BUFFALO BILLS 2009 PREVIEW
BUFFALO BILLS 2009 PREVIEW
Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
On the surface, it’s a brilliant move on a multitude of levels. For starters, by bringing in Terrell Owens, you get a premium go-to receiver who has posted 3,587 yards and caught a league-high 38 touchdowns over the past three seasons. The fact that his $6 million contract is valid for only one year means you have insurance against his advanced age (36 in December) and notorious contemptuousness. Owens will attract enough coverage to allow superstar Lee Evans to, you know, actually to be a superstar. Owens’s presence will also unclog the throwing lanes of developing third-year quarterback Trent Edwards. And don’t think that Buffalo’s rushing attack––which has ranked a middling 15th, 14th, 27th and 20th going back the last four years––won’t be buttressed by facing fewer eight-man fronts.
Greater, however, is Owens’ impact on this franchise off the field. Let’s face it: the Buffalo Bills are a portrait of mediocrity. They’ve missed the playoffs for a franchise-record nine consecutive years. They’ve posted a 7-9 mark each of Dick Jauron’s three seasons as head coach. If apathy is said to be the opposite of love, then mediocrity, one could argue, is the foil of excellence. If you’re a small-market franchise that can’t promote excellence, how do you stay above water?
The first 48 hours after T.O.’s arrival, the financially-strapped Bills––the NFL’s only franchise to ever outsource some of its home games––saw 10,000 season ticket renewals, putting them within range of their franchise-record 57,132 set back in 1992. Number 81 jersey sales were white hot. National talk shows spotlighted Buffalo, and the NFL selected the Bills to play in the featured Monday Night Season Opener at New England.
The buzz from Owens’s arrival––augmented by the VHI reality show film crew following his every step, and the key to the city that Buffalo mayor Byron Brown presented him––also drowned out the groans that were accumulating over owner Ralph Wilson Jr.’s decision to extend Jauron’s contract last December. (The soft-spoken, almost prosaic Jauron is on the payroll through 2011.)
But try, for a moment, to tune out the T.O. mania. Go beneath the surface. What do you see? A franchise still fighting the same financial demons that have hounded it over the years. After all, the Owens addition sparked an aberrational lightning rod of wealth––like a Florida house flipped in the early 2000s, or shares of Microsoft stock in the late 80’s. In pro football, most $6 million investments don’t instantly generate such a handsome return. The fact of the matter is, Buffalo’s money, overall, is tight. The poor economy, and uncertainty with the league’s CBA negotiations don’t help.
It was estimated that the Bills were anywhere from $24 to $34 million under the salary cap this past April. And yet, they were unwilling––or perhaps unable––to sign left tackle Jason Peters to a long-term contract, opting instead to trade the 27-year-old All Pro to Philadelphia. (This prevented Buffalo from having to pay Peters a big signing bonus, which would have required money outside the ’09 salary cap.) Also, in what GM Russ Brandon labeled a “business decision”, the Bills released guard Derrick Dockery, the second best player on what was a very average offensive line to begin with. Dockery never quite lived up to the seven-year, $49 million deal he signed in 2007. Though, given the struggles of the rest of Buffalo’s line last season, his services weren’t drastically overpriced. Subtracting Dockery was a business move that made sense. But it was also a move that most playoff-hungry teams wouldn’t have made.
Now the Bills are stuck with an untested––but cheap!––O-line. How effective can Owens, The Savior, really be if quarterback Trent Edwards is under constant duress? And are the Bills or aren’t the Bills trying to develop Edwards as their long-term signal-caller?
Brandon and the rest of Buffalo’s front office––which is spearheaded by VP’s John Guy and Tom Modrak––have never hesitated to rely on rookies, and that’s exactly what they’ll do in 2009. First-rounder Eric Wood and second-rounder Andy Levitre are expected to start at right and left guard, respectively. Both will be at a different position than the one they played in college. Defensively, the Bills are a fine young unit hampered by the absence of a formidable pass-rush. They’re counting on callow but talented first-round pick Aaron Maybin, a one-year starter at Penn State, to generate desperately-needed pressure on the quarterback.
It’s not a stretch to say that Buffalo’s season will boil down to the performance of its rookies. If the guards can’t survive, the offense goes nowhere. If a pass-rush can’t emerge, the defense remains reactionary. The long-term implications of all this are perhaps even more significant. The other young players who have seen serious action for this team in recent years––Edwards, running back Marshawn Lynch, linebacker Paul Posluszny, cornerback Leodis McKelvin, safeties Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson––are all approaching the first fork in the road of their careers. They’ve looked promising at times and trite at others. Considering how this Bills nucleus has grown together, strong showings from the rookie-led offensive and defensive lines could be all this team needs to breakout. But poor showings will produce another mediocre season, which could be all this team needs to breakup.
