Have you seen the Bills Identity?

The Bills have tried, but suffered through the Rob Johnson era (try to say that now without laughing), Flutie Flakes, Drew Bledsoe, the JP Losman errrrr the Kelly Holcomb era, now the JP Losman errr nope the Trent Edwards era. Not to mention Antoine Smith, Travis Henry, Willis McGahee, and the often troubled Marshawn Lynch. I won’t even begin to go through the mess that has been the front office and coaching staff of the Bills.

Since the retirement of Jim Kelly, and the release of HOF players Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas, this team has been searching for an identity. Are the Bills a running team? Are they a passing team? The only consistent thing about the Buffalo Bills is that they are a special teams team. Coach Bobby April, one of the premier coaches in the NFL regardless of title, has been able to maintain one of the leagues most effective special teams units year in and year out. After their special teams, the team has more questions than answers. The Bills have not been known for their offense in recent years, but they have started to lay the foundation for a great running attack. The problem is that they continually fail to add a tight end that can block AND catch, and keep an offensive line together longer than one and a half seasons. On defense, the Bills have one of the most consistently ineffective pass rushes in the league. They have kept the same defensive end combo together for the past few years. They have combined for 12 sacks over the past two seasons.

Going into this season, The Buffalo Bills have several questions that need to be answered. Now that they have established weapons on offense, will they be able to maintain steady run and pass protection to take advantage of these weapons? With the draft completed, will the Bills be able to finally find the consistent pass rushing force they have lacked since Bruce Smith, heck even Marcellus Wiley? I like Schoebel as much as the next guy but he is more of a complimentary player than a pass rushing force at this point. Will Marshawn Lynch be able to recognize running lanes and utilize his blockers consistently this year? Did Buffalo finally draft a tight end to help Trent Edwards grow as a quarterback?  Is Dick Jauron a coach capable of more than a 7-9 record?

The sad truth is that even though I wrote that these are the questions I had going into this season, the problems that the Bills have can be “cut and pasted” into every season since the turn of the century: the same problems but with different players or staff. There is no reason why Buffalo can’t be successful, and there is no reason why Buffalo cannot build on last season. Their schedule may not be favorable, but it does provide some solid tests that will prove if this team is ready to answer the questions fans and experts have concerning this team. The Bills are a team without an identity, and hopefully through the draft and in the preseason they can finally acquire one. As a Bills fan, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tags: overview, pre-season