As
the NFL offseason is in full swing, it’s a perfect opportunity to evaluate
where each team was in 2017, and where they plan to go in the New Year. Let’s
begin the review of the Buffalo Bills.
2017 Season Recap:
As the 2017 season began, the Buffalo Bills again
entered a season with change over at the Head Coaching position. Relieving Rex
Ryan of his duties, owner Terry Pegula was clear in his methods to bring in a
solid foundational coaching prospect that could finally change the culture
while bringing a winner back to western New York. The hiring of Sean McDermott
was a popular choice among the masses believing he was the right fit for the
job. Instantly upon arrival to Buffalo, Sean made his presence felt with a calm
and collected demeanor promising change while restoring faith in the fan base.
Now that the Bills had their man to run the show, the next step was reliving
their current general manager (Doug Whaley) of his responsibilities to the
club. The popular trend in the NFL has a coach and general manger tandem that
can work seamlessly with similar goals in mind. The Bills followed that
playbook and hired Brandon Beane, another former Carolina Panthers product to
work directly with McDermott to create a Bills team that could once again be
feared.
With the brain trust in place it was time for the
Bills to begin the turnover no matter the perception. Fast forwarding to Bills
training camp, Brandon Beane made roster moves that gave the view nationally,
the Bills were folding and ready to tank the season. First Beane sent former 4th
overall draft pick Sammy Watkins to the Rams followed by trading young up and
comer Ronald Darby to the Eagles. In return McDermott felt these were moves
that would help lift Buffalo into the projected culture change he was tasked
with forming. With possibly the most important situation on the team still in
flux, the saga of how to handle Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was they next hurdle. The
Bills brass eventually convinced Tyrod to restructure his contract allowing the
Bills more leverage if they choose to move on from their interim pivot the
following season. With current pieces in place, Buffalo continually echoed -
they will be competitive while pushing to end their 17-year playoff drought.
Starting off the season with a win against the New
York Jets the Bills went 3-2 in the first five weeks of the season before
hitting their bye in week six. Taking huge victories from the Broncos and the
Falcons had the national media gaining attention that McDermott has this team
moving in the right direction. After the Bills enjoyed an early bye week, they
came back to again be victories in their next two contests against the Bucs and
the Raiders propelling them to a favorable 5-2 record. With the most difficult
part of their schedule upon them entering week nine, the Bills dropped what
should’ve been a win verses the Jets on Thursday Night Football. Following the
disappointment, The Saints walked into New Era Field and laid a smack down on
the Bills for their second consecutive loss. Feeling the pressure entering week
eleven, Sean McDermott decided to shake things up and bench Tyrod Taylor in
favor of rookie Nathan Peterman. As most expected, putting a rookie in his
first contest against a surging opponent on the road ended in a debacle of a
performance. The Buffalo Bills now found themselves in a three-game losing
streak with a record of 5-5 with six games left on the slate. Most teams
finding their way into the postseason should amass a record of 10-6 to secure
their position, which meant the Bills would have to go 5-1 down the stretch for
the best outcome. The final six weeks had the Bills facing the Dolphins and the
Patriots twice adding the Chiefs and the Colts to round it out. With dropping
both contests to the Patriots and watching the other viable playoff teams
struggle, the Bills found themselves in a must win situation week 17 against
the Dolphins as they prayed for help to break a 17-year playoff drought.
The Bills walked into Hard Rock Stadium confident
and poised taking a 19-3 lead going into the 4th quarter. Allowing
Miami to claw their way back as they played over conservative set up the final
drive for the Dolphins as a potential to end the Bills run. Alas, Buffalo was
able to hold firm ending the contest with a victory. Marching off the field,
the Bills players gathered together in front of the locker room television set
to witness what was their fait for the 2017 season. With the score 27-24 in
favor of Baltimore with .053 seconds remaining on the clock - Andy Dalton had the Bengals in a 4th and 12 at mid
field in the shotgun ready for what was potentially the last play of the game.
As Bernard moved in motion, Dalton snapped the ball stepped up in the pocket
and threw an absolute strike over the extended reach of the zone coverage line
backer hitting Tyler Boyd right in the bread basket. To what later became a
viral youtube video, showed the Bills players and coaches erupt in jubilation
as the watched Tyler Boyd catch the ball turn to his left and take off evading
all would be Baltimore tacklers for the TOUCHDOWN! With one last second
desperation play, the Bills new hero became the Bengals Andy Dalton as the
Buffalo Bills were heading back to the post season showing a new generation
what the playoffs would be like. Being a Bills fan or not, it wasn’t difficult
to get caught up in the moment watching a city explode with excitement for a
team finding the most improbable way of playing meaningful January football.
With
Bills-Mafia calling their travel agents immediately, Buffalo found themselves going
to Jacksonville to face a Jaguars team with an elite defensive unit. As this
game wore on, it indeed fit the mantra of an offensive snooze-fest as both
defensive units came to play. With the Bills front seven focused on stopping
rookie Leonard Fournette, former Bills offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett adjusted
perfectly allowing Blake Bortles to run free scoring the only touchdown of the
contest, while running for a career high 88 yards. As desperation became
evident, the Bills attempted to tie the game but fell short as the clock
eventually expired. Even with the loss, hope was restored within a fan base
that McDermott and Beane will continue to move this squad in the right direction.
