In typical Bills fashion, Buffalo played the Chicago Bears to a 10-3 defeat on Saturday night. Although the starters barely played out the first quarter, there were a number of things for fans to take away from the game.
The first and most obvious difference wasn’t on offense with the recent departure of Lee Evans, but was instead on the defensive side of the ball—more specifically the front seven. Whether it was Reggie Torbor or Chris Kelsay last year, the Bills couldn’t get much of any pressure to supplement the All-Pro effort put forth by Kyle Williams. Granted, it was against a porous Chicago offensive line, but the push from first-round pick Marcel Dareus and late season acquisition Shawne Merriman seems to have rejuvenated the Buffalo rush.
What remains to be seen is whether it can be sustained over the length of a 16 game season.
Again, although the first-string offense didn’t play long against Chicago, we did see a good amount of the Bills intentions on that side of the ball. Fitzpatrick led the offense on a couple of legitimate drives, making quick decisions on misdirected plays and quick routes.
Gailey seems to have an idea of how to run this offense effectively and with this subpar offensive line, misdirection and quick developing routes will be essential.
There was also a big stir this offseason when the Bills added Brad Smith since many fans felt that this move as unnecessary for the team. After this exhibition however, you can begin to see why Gailey and the Bills signed Smith to that multi-year deal.
Smith came in on two different third and shorts and was able to find a first down each time. Although his display throwing the ball wasn’t as impressive, it seems that Bills fans can expect to see a lot of Smith this year.
As far as depth is concerned, second-round pick Aaron Williams got beat on consecutive plays before making an acrobatic interception inside the redzone. Additionally, last year's third-round pick Alex Carrington continued to develop and drive towards the QB.
Coaches and fans alike hope his progression can translate towards a productive 2011.
Will the offense be able to sustain drives and remain explosive without deep threat Lee Evans? Will the defense remain healthy and consistent enough to not be welcome mats to the biggest fantasy days of the year?
Only time will tell.
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