Die Hard Bills Fan

We are now just a mere 3 days away and counting until the Bills home opener on Sunday afternoon at the Ralph!  As a Bills fan I am PUMPED!!  Finally we get to see the team back in action and see what they can do against some pretty good competition in the Seattle Seahawks.

I broke down the Bills defense a couple days ago so today is time to show a little love to the O!

QB

1.  Trent Edwards

2. J.P. Losman

3. Gibran Hamdan

…The biggest question mark with this group is can they perform?  They all combined for 12 touchdown passes last season which was good for 29^th in the league.  Their combined passing yards of 2,634 was 30^th in the league.  In comparison to how bad this group was take a look at former Bills QB Todd Collins.  Last season the 35 year old (now 36) threw for 888 yards and 5 touchdowns in 4 games!…  Edwards worked hard in the off-season and added much needed muscle to his frame.  It will help him be more durably and keep him in the lineup.  It won’t hurt for his deep balls either.  When drafted he was suppose to be a leader.  The 2^nd year signal caller was voted team captain this season…  Losman is entering his last season as a Buffalo Bill.  His contract is up and he will take his services elsewhere.  A very gifted QB but was never very consistent…  Hamdan is back for another season.  He was on the practice squad last season before being signed to the club due to Edwards last season injury…

GRADE: C

RB

1. Marshawn Lynch

2. Fred Jackson

3. Xavier Omon

…Beast MODE is back!  After leading AFC rookies last season in most of the rushing categories, Lynch is looking to build on the numbers he had last season.  He is already one of the top 10 backs in the league…  Action Jackson is now in his second season of backing up Lynch.  Look for an article on him to come later in the year.  Not many people realize what he has gone through to make it to the league…  Omon, the rookie draft pick beat out Dwayne Wright during the preseason for the final RB spot.  Won’t see much time with the two guys he has in front of him…

GRADE: A-

FB

1. Darian Barnes

…Barnes is a 7 year vet and his big body should pave the way for a great season for Lynch.  The 6′ 2″, 240lb FB loves hitting people.  Look for him to clear the way for a great season running the ball.  Will do much better than those stupid H-backs in the past…

GRADE: C+

WR

1. Lee Evans

2. James Hardy

3. Josh Reed

4. Roscoe Parrish

5. Steve Johnson

6. Justin Jenkins

…Evans continues to be a huge deep threat and is by far the best WR for the Bills.  He worked with Edwards during the off-season so we will have to wait and see if that will pay off.  Evans put up some of the worst numbers of his career last year…  Hardy is the 2^nd round pick from Indiana.  The big target should get some opportunities in the red zone…  Reed is a great possession receiver on the Bills team.  He has reallu improved his catching ability since joining the Bills…  Parrish is the speed man who the Bills want to get the ball to.  His speed can change games.  A 5 yard slant could turn into a touchdown…  Johnson is the rookie wideout from Kentucky.  He was selected in the 7^th round.  He stood out during training camp and the preseason to win a roster spot…  Jenkins was kept for his special teams ability…

GRADE: B+

TE

1. Robert Royal

2. Derek Schouman

3. Derek Fine

…Royal caught 3 touchdown passes last season, and 2 came in one game.  He has had a good preseason though so let’s see if they try to get him more involved in the gameplan…  Schouman has 3 receptions in his career and is currently coming back from injury…  Fine the rookie from Kansas looks to get more reps at special teams this year than tight end.  When he gets healthy look for him to be an impact player on special teams which he was very good in at college…

GRADE: C

LT

1.  Jason Peters (HOLD OUT)

2. Langston Walker

3. Kirk Chambers

4. Matt Murphy

5. Demetrius Bell

…Peters is a bum.  Report to your team.  You’re not only hurting yourself but your teammates also…  Walker switched over from the right side of the line with the absence of Peters.  At 6′8″, 366 lb. he defiantly has the size to do it.  He will need to step up big time though.  Let’s be honest he is no Jason Peters… Chambers is starting at RT after Walker switched over… Murphy is a 7 year vet who is undersized for the LT position.  He should be on special teams duty all year…  Three years ago, Bell wasn’t even playing football.  He was playing basketball.  In college he started 22 games in a row at LT.  He has the size but needs to work on fundaments.  Has raw talent just needs to be groomed.  He was selected in the 7^th round, Pick 219^th overall…

