With the Super Bowl now in the rearview mirror, let’s start looking at the Bills offseason needs. With last season deemed a success by management, and despite losing defensive coordinator Mike Pettine to the Browns, there are still needs on each side of the ball. Here is a look at the defensive free agent review and outlook. Look the the offensive outlook next week.
Coaching:
Pettine is going to a Browns team that like Buffalo has some stellar pieces to play with. What new boss Jim Schwartz sees as he looks at the Bills is just like his previous job with the Lions; pass rushing skill. He relied on defensive tackles Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh to disrupt offenses from the middle of the field, which allowed them to cover for a less skilled back seven. In Buffalo he will have a skilled front four and a better back seven to allow some man coverage and continue to blitz. Perhaps more important than landing Schwartz was the addition of Pepper Johnson as the new defensive line coach. This group has talent but needs it to be coached up to play to the best of their abilities week in and week out. Johnson reportedly left New England to show that he can coach and deserves to be a defensive coordinator in this league. Read between the lines here; he’s motivated, and will motivate his pupils.
Defense:
Losing Pettine will hurt. His blitz packages where complex and put players in the best positions to make plays. Schematically new coordinator Jim Schwartz has pieces in place to fit a hybrid system. The Bills regular front consisted of three defensive tackles on the line; Kyle Williams, Marcel Dareus and Alan Branch with Mario Williams as the rush end. The tackles’ responsibilities were to penetrate and create havoc with a strong push up the middle, which they did. The area that suffered due to this penetrating style was the run defense. The Bills were blessed with good health up front from their starters, which they haven’t had in the recent past. Alex Carrington was penciled in to be the starter but was injured early and is a free agent.
Top options for help:
1. Veteran run stuffing tackle (B.J. Raji)
2. Resign Carrington at a team friendly cost.
3. Late round draft project player-most likely option
Early in the season Kiko Alonso did a great job of hiding some of the linebacking deficiencies with his sideline to sideline ability. Manny Lawson played the edge at the other outside spot, where he did an adequate job in the run game. The problem was that the Bills entered the year with Nigel Bradham at the other linebacker spot. Well that didn’t work out, and over the course of the season the Bills went to a base nickel package, which led to teams running at will against them. Jerry Hughes was a diamond find for GM Doug Whaley netting a 9.5 sack season while disposing of Kelvin Sheppard in the trade.
Top options for help:
1. Khalil Mack if he is available at the 9th pick in the first round
2. Brandon Spikes ILB- New England
3. 2nd/3rd round draft pick to develop into inside run stuffer-most likely option
The secondary survived shaky starts from Stephon Gilmore, and injuries from Jairus Byrd to become a solid unit down the stretch. Leodis McKelvin finally played like a first round pick, and Nickel Robey turned into a solid slot (nickel) corner. Byrd and midseason addition Jim Leonhard are the free agents of this group with Byrd obviously the priority. Using the franchise tag again on Byrd would raise his cap number to about 9 million dollars. Byrd wants to be the highest paid safety in the league and that’s how free agency works, look at Andy Levitre. He isn’t the highest paid guard in the league but he got probably double what a guard should make because he had a solid year in the final year of his deal. Essentially Buffalo needs to decide if they have the cap room to give Byrd the big payday he is due, regardless of franchise tag or long term deal.
Top options for help:
1. Sam Shields
3. Mid-round draft pick- most likely option
Special Teams:
Has the front office finished wiping the pie off its face from the last offseason? Longtime kicker Rian Lindell, the most accurate kicker in franchise history mind you, was cut in preseason along with punter and fellow Buffalo vet Brian Moorman the year before. Both were to be replaced with rookies or second year players that ultimately didn’t work out and were disposed of. Dan Carpenter was cut and signed by seemingly every team in the league before he caught on when Dustin Hopkins mysteriously was injured the week before opening day. Carpenter was great and deserves at the very least to come to camp as the number one option.
Moorman was brought back when Shaun Powell couldn’t kick the ball in Cleveland. It was full circle, and just smelled like the Bills made a money move in the cut and lost a capable player and tried to replace him with one who wasn’t. He was brought back in the same fashion he left, mid-season, and is signed with the team for next season.
