Buffalo Bills: Assessing the New-Look Offense

The Buffalo Bills offense this past season had its bright spots, but also its glaring weaknesses.

Today, I will be addressing both.

Weaknesses

Lack of size at WR: I think every single person who watched the Bills this year noticed that the only receiver on the roster over 6' tall happens to be the very last on the depth chart, the 6'2" Sam Aiken.

This, of course, means that Buffalo's offense was almost always drastically undersized on the offensive side of the ball.

With quick receivers like Roscoe Parrish (5'9") and Lee Evans (5'10") bringing a vertical threat to the passing game, the Bills still lack that big possession receiver that can be relied upon to go over the middle and out-muscle defenders for jump balls especially in the red zone.

The lack of this type of receiver really hurt the Bills, and it showed in their stats: 30th in total first downs, total passing plays, and passing yards, and 21st in yards per passing attempt.

Possibly the most brutal stat, however, is the red zone offense, where Buffalo ranked 30th in TD percentage at 38.2%.

Buffalo is currently hosting free agent WR Bryant Johnson, who would certainly fit the bill (no pun intended) as a big target at 6'3" and 213 lbs. He certainly is a large receiver the Bills would love to have.

If they don't sign him, look for Buffalo to make a run at Malcolm Kelly, James Hardy, or Adarius Bowman in the draft.

Lack of production from TE position: The Bills once again had a woeful year for their TE's, starting with the tragic, life-threatening injury to Kevin Everett in week one.

Robert Royal simply is not what the Bills thought they were getting when they picked him up as a free agent two years ago.

The organization thought that Royal was a good pass-catching TE who simply got stuck behind Chris Cooley in Washington's offense to begin his career, and that given the right opportunity, he would flourish.

Not quite.

In his career with the Bills, Royal has caught a total of 48 passes for 481 yards with 6 TD's and a 10.0 yard average. Not exactly what the Bills or their fans were hoping for.

Michael Gaines came in last year and helped, but with Gaines shipping off to Detroit, he won't have much to say about Buffalo's TE's next year.

The Bills need a better receiving TE on their roster, because Royal simply doesn't catch well enough to be a starting NFL tight end.

Bills fans, keep your fingers crossed for Fred Davis or Martellus Bennett when April rolls around.

Strengths

Marshawn Lynch: Ok, let's face it: The kid is a human wrecking ball.

That having been said, he cannot carry an entire offense on his own.

Lynch played quite impressively for a rookie this past season, with 280 carries for 1115 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and 7 TD's. Not bad for a rookie.

But Lynch is going to need some help.

With other teams recognizing the Losman-Edwards QB carousel in Buffalo, opposing defenses were able to put seven or eight defenders in the box and not worry about a passing attack.

That has to change. Buffalo will need an established passing game to take some pressure off Lynch and a real FB to bloody some noses out there.

If Lynch builds on his rookie momentum, along with a little help, he could be scary good.

Offensive Line: I know, it's surprising to see the O-Line as one of Buffalo's strengths but they certainly do deserve it after what they did this past year.

Jason Peters: Let's start at the LT spot, where Peters has taken the ultimate step in proving that 31 teams made a horrible choice - SEVEN TIMES- by not drafting him.

The converted TE from Arkansas made his first Pro Bowl this year, and is wowing Bills fans across the nation by providing something Buffalo has not had in a very long time: stability at the most vital position on the O-Line.

Derrick Dockery: Next, the LG. Dockery came in labeled by the Bills' front office as a "road grader" blocker who uses brute strength to push people out of his way and is a force as a run blocker.

He certainly made a nice tandem with Peters on the left side, where the Bills ran nearly 75 percent of their run plays.

Dockery still has to step up his pass protection to earn his $49 million contract, but if he can, he will form a great tandem with Peters for the next six years.

Melvin Fowler: Fowler has been labelled "journeyman" after making Buffalo his third team in as many years.

After stints with the Browns and Vikings, Fowler came to Buffalo because the Bills believed he was an athletic Center who could pull easily on run plays and provided the type of flexibility and athleticism they were looking for.

While Fowler is serviceable as a starter, he needs to be replaced. He can definitely hold his own, but he is nothing spectacular, and that is why I think the Bills need to look hard at Steve Justice from Wake Forest in the third round of the draft.

Brad Butler: The man with a mean streak. Butler Came into the league as a 5th round pick with the Bills in 2006.

Known mainly as "the guy on the other side of D'Brickashaw Ferguson" at Virginia, Butler was also known by his coaches and teammates for having somewhat of a mean streak and a nasty demeanor to him.

Butler was a RT in college, but was eventually converted by the Bills because they felt his size (6'7" 315lbs) would allow him to make a somewhat seemless transition to the guard position.

I still haven't seen enough out of Butler to judge whether or not he is a competent starter, but in the 16 games he started this season, I liked what I saw.

Langston Walker: A very tough man to miss. Being 6'8" and 366 lbs, he is by far the largest man on the Bills offensive line.

Having witnessed his mammoth stature myself at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, I know just how tough it is to imagine trying to get by this dude.

After playing on the league's worst offensive line in Oakland during the 2006 season, Walker signing was questioned by many Bills fans, including myself.

The Bills decision to keep him at RT was also somewhat of a head-scratcher because on tape it seemed like he was more suited to play guard.

However, Walker came in and started all 16 games for Buffalo at RT, and proved that he could make a big push on the right side, and that he was not simply a Fat Mike clone (thank you, Bills fans, for getting that joke).

Well that about wraps it up for the offense.

For those of you wondering why Fred Jackson isn't listed as a strength, it's because I just don't think he's proven enough yet in his 8 games last season. Granted, they were impressive games, but they were only 8. Next season, we'll talk more about him.

Take this for what it's worth, and have a positive outlook going into the 2008 season Bills fans. You never know, it might just be our year.