The Buffalo Bills, A Work in Progress

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Author: Peter DiPaola

Buffalo lost a close game, 16-10, to the New England Patriots, in a slug fest between two 3-0 AFC East rivals. Buffalo managed to hold Tom Brady to 150 passing yards while going 18 for 39 with an interception, and no touchdowns.

While playing well on defense, the Bills struggled on offense, having 4 turnovers, all interceptions, three of which belonged to Josh Allen before he left the game with an injury, the last interception was a pick thrown by backup Matt Barkley.

Turnovers have been an issue for the Bills this season, Josh Allen, second year quarterback, has thrown six interceptions and lost two fumbles, which gives him an average of two turnovers per game. His play will need to improve, otherwise his miscues could end up haunting the Bills as they look to make the playoffs and improve.

While it has only been four games, the turnovers, reasonably, have caused the Bills to need to come back in their wins over the Jets and Bengals. It is hard to win games by coughing up the football, Josh Allen still has plenty of time to improve as the Bills still have 12 games to go. He is only a second year player on a team that brought in additional talent on offense to help the young signal caller.

Defensively, the Bills have been stout this season, allowing 15.8 points and 280.8 total yards a game, if they can clean up on the turnovers on the offense, the Bills could be even more dangerous, and if they make the playoffs, they may even make some noise.

The Bills are a work in progress, and Josh Allen is still learning and growing in year two, if he can learn to play safer football, and learn how to use more touch on his passes, then watch out for this Bills team. 3-1 is a great start for a team that went 6-10 just a year ago, in what one could consider a rebuilding year.


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Most Improved Teams (Team 3 of 4): New York Jets

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Author: Peter DiPaola

The New York Jets went 4-12 in 2018, and following the season, they parted ways with their head coach, Todd Bowles. New York was able to land former Miami Dolphins head coach, Adam Gase, an offensive minded coach.

Per www.pro-football-reference.com here are the Jets offensive and defensive rankings from 2018:

OFFENSE:

Points 333 (23rd)
Total yards 4787 (29th)
Passing yards 3165 (25th)
Rushing yards 1622 (26th)
Passing touchdowns 18 (26th)
Rushing touchdowns 11 (23rd)

DEFENSE:

Points 441 (29th)
Total yards 6086 (25th)
Passing yards 4065 (24th)
Rushing yards 2021 (26th)
Passing touchdowns 29 (19th)
Rushing touchdowns 16 (21st)

The Jets had their struggles on both sides of the football, which helped lead to their 4-12 record, but now with a fresh start with their coaching staff, key free agent additions and their draft class, the Jets made moves to try to improve their record in 2019.

One of the most marquee, if not the top free agent, running back Le'Veon Bell, signed with the Jets after taking the 2018 season off while he sat out due to not getting a contract worked out with the Steelers. During his 5 year tenure (6 in total, but again, sat out last season), he racked up 5336 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground, and caught 312 passes for 2660 yards and 7 touchdowns. Being an all around back, he will help the Jets in both the run game and passing attack. Based on their ranking for yards in 2018 and touchdown totals for the Jets, he will be a welcomed addition, as long as he can continue to play at the level he did in Pittsburgh.

They also managed to sign free agent wide receiver Jamsion Crowder, who spent the last 4 seasons in the nations capital, playing for Washington. While playing in Washington, Crowder hauled in 2628 yards and 14 touchdowns on 221 receptions.

Both players can help assist second year quarterback, Sam Darnold, who was the 3rd overall pick in 2018. In 2018 Sam Darnold completed 57.7% of his passes for 17 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and 2865 yards in 13 games (all starts), he also had 138 rush yards and 1 rushing touchdown.

On the defensive side of the football, the Jets were able to sign C.J. Mosley, inside linebacker, who spent his first five seasons in Baltimore. During his tenure as a Raven, he racked up 597 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, 9 interceptions, 35 passes defended, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries and 2 defensive touchdowns.

Aside from adding Mosley, they signed free agent cornerback Brian Poole, who played three seasons in a Falcons uniform. In 2018 Brian had 3 interceptions and 3 sacks.

In the draft the Jets continued to add to their defense, by taking defensive lineman Quinnen Williams with the 3rd overall pick and then picked linebacker Jachai Polite in the 3rd round.

