On Defense:

McCargo – 40 tackles, 4 sacks

Shoebel – 50 tackles, 10 sacks

Stroud – 30 tackles, 5 sacks

Posluszny – 130 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 int, 2 Fumble recoveries

Whitner – 110 tackles, 4 ints

McGee – 40 tackles 5 ints

Ko Simpson – 65 tasckles, 6 ints

McKelvin – 35 tackles, 3 ints, 20 pass break ups

Edwards – 3000 yds, 22td, 12int, 64%

Evans, 80 rec 1000 yds, 8tds

Hardy – 55 rec 650 yds, 7 tds

Lynch – 1300 yds rushing, 13tds, 38 rec, 400 yds,

Offensive rank – 18

Defensive rank – 9

I have to be optimistic until I watch the preseason games. Last year I drank the Losman kool-aid, and before the injuries, I liked our defense as a Tampa-2 scheme within our roster.
Now, I like our team better, but I have to see how we look. Remember “vanilla”? Well, even when its vanilla, you should be able to move down the field in preseason, so we’ll have to wait and see.

He is the X-factor, and personally, I think he could be a Welker type. He is demon fast as we all know, and he should be a big option in the slot. He will determine the remainder of Trent’s numbers as will the TEs. Those type of plays and players are what moves the chains on offense, so I hope we get it going.

Edwards: 59% completions, 6.8 yrds per comp, 2640 yrds, 15 TDs, 17 INTs, 16 starts

Lynch: 1275 yrds rushing, 9 TDs, 4.0; 24rec-225 yards-1 TD; 2 TD passes, 15 starts
Jackson: 180 yrds, 3.3 yrds per carry: loses backup job to Wright in-season
Wright: 240 yrds, 3.8 yrds per carry, 1TD

Evans: 72 catches, 1008 yrds, 7 TDs
Hardy: 52 catches, 650 yrds, 4TDs
Reed: 33 catches, 365 yrds, 0 TDs
Parrish: 30 catches, 410 yrds, 1TD
Johnson: 18 catches, 252 yrds, 1 TD

Royal: 25 catches, 220 yrds, 1 TD
Fine: 23 catches, 245 yrds, 0 TD
Anderson: 3 catches, 9 yrds, 2 TDs
Murphy: 1 catch, 1 yrd, 1TD
Johnson: CUT in August

Random Defensive statistics:

Schobel: 10.5 sacks, Pro Bowl
Kelsay: 7 sacks (career year thanks to Stroud addition)
Stroud: Pro Bowl, 16 starts
McCargo: 16 starts, legitimate starter
Ellis: bust
S. Johnson: 5 sacks, great find by Bills
Posluszny: 10 starts, 90 TCKLs, 1 INT, nagging injuries
McKelvin: 4 INTs, 1 TD (hands better than advertisd)
Simpson: 16 starts, 80 TCKLs, 2 INTs, solid year
Whitner: 2 INTs, 1 sack, 1 FF (still waiting)
James: 5 starts, 2INTs (beats Greer in camp, loses job to McKelvin early in season)
McGee: 3 INTs, 1 TD
Corner: top nickelback by midseason, good find by Bills

(16 game stat predictions unless otherwise noted)

Edwards 61%, 3350 yards, 19 TD’s, 14 INT’s, 1 rushing TD
Lynch 1375 yards rushing, 10 TD’s, 40 catches 445 yards receiving, 2 TD’s, 1 passing TD. 1 Pro Bowl
Jackson 375 yards rushing, 325 yards receiving 3 total TD’s
Wright/Omon 200 yards rushing 1 TD

Evans 72 catches, 1020 yards 6 TD’s
Hardy 52 catches 638 yards 7 TD’s
Reed 42 catches 495 yards 1 TD
Parrish 31 catches 442 yards 2 TD’s
S. Johnson 13 catches 185 yards 0 TD

Royal 27 catches 310 yards 1 TD
Fine 23 catches 285 yards 1 TD
T. Johnson 31 catches 390 yards 2 TD

