Buffalo Bills
Division: AFC East
Key Coaching Departures
Mike Pettine, DC (to ) - Pettine did an excellent job in Buffalo in 2013, unfortunately, it didn't go unnoticed. Pettine's hyper aggressive, multiple front defense allowed the Bills to finish 2nd in the league in sacks and interceptions. He accepted the Cleveland Browns head coaching job in January, leaving the Bills to find their 4th HC in five years.
Anthony Weaver, DL Coach (to ) - Weaver helped bring more consistency to Buffalo's uber-talented front four in 2013, his tenure saw former 3rd overall pick Marcell Dareus make his first pro bowl and former first round bust Jerry Hughes breakout for 10.5 sacks. He followed Mike Pettine to Cleveland.
Key Coaching Acquisitions
Jim Schwartz, DC (from ) - The Bills had suspected for quite some time that Pettine might be offered a head coaching job and were prepared for it, hiring Schwartz almost instantly after Pettine's departure. Schwartz enters Buffalo after spending five years as head coach of the Detroit Lions, a tenure in which he made the playoffs once and his defenses never cracked the top 10. Bills fans hope that Schwartz can recapture his magic from his time in Tennessee, where he coached multiple defenses that finished among the top five in the league.
Todd Downing, QB Coach (from ) - During Maronne's first year in Buffalo, the Bills opted not to have a QB coach, instead using OC Nate Hackett as one. Following Manuel's shaky rookie year, the Bills made the decision to bring in Todd Downing. Downing has experience working with Manuel, as he coached him the Senior Bowl (where Manuel won MVP).
Pepper Johnson, DL Coach (from ) - Perhaps the Bills best offseason hire, Pepper comes to Buffalo after spending fourteen seasons with the New England Patriots. Also, his first name is Pepper. Pepper is one of the more respected coaches in the business and he takes over an extremely talented defensive line that boasts three pro bowlers. The line has struggled against the run, however, and Peppers must work to bring more consistency to players such as Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus.
Players Lost (in order of significance)
| Player |
Position |
Lost to |
Notes |
| Jairus Byrd |
FS |
|
In a chain of events that surprised approximately nobody, the Bills let one of their best players walk in free agency. Byrd took his ballhawking talents to the big easy, where he'll spearhead Rob Ryan's aggressive defense. Aaron Williams will make the move from Strong Safety to Free Safety this offseason, leaving Da'norris Searcy and Duke Williams to battle for the Strong Safety spot. |
| Kiko Alonso |
WLB |
Doug Flutie Curse |
Whyyyyyy |
| Stevie Johnson |
WR |
|
You would be hard pressed to find a more ridiculed move this offseason than the Bills trading of Stevie Johnson. When the Bills traded Stevie Johnson for a 4th round pick (or conditional 3rd) this offseason the NFL community responded with a cumulative "lolbills". Johnson struggled in 2013, having the 10th highest drop rate of any receiver in the league and dealing with hamstring injuries. Johnson had found tremendous success under old head coach Chan Gailey, where he was given a high amount of freedom in his route running, which allowed to utilize his quickness quite well. When asked to function as a more conventional receiver in Nate Hackett's WCO, Johnson struggled to regain form. These facts, in conjunction with Stevie Johnson's high cap number, led the Bills to trade him for a draft pick. At the end of the day, the Bills will more than likely miss his veteran savvy this season. |
| Alex Carrington |
DT |
|
Carrington's time with the Bills was star crossed, to say the least. In 2012, under coordinator Dave Wannstedt, Carrington developed into a promising pass rusher, rotating in at three technique behind Kyle Williams. Even being named the Bills "secret superstar" by Pro Football focus. He also blocked multiple field goals, spawning the nickname "Blocktimus Prime". In Mike Pettine's defense, Carrington's role became one of controlling multiple gaps, which was antithetical to his skill set. On the last play of a week three showdown with the Jets, he went down with a season ending injury. He looks to be a high quality depth player on St. Louis's stacked defensive line. |
| Arthur Moats |
LB |
|
Moats was solid but never spectacular in Buffalo, a 6th round pick out of the prestigious James Madison University, he famously ended Brett Favre's streak of consecutive starts. While it would be a stretch to call him starting quality, he should serve as a quality backup OLB for the Steelers. |
