Buffalo Bills 2009 Season Outlook

Not normally a team known for making brash moves in free agency, the Buffalo Bills took the National Football League by storm this summer with the boldest of acquisitions – Terrell Owens. How he’ll fit into the Bills locker room will be one of the most talked-about stories of the year given his previous implosions in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas. Maybe an online sportsbook can give us odds on how long it’ll take for T.O. to flip out on Bills offensive coordinator Turk Schonert? (We say six weeks, max).

Key Departures: LB Angelo Crowell, OG Derrick Dockery, C Melvin Fowler, QB J.P. Losman, OT Jason Peters, C-OG Duke Preston, TE Robert Royal.

Key Acquisitions: Free Agents – QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, CB Drayton Florence, C Geoff Hangartner, WR Terrell Owens, RB Dominic Rhodes, LB Pat Thomas. Draft – DE Aaron Maybin, OG Eric Wood, both first-rounders.

The addition of Owens gives the Buffalo offense a dimension it has lacked in recent years. The Bills have good, talented youngsters at all the skill positions, but none of them have ever truly tasted success. QB Trent Edwards has shown signs of being the real deal – and has done so with relative mediocrity at WR – so Owens is expected to be the big-play target that’ll get the young quarterback over the hump. Owens will also likely enhance the play of incumbent No. 1 receiver Lee Evans, who has always been a tantalizing talent. Last year, Evans had a solid statistical season (63 receptions for 1017 yards) but only found the end zone three times. That number should increase this season as Owens will demand extra attention defensively, including a number of double-teams.

Defensively, the Bills return many of their players from a year ago. Linebacker Paul Posluszny is a hitting machine who led the Bills with 110 tackles a season ago, while partner in crime Kawika Mitchell is back as well. To improve on a woeful pass rush that only generated 24 sacks a year ago (29th in the league), the Bills selected Penn State DE Aaron Maybin in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He’s a dynamic edge rusher with a high motor, something the Bills have lacked in recent seasons. Because of the key returnees and additions, Buffalo is becoming a sleeper pick when it comes to NFL betting – the Bills are currently at 14/1 to win the AFC 2009/10 championship outright.

Notable 2009 Games: The Bills open the season with a bang in a Monday night AFC East grudge match against New England. The game is already being hyped as Terrell Owens vs. Randy Moss, so be sure to keep an eye on it. Buffalo closes out the season with a trio of extremely difficult games against the Patriots, Falcons and Colts – those three teams combined for 34 wins a season ago.

2009 Outlook: Like most transactions involving Terrell Owens, his presence will either be a major boon or bust – nothing in between. It’s important for T.O. to get himself involved in the offense early, as the unit could struggle with star RB Marshawn Lynch missing the first three regular season games to suspension. Buffalo did jump out to a 4-0 start last season before faltering down the stretch, so the ability to rack up wins is there. Right now, the Bills are looking at an 8- or 9-win season, right on the playoff bubble.