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Buffalo Bills 2007 Linebacker Analysis

A year ago, General Manager Marv Levy decided not to re-sign free agent middle linebacker London Fletcher-Baker and traded outside linebacker Takeo Spikes to Philadelphia.

Fletcher-Baker and Spikes were acquired by former GM Tom Donahoe in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Jeff Posey came into Buffalo along with Spikes in 2003 to form what many believed was one of the best linebacker corps in the NFL.

However, Levy decided that Fletcher-Baker at 32 and Spikes, 31, still struggling from an Achilles injury, were expendable as the team rebuilt. Posey of course was cut before 2006.

This opened up two starting positions with Angelo Crowell holding down the third. Levy elected to trade up to draft Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny in the second round of the 2007 draft. Posluszny filled the middle linebacker role and second-year player Keith Ellison took over on the weak side.

The Bills organization took a lot of flak for losing the two highly-respected linebackers and everyone expected the Buffalo defense to be among the worst in the league.

The team took a hit when Ellison sprained his ankle in the preseason, forcing him to miss the first four games. His replacement, Coy Wire, went down, putting second-year player John DiGiorgio on the field. In the week three game against New England, Posluszny broke his arm, effectively putting the linebacking core in shambles.

So how did the Bills linebackers do in 2007 compared to Fletcher-Baker and Spikes with their new teams?

 

	G	Tackles	Sacks	FF	PD	INT
London Fletcher (Washington)	16	129	0	0	10	3
Angelo Crowell	16	126	2	1	4	1
John DiGiorgio	16	113	2	0	6	1
Takeo Spikes (Philly)	14	85	1	0	4	0
Keith Ellison	12	39	1	0	5	1
Paul Posluszny	3	26	0	0	0	0
Mario Haggan	16	20	1	0	0	0
Josh Stamer	16	10	0	0	1	0
Coy Wire	7	4	0	0	0	0
Leon Joe	8	4	0	0	0	0

But how did the Bills do as a team without Spikes and Fletcher-Baker? In 2006, the Bills ranked 28th allowing 140.9 yards-per-game and 29th with 4.7 yards-per-rush. In 2007, the Bills improved to 25th with 124.6 yards-per-game and 28th with 4.4 yards-per-rush. Those are the numbers that really matter.

Additionally, Fletcher-Baker is known for being a pile-jumper, someone who gets credit for a tackle by only jumping on top of a pile. At the point-of-attack, we know Fletcher-Baker was a bit soft.

Now the individual analyses:

Angelo Crowell had by far the best season of any Buffalo linebacker and the best season of his five-year career. Since, Spikes and Fletcher-Baker left, Crowell received the captain badge and was the leader of the defense.

The 126 tackles beat his 2005 total of 120. Most importantly, Crowell was consistent. Only once did he not put up big tackle numbers and that was in week 14 against Miami. Otherwise, he averaged 7.8 tackles a game. The 126 also were good enough to rank eighth in the NFL.

Crowell wasn’t used much in rushing the quarterback, collecting only two sacks. But one of those was a big one in the Washington game. Crowell blitzed up the middle and sacked Jason Campbell for a safety in a 17-16 win.

At 26, Crowell is entering the prime of his career. He is still signed to a cap-friendly contract earning just $1.3 million thanks to an extension given by Donahoe. However, this is the last year of that deal and he is going to earn elite linebacker money.

Jim Overdorf should get on that ASAP. In hindsight, letting Spikes and Fletcher-Baker walk may have created the cap space necessary to lock up Crowell. Having three high-paid linebackers isn’t a good idea.

Grade: A

The rookie Paul Posluszny entered the season with some high expectations. Immediately starting in the middle, he needed to make the calls at the line and rack up tackles.

In week one, he recorded 10 total tackles against the Broncos and in week two, Posluszny finished with 12 against the Steelers. Before breaking his arm in week three, Posluszny had four.

Three games are much too little for me to fairly assess Posluszny’s performance. I did like what I saw from him terms of always being around the ball and showing good tackling form. Dick Jauron chose to let Posluszny be on the sideline for every game so he could learn as much as possible, so we’ll see if he picks up where he left off in 2008.

Posluszny will enter the season as the starting middle linebacker and he isn’t going anywhere. The only thing might be if the team adds a middle linebacker, the Penn State product could move to the weak side.

