6) Stevie has to get back on-track
Look, I love Stevie Johnson just as much as the next guy. He was a player who came out of nowhere to be somebody on a team that hadn’t had a late round draft pick develop since…..um, Jason Peters, who wasn’t even drafted. With Johnson, I enjoy his tweets, his celebrations and more importantly, the way he plays. I think he’s a great route runner, and he just knows how to get open. However, after he dropped that potential game-winning touchdown pass against the Steelers, things for Stevie seemed to take a turn for the worse. For one, when you are a flamboyant type of wideout, and let’s face it, Johnson fits that bill, you are going to get more crap from certain fans and old-school media types who are looking to pick a fight.
You become a target. So, because of the key drops, especially the one against the Steelers, people were jumping on him. The tweet blaming God made it even worse. However, some of the criticism was warranted because of what he did before and after the Steelers game. Before Pittsburgh, Johnson was on pace to get over 1300 yards receiving and break the team record for most touchdowns for a wideout in a Bills single season. Although his catches didn’t really take a dip (49 in his first 10 games and 30 in the last six), his yards and touchdowns went way down. Before the Pittsburgh game, Johnson had three games with 135 yards receiving or more and had 9 touchdowns.
After the Steelers game, Stevie did less damage, as he had just one touchdown and surpassed 70 yards only once. Maybe the Evans injury, Fitz’s play or his mindset had something to do with it, but if he wants to be considered a #1 wideout, he has to show more consistency. I do believe he can accomplish that since he’s still a young player and is coming into his own. This year will be key for him. He’ll be a free agent after the season so he’s gonna get paid if he has another 80 catch year. If you want a contract baramoter, look at what Santonio Holmes got: a 5-year, 50-million dollar deal. I know he’s got an MVP award, but if you take away his 79 catch season in 2009, he’s never had more than 55 catches in one year.
5) High draft picks need to start playing well
Well, pick a name: Maybin, McKelvin, Spiller, Troup and Carrington. I’m still going to give Spiller (more on him later) and Troup more time, but my patience is running out with McKelvin. As a top 11 pick, you HAVE to be a shutdown corner. McKelvin hasn’t come close and is way too inconsistent for being that high of a pick. Sure, he’s had some flashes, but at other times…eh! Right now, I have no clue where the Bills have him positioned. Is he the 3rd corner? Does he replace McGee? I don’t know, but your former 1st round pick shouldn’t be your 3rd corner.
As for Maybin, I’ve really given up hope. I mean, he can’t even get on the field as a special teams player. He can talk all he wants about watching film (What the hell is he going to watch? He played like 30 snaps last year!) and gaining weight (Try the stuff Jose Canseco used ;), but I’m not holding my breath. I do believe that he looks like a linebacker. I said that in August. However, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it’s a damn duck…or something like that.
Back to Troup, I’m not really sure what the Bills are going to do with him. If the Bills go 4-3, he’s not on the field unless Williams or Dareus needs a breather. If you ask me, Troup is kind of in limbo unless someone on the defensive line gets injured. Frankly, if Williams and Dareus dominate, I don’t know where Troup would fit.
4) Figure out the running game
I don’t know about you, but I really wasn’t all that satisfied with the overall running game. Over the course of the year, it was kind of a strange odyssey. When the season started, CJ Spiller was the starter. Then he lost his job to Marshawn Lynch for like four games, then Lynch got traded, then Fred Jackson get the nod, then CJ Spiller got hurt and if you look at the stats, that’s actually when the running game took off. Jackson was the featured back against the Lions, Bengals and Steelers, averaging 102 yards a game on the ground. He also had over a 100 yards receiving against Pittsburgh.
Then when Spiller returned, other than the Browns game, the running game didn’t look all that good. The Dolphins stuffed them in Miami and the Jets 2nd teamers shut them down in the season finale. Take away the first drive against New England, and the running game was kind of invisible. Of course, line injuries came into play.
Now, I’m not picking on Spiller for being the reason for the inconsistency, but sometimes two can be a crowd. I’ve always said that certain running backs need to carry the ball more so they can get into rhythm. I feel that Jackson needs to carry the ball 20-22 times a game. He just doesn’t strike me as a change-of-pace back. As I wrote before, Jackson’s career best games came when Lynch and Spiller weren’t playing due to injuries or suspensions. If I’m the Bills, I do everything I can to make Spiller into a legit receiving threat. Now, I know they’ve been trying, but I think having him be a pass catcher first and a runner 2nd would work better for the team. I just don’t think splitting carries between the two backs is the right way to go.
3) Get some some Flintstone vitamins and the Holy Grail from the the 3rd Indiana Jones movie
Remember when everyone was talking up how Chan Gailey changed the culture of the Bills? Especially by having hard-hitting practices in training camp, getting rid of the TVs and hiring two strength and conditioning coaches? And that doing that would of course result in fewer injuries?Well, that didn’t exactly happen. For years, we had assumed that the Bills’ injury woes were due in large part to Dick Jauron’s epic flag football training camps.
However, after last year, I think it goes beyond training camps and the methods of medicine that the Bills use. The Bills have to kick this injury bug. How? Well, you get better players in here or you hope that the younger guys (see: 2010 and 2011 draft classes) step up and become the core of this team without getting hurt. Sure, there’s blind luck involved, as Lee Evans has been a Millennium Man type of player in terms of not getting hurt. Even still, when 14 of 22 Opening Day starters have missed games due to injury, as was the case last season, you have issues.
2) Bills defense needs to step up
Last week, I went over the QBs that the Bills have beaten since 2008. It’s not exactly the QB class of the 1983 draft. For this week’s eye-opening stat of futility, the Bills have allowed 17 running backs to go over a 100 yards in a game over the last two seasons. There’s no denying that the Bills needs to get better in all areas. The Bills can’t have eight games in which they give up 30 points or more (accomplished last season). They have to get more pressure on the QB. They’ve only had one player in the last 11 years get over ten sacks (Schobel in 2006 and 2009).
As I’ve said 20 different times already, Shawne Merriman is a huge X-factor in all this. Plus, the Bills will be in year two of switching defensive formations which normally means a defense should pick up the pace. Of course there’s the Marcell Dareus factor, but he’s only a rookie. Any way you slice it, the Bills defense can’t play like they did last year or we will have a top 5 pick again.
1) Fitzpatrick needs to get better
I still think Fitzpatrick can start in this league and play at a high level if you surround him with talent. However, I think we are all in agreement that Fitz’s play down the stretch wasn’t up to par when you compare it to his early season success. In Fitz’s first 8 starts on the season, the Harvard product had 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. The Bills scored over 19 points in five of those games. However, in his final five games, Fitzpatrick struggled. He threw for only 5 touchdowns but was intercepted 6 times. The Bills averaged only 12 points a game during that period. Of course, team injuries played a part in his performance as Fitz was throwing footballs to UB products and kids off the street.
Plus, the Bills seemed to take on a more balanced offensive attack by passing less, which actually resulted in a 4-4 finish. Even still, the pressure will be on Fitzpatrick for this year. He has so much to gain or lose. He could be making 7 million bucks by January or he could be nothing more than a QB who keeps the seat warm for the heir apparent. If he struggles like he did over the last 5 games, people will be calling for the Bills to draft a QB next year. Right now, I think the majority of the public is on Fitzpatrick’s side. However, the public was also on Losman and Edwards’ side at one point too.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
