By Tim Graham
Last year at this time, we were in some sort of bizarro
world.
The Buffalo Bills had convinced one of the NFL's most coveted
free agents to sign. They gave Mario Williams the NFL's richest contract for a
defensive player.
The Miami Dolphins, meanwhile, couldn't convince anyone to
sign.
The Dolphins, despite their glamorous locale and free-spending billionaire
owner, endured a series of stiff-arms from coach Jeff Fisher (after getting
rejected by Jim Harbaugh a year earlier) and quarterbacks Peyton Manning and
Matt Flynn.
Twenty-seven hours into free agency this year, fortunes of
the rival franchises appear to be back in alignment.
Continue reading "Buffalo's inactivity 180 degrees from what's happening in Miami" »
February 28, 2013 - 10:45 AM
By Tim Graham
When the Buffalo Bills rebooted their operations in January,
a point of emphasis was the creation of an analytics department. While no
details have been divulged on how the Bills will implement analytics, a common
usage around the league is in determining contract values.
ProFootballFocus.com, one of the most popular analytics sites,
has applied its metrics to the Bills' 2012 roster to determine who underperformed
and outperformed their salary-cap figures last year.
You can check out PFF for its explanation of each player, but
here are the lists:
Undervalued
- 1. Jairus Byrd, safety
- 2. C.J. Spiller, running back
- 3. Andy Levitre, left guard
- 4. Kyle Williams, defensive tackle
- 5. Alex Carrington, defensive tackle
- 6. George Wilson, safety
- 7. Nick Barnett, linebacker
- 8. Scott Chandler, tight end
- 9. Bryan Scott, linebacker
- 10. Cordy Glenn, left tackle
Overvalued
- 1. Mario Williams, defensive end
- 2. Chris Kelsay, defensive end
- 3. Ryan Fitzpatrick, quarterback
- 4. Brad Smith, wide receiver
- 5. Terrence McGee, cornerback
- 6. Spencer Johnson, defensive tackle
- 7. Mark Anderson, defensive end
- 8. Tyler Thigpen, quarterback
- 9. Erik Pears, right tackle
- 10. Shawne Merriman, defensive end
The Bills already have released two of the PFF's 10 most
undervalued players (Barnett and Wilson). Byrd, Levitre and Scott could become unrestricted free
agents in a couple weeks.
From the overvalued list, the Bills have dumped McGee.
Kelsay announced his retirement Wednesday night. From the free agents on the
list, we safely can assume Thigpen won't be back, Merriman's probably a goner and Johnson isn't worth re-signing.
February 27, 2013 - 6:44 PM
By Tim Graham
Buffalo Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay has informed the
club he will retire after 10 seasons.
Kelsay, a second-round draft choice in 2003, was a
three-time captain who recorded 32.5 sacks, ninth-most in franchise history, but struggled to crack the starting lineup last year.
"I want to thank Mr. Wilson for the opportunity he gave
me 10 years ago to be a Buffalo Bill," Kelsay said in comments distributed
by the team. "One of my goals was to finish my career with the team that
drafted me and that came to fruition. I feel very blessed to say that."
Continue reading "Veteran Bills DE Chris Kelsay announces retirement" »
February 14, 2013 - 3:14 PM
By Tim Graham
Pro Football Focus tweeted an amazing stat this afternoon.
Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller last season missed one
tackle on 576 passing snaps and one tackle on 339 running snaps. The average
distance downfield that Miller made a tackle was 0.25 yards away from the
line of scrimmage.
With that in mind, I wanted to see who the Buffalo Bills' most
efficient tacklers were in PFF's play-by-play review.
Continue reading "Hits and whiffs: The best and worst Buffalo Bills tacklers" »
February 13, 2013 - 5:15 PM
By Tim Graham
Which Buffalo Bills players would you dump to clear more
room under the salary cap for 2013?
Buffalo News reporter Mark Gaughan cast a spotlight on the
Bills' salary-cap situation in today's paper and listed the top dozen cap
figures for the upcoming season.
Gaughan reported Buffalo's
decision to lop linebacker Nick Barnett and safety George Wilson from the
roster puts it $20.9 million under the NFL's projected $121 million cap.
Factor in how much the Bills will need to spend on their
draft class and to retain players such as safety Jairus Byrd, and the Bills
don't have much wiggle room to re-sign left guard Andy Levitre or bring aboard
noteworthy free-agent help.
So take a look at the Bills' top 12 cap figures and vote for
the one player you'd most want to dump.
January 24, 2013 - 9:11 PM
By Tim Graham
While safety Jairus Byrd and left guard Andy Levitre have
drawn most of the attention from the Buffalo Bills' unrestricted free-agent
class, another interesting player is defensive end Kyle Moore.
The Bills want him back, said a source close to the team. The pass-rusher would be terrific for depth behind Mario Williams and Mark Anderson -- and capable as a starter.
Moore, who will be sidelined for a few weeks after having
his knee scoped, had a bit of a breakout season as a backup pass-rusher.
Moore was inactive for the first four games but started seven of the last eight at right defensive end for the injured Anderson. Moore made
24 tackles, three of them for losses. His three sacks ranked fourth on the
Bills.
ProFootballFocus.com rated Moore 26th in the NFL in "pass-rush
productivity," a metric that factors sacks, quarterback hits and hurries
divided by the number of pass-rushing snaps. PFF credited him with 23 hurries,
tied for 30th in the league.
