Bills News: Weakside LB a Concern for Buffalo

Entering the 2007 NFL season, the Buffalo Bills were content with a starting linebacking corps made up of Keith Ellison and Angelo Crowell flanking middle man Paul Posluszny. However, Buffalo's plan changed quickly when Ellison suffered a high ankle sprain during the summer, forcing him to miss the first four games of the regular season.

Once Ellison, a 2006 sixth-round pick from Oregon State, returned, it became apparent that he does not possess the skills or playmaking ability needed to start for a pro defense.

While Ellison—who has 104 tackles, two interceptions and two sacks in 26 regular-season games—is a perfect fit for the Bills' Tampa 2 scheme with respect to size (6 feet, 228 pounds) and quickness, he (much like MLB John DiGiorgio, who filled in for the injured Posluszny for most of the season) would certainly be better served as the backup weakside linebacker, not the starter.

Judging by the Bills' early approach to the offseason, it seems they agree.

At the recent Senior Bowl, a week-long event whose purpose is for outgoing collegiate senior football players to display their talents to the NFL's 32 teams, the Bills began taking steps to ensure a better defense by meeting with multiple linebackers, ones who can play the right side.

To name a few, Buffalo's brass conversed with Keith Rivers (USC), Ali Highsmith (LSU) and Xavier Adibi (Virginia Tech). All three possess the speed and game-changing ability to be stalwarts in the Tampa 2, and like Ellison, their size clearly meshes with the scheme. (At just 219 pounds, however, Adibi will obviously have to beef up to fit in any pro defense.)

Currently, Rivers—who previously led USC's all-world defense—is forecast as a first-round pick in April's draft, and many mock drafters believe Buffalo will take him 11th overall. That would certainly be an outstanding choice, but if the Bills go a different route in Round One, both Highsmith and Adibi, predicted as first-day picks, should be available a bit later on.

Buffalo's linebacking trio isn't yet suited to be a dominant, top-notch force in the NFL. However, two terrific cogs—Posluszny and Crowell—are clearly in place. All the team has to do now is find a weakside linebacker, and it seems it's on the verge of doing that this offseason.

One thing's for sure: A group consisting of, say, Rivers, Posluszny and Crowell is a heck of a lot better than one that includes Ellison as a starter.

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