2018 Offseason Workbook:
Offseason Review:
Much
like the 2017 season, the Bills have many holes and questions on a roster that
requires much tinkering. The main issue again prompts the Bills as to what their
answer is at the Quarterback position. Tyrod Taylor looks to have played his
last down in a Bills uniform as the brain trust has voiced their displeasure
with the 31st ranked passing unit (176.6 YPG), in the NFL. The
Buffalo offense was very anemic as the season wore on ranking 22nd
in points scored (18.9 PPG), and 29th total yards (302.6 YPG). These
statistics were enough to relieve offensive coordinator Rick Dennison of his duties.
The Bills retained much of their coaching staff but added former Alabama
offensive coordinator (Brain Daboll) to replace Dennison as the primary play caller.
Rounding out the replacements, McDermott added another Alabama product as offensive
assistant in Shea Tierney. Adding to the defensive staff Buffalo promoted Bill
Teerlink to become the defensive line coach while adding John Butler to replace
Gill Byrd as the defensive backs coach. With the defense requiring improvement
off its 2017 stats, Buffalo expects to add to key positions that fit under Sean
McDermott’s defensive scheme.
The
many holes that plague this Bills offense as said above, the main issue is
finding an answer at Quarterback. While throwing the ball came with a large
challenge, the Bills receiving core is not something to be desired. Kelvin
Benjamin was acquired before the trade deadline to add skill to the position group
in desperate need of a playmaker. Off-injured tight end Charles Clay will again
be leaned upon to produce more in the pass game for the upcoming season. If it wasn’t
for his superb blocking ability and his enormous cap hit, Clay could’ve been
off the Bills roster long ago. The Offensive line has also dealt with its share
of injuries and lack-luster play these past few seasons. Left tackle Cordy Glenn
has missed a fair share of games while also counting large against the cap. Improvements
to the right tackle position should be something McDermott and company will
look into this offseason. Unfortunately for the Bills, long time Center Eric
Wood was diagnosed with a career ending neck injury that forced him to retire prematurely
leaving the Bills with yet another hole to fill.
Defensively,
Buffalo found gold in a secondary that was opportunistic and dominating at
times. White, Gains, Hyde, and Poyer received national attention for their
attacking style which generated turnovers at will. The Bills defensive line
struggled at times to find the elixir in generating consistent pressure allowing
teams to burn this unit with chunk plays. Beane and McDermott will have the
giant task of adding to the line backing core that most definitely requires a
face lift. While this unit can be somewhat productive, there isn’t a killer instinct
type of player that can captain and quarterback the entire defense. With cap
room nearing 30 million dollars and the potential in creating more by releasing
players, and a multitude of high end draft picks, the Buffalo Bills look to be
players this offseason continuing the rebuild of this organization.
Rostered Free Agents:
Though
the Bills have nearly 30 million to play with, they are tasked with an enormous
listing of free agents if they so choose to resign. With 18 players in need of
a contract, key names that stand out include; DT Kyle Williams, WR Jordan
Matthews, LB Preston Brown, and DB E.J Gains. The remaining unrestricted free
agents form as more depth than starting caliber players making decisions to
upgrade quite easy for GM Brandon Beane. While Jordan Matthews may not receive
a call from the Bills at a price point he expects, Preston Brown is and
interesting player who led the league in tackles holding strong as the Bills
main run stuffer. Other players that may return on team friendly deals could
include; WR Deonte Thompson - who showed flashes of big play ability, and WR
Brandon Tate – who is a reliable return man and slot receiver.
While
resigning players of interest is a top priority for general manager Brandon
Beane, his achilles heel is the amount of dead cap he has accumulated with
terrible contracts inherited from the past management group. Marcell Dareus,
Aaron Williams, and Reggie Ragland account for nearly 18 million in lost money.
While the Bills can regain 10 million in releasing Tyrod Taylor, they will
again lose out to another 8 million in dead cap. With Eric Wood’s forced retirement,
his dead cap money will also have to be spread creatively as the Bills are on
the hook for another 5.5 million dollars. Kelvin Benjamin holds the most appeal
for release as his option year salary is non-guaranteed and would create a
healthy 8.5 million is free money. 2018 should pose to be the most challenging
for Beane as he should be able to maneuver high priced contracts in the 2019
offseason and beyond.
NFL Draft:
One
of the more exciting and calculated moves in Beane’s short tenure was the accumulating
of draft capital for this Bills team. Buffalo currently holds eight picks in
this year’s draft – four within the top 56 sections. Buffalo has a unique opportunity
if they so choose, holding two first round picks (21 & 22), and holding two
2nd round picks (53 & 56), providing the ammunition to climb the
board to draft a potential franchise quarterback. Though the Bills have struggled
to find their pivot for almost two decades, they have an opportunity to solidify
the position. The argument can be made that Buffalo has far too many holes to
risk trading away their draft class for one player, but if they truly believe
in the talent level of said player, it might be worth the risk. Buffalo has the
potential to be this year’s big mover up the draft and as we’ve seen from
Brandon Beane already, he isn’t afraid to make big moves for the betterment of his
team.
Overall for 2018:
While
the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs in 2017, removing the stigma on a franchise
that has been a perennial loser with one of the best fan bases in the league,
its time for a change and as Coach McDermott advocates – “Trust the Process”.
If the Bills stay the course and make sound football moves, this team has the
potential to right the ship in the next two to three years making them
consistent contenders moving forward. This situation shouldn’t be rushed as
building the right team for success bods in their favor, while the New England
Patriots long lasting rein of terror on the AFC East should be coming to an end
in the near future.
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