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Part 3 of my Buffalo Bills’ 2015 season review looks at the special teams and the unit that was, by far, the most disappointing facet of the team, the defense. Coach Rex Ryan, a supposed defensive guru, took a top ranked unit and turned it into a dumpster fire that struggled all year. Players openly complained about not understanding Ryan’s complicated scheme, and coordinator Dennis Thurman constantly was late sending in signals from the first game until the finale. Ryan hired his twin brother Rob as Assistant Head Coach/Defense to help clean up the mess in 2016. The special teams were anything but special also. Here’s the position-by-position look at the defense and special teams:

Defensive Line

For the past 2 years, this season review has been a carbon copy when it came to rating this unit. I’ve heaped praise on the front four starters especially, since they were the strength of the team. That wasn’t the case in 2015, as none of the four met expectations. Tackle Marcell Dareus and hybrid end Jerry Hughes had average seasons, but neither had the impact they did in previous years, under different coordinators. Kyle Williams, the other tackle, had his season shortened by injury, while end Mario Williams, a prize free agent when he was signed a few years ago, was a complete disappointment. He questioned coach Rex Ryan’s scheme and the way he was being used all season, and had teammates claiming he “totally checked out” and was a bad teammate. He will almost certainly not be back in 2016, due to his declining play and the fact that the team needs to lose his salary to get under the salary cap. It also makes no sense to keep four highly-paid linemen on the roster if Ryan’s base defense is going to use a three man line. Still, it’s a shame that Ryan did such a number, in a negative way, on a defense that was highly rated prior to his arrival. As for depth, a pair of veterans, Alex Carrington and Jarius Wynn, will be coming off injuries and will have to fight for their roster spots next year, against competition from some unproven newcomers who took their spots during the year – T.J. Barnes, Lavar Edwards and Jerel Worthy. Two other vets, Corbin Bryant and Stefan Charles, are solid backups. Bryant did a good job filling in for Kyle Williams while Charles was decent, although he didn’t make as many plays in limited playing time as he had in prior years.

Linebackers

This is going to be a position of great need for the Bills going into the off-season. Whereas the defensive line was the focal point of the club’s defense in previous seasons, Ryan’s scheme calls for playmaking linebackers to dominate play. The Bills currently have none of those on their roster. Inside backer Preston Brown, who relays the defensive signals from the coaches to the unit, was the closest thing the team had to a playmaker, but, like just about every other player on the defense, his play severely declined in 2015. Old reliable vet Manny Lawson was probably the most consistent of the backers (he is technically listed as an end on the roster) but he’s not the type of player you’re going to build a future dominating defense with. Nigel Bradham will be a free agent, and although he could develop into a solid starter, if he seeks a big payday I don’t feel he’s worth it. Sifting through the rest of the linebackers on the roster, there isn’t much to choose from. Of the three players who ended up on the injured reserve list, Ty Powell has the most promise, Tony Steward never got a chance to play much due to injury, and having had injury troubles coming out of college, he’ll need to show some semblance of durability to stick with the team. Randell Johnson wasn’t able to earn any playing time other than special teams despite the need for backers in 2015. Undrafted free agent A.J. Tarpley could have a future. He made some plays late in the year that will at least put him on the coaches’ radar going into 2016. Max Valles was a late signee who was brought in with an eye on next season, because he supposedly is a good fit for Ryan’s defense. The other remaining candidates are IK Enamkpali, who never showed much of anything, and Kevin Reddick.

Defensive Backs

Instead of the front four, cornerback now appears to be the strength of the Bills’ defense. Stephon Gilmore and second round draft steal Ronald Darby made up a terrific starting tandem. The Bills proved to have quite a bit of depth also, with veterans Ron Brooks, Nickell Robey, Mario Butler and Leodis McKelvin all contributing at points of the season. McKelvin’s contract situation points to his likely release, however, unless he agrees to take a pay cut. The club also has two players promoted from the practice squad late in the year who may get a shot next year – Bud Noel and Sammy Seamster. Safety is a position very much in flux going into the off-season. Aaron Williams has to show he can recover from a neck injury, no certain thing. Corey Graham played admirably but he may be hitting the veteran wall, as his play declined. (Or could he also be a victim of Ryan’s complicated scheme?) Bacarri Rambo got extensive playing time after Williams was hurt and showed playmaking ability, but needs to improve his consistency. Also, he’ll be a free agent. Two players drafted the same year, Duke Williams and Jonathan Meeks, played OK but neither looks like a long term answer to be a starter. There was some talk of moving McKelvin to safety, but he probably lacks the size to make the transition.

