Yes I'm back after a long Blog hiatus. I got lazy started catching up on TV shows and playing more video games and let this blog go by the wayside. All that aside the new NFL season is upon us which leads us to a new beginning for the Big Cat's Blog. When I last left you we were in the middle of NFL offseason, with baseball right around the corner. I was prepping for the Rangers season and wondering if they could make it. Fast forward 4 months and the Rangers are right in the race with the Angels and the Big Cat himself was sucked into the addictive world of MMA. With all that in mind we will get into some baseball in the coming weeks, and later this week a re-cap of my thoughts on UFC 100 and looking ahead to UFC 101. Also looking ahead the College Football Season is set to start up so we'll have a look at the national picture as well as the Longhorns season preview. After all I'm just a fan with a public forum so you get to see the teams I love.
So there's a look at what's in my brain right now, and let's hope my ADD doesn't get the best of me and I can continue to blog for my small following. One other note is that not only was I sucked in to MMA, but I'm also a sell out who bought in to my most hated form of social networking...Twitter. So follow me on Twitter under the name @bigcatunplugged.
Let's get it on...
The Buffalo Bills have been at training camp for more than a week at St. John Fisher College and to steal a line from a good friend regarding baseball spring training, "Training camp, where even the Bills fans have hope". Two periods in the NFL yield hope to even the most hopeless fans, and that is the draft and training camp. Usually the reviews from camp are glowing and fans are reading about all the new guys and rejuvenated veterans forgetting every hole in the team. I'm not here to throw a wet blanket on your hopes and dreams fellow Bill-eivers, I'm here to talk about the optimisim I myself am experiencing and the reasons why I think the Bills are on the verge of a breakout year and a possible return to the postseason.
Quarterbacks
Trent Edwards returns for his third season in Western New York, and while his career has been up and down, I think he could be a breakout guy in the NFL this year. Last year Edwards charged out of the gates as a passer throwing the ball all over the field to big play threat Lee Evans. Edwards has always shown good passing skills with great accuracy but needs to stay healthy. In my mind if he can complete a full season, he can show himself to be a more than capable QB of the future. Behind him the Bills made an offseason acquisition of former Harvard grad Ryan Fitzpatrick who had previously been with the Rams and Bengals. Fitzpatrick has had an up and down career, and will hopefully prove to be a capable backup option. Behind him the 3rd QB spot is being battled for by former Frankfurt Galaxy QB Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker. Hamdan has now been with the team for a couple of years and knows the playbook, but Baker represents more upside and ability.
Runningbacks
The Bills house a crowded backfield this year led by suspended (for 3 games) first round draft pick Marshawn Lynch. I really want to believe Lynch is a good guy, but he's already had a few off the field incidents. Lynch also has really got to get going to improve on the promise he showed in his first year. Once Lynch returns from his suspension he should enjoy an expanded role with a reformed offensive line, and new big play threats on the outside. Lynch is also an accomplished receiver and can hopefully add that dimension to the Bills offense. "Fast" Freddie Jackson is back for another year to reprise his role of change of pace back. Jackson has really come on and proven to be a valuable weapon in both the running and the passing game. Newcomer Dominic Rhodes signed on with the team and will most likely split the duties at running back with Jackson while Lynch is on his 3 game suspension. Rhodes also looks to add a demension to kick off returns as he has done for most of his NFL career. Xavier Omon is hanging on to his job by a thread, but we'll see if there is a need for four running backs. What remains unclear is who will lose more touches when Lynch returns.
Wide Receivers
How could things not be great here? We've got one of the biggest deep threats in the league in Lee Evans, and T.O. "I Love Me some Me" Owens.
Well truth be told I'm still a bit leery about the prospect of Owens torpedoing the locker room, but as he's always done early in his time with a team, he's said and done all the right things. All of that aside, I still believe Owens has enough in him for one or two more big seasons. He's always shown that a change of scenery rejuvenates him and ignites that rather large chip that resides on his shoulder. With Owens and Evans on the outside, the Bills boast one of the best receiving duo's in football and I'm really excited to see what Evans can do with the pressure and double teams taken off of him. Behind him they have sturdy and solid slot WR Josh Reed and a big play threat in his own right with Roscoe Parrish. Parrish has got to get more touches to show his special speed and big play ability, and some talk has centered around Parrish running a wildcat like formation. James Hardy and Steve Johnson round out the crowded WR corps, and James Hardy looks to make a little headway towards moving back up the depth chart after a lackluster performance and a season ending knee injury dropped him last year.
Tight End
This is the black hole in the Bills offense, but draft day could have yielded an answer for that black hole. Derek Schouman and Derek Fine will probably get the first oppurtunity to lock the position down, but neither are big time playmaking threats. On the other hand, rookie Tight End Shawn Nelson (pictured above) from Southern Miss. Nelson is a big, long, fast pass catcher that could really add another dimension to the offense. A former WR, Nelson will have to work on adding weight and blocking but he could be a special player at the TE position.
Offensive Line
The offensive line has seen a lot of turnover and there will be a new player at each position. Langston Walker swings over from the right side to Left Tackle and the mammoth 6'7 330 lbs + monster will have to contend with some great AFC pass rushers. Brad Butler makes the move from Right Guard to Right tackle, while rookies Andy Levitre and Eric Wood are the favorites to man the interior positions at guard. Newcomer Geoff Hangartner will come over from Carolina to play center for the Bills. This unit has to be better at protecting Trent Edwards, but moreso needs to be better opening holes for the run game. The Bills use a ball control offense and will be able to run to set up the pass if this unit is as good as some think it could be.
Breakout player - Lee Evans...With Terrell Owens opening up coverages for Evans, he should become the big play threat we all know he can be
Best offensive Rookie - With a draft loaded with defensive players, I'll go with rookie TE Shawn Nelson to be the breakout rookie on the unit
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