Bills rewind
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The 2008 Buffalo Bills season was a colossal wasted opportunity. The Bills played the second-easiest schedule in the NFL. Their foes went 116-140. They played only four of 16 games against playoff teams. And their archrival, New England, played without it
Three best developments
1. Backfield duo was dynamite. Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson combined to rush for 1,607 yards, the best total by a Bills running back duo in 13 years, since Thurman Thomas and Darick Holmes tallied 1,703 in 1995. Lynch and Jackson combined for 84 catches, tops in the NFL.
2. Free agency moves worked. The Bills traded for Marcus Stroud and signed Kawika Mitchell and Spencer Johnson in free agency to make the defense more stout. Stroud was very good, far better than people in Jacksonville predicted he would be. The Bills’ defense was not dominant. But it got a lot better, going from 31st to 14th.
3. Trent Edwards showed enough to keep hope alive. The jury remains out on the Bills’ quarterback. But Edwards had enough strong games to make the team and its fans think he might be the winning QB the city covets. He was 20 of 25 versus Jacksonville and 25 of 30 versus San Diego. He rebounded from mid-season struggles to have excellent games at Kansas City and Denver (two admittedly poor defenses).
Three big problems
1. Lack of weapons. It bears repeating: The Bills had the 30th-ranked offense in the NFL and added one key player, James Hardy, at a position where rookies are notoriously slow to contribute. The team needs more weapons.
2. Lack of pass rush. The Bills finished with 24 sacks, tied for the fourth-lowest total in the league. The loss of Aaron Schobel to injury ruined the four-man pass rush. Ryan Denney tied Mitchell for the team lead with four sacks. Chris Kelsay had two.
3. Poor game management. Dubious coaching calls killed the Bills in some close games, highlighted by the loss to the Jets in New York. The decision to run into the line three times and leave Rian Lindell with a 47-yard field goal backfired against Cleveland. The San Francisco game was sitting there to be won but the Bills went 0 for 4 in the red zone and lost, 10-3.
Team MVP
• Marshawn Lynch. He rushed for 1,036 yards despite getting 20-plus carries in only four games. He improved his catches from 18 to 47. His blocking was subpar most of the first half of the year. He has a nose for the end zone. Nobody is harder to bring down.
Top five plays
1. Roscoe Parrish’s 63-yard punt return versus Seattle. A highlight-reel play from Parrish. “It was like the stuff you see on the Madden video game,” said tight end Robert Royal.
2. James Hardy’s late TD catch beats Jacksonville. Great throw and catch to seal comeback win on the road. Too bad Hardy only had eight other catches all year.
3. Kawika Mitchell’s interception in end zone saves win over San Diego. The Bills were clinging to a six-point lead with 6:16 left.
4. Jabari Greer’s 33-yard interception return for TD at St. Louis. Highlighted a big year for Greer.
5. Fred Jackson’s 65-yard catch at Denver. A great throw by Edwards and superb run by Jackson keyed the Bills’ comeback.
Top five negative plays
1. J. P. Losman’s sack-fumble-touchdown at the Jets. It goes down in Bills infamy.
2. Lindell’s 47-yard miss versus Cleveland. With 1:39 left, the Browns’ Phil Dawson had connected from 56 yards.
3. Edwards’s QB sneak fumble at Miami. The Bills were down, 20-16, but were driving at Miami’s 33 when Edwards ill-advisedly tried to reach the ball over the line of scrimmage. Joey Porter stole it.
4. The let-time-expire play at the end of the half versus New England. It should have been tied, 3-3, at intermission but the Bills botched the last 22 seconds.
5. Adrian Wilson’s knockout sack of Edwards in Arizona. It was the hit of the year, and it knocked Edwards out of the game with a concussion.
For the record
• The Bills’ offense finished 25th in yards, 14th in rushing and 22nd in passing. It was 23rd in points.
• The Bills’ defense finished 14th in yards allowed, 22nd against the run and 13th against the pass. It was 14th in points allowed.
• The Bills’ special teams were first in punt return average, seventh in kickoff return average, seventh in net punting and second in kickoff return average allowed.
• Only Detroit and St. Louis were worse than the Bills in the first quarter. The Bills were third worst in points allowed (108) in the first 15 minutes and third worst in point differential, getting outscored by 62.
Top quotes
• “Do I expect us to make the playoffs? I’m guaranteeing it.” — Donte Whitner, in June.
• “I’m at a loss for words for what we are offensively.” — Lee Evans, after the 16-3 loss to Miami in Toronto.
• “Did you see that fumble? It was terrible wasn’t it?”—Owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr., after the loss to the Jets in New York.
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