Buffalo Bills: A Complete Offseason Analysis and Strategy

After an impressive and exciting 5-1 start, the Buffalo Bills looked to end their nine year playoff drought. Many believed they would win a suddenly weak division without Tom Brady, and an excelling Trent Edwards.

Unfortunately like so many other Bills fans' dreams, reality came crashing down. The Bills finished the season a pathetic 7-9 for a third straight year.

The season ended with fans and media asking questions like “Will Dick Jauron come back?”, when it was announced that Jauron would indeed return as head coach, fans then began to ask “…why?”

Although many argued continuity, that seems to be more of an excuse to make ourselves feel better then a legitimate reason to keep a coach who has proven with the Bills and the Bears, he has no business being a head coach in the NFL.

Now is not the time to quibble about the coaching situation however, the decision has been made and there’s nothing we can do about it. So what’s next?

Well my friends it’s time for the most exciting part of football, the offseason. True it may not get the hype the playoffs, or the Super Bowl receives.

There are no clever commercials about a baby playing golf while trading on etrade, or one-second Miller High Life commercials, so why is it the most exciting time of the year?

Simple, the offseason is the one time of the year that the Oakland Raiders are just as good as the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs as good as Arizona Cardinals, and the Detroit Lions…well...let’s not go crazy.

Every team has the opportunity to be the big winner, and every fan hopes and prays that their team will land that big free agent to push their team over the top.

So what do the Buffalo Bills need to do to push their team over the hump and break the now-longest playoff drought in the NFL?

Well, here’s a look at the team by a position by position analysis and what the best move would be for the organization, not just from a player perspective but also from a business perspective.

First, the position was evaluated based on the players already on the Bills roster. Then the options, then if the position needs attention there is a “Final Answer” this is the best move for the Bills this offseason and would fill the hole on the team.

I also put a mini-mock draft at the end and where we got what picks from if they were not our own. Also, in the mini-mock draft I included notes about any players I didn’t have in the write up.

These players were left off the write-up because they are simply depth players and aren’t expected to make a huge impact, although as we’ve seen in the past, you never know what will come out of the draft.

So here we go...

Quarterback

Trent Edwards' play fluctuated greatly throughout the season, but one thing was clear; the Bills only real shot at winning were the games in which he was behind center.

Losman has proven time and again that he cannot be trusted as a starter or even backup. His release should be unquestioned.

Without much chance to see Hamden play, it is unclear as to whether or not he could lead our team, though his solid character has shown with his limited dealings with the media and has become somewhat of a fan favorite.

Many people believe the Bills will go after a veteran backup for Trent Edwards, however considering the free agency crop; this doesn’t appear to be a wise move.

Kurt Warner and Jeff Garcia lead the class, and both will demand more money than would be reasonable for a backup.

If Jon Kitna is released from Detroit, he could be a good fit, although he started with both Cincinnati and Detroit he spent the season on IR last year which will bring his price down.

Despite some off-the-field issues he had, he seems like a good leader, and Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson seemed to respect him a great deal.

Other free agents include Rex Grossman and Kyle Boller; both, like JP, have proven they can’t win in the NFL. Although Grossman did lead the Bears to the Super Bowl, he committed 25 turnovers that season and the team was propelled mainly by the Defense.

Charlie Batch is another possible backup who, while playing in Pittsburgh proved he could step in and lead a team but isn’t a full-time starter.

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