At the halfway point of the 2015 NFL season, the Buffalo Bills, under new coach Rex Ryan, he of the guaranteed playoff prediction, have a disappointing 4-4 record, compared to his predecessor Doug Marrone’s 5-3 mark at this point last year. Here is a look at where the Bills stand, position by position, at the season’s mid-point:
Front office / Coaching
GM Doug Whaley takes a lot of flack for drafting E.J. Manuel in the first round (actually Buddy Nix was GM when Manuel was drafted) and abruptly trading veteran QB Matt Cassel, but the drafts he has actually been in charge of have produced some of the team’s top players. Ryan, at this point, has a worse record than Marrone had in 2014, but the team has undergone a lot of changes, so we’ll hold off on calling his first year a failure until the rest of the season plays out. Injuries have crippled the club so far, but injuries have little to do with the lack of success of Ryan’s defense, which he proclaimed “was a disappointment” in only finishing fourth in the NFL’s defensive rankings under Marrone and coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2014.
Quarterback
Through the first half of the season, it appears the Bills may have found a serviceable QB with the free agent signing of Tyrod Taylor. He missed a couple of games due to injury, but in the games he’s played he’s been efficient, protected the ball well and made plays with both his arm and his legs. As long as he’s healthy, he should either prove he should stay on as the starter, or flop, in which case the team will have to search for a new signal caller, once again. At the very least, Buffalo should look for other options in the off-season for a backup QB. E.J. Manuel, in his third season, doesn’t look like the answer. He failed to beat out Taylor for the starting job, and in the games he’s played he still has looked shaky, with poor decisions, inaccuracy and a lack of pocket awareness. The third QB, Josh Johnson, is a journeyman who probably won’t finish the year on the active roster.
Running Back
The team’s fan base wasn’t happy when Fred Jackson was released in the preseason, but the play of rookie Karlos Williams in the first half of the year has made them forget about the long-time favorite. Williams missed multiple games with a concussion but has been dynamic in the games he’s played, serving as a power-running complement to lead back LeSean McCoy. “Shady” is another player who hasn’t contributed to the offense as expected, also due to injury, but he looks poised to have a big second half. Anthony “Boobie” Dixon has been disappointing when he’s been needed to fill in for the injured backs, but is a major special teams contributor. Boom Herron was signed off the street when the injury bug hit, and has done some decent work, but it’s questionable whether he will stay on the roster all year also. Signed as a blocking back who was expected to help the running game flourish, fullback Jerome Felton has not been much of a factor. He’ll have to up his game in the second half of the year. Another street free agent, Cierre Wood, filled in during the injury period but wound up hurt himself and is on injured reserve, lost for the year.
Receivers
Sammy Watkins, the prize rookie from last year’s draft, hasn’t come close to meeting expectations, for the same reason as a lot of other offensive players – injuries. He fought through various nagging injuries and social media battles with the fans to have a huge game against Miami to close out the first half, fueling hope that he can now be the major factor in the passing game that he’s expected to be. Robert Woods has been a favorite target of the Bills’ QBs so far, and Chris Hogan made some big plays when the receiving corps was decimated by injuries early on, helping to keep the Bills’ season from completely falling apart. Marcus Easley, mostly on the roster for special teams, showed he can be a factor in the offense also with a long touchdown catch against Jacksonville, and it will be interesting to see if the Bills keep him involved in the offense in the final 8 games. Marquise Goodwin has been what he’s always been since he joined the club – too fragile to stay on the field. He is now on season-ending injured reserve and should consider retiring. Denarius Moore was added to the roster when the injuries hit but has been used exclusively to return kicks, where he hasn’t exactly been sure-handed. Walter Powell was just signed to the active roster, and is a total unknown. The tight ends, especially free agent prize Charles Clay, have done a good job. Chris Gragg played his way into a bigger role in the offense with some nice plays when their was a wide receiver shortage, while Matt Mulligan is a solid blocker. Two other players who have played a role for the receiving corps but are through for the year are MarQueis Grey and Percy Harvin, whose stay here has been a mystery, involving unknown injuries and personal business.
