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.  The Buffalo Bills defeated the Colts last night at the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  J.P. Losman led the first team offense to two scoring drives.  The most impressive was the 18 play 94 yard which took over 10 minutes off of the clock.  The drive was capped off by a one-yard by rookie Xavier Omon.  Losman looked great in this game.  He made quick decisions and released the ball on time to his wideouts.  Its comforting to know that we have a more than capable backup quarterback.  Losman should good command and only had one bad throw.  Lee Evans and Josh Reed were his go to guys and Justin Jenkins made a nice grab for a first down.  The offensive line played well and gave Losman plenty of time to throw the ball.  Left tackle Langston Walker held Dwight Freeney in check and is getting better at his new position.  It was scary when he left the field but x-rays were negative on his forearm.  I still would love to see Jason Peters report one of these days so Walker could move back to the right side.  The Defense had a fantastic game last night getting four interceptions.  Ashton Youboty, Keith Ellison, John Wendling, and Reggie Corner all had picks on the night.  The defensive line played well and on the first play of the game Chris Kelsay sacked Jared Lorenzen.  I cant wait to see this team hit the field on September 7th.  Check out the highlights of the game on nfl.com.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  The Buffalo Bills currently have six safeties on their roster.  Strong safety Donte Whitner is going to be called on a lot more this upcoming season.  Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will use Whitner in various roles including free safety.  Ko Simpson was the starting free safety until he was lost for the season in the first game.  Simpson is coming back from an ankle injury and stated that he is close to 100 percent.  It was a big loss when Ko went down because both he and Whitner played well in 2006.  Veteran backup strong safety Bryan Scott was re-signed and will provide great depth and special team play.  Second year safety John Wendling is a demon on special teams and will continue to backup both the free and strong position.  Converted wide receiver George Wilson played real well last year filling in for Simpson.  Wilson showed that he can play safety and had a interception returned for a touchdown in his first game starting against the Cowboys on Monday night football.  In my opinion, the safety position is one of the strongest on this team.  Our depth players had valuable experience last season filling in for our injured players.  Im sure the team will sometimes use three safeties on running downs and keep Whitner in the box.  Whitner is a physical corner that is developing into a solid player.  Wendling, Wilson and Scott will be helping out the special teams just like they did last season.  I cant wait to see this defense in action.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans. The Buffalo Bills defeated the Jets today 13-3. Trent Edwards started the game and went 14-21 for 130 yards and one interception. He left the game at the end of the third quarter with a wrist injury. J.P. Losman came off the bench and went 3-5 for 113 yards and a touchdown. His 85-yard bomb to Lee Evans put the Bills ahead to stay. He also threw a bomb to Roscoe Parrish that was on the money but Parrish couldn’t hold on. Losman came in and drove the team to two scoring drives. Marshawn Lynch had 21 carries for 80 yards. As always all of his yards were hard fought. The offense was really sluggish today until the 4th quarter. We had a great opening drive that lasted over ten minutes but couldn’t put the ball in the endzone. Rian Lindell was perfect on the day going 2 for 2 on field goals. The defense had another tremendous game. What can I say, it just seems that we are getting better and better on the defensive side. Aaron Schobel had a sack and two forced fumbles. John DiGiorgio led the team with 13 tackles. Kyle Williams and John McCargo contributed with some great tackles. Angelo Crowell had a big sack knocking the Jets out of field goal range. Anthony Hargrove and Chris Kelsay had solid games applying pressure on Pennington. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell really has these guys playing hard. Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer held Coles and Cotchery in check. Our special teams also played great. Our punt and kickoff coverage was phenomenal. John Wendling had two special teams tackles. I was very nervous during this game because it was close up until Evans touchdown. Our young team is finding ways to win close games. Something that was a tough task only a few weeks ago. Lets Go Bills. Thanks for the win

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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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In their final preseason game, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Detroit Lions 16-13. The Bills fell in an early 13-point deficit. Trent Edwards came in and led the team to a field goal right before halftime. Edwards went 18-24 of 182 yards. Most of his passes were crisp and on the money. His best pass was a 23-yard completion to Jonathan Smith. Edwards felt the blitz coming and perfectly placed the ball in Smiths hands along the sidelines. Rookie fourth round pick Dwayne Wright had 11 rushes for 51 yards. Fred Jackson had the teams’ only touchdown in the third quarter on a five-yard run. Bills receiver Justin Jenkins led all receivers with five catches for 56 yards. Tight end Kevin Everett also made a few nice grabs. Starting quarterback J.P. Losman only played two series and completed 5 of 6 passes for 43 yards. The starting offense moved the ball but the drives stalled due to a bad call by the officials on what looked to me like a reception by Peerless Price. Rian Lindell hit all three of his field goals tonight and looked in mid-season form. Jabari Greer and Ashton Youboty impressed me with their physical tackling. After the Bills took the led late in the fourth quarter, Josh Scobey stripped the ball from Lions kick return Kasper and it was recovered by John Wendling to seal the victory. Even though the team got off to a slow start, the young guys battled the whole game to take the victory. Big game for Edwards as he has just about solidified his role as the second string quarterback. It always feels good after a win even though it was only a preseason game.

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Hello Bills fans. This Thursday is the fourth and final preseason game. The Bills will be taking on the Lions in Detroit. I don’t expect to see J.P. Losman and the starters out there for more than the first two series. Lee Evans is already being held out of the game. It will be interesting to see who JP will rely on that Evans is not out there with the first team. Look for him to go to Peerless Price, Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish on underneath routes. The first team offense will not be taking many chances with the regular season a little over a week away. I would like to see Fred Jackson get a lot of carries in this game. Craig Nall is supposed to come in for JP and then Trent Edwards will finish the game. It looks like the coaches want Edwards to be the #2 QB. Nall must not be happy about that. Looking forward to seeing John Wendling getting some more reps at safety. I think he will turn out to be a special player for us. Good luck to the team and lets get this season started right on September 9th. Lets Go Bills.

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