Friday, April 26, 2002

Are the Bills the next worst-to-first team?

It’s still way too early, but Donahoe’s cap mastery gives the Bills a serious upgrade

By Andy Hanacek, Associate editor

Just look at the success stories of the Rams, Colts and, most recently last season, Patriots. Teams are going from not even being a playoff contender to Super Bowl-caliber squads. And there’s no reason to think this trend won’t continue.

In fact, I think Buffalo’s going to be the next big thing. Let me clarify this, though. I’m not saying, "Buffalo’s going to the Super Bowl in 2002," because I don’t think that will happen. I don’t even think the Bills are strong enough to win the AFC East just yet.

But I do think the Bills have the makings of (gasp!) playoff contention, just one full season removed from the full-fledged QB war that rocked the team and the town. Kudos to Bills general manager Tom Donahoe for leading the Bills out of salary-cap hell in just one full season. He also gets kudos for working well with head coach Gregg Williams, identifying the type of players Williams’ systems need and acquiring those players.

Gone are the remnants of the 3-4 defense, a defense that current Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell had the right personnel for and ran well. It worked for Cottrell and the former regime, but many of those players don’t fit in the Titans-style defense that Williams brought with him when he took over the Bills' job prior to the 2001 season.

Before last season, the Bills had to live with the guys they had. Donahoe, in an effort to get the Bills afloat, couldn’t go out and spend much in free agency. The Bills were in the job of cutting salary last year, not adding it.

This year, I believe we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as personnel decisions go with the Bills. Buffalo still must be wary of the cap, as the team is up against it. The Bills have been able to do some reorganizing of the roster though, even with stringent money limitations. These moves, I believe, will boost the Bills back to respectability as soon as this coming season.

Some of the significant moves they made will be noticeable right away. Some won’t. New LBs London Fletcher and Eddie Robinson should make a big impact. Fletcher will be noticeable simply because he takes the place of Sam Cowart, whom the Bills did not re-sign because of his injury problems the last two seasons. Robinson is aging, but he knows the defensive scheme a lot better than last year’s starter, Jay Foreman, does. Foreman was traded to the Texans for RS Charlie Rogers. Rogers should make a big impact himself in the return game.

But the most noticeable change will be at quarterback, and it won’t just be the player that changes. Sure, Drew Bledsoe will be the starter, not Alex Van Pelt or Rob Johnson. But even more important will be the fact that Bledsoe shouldn’t be on the ground too much. The Bills’ biggest problem the last few seasons has been the offensive line. Donahoe took the first huge steps toward correcting that problem the moment he got the chance, signing former Broncos OT Trey Teague (who started 16 games last season) and drafting Texas monster OT Mike Williams. Those two should start from Day One, pushing last year’s surprise on the offensive line, OT Jonas Jennings, to guard. Suddenly the Bills’ line doesn’t look so shabby.

The only thing preventing the Bills from being more than just a playoff contender is their division. Even with the loss of the Colts to the AFC South, the AFC East is stacked. The Bills very well could be on the losing end of too many division games to seriously contend for much more than a playoff spot.

But Donahoe isn’t finished with the Bills’ overhaul, and I’d expect them to be serious contenders in a matter of time, so long as Donahoe gets his guys.

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