Are the Bills For Real?

by Ryan

I've been debating this in my head since James Hardy came down with that catch in the end zone. With only two weeks gone this year, it may be hard to answer this, but that only makes the question more intriguing.

Are the Bills for real?



Seeing that first drive sure made me think so. There are a lot of signs pointing to yes, and factoring in the suddenly weak division only adds to the urgency this team is faced with. However, there are still some big question marks for some, and until those questions are answered I don't think I can be comfortable.

As a matter of fact, I may never be quite comfortable with any team ever, but that's just my paranoid nature. I don't think I'll ever feel safe with the Bills, but the goal here is to at least feel okay considering them a good football team.

The first thing to consider is the level of competition the Bills face. This may be the first time in half a decade the Bills will have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs by way of a division title. The Bills' resurgence along with the decline of the Patriots, Dolphins, and Jets may match up to form the perfect storm for a playoff spot.



Let's put it this way: the Dolphins are rebuilding, and if you think they are worth seven wins this year you are an optimist. Say they finish 4th and be done with it. Now tell me this: did the Patriots or Jets look better than the Bills did on Sunday? Aside from some asinine throws from Favre, terrible play calling, and minimal offensive line performance yeah, the Jets can win the division. Count on that.



However, aside from taking a sack well did Matt Cassel do anything to blow you away? The Patriots said they weren't going to use the "kid gloves" with him, but if that's their version of big boy offense I have some Mega Blocks we can throw on the field to keep him occupied.

The explosive 2007 Patriots minus one major component have put up 17 and 19 points in their first two games against some pretty mediocre defenses, and are 22nd in the league for yards per game. A statistically middle of the road defense isn't going to cut it for New England, and that's exactly what we've seen so far.

The climate is right for a shift in power, and the Bills look like they are taking advantage. Even with New England's easy schedule, the Bills have a nice little stretch of opponents to gain some confidence with, and who knows what a good start can mean for a young team's confidence coming off the bye week?

I'm not saying that the Bills are "good", we still can't know that just yet. What does give me hope is the fact that they have done some things that just look right. When I say that I don't mean Marshawn's dreads look aesthetically pleasing, but rather the Bills are doing the things little that good teams do.

Establishing the run and scoring early. Solid special teams play. Playing through inclement (read: bloody hot) weather. Bouncing back from a bad quarter. Coming from behind late. Stopping big third downs and adjusting to the run. All the little ingredients of a win, all the things necessary to prevent games from slipping away. Aside from a few mistakes in Jacksonville (mistakes that were overcome, mind you), the Bills have played pretty damn near perfect football 120 minutes into the season.

The Seattle game was far too easy to gauge anything, but against Jacksonville the Bills showed is something. They started strong and took control of the game, only to lose control because of a turnover and special teams mistake. Jason Peters missed a block and the hands team wasn't alert enough. These things happen, and anyone who has paid enough attention to the Bills knows what happens next.

It didn't happen this time, though. In past years the Bills would punch but couldn't take a punch. Last year's team doesn't get back up and drive down the field for that winning score, and it certainly doesn't stop the Jags from punching again. This defense held strong after the Jones-Drew touchdown, and it certainly made some big plays with Youboty's tackle late and the McGee interception to end the half.

Brian Galliford at Buffalo Rumblings watched the tape again (something I need to start doing) and agrees that the defense is only going to get better. Once it tackles better and develops its pass rush to compliment great plays in the secondary, this could be quite the compliment to an offense that isn't afraid to get creative.

So are the Bills for real? Yeah, I think they are. So far they look it, at least. Sunday will be another test, but this time it will be an interesting one. First of all, the run defense will be tested with McFadden, but also on a higher level the team will face this: will the Bills play down to their opponent?

Oakland is an absolute mess with Kiffin and the corpse that owns them at odds, and I think Teen Wolf is their defensive coordinator right now. The Bills should win, and it will be interesting to see how they play a team that actually is worse than them on paper.

Yeah, I said it, because right now, the Bills look pretty good. Paper or otherwise.

8 in 4: AFC East

by Ryan


Last year we somehow convinced ourselves that we should do NFL previews. It wasn't the most accurate of experiments, but it was a nice concept at the time. We went through each division and predicted winners, then going back in January to examine how badly we did.

We weren't really planning on much for this week, but it was brought up by someone that we should do it again. Well, why not? We are a little short on time, however, so we present to you eight divisions in four days.

If you have learned not to believe the hype, please don't believe any of this, either.


Of course it's located in Myrtle Beach, but that doesn't stop Zach Thomas...

4. Miami Dolphins- The Dolphins are just a mess, and that makes the grass greener and the flowers smell sweeter if you are a Bills fan. However, they may be getting it together. Ricky Williams just signed an extension, Ronnie Brown at even 50% is a nice compliment, and we've heard good things about Chad Pennington out of camp.

Nah just kidding, the Dolphins blow.


Finally, a look inside the Jets' war room on draft day.

3. New York Jets Did you hear the news about the Jets quarterback situation? MumblemumbleWranglerJeansmumblemumble. Okay, that's covered. Thomas Jones will rebound nicely this year with the Jets' improved offensive line actually blocking for him. It will be a nice change from their impersonation of concrete pillars. Listen, even with Farvaro the Jets won't be all that great. Will they be better than the Dolphins? Sure, why not. That's why they are here.


We will be using this picture as much as possible. It's perfect, really.

2. Buffalo Bills- Last year the Bills finished in second place with three fully functional humans left on defense. Needless to say, they have improved that defense, added more targets on offense, and as of yet (fingers crossed) no one has died. Even with Peters holding out they are an improved team that will finish in this spot come December.

