Buffalo Bills 2005 Preview

By John Onan  |   Thursday, August 25, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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It's a new year and a new quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Drew Bledsoe has rejoined Bill Parcells in Dallas after failing to lead Buffalo to the playoffs in his three seasons as signal-caller. Second-year coach Mike Mularky is counting on last years No 1 pick J.P. Losman to step in and direct this squad into the postseason. The Bills finished with a flurry last season, reeling off six straight victories before falling to Pittsburgh in week 17. They'll look to get out of the gate stronger in 2005.

Strengths: For the Buffalo Bills, their stout blitzing defense sets the tone. In 2004, this defense was ranked 2nd overall in the NFL, and I don't expect them to slip much in 2005 even though they will be facing a tougher schedule this time around.

Linebackers London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes anchor a fast, attacking D, but depth could be a concern. The Bills also boast possibly the best secondary in football, with cornerbacks Terrence McGee and Nate Clements to go with hard hitting safety Lawyer Milloy. Troy Vincent moves from corner to take over full time at free safety, where he finished last season.

The lone questions on defense surround the front four, where Pat Williams has moved on to Minnesota, but there's not really too much to worry about. The Bills have some nice depth going for them at the tackle position with the trio of Sam Adams, Ron Edwards, and Tim Anderson. Chris Kelsay and Aaron Schobel will be counted on at DE to apply pressure to opposing quarterbacks.

Running back Willis McGahee came back strong in 2004, showing his knee injury was fully healed. His performance was so convincing that the Bills shipped displaced former starter Travis Henry to the Tennessee Titans for a future draft pick. McGahee went on a tear after winning the starting job, gaining over 100 yards for seven straight weeks. Teams will key on him early on and force Losman to make plays. The Buffalo Bills would also like to see McGahee become more active as a pass catching threat out of the backfield.

Buffalo's special teams were amongst the best in the league in 2004 and expect the same this year. Kicker Rian Lindell and punter Brian Moorman are two of the best at their positions, and the duo of KR McGee and PR Clements are exciting as they come combining for four touchdowns a year ago.

Weaknesses: Right now, the QB position must be considered a weak spot, until the fiery J.P. Losman shows he can handle the job. Bills coaches have been impressed with some of the things they've seen of him in pre-season, but he has only thrown five passes in the regular season, and he has been an emotional roller coaster in camp. Like stated before, opposing defenses will stack the line and force the young guy to make plays.

The Buffalo Bills are breaking in some new faces along the left side offensive line after the departure of tackle Jonas Jennings to the 49ers. Mike Gandy will move from guard to take Jennings spot, which means former Baltimore Raven Bennie Anderson takes over at guard.

Also….Wide receiver Lee Evans came on strong towards the end of his rookie year to help compliment longtime number one man Eric Moulds. Top pick Roscoe Parrish suffered a wrist injury early in camp and it is unclear when he will return, so the Bills will need to get more production from guys like Josh Reed and Sam Aiken and tight end Mark Campbell. Campbell usually doesn't see the ball too often, except in the red zone.

Overall: The defense will once again be among the tops in the league, how far this squad goes depends heavily on how quickly Losman develops and whether someone other than McGahee makes plays. The schedule is much tougher in 2005 so the Buffalo Bills will have to earn everything they get, considering they reside in the same division as the Super Bowl Champion Patriots and perennial rivals the Jets and Dolphins. I expect them to once again be in the Wild Card mix late in the year.
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