Special Teams

Bomb squad coach Danny Crossman is a holdover from Doug Marrone’s staff, and his job security is iffy after his teams suffered a huge decline, almost as bad as the defense. The coverage teams weren’t terrible, but contributed little to any wins. In the past, the Bills always had multiple players who were threats on kick returns, now there’s virtually nobody. McKelvin has too many ball security issues, Marcus Thigpen was so below average that he was cut twice, and Marquise Goodwin can’t stay healthy. By season’s end, Walter Powell, a free agent signed off the street, was handling return duties, and not showing a whole lot of promise. Kicker Dan Carpenter’s season was a forgettable one. He struggled mightily with the new longer extra point distance, and with the team needing to carry an extra kicker (Jordan Gay) just to handle kickoffs, his days could be numbered in Buffalo. The only bright spot among special teamers was punter Colton Schmidt, who was mostly solid all year but did have a couple of late season lapses.

Part 2 of the 2015 Buffalo Bills’ season review deals with the team’s offense. While the unit wasn’t explosive by any means, they were competent. Rex Ryan, although he failed the team miserably overall, did a couple of things that helped. He hired Greg Roman to coordinate the offense, and he lobbied to get Tyrod Taylor signed as a free agent to compete for the starting quarterback job, which he won. For the most part, Roman’s unit did enough that should have made a playoff spot possible, if the defense hadn’t totally crumbled. Here’s a position-by-position look at the Bills’ offensive players:

Quarterbacks

In Taylor, the Bills have found themselves a quarterback capable of leading them into the future. Critics pointed out that he wasn’t a “franchise” QB because he didn’t lead any fourth quarter comebacks, but he has the capability of developing that skill if given the chance. He did everything the team asked of him – sustain drives, don’t turn the ball over, rely on your running game and defense to win the game. He did all of the above, and it wasn’t his fault that the defense didn’t hold up its’ end of the bargain. Some critics argued that the standards should be set higher for Taylor, since he is a four year veteran , not a rookie. But look at his final stats – 64% completion percentage, 20 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions (the lowest total in franchise history). In Jim Kelly’s first year, he completed 59% for 22 TDs and 17 interceptions, and he wasn’t a rookie either, having played in the USFL. Add in Taylor’s 500+ yards rushing for the season, and you have a signal caller who can clearly lead your team. The problem is the backup QB spot. EJ Manuel is certainly no Frank Reich, and his days may be numbered in Buffalo. The only other quarterback on the roster is Josh Johnson, a stop-gap at best. Finding a backup QB should be a top priority for GM Doug Whaley in the offseason.

Running Backs

The Bills’ rushing attack underwent a complete makeover in 2015, with C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson departing. They were replaced by Pro Bowler LeSean McCoy and rookie fifth round draft pick Karlos Williams, a real diamond in the rough. Then Whaley found another hidden gem, Mike Gillislee, late in the year, and the Bills’ backfield depth looks solid going into 2016. Also on the roster is Boobie Dixon, who didn’t contribute much to the rushing attack and didn’t make his usual positive contribution to the special teams. His place on the 2016 roster looks tenuous. Fullback Jerome Felton was used exclusively as a blocker.

