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We are now officially in week one of the first game that counts for the Buffalo Bills, so here at Buffalo Wins, in addition to Joe’s 25 things sure to go wrong, we’re also going to look at the roster and what stories may play out over the 2015 season for each spot. As always, agree or disagree feel free to chat with me about this and more at @RDotDeuce. Or not. Y’know, America and all that.
OFFENSE
QB (3) – Tyrod Taylor, Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel.
The cynic in me says that Matt Cassel being cut and re-signed was a way for Whaley to get point back with the staff after “going rogue” and cutting a 34 year old running back for a younger player while gaining 3+ million dollars in cap space. But that’s neither here nor there. From all accounts this team is Tyrod Taylor’s with no ifs ands or buts about it, Cassel is the sage vet that brings cocoa and tells the other guys how he swindled 45 million out of Kansas City after running the Patriot offensive death machine and EJ is…there. To his credit, Manuel hasn’t asked for a trade, but I’m sure his family/agent have educated him on the benefits of not being the squeaky wheel right now.
The relationship of the three has been said to be positive, so hopefully there aren’t the mid-season leaks of one QB saying they’d have done x or y instead of Taylor’s W, but that’s life. As long as Greg Roman does what he’s done at San Fran and before that with Harbaugh at Stanford I think that Tyrod will be fine as starter. Also, apropos of nothing Tyrod is a dead ringer for Winston Bishop on New Girl. My poor DVR follow up combined with watching Bills highlights brought that together for me. You’re welcome.
RB (4) – LeSean McCoy, Karlos Williams, Boobie Dixon, Bryce Brown.
With the jettisoning of Jackson, this position has seen the most turnover on the team. McCoy’s hamstring notwithstanding, the run game will be in good hands with any of the four backs lined up behind number 5. Which is good, because this is going to be the engine that drives the Bills’ offense. The ascendance of Williams to the number 2 spot when he’s healthy has added a bruising dimension to the slashing style of McCoy that will allow LeSean to not have to be the lead back that gets 300 carries (even if he’s done it before) and falls into that ditch of 30 year old backs.
My feelings aside, I do understand the optics of cutting a family-centered, community driven guy like Jackson and letting Williams (see here) take the role – but moving into that “big boy” club of wins over ‘character’ will be a bit of a switch. Dixon will be the free loving special teamer / occasional carrier of the rock and Bryce will be in the “Doug Whaley depth section” along with EJ.
FB (1) – Jerome Felton.
With the addition of Roman to the staff I’ve detailed ad nauseum to Joe in particular the importance of the fullback to this offense. Adding one of the best at said job in free agency was great; now we get to see how they’ll use him.
TE (4) – Charles Clay, MarQueis Gray, Matt Mulligan, Chris Gragg.
This is one of the cleaner charts position wise as well. Clay’s the man, Gray and Gragg can approximate his athleticism and Mulligan’s the blocker. Like I said, easy-peasy. The fact that Clay, Gragg and Gray can line up all over the formation allows for a lot of variety and movement from the TE position, something that hasn’t been seen since Chan Gailey’s usage of Scott Chandler, hopefully with a *bit* more production.
WR (7) – Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods/Percy Harvin, Chris Hogan, Marquise Goodwin, Marcus Thigpen, Marcus Easley.
The receiver group was interesting to me, mainly because so many were kept. In terms to game-to-game players, Watkins/Woods/Harvin are going to be when healthy the three primary targets as receivers. Hogan and Goodwin are great depth/speed options and Thigpen and Easley are the special teamers – one for returns and one for general special team awesomeness.
With the mobility of Tyrod, in addition to being great route runners at times these players will have to play along in the jazz ensemble of chaos when plays break down. I am eager to see where that goes, as well as how much Watkins and Harvin are used in the jet sweep.
OL (8) – Cordy Glenn, Richie Incognito, Eric Wood, John Miller, Seantrel Henderson, Kraig Urbik, Cyrus Kouandjio, Gabe Ikard.
The additions of Incognito and Miller have done wonders for the remaining 3/5 of the 2014 starting offensive line in pre-season. The question now becomes how they hold up in the regular season? I have high hopes for this group, but injuries will tell the story. If the running backs are the engine that drives the offense, the line is the transmission – without their spine, they go nowhere.
