Die Hard Bills Fan

The season is starting in just under 5 days with the Buffalo Bills home opener just around the corner. The game is of course on Sunday, September 7^th when the Bills take on the Seattle Seahawks at the Ralph at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time).

So what am I going to do for you guys out there reading this? Get you pumped for the regular season opener! From now until Sunday I will be covering the Bills as a team and their chances of making the playoffs. First, I will cover the Buffalo Bills defense. I will list the depth chart of the position in my breakdown of the D position by position and give them an overall grade along with some commentary of the team.

DE

1. Aaron Schobel

2. Chris Kelsey

3. Ryan Denney

4. Chris Ellis

5. Copeland Bryan

The Bills have a very solid group of defensive ends on the roster this year. That means they will have a good duo out there on any play seeing as the Bills like to rotate in the freshest players on the D-line… Schobel has made the pro bowl two years in a row but he is trying to improve his sack total for this year after only 6.5 sacks last year, the lowest in his career since his rookie season back in 2001… Kelsey is trying to return to top form after he battled nagging injuries all last season. He underwent off-season surgery on his torn tendon in his ankle… Denney is also trying to return to top form after he had to undergo foot surgery. He was only able to play in 7 games last year due to the injury… Chris Ellis is the rookie DE from Virginia Tech. He was selected by the Bills in the 3^rd round. Ellis could be used as a situational pass rusher and is also good against the run. Fast fact, the last DE selected by the Bills from VT, Bruce Smith… Bryan appeared in only 2 games last season and was later put on the IR in December. Before joining the Bills last season, Bryan was on the Bear practice squad…

GRADE: B

DT

1. Marcus Stroud

2. Kyle Williams

3. John McCargo

4. Spencer Johnson

The Bills are hoping that a healthy Stroud can return to his former pro bowl form. The 6’ 6’’, 306 lb. tackle was brought in to help improve the Bills D against the run which finished near the bottom of the league last season. Stroud will also get some double team attention at the line giving the DEs and LBs some room to run and make plays… The 25 yard old Williams just signed a contract extension this off-season for 3 more years in Buffalo… McCargo, the former 1^st round pick (26^th overall) in the 2006 draft was fined this spring for being overweight. He reported to camp in shape and looks to build into a starting DT… Johnson came over in the off-season as a free agent from he Vikings. He didn’t put up huge numbers because he played behind the monstrous Williamses in Minnesota…

GRADE: B- (Grade will improve after we see how Stroud plays)

MIDDLE LB

1. Paul Posluszny

2. John DiGiorgio

Poz is BACK! After fracturing his forearm in the Bills Week 3 game last year he is back at 100%. The guy just has a nose for the ball and is a great tackler. Through the first 3 games last year, he led the Bills with 26 tackles (remember he didn’t even finish the 3^rd game)… DiGiorgio had a very good year last year filling in for the injuried Posluzny. He had 113 tackles last season to go along with 2 sacks and 1 INT. Provides great depth at the MLB position…

GRADE: B+

WEAK-SIDE LB

1. Kawika Mitchell

2. Jon Corto

Mitchell was an early free agent signing for the Bills. The Superbowl Champion is highly underrated. He had 86 tackles, 4 sacks and 1 INT to go along with 2 forced fumbles. Something to remember, his last game in Buffalo on December 23^rd of last season, he had 2 sacks, forced a fumble, and returned an INT for a touchdown… Corto is the Orchard Park native now on his hometown Bills squad. He was on the Bills practice squad last season…

GRADE: B

STRONG-SIDE LB

1. Angelo Crowell

2. Keith Ellison

The 27 year old Crowell is entering his contract year with the Bills. This is the last season of the 3 year deal he signed in 2005. He too is another Bills LB that is highly underrated. He had 126 tackles last season that led the team… Ellison also played significant time last season. He had 39 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 INT in 12 games last season…

