I have a question and I apologize if its been answered already but at the moment I don't have the time to look... Asides from the obvious in Mario Williams where are the Bills expected to have upgraded over last season? For example, the Jets are going to expect better play out of Kenrick Ellis... who is their Ellis? Where have they significantly improved? Have they downgraded in any spots?
Mark Anderson is a decent situational pass rusher. Awful in run support though. Then they think Kyle Williams and Dareus being healthy and a year older will make a huge difference. Also they drafted a cornerback 1st round but rookie corners get abused pretty often in the nfl. Their secondary has been average to be nice and their LBs have looked awful. They will ride and die with the D line. On offense they think CJ Spiller is going to be Darren McFadden this year, Fitzpatrick will play better, and Stevie is going to be a true number 1. You should go to the Bills forum some of the predictions are hilarious. A lot of people predicting 12-13 win seasons.
While there were some wholesale additions to the roster, most of the upgrades come via return from injury. The Bills were decimated last year with injury, which is why they fell off. Also, the Bills are switching back to the 4-3, which is what our personnel is suited for. Putting Dareus and Williams in the middle has people excited (along with a real coordinator, in Wannstedt). Upgrades to Roster/Starters: DE Mario Williams DE Mark Anderson CB Stephon Gilmore LT Cordy Glenn Coming Back Healthy: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick RB Fred Jackson WR Donald Jones OC Eric Wood DT Kyle Williams SS George Wilson CB Aaron Williams New Depth That Either Wasn't Here Last Year or Returns From Injury: OT Chris Hairston OT Sam Young WR T.J. Graham CB Terrence McGee LB Nigel Bradham CB Ron Brooks
They fell off because early in the season the Bills were like +3 and +4 in the turnover ratio in the early games and were winnign those games by 7 points. That's not a recipe for success.
Every team has injuries. Good teams don't fall apart like the Bills did. Also Fitzpatrick didn't miss any games so how did you lose him exactly? He was a little banged up but so was Sanchez and pretty much everyone late in the season.
Name me one team that has had as many people in IR as the Bills or more in the last 3 years and had any kind of success. You won't be able to find one for two reasons: 1.) Because there aren't any teams. The Bills have lead the league over the last few years in players on IR. 2.) During a few of those years, there were 1 or 2 teams that had as many, but those teams sucked just as bad.
Greenbay Packers and Steelers. Both teams have been decimated with injuries at times and played well.
I'm not sure the point you're trying to make. I said the Bills are getting many players back from injury which is why fans expect improvement. What are you trying to say?
You were using "a ton of players on IR" as an excuse to why the Bills fall apart, GB won the super bowl with 17 players on IR. NE I believe was also near the tops in the league of players on IR in 2010 and went 14-2. Injuries are a poor excuse, its the job of the team to have competent depth at every position.
The Bills are not a great team... therefore when they had injuries in the past, it decimated their team and they fell apart. I'm still confused as to what you guys are actually trying to argue about?
You're just moving the goal posts of your own argument. Stop. You blame injuries for the Bills failures and ask for examples of teams who succeeded, you get examples and then deny the relevance of the statements.
Injuries are a valid argument when your team lacks depth. Pittsburgh and Green Bay are quite deep with their depth. Hopefully, the Bills have begun to address their depth issue. We'll all find out this season......
I get it now. Hey check this out: Mark Sanchez had a stinger halfway through the season and that is why the Jets didn't win the Super Bowl. I like your logic.