GRADE: C

LG

1. Derrick Dockery

2. Jason Whittle

…Dockery stands at 6′6″ and 330 lbs.  He has to step up his play with Peters gone for the foreseeable future.  This is his 2^nd year with the Bills…  Whittle is a 10 year vet with a lot of experience.  Will help provide depth on the OL…

GRADE: C+

C

1. Melvin Fowler

2. Duke Preston

…Fowler has started all 16 games at center for the past two seasons for the Bills…  Most of Preston’s playing time last year came from special teams…

GRADE: C+

RG

1. Brad Butler

2. Duke Preston

…Butler is a 3 year player that has a huge body.  The 6′ 7″, 315 lb. guard started all 16 games last season…  In case you needed another fact on “Duke”, his real name is Raymond Newton Preston III…

GRADE: C

RT

1. Langston Walker (moved to LT while Peters holds out)

2. Kirk Chambers

…The former 6^th round pick is given the starting role by default.  He has only one start in his NFL career.  It was at left tackle against the Eagles in last year’s season finale.  The outcome?  No sacks allowed and helped Lynch gain 105 yards on the ground…

GRADE: D

Overall the Bills need to be able to run the ball and whatever QB is in needs to play consistent.  Edwards gets the ball out quick and not saying that Peters being gone will hurt the running game but Peters is a much better pass blocker than run blocker.  A true FB will also help out Lynch on the ground game.  The offense also needs to get the ball to the playmakers.  Lynch, Evans and Parrish should all be in the game plan every week to get a lot of touches.  Royal at TE also needs to be more of a receving threat.  He is a good blocker though so that will help out the line too.  The Bills O won’t do much this year numbers wise but if they can hang on to the football and control the clock it should be enough to get by on.    

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Hello Bills fans.  The Bills will host the Pittsburgh Steelers this Thursday in Toronto.  This is the first game of the Toronto series that will span over the next five seasons.  Im excited to see the crowd reaction to this one.  Although I dont like the idea of playing there, I do like the fact that playing in Canada will assure the team of staying in Buffalo.  As the Bills come off a defeat in their first preseason game and injury free, the team has lost a couple of players in the last two days.  Backup tackles Matt Murphy and Patrick Estes both went down with a shoulder and leg injury respectively.  Murphy’s injury is more serious and he was not at the morning walk through.  Estes was at practice today but did not participate.  Starting right guard Brad Butler has been given some reps at right tackle and will most likely play with the second unit this Thursday.  We really need Jason Peters in camp as soon as possible.  There have been some rumblings that he would sit out the entire season but I feel the Bills will get this situation settled and Peters in camp.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  The team announced that they have come to terms with fourth round pick Derek Fine.  Fine will compete for a backup spot at the tight end position.  He is an experienced special teams player and will contribute in that phase right away.  He isn’t the biggest guy but set records at Kansas for most receptions for a tight end.  I liked when the Bills picked Fine and feel he will contribute right away. 

Shortly after the signing of Fine was announced, the team reach a contract extension with starting right guard Brad Butler.  Butler still had two years left on his rookie deal but showed last season that he can be a full-time starter on the offensive line.  The team did not release details of the contract but Im sure Butler will be getting a raise.  He started all 16 games last season after winning the position battle in training camp.  Butler showed me a lot last season.  He formed a strong tandem with right tackle Langston Walker.  If the Bills can sign Jason Peters to a long term deal, we will have four out of the five starters on the o-line locked up for a long time.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans. The offensive line is really starting to gel. Many people questioned when the Bills gave Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker monster deals this past off-season. Dockery was one of the best guards available and Walker was a good tackle on a bad offensive line. Both have drastically improved the Bills offensive line. Although the line needs to improve on their run blocking, pass protection has been great. This past Sunday they didn’t allow a sack and have protected rookie quarterback Trent Edwards well. Jason Peters is becoming a dominate left tackle and will be a Pro Bowler before we know it. First year starter Brad Butler has played well at the right guard position. Melvin Fowler is a bit undersized but makes up for it with good technique. This line is big and will improve further with more games played together. It’s exciting to see them develop chemistry and that is a major positive for the future of this team. All of the great teams in this league have excellent offensive lines. Hopefully we can keep these guys together and have them lead us to the promise land. I also hope that we can open up some holes this Sunday for Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. Go Bills. Let’s beat the Dolphins.