GRADE: B+

CB

1. Terrence McGee

2. Jabari Greer

3. Ashton Youboty

4. Leodis McKelvin

5. Reggie Corner

McGee was the clear choice for the #1 corner spot. McGee has 78 tackles and 4 INTs last season in 15 games… Greer looked to be the odd man out with the Bills after they selected a bundle of corners in the draft. He has played hard though and the Bills coaching staff is impressed. He earned the #2 spot for at least the first half of the season… Youboty was another guy that was as good as gone before the preseason but he played hard and had two very good games. He won the nickel corner spot because of his great progress… McKelvin was the #11 pick in this years draft. He has looked so-so in the preseason. He has either made a good play or has completely messed it up. It will be interesting to see whether he plays a lot at all this year. A candidate to play in the dime and quarter packages for the Bills (which they don’t run very much at all)… Corner was a ball hawk in college and had a sharp preseason. The rookie has even be rumored to be ahead of McKelvin on the depth chart…

GRADE: C+

FS

1. Ko Simpson

2. George Wilson

Simpson is looking to rebound after he was injured in the Bills 1^st game last season against the Denver Broncos and then placed on the IR for the year. The 4^th round draft pick from the 2006 draft is looking to have a breakout year and also continue the chemistry with SS Donte Whitner after the two started their entire rookie seasons together… Wilson played in 12 games last season after Simpson and former Bills safety Brain Leonard went down, before of course he went down to injury also. It occurred before the last week of the season. He ended the year with 37 tackles and 2 picks…

GRADE: C

SS

1. Donte Whitner

2. Bryan Scott

3. John Welding

Whitner guaranteed that the Bills will make the playoffs this season. He has been an unofficial team captain since he was drafted. He shows great leadership and also builts team chemistry by having the team over for film watching and he even took McKelvin under his wing during the off-season Hard qualities to find from a 23 year old entering his third season of NFL play… Scott returns for another stint in Buffalo after he played in 15 games last season, most in a special teams role… Same goes for Welding. Will play in the special teams role…

GRADE: B

Overall the Bills defense has a good mix of playmakers and role players. Due to all of the injuries last season, the Bills now have good depth at almost all of their positions. They are a young D that flys to the football. Look for team to improve as an entire unit this year.

Here is the rundown on what I will be covering the rest of the week:

Weds: Bills Offense

Thurs: Bills Special Teams

Fri: Breakdown of the Bills Schedule and Chances of Making the Playoffs

Sat: Game Preview with my Picks of all of the Winners in Week 1

Sun: Game recap with Commentary

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Hello Bills fans. Maybe I am an optimist by nature but I feel that the Bills will be a playoff team in 08. Although Trent Edwards struggled yesterday, he gives us the best chance to win. He will only get better with more experience and I believe we have our quarterback of the future. We have a future all-pro at running back in Marshawn Lynch. Lynch has showed flashes of greatness this year with his non-stop motor and his fight for every last yard. Lynch will also only get better with more game experience. Our offensive line has started to play well and will continue to get better with time. Many of our young players that were forced into starting roles this year will provide excellent depth when we are fully healthy next year. Linebacker John DiGiorgio, safety George Wilson, running back Fred Jackson and safety Jim Leonhard have contributed and shown that they can play in this league. Cornerback Jabari Greer has displayed great instincts and has basically earned the starting cornerback job moving forward. Even though my hopes and dreams of the playoffs were crushed yesterday, I am thankful that this team never gave up and put themselves in a position to earn a wild card spot. Trent will lead this team and get us to where we want to go. A few additions via the draft and free agency will only make us better. Our defense is very young and came up big for us this year. We have the talent and with more experience will be a playoff team. Thanks for never giving up this year. Go Bills.

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Hello Bills fans. There is some potential great news for the Bills defense. Linebacker Keith Ellison practiced today and could be ready to go for Monday night’s game. It was said that Ellison did not experience any pain and was full go at practice. Ellison is a very good cover linebacker and it will only help the defense. I wish Posluszny didn’t get hurt because I really wanted to see him, Ellison, and Angelo Crowell on the field at the same time. Ellison had a high ankle sprain that has sidelined him for the first four games. It would be a big boost if he can go against Dallas. In other news, starting strong safety Donte Whitner is moving to free safety this week due to the injury to Jim Leonhard. Bryan Scott is starting at the strong safety position. He is better suited for that role. I feel Whitner will do a great job and will be excellent in supporting both Jabari Greer and Terrence McGee against the high-powered Cowboys offense. Defensive end Anthony Hargrove is eligible to return to the team this week. The Bills have yet added him to the 53-man roster. Look for that to happen in the next few days. I believe they have until Sunday to do so. I am happy that Hargrove is back. He brings energy to this team. It will also be good for our defensive end rotation. Having Hargrove spell both Schobel and Kelsay will make both stay fresh for the entire game. After the bye, defensive end Ryan Denney should be back. This will be yet another boost to our defensive line. Denney is just as good in my opinion as Kelsay. Can’t wait to finally get a little help on the defensive side. Go Bills and lets show the national audience what we are made of.

