Preview of ‘07 Bills
By Adam Kiefaber
AFC EAST PREVIEW
The Rebuilding Project
BUFFALO BILLS
2006 Record: 7-9
Last Year Summary: Head Coach Dick Jauron did a solid job in his first year with the Bills. Buffalo improved their record to 7-9 from 5-11 in 2005. In ’06, J.P. Losman was the full-time starting quarterback for the first time and performed better than I expected. Losman finished the year with 3,051 yards and with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 19-14 (also, completed 62.5% of his passes). WR Lee Evans became his favorite target (82 catches for 1,292 yards and 8 touchdowns). Evans’ previous high for yards and receptions was in ’04 (with 48 for 843 yards). Last year, RB Willis McGahee had his worst season as a Bill and rushed for 990 yards and six touchdowns. Rookie safety Donte Whitner performed well finishing the season with 105 tackles. 
The Bills exceeded expectations with wins over Miami (twice), NY Jets, Green Bay Packers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bills fans should be happy with the direction of this team.
Additions: OG Derrick Dockery (Washington), DT Darwin Walker (Philadelphia), OT Langston Walker (Oakland), OL Jason Whittle (Minnesota) and RB Josh Scobey (Seattle).
Subtractions: CB Nate Clements (to SF), London Fletcher (to WAS), Willis McGahee (to BAL), Takeo Spikes (to PHI), WR Andre Davis (to BUF), OG Mike Gandy (to ARI), QB Kelly Holcomb (to PHI), OG Chris Villarrial, OG Tutan Reyes, S Matt Bowen, and Daimon Shelton.
2007 Season Prediction: The Bills are losing a lot of their talent that was acquired during the Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey tenures. Clements, Fletcher, McGahee and Spikes are proven stars. However, the team is younger and those players had to be eventually let go. Buffalo had an interesting draft where they got RB Marshawn Lynch, LB Paul Posluszny, QB Trent Edwards and RB Dwayne Wright in their first-four draft choices. Also, the Bills added one of the top free-agent offensive guards in Derrick Dockery, who signed a seven-year contract. “I think we’re better on offense and defense,” said Jauron. “We’re better athletically. I think we’re faster. We’re bigger and better up front on the offensive side. I believe we have improved ourselves there. That should help us both running and passing and should give J.P. a chance to keep improving.” I think the Bills are improving their team for the long run, but it is hard to imagine them being able to complete in a tough AFC East this season. Add to that, the Bills have an extremely hard schedule this year. Challenging road games include Pittsburgh (Sept. 16), New England (Sept. 23), Jacksonville (Nov. 25) and Philadelphia (Dec. 30). Some highlighted home games include Denver (Sept. 9), Dallas (Oct. 8), Baltimore (Oct. 21), Cincinnati (Nov. 4), New England (Nov. 18) and NY Giants (Dec. 23).
Best Rookie: RB Marshawn Lynch- In the spring, Lynch has been taking the bulk of the reps with first-team offense. Lynch left the Cal Golden Bears after his junior season. He needed only 167 more yards to break the school’s rushing record. He should split carries with Anthony Thomas this season, but figures to be a front-runner for the AFC rookie of the year. Keep an eye on fourth-round pick RB Dwayne Wright out of Fresno State. Wright has been impressive this spring and could end up being a great running back.
Big Games of the Year: vs. Denver (Sept. 9- 1:00pm- opener), vs. NY Jets (Sept. 30- 1:00pm), vs. Dallas (Oct. 8- 8:30pm- Monday) at NY Jets (Oct. 28- 4:05pm) vs. NY Giants (Dec. 23- 1:00pm)
Projected Record: 5-11
Futures (Bets): The current odds for the Bills to win the AFC East is 15/1. The win total betting is set at six games. Currently, the Bills odds to win the Super Bowl are set at 75/1.
