Your 2009 Buffalo Bills: Defensive Line Preview

If you’ve been a fan of my blog, you will know my feelings on what the key to success for the Bills is. It’s all on the defensive line. I know everyone is all about how Trent Edwards plays and whether T.O. will implode, but in order to win in the NFL you need to have a pass rush. History shows that almost ever single Super Bowl winning team had a pass rush specialist. The 49ers and Cowboys, known more for their offenses had Charles Haley. Even the Rams had Kevin Carter who was able to get double digit sacks. The Bills are a long way away from making fans forget about Bruce Smith.

I remember last year how excited I was about the Bills new look defensive line. All I heard during the offseason was how the Bills were going to rotate guys in and out, and keep the defensive tackles fresh. The Bills biggest acquisition last year was the trade for Marcus Stroud and the FA signing of Spencer Johnson. The two of them, along with John McCargo and Kyle Williams were being touted as the core of the defense. Unfortunately, McCargo was a disappointment who was benched, then traded to the Colts, only to have the deal break down because he failed the physical. McCargo ended up going IR in November and if you look up his stats for 2008, it’s all zeroes across the board. Stroud played well at times, but seemed to disappear towards the second half of the year. Williams gets a lot of credit a lot of credit from fans and peers about his play, but I just don’t get where that comes from because his stats don’t show it. The 4 DT’s combined for 6.5 sacks and no forced or recovered fumbles last season. Whether it’s a rotation or playing every down, plain and simple the Bills need their DTs to make bigger plays.

If there are any Bills players I’m most critical of, it’s Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay. Not only are both defensive ends over paid (Kelsay 6 million and Schobel 7 million a year), they fail to get the most critical aspect a DE needs to accomplish, getting sacks. Since getting his new contract 2 seasons ago, Kelsay has only 4.5 sacks. Schobel, whom if you watch his highlight reel, it seems that all of his sacks are from the defense blitzing 5 players, has been a huge disappointment. Since getting his record 7-year 50 million dollar contract, Schobel only has 7.5 sacks in two seasons. To top it off, I’ve heard interviews where Schobel has stated that sacks are overrated. Seriously? That’s like a wide receiver saying touchdown catches don’t matter. The fact that there hasn’t been a bigger outrage about Schobel’s statement is shocking.

Bottom line the Bills ends are overpaid and overrated, and if you’ve watched the games closely, whenever the Bills have only 4 players rushing the QB, you may as well forget about getting pressure. For the record, the Bills only had 24 sacks last year. I know some of you will state Schobel not being in the lineup for 11 games due to injury hurt the pass rush. But if you look at the 2007 season, when Schobel played all 16 games, the Bills only had 2 more sacks than last year. When it comes to the Bills D-Line, forget your popcorn, get your tissues ready.

I know a lot of Bills fans are counting on Maybin to be the cure for the pass rush. He might be, but not this year. Maybin is a project player, who only played one full year as a starter in college. He’s a bit undersized for a defensive end and extremely raw. Look for Maybin to play only on passing downs and considering how conservative the coaching staff, it wouldn’t come as a shock if he doesn’t get on the field during some games in order to bring him on slowly.

Part 1: Quarterback Preview
Part 2: Running Backs Preview
Part 3: Wide Receivers Preview
Part 4: O-Line Preview
Part 5: D-Line Preview
Part 6: Linebacker Preview
Part 7: Secondary Preview
Part 8: Special Teams Preview
Part 9: Coaching Preview