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2014 will mark the second season of the Doug Marrone coaching regime in Buffalo, and after he managed to only match the two previous seasons under Chan Gailey, with a 6-10 won/loss record, the pressure will be on this year for the club to improve and at least show some moderate progress. In fact, the passing of owner Ralph Wilson, and the prospect of a new owner possibly wanting to get a clean, fresh start, may mean that “moderate” progress won’t be enough for the present staff to keep their jobs. Here is my Bills’ season preview for 2014:

Front Office / Coaching

Perhaps due to the added pressure of the impending ownership change, GM Doug Whaley made a bold move in trading up in the first round of the draft to pick a potential playmaker in receiver Sammy Watkins, considered one of the jewels of this draft.  All of the 2014 draft class made the final roster, and all of those players, to varying degrees, show the potential to be “keepers” going into the future, so it seems Whaley has done his job. Now it’s up to Marrone and his re-shuffled coaching staff to do its’ part and change the losing culture that this team has been mired in for almost 15 years. Frankly, I haven’t seen any signs that he’s going to have the ability to do that. Bringing in Jim Schwartz to coordinate the defense, after losing Mike Pettine to Cleveland, was a good move, as the defense, judging from the preseason, looks like it may be better than what was a solid unit in 2013. It is, however, sometimes a mistake to make judgments from the preseason. But after finishing with a pair of lackluster exhibition performances, Marrone, at his post-game press conferences, was sounding some familiar themes that echoed, sometimes word for word, what past coaches like Gailey and Dick Jauron used to say. In explaining mistake-prone, penalty-filled games, for example: “We have to do a better job of coaching them”. Is it too much to ask to get a coaching staff in Buffalo that identifies and corrects these mistakes in a pro-active fashion, before they cost the team losses and more losing seasons?

It was a busy three days for Buffalo Bills’ general manager Doug Whaley as the NFL conducted its’ annual draft of college players this past weekend. The team’s new GM pulled off a number of trades, the biggest one being the deal that allowed the Bills to move up in the first round to grab one of the players considered to be the “Elite Six” among NFL scouts at the top of the draft – wide receiver Sammy Watkins. There were also a couple of deals in later rounds where the Bills moved down, and added an extra seventh round pick and extra picks next year. Whaley also made trades involving players, picking up a promising young running back from the Eagles – Bryce Brown, and trading the club’s top receiver, Stevie Johnson, to the 49ers almost immediately after drafting Watkins. I’m not sure I understand this deal. Johnson was supposedly dealt to remove the distraction of his negative attitude from the locker room. Although you could make an argument that Johnson was a diva, and had a drop for every great play during his stay here, his attitude surely wasn’t a big deal. His biggest transgression was lifting up his jersey to reveal “Why so serious?” and “Happy New Year” messages on his undershirt after scoring touchdowns. So you ship him out the door, but add Mike Williams to take his place, a guy who trashed his apartment complex in a gated community and broke down the door of his girlfriend’s apartment in a domestic dispute? It doesn’t make sense to me, and it’s disheartening that instead of stockpiling good, productive players to build depth on their roster, Buffalo always seems to feel the need to dump good players when they think they’ve found their replacements. Their track record for those “finds” isn’t very impressive. The acquisition of Brown, and free agent signee Ricky Dixon, worries me, since it seems to imply they may have plans to move Fred Jackson and/or C.J. Spiller.

RB Bryce Brown

Anyway, the Bills’ draft filled some of their pressing needs, especially along the offensive line and linebacking corps. Here are the players they picked up:

WR Sammy Watkins

1. Sammy Watkins (WR – Clemson) – Whaley mortgaged part of the team’s future to move up and draft Watkins, but he is easily the best offensive player available this year, and the team is in desperate need of dynamic playmakers. All signs point to him being a difference-maker in his first season, and a major weapon for QB EJ Manuel for years to come. Whaley showed guts in making this move – the Bills needed to do something to break the pattern of mediocrity they’ve been stuck in for over a decade.

OT Cyrus Kuoandjio

2. Cyrus Kuoandjio (OT – Alabama) – the Bills started a much-needed revamping of their offensive line with this pick. Kuandjio, born in the African nation of Cameroon, should immediately take over the starting right tackle spot currently held by Erik Pears. A standout tackle at ‘Bama, he fell this far in the draft because of concerns over arthritis in his knee. He’s a first round talent if he stays healthy.