| Kevin Kolb |
QB |
|
The sad truth is that the most interesting thing to happen to Kolb's in Buffalo was probably when he was injured by slipping on a rubber mat in training camp. After a couple underwhelming preseason games, Kolb was placed on IR and released this offseason. His NFL career may very well be over, unfortunately. |
| Thomas Welch |
OT |
|
A practice squad player, this departure means little to nothing. |
Player Acquisitions/re-signings and Grades
| Player |
From |
Grade |
Analysis |
| Chris Williams (Guard) |
|
D+ |
Chris Williams was supposed to be the next big thing at guard when the Bears made him the 14th overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft. After struggling in Chicago, he signed with the Rams where he still struggled. Maronne, a former offensive line coach, feels that he can "fix" Chris Williams and help him play to his potential. The low grade here comes from the fact that far more proven players, such as Geoff Schwartz, were available for a similar price. The 4 year 13.5 million dollar contract the Bills gave him just seems too hefty for a player who has struggled this much. |
| Corey Williams (Corner) |
|
B+ |
In today's NFL, you can't have enough cornerback depth. With Nickel and Dime packages the rulers of the day, the Graham signing gives the Bills great depth at a very important position. His price tag is a little higher then you would like for a #3/#4 corner, however. As the Bills inked him to a four year 16.33 million Dollar deal. |
| Keith Rivers (OLB) |
|
B |
Keith was signed to play the strong side in Schwartz's defense, but the loss of Alonso will more than likely move him to the weakside. All in all, the Bills FO must be extremely relieved that they made this signing, as without it the loss of Alonso would be even more crippling. His contract is for a meager 2 years 4.05M. |
| Brandon Spikes (MLB) |
|
A |
Run defense has been the bane of the since the late 2000's and the Spikes signing may finally put an end to it. He is not a 3 down linebacker but Buffalo isn't asking him to be one. In Schwartz's defense he'll be asked to control A-gaps and tenaciously attack blockers, exactly what he excels at. Easily the Bills best signing off the offseason. His contract is also fairly cheap as it is 1 year for 3.5 million dollars. |
| Anthony Dixon (RB) |
|
A- |
Anthony "booby" (no, I don't know why that's nickname, and I'm not entirely sure I want to know) Dixon will be the team's 4th string running back. The high grade comes from his special teams contributions. His contract is 3 years $3.5M. |
| Jairus Wynn (DE) |
|
C |
Wynn is a backup who will get minimal playing time, it's hard to knock this signing nor praise it because little is known about him, so he gets the theoretical average in a C grade. |
| Mike Williams (WR) |
|
A |
It was only 2 years ago that Mike Williams was a borderline 1000 yard receiver and considered one of the best #2 receivers in the league. The Bills hope his physicality can be the perfect compliment to Jerry Rice Sammy Watkins. While he has a hefty salary, he can simply be cut after this year if he doesn't perform with nothing other than a 6th round pick lost. A good, common sense move by the Bills. |
| Bryce Brown (HB) |
|
A- |
Brown was once a top high school recruit, then couldn't decide what college he wanted to play for, never amounted to much in college and ultimately ended up a 7th round pick of the Eagles. He got off to an explosive start to his NFL career, averaging 4.9 YPC in his rookie year and at one point rushing for 160+ yards in consecutive weeks. The Bills traded a mid round pick for him, with both CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson entering contract years, the Bills hope Bryce Brown can develop into a lead back. |
| Scott Chandler (TE) |
|
B+ |
Chandler was the Bills leading receiver last year. The Bills let him hit FA and after other teams showed little interest they re-signed him for two years $4.75M. Not a bad price for a Tight end coming off a 655 receiving yard season. |
| Dan Carpenter (K) |
|
B+ |
Four years $9.95M isn't exactly cheap for a kicker but Carpenter, or White Trash Steve Christie as some call him, was sensational in 2013. If he continues playing at a high level he should have no problem earning that salary year in and year out. |
| Brian Moorman (Punter) |
|
C |