Offensive Line
One of the best moves Whaley made in free agency was the signing of troubled veteran Richie Incognito to play one of the guard spots. Suspended and basically ostracized by the rest of the league for his role in Miami’s bullying scandal, he has taken full advantage of the opportunity the Bills gave him. He has been the team’s most consistent player on the offensive line. Rookie Jon Miller won the starting spot at the other guard, and has had his struggles but played decently overall. The rest of the starters on the line are holdovers from last year – center Eric Wood and tackles Seantrel Henderson and Cordy Glenn. Henderson has been fairly solid, but Glenn, who will be a free agent at the end of the year, hasn’t exactly made a good case for a big new contract. His play has been inconsistent and he’s been guilty of committing some costly penalties. There isn’t a whole lot of depth behind the starters. Veteran Kraig Urbik is what he is, and that isn’t necessarily very good. Gabe Ikard was signed early on to back up Wood, but hasn’t played, while former second round pick Cyrus Kouandjio has done a fairly good job in spot duty spelling Henderson. The team recently added veteran tackle Jordan Mills, and he’s already seen some action. He hasn’t really been noticed, which as far as offensive linemen go means he’s quietly done his job.
Defensive Line
The starting four of Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and Jerry Hughes all are Pro Bowl-caliber players. However, through the first half of this season they haven’t matched the production they had under last year’s coordinator, Schwartz. Backups Corbin Bryant, Stefan Charles, and a former Bill who was brought back, Alex Carrington, have done an adequate job in the team’s D-line rotation, and a recent injury to Kyle Williams gave them more responsibility and playing time. They have all responded and played well. Former Jet IK Enemkpali was brought in after a controversial exit from New York to help strengthen the pass rush, but the sacks haven’t been coming like they did the last 2 years so he hasn’t done much. This unit has to play much better in the second half if the Bills are going to make a run at the playoffs.
Linebacker
It’s still unclear whether the Bills are playing a 3-4 or a 4-3 alignment as their base defense, but in either case linebacker is not the strength of the unit. The starting linebackers are Preston Brown, who is a good young talent but whose play has been inconsistent, Nigel Bradham, who is playing for a new contract but whose most memorable plays so far have been missed tackles, and veteran Manny Lawson, who apparently is a “hybrid” since he is listed on the roster as a defensive end but rarely plays with his hand on the ground. Hughes also describes himself as a “hybrid”, or a sometimes DE and sometimes LB, so the defense can play either alignment on any given down. This unit, like most of the defense, needs to improve in the second half. Behind the starters, Enemkpali can line up as a backer, Randell Johnson is mostly a special teamer, while A.J. Tarpley and Tony Steward have made minimal or no contributions.
Defensive Backs
This is one area where there has been standout play so far this season. Starting cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and rookie Ronald Darby have ranked among the top coverage corners in the NFL all season, while Nickell Robey, Ron Brooks and Mario Butler have done good work in nickel and dime coverage packages. The return of Leodis McKelvin will strengthen this unit even more, and also help offset the loss of safety Aaron Williams, who is sidelined by injury until later in the year. The other starting safety is veteran Corey Graham, who is having a decent year and is particularly noticeable in the job he’s done in run support. The fact he is among the team leaders in tackles in some games is a testament to his play, but also an indictment of the play of the defenders lined up in front of him. When injuries have hit the safety spots, Bacarri Rambo, Jonathan Meeks and sometimes-starter Duke Williams have contributed solid performances.
Special Teams
When Ryan was hired as coach, he decided to keep special teams coach Danny Crossman on his staff, a good move since the Bills’ bomb squads were among the league’s best last year. The units have taken a major nosedive in production through the first half of 2015, however. Punt returner Marcus Thigpen was cut after some mediocre performances, but his replacement, Denarius Moore, has done little to improve this phase of the game. Kickoff returns are a dying art in the NFL today, with touchbacks the norm, so it’s hard to gauge the Bills’ units there, but certainly they haven’t produced any big plays. Hopefully McKelvin is eased back into punt return duties in the second half, which would improve the production there. Coverage units have been decent but their penchant for taking penalties, especially foolish personal fouls and the dreaded illegal block in the back, have killed the team at times. Still, the club has some solid players here – Marcus Easley, Ron Brooks, Jonathan Meeks and Boobie Dixon to name a few. The kicking game is one of Buffalo’s strengths. Punter Colton Schmidt is one of the best in the NFL, while the value of kickoff specialist Jordan Gay was made evident when he was released, then quickly brought back after a falloff in that area. Dan Carpenter hasn’t been his usual reliable self, but nagging injuries hurt him early on. He should be a reliable weapon in the second half. Not to be overlooked is long snapper Garrison Sanborn, who has been nearly 100% perfect in doing his job for a long time here.