LB Preston Brown

3. Preston Brown (LB – Louisville) – he’s a good run stuffer, which the Bills need badly, and projects as an inside linebacker. He’ll be on the depth chart as a backup to newly-signed free agent Brandon Spikes, who only signed a one year pact, so the opportunity will be there for Brown to crack the starting lineup eventually if he’s motivated.

CB Ross Cockrell

4. Ross Cockrell (CB – Duke) – his biggest positive traits are intelligence and consistent play. Since he’s a cornerback, in my mind the only thing that matters is can he cover anybody, and make plays on the ball when it arrives, or his he just another mediocrity who runs around looking lost in the secondary? Time will tell, but if the kid can play there’s always room on NFL rosters for coverage corners.

OG Cyril Richardson

5. Cyril Richardson (OG – Baylor) – Richardson is a New Orleans native who moved to Texas after Hurricane Katrina, and wound up at Baylor. At one time he was considered one of the top offensive line prospects in the nation, but gained a lot of weight which slowed him down. He did slim down and supposedly looked good at his pro day. If he shows up to training camp in shape and serious about playing pro ball, and somehow regains his top form from his early college days, Richardson can be a road grader at guard who helps the Bills’ run game. If he can show any ability at all as a rookie, he should be a candidate to start immediately at the guard spot currently held by Doug Legursky.

LB Randell Johnson

7a. Randell Johnson (LB – Florida Atlantic) – he projects as an outside backer with good size and speed, and is highly athletic. He’ll likely be a developmental project who either contributes on special teams or winds up on the practice squad.

OT Seantrel Henderson

7b. Seantrel Henderson (OT – Miami of FL) – this pick is kind of a head scratcher. He is massive, with long arms and all the physical tools to be an outstanding tackle in the NFL. At one time, he was the top offensive lineman prospect in all of college football. However, his career was marred by benchings and suspensions, and on his “pro day”, the post-combine day where the prospects at each school are supposed to impress the scouts, Henderson was out of shape and stopped his workout before it was over, announcing that “I’m not doing this anymore.” Not to beat a dead horse, but Doug Marrone figures he can resurrect this guy’s career, but Stevie Johnson’s “attitude” was too much for him to handle?

As of this post, the Bills hadn’t announced any college free agent signings.

Ralph Wilson, Jr. (photo credit – Sports Illustrated)

The recent passing of Buffalo Bills’ owner Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. was covered in depth by the local Buffalo media, and local sports fans showed a genuine outpouring of positive emotions for the man, with a very appropriate tailgate party in his memory, and a good showing at a team-sponsored memorial event at the Bills’ field house. At one time, Wilson’s local image was that of an old tightwad curmudgeon who refused to spend the money it took to make the team a winner, and who at one time threatened to relocate to Seattle if he didn’t get a new stadium. Over time, however, fans came to appreciate the fact that Wilson kept the franchise here, despite being in a small market that seems to get smaller as time goes on. After his death, stories surfaced about what the real man was like – his service in the Navy on a mine-sweeper in World War II, his tremendous generosity in the Buffalo community and beyond, much of which was not publicized. The lease he negotiated with Erie County was a final gift to the community. It includes a huge penalty for any prospective buyers who might want to move the team, and although there are no guarantees, it gives local politicians time to plan the club’s future here without undue pressure. That shouldn’t really be a surprise considering Wilson voted against every relocation of a franchise since he’s been an owner, and always put the betterment of the league ahead of personal goals, going back to the AFL days when he loaned the Oakland franchise owners money to stay afloat when they would have folded. He was a throwback to the days when sports team owners were true sportsmen, and the NFL will surely miss him.

Other thoughts on the NFL off-season:

Following a third consecutive 6-10 season that didn’t show much improvement or development from the Chan Gailey era, I’m still not completely sold on Bills’ coach Doug Marrone, but I’ll give him credit for having guts. After some late season problems with Marcell Dareus, Marrone spoke of having to instill more discipline in the club in 2014. After adding Brandon Spikes through free agency and Mike Williams through trade in the off-season, that challenge will be even greater. Both of those players arrive with baggage that not only makes them appear to be discipline problems, but is pretty disturbing. After acquiring Williams, if the Bills can keep him out of jail, they’ve managed to plug in new players at every position of need from last year, which puts them in a position for the draft where they can pick the best player available when their turn comes.