Receivers

The leader of this unit is clearly Sammy Watkins, who emerged as one of the NFL’s top receiving weapons in 2015, and also as one of the Bills’ outspoken leaders in the locker room. Behind him, there’s a slew of players who had injury issues this year. Robert Woods, who played hurt and wound up on injured reserve at the end of the year and  Chris Hogan, who dropped some passes but had a nagging hand injury, are the best options. Marcus Easley has always been used mainly on special teams, while Marquise Goodwin has been nothing but fragile his entire time here. There’s little chance that oft-injured Percy Harvin will be back. Some players got chances to play due to the injuries, with former New York Jet Greg Salas making the most impact with some catches in the season finale. Leonard Hankerson is a veteran who could be given a shot in training camp next year, Dez Lewis did little after being promoted from the practice squad and Walter Powell did some kick return work but didn’t show much. The Bills did recently sign a couple of veteran free agents who’ll be given a chance to compete for jobs in 2016 – Greg Little, who had mild success with Cleveland, and Jarrett Boykin, a former Virginia Tech teammate of Tyrod Taylor. At tight end, the Bills have enough depth to stand pat going into training camp. Charles Clay ended the year on IR but is a major contributor. Holdover veterans Chris Gragg and MarQueis Gray will fight for roster spots with Nick O’Leary, a rookie promoted late in the year from the practice squad who showed some promise.

Offensive Line

The Bills revamped two-thirds of their offensive line in 2015, and as the season went on the unit developed into a decent line. The Bills had one of the NFL’s top rushing attacks, and the pass protection for Tyrod Taylor got better the more the line played together. GM Doug Whaley’s biggest priority in the off-season will be getting the left side of that line – guard Richie Incognito and tackle Cordy Glenn – signed to new contracts. Center Eric Wood is a solid starter and rookie John Miller looks like a keeper at right guard. At the right tackle spot, Seantrell Henderson battled an illness and lost valuable playing time to newcomer Jordan Mills, who may have locked down the starting spot there. Cyrus Kouandjio, who has been mostly a disappointment at tackle, got some playing time as an eligible receiver, basically an extra tackle, and made his biggest contribution so far in his career in that role. There isn’t much other depth with this group, with the backup guards being journeyman veterans Kraig Urbik and Ryan Groy.

This is the first section of a four part series reviewing the 2015 Buffalo Bills’ season. This post will cover the team’s front office and coaching, with three other segments reviewing the team’s offense, defense, special teams and a final one speculating on what the team needs to do to improve in 2016. In my opinion, the Bills’ front office, which includes general manager Doug Whaley and his scouting staff, has done admirable work in constructing a roster that should be capable of making the NFL playoffs. Whaley has been criticized for some of his moves, like trading up to draft Sammy Watkins and jettisoning Matt Cassel after he failed to win the starting quarterback job. The main argument against the Watkins trade is that the Bills could’ve stood pat and picked Odell Beckham Jr. and gotten themselves a better player. I would argue that the move was a good one, since Watkins is maturing into a top echelon receiver and a leader in the locker room, while Beckham, while talented, is a selfish prima donna. Meanwhile, Cassel proved in his starts in Dallas that moving him was no big loss. Despite trading the Bills’ first round pick in last year’s draft to get Watkins, Whaley still provided the team with some major contributors to the roster.

As far as coaching, there’s no way Rex Ryan gets anything but a failing grade for his efforts. Ryan raised the hopes of the fan base with guarantees of “building a bully” and playoffs (“Get ready, we’re gonna go”) and failed to deliver on anything. He retained special teams coach Danny Crossman from the previous coaching staff, but the bomb squads were anything but special . He spent the entire season trying to fit square pegs into the round hole that is his supposedly vaunted defensive scheme, and took a top-ranked unit and ran it into the ground. Players openly questioned the coaches all year. They say that teams take on the personality of their coach, and that appeared to be true with this year’s Bills. Ryan was undisciplined with his boastfulness and silly behavior all year, and the team followed suit. They picked up undisciplined penalties all year, and Ryan never fixed the problem. It was interesting to read a comment by a New York journalist who covered Ryan while he coached the Jets, that Ryan’s teams will “give you tremendous highs, inexplicable lows, and in the end, lots of mediocrity”. His career record indicates that this statement is accurate, so Ryan needs to figure out how he can tone down his personality and actually channel all the energy he exudes into coaching his team so they play with some consistency each week.