Will I say the "P" word? Maybe. Just not this week. Or next week. Do I think they can get there? Of course I do, but I'm a Bills fan, and therefore crazy.


Why? Because we said so, that's why.

1. New England Patriots It may come as a shock to you, but the Patriots are still pretty good. They have the easiest schedule in the league and I'm pretty sure they have a home date with the Canisius College football team sometime in December. While I don't think they will run the table, they are probably going to win 12-14 games and make the playoffs easily. Shocking, I know.

Welcome to the AFC East, Lorenzo

By Chris

Well things certainly got more interesting in a hurry. Brett Lorenzo Favre is now the quarterback of the New York Jets, meaning the Bills will face him twice this year. It's one of the rare days where it might actually be a good day to be a Jets fan.

For Bills fans like us, however, the thought is scary. This is the year Buffalo was looking to break the nearly decade-long playoff drought and the Jets, two years removed from their last playoff berth, just got better. The road to the postseason just got a little more crowded.

The Jets have built up their offensive line into a formidable unit (the left side with D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Alan Faneca and Nick Mangold especially) so adding a Hall of Fame quarterback under center should help make them look even better.

The weapons around Favre aren't spectacular. On the wings, Laveranues Coles is a consistent option and Jericho Cotchery is an emerging threat but the backfield is a bit muddled. Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Jesse Chatman (formerly of the Dolphins) and Musa Smith (who isn't Maurice Morris and who played in Baltimore last year) are all likely to share carries at some point. Although the lack of a running game has never really been a setback for the gunslinger. Chris Baker and Bubba Franks (who used to catch Favre passes in the Packers' end zone) won't blow you away at tight end, but they're both decent players that can make plays.

Favre enters the AFC East as the second-best quarterback behind Tom Brady. Heck, with Peyton Manning injured, Favre is probably #2 in the entire conference as well. He's still prone to the stupid mistakes, but there's no question that he's as dangerous as he's ever been as long as he can stay healthy.

Four games against two of the game's top quarterbacks. The Bills will definitely need two if not three of them if they want to reach the postseason. It's a tall order for a defense with high hopes. The Bills finished 31st in the league last year in total yards against. Most of that can be attributed to a depleted line up and two ugly games against New England.

The Bills don't start divisional play until the second half of the season (Week Eight at Miami to be exact. The Bills don't play the Jets until November 2) so it will be some time before we know if new additions Marcus Stroud, Kawika Mitchell and Leodis McKelvin (even Paul Posluszny to a certain extent) will be the difference between playing January ball and watching the games on TV. Pressure on the quarterback is going to be key and it will be interesting to see how the Bills adjust to great quarterback play within the division.

So while Jets fans may be smiling, I know one man must be in tears. His cover boy (and man lover) is on the cover of his own game wearing the wrong uniform. To Madden, Favre to the Jets might actually be worse than death.

8 in 8: AFC East

By Chris

In today's final installment of the Roost's NFL Preview, Eight Divisions in Eight Days, the AFC East is featured.

1. New England Patriots
Jeez what hasn't been said about these guys already? They should finish 6-0 in the division.

Normally, completely overhauling your receiving corps and cutting your receptions leader from last year would get you double looks from even Detroit Lions president Matt Millen. But this is New England we’re talking about, with a Canton-bound quarterback under center and a workaholic genius on the sidelines. If there’s any tandem in the league that can make that work and get Randy Moss motivated on Sundays, the Brady-Belichick duo is it. Brady might just even be this year’s Offensive MVP.

Oh yeah, they also added Pro Bowler Adalius Thomas to a defense that gave up just 237 points last season, second only to Thomas’ former team, Baltimore.

2. Buffalo Bills
Call me a sucker, but I've been debating as to whether the Bills will finish 2nd or 3rd in this division for a long while now. We just don't know what to expect from this team this year. The Bills could either be pretty good or really bad. They just better finish with a better record than the Dolphins. Expectations are pretty high here in Western New York, considering the team has not been to the playoffs since the Music Ci—I’ll stop there and spare fellow Bills fans the heart ache of that memory.

Regardless, I’m very excited to see Marshawn “Money” Lynch finally take a snap in a regular season game, and not just because he’s on my fantasy team. As long as the new players on the offensive line live up to their big contracts, Lynch, a potential Offensive Rookie of the Year, should be an upgrade over that guy that got traded away. And if J.P. Losman continues to improve and Josh Reed hangs on to the ball, the Bills should be in good hands on the offensive side.

The big questions will be on defense. As Vince Young showed us during the preseason, they could use some of Bobby Boucher’s Tackling Fuel, because the Bills just can’t tackle. I love Paul Posluszny and what he might bring to the table, but it’s the other positions that concern this fan.

The lack of depth at defensive end is troublesome and they don’t have a legitimate #2 cornerback. Jason Webster will be the whipping boy on the team by Week Four. Then again, is Terrence McGee really a legitimate #1?


3. New York Jets
There's just no way the Jets are as good as they were last year, right? Mangenious got the most out of his guys last year and then some. Sure they've upgraded at running back by getting Thomas Jones, but as long as Chad Pennington is their quarterback, I'm not sure how anyone can really take these guys seriously. I'm sure they'll be in the hunt at the end of the season, but I don't see them making too much noise.

4. Miami Dolphins
The defense isn't getting any younger and neither is their quarterback. They passed on Brady Quinn for Ted Ginn and I see that mistake haunting them for many years to come. Their offensive line won't open too many holes for Ronnie Brown and this team is going to struggle big time.