Reggie Corner, CB, Akron
Round 4 - Derek Fine, TE, Kansas
Round 5 - Alvin Bowen, OLB, Iowa State
Round 6 - Xavier Omon, RB, Northwest Missouri State University
Round 7 - Demetrius Bell, OT, Northwestern State University
Round 7 - Steve Johnson, WR, Kentucky
Round 7 - Kennard Cox, DB, Pittsburgh

The Bills have done a good job in recent seasons of building through the draft. This year, they addressed most of the key needs on the team, and got a couple of steals in the process. Primarily, the Bills will be happy with the raw talent that Leodis McKelvin brings to the table at the cornerback position, which has been a problem area since the departure to San Francisco of Nate Clements. James Hardy should finally give Lee Evans a compliment at WR. Hardy is a big, bruising WR but also has the speed that could see him one day become an elite receiver in the league.

The only position that stands out on the Bills roster as a potential problem is Tight End. When Kevin Everett went down with his career ending injury, it was not only a sickening blow to the team's mental state, but yet another mid round TE prospect (see also: Tim Euhus) that would fail to challenge current incumbent Robert Royal. Royal is a serviceable TE, but the Bills have not used the position for receiving much in the last few years. Derek Fine should add the blocking ability that has been sorely missing from the Bills TE corps, but Royal will need to show he can catch the ball reliably, or his days in Buffalo may be numbered.

Strong side

Without doubt coach Dick Jauron has several talented players, probably more than the 7-9 record of last year would have people believe. The Offensive line is certainly looking formidable. Langston Walker and Derrick Dockery have both been succesful acquisition, and Tackle Jason Peters (alongside Dockery) give the Bills a very solid left side.

On the defensive side of the ball, the addition through Free Agency of ex-Jags DT Marcus Stroud is a crucial addition that could well help DE's Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay focus on the pass rush. It will also give young DT John McCargo a perfect role model as he looks to cement a starting role this year. The front four is formidable, and with MLB Paul Posluzny returning from injury, the linebacker group looks stronger than it has for many years. When Posluzny went down early last season, his replacement - John DiGiorgio - proved that he is more than capable of playing at this level, and gives the team depth that few others can match. Alongside another Free Agent, Kawika Mitchell, and with Angelo Crowell manning the strong side, the Bills are spoiled for choice in almost every position amongst the front seven.

Weak side

The Tight End situation aside, Buffalo also has question marks at the other offensive skill positions.

The addition of Hardy via the draft has given the team another option at receiver, but it is still a unit that lacks depth. Hardy and Lee Evans may be a tandem to strike fear into many secondaries, but if one of the two were to go down, the Bills are back to square one, somewhere they've been for the last three years. A question mark still hangs over the Running Back position too. Marshawn Lynch enters his second season as starter, and has shown the talent and durability to carry the load. Fred Jackson, too, looks to have talent. The release of veteran Anthony Thomas shows that Jauron and Schonert certainly have faith in him as a backup.

The question? Lynch's upcoming guilty plea for mowing down a Buffalo area girl at 3am. Wheras the charge is likely to be a misdemeanour, it will put Lynch on a very short leash with the league. In this age of Pacmans and Tanks, he will need to be extra careful to avoid problems with the law. It's a huge test of maturity for a young man, and his reaction to the original investigation into the incident didn't reflect positively on his current mindset. One of the problems an NFL player faces is that automatically, you become a potential target for the law, the media, and the average guy on the street. They're all going to try and take advantage of you, and often, it's the star that gets penalised. The last thing this team needs is it's most consistent offensive performer of 2007 to be hit with a suspension of any kind.

And finally, of course, there is young signal-caller Trent Edwards. Despite gaining the starting role for this season, Edwards must be concious that the Bills' decision to keep former first rounder J.P. Losman around is not the 100% faith that you'd like as a Quarterback. Edwards' play in 2007 showed a propensity for taking sacks and throwing interceptions, two things that no offence can afford to do on a regular basis. indeed, in the game against the Giants last December, Edwards threw three interceptions, two of which went back for scores (One, in fact, by Kawika Mitchell, then of the Giants.). Such a meltdown at a critical phase of the season is something that Edwards could have done without as he makes his case for being the franchise quarterback that Buffalo have not had since Jim Kelly.

