2014 was the epitome of a wasted season for the Buffalo Bills. After enjoying a resurgence under second year head coach Doug Marrone, their head coach exercised his opt-out clause and exited stage left. Leaving the Bills in the worst position a franchise can find themselves during the off-season, searching for a new quarterback and head coach. Digging deep into their search for a head coach, led them to pegging former New York Jets head man Rex Ryan as the new leader of their franchise. With a new coach, no quarterback of the future, and a couple of defined holes; GM Doug Whaley has quite a bit of work to do in identifying the men that will bring an identity to the Bills and lead Buffalo back to relevance.

What Went Right

This season, the Buffalo Bills enjoyed only their 2^nd winning season within the past 15 years, powered by heady veteran play from QB Kyle Orton and a defense that blossomed into one of the league’s elite, rising to 4^th overall in league total defense. Kyle Orton took over for an ineffective second year E.J. Manuel and provided the Bills with something they haven’t had in a very long time, stability under center. The defense truly was the bright spot of this team as former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s unit continuously kept the team in games and harassed opposing QB’s into some of their worst performances of their season. Spearheaded by the fearsome foursome defensive line of Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes, Kyle Williams and Marcel Dareus; their play elevated the play of their teammates with the way they clogged running lanes and got after the quarterback. Their ability to stuff the run covered up deficiencies in the linebacking core missing their best player the whole season in Kiko Alonso. Their ability to bring the heat on opposing passers with just their four down linemen, allowed the Bills to keep extra men in coverage. On the back end, Aaron Williams and Stephon Gilmore proved to be two of league’s rising cover men. The Bills also proved to be pretty good in the trenches on the offensive side of the football at times as Cody Glenn and Seantrel Henderson developed into good bookend tackles to flank the o-line’s leader in center Eric Wood. Henderson struggled at times, but most of those struggles can be attributed to his status as a rookie and Erik Pears’ struggles inside at guard. Rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins was everything the Bills hoped for when trading up in last year’s draft to get him. Watkins gave the Bills a bonafide No. 1 receiver on the outside and a true deep threat opposing defenses had to respect.

What Went Wrong

During the season, the first thing to go wrong was the lack of development from former first round QB E.J. Manuel leading to his eventual benching. Next was the running game that disappeared as the Bills ran for a franchise record low 1,482 yards. Running back Fred Jackson, who has been a dependable back for the team, began to finally show his age and is on the last legs of his career. Dynamo C.J. Spiller again teased Bills fans with his immense talent but again found himself on the injury list for a good portion of the season, effectively limiting his effectiveness. Aside from rookie Sammy Watkins, the Bills offense didn’t posses any consistent playmakers, which actually makes Kyle Orton’s season that much more impressive since he was able to find success despite his below average arsenal. The Bills drafted two rookie guards that were unable to break the starting line up and that slow development really hurt the Bills’ interior line, contributing heavily to their lack of success running the football. As soon as the season ended, prospects of getting better went from looking good, to gloom and doom in a hurry as the Bills endued more off-season hits than anyone in the league. First their veteran QB Kyle Orton, who saved their season, decided to call it a career, retiring and leaving the Bills searching for stability under center. Then their head coach, Doug Marrone, who was all the rage and the hope of the franchise; decided to exercise an opt-out clause and bail on the team the first chance he got after spending the past two years pulling them out of the doldrums.

Impeding Free Agents

Unrestricted

C.J. Spiller, running back

Jerry Hughes, defensive end

Brandon Spikes, linebacker

Erik Pears, guard

Da’Norris Searcy, safety

Marcus Easley, wide receiver

Lee Smith, tight end

Jarius Wynn, defensive end

Larry Dean, linebacker

Stevenson Sylvester, linebacker

The Bills need to at least transition tag Jerry Hughes because good pass rushers are at a premium in this league and hard to come by. Losing their compliment bookend to Mario Williams without any compensation would be a major step backward for a team that has only an above average defense working in their favor during their coaching transition. Searcy was a solid presence in the secondary and would be a valuable player to re-sign as depth, but the Bills should look to get better at the position with someone who brings more dynamic ability. Spikes was a disappointment as a stop gap player and will probably find work elsewhere, although he is a Rex Ryan type of player. Wynn provided some quality reserve minutes subbing in for Williams and Hughes, but again this is somewhere the Bills should really look to improve. Spiller is an interesting case, because there is no denying his explosive ability when healthy, but even when healthy he isn’t a guy that can be counted on to carry the load. So how much should be invested to retain a player like that? If the bidding war becomes too high, then it may be time to let the former first round pick walk. The rest of the free agents are churn and burn type players who will be lucky to latch on with another team to go into camp for next season.

Needs Analysis

Now that Buffalo has addressed its biggest need at head coach with the hire of Rex Ryan, the Bills are a talented team in need of retaining their key free agents first and foremost. The last thing they need to do is create more needs for themselves in a off-season where there are plenty. The Bills have a very good young defense with most of their holes resting on the offensive side of the football. That said, the Bills could stand to add linebackers that provide impact plays helping their defense become even scarier.  Jets free agent linebacker David Harris would be a good way for Rex Ryan to begin the transition to his system. They could also stand to add depth in the secondary and defensive line to keep their starters fresh and withstand a rash of injuries. The offense is in need of more dynamic playmakers on the perimeter both at wide receiver and tight end, plus a running back who can carry the load for the offense. Buffalo could also use some help along the interior of their offensive line at guard, although they do have two second year players who could make a jump and earn playing time next year; but it’s better to hedge bets and bring in a vet presence. Most importantly the Bills need a quarterback, someone who can stabilize the franchise and grow into something more than an average player, that player though will be hard to come by.

Overview

Overall, the Bills have a very solid defense with the return of all their impact players plus getting better with the injury returns of Kiko Alonso and Leodis McKelvin. With the addition of Rex Ryan to lead their team, the franchise is counting on his defensive prowess to build upon the team’s strength as they continue to sort out who will provide stability under center and who to surround him with in order to score points. The question is how much Ryan’s presence will aid or hurt the team’s defense? Gone will be the 4-3 scheme the Bills excelled in under Jim Schwartz and in comes Ryan’s hybrid, blitz happy scheme that may not fit the current personnel. It will be interesting to see how GM Doug Whaley attacks the off-season in rounding out his team’s roster for his new coach. Prior to the draft, there will probably be hints in the impending additions that signal towards the route their franchise is taking with it’s defensive philosophy. Offensively, the eventual hiring of former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman seems as if they’re preparing to let E.J. Manuel compete for the job one last time, but look for the Bills to be heavy players in free agency for the top available QBs while investing plenty of time scouting the draft. Of course the Bills though are in an awkward position with no first round pick and picking in the middle of every round from then on. So identifying a young potential franchise quarterback may be put on the back burner till next off-season with a stop gap option such as Mark Sanchez or Matt Moore the more likely route. While Bills players and fans may be still a little sour about how they were dumped unceremoniously by their head coach, the Bills look to have possibly upgraded at the position with a man who has been to two conference titles games and has an identity as a coach that could prove infectious for a quick turn around.