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Hello Bills fans. After a great win yesterday, The Bills have lost a few more defensive players. Jim Leonhard injured his calf, Kevin Harrison injured his knee and Ashton Youboty injured his ankle. This has to stop soon. Leonhard was filling in for injured free safety Ko Simpson. The Bills will now have to turn to recently acquired Bryan Scott to fill in until Leonhard is ready to go. Harrison was just recently signed for linebacker depth and special teams. The Bills will now have to find someone to fill his role very soon. Ashton Youboty appeared be not as bad as the other two. Look for Jabari Greer to take over. Greer had a great game yesterday and looks like the Bills best cover corner. Greer has the speed and he takes chances. You need a corner that is not afraid to go for an interception. Its a shame that Leonhard got hurt. He showed some promise and was settling in nicely. I cannot believe that we are down to one starting linebacker and on our third free safety. Maybe the team will move Whitner over and start either converted wide receiver George Wilson or rookie John Wendling. I would love to see Wendling play. I say give Wendling a shot but Coach Jauron might choose the experience and go with Scott. The Bills secondary will have a tough task in front of them next Monday against the Cowboys. Lets go Bills. And please no more injuries. Can’t wait to go the Buffalo this weekend.

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Hello Bills fans. This week the Buffalo Bills travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the undefeated New England Patriots. The Pats are coming off of two impressive victories especially the way they beat the San Diego Chargers. This will be an extremely tough game for both our offense and defense. New England is stacked on both sides of the ball. The Patriots offense led by Tom Brady will be trying to pick on our young secondary and their defense led by Adalius Thomas will be gunning for J.P. Losman. Here are the key matchups to this week’s game.

J.P. Losman vs. New England’s Defense: This is a game that Losman must play well in. He has to show the Bills brass that he is the leader of this team. He has struggled in the first two games of the season and will likely have to play error free for the Bills to be in this one. I have faith in J.P. and believe he will have a good game this week. The Bills also need Lee Evans to have a big game and stretch the field. I say keep New England guessing and put Evans in the slot on a few plays. Also Peerless Price needs to have a big game in this one. I’m happy that Josh Reed will be back this week and will give Losman another option in the middle of the field.

Bills Defensive line vs. Tom Brady: As I said in a previous blog, Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay need to get pressure on Brady. The d-line must apply pressure constantly and through Brady off of his game. This will be a tough task considering we let Big Ben stand in the pocket forever and find the open target. This is a big test for our d-line and hopefully both Schobel and Kelsay can earn their checks this week.

Tom Brady vs. Bills Secondary: This will be the biggest matchup of the game. Tom Brady is probably licking his chops right now looking at our injury depleted secondary. Terrence McGee is questionable for this game after suffering a rib injury last week and Ashton Youboty got banged up last week also. It’s going to be a challenge to cover Randy Moss and slot receiver Wes Welker. It’s a tall order for our secondary this week and hopefully we can come up with an interception. Look for Free Safety Jim Leonhard to get another pick in this one. The guy just has a knack for the ball.

Marshawn Lynch is going to have a tough time finding running room in this game. Our offensive line must clear space for him to run. Lynch is such a dynamic back and hopefully we find a way to include him in the passing game this week. The game is on Directv channel 712 and in HD on channel 726. My prediction for this one….ready….Bills 23 Patriots 20. Lets Go Buffalo.