Major transactions

In:
LB Kawika Mitchell
DT Marcus Stroud
TE Courtney Anderson
CB Will James
DT Spencer Johnson

Out:
WR Peerless Price
LB Coy Wire
RB Anthony Thomas
CB Jerametrius Butler
LB Kevin Harrison
DT Larry Tripplett

2008 Schedule

2 Sat, Aug 9th, 2008 at Washington 07:00 PM FedEx Field
3 Thu, Aug 14th, 2008 Pittsburgh 07:30 PM Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontar
4 Sun, Aug 24th, 2008 at Indianapolis 08:00 PM Lucas Oil Stadium
5 Thu, Aug 28th, 2008 Detroit 06:30 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium

1 Sun, Sep 7th, 2008 Seattle 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
2 Sun, Sep 14th, 2008 at Jacksonville 01:00 PM Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
3 Sun, Sep 21st, 2008 Oakland 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
4 Sun, Sep 28th, 2008 at St. Louis 04:05 PM Edward Jones Dome
5 Sun, Oct 5th, 2008 at Arizona 04:15 PM University of Phoenix Stadium
6 Bye
7 Sun, Oct 19th, 2008 San Diego 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
8 Sun, Oct 26th, 2008 at Miami 01:00 PM Dolphin Stadium
9 Sun, Nov 2nd, 2008 NY Jets 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
10 Sun, Nov 9th, 2008 at New England 01:00 PM Gillette Stadium
11 Mon, Nov 17th, 2008 Cleveland 08:30 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
12 Sun, Nov 23rd, 2008 at Kansas City 01:00 PM Arrowhead Stadium
13 Sun, Nov 30th, 2008 San Francisco 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium
14 Sun, Dec 7th, 2008 Miami 04:05 PM Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontar
15 Sun, Dec 14th, 2008 at NY Jets 01:00 PM Meadowlands
16 Sun, Dec 21st, 2008 at Denver 04:05 PM Invesco Field at Mile High
17 Sun, Dec 28th, 2008 New England 01:00 PM Ralph Wilson Stadium

Fan view

Buffalo fan Philip Rolfe on whether the team is at risk of falling behind in the AFC East race:

Miami worries me more than the Jets do, but in general I don’t think there’s much danger. Teams can go and get whichever players they want to, and most teams will be able to offer more attractive packages both financially and in location than Buffalo can, which just means the team has to focus on its own strategies, principally developing its own talent and not making a free agency splash. They’ve done that most of this decade, and yeah, no playoff place since 2002 to show for it, but it’s not that far off.

Wide-Right's view

After years of building through the draft, it's a critical juncture for the Buffalo Bills in 2008. Not only have they suffered the indignity of missing the playoffs since 1999, but the franchise finds itself under the microscope regarding it's viability as a financial concern. The 2008 season sees the first in a series of five games that will be played in Toronto, and with the South Ontario market and it's 5m residents clearly of some appeal to the NFL, it is critical that the Bills have some form of success in the next 2-3 years that generates a slew of new revenue from the current Rochester market. Even now, it is difficult to see the Toronto games as anything other than a trial seperation, and we all know how they end...

On the field, it is vital that Trent Edwards starts well. The Bills can ill afford another QB project to fail, and Edwards needs to step up and build on a solid, yet unspectacular 2007. Buffalo have been perenially 'almost there' as far as their rosters, but the free agency additions of the last two seasons seem to be paying dividents. Having stability on your line is the first building block of any successful franchise, and they certainly have that much. It remains to be seen whether new Offensive coordinator Schonert can 'revamp the passing game' as he claims.

Another cause for concern is that despite this improvement, the Bills still slid to 7-9 in a year where both the Jets and Dolphins were abysmal. Nobody expects the Patriots to be anything other than dominant in the East, but the competition underneath them has hotted up this offseason. New York made several big money moves into free agency, and the Dolphins used the draft wisely under new GM Bill Parcells. Both teams are trying their hardest to win, and it remains to be seen whether the Bills could have fallen from 2nd to 4th in the AFC East rankings.

Prediction for 2008

Ah predictions. Can't go wrong with these! Let's see, heads = winning season, tails = losing season. Coin says tails I'm afraid, but in all seriousness, we think the Bills could be a surprise package. A lot will depend on how they match up in the division, but we're going for second place again for Buffalo. if the receivers stay healthy, they could even make the playoffs.

You heard it here first.

Useful links for Buffalo fans

Official site
Depth chart
Billsinsider - fansite