One player rarely embodies an entire football team, but the release of tight end Charles Clay ended an era for the Buffalo Bills this offseason. In all seriousness, Buffalo is now a one-sided team without help for its greatest hope for a rebound.
Who are the Buffalo Bills? Josh Allen would like to know. Buffalo appears one-sided and failed to add impact players around Allen this offseason. In fact, the Bills released one of their most prolific targets in the passing game. Will defense be enough to protect Allen’s development?
To be blunt, it was the end of an era in Buffalo this offseason. The Bills pulled the plug and released linchpin tight end Charles Clay. Before an inauspicious 2018 centered around injury, Clay was the focal point of the Buffalo offense. He racked up three consecutive seasons of at least 500 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and five straight if you include his Miami years. Who is left on offense?
Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Buffalo Bills in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
The release of Clay surely hit Bills fans hard. Who can possibly replace Clay’s production? Not Tyler Kroft. It’s why many mock drafts have the team taking a tight end with the ninth overall selection in the draft. How else can a team hope to encapsulate what Clay delivered other than using up a top-10 talent in the hopes of finding the next Clay?
Okay, I’m done sarcastically dumping on Clay’s Buffalo career. He was actually, relatively solid for a few years there. But the fact that Clay was kind of a focal point for this team in recent years speaks to the levels the offense still has to climb out of.
Josh Allen had a wacky rookie year. He was one of the most valuable quarterbacks in the league with his legs and one of the least valuable with his arm. What can fit snugly around that scouting report? Cole Beasley in the slot should help. John Brown might. A breakout year from Zay Jones would be even better. I don’t see Frank Gore being the answer, but at least he’s older than LeSean McCoy?
The offensive line was really bad last year. In passing situations, that could have had to do with Allen’s timing and decision making, yet the line didn’t help open up running lanes either. It was an all-around bad performance.
The defense is really where the Buffalo Bills shined, and it makes sense. There are impact players at all three levels. But that shouldn’t prevent management from still going defensive with its top draft picks if that’s where the value lies. A team can never have too many game-changing pass rushers. To be honest, beefing up the defense even more feels right to me until we actually know what Allen is at quarterback.
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Do you want to use the ninth pick on a tight end only to have Allen develop into a quarterback who escapes the pocket, pushes the ball down the field on the edges, and doesn’t really rely on his tight end over the middle? Do we have to continue to wonder why Jimmy Graham, Lance Kendricks, Jared Cook, etc. disappoint one season after another as the tight end in Green Bay?
Aaron Rodgers just doesn’t utilize the position as much as other passers. Allen has the same check marks in terms of arm strength to the edges and athleticism (and pretty much nothing else) as Rodgers.
Based on the personnel, we know the offense isn’t building toward the future yet anyway. Why not solidify a premiere defense and be ready to overhaul the offense in Allen’s third year, when the team might be ready to compete?
Dan Salem:
While I don’t disagree that the Buffalo Bills appear to be yet another season away from competing, how many years of Allen’s rookie deal is Buffalo willing to sacrifice? The rookie year is a gimme, but year two must be a building year with playoffs at least on the near-term horizon. Too many young quarterbacks have led their teams to the postseason by year two. How can the Bills be that team in 2019? That is the ultimate question.
Solidifying a premiere defense is a smart move, but don’t forget that the current Bills inherited much of this defense from Rex Ryan’s tenure as coach. Can they make it last? Consider me skeptical as the coaching staff and team continues to mature away from what it once was.
It’s common to see the strength of a team’s former head coach continue under their new leadership. It’s also just as common to see that strength disappear after few seasons. Adding to the defense in the draft will help prevent this decline in Buffalo, but it also ignores the team’s biggest weakness, which also happens to expose its greatest hope for the future.
Allen is the Bills’ greatest hope going forward. All winning teams need a strong leader at quarterback who complements both sides of the football. If Allen’s play does not currently complement the type of defense being run in Buffalo, then that defense is going to change. Since Allen loves to run and did so successfully last season, the Bills better add players to protect him and allow him to flourish running. There is simply not enough dynamic ability on offense right now.
In order for Allen to learn success throwing the football, he needs talented players to catch that football. Defense wins championships, but not without an offense that can control clock and score once in awhile.
I expect Buffalo to use its top 10 pick on defense, but the rest of the draft should focus heavily on offense. I’m a proponent of a balanced approach to team building, especially with a young quarterback. Stacking one side of the football works well for veteran teams. That is not the Buffalo Bills with Allen under center in 2019.