Since yesterday’s Bills game was blacked out and I saw very little of it, we’ll scrap the game review post this week. But in general, it’s clear the hope we once had will continue to evaporate as we face another playoff-less year for our football team. But I’m not trying to depress you too much here. Instead, I’ll provide five random thoughts on both the Bills and the Sabres for your Monday evening. Not all of it is a downer:
Bills
1. Before the season started, I thought the next step of the Bills rebuild would be to show improvement and win 7 games. Back in October, it looked I was completely underestimating the team, but now I wonder if we’ll win another game before the final whistle vs New England on New Years Day. And have things really improved? Last year at this time, the team was starting to build some momentum in winning 4 out of the last 8. Now it’s really the complete opposite. I know there’s some positives to take from the season, but that might be a post for once we hit January. Right now, it just looks like a team that still needs a major talent infusion.
2. I’ve been a Chan Gailey fan since his first training camp with the team. But after the initial excitement of how he was making lesser talented players on the offense excel, I think he, just as his players, haven’t progressed as we’d like. I still think he’s a great offensive mind, but perhaps he doesn’t show enough interest in the defensive side of the ball? Yes, he lost some key players there as the season went along, but even with everyone present in the lineup the D was getting gashed not only by the run but by the pass as well since week 2. Having an inexperienced guy like George Edwards calling the shots was a major blunder. Dave Wannstedt seemed like a great addition, but there hasn’t been any marked improvement this season with his input. Yes, we need more skill and depth on that side of the ball, but the coaching has been far from perfect too.
3. Ryan Fitzpatrick is not an elite QB, but we can still win with him. I’m not terribly concerned with the offense at this point and am expecting 90% of the draft picks to go to the other side of the ball. Fitz is far from the biggest issue on this team. Some improvements along the offensive line and a better complement to Stevie at WR is all I want to see tinkered with there. People forget that Fitz is still having a career year and putting up stats we haven’t seen at the position in quite some time.
4. C.J. Spiller seemingly can play football. No matter what happens with Freddy Jackson’s contract status, Spiller’s terrific running yesterday is something to be excited about. Just like in hockey with goalies, you can’t go wrong with two RB’s who can play. It’s not a problem, folks. This is another place we need to see Gailey’s offensive genius in finding enough touches for #28. Still don’t like us picking him in the first round, but now given the playing time he’s showing he can be a difference maker.
5. What do I want to see from the Bills to round out the season? A couple of wins would be nice, but big time plays by the draft picks from the last two years (Dareus, Carrington, Sheppard, A. Williams) would give us a bit more hope. Buddy Nix proclaims building a team through the draft is the way to go while he beats his chest with pride, so these players absolutely need to be stars soon.
Sabres
1. Lost in the chatter about the Tootoo hit was that Ryan Miller played perhaps his best game of the season in his return. Through all the excitement about Enroth’s play and Miller’s grumpiness in interviews, one clear thing has been forgotten: The Sabres will only go as far as Miller can take them. Yes, we have more talent through free agent additions and some developing prospects, but if Miller continues to falter our Cup hopes will wither and die. He was average last season and quite bad to start this year, and our overall record reflected this. Enroth isn’t ready to be a #1 goalie yet, so Miller has to get things right. He may be overrated but he’s still a top 10 goalie, and we’re not winning many games without keeping that puck out of the net. Simple, I know, but it’s true.
2. The reason point #1 is so important is the Sabres will go stretches as they are now where they can’t seem to buy goals. With all due respect to Thomas Vanek, we still don’t have a player that can instantly lift the team on his back when a goal is needed. Thomas has shown that potential early this season, but he just can’t consistently do it yet. It would help, though, if players like Roy, Stafford and Leino could find their games. There’s just too many individuals that haven’t lived up to their potential on the offensive front, but luckily it’s a long season to work these things out. It’s important they do, as Vanek and Pominville will drop off, as we’ve seen a bit lately.
3. Is Ville Leino a bust? I’m not one to throw proclamations like that out there, especially only 26 games into a six-year contract. But there were concerns when he signed that he wasn’t worth the money, namely the fact that he only had one decent full regular season of hockey. I’ll admit he does look lost out there, but it’s not like he doesn’t have the talent. A bigger concern would be if he lacks the drive after securing his big pay day. There were criticisms leveled at him back in his Detroit days that he was lazy and refused to play the coach’s system. That would be a big problem in Lindy’s world obviously. But I’m far from giving up on Ville. Every time I see him making head scratching plays, I latch onto what Danny Briere said when we signed him. He was disappointed to lose his play making line mate and called him dynamic, saying the Buffalo fans would love him. Hopefully we’ll see that player sooner rather than later.
4. What’s not to like about Braydon McNabb and Zach Kassian so far? Not sure if they’ll stay up for an extended period of time, but given the Sabres rash of injuries it’s quite possible. I’m interested to see if they can maintain this high level of play for a longer stretch or if they’ll hit that rookie wall where enthusiasm and energy give way to ill-timed mistakes and inexperience. For now, though, I’ll just enjoy this infusion of physicality and talent that we desperately needed.
5. Expectations this year are as high as I’ve remembered them for a Sabres season, probably since 06-07. And if you remember, that team won their first 10 games while this season’s squad has languished at the .500 mark after returning from Europe. So things have seemed much worse than they really are. If the Sabres stay true to form and dominate during the second half of the season as they have more often than not under Lindy Ruff, we’ll be 4th seed or higher and ready to do some damage come playoff time. I expect this difficult start to the campaign will be looked at as a great learning experience and a team building situation.
One final miscellaneous thought – how cool is the new Buffalo Wins banner on our main page here? Proud to say I write for a site with such an impressive visual but also for the quality of the individual writers’ talent and content that we put out. And always, we really appreciate the support of everyone who reads us; we’re fans just like you and will hopefully continue to live up to your expectations.
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