The NFL has, indeed, announced that they will make an effort to put some sportsmanship back into the game starting next season. Originally, it was announced that the league will instruct referees to penalize a team 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct if any player uses the “N” word on the field, but it appears now that a “point of emphasis” (something the league does every year regarding certain rules) will be put on enforcing an existing rule regarding use of offensive language during games. I’d personally like to see that rule tweaked to include offensive actions, or any language, actions or gyrations meant to taunt or disrespect the opponent. The NFL is slowly deteriorating into the WWE, with selfish, self-promoting players blowing their own horns and attempting to push their own personal agendas ahead of the team. I realize my opinion on this is old-fashioned and very old school, but I really wish there were a few coaches left in the game who had the kahunas to sit their teams down in training camp and lay down some rules that were required to be followed, involving sportsmanship,  decorum on the field and how they represent the team. In general, just get these players, who whether they like it or not are role models, to act like grown-up adults. It’s unfortunate there are no Paul Browns, Vince Lombardis or even Bill Parcells left in the coaching ranks.

It’s been a little over a month since the Super Bowl, and I figure it’s about time to post some thoughts that came to mind after watching the game:

* It was unfortunate that the main story leading up to the game was Richard Sherman’s post-game rant at San Francisco’s Michael Crabtree following the NFC Championship game. Sherman is a terrific player, and it’s a shame he had to ruin what should have been a positive spotlight moment for his team after a hard-fought win by putting on a classless display of selfishness. Poor sportsmanship has been slowly creeping into the NFL in recent years and is becoming the norm, and hopefully the league hierarchy will do something to curb it before next season.

* Marshawn Lynch is now the latest example of a problem player leaving Buffalo and coming out smelling like roses with his new team. Lynch has been a huge weapon for Seattle, was a major contributor to their success with his hard-running style , and definitely deserves his Super Bowl ring. However, I still prefer the Bills’ current backs, C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson, over him.

* Peyton Manning and the Broncos were favored to win the Super Bowl, and they laid a major egg with their effort, starting with the game’s first play that resulted in a safety. The loss was the fifth for the Denver franchise in their history, so they now have one more than any other NFL team, surpassing Minnesota and Buffalo, who have four.

* I really hope that the performance of Seattle’s defense in totally smothering the potent Denver attack will be a pre-cursor to the 2014 season. The NFL is a ‘copycat’ league, so hopefully coaches will now concentrate on strengthening their defensive units. It would be nice if the NFL started to move away from the Madden video game style of all-passing, all-the-time games and back toward an era of dominating defenses, or at least swing the pendulum back somewhat.

The first week of the NFL’s free agency period is now history, and the Buffalo Bills were pretty active in getting players signed, although there weren’t any big names among the signees. There WAS a big name lost, however, as Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd left for New Orleans. I have mixed feelings about Byrd leaving. On the one hand, the Bills regularly let good players walk away to go on to bigger and better things elsewhere, and this is just another example of that. On the other hand, you can make an argument that the team never won with him here, so they certainly can’t do worse without him.  Buffalo made positive moves by hanging on to a pair of their own free agents, kicker Dan Carpenter and tight end Scott Chandler.

Here’s the assessment of the team’s other signees:

G Chris Williams – signed away from the St. Louis Rams, Williams is viewed as anywhere from a decent player to a major bust. He was a first round draft pick of the Bears at one time and was considered a major disappointment. With the Rams, he was a two-year starter who was unspectacular but held his own. He will compete with Doug Legursky at left guard in training camp.

LB Keith Rivers – Buffalo has big shortcomings at the linebacker position on the current roster, so any help there is a positive. He started his career in Cincinnati and played last year with the Giants, who opted not to re-sign him. He has never lived up to the billing he had coming out of college, so  there shouldn’t be any expectations that he’s going to be a big difference-maker.

LB Brandon Spikes – a hard-hitting run stuffer at New England who as of now is the team’s starting middle linebacker, allowing young star Kiko Alonso to move outside. He has a reputation for being a dirty player (Ryan Fitzpatrick called him a “punk” when he hit him late and knocked off his helmet a couple years ago). Buffalo needs to be more physical on defense next year, so this is a good signing, as long as he isn’t hurting the team with unnecessary roughness penalties all season.

CB Corey Graham –  a Buffalo native, he isn’t the best player of the bunch, but this is the best signing. Graham is an outstanding special teams gunner, the closest thing the Bills have had to Steve Tasker since Tasker himself. He also has developed himself into a competent cornerback, and in the 2012 AFC title game he made the two biggest plays of the game, intercepting Peyton Manning twice, returning one for a touchdown and setting up the game-winning field goal with the other. Every team Graham has played on – the Bears and Ravens – have been winners, and he is one of those unselfish guys every winning club needs.

