Buffalo Bills Should Focus on Defensive Line This Offseason

At this time one year ago, the usually frugal Buffalo Bills were bracing themselves for a busy offseason that was characterized by their surprising willingness to throw big money at a glaring weakness. That problem area, the offensive line, had previously been the bane of Buffalo's existence for roughly a decade, and then-general manager Marv Levy was determined to make repairs.

He did just that, signing three offensive linemen -- left guard Derrick Dockery, right tackle Langston Walker and versatile interior lineman Jason Whittle -- to contracts that cumulated $75 million. Dockery received a seven-year, $49 million deal, Walker's pact was a five-year, $25 million accord, and Whittle agreed to a modest contract worth $1 million over one season.

Aside from Whittle, who was put on injured reserve early on, the signings paid dividends. Though neither Dockery nor Walker had a spectacular, Pro Bowl-caliber season, the pair did enough to greatly improve the Bills' offensive line. Want evidence of that? Consider that Buffalo's quintet of blockers yielded just 26 sacks in 16 regular-season games. That number, 26, is the fewest amount of sacks the Bills have surrendered since they became an official statistic in 1982. Just one year prior, when Dockery was in Washington and Walker was a much-maligned member of the Raiders, the Bills allowed a whopping 47 sacks. Therefore, the team's amount of sacks given up fell nearly 50 percent in one season, which is certainly extraordinarily impressive.

And although the Bills' run blocking was average (even subpar at times) during the year, one certainly can't argue with the pass-protection results Buffalo got from its remade O-line.

With the successes of last spring having been mentioned, the Bills are set to enter this offseason with a G.M. by committee in place after Levy, 82, elected to step down late last month. The onus will be on Levy's replacements -- a coalition consisting of owner Ralph Wilson, chief operating officer Russ Brandon and vice president of pro personnel John Guy, among others -- to continue upgrading the Bills' trenches. This time, though, the franchise should focus on the defensive side of the ball.

In 2007, the Bills accrued only 26 sacks, which ranked 29th out of 32 NFL defenses. Ends Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay, whom the Bills handed enormous contracts before last season, were major disappointments; moreover, there was nobody else on the line who had the ability to penetrate opposing blockers and get in enemy quarterbacks' faces. In addition, the D-line was a major reason why Buffalo ranked 25th in the league against the run.

What the Bills ought to do is make the defensive line their No. 1 focus this offseason by throwing money at the area in free agency and investing draft picks in it. As has been demonstrated countless times in pro football, teams win games by establishing solid lines and building outward from there.

Thanks to their diligence and willingness to spend money last offseason, the Bills are now relatively solid in the trenches on one side of the ball; however, in order to help break its eight-year playoff drought, Buffalo will need to establish positive consistency on the other side. The organization can do that this offseason.

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