Schobel 60 tackles 8.5 sacks
Kelsay 45 tackles 3.5 sacks
Denney 35 tackles 3 sacks
Ellis 20 tackles 5 sacks
Stroud 52 tackles 4 sacks (14 games)
McCargo 46 tackles 4 sacks
S. Johnson 36 tackles 5 sacks
Williams 33 tackles
Mitchell 112 tackles, 2 sacks 2 INT
Poz 72 tackles 1 sack (9 games)
Crowell 135 tackles 2.5 sacks 3 INT
McGee 85 tackles 4 INT
McKelvin 43 tackles 2 INT
Greer 38 tackles 2 INT
James 29 tackles 2 INT
Youboty/Corner 38 tackles 2 INT combined
Whitner 95 tackles 1 INT 1 sack
Simpson 55 tackles 2 INT (13 games)
Wilson 29 tackles 2 INT
Scott 37 tackles 1 sack

Parrish 2 punt return TD
McGee 1 kick return TD

On paper, I have to admit the Bills look pretty good. Add in Schonert & Van Pelt, and we could see much better play-calling. The thing that concerns me a little is the guy playing center. He could foul things up a little. :o

I don’t personally see Trent cracking 3,000 yards passing, so I hope he proves me wrong. I see about 2,800 yards and somewhere around 20TD’s, maybe 12INT’s.

Marshawn should get around 1,100 yards rushing and maybe 150 receiving, with about 10TD’s.

I agree that Evans should bounce back to his old self (especially in a contract year) in a big way. Let’s say 1,200 yards in 85 catches with 9TD’s.

Our offense should be at least good for 20th, and our D should be somewhere around 15th.

Special teams could be top 5 again, depending on how the new talent works out. Kick returns should be exciting again, but I wonder about kick coverage. Not sure what to make of Moorman’s inconsistancy last season – was it the beginning of a trend, or just an aberration? We can only hope it was the latter. Lindell should have another good season, but hopefully not so many FG opportunities.

I think I may be a little to kind to them, but here goes…

I’ll start with the RBs first. I think Lynch is capable of pulling off 300 carries for about 1300. Anything more might be too many touches. I could see 40 catches for another 350 yards. How does 12 TDs sound? That’s what I’m thinking..

I’m handing the backup job now to Jackson. I could see 125 to 150 carries, for about 400 yards. Throw in about 30 catches for 300 yards, and set the TD bar at 4.

WRs are a tough one. I really don’t see Evans putting up awesome numbers, contract year or not. If he can "learn" to be a complete WR, then maybe he’ll shock me. Otherwise, I see him going for 60 and 850, with 7 TDs. Almost not much different from last year.

I think I’m beginning to like Hardy more and more. But still, he’s a rookie, and I won’t expect much. I’ll say 40 catches for 400 yards, and maybe 4 TDs. I’d be happy with that from him.

Since there aren’t too many balls around (look how much I had going through the air to our RBs), there won’t be enough for Roscoe and Reed. I expect Reed to drop a little, and Roscoe to pick up some. I say both hover around the 40 catch, 400 yard mark, combining for 6 TDs.

I’m not too high on the receiving exploits of our TEs. I really don’t for expect much from this group. I can’t even say who I would pick as the leader of the pack. Hopefully, Fine works out. Maybe Schoumann grows in the offseason. Maybe Teyo and Anderson realize this might be the last chance to make a run at a career contract. Royal wins by default. As a group, I predict 50 catches for 400 yards, and 4 scores. That’s not a lot of production as a group.

By this math, I get Edwards numbers for a base. I’ll say he’ll be a 65% passer this year. Adding up the numbers up top, that means 300 for 460, and about 3,100 yards, with about 22-24 TDs.

If my math (and the rest of yours) adds up, we should have nothing to complain about offensively next year. That definitely is a top 20 offense, and I think that’s enough improvement for one season.

For defense, I’ll sum it up much shorter – They will certainly improve overall. Maybe by as much as ten spots in the overall defensive rankings. I certainly see them being more physical and getting more big plays as well…

This definately proves that we are all “homers”

There wasn’t a single RB in the entire league who ran for 1,500 yards last season.

