ProFootballCentral.com

By PFC Bills Writer Jay Kommuru

Since the beginning of this Century, the Buffalo Bills have failed to make it to the post-season. I understand that’s simply a play on words, since it’s only been eight years since the beginning of the new century, but eight years is still a significant amount of time for a professional team to be stuck in mediocrity.

I don’t have to remind Bills fans that in those eight years, the team has gone through four GM’s, four head coaches, seven starting QB’s, and countless offensive and defensive co-coordinators, but I will anyways. It seemed every time the Bills did something good, they turned around and took two steps back. Of course, there are a few teams in the NFL that seem to be in this position year in and year out. The Cardinals, Raiders, and Lions come to mind. But none of these teams are in danger of losing their franchise, which puts another element of pressure on the Bills.

This off-season started off with a lot of promise. The Bills have seemingly answered their QB question; the starter will be Trent Edwards. They had to figure out what to do with JP, and it looks like he’ll stay on as a backup. They desperately needed to fix their run defense, they went out and got a pro-bowler in Marcus Stroud and also added journeyman DL Spencer Johnson. Going into the draft they needed a big wide out, and a corner to replace Nate “I signed the biggest CB contract” Clements. Arriving into the mix are first round pick Leodis McKelvin, and second round pick at 6’6” – James Hardy. These two should be fun to watch for years to come.

It looks like all the pieces of the puzzle are finally there. The offensive line is at least solid, the RB spot has been locked down by Lynch and Jackson, and there is finally some hope for Lee Evans with the addition of Hardy. And the QB situation is at least decent between Edwards and Losman. The defensive line finally has some run stoppers and will free up the pass rushers. The addition of Pozluszny back from the IR is like an extra draft pick, and in comes Super bowl winner Kawika Mitchell to play alongside him. Crowell has always been solid. This trio of LB’s could end up being the league’s best by the end of the season. The return of Ko Simpson and the addition of Mckelvin and Reggie Corner will boost the Bills’ depleted secondary.

It all looks good on paper, until players start getting in trouble off the field. There was the altercation between Hardy and his father. Many had doubts about his character coming into the draft, and although the situation was probably blown out of proportion, it certainly didn’t help his image. Then there is the hit-and-run incident with Lynch. Not sure if it was the best way to deal with the situation by staying quiet about the whole thing, but at least he didn’t come out and incriminate himself. All of that is supposed to clear up by this weekend.

But we all know that winning cures everything. If Hardy catches 6 TD’s  in his rookie season, or if Lynch goes out and puts up 1500 yards rushing and 10-12 TD’s, most fans will forget about all of this. So the opportunity is still there for this young team to gel together and answer in the face of adversity.

The biggest adversity for this Bills team is not the off-the-field incidents, the new offensive coordinator, the new GM (I know that’s not his title, but if he looks the part, and does the part, then he should have the title), or even the possibility of moving to Canada (not happening!). The biggest roadblock for this team is the giant (no pun intended) sitting in the same division – the New England Patriots*.
While the Bills have managed a 53-75 record over the last eight years, the unstoppable Patriots* within the same division has managed to man-handle them every year since Brady took over at QB. It is clear that the road to the post-season and higher success in the AFC East goes through New England.

If the Bills are ever to make it to there, they need to beat the Patriots* at least once in a season. Since they play the Pats* in the last game of the year, chances are they will be playing against 2nd stringers due to them having clinched a post-season berth and probably even home-field advantage. So I will rephrase that line: The Bills need to beat the Patriots*, with their starters playing the entire game, at least once in a season in order to be considered a legitimate threat. Ultimately there is no point in making it past the regular season, only to lose to the Patriots* again. I think the season would be considered a success if they beat them once, but still fail to make the post-season.

All the pieces are there, now it’s up to Jauron, Schonert, Fewell, and Trent Edwards to take this team to the promise-land. Playoffs! There I said it, the infamous “P” word.