I don't know that I'd be ready to claim the Bills' secondary is one of the most talented in the league, but this is what Bills fans are thinking. We dumped last year's fall guy, Chris Watson. Kevin Thomas came on and did pretty well as a third CB at the very end of the season after looking like a shell shocked rookie early on. Word out of training camp is that he looks like the end of the year is no fluke. He's athletic, confident and has a nose for the ball. We still like Clements and Winfield. While Winfield will probably never make a ton of interceptions, Clements definitely can. The problem that both of them ran into last year was the impotency of the Bills pass rush. You do recognize that a strong pass rush can help the secondary, don't you? There is decent competition for the fourth CB spot with veterans Dainon Sidney and Scott Turner competing with rookie draft choice Terrence McGee and some holdovers from last year.
The safeties were a problem last year, not so much because Wire and Prioleau can't play. Wire was a rookie making a position change from his college days. Of course he was going to struggle with some aspects of the strong safety position, particularly pass coverage. We think, and reports coming out of training camp seem to confirm that the strides he made late last season when he made far fewer mistakes will continue. Wire is smart, athletic, lives and breathes football, and has good size for the strong safety spot. If he doesn't make major strides from his first to his second season Bills fans will be shocked. Prioleau's situation was not that different. He played CB in college. He's played some strong safety in the pros, but never played free safety before last year. He's a bit undersized, but like Wire is smart, and the Bills think that he has the tools to be a very good free safety. The difference between last year and this year is the Bills have more cards to play in case something doesn't work out. Izell Reese is no all pro but he does have experience as a starter, as does recent pickup Ainsley Battles. No, they are not among the best in the league, but you may be surprised at the improvement this secondary makes over last year between the development of young and promising players and the addition of some upgraded depth.