RB Anthony Dixon – joining the Bills from the 49ers, he is slated to fill the role as the third back, behind Spiller and Jackson, that Tashard Choice used to fill. Buffalo had trouble in short yardage downs last year, and Dixon is a short yardage specialist, one advantage he has over Choice. He is also a great special teamer and an unselfish guy. The signings of Graham and Dixon aren’t big headline grabbers, but they are an indication that new GM Doug Whaley is trying to change the losing culture by adding unselfish players with great attitudes who’ve been with, and contributed to, winning organizations.

The fourth and final section of the Buffalo Bills’ 2013 season review takes a look at the needs the team’s management has to try to fill for 2014, and some ideas on how they can fill those needs, through the draft, trades and free agency. Last year, I mentioned that their biggest priority needed to be re-signing their own potential free agents – Andy Levitre and Jairus Byrd. They didn’t manage to get either one signed, losing Levitre and putting the franchise tag on Byrd. Now they still have to try to keep Byrd in the fold, while their most important player to retain from this year’s free agents is probably kicker Dan Carpenter, who had a great year. Here is a look at the positions of greatest need that the Bills have, and what options they have to fill those needs:

Offensive Line

The Bills were extremely lucky not to have any major injuries on the line in 2013, but they can’t expect to be that lucky next season, so they definitely need to address the depth issue here. If they should happen to decide to dive into the free agent market for O-line help, one of the most interesting prospects is center Alex Mack of Cleveland. He has comparable abilities to Buffalo’s Eric Wood, and if they were to sign Mack, one of the two would be facing a position change to guard. Maybe neither of them would be thrilled to do that, but it would certainly upgrade the Bills’ line. If the team decides to draft a lineman with their first round pick (ninth overall), a top prospect is Texas A&M guard Jake Matthews, son of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews. He played alongside Luke Joeckel, a first round choice last year, and supposedly when  5 NFL scouts were asked last year who was the better player, 2 of the 5 picked Matthews. If they choose to wait until the second round to address the line, a couple of good players who should be available are  Cyril Richardson, a guard from Baylor (although some scouts feel he is overrated)  and Gabe Jackson, a guard from Mississippi State who some regard as the best offensive lineman in the SEC.

Tight End

Coach Doug Marrone hasn’t said as much, but signs point to the club looking to upgrade this position. If the Bills decide to use the ninth pick on a tight end, the best available is Eric Ebron from North Carolina, a stud who is projected to be the first at his position to be drafted in 2014. His upside is his tremendous athletic ability – he made some unbelievable catches in his college career. His downside is he isn’t always consistent and has shown a penchant for dropping balls. A better option may be to wait a couple rounds and pick Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro. The best free agent TE available is New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham, a Pro Bowler. It’s hard to imagine the Saints not getting him re-signed, but they do have salary cap issues. It’s also hard to imagine him signing with the Bills, but then again no one ever expected Mario Williams to sign here either.

Receivers

With possibly 5 of the top 8 teams picking in the draft looking for quarterbacks, the Bills could have an outstanding wide receiver prospect drop into their lap at pick number nine. Sammy Watkins of Clemson is the best athlete of the receivers, and could develop into the top playmaker of this year’s available crop of receivers.  Mike Evans, who caught passes from Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M, is a big (6’5) receiver who would fit the team’s need for a red zone playmaker. Robert Woods’ old teammate at USC, Marquise Lee, could also be available, as well as another big receiver who just declared for the draft, 6’5 Kelvin Benjamin from national champion Florida State. There aren’t really any veteran free agent receivers available who would be an improvement over the players already on the Buffalo roster.

Linebacker

  If there is one veteran free agent linebacker out there who would be a good fit for the Bills’ defense, it’s  Darryl Smith of the Baltimore Ravens, an inside backer who signed on with the Ravens last year from Jacksonville, for one year only, and wound up doing an admirable job replacing Ray Lewis after he retired. Among draft prospects, UCLA’s Anthony Barr is a great prospect with NFL bloodlines (his father and 2 uncles played in the league). To me, an intriguing prospect who should be available at number nine is local product Khalil Mack from the University of Buffalo. He is much more than just a local favorite, as he has been rated a top ten prospect in the draft by some scouts. He is tall and rangy and great in pass coverage, pass rushing as an outside backer and a strong run defender. His skill set is a lot like current Buffalo rookie Kiko Alonso, and pairing those two against opposing offenses that in today’s game feature mobile quarterbacks, slot receivers and tight ends that run like wide receivers would vastly improve the team on that side of the ball. The defenses that ultimately challenge the modern-day offenses will have to feature quick, rangy players at linebacker who can cover and also aren’t afraid to stick their noses into the action against the run. Alonso is that type of player, and Mack should develop into the same type of player.