Thirty three different WRs had 775 yards receiving last season. Only 6 teams had 2 players accomplish it. They were all pass heavy teams (GB, NE, CIN, ARI, PHI, DET) and most of them have two elite options.

There were 15 DTs who had 4 or more sacks last season. The Titans were the only team to have more than one DT record 4 or more (Albert Haynesworth and a 285 pound pass rush specialist named Tony Brown). Stroud has only reached 5 sacks once in his career and it was in 2002.

Killascript has 5 Bills combining for 20 INTs. There were only 5 TEAMS in the league that had 20 interercpetions. The Bills only had 1 player with more than 2 INTs last season (McGee).

Only 11 QBs had 22 or more TDs. Only 14 QBs had 19 or more. I really doubt Trent gets anywhere near 22 touchdowns. Only 11 QBs completed 64% of their passes.

There were only 2 teams in the league with 4 WRs that had 400 or more yards. Those teams were the historic Pats (Moss, Welker, Stallworth, Gaffney) and ridiculus Martz’ Lions (Williams, Johnson, McDonald, Furrey) and Detroit might not have had 4 WRs get to 400 yards if Williams and Johnson would have stayed healthy.

Krytime, I think you are being a little kind to them too. 21 combined TDs out of our WRs and TEs AND 16 combined TDs between Lynch and Jackson? Thats almost twice as many offensive TDs as last season.

That wasn’t meant to discourage people or rip on anyone’s predictions. I just got bored and I like digging through stats and compiling numbers. Thats probably the only thing that actually actracts me to baseball. But anyways, here are my terrible predictions that probably won’t be at all close to what actually happens.

Trent Edwards – 11 games – 1,800 yards, 59%, 6.6 ypa, 11 TDs, 10 INTs
JP Losman – 5 games – 950 yards, 62%, 7.0 ypa, 7 TDs, 7 INTs

Marshawn Lynch – 1,250 yards, 4.1 ypc, 9 TDs
Fred Jackson – 300 yards, 4.2 ypc, 0 TDs

Lee Evans – 65 catches, 900 yards, 14ish ypc, 6 TDs
James Hardy – 45 catches, 600 yards, 13ish ypc, 5 TDs
Roscoe Parrish – 25 catches, 300 yards, 12ish ypc, maybe 1 TD
Josh Reed – 30 catches, 350 yards, 11ish ypc, maybe 1 TD

There are some pretty friggin specific predictions on here. A bunch of Nostradamuses.

I’m going to go with rough estimates rather than predictions.

Trent Edwards: 3000 YDS, 14 INT, 24 TD, 60%
Marshawn Lynch: 1300 YDS, 12 TD, 4.2 YPC, 38 REC, 450 YDS, 2 TD
Lee Evans: 70 REC, 1000 YDS, 8 TD
James Hardy: 45 REC, 580 YDS, 8 TD
Roscoe Parrish: 45 REC, 500 YDS, 2 TD
TE’s + Josh Reed: 45 REC, 500 YDS, 4 TD

Offensive Rank: 20th

Aaron Schobel: 14 Sacks
Chris Ellis: 6 sacks
Denney + Kelsay: 8 sacks
John McCargo: 6 sacks
Marcus Stroud: 3 sacks
Spencer Johnson + Kyle Williams: 4 sacks
Posluszny: 130 TCKL, 3 INT, 1 sack
Kawika Mitchell: 90 TCKL, 1 INT, 3 sacks
Angelo Crowell: 100 TCKL, 3 INT, 2 sacks
McKelvin: 2 INT
McGee: 3 INT
Youboty + Greer + James: 3 INT
Ko Simpson/Wendling/Wilson: 80 TCKL, 4 INT
Donte Whitner: 110 TCKL, 3 INT

Defensive Ranks -
Yards Allowed: 17th
Points Allowed: 8th

If all of this happens and the Bills get a little bit of luck (as Dick Jauron likes to say) and the bounces our way… the Bills will finish 11-5.

