Fresh off another
disappointing season, the Buffalo Bills are finally in a position to turn the
franchise in the right direction. The hiring of head coach Doug Marrone and
Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett signify a new era of Buffalo football:
young and forward thinking. The Bills, led by Russ Brandon also stole defensive
guru Mike Pettine from the rival New York Jets. The Bills seem to finally have
the coaching staff in place to usher in a winning attitude and product in
Buffalo, a product dearly missed.
When
you examine and breakdown the roster for the Bills, you don’t see a lack of
talent. Starting on offense you have possibly the most explosive offensive
weapon in the NFL with C.J. Spiller, and his backup Fred Jackson isn’t too
shabby either. Going down the line you have an injury prone, yet hard-nosed
stonewall in Eric Wood and his line mate Andy Levitre. Fellow lineman Cordy
Glenn is coming off a rocky rookie season where when he was good he was really
good, but when he was bad it got ugly.
You also have borderline superstar Stevie Johnson who despite inadequate
quarterback play has posted consecutive impressive seasons.
On
the defensive side of the ball came perhaps the biggest disappointment and
surprise in years. This defense was hyped up as a throwback to the 90’s Buffalo
Bills, Mario leading the charge as Bruce. Mario Williams did have a pretty
solid season after wrist surgery, but the defense as a collective whole
faltered and failed, mainly due to poor linebacking from Kelvin Sheppard and
embarrassing corner play from Aaron Williams. Jairus Byrd was back to his usual
ball hawking self, but has really emerged as a complete package at safety.
Hopefully with Pettine at the helm we see a new and very much improved defense.
This
is the year for changes, and there are many changes I feel need to be made.
Starting on offense, we must cut Ryan Fitzpatrick or negotiate a salary cut.
The reasoning for that really goes without saying. Secondly, make C.J Spiller
the starting halfback and split the carries 70-30. On average I believe C.J
should get around 20 runs, and about 25 touches total, with Fred mainly subbing
in as a short yardage back. Onto defense, it’s time to cut Chris Kelsay; in fact
it was time years ago. Not only is he a major cap hit, but he’s unproductive
and a liability in most cases. Following that is benching George Wilson in
favor of Da’Norris Searcy, Aaron Williams in favor of Ron Brooks and Mark
Anderson in favor of Kyle Moore.
Onto
free agency, some major splashes need to be made. Firstly, and perhaps most
importantly is addressing the need for a real number #2 receiver. I believe
either Dwayne Bowe or Mike Wallace should fill this need. Both of these
receivers bring a dimension long missed in the Bills passing game, stretching
the field. Secondly, bring in Bart Scott and either Aqib Talib or Dominique
Rodgers-Cromartie. These signings would fill major holes with veterans who can
step in day 1 and assume big roles.
Although
the draft is ways away and we still have the combine to consider, I’d like to
present my ideal draft choices for early rounds of the Buffalo Bills 2013
draft.
Round
1: Tyler Wilson QB Arkansas/Matt Barkley QB USC
Round
2: Cordarrelle Patterson WR Tennessee
Round
3: Chris Gragg TE Arkansas
With
all this said I would like the starting line up of the 2013 Buffalo Bills to
resemble this:
QB: Tyler Wilson
RB:
CJ Spiller
FB: Cory McIntyre
FB: Cory McIntyre
WR1:
Stevie Johnson
WR2:
Dwayne Bowe
WR3:
Cordarrelle Patterson
TE:
Scott Chandler
LT: Cordy Glenn
LT: Cordy Glenn
LG:
Andy Levitre
C:
Eric Wood
RG:
Craig Urbik
RT:
Chris Hairston
DE:
Kyle Moore, Mario Williams
DT:
Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus
LOLB:
Nigel Bradham
MLB:
Bart Scott
ROLB:
Nick Barnett
CB:
Stephon Gilmore, Aqib Talib, Ron Brooks
SS:
Da’Norris Searcy
FS:
Jairus Byrd
Stay Hungry my friends and GO
BILLS!
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