Buffalo Bills: Power Ranking the Bills Offensive Positional Groups in Relation t
May 12, 2011Buffalo Bills: Power Ranking the Bills Offensive Positional Groups in Relation t
After a draft in which the Bills failed to address long-term offensive needs, some resolve to say the team is right where it was offensively at the start of the offseason.
These critics may not be 100 percent wrong.
I have proceeded to rank each Bills offensive positional group in relation to their AFC East counterparts.
Now, here are the Bills' power ranked positional groups for the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterback
Patriots QB: First, Bills QB: Second, Jets QB: Third, Dolphins QB: Fourth.
The Bills seem ready to place the reins in Ryan Fitzpatrick's hands for a full season, and Fitzpatrick is, by all evidence, up for the challenge.
With the Jets, Mark Sanchez has not been able to lead the offense for full games like Fitzpatrick has, and in Miami, Chad Henne has only proven to further stagnate the Miami offense.
In New England, Tom Brady is unquestionably the best quarterback in the division, if not the league.
Running Back
Patriots RB: First, Jets RB: Second, Bills RB: Third, Dolphins RB: Fourth.
Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller certainly make a good one-two punch out of the backfield, and the addition of Johnny White may prove a smart one, but the Bills fall to third here.
The Dolphins running situation is in a true state of flux and can't even be fairly evaluated at this point.
As for the Patriots, the combination of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead, combined with recent draftees, is absolutely lethal.
The Jets, on a similar note, love running the football and manufacture productive backs in their system.
Wide Receiver
Jets WR: First, Dolphins WR: Second, Patriots WR: Third, Bills WR: Fourth.
Sure, Stevie Johnson broke out nicely last year, but the Bills' depth at wide receiver amount to a bunch of training camp warriors and wait-and-see's.
The Jets have two legitimate No. 1 receivers in Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes; the team also rounds out the group well with Jerricho Cotchery and versatile Brad Smith.
The Dolphins and Patriots have fantastic No. 1 receivers in Brandon Marshall and Wes Welker respectively and complement their stars with good secondary options like Davone Bess and Deion Branch, respectively.
Tight End
Patriots TE: First, Jets TE: Second, Dolphins TE: Third, Bills TE: Fourth.
Bills fans need not fret and may as well skip this slide—coach Chan Gailey barely ever utilizes his tight ends anyway.
The Patriots have a fantastic young duo of tight ends with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and both will be making noise for a long time.
The Jets have a reliable, young option in Dustin Keller who, despite his lack of size, is athletic and can make the big play for New York when necessary.
The Dolphins are a bit lacking at the position but grade out better than Buffalo, because Miami uses a tight end more frequently.
Offensive Line
Jets OL: First, Patriots OL: Second, Dolphins OL: Third, Bills OL: Fourth.
If the line of scrimmage was a doormat, the Bills offensive line would be the wide open door right next to it.
Without a star like Nick Mangold (Jets), Matt Light (Patriots) or Jake Long (Dolphins) anchoring the line, the Bills fall short—Demetrius Bell earned a starting job on this front.
The Jets have the most comfortable offensive line with Nick Mangold and D'Brickshaw Ferguson, among others.
The Patriots grade out better than the Dolphins because New England has a better overall collection of good blocking, while Miami's offensive line centers around Jake Long having a good game.