Willis McGahee - Steppin Up or Steppin Down?

[Kilroy 0]

After suffering a severe knee injury in the final game of his college career as a Miami Hurricane, Willis McGahee decided he would go forth and enter the NFL draft rather than take a year off to rehab his knee. The decision seemed to pay off for him when the Buffalo Bills made the surprise selection of the 1st round and selected McGahee with the 23rd pick of the 2003 draft.

 

McGahee didn't see the field as a rookie, but in 2004 he took over for an injured Travis Henry and went on to start 11 games, while playing in all 16. In his first season getting time on the field, McGahee would go on to score 13 TDs, while rushing for 1,128 yards on 284 carries. Among high expectations the following year, McGahee was a dissapointment as he only scored 5 times despite logging over 300 carries for 1,247 yards.

 

Entering the 2006 season, the Bills RB finds himself playing under new head coach, Dick Jauron. Having logged over 300 carries last season, it's a safe assumption that the Miami product will do the same under Jauron. He will also be playing under new offensive coordinator, Steve Fairchild. Fairchild has spent the last 3 seasons working as Mike Martz's OC in St. Louis. Prior to that, he worked as the Bills RB coach from 2001-2002, helping Travis Henry reach the Pro-Bowl in his final season before joining the Rams staff.

 

With the loss of Eric Moulds in the passing game, a young QB under center and a new system being put in place, will the Bills offense be able to put McGahee in position to score more than the 5 times he did last season while still rushing for over 1,200 yards?

[Turcaso 1]

Willis is stepping up this year compared to last years stats.

 

Yardage and Td's will be up. A solid RB#2 IMO

[gottabesweet84 0]

1500 12tds

 

 

40 catches

[VaTerp 0]

1500 12tds

 

 

40 catches

 

Willis is my RB1 so I am with you on this. I am confident in Willis but its that O-Line and Losman that scare me.

[BigMek 0]

I think a lot of people are feeding into the Buffalo QB and O-line situation too much. Willis will be just fine. I trully do feel that JP will be able to do the job efficiently. Although it's just preseason, I'm quite pleased with what he's delivered so far. Once he fully establishes that rapport with Lee Evans, it'll be a problem for those opposing teams playing against Willis.

 

I'm fully expect for Willis to have a solid season. 1400 rushing yds, 250-300 rec yards, 10+ TD's should definately be attainable for Willis..

 

I have Willis as my #2 RB with both Ronnie Brown and Willie Parker.

[stosher1 0]

Willis is my RB1 so I am with you on this. I am confident in Willis but its that O-Line and Losman that scare me.

RB1? Ouch!

 

Let me say this - Good Luck!

[wild_and_crazy_guy 5]

There are 2 things different from last season that will help McGahee. First, McGahee will be getting more catches, and in on more 3rd down situations. Second, the Bill's passing game seems to be much improved -- it was awful last year. Losman is doing better, and Evans and Price are good receiving threats. This helps McGahee because the defenses won't be as prone to focus on stopping the run. The OL is still weak, but that's why he is not a top 5 RB.

 

I had McGahee last year, and was burned by him. This year I am the #12 pick out of 12 teams, and am probably looking at McGahee. I would take him.

[jlbay 0]

I have McGahee along with Stephen Jackson as my top two backs, so I am really hoping that all the positive projects play out or I will be in big trouble. Both my RB's are a little shaky, I sacrificed to preserve my WR group of Chad Johnson/Marvin Harrison/Rany Moss.

 

So...

 

RUN WILLIS RUN

[KCFFL 0]

Willis is stepping up this year compared to last years stats.

 

Yardage and Td's will be up. A solid RB#2 IMO

 

Sounds good to me. McGahee is my #2 RB!

[War Ensemble 0]

Based on last season and the state of his O-line + Losman at QB he's a borderline #1 with the POTENTIAL to become a top 8 RB.

 

I think for McGahee the worst case scenario (other than season ending injury) is the same numbers as last year, best case scenario is an additional 250 rushing yards and an additional 8 TDs.

 

So around 1450 rushing yards, 13 TDs.

[PRuggs 0]

For a stepping up or stepping down post...

 

I just can't see how he would step down.

 

Most would say that the team is better, the QB is improved, the OL can't be any worse than last year, and the new coach wants to get him involved in the passing game.

 

To me, he is staying the same or getting better. 1300 total yards and 7 TD's would be a safe bet with potential for more. A great #2 RB this year with potential to be a #1.

[gottabesweet84 0]

His lost weight is a big noticable difference, Last year he was close to 245-250

 

He's about 225-230 now. Alot shiftier. Last year Mularkley would tell him to stop dancing behind the line after he had one bad game (a few weeks after his early season success) This year he's been juking and bouncing outside but still big enough to run up the gut.

 

I really hope goes pro-bowl numbers this year!

[philmckracken 3]

Don't ignore offensive line woes when picking players. Everyone just seems to think that it doesn't really matter that much when a team loses an offensive lineman or has a poor offensive line. It does matter. Take a look at salaries by position and decide how important offensive lineman are. You show me a great running back with a crappy offensive line (and no passing game) and I'll show you an overrated stiff.

[PRuggs 0]

Don't ignore offensive line woes when picking players. Everyone just seems to think that it doesn't really matter that much when a team loses an offensive lineman or has a poor offensive line. It does matter. Take a look at salaries by position and decide how important offensive lineman are. You show me a great running back with a crappy offensive line (and no passing game) and I'll show you an overrated stiff.

 

 

I agree his OL is not great... but is it much worse than last year? He have over 1400 total total yards last year, I just dont see him doing worse... which is the point of the post (up or down)

 

So I say he is steping up