|
|
Bills report card: Good news, bad news in 8-8 season
By Shawn Krest
Was the 2002 Buffalo Bills season a success? It depends on what you use as a comparison. Compared to the 3-13 2001 Bills, 8-8 looks like an A+ performance. Right up until draft day, everyone considered 2002 a rebuilding year. Before Bledsoe, fans were content with Alex Van Pelt as the starting quarterback and either a second tier free agent like Jeff Blake, or a mid-round draftee like Kurt Kittner as the backup.
From draft day on, however, expectations increased and 8-8 looks less than satisfying. After a 5-3 midseason record, it looks like a downright collapse. In our preseason preview Sports & Leisure Magazine forecasted a 7-9 record and lots of excitement. We underestimated on both fronts. In an attempt to lend some perspective to a roller coaster year, here is the team’s season-ending report card.
Quarterback:
Bledsoe went from Whoop-dee-Drew to the Taming of the Drew in a late season slump. Still, he set ten team-passing records and almost single-handedly made it cool to root for the Bills again. He was in the running for MVP all year long and his slump dropped the Bills’ offense from the ranks of the all-time greats down to merely darn good. Fans, still smarting from the pair of losses to New England, can take heart in the fact that Bledsoe’s 86.0 quarterback passer rating beat Tom Brady’s rating by three tenths of a point.
Grade: A
Running back:
In Orchard Park, Henry the Eighth doesn’t refer to a British king, but to the latest fumble by Travis Henry. Still, Henry’s season was far from a Travis-ty. His 1,400 yards were the team’s fifth best all-time and ranked among the league’s top five as well. He was a touchdown machine who saved his best for the big stage, outdoing Priest Holmes, Ricky Williams and Curtis Martin in high-profile showdowns. But it’s the fumbles that will determine how great Henry becomes.
Grade: B
Receivers:
Numbers-wise, Eric Moulds and Peerless Price were the Jordan and Pippen of the NFL this year. Moulds’ 100 receptions set a team record, and Price’s 94 tied the old one. Both receivers had over 1,200 yards, only the 11th time in league history that teammates have reached that mark. Oh yeah, and remember rookie Josh Reed? The slow-possession receiver had a higher yards-per-catch average than either of the Big Two. On the downside, Moulds had several drops, Price almost single-handedly cost the team the Kansas City game with bone-headed penalties and the tight ends were nearly invisible.
Grade: B+
Offensive line:
Ruben Brown made the Pro Bowl, again, and Mike Williams lived up to his high draft pick. With an offense producing at the levels we saw, how bad could the line be? Well, the team dumped line coach Ronnie Vinklarek and Bledsoe was sacked 54 times—that’s over three times per game. They didn’t kill the team like last year’s line, but they didn’t help as much as they’ll need to in 2003.
Grade: B-
Defensive line:
Speaking of killing the team…It wasn’t a bad gamble by Tom Donohoe. He spent his offseason efforts improving other areas, assuming that some of the promising young linemen would develop. Unfortunately, they developed like a rash instead of a photograph. The line allowed opponents to average thirty more rushing yards per game than the Bills’ ballyhooed offense, and produced an anemic 20 sacks. The Bills linebackers and secondary got ten, and they also have to cover receivers. Aaron Schobel had a solid second year and late pickup, Chidi Ahanotu is a building block. Still, there’s no question as to Donohoe’s top offseason priority.
Grade: D
Linebackers:
London Fletcher set a team record for tackles in a season. Now the bad news: Eddie Robinson spent much of the season as a talk-radio punchline and Keith Newman was invisible. Tight ends gashed the team repeatedly and the linebackers deserve some of the blame for the opponent’s rushing numbers.
Grade: C-
Secondary:
"Elementary, my dear Watson," isn’t a quote from Sherlock Holmes this season. It’s from Bills’ opponents’ third-down game plans. Third cornerback Chris Watson took a beating for three months before being benched in favor of rookie Kevin Thomas. Starting corners Nate Clements and Antoine Winfield were hot and cold. Clements tied for second in the league with six interceptions, though he got a very late start. Antoine Winfield was hurt early and it seemed to affect him for the rest of the year. Safety, Coy Wire, had a strong rookie year, finishing second on the team in tackles. Not enough of his big plays were in favor of Buffalo, though that ratio will improve with experience.
Grade: C+
Special teams:
Yes, Brian Moorman finished third in the league in punting and hit a team record 84-yarder against Green Bay. Yes, kicker Mike Hollis had a 100 point season. He also missed two in the first New England game that could have slowed the momentum early on. Return man, Charlie Rogers, was ordinary and not worth the linebacker, Jay Foreman, that Buffalo traded for him. The kick-coverage units were abysmal. Bottom line: If they stop the Jets once in the opener, the Bills win the division.
Grade: D-
Coaching:
Talk about good news/bad news: Kevin Gilbride and the rest of the offensive staff would get an A. Defense and special teams would get an F. Head coach Gregg Williams has similar extremes. He kept the team motivated. One look at the Bengals players trudging on and off the field, waiting for their paychecks in the meaningless season-ending game proves Williams’s value in the locker room. On the downside were some bizarre game-management decisions. Bledsoe had to give him a refresher in using time outs at the end of the half, and the punt against New England was inexcusable. The team was outscored 85-48 in the first quarter, which hints at poor game planning, supposedly one of Williams’s strong points. All the extremes leave us right in the middle. He should not be fired (though lots of defensive and special teams coaches should be) but he also hasn’t earned an extension.
Grade: C
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