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Hello Bills fans. After experiencing the tough loss in person on Monday night, I decided to watch the game again. I had the game taped and decided why not watch the first 59 minutes. I was looking at certain things like the offensive line, defensive line, quarterback, and receivers. Ok let me just say one thing. The right side of our offensive line needs to improve. When starting right guard Brad Butler went out with a hip injury, Duke Preston came in and didn’t do such a great job. I watched him on a few plays get pushed back into Trent Edwards lap. Right tackle Langston Walker also has trouble with speed rushers on the end. He was getting blown off the ball and looked stiff. I do believe that losing Butler was tough on the entire line. We need to use this bye week to get our offensive line healthy. We need to run block better also. Marshawn Lynch did not have many holes to run through in this game. He kept on getting hit behind the line of scrimmage because our o-line couldn’t get any type of push. It almost seemed as if we were getting pushed back the entire second half. I got to say our defensive line is starting to look good. I really like the way John McCargo and Kyle Williams are playing. McCargo seems to always make some good plays and Williams has a relentless style. I’m really happy that McCargo is starting to show why we drafted him in the first round in 2006. Another area of concern for me is wide receiver. I know that Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish have played real good but I would love to see Lee Evans have a 10 catch over a 100-yard game. Evans is a fantastic wide receiver and we need to get him more involved to put more points on the board. It would be nice if we had a good #2 receiver to take some pressure off of Evans. Watch out for Evans after the bye. I think he is going to put up some nice numbers and help this offense. Trent Edwards is a real good quarterback. There were a few plays were a blitz was coming and Edwards stayed so cool in the pocket and threw a completion. Edwards plays the game like a veteran. He seems like he doesn’t get rattled and knows where his receivers are. He also has a nice touch on short routes and showed that he can fire it to the outside as well. Edwards had a really good game in my opinion and the offense had the chance to score more points in this one. The play calling was questionable in certain situation and wish we could have run some different plays. Lets hope we can correct some of our mistakes during the bye week and come out on October 21st and beat the Ravens. Lets Go Bills.

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Coach Dick Jauron announced that Brad Butler will be the starting right guard. This is a suprise move because Butler has been hurt for most of camp. He did look good in last Thursdays preseason finale. The coaches have been high on Butler since he was drafted last year. He is a big guy with a mean streak and will hopefully allow us to get some big runs on the right side paired with Langston Walker. I for one thought the right guard spot would be given to Jason Whittle. Whittle has a lot of experience and also played for coach Jim Mcnally when both were with the Giants. Duke Preston has been given every chance to earn a starting spot but always seems to have breakdowns during the game. He started at center during the preseason and had a terrible shotgun snap. I guess Preston is suited for a backup role. I hope Butler plays well and will be a starter all season. Lets Go Bills.

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Today the Buffalo Bills announced that offensive lineman Aaron Merz was placed on the injured reserve ending his season. Merz has missed a lot of practice time with a shoulder injury. I’m curious to see who the backup offensive lineman will be. The team usually keeps nine on the roster. The projected starters are Jason Peters at left tackle, Derrick Dockery at left guard, Melvin Fowler at center, Jason Whittle or Duke Preston at right guard, and Langston Walker at right tackle. The projected backups at this point are lets say Preston because I think Whittle will end up starting, Terrance Pennington, Brad Butler, and either Nevin McCaskill, Corey Davis, Christian Gaddis, or Kirk Chambers. I guess Chambers has the best shot out of the four remaining. I for one hope the starters stay healthy. Besides Pennington, the rest do not have much experience if any at all. Lets hope and pray that are main guys are in there the whole season. Butler has had injury problems going back to last year. He is said to have a lot of potential but cannot seem to stay healthy. Gaddis, Davis and McCaskill are all rookie free agents. One of them might be added to the practice squad. Chambers has the best shot because he has more NFL experience than the previous three mentioned. Lets go O-line, please protect JP and pave the way for Marshawn. Lets Go Bills.

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