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This fourth and final installment of the 2011 Buffalo Bills’ season review is really a look forward, exploring paths the team could possibly take to improve their roster next season. I wasn’t planning on discussing coaching staff additions in this review, but recently 2 Buffalo offensive assistants – QB coach George Cortez and WR coach Stan Hixon – left the team, Cortez taking a head coaching job in the CFL and Hixon moving to the revamped Penn State staff. In Indianapolis, GM Bill Polian and his son Chris were relieved of their duties, leaving coach Jim Caldwell and his staff in limbo until a new GM decides their fate. That means the Colts’ former QB coach and current WR coach, Frank Reich, is also in limbo. It isn’t often that a team can excite its’ fan base through an assistant coach hiring, but that would be the case if the team hired Reich. He was basically a coach on the sidelines when he played here, and I remember a story involving Reich and Peyton Manning, where the pair spent the off-season breaking down all of Peyton’s interceptions from the previous season, which were uncharacteristically high that year, in an effort to cut down on them the next year. That sounds like just the sort of medicine Ryan Fitzpatrick could use. As for the WR coach opening, I wonder what James Lofton is up to these days? He has held that position for both the Chargers and Raiders, and at the very least might be able to teach Stevie Johnson a thing or two about being a professional.

As for improving the roster, here’s hoping the Bills are aggressive in pursuing not only just any free agents, but the right type of free agents, players who fit with the current roster. Also, it would be a great help if the Bills have a draft similar to 2011, which appears to have been a good one. With that in mind, the following are my thoughts on how the Bills can improve in the off-season.

The positions on the team that need to be addressed, in no particular order, are as follows: on offense – wide receiver, tackle, and some competition at back-up quarterback. On defense, there is a definite need for some pass rushers, either at defensive end or outside linebacker, or both, and a cornerback. Here are the options at those positions that may be available for the Bills to pursue:

Wide Receiver

The Bills have the 10th pick in the first round of the college draft, and if Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon somehow falls to that spot, the Bills MUST take him, despite their need to improve the defense. He is as much of a can’t-miss pro prospect as projected # 1 pick Andrew Luck. Blackmon is a stud who racks up big yardage after the catch, a major plus in today’s NFL, where secondary players all suffer from the “Deion Sanders Syndrome”, meaning they all play with Prime Time’s attitude that it isn’t their job to tackle, and game film is loaded with these players purposely taking bad angles and avoiding contact at all costs. He had an outstanding Bowl game, and is climbing the draft boards to the point where he will probably be long gone by the time the Bills pick. If the Bills go defense with their top pick, a big receiver who could be available to them in round 2 is Nick Toon from Wisconsin. He is projected as a second round talent, and has good bloodlines. His father is former New York Jet wideout Al Toon. In free agency, the player who stands out as a guy who would be a perfect fit in Buffalo is New Orleans WR Marques Colston. He has been a prime target for Drew Brees with the Saints, and that team will be shelling out big bucks for Brees, who is also a free agent, as is another of his prime targets, Robert Meachem. There could be a scenario where the Saints can’t afford to sign all 3 of them, and the right offer could entice Colston. He is a former 7th round draft pick who battled and clawed his way to Pro Bowl status. In other words, he is the perfect Buffalo Bill.

Offensive Tackle

The top offensive tackle in the draft is USC’s Matt Khalil, and he’ll be long gone by the time Buffalo picks. Two tackles who could be available at # 10 and would be good value picks are Riley Reiff of Iowa  and Jonathan Martin of Stanford, who blocked for Luck. As for free agents, there aren’t any tackles on the market worth whatever price would have to be paid. If the Bills decided to go this route, the best option might be to hang on to their own and re-sign Demetrius Bell.

Quarterback

If Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III fell to the Bills at the tenth spot in the draft, there would be fans clamoring to take him, but if it were my choice, I’d trade the pick at that point to the highest bidder and stock up on extra picks to strengthen other positions. What the Bills need is a young QB to learn behind Fitzpatrick and eventually challenge Tyler Thigpen for the #2 spot. That means looking for a good, young one in the middle rounds of the draft would be a good option, since there are none on the free agent market who would be an upgrade over Thigpen. Green Bay’s backup, Matt Flynn, will be a hot commodity on the market but he’ll be looking to sign with a team where he’ll be the starter. The Bills will have an extra fourth round draft pick, from the Lee Evans trade, so that might be a good spot for them to go after a QB. A couple of potential picks there would be Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden, who was Blackmon’s QB, and San Diego State’s Ryan Lindley. Both have good size at 6’4/215 lbs. and would be ideal development projects behind Fitzpatrick.

Defensive End/Outside Linebacker

The Bills really need to find some pass rushers, and there will be some good ones available. On the free agent market, the Colts’ Robert Mathis would be a great addition. He has played in the shadow of Dwight Freeney on the Colts’ line but is a great player in his own right, and would immediately improve the Bills’ defense. It’s likely Mathis will move on, since the Colts will be cash-strapped having to sign Peyton Manning, plus pony up top draft pick money for Andrew Luck. The Bills don’t have a history of making big splashes in free agency, so if they somehow signed Colston or Mathis, it would be big news. One player who could be a sleeper is Dallas outside linebacker Anthony Spencer. He’s been a bit of a disappointment so far and may not be able to command big money, but has a lot of potential if he’s in the right system. Most of the other LBs on the market are inside backers, which the Bills don’t really need. The best 2 outside rush backers in the draft are Courtney Upshaw of national champion Alabama, and USC’s Nick Perry. They both could be available when the Bills pick tenth, and both would be good picks there. Upshaw was a teammate of Marcell Dareus in college so he would seem to fit, but in my opinion Perry is the better player. The top defensve end in the draft appears to be junior Quinton Coples of North Carolina, who is entering the draft early. A lot of draft experts have the Bills picking Coples with that 10th pick, and the Bills have been partial to UNC players, with Da’Norris Searcy and Johnny White drafted from there in 2011.

Cornerback

The best corner available in the draft is clearly Morris Claiborne of LSU, and if he falls to the tenth spot, again, he would be a great choice by the Bills. He could be plugged in opposite Aaron Williams as a starting CB and the team would be set for a decade with a pair of great cover corners who also play a good physical game against the run, something almost no NFL team possesses today. On the free agent market, there just aren’t any standout players who would be worth the money the team would have to pay to get them. Secondary play in the NFL today is so poor that any players whose contracts run out without their team trying to lock them up are most likely guys who aren’t going to upgrade your roster anyway.