Buffalo Bills: Coin Toss, All-Pro, Carpenter and Rob Ryan
By Ryan Brennan
There are a lot of hot topics surrounding the Buffalo Bills as they head into the offseason. Here’s some of the latest that caught my eye.
Ever since the Buffalo Bills‘ offseason started, things have been going downhill and fans are left with even more questions than before. Meanwhile, the media has taken notice and haven’t let Buffalo get away easily.
With a lot of topics and more drama on the daily, we’re going to start with some good news.
On Friday, the NFL announced their All-Pro Teams for the 2016 season. There were a record 17 first-timers that made the First Team, including three rookies. Although no Buffalo Bills made the First Team, two defenders made the Second Team All-Pro Second squad.
Lorenzo Alexander and Zach Brown have had surprising seasons that sprouted due to rookie injuries on the depth chart. With Shaq Lawson missing most of the season and Reggie Ragland missing the whole season, Alexander and Brown were asked to step into a starter role with no experience within the organization. Both exceeded expectations this season by far.
On a defense that was manhandled in some way each week, Alexander and Brown — among a few others — stayed consistent throughout the season. They could’ve easily been considered on the first-team, but making the second-team All-Pro team is still an accomplishment to be proud of.
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Lorenzo Alexander entered his 10th season in the league this year and was as reliable as they come, not missing a single game all season long. In return, he ended the year with 76 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, one interception, 6 passes defended and four stuffs. Every single one of those stats was a career-high.
He also finished tied for third in the league in sacks this season, 3 sacks behind the league leader.
On the other hand, Zach Brown finished second in the league in tackles with 149 on the season. Bobby Wagner led the league with 167 tackles.
Brown was also a reliable part of the defense and didn’t miss a game all year. His 149 tackles came from all over the field and his ability to read where the ball is going was off the charts. He also finished with 4 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, 4 passes defended and 11 stuffs.
If he doesn’t return to the Buffalo Bills next season, he has definitely earned a nice paycheck wherever he goes.
Congrats to both Zach Brown and Lorenzo Alexander for being named to the NFL’s second-team All Pro team. With both players hitting free agency this offseason, I can only hope Buffalo can bring them back next season.
Now, let’s move on to an NFL record that the Buffalo Bills actually tied this season — and no, it isn’t a joke.