Grade: Incomplete

Taking over for Jeff Posey in terms of being the fan whipping boy is Keith Ellison. I expected a solid sophomore season after putting up 65 tackles in 14 games last year. Instead, Ellison struggled to be a factor in run support.

After missing the first four games, Ellison returned with a five-tackle game against Dallas and a four-tackle performance against Baltimore. But then the inconsistency showed up in week eight. In a game against the Jets, he tallied just one tackle and in week nine against Cincinnati, he did the same. Starting linebackers shouldn’t do that.

One of the reasons Buffalo drafted Ellison was his ability to defend against the pass. Down the stretch, he showed off his talent there. The former Oregon State player deflected two passes against Washington and picked off a ball against the New York Giants.

Ellison is still a solid depth player, but I’m convinced Buffalo needs to do better at the position. This would be his final season in Buffalo if he doesn’t re-sign.

Grade: C

John DiGiorgio was the surprise of the season for the Bills on defense. He didn’t start any games in 2006, collecting eight tackles. But, the injuries to Ellison, Wire and Posluszny forced him to take over in the middle. The second-year player who went undrafted out of Saginaw Valley State looked like an old vet.

Starting on the weak side in week two, he posted five tackles and in relief of Posluszny, he collected 12 tackles in week three. Five times on the season, DiGiorgio posted double-digit tackle numbers.

The one thing that impressed me most was his sideline-to-sideline speed. DiGiorgio seemed to always be around the ball. On top of just playing the position, DiGiorgio had to make calls at the line and inform the rest of the defense of the play calls.

One scenario I like for 2008 is DiGiorgio lining up on the weak side, he certainly earned it. Otherwise, he is an outstanding special teams player and reserve linebacker. Like Ellison, 2008 is set to be his last season in Buffalo.

Grade: B

Mario Haggan spent most of the season on special teams with limited duty in normal defensive situations.

In week one, he got extended time and recorded three tackles. He did the same in week four against the Jets. Haggan did collect a sack against Washington late in the season.

Haggan, a five-year veteran is now an unrestricted free agent. I don’t really see him as anything more than a special teams player. Bobby April may sway the team to keep him around

Grade: C-

This season was Coy Wire’s first as a linebacker, his natural position. Wire got the start in week one against Denver, but was injured them missing the next four games. It would be his only start as Ellison and DiGiorgio held down their jobs.

Wire was the teams special teams captain, but only recorded four tackles in seven games. Before last season, Levy signed him to an extension keeping him in town through 2009. He shouldn’t be counted to be anything more than a special teams player and backup linebacker. I expect him to recover from an injury-plagued season.

Grade: Incomplete

Josh Stamer continues to be a fan favorite on special teams, but doesn’t seem to be capable of doing much more for the team. This was his fifth year in the league and he recorded 10 tackles.

Stamer deflected a pass against Washington and in the New England game recorded four tackles.

Like Haggan, he is an unrestricted free agent. He has about the same value, likely one or neither player will be retained at a low salary.

Grade: C-

Lastly are Kevin Harrison, Blake Costanzo and Leon Joe. Joe was signed on September 13th to help with early season injuries, he was cut on November 23rd and re-signed on December 6th. Joe appeared in eight games and recorded three tackles.

Similarly, Harrison was signed on September 26th, but was placed on injured reserve on October 5th. He was cut last week.

Costanzo, a rookie, was signed to the practice squad October 24th and appeared in the final three games recording six tackles.

Harrison is already a free agent, Joe is an unrestricted free agent and Costanzo is under contract for 2008.

Grades: Incomplete

What to do in the off-season?

I already mentioned the idea of having a DiGiorgio-Posluszny-Crowell unit for 2008. However, I’m thinking the Bills want to do better than that.

Linebacker could be a target in the draft with a player like Keith Rivers or Dan Connor in the first round. Or the team could go through free agency. As I reported earlier today, the team is reportedly interested in Zach Thomas. I’m dreaming of Lance Briggs.

Signing Crowell to an extension should be a priority, otherwise they’ll have to stick him to a franchise tag next year.

In case you missed them, here are the links to the 2007 analyses of quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and H-backs, offensive line defensive line.

As always, leave a comment with your thoughts on Buffalo’s linebackers. Up next are the cornerbacks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher, Josh Stamer, Mario Haggan, Leon Joe, Keith Ellison, Kevin Harrison, Linebackers, Coy Wire, John DiGiorgio, Angelo Crowell, Off-Season Positional Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.