Crowell leading Bills’ defense

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, November 06, 2007  |  Comments( 58 )

Buffalo Bills
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After the Buffalo Bills waved goodbye to accomplished veterans Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher in the offseason, it seemed as if the team's linebacking corps didn't have an identity. The Bills hadn't yet drafted Paul Posluszny (whose rookie season ended in Week 3 because of a broken forearm), so their three-man LB group consisted of Angelo Crowell, Keith Ellison and Coy Wire, a trio of relative unknowns.

Immediately, though, Crowell, now one of Buffalo's captains, took it upon himself to become a leader of the Bills' young, surprisingly impressive defense.

"The baton's been passed down to me now, and I see myself as the leader of the defense right now," Crowell said during the offseason.

So far, so good for the 26-year-old, who is arguably the best player on Buffalo's 'D'.

Through eight games this season Crowell has 72 tackles, three passes defensed, one sack and an interception. If his tackling pace keeps up, the 2003 third-round pick from the University of Virginia will finish the season with 144, no doubt a copious amount.

Quite simply, the fifth-year man has held Buffalo's linebacking corps together. Without Posluszny, Crowell, on the strong side, is playing alongside Ellison and former undrafted free agent John DiGiorgio. Though the latter two are faring well, there's no question Crowell is making them look better than they are; great players improve lesser talents around them, and it's precisely what's happening with the underrated Crowell and his fellow linebackers.

Crowell, who is to Buffalo's Tampa 2 defensive scheme as two-time Pro Bowler Lance Briggs (a weak-sider) is to Chicago's, has consistently been a highly productive yet overlooked performer at the NFL level. Prior to this season, in fact, he accumulated 204 total tackles, five sacks and four interceptions in the previous two years (27 games), but the 6-foot-1, 243-pounder was overshadowed by Spikes and Fletcher.

It also didn't help that Crowell was prominent on teams that finished 5-11 and 7-9, respectively. Now, however, the Bills are 4-4, in midseason playoff contention after having won four of five. A big reason for Buffalo's resurgence is certainly Crowell, who was all over the field in the team's Week 9 win over Cincinnati (14 tackles).

Meanwhile, Spikes is on a 3-5 Philadelphia club that is poised to finish with a poor record, and Fletcher is part of a Washington 'D' that surrendered 52 points to the Patriots recently. Sometimes, then, having big names doesn't always make that much of a difference.

At some point, given the way he's performed during his still-young career, Crowell will become a well-known commodity around the NFL. His value to the Bills' defense, which held the Bengals to 28 rushing yards and is 12th in the league in points allowed, simply can't be overstated.
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CommentsComments: 58  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Ron		06:32 AM
11/07/2007
Crowell has bee the one constant in the LB unit. Ellison and Poz both have missed significant time so he's the one guy left ...
No.2
frank drury		07:04 AM
11/07/2007
Ron, I admire your dedication to the Bills. You should seriously consider becoming a statistician or accountant because you are a ...
No.3
Dickie		07:06 AM
11/07/2007
What in the hell does any of that long @ss post have to do with Crowell? This is about Crowell not the line and Dockery...come on ...
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