You know what makes me irritable on a Monday morning? Yet another Bills preview that says what everyone else is saying, that's what. This time it's Allen Wilson, writing for The Sporting News, that has joined the bandwagon:
But the Bills lost a huge part of their veteran core in the offseason. Cornerback Nate Clements and middle linebacker London Fletcher-Baker left as free agents, and the club traded running back Willis McGahee and strong-side linebacker Takeo Spikes.
Whoa. There's one I haven't heard before - the creativity and original thinking behind this piece is an absurd yet beautiful thing.
I guess he has to tell the truth, but it's getting old really fast. Bills fans have been over and over this for months on end - the guys that left were good, but not so good that the team can't effectively replace them soon. So that 5-11, third-place finish that the article predicts for the '07 Bills is a bit disappointing.
Here's my favorite part of the "preview": Larry Tripplett as a spotlight player.
What Bills team were you watching, Mr. Wilson? (I just refrained from using a bad Dennis the Menace joke, no lie.) Anyone who thinks that Tripplett was our best defensive tackle last season is clearly a buffoon. Let's see: Tripplett finished fourteenth on the entire team with 33 tackles last season. That put him behind four defensive linemen (Chris Kelsay, Aaron Schobel, Kyle Williams and Ryan Denney). That put him 20 tackles behind Williams, a rookie fifth-round pick. Best of all, that put him one tackle ahead of Tim Anderson, who had 32 tackles last year. Ask any Bills fan their opinion on Tim Anderson, and you get something similar to a movie critic's opinion on Ben Affleck's acting. You want to lose credibility as a Bills analyst? Tell people that Larry Tripplett was good in his first season as a Bill.
Long story short: Wilson is way off on this one. Chalk it up to another skimming of the surface of the Bills' off-season by a guy who is, essentially, paid to not care. Smart Bills fans see the potential this team has. Smart Bills fans are yawning after reading Wilson's preview. Smart Bills fans will rant about the article in the comments below.