With a new coaching staff, talent added on both sides of the football in both free agency and the draft, the New York Jets continue their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season, which was also the 2nd straight season in which they reached the AFC Championship game.

The AFC East has been the Patriots division since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick started their run in the 2001 season. Could this be the Jets first division title since 2002? It is possible, because anything goes in the NFL. The New York Jets made our list because of the moves they have made this offseason, a new coaching staff and addition of new players, the Jets have some new exciting talent on a team that needed it.


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Potential Landing Spots for Josh Gordon

AUTHOR- PETER DIPAOLA

On Saturday the Cleveland Browns announced that they were going to part ways with wide receiver Josh Gordon. Josh, when on the field, is a talented play maker, and he could find a good market for himself once he is released, or if he gets traded. Here are some potential landing spots for Josh Gordon.

DALLAS COWBOYS

Dallas could use a talent such as Josh Gordon to help bolster their receiving corp, it could help improve their rushing attack as it would give opposing defenses a receiver to worry about. Dallas has not been able to find a replacement for their former number one receiver Dez Bryant since they cut him.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

With Julian Edelman suspended for the first four weeks, the Patriots would make sense, even after Edelman comes back as well. It would give New England a deep threat, and Gordon would be part of an organization that has high expectations from their players, which could help Gordon continue to grow and improve.

BUFFALO BILLS

The Bills drafted quarterback Josh Allen in the first round of this years draft, getting a young quarterback a receiver with the ability that Josh Gordon has is always a plus. Buffalo has plenty of holes to file, and if they could land Josh Gordon, it would help the Bills continue to improve by acquiring talent.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Josh would be part of a receiving group that has Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin, giving the 49ers a unique receiving corp. Their division rival Los Angeles Rams have a very talented offense and defense, if the 49ers want to compete with them and aim for the division title, it would benefit them to sign Josh Gordon.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Seattle could use some help at this position, Doug Baldwin is banged up and it would give Russell Wilson a new threat. They also have Brandon Marshall who has had his own issues in the past, and he could be a mentor to Josh Gordon.

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS- Andrew Luck would have Josh Gordon and T.Y. Hilton as his receivers, giving him a interesting receiving duo.

NEW YORK JETS- Quarterback Sam Darnold could use another weapon to work with in his rookie season and beyond.  

Four Players that Could be Traded this Training Camp

Author- Peter DiPaola

Teddy Bridgwater

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is entering his fifth NFL season in 2018, and with veteran Josh McCown sticking around for another season in New York, and Jets 2018 first round pick Sam Darnold on the roster, Teddy could be the odd man out. Teddy Bridgewater might not cost much for a team looking for depth or even a starter. It would benefit the Jets to move him to help acquire more draft picks, they do not have a second round pick in the 2019 draft due to moving up from the 6th pick to the 3rd pick in this years draft (traded up to the Colts pick). 

Mike Gillislee

Mike Gillislee played in 9 games for the Patriots last season, scoring 5 touchdowns, however 3 of those came in week 1. Following the Patriots 8th game of the season, he did not see the field again until their 15th game of the year, on December 24th. With the new additions in 2018 first round pick Sony Michel and Jeremy Hill, Gillislee could be on the outside looking in at a crowded backfield in New England. If a team is looking for a running back, Gillislee could a cheap option, and New England can add more draft stock. 

Paxton Lynch

Paxton Lynch was picked in the first round of the 2016 draft by the Denver Broncos, in his two seasons in Denver he has played in 5 games (starting 4 of those) and has thrown 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. The numbers and sparse play time is not good for a player picked in the first round, and with Case Keenum in town, Lynch's days in a Bronco uniform could be numbered.

Tevin Coleman

Tevin is entering his 4th year in the NFL, Atlanta's starting running back, Devonta Freeman, is signed through 2022, and Coleman could find a fair market after this upcoming season is up. Atlanta might not want to resign Coleman come the offseason if he could find higher offers elsewhere, because matching offers could mean they are paying two running backs a good chunk of change. Atlanta could find a trading partner during training camp, and pull the trigger to ship him off in order to gain compensation in picks or players over losing him in free agency, or having to use the franchise tag on him, and hope to resign him or trade him next offseason.

All information used in this post is from www.pro-football-reference.com