Part 3 of the Bills’ 2013 season review will take a look at the current roster of defensive players. I thought it would be interesting to look back on part of a statement I made in regards to the job Dave Wannstedt did as coordinator of the Bills’ defense in 2012:

” It just looked to me like the players were put in positions that appeared to make them robotic, and not instinctive. I really believe the players on the defensive side are mostly gamers who play hard, but they really underachieved as a unit in 2012. It will be a tough job for the new coaching staff to sort out what they have on defense and try to forge a respectable unit in 2013.”

Well, they weren’t the Steel Curtain, but new coordinator Mike Pettine’s defensive unit certainly was markedly improved, and much more aggressive, than what Wannstedt put on the field. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but in only one season the unit appears poised to become a strength of the team, rather than a liability. Here is a position-by-position analysis of the Bills’ defense:

Defensive Linemen

The new more aggressive defensive scheme rejuvenated the players on this unit. Mario Williams and Kyle Williams had career years, while Marcell Dareus came into his own and became the player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him high a couple years ago.  The Bills had three D-linemen with double-digit sack totals, if you include Jerry Hughes, who is listed on the roster as a lineman but plays more of an outside linebacker role. Dareus also added 7.5 sacks, a tremendous total for an interior lineman. The loss of Alex Carrington to injury early in the year was a blow, but his replacement, Alan Branch, filled in well enough to get a contract extension from the team. Two free agents picked off the waiver wire the last couple years, Corbin Bryant and Stefan Charles, looked good in reserve roles, especially Charles, who made plays in limited playing time after joining the club late in the year. The team signed a future prospect near the end of the season named Ikponmwosa Igbinosun. Good luck to the game broadcast announcers if he makes the team.

Linebackers

The gem at this position in 2013 was rookie second round draft pick Kiko Alonso, who played at a Pro Bowl level for most of the year and will undoubtedly be one of the major building blocks for the future. Free agent signee Manny Lawson played pretty well at one outside linebacker spot and Arthur Moats and Nigel Bradham shared time on the other. Neither had much of an impact, although Moats is a contributor on special teams. Another mid-season addition to the roster, Ty Powell, is the only other LB on the roster at this point, so this should be an area the team targets in the draft and/or free agency to try to upgrade. With the studs the Bills line up with on their defensive line, the linebackers should be the guys roaming the field making plays, and out of the current group only Alonso seemed to be doing it. Adding some playmakers here would also hopefully help cut down on the defense’s penchant for giving up huge chunks of yardage in the running game.

Defensive Backs

If they can get star safety Jairus Byrd re-signed, the Bills will have a deep, solid group in the secondary. Pairing Byrd with Aaron Williams at the starting safety spots would give the team one of the top safety tandems in the NFL. Williams, who struggled in his first couple of years at cornerback, was a revelation after being moved to safety, and only got better as the season wore on, becoming a real leader on the defense. Jim Leonhard and Da’Norris Searcy provided depth at the position and both made plays in their limited opportunities also. Two promising rookies, Duke Williams and Jonathan Meeks, are waiting in the wings for their shots also, although they mostly played on special teams this year. At cornerback, Stephon Gilmore struggled early on after coming back from a wrist injury, but his play improved by leaps and bounds late in the year. Leodis McKelvin was the most consistent performer overall, and with undrafted rookie Nickell Robey forcing his way into major playing time with some huge plays, the team looks solid at the corners and in their nickel packages. Ron Brooks played well on special teams and showed some ability as a corner also, so there’s a good amount of depth there as well. It would help if the team’s defensive backfield position coaches worked with these guys on their ball skills, as they still seem to find themselves in the perfect position in coverage, only to look lost and get beaten when the ball arrives.   Granted, in today’s pass-happy NFL, it’s a league-wide problem, but the team that can build a dominating defense that stops the run and snuffs out opposing passing games will get the edge on the rest of the league. Although at this point they’re certainly not a dominating or even a “physical” defense, the Bills are right on the cusp of being able to do that, as long as they work to get better and not settle for the status quo.