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Hello Bills fans. Well my prediction was totally wrong. The Buffalo Bills lost their second straight falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-3. The Bills came out flat and never looked like they were into playing this game. The offense was dismal for the second week in a row. The inability to move the ball is really hurting our defense because they were constantly on the field yesterday. The defense did hold the Steelers to only 12 first half points but the time of possession and the amount of offensive plays were in the Steelers favor. The score of this one could have been a lot worse. Our defense tightened when the Steelers reached the red zone in the first half. The only bright spot in my opinion on defense was Jim Leonhard getting an interception for the second week in a row. He has a knack for the ball and is a very smart player. It’s nice to see someone trying to help this team win.
Our offense continues to struggle in every aspect. Marshawn Lynch did have a few nice runs but was not used at all in the passing game. Lynch is a dynamic back and I don’t know why the Bills don’t run any specific pass plays for him. He ended up carrying the ball 18 times for 64 yards and had one reception for 21 yards. J.P. Losman looked out of sync all day and ended the game 15-25 for 154 yards. He was high on a lot of his throws and was not decisive when he had time to throw the ball. I don’t know if it’s the receiver’s inability to get open or if Losman just can’t go through his reads properly. We have one of the best receivers in Lee Evans and we can’t seem to find a way to get him the ball. Evans only had two catches for 17 yards yesterday. That is unacceptable. This team is not good enough to win if our #1 receiver does not get involved. Evans was showing signs of frustration in the 4th quarter yesterday. He had back to back personal foul penalties. On one play he was being held while going for a ball thrown in the end-zone. The ref did not call pass interference and Evans flipped out. In all his years with the Bills I have never seen that side of Lee. Even Coach Dick Jauron was upset with the officials in this one. Coach Jauron is a mild mannered man but was seen jawing at the officials yesterday. Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild has to call a better game. I know that the Steelers have a great defense but we have to gain more than 223 yards of offense. Fairchild has to open up the playbook and let Losman loose. We have the speed at the receiver position to take our shots downfield. Hopefully Losman can rebound from two terrible games and show the coaches that he can lead this team.

Our defense continues to struggle to get off the field on third down. We give up way to many first downs and teams our killing us with the run. Willie Parker rushed the ball 23 times for 126 yards and a td. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 242 yards and one td. It kills me every time we let an opposing team’s offense march up and down the field like nothing. We have to be able to stop the run and stop giving receivers a 10-yard cushion. We were unable to get consistent pressure on Roethlisberger and at times it seemed like he had all day to find a target. Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay need to put some pressure on the qb because our secondary is not strong enough to cover for that long. Our defense gave up 420 yards of total offense. This is the second week in a row that we have given up more than 400 yards. Something has to change. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell needs to mix things up a little bit. Maybe it’s because we are without Ko Simpson, Ryan Denney, Keith Ellison and Anthony Hargrove. I just hope that we can get this thing right and start holding teams in check.

Next week does not getting any easier Bills fans. The Bills travel to New England to face the 2-0 Patriots. The Pats blew out the Chargers last night 38-14. I just hope that we show some positive signs against the Pats. I don’t see us winning but hey you never know. Hopefully Losman can get back on track and lead this team to a victory. Just get the ball in the hands of your playmakers. Evans, Lynch and Roscoe Parrish are the guys that need to be heavily involved to make this offense succeed. Let’s Go Buffalo.

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Hello Bills fans. Today the Buffalo Bills have put cornerback Jason Webster on injured reserve officially ending his season. Webster broke his forearm in Sunday’s game against Denver. The Bills have also signed linebacker Leon Joe. Joe is known for his special teams play and will likely be Everett’s replacement on that unit. It is crazy how the defense took so many hits so far in the season. Starting linebacker Keith Ellison was injured in the last preseason game. Coy Wire his replacement, sprained his MCL against Denver. John DiGiorgio is likely going to get the start in place of Wire. Hopefully Ellison will be back in a few weeks. Ashton Youboty will take Webster’s spot opposite of Terrence McGee. This is the time for Youboty to shine and show the organization that they made the right move in drafting him last year. He did look good on Sunday when he came in. Lets hope he can keep the Steelers receivers in check. Jim Leonhard will start at free safety with Ko Simpson being injured. Simpson was also placed on injured reserve. I was really upset when he got hurt because he and Donte Whitner made a great safety tandem. They both played well together as rookies last year. Lets hope the guys who are taking the place of our injured players contribute and get us a win against the Steelers. Lets go Buffalo.

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