The addition of Ikard allows for two C/G swing players, which allows Kouandjio to focus on developing at tackle without having to start, placing Cyrus on the Whaley depth chart island alongside Manuel and Brown.
DL (5)* – Kyle Williams, Corbin Bryant, Stefan Charles, Alex Carrington, Andre Fluellen. *Marcell Dareus.
With Dareus’ one game suspension, Corbin Bryant gets to start against the Colts, then fall back to being depth at NT. This is one of the strongest parts of the team when you add in Edge players Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes. On the interior however, none of these players are slouches. Kyle Williams is going to be his normal hell-raising self and the return of Alex Carrington allows for coverage along all three techniques should they need it. Fluellen’s a great role player to help in the interim until Dareus’ glorious return in week two.
Edge (2) – Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes.
26 sacks on average as a team is all you need to say about the tandem of Mario and Jerry. As mentioned above, with the addition of Kyle and Marcell this foursome is one of the hardest (if not the hardest) in the NFL to block. In Rex’s scheme these two will be up, down, all around. But most importantly they will be rushing the passer.
If anything my biggest concern with these two is that there isn’t an established young guy behind them.
Sam Linebacker (2) – Manny Lawson, Randell Johnson.
Manny’s return to a Ryan hybrid has allowed him to flourish again. His length while in coverage is something that can make windows a bit tougher to throw in and I’ve been a fan of his off-the-ball edge setting. Johnson’s development as a potential replacement for Lawson (as well as a depth pass rusher in a pinch) is one of those picks that folks can point to when Kouandjio or Manuel or Brown are brought up.
Inside Linebacker (Mike and Will) (4) – Preston Brown, Nigel Bradham, AJ Tarpley, Tony Steward.
Brown and Bradham have proven to be an effective team together on the field and throughout the pre-season the transition to the Ryan defense has been a good one. Tarpley and Steward are going to be younger depth behind them, with Steward more likely to take on more of the “first man off the bench” role when fully healthy. Tarpley is grandfathered in under my “most Stanford players rock on-field” rule, but isn’t the fleetest of foot, which can be trouble in the passing game.
Cornerback (5)* – Stephon Gilmore, Ronald Darby, Nickell Robey, Mario Butler, Ron Brooks. *Leodis McKelvin NFI-PUP
This…is a volatile group. With McKelvin’s setback Darby has been put into the unenviable position of being a rookie starter in a defense predicated on coverage. Every misstep is fatal; every peek into the backfield a potential 6 points for the bad guys. There are going to be some bad plays/games to be sure, but coverage can be rolled and pressure can be manufactured. However, that doesn’t mean that Darby is blameless – he’ll have to get better (and quick!) while Leo is on the mend.
Robey, he of the new contract is a solid nickle corner and blitzing agent from the field. Mario Butler has been one of Rex’s favorites since he got to Buffalo and his play has been good when called upon. Ron Brooks is essentially the placeholder corner until Leodis comes back.
Safety (4) – Aaron Williams, Corey Graham, Duke Williams, Bacarri Rambo.
Graham, since his conversion has been the starter and nothing has changed. Aaron Williams has been a good to great starter since his conversion 2 years ago and barring injury should enjoy career numbers. Bacarri Rambo and Duke Williams will be good depth behind them and have been used in three safety packages before – so they’ve fit right in to the Ryan system. With Darby’s development needing to happen on-field, their ability as a unit to clean up messes at other levels of the defense will be paramount.
Specialists (4) – Garrison Sanborn, Colton Schmidt, Jordan Gay, Dan Carpenter.
Three of the four specialists have received positive reviews throughout camp; that leaves Dan Carpenter as the sole recipient of Ryan’s scorn. Fans may forget, but Carpenter’s departure from Miami was aided by missing 4 field goals in one game vs the Bills; ironically the Bills brought in Alex Henery for a workout, who missed three vs the Bills last year.
Also – Jaylen Watkins is a member of the practice squad, which is pretty cool for the Watkins family in general.
So, that’s all folks, 55 or so players that will play for the Bills this season. As I said before, hit me up @RDotDeuce to let me know if I under/over sold any players.
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