2007 Outlook:

To set things straight here, the Bills played great ball last year considering their 7-9 mark. Looking back on the season, they lost quite a number of games by one possession or less. The Defense was good, but had some key breakdowns during games in the 2006 season. The '07 season has much more potential. With McGahee out and Lynch in, this brings excitement to Buffalo fans. Lynch should have a great season amassing superb stats along with the extremely talented wide receivers, Evans and Price. The questions this year extend from the QB position. Will Losman retain the duties for the '07 season or will newcomer Trent Edwards from Stanford steal the job? Either way the Bills look ten times better than last year and will definitely be in the mix for a wildcard berth.

2007 Draft Review:

With the first two picks Buffalo grabbed two immediate starters in Lynch and Posluszny. Although they didn't address more serious needs in the draft as a whole they did a decent job getting great value. Lynch is a stud to say the least and will be the featured back to start things off. Lynch played college ball at Cal. He improved his stats year after year bring his 2006 total to 3,230 yards and 29 TD's in 3 years. Posluszny will also have the honors starting in the middle linebacker slot. The Bills also grabbed a QB in Trent Edwards from Stanford who was prone to injury and sat out nearly half his college career. Otherwise, Edwards is a very smart with a strong, accurate arm. If he can hone his skills and learn the playbook he could quickly be starting in Buffalo if an injury were to befall Losman. Edwards is currently listed as the 3rd string quarterback. Overall the Bills got some major holes filled but struggled in later picks.

Draft Grade: B-

Key Acquisition:

The Bills went out and spent $49 million on a guard from Washington in Derrick Dockery. Dockery was signed to the 3rd largest deal for a guard in the NFL. Drafted in 2003 from Texas he got the nod to start in Week 4 of his rookie year and never gave it up. This addition fills a major void on the left side. Dockery is also a league leader in false starts. If the big man proves his worth, he will be paving the way for Lynch and Losman on the left side for years to come.

Key Departure:

Takeo Spikes was traded to Philly along with Kelly Holcomb for Darwin Walker and a 2008 draft pick. Spikes became injury prone after tearing his Achilles' tendon tackling Michael Vick in Week 3. Ever since, Spikes has struggled. While Spikes better days are behind him, he was the unspoken leader of this defensive unit. His replacement will likely be Posluszny, sooner than later. It will be interesting to see if the young player can bring the same leadership skills that Spikes brought to lead this defense back into the top 10.

Offensive Preview:

Buffalo will be a completely new team this season on the offensive side of the ball. The offensive line is improved which will allow the young Lynch some more running space than that seen by incumbent starter, Willis McGahee. The QB situation remains in JP Losman's hands, however his breakout performance in the 2nd half of last season has got to bring some excitement to Bill fans. Wide receivers Lee Evans and Peerless Price tout one of the best WR tandems in the league. Evans will find the field a little more cluttered as he had a breakout season last year, but this will only aid Peerless Price. Price has shown that he is not capable of being a number one WR, so if Evans can draw the opposing units top defenders, Price will exploit that. TE Royal grabbed a career high 3 TD's in his first year at Buffalo. The line is talented, seasoned, and improving. All the key ingredients are here to have a good season given they find production with the quarterback.

Defensive/Special Teams Preview:

The DST took a big shot when Nate Clements decided to leave in free agency to join the San Francisco 49ers. To compound the problems is the fact that DE Anthony Hargrove is on the verge of being released by the team. Spikes is gone too as the Bills decided not to continue the relationship with the veteran linebacker. Ok. We talked about the losses. How do the Bills regroup? To replace Clements, they brought in injury prone Jason Webster. The gamble here is that Webster has always been a talented cover cornerback, capable of being an elite corner. But injuries continue to plague Webster. If he can stay healthy, the loss of Clements will be less felt. Rookie LB Paul Posluszny joins the defense to replace Spikes. Posluszny is a fighter who has a big heart. Regardless of his attributes, heart counts for a lot (see Zach Thomas). It could be a blessing in disguise for a defense that needed a boost. Perhaps a change of scenery and personnel will bring this group together just enough to make a wild card run...

Season Prediction:

Take the talent on hand along with the addition of the explosive newcomer Lynch and that in itself is fuel to win games. The defense wasn't solid but did the job. All that's needed here is the determination by the players to perform every week and they could find themselves in the mix. Coach Jauron actually finished the year ahead of expectations and looks to improve on the '06 mark. The special teams were amazing last year with kicker Lindell going 23-25 and 92% on the year. Again, this team has the talent to produce although, it's will be unfortunate if they cannot remain in the playoff race late into the season.

Projected Finish

8 Wins, 8 Losses (3rd AFC East)

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