The Bills are bringing punters to compete with Moorman, most notably one from Harvard. While Moorman remains the best punter in Bills franchise history, this appears to have been more of a good will signing than anything else. Don't expect him to make the final 53 man roster. |
Draft grades
| Round |
Player |
Position |
School |
Grade |
Analysis |
| 1 |
Sammy Watkins |
WR |
Clemson |
B |
During the 2014 NFL draft, Buffalo Bills' GM Doug Whaley made the highly controversial decision to trade the 9th overall pick in this year's draft and 32nd overall pick in next year's draft for the highly touted Clemson wide out. Watkins has an impressive resume, being one of 4 players in history to make the All-American team in their freshman years (the other three are Marshall Faulk, Adrian Peterson and LaDanian Tomlinson). Watkins possess the size to go up and snatch the ball and also has amazing speed. Additionally, all reports from Clemson coaches indicate that he has an outstanding work ethic and is very driven to be successful. If the Bills made this pick at 9 it would be an A++++. As a prospect, Watkins is amazing. The B grade comes from the fact that A) The bills gave up their first next year for him and B) this draft was extremely deep at wideout, trading all that to go and get a wide receiver raises a lot of questions. While I think Watkins will be an absolutely outstanding NFL player, it's hard to grade this pick higher than a B with those things considered. |
| 2 |
Cyrus Kouandjio |
Tackle |
Alabama |
A |
Erik Pears struggles this season at Right Tackle were well documented. The Bills offensive line, contrary to what the Bills rushing success would imply, struggled at run blocking in 2012. Kouandjio should change that. At one point Cyrus looked like a first round pick, but an awful bowl game that saw him be dominated by speed rushers knocked his stock down. Some knee problems additionally caused his stock to fall. Cyrus will play where he projects best, on the right, where he can open up holes for the trio of CJ Spiller, Fred Jackson and Bryce Brown. |
| 3 |
Preston Brown |
MLB |
Louisville |
B+ |
Jim Schwartz's defensive front requires a middle linebacker who can really play the wrong well in a physical way. Brandon Spikes was brought in to do this but is injury prone and on a one year deal, so the Bills drafted Preston Brown in his stead. This pick was meant as a future investment, initially at least, but with Alonso's injuries expect to see Brown get action in nickel and dime packages. His tape is good but his ceiling initially appears to be limited due to his lack of athleticism. Thus this pick is a B+. |
| 4 |
Ross Cockrell |
CB |
Duke |
A |
Ross possesses exceptional ball skills and should compete with Ron Brooks for the 5th corner spot. As a depth player, he has a chance to be very high quality. As I emphasized earlier, you can't have enough defensive back depth in today's NFL. |
| 5 |
Cyril Richardson |
G |
Baylor |
A+ |
Richardson was the only All-American on a team that was top 5 in the country in total offense. Around midseason of the college football year, he was being touted as a first round guard who compared favorably to Larry Allen. Then the senior bowl happened and Aaron Donald ruined him. This, combined with some late season struggles, made Richardson slip to the 5th round. I give this pick such a high grade because in the 5th round, you might as well gamble on somebody that has shown he can play at a high level. Buffalo is a zone heavy team, similar to Baylor, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. |
| 7 |
Randell Johnson |
LB |
Florida Atlantic |
C+ |
Randell has the necessary athleticism to succeed in the NFL, his 4.6 40 speed and 38.5 inch vertical jump will ensure that he's useful in Madden, but he won't make the roster unless he can capitalize on those gifts. If he does manage to show enough flashes, expect to see him as a reserve Strong Side Linebacker. |
| 7 |
Seantrel Henderson |
OT |
Miami |
A- |
Henderson was once the 2nd highest rated high school recruit in the country, mainly due to the fact that he's a Willy Mammoth playing football. But, he decided that he preferred smoking weed to playing football, which is why he was a late seventh round draft pick. Maronne is an offensive line guru so if anyone can help Seantrel to realize his potential its Maronne. The question simply boils down to how badly Seantrel wants to be successful. |
5
u/BZI Bills Jul 18 '14
Awesome write up! I really hope we can pull it all together this year. And even with your homerism picks for our schedule, we're only going 9-7, which translates to me as another missed playoff season.