If your team’s final game of a season in which they underachieved and missed the playoffs needed some storylines to add incentive for the players, then Sunday’s Buffalo Bills’ matchup with the New York Jets certainly had that. The Bills faced their head coach’s former team, the New York Jets, quarterbacked by the Bills’ former quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, with the Jets needing the win to secure a playoff spot. On top of that, there were rumblings of dissension in the Bills’ locker room with players suggesting that Mario Williams checked out a long time ago and was a selfish player. So how did the Bills respond? With a rousing effort that got them a 22-17 victory and ruined the Jets’ playoff hopes. Their win put the Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs as a wild card, and also ensured a non-losing season (8-8) for the second straight year for Buffalo. It’s very disappointing that a non-losing season passes for a positive, especially in a season that had so much promise, but at least the Bills didn’t run for the bus.

On the contrary, they played with as much passion as they’ve shown all year, especially the defense. Even the guy supposedly dogging it, Mario Williams, had a sack, while Leodis McKelvin, Manny Lawson and rookie A.J. Tarpley all picked off former Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter to seal the win. It was a great all-around game for a unit that struggled all year, as they couldn’t quite adjust to coach Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme. On offense, the Bills had a tough time running against the Jets’ top-ranked rush defense. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was their leading rusher with 51 yards on 10 carries, including an 18 yard scoring run in the first quarter. Taylor was his usual consistent self – his passing stats were ordinary, as he hit on 18 of 28 passes for 182 yards. He was extremely efficient, however, in keeping drives alive with third and fourth down conversions. The Bills controlled the clock for most of the game, doubling up the Jets in time of possession. Taylor’s biggest positive in the game may have been his ability to get the ball to his top weapon, Sammy Watkins, even though Watkins was being covered by the game’s top cover corner, Darrelle Revis, and the rest of the Bills’ receiving corps was depleted by injury. Watkins caught 11 passes for 136 yards.

A loss would have sent the Bills into the off-season with a bad taste in their collective mouths, especially if they had lost to Ryan’s former team, quarterbacked by their former signal caller. Instead, Buffalo salvaged a .500 season and now must regroup and hopefully make a run at the postseason in 2016.

After the Buffalo Bills’ postseason hopes came crashing down last week in the team’s meltdown performance in Washington, all hell broke loose, in the locker room with players openly questioning the defensive scheme and the effort of their teammates, and in the local media with heavy criticism of head coach Rex Ryan and reports that general manager Doug Whaley’s job could be in jeopardy. So, with all the negative karma surrounding the team coupled with the announcement that the team’s only Pro Bowler, LeSean McCoy, would be out with a knee injury, all of Buffalo’s fan base wondered how the Bills would come out and play in a meaningless game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Well, their effort was certainly there, even though the game resembled an early preseason game. Both teams were missing key pieces due to injury, big plays were at a minimum and you needed a program to identify some of the players on the field. Buffalo pulled out a 16-6 win, as their defense managed to hold the Cowboys’ offense to just over 300 yards of total offense and only a pair of field goals. Facing a fourth string quarterback making his first NFL start in Kellen Moore, the Bills’ defense still couldn’t muster any kind of a pass rush and allowed Dallas to convert half of their third downs into first downs. They did manage to come up with a couple of turnovers, with A.J. Tarpley intercepting a tipped pass and forcing a fumble on a kickoff that sealed the win.

The offensive star of the game was Buffalo’s diamond-in-the-rough running back, Mike Gillislee, who rushed for 93 yards on only 9 carries. He set up Buffalo’s first score when he took a Tyrod Taylor swing pass and fought his way down to the one yard line, setting up a Karlos Williams TD. He then put the game away with a 50 yard scoring run in the final minutes. Gillislee is using these last few games of the year to make a strong case for a permanent roster spot in 2016. The push for the playoffs is over for the Bills, but their finale next week is anything but a meaningless game. They’ll face the New York Jets, coach Rex Ryan’s old team, who will likely need to win to secure a wild card playoff spot.

