In signing Mario Williams, the Buffalo Bills have solidified a need, while instilling confidence in the fan base.
Bills fans know what it’s like to watch the Jets, Cowboys and Eagles (among dozens of others) sign big ticket free agents over the years. Meanwhile, the Bills have opted to build through the draft and either missed free agents or not targeted them at all.
A big ticket guy like Mario Williams won’t fix their defense, but he creates optimism in a franchise that hasn’t made a similar play in recent memory.
“They have such great fans. People that have season tickets and go year after year when they are horrible and we still go and we still root for them,” said Bills fan Ryan Leary
“It’s nice to see them say, ok—we’re going to put the money down this year and try to make the team better,” he added.
Big Deal During Usually Dead Time
For those who don’t follow the game of professional football, you must realize there are different stages of business that energize fans, winning the regular season and in the playoffs are just two. At a time in the year when we have no football (and many sports fans tune out with the exception of the NCAA tournament), any pigskin related news is important.
Tracking the Bills free agent moves in recent years has been comparable to watching paint dry (which I’ve been doing a lot during newsroom renovations). April’s annual NFL Draft is the next best thing. Two years ago, the Bills took electrifying running back C.J. Spiller and fans at training camp were clamoring to see him hit the field. He improved in year two, but did little during a 6-10 rookie year. Last year, I sat in a friend’s living room for the draft when Buffalo picked defensive lineman Marcel Dareus. I watched as a close friend stomped like a child and yelled at the television because quarterback Cam Newton had already been picked.
Mario Williams is not the Babe Ruth of football, but was the hottest babe in the free agency dance, and the Bills were glad to write the check.
“It’s probably the biggest deal since Jim Kelly signed for Buffalo,” said Jim Decory, a Bills fan.
That worked out okay.
Evan White, Reporter
