Bills’ Evans deserves top billing

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, November 05, 2008  |  Comments( 80 )

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It was bad enough that the Buffalo Bills tried to replace the injured Josh Reed with Lee Evans against the New York Jets, and what’s worse is that even that questionable misuse didn’t work. Their top wideout managed the same output the role player typically gets, which works out to a waste: It’s a little below Evans to be used as nothing more than a possession guy, even if he’s fine at occasionally contributing short gains. The trouble was that he can of course do more. Evans finished with the fifth-most receiving yards for the Bills in their 26-17 loss, which even the four guys ahead of him shouldn’t like.

Reed is averaging approximately 41 yards per game, and his 26 receptions work out to about 3.7 every outing; that’s fair for him, but unfortunately the Bills used their most valuable weapon to fill in for the absent short-yardage specialist. Evans sunk to almost that exact output for the day, catching four passes for, uncannily, 41 yards. On top of that, his numbers lie because he wasn’t even used much until the parking lots were clearing.

After one catch in each of the first two quarters for 4 and 19 yards, respectively, Evans was shut out until he made consecutive receptions after the two-minute warning. Maybe getting the ball late beats not getting it at all: Trent Edwards overthrew Evans twice and also didn’t connect with him on a 20-yard attempt with the target hovering around the end zone early in the fourth quarter. It all led to an undistinguished day for the star when many other catchers posted decent numbers.

For one, Roscoe Parrish did flash some of his renowned speed on his way to getting 51 yards on three receptions. From another spot, Marshawn Lynch’s 42-yard reception featured a 41-yard run after catch, as it was by far the best of the stricken rusher’s three grabs against the Jets; that quantity was matched by Fred Jackson on a day when neither runner ran well.

Further, rookie tight end Derek Fine looked tremendously relaxed, especially for someone who had zero career receptions at kickoff. Most prominently, he had time to think on his 9-yard touchdown reception, which could be a bad thing; instead, he didn’t let ideas regarding anxiety and failure creep into his mind during those interminable seconds when the ball was floating his way.

Fine’s composure is a good sign for an offense that could use a non-Robert Royal option from the tight end slot. Even then, Royal caught five footballs for 70 yards on a day when the tight ends’ 113 receiving yards beat the even hundred yards the wider guys managed.

The passing game was efficient in some regards. For example, 13 of Buffalo’s 18 first downs came on passes; plus, Edwards didn’t throw an incompletion until 13 minutes into the game, and even that was a Jackson drop. And hoping for deep attempts is fruitless when an offensive line can’t even protect the quarterback on quick strikes.

But all that is outweighed by the fact that this offense must find a way to enable Evans to break out at least two or three times a game; he simply can’t have two receptions for 23 yards with 58 minutes down. The way he was used against the Jets would be like asking Peter O’Toole to appear in a Burger King commercial; it goes without saying that he’s capable of a larger, more dignified role. Of course the Wisconsin product is willing to chip in where necessary, but treating him like a full-time extra was and will be a waste.
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CommentsComments: 80  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Kegman		09:23 AM
11/05/2008
I think Evans was dealing with a doubleteam most of the day and was probably not a viable option for Trent to throw to. And ...
No.2
ddd		09:33 AM
11/05/2008
Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, we all need to hope Obama helps this country. I know it's not friday, but here are ...
No.3
bflobob8		10:00 AM
11/05/2008
ddd, If a black guy can be President ANYTHING is possible, even the Bills winning the superbowl. Lets all try to be a little ...
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