To continue reading Bills Preview ’09, click here or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/buffalo-bills-2009-preview/
Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
On the surface, it’s a brilliant move on a multitude of levels. For starters, by bringing in Terrell Owens, you get a premium go-to receiver who has posted 3,587 yards and caught a league-high 38 touchdowns over the past three seasons. The fact that his $6 million contract is valid for only one year means you have insurance against his advanced age (36 in December) and notorious contemptuousness. Owens will attract enough coverage to allow superstar Lee Evans to, you know, actually to be a superstar. Owens’s presence will also unclog the throwing lanes of developing third-year quarterback Trent Edwards. And don’t think that Buffalo’s rushing attack––which has ranked a middling 15th, 14th, 27th and 20th going back the last four years––won’t be buttressed by facing fewer eight-man fronts.
Greater, however, is Owens’ impact on this franchise off the field. Let’s face it: the Buffalo Bills are a portrait of mediocrity. They’ve missed the playoffs for a franchise-record nine consecutive years. They’ve posted a 7-9 mark each of Dick Jauron’s three seasons as head coach. If apathy is said to be the opposite of love, then mediocrity, one could argue, is the foil of excellence. If you’re a small-market franchise that can’t promote excellence, how do you stay above water?
The first 48 hours after T.O.’s arrival, the financially-strapped Bills––the NFL’s only franchise to ever outsource some of its home games––saw 10,000 season ticket renewals, putting them within range of their franchise-record 57,132 set back in 1992. Number 81 jersey sales were white hot. National talk shows spotlighted Buffalo, and the NFL selected the Bills to play in the featured Monday Night Season Opener at New England.
The buzz from Owens’s arrival––augmented by the VHI reality show film crew following his every step, and the key to the city that Buffalo mayor Byron Brown presented him––also drowned out the groans that were accumulating over owner Ralph Wilson Jr.’s decision to extend Jauron’s contract last December. (The soft-spoken, almost prosaic Jauron is on the payroll through 2011.)
But try, for a moment, to tune out the T.O. mania. Go beneath the surface. What do you see? A franchise still fighting the same financial demons that have hounded it over the years. After all, the Owens addition sparked an aberrational lightning rod of wealth––like a Florida house flipped in the early 2000s, or shares of Microsoft stock in the late 80’s. In pro football, most $6 million investments don’t instantly generate such a handsome return. The fact of the matter is, Buffalo’s money, overall, is tight. The poor economy, and uncertainty with the league’s CBA negotiations don’t help.
It was estimated that the Bills were anywhere from $24 to $34 million under the salary cap this past April. And yet, they were unwilling––or perhaps unable––to sign left tackle Jason Peters to a long-term contract, opting instead to trade the 27-year-old All Pro to Philadelphia. (This prevented Buffalo from having to pay Peters a big signing bonus, which would have required money outside the ’09 salary cap.) Also, in what GM Russ Brandon labeled a “business decision”, the Bills released guard Derrick Dockery, the second best player on what was a very average offensive line to begin with. Dockery never quite lived up to the seven-year, $49 million deal he signed in 2007. Though, given the struggles of the rest of Buffalo’s line last season, his services weren’t drastically overpriced. Subtracting Dockery was a business move that made sense. But it was also a move that most playoff-hungry teams wouldn’t have made.
Now the Bills are stuck with an untested––but cheap!––O-line. How effective can Owens, The Savior, really be if quarterback Trent Edwards is under constant duress? And are the Bills or aren’t the Bills trying to develop Edwards as their long-term signal-caller?
Brandon and the rest of Buffalo’s front office––which is spearheaded by VP’s John Guy and Tom Modrak––have never hesitated to rely on rookies, and that’s exactly what they’ll do in 2009. First-rounder Eric Wood and second-rounder Andy Levitre are expected to start at right and left guard, respectively. Both will be at a different position than the one they played in college. Defensively, the Bills are a fine young unit hampered by the absence of a formidable pass-rush. They’re counting on callow but talented first-round pick Aaron Maybin, a one-year starter at Penn State, to generate desperately-needed pressure on the quarterback.
It’s not a stretch to say that Buffalo’s season will boil down to the performance of its rookies. If the guards can’t survive, the offense goes nowhere. If a pass-rush can’t emerge, the defense remains reactionary. The long-term implications of all this are perhaps even more significant. The other young players who have seen serious action for this team in recent years––Edwards, running back Marshawn Lynch, linebacker Paul Posluszny, cornerback Leodis McKelvin, safeties Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson––are all approaching the first fork in the road of their careers. They’ve looked promising at times and trite at others. Considering how this Bills nucleus has grown together, strong showings from the rookie-led offensive and defensive lines could be all this team needs to breakout. But poor showings will produce another mediocre season, which could be all this team needs to breakup.
To continue reading Bills Preview ’09, click here or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/buffalo-bills-2009-preview/
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