Think of all of the close games the Bills have been in the past 2 seasons, our young guys are learning to be finishers and if the Bills can start running the ball effectively in the 4th qtr we could surprise a lot of people. I don’t see how anyone here could be upset with what Levy and Jauron have done here. They’ve done nothing but upgrade this team every year. Some of it was addition by subtraction. They get Free Agent help and they have phenomenal drafts, it’s only a matter of time before we have a winner in Buffalo. Next year’s fate lies solely on the arm of Trent Edwards. Our defense will keep us in games and if Trent can take care of the ball and make some plays when it counts, I Billieve 11-5 will be the result.

two-Set your standards low so when they do over achieve, it will make you happy.

There should be a prize for whoever is the closest because no one knows how the offense is going to function at all.

OK, I think it’s a good bet that Edwards and Losman will probably see very close to equal playing time this season due to injury or inefficiency. Edwards will have a higher completion percentage while Losman will probably have higher yards and touchdowns. However, touchdowns and interceptions will be about even when combined.

Edwards – 60%, 1,400 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT
Losman – 55%, 1,700 yards, 10 TD, 10 INT

Hardy does just enough to make us resemble an NFL offense this year. Evans bounces back this year, but nowhere near 2006 form. The TE’s have similar production to last year, just with different players. Also, all of Evans TD’s are thrown by Losman.

Evans – 70 catches, 1,000 yards, 7 TD
Hardy – 40 catches, 500 yards, 5 TD
Reed – 35 catches, 350 yards, 1 TD
Parish – 25 catches, 300 yards, 2 TD
Johnson/Jenkins – 10 catches, 100 yards

Royal – 25 catches, 250 yards, 1 TD
Anderson/Johnson/Fine/Schouman – 25 catches, 200 yards, 2 TD

Lynch – 20 catches, 200 yards
Jackson/Wright/Omon/Viti – 20 catches, 200 yards

Lynch is once again our go to guy. He’s probably going to carry the rock 300 times this year, make no doubts about that as long as he stays somewhat healthy. He’ll probably still only have a 4.0 YPC because everyone knows that he’s getting the ball on first and second down. Jackson also steps it up a bit and cements himself as #2 on the depth chart for several seasons to come.

Lynch – 300 carries, 1,200 yards, 10 TD
Jackson – 75 carries, 300 yards, 1 TD
Wright/Omon/Viti – 50 carries, 200 yards, 1 TD

don’t see Evans getting large numbers this year without Losman to toss the ball to him Edwards doesn’t have the arm that losman does. So the long ball to Evans will not happen this year. We know that Evans is not a yac guy he’s best at getting behind the defence and losman laying it out for him, he will not take short passes for big gains, doesn’t have the strength.
Edwards will not play a full 16 game schedule I would say that he’ll start 10 games-losman 6, so that will keep his numbers down.
Hardy is going to be the big surprize this year (the go to guy) over 1000 yards 15 tds
Lynch will have a big year due to the other changes on offence 1500 yds (predicted over 1000 yards last year and was poo-pooed for that, but was right)
The defense will be better, if schobel can get 8-10 sacks that will be a good year for him.
Poz will be the top rated tackler this year with 130-150 tackles
Our db will not have to make as many tackles this year due to the fact that runners will not get to the third level as often. But there interception numbers should be up, pressure from line will help them.
This should be a 10-6 or 11-5 team (if they take the riens off Edwards and Losmen)

They will try to go to him anytime there in the red zone due to his height advantage, don’t think he’ll put up a lot of yards just a lot of td’s

I really think Roscoe Parrish will benefit the most from the new (hopefully) offensive schemes and from the presence of Hardy. With teams having to account for our running game and having to watch Lee and his speed and Hardy and his size, Roscoe will find himself one on one underneath and if he’s given the right routes to run, his speed and agility should allow him to separate quickly for some nice gains and options for a still developing QB. Add to that the fact that Edwards will be looking for quick passes to deliver and I think we can expect a break out year from Roscoe. His athleticism should allow him to dominant most nickel and dime backs if left to each others skills. I won’t be as specific as others but I would say between 600-900 yards and 5 to 8 TDs. Fire away gentleman.