Day late and a buck short, but I probably needed a full day to digest Sunday’s victory anyway. The team made numerous plays from a variety of different spots to help in the 31-24 victory over the Eagles. Call them lucky. Call them good. I’ll call them 4-1. Let’s take a look at the trending players.
Buy:
George Wilson: Wilson seemed to struggle a little in the first two games while trying to adjust to being a starting safety and missed a couple of coverage assignments, but since then, he’s been huge for this team. Sunday’s 11 tackle, 1 INT and several pass breakup performance can and should put the final nail in whatever support Donte Whitner still had in Buffalo. I’ve been of the type that I will take a potential missed play for a big, game changing play. Wilson does that. He’s a leader of not only this defense, but for this team. Wilson has a spot on this team for a while and it couldn’t happen to a seemingly better guy.
David Nelson: 1 catch for 6 yards and I’m buying? Nelson may be the slot receiver and 3rd on the depth chart, but Donald Jones’ injury is going to test the depth of the receivers. Naaman Roosevelt will benefit as well, but Nelson already has a proven, good working relationship with Fitz.
Fred Jackson: Seriously, I used to be on the train of not paying the man since he had two years left, but they re-worked Kyle Williams deal with two years left. He’s a complete football player, and a good one at that. 111 yards rushing and an additional 85 yards receiving. You can’t even get mad at CJ Spiller for not performing because Jackson is making it impossible to get him on the field. Give Freddie a deal similar to Spiller’s and create a nice 1-2 punch for the next 4-5 years. Dude is amazing right now, and if Calvin Johnson wasn’t being Calvin Johnson, I’d have Jackson at the top of the MVP race right now.
Nick Barnett: Essentially see George Wilson’s write up. This guy costs half the money of Poz? WOW. Barnett has had his moments of bad penalties, but like Wilson, I’ll take some bumps along the way if you give me a 2 INT performance (one being a pick six and the other helping seal the victory). Barnett doesn’t just bring the tangibles to this defense either, he brings an attitude and belief that seems to resonate with fans and players. The defense still has holes, but they also have better playmakers than last year’s team, including Barnett.
Sell:
Kyle Williams: I have to sell someone and even before the injury, Williams has been seemingly quiet this season. He hasn’t been a liability, but he hasn’t been the player fans fell in love with last year either. I think Williams will work himself right, but for right now, I’m a little cautious.
Shawne Merriman: I know he picked up another sack, but I like what I see out of Carrington and Moats. I think we’ll see a rotation of these players throughout the year in a variety of different positions, but it’s clearly obvious that Merriman isn’t what he used to be. Hopefully he’ll get better as the season progress, but I’m becoming much less confident in that.
The Bills are 4-1 anyway you slice it. You can be overly pessimistic about the defense and their inability to slow offenses down, or you can be blindly optimistic. I’m still middle of the road on this team, but after watching this team the first five weeks, you can’t convince me that playing Eli Manning and Rex Grossman in the next two games are not winnable games. Both have shown a history of careless giveaways and both have also shown capabilities of winning games. At some point, the defense will need to be all around better, but there’s not a game on the schedule that seems like it’s insurmountable. Enjoy the ride.
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