NFL Draft Info - Buffalo Bills

2009 Buffalo Bills Report Card

By: Joe Goodberry

  The Buffalo Bills 2009 season started with a ton of hype and potential. They signed Terrell Owens in the off season. This looked to be a risky move by some analysts, but Bills fans for the most part were going nuts with excitement. There were other reasons to be excited of course. Trent Edwards was heading into his second full season as a starter, the sky was the limit. 1st round pick Aaron Maybin was going to bring speed and a pass rushing presence off the edge.  Maybe the Bills could build off of the 7-9 season in 2008 in which they started the season 5-1.

QuarterBack  D +

  Trent Edwards suffered another concussion, and only played in 8 games. The Bills look to have soured of Trent's potential. He can't stay healthy, his mobility in the pocket hinders his ability to throw the ball down field, and he has lost all confidence.  Then Ryan Fitzpatrick get his chance to play. Fitzpatrick didn't do anything special with his opportunity. He looks like a career backup. His arm isn't very strong and he likes to run around, and that gets him in trouble sometimes. On November 20th, the Bills picked up Brian Brohm from the Green Bay Packers practice squad. Brohm started in week 16, and didn't look better than any of the Bills QBs before him. The Bills will have to address this position in the off season.

Runningback  B

  2008s starter Marshawn Lynch had a run in with the law during the off season. He started the season suspended. That's ok because Fred Jackson played very good in the first 4 weeks. He was in the top 5 in rushing leaders through the first quarter of the season. When Lynch did come back, the Bills looked like they had a nice tandem of RBs in the backfield. They tried to use both players evenly for a few games, but both players couldn't take over the game by sharing the ball. Lynch never topped 100 yards in 2009. Meanwhile Fred Jackson had his best season and looked like the better player of the two. Jackson recorded his first 1,000 yards season and added 46 receptions. He was the Bills offensive MVP. Look for the Bills to explore trade options for Marshawn Lynch in the off season.

Wide Receiver   C

  Buffalo's WRs actually played well considering ineptitude of the QBs. Lee Evans and T.O. has down seasons in stats. Owens did take over the game in Jacksonville, he caught 9 balls for 197 yards and a touchdown. That would be his only 100 yard game of the season. Evans never reached 100 yards in 2009. Most people think Lee Evans could be a really good WR, but his talents are wasted in Buffalo until they get a franchise QB. Last years 2nd round pick James Hardy missed pretty much the entire 2009 season, and Josh Reed was the only other WR to catch more than 3 balls all season. Owens will be a free agent in 2010, so look for Buffalo to fill their WR needs in free agency and the draft. 

Tight Ends  D +

  The Bills TEs were asked to block more than anything because of the offensive lines inability to block anybody on defense. Injuries also struck the TE position, and the Bills started 4 different tight ends in 2009. Last seasons talented rookie Shawn Nelson only caught 18 balls, but he was slowed by injuries, and he did flash his potential as a pass catcher. No other TE caught more than 9 passes all season. The Bills may look to upgrade this position during this off season.

Offensive Line  D

  Coming into the 2009 campaign, Buffalo looked like they knew what they were doing on the offensive line. They traded Pro Bowler Jason Peters, and released Langston Walker and Derrick Dockery. They looked like they filled those holes by drafting Eric Wood and Andy Lavitre. Add in free agent acquisition Geoff Hangartner and the Bills looked to be ok in the trenches. They depended on LT Demetrius Bell to take the next step and become their LT of the future. It did not happen, Bell didn't look ready and he still appeared to be a project. LG Andy Lavitre was the best player on the offensive line in 2009, and he was a rookie. Geoff Hangartner didn't stand out as a bad or good player, but scouts ranked him as the 27th best center in the NFL. There are 32 starters, I'm just saying. RG Eric Wood was solid until he broke his leg in a Joe Theisman reenactment. Who knows when he will be healthy enough to play again. The RT position was manned by 4 players, none of which could do the job effectively. This is by far the Bills biggest weakness, look for them to address the offensive line heavily this off season.

Defensive Line C+

  Pass rush wise, the Bills defensive line was good. Aaron Schobel recorded another double digit sack season. Kyle Williams was Buffalo's most disruptive player on the line. He might also be their most underrated player on the team. Marcus Stroud can be dominant when he wants to be, obviously Stroud didn't want to be this season. He played sub par in the 2nd half of the season. It seems like when the team is losing, he just doesn't care anymore. The other defensive end position did what is always does, play OK but nothing special. That's why they drafted Aaron Maybin, but he couldn't get on the field. The Dline only got a C+ from me because they were so bad against the run. It wasn't just the lines fault, but numbers don't lie, and these guys just couldn't hold up. 

Linebackers  C

  Paul Posluzny broke his forearm again this season but only missed a month. Kawika Mitchell missed 11 games. Keith Ellison missed 8 games. The Bills may have been hit the hardest at LB by the injury bug. They even moved safety Bryan Scott to LB for a few games. The LB position is at most to blame to the horrendous run defense. It was a revolving door of free agents coming and going based on injuries. Despite missing a few games due to injury, Poz still recorded over 100 tackles in 2009. With the Bills moving to a 3-4 defense, look for most of these players to look for new homes in 2010.

Cornerbacks  C +

  Injuries once again. Starters Leodis McKelvin missed 15 games, and Terrence McGee missed 5 games. So give Drayton Florence, Reggie Corner, Ashton Youboty, Cary Harris, and Ellis Lankster credit because this battered and bruised unit ended up ranked #2 in total pass defense. All but Florence are signed for 2010.

Safeties  B

  Rookie 2nd round pick Jaruis Byrd highlights this position. Despite missing the last 3 games due to injury, Byrd was tied for the league lead in interceptions with 9. Byrd leaves something to be desired in run support, but his presence in the pass defense already has offensive coordinators noticing. George Wilson was the other safety that deserves recognition. Wilson is just now coming into his own after starting his career as a WR. Wilson has by far his best season in 2009 recording over 100 tackles and 4 interceptions. Bryan Scott and Donte Whitner chipped in more than enough, and Buffalo may look to trade Whitner this off season.

Special Teams  B

  This is usually the most exciting portion of a Buffalo Bills game. Rian Lindell and Brian Mooreman are the model of consistency. Where Buffalo lacked this season is in the return game. Leodis McKelvin started the season on the wrong foot by fumbling twice in the monday night game vs New England. Roscoe Parrish was inactive for most of the season. Both players are some of the best return men in football, but couldn't stay on the field in 2009. 

Coaching  F

  Dick Jauron was fired mid way through the season, and his staff followed after the conclusion of the 2009 season. So I can't give the coaching staff any grade higher than an F.