Sunday’s 35-25 defeat by the Buffalo Bills at the hands of the Washington Redskins , which officially eliminated the Bills from the playoffs, may have been the most disheartening loss for coach Rex Ryan’s team in what has been a completely disappointing season. As has been the pattern in most of their losses this year, the Bills’ defense, which was ranked fourth in the NFL last season, couldn’t stop anything when it mattered, and put QB Tyrod Taylor in a bad spot, having to try to come back from a multiple score deficit before the game was very old. The Redskins shredded Ryan’s supposedly vaunted defense for touchdowns on their first three drives, then after the Bills finally put some points on the board with a Dan Carpenter field goal, responded with a 77 yard touchdown throw from QB Kirk Cousins to Desean Jackson to up the lead to 28-3. Speaking of Cousins, as has also been customary this year, the Bills’ defense made him look like a Hall of Famer, rather than the average signal caller that he is. He was allowed to hit on 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for a score. The Bills didn’t force a punt until well into the third quarter. They didn’t force a turnover, again, and recorded only one sack, by Jerry Hughes, who was about the only defensive player who showed any interest in competing. The Bills’ special teams contributed almost nothing, and if there were any positives to take out of this game, they were provided by the offense. Despite the early hole, the offense fought back and got their team back into the game in the third quarter, only to have the defense respond with another fold to keep Washington’s lead a comfortable one. Taylor wasn’t spectacular in a game when he needed to be, thanks to his impotent defense, but he was his usual consistent self, hitting on 16 of 27 throws for 235 yards, two scores and no turnovers. Both his TD passes went to Sammy Watkins, who had another spectacular day. Unheralded running back Mike Gillislee, who saw game action when LeSean McCoy was injured, had his second straight eye-opening game, with a solid effort that included a 60 yard scoring run. Karlos Williams returned from injury to battle for a hard-earned 40 yards, and another rookie, tight end Nick O’Leary, made his season debut with a 37 yard catch and run.

Buffalo now closes out an embarrassing season with home games against Dallas, an even more disappointing team than the Bills, and Ryan’s old team, the New York Jets, who may need the win to secure a playoff spot. Despite a lost year, the Cowboys are an NFC East team, and the Bills have been manhandled by the other 3 teams from that division this year, despite being probably the weakest division in the NFL. It would be the ultimate embarrassment for Ryan to get beaten by his old team to get that team into the playoffs, but Buffalo has shown little or no desire to rise to the occasion for anything this year.

That whooshing sound coming out of Philadelphia after Sunday’s Eagles/Bills game was the sound of Buffalo’s 2015 playoff hopes going down the drain, making it a 16 year drought for the Bills. LeSean McCoy’s teammates failed to “get this one for our boy”, as Boobie Dixon had promised, as the Bills fell 23-20. It was just another case of the team failing to walk the walk after doing a lot of talking, taking their cue from their bombastic head coach, Rex Ryan, who blew into town when he was hired guaranteeing the playoffs. With three weeks left in the season, Ryan will likely go into the off-season with his tail between his legs after failing to deliver on all his boasting, and will likely face the embarrassment of not even getting this team to the same record as his predecessor, Doug Marrone, did. Buffalo followed the same formula on this day as they have in most of their recent losses – they played decently on offense as Tyrod Taylor made some plays, but shot themselves in the foot with confounding penalties, this week adding to their league-leading total with 15 flags for 101 yards. The special teams got another taunting penalty, a problem that has plagued the Bills all year, and also a problem that should be easily correctable but has yet to be corrected by Ryan and his coaching staff.

The offense had some positive moments. Taylor’s 47 yard scoring throw to Sammy Watkins was a thing of beauty, and unheralded Mike Gilleslie did a great Karlos Williams impression on his 19 yard touchdown run in the third quarter, tying the game at 20-20. Robert Woods had 106 yards receiving in his best game of the year. Unfortunately, Watkins became a non-factor in the second half, just like he was a couple of weeks ago against Kansas City. With the season now into it’s final quarter, it’s clear the Bills do not have the mental toughness to be a playoff team. They are making the same mistakes and playing with the complete lack of discipline now that they did at the start of the season, with no sign anywhere that the coaching staff has a clue of how to correct things and improve the team. It’s a real shame that the Bills are in the position they are in. For the most part, Taylor has done this season what the formula called for him to do – manage the offense, don’t turn the ball over, let your running game dominate and sprinkle in some big plays in the passing game. At the same time, Ryan has turned the NFL’s 4th ranked defense into a mediocre, average unit that can’t get off the field when they need to and gets almost no pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Defense is supposed to be Ryan’s area of expertise, so the unit’s dramatic failings this year fall squarely on his shoulders.