Die Hard Bills Fan

The Buffalo Bills had another big hit on the defensive side of the ball today, so now someone else has to step up and fill the void.

The Bills announced today that corner back Ashton Youboty will be placed on IR, ending his season.  Coming into the year, Youboty was thought to be a training camp cut but he has played extremely well and was a big part to the Bills quick start.  Youboty had been dealing with plantar fasciitis (The plantar fascia is the flat band of tissue (ligament) that connects your heel bone to your toes. It supports the arch of your foot. If you strain your plantar fascia, it gets weak, swollen, and irritated. Then your heel or the bottom of your foot hurts when you stand or walk). He has been bothered by this injury in his foot for the better part of the past month and recently suffered a setback in his attempt to return from the injury. No word on whether surgery will be necessary for his current condition to correct the problem.  With the loss of Youboty, Buffalo has only four corners on their active roster.

The Bills went out and signed a free agent linebacker though to fill Ashton’s vacant roster spot.  Teddy Lehman is now the newest member of the squad.  He played in Detroit earlier in his career under Coach Dick Jauron.  The 5^th year vet has had some injury problems that have derailed his career, which is why he was available.  Lehman was a former second round pick in 2004.  He’s expected to dress for Sunday’s game and will wear jersey number 58 and will provide some depth at the LB position and special teams.       

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Just like last week, diehardsportsfan.net will be sponsoring “Bills Weekly” at Youcastr.com to get you ready for kickoff when the Bills take on the hated Pats.  The LIVE internet show will air at 12 P.M. (eastern time) and will run up until kickoff, which is 1 P.M.   

In case you missed it last week, you can listen to the show LIVE by going to youcastr.com.  Search for the “Bills Weekly” show.  You can also find the show by searching for the user buffbillsfan on the site.  Register for FREE with youcastr.com before you start listening to the show so you can join me in the live chat room and participate in the live poll question.  You can also just listen as a guest and send over any question that you have to buffbillsfan517@yahoo.com.  If you don’t want to do either of those two things, you can always leave a comment on this article.  

Your support is greatly appericated and hope to see you all on Sunday!  GO BILLS!

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A whole boatload of information came out today on the Buffalo Bills as they prepare themselves to take on division foe, New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon.  Here is the latest from WGR550.com:

Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550)  — The Bills did not have Aaron Schobel or Josh Reed in attendance as preparations begin for New England. Schobel is seeing a specialist today for a consultation. Dick Jauron says he hasn’t heard that Schobel could miss the rest of the season. LB Kawika Mitchell was watching from the sideline. Jauron says Mitchell injured his ankle in the Jets game. He hopes to have him in practice tomorrow. Brad Butler, Jason Whittle and Ashton Youboty all took regular reps in individual drills. Jauron says they were limited in team drills. The NFL injury report submitted by the Bills said Youboty did not practice.

Sometimes after a concussion a person can be “foggy” or have their reflexes slowed. I asked Trent Edwards if he has experienced that and he said no. It just seems like his decision making has been slower the past two weeks.

Langston Walker admitted that the offensive line must have the mentality to be physical to get a running game going. Jauron danced around the question saying a number of factors have to be addressed.

 

 

 

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Some more bad news came out on the Bills injury front, and the news was that safety Donte Whitner will be missing some time which is of course, not good news for the Bills and their defense.  Here is the latest from WGR550.com (it also includes some more Bills news):

Bills coach Dick Jauron announced today that safety Donte Whitner has a separated shoulder. Whitner suffered the injury in Sunday’s 26-to-17 loss to the Jets.  Jauron described Whitner’s status as week-to-week.

Whitner is second on the team with 37 tackles. He is also a defensive captain.

Jason Whittle is battling a back injury. He did participate in Monday’s walk-through practice. Aaron Schobel did not practice. He’s listed as day-to-day with a foot injury. Brad Butler’s knee injury is progressing. Butler will be pushed during Wednesday’s workout, according to Coach Jauron. Ashton Youboty practiced.

Marshawn Lynch felt better today after suffering from a stomach virus on Sunday. Jabari Greer hurt his wrist, but was fine on Monday.

The team pays a visit to New England to face the Patriots for the first time this season on Sunday.

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The Buffalo Bills had pretty high expectation coming into this season this year as their fans were excited about the young team the Bills assembled.  Then the Bills started off the year 4-0 and gave Bills fans even higher one.  It was being talked on local shows how the Bills might even be reach the Superbowl as they were the top AFC East team and one of the tops in the entire AFC.  After a 1-3 stretch, and two straight losses in the division, I am starting to wonder if the Bills are indeed the weakest link in the AFC East.

Now I know it is only two games, and the Bills are still sitting at a very nice record of 5-3 (which is 7^th in the AFC which is one spot out of a wildcard berth and tied for 1st in the AFC East) but losses to the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have raised some eyebrows. 

The Bills have played terrible football in the last two weeks.  For starters the running game is no where to be seen.  Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 9 times yesterday for 16 yards.  16 yards!  Are you kidding me?  This guy is a 1^st round draft pick and in his 2^nd year in the pros, he has yet to go past 100 yards this season on the ground.  The running back suffered from some kind of illness for most of the game yesterday.  Hopefully he doesn’t take a look at his performance, because that will make him sick all over again.  It certainly has made me.

The offensive line is horrible and it has been for the entire season.  Pro bowl LT Jason Peters is not going to get that big money extension that he held out for and missed the 1^st game of the regular season with, like he wants.  He is letting guys go right by him.  The rest of the line is very mediocre also.  They block for running backs that get an average of 93.8 yards a game which is good for 26^th best in the league.  Not only can they not run block but they can’t pass block either.  They allowed 5 sacks yesterday with some very nice “look out” blocks.

I didn’t know that J.P. Losman was playing in the game against the Jets?  Hmm, let’s take a look how he did… O wait…  Trent Edwards has played very poorly the last two weeks and the offense has sputtered.  In his defense he doesn’t have a real threat at the WR position other than Lee Evans, the running game is awful and he is getting pressured like crazy, but 3 turnovers in this one?  An absolute ugly interception that went for a pick 6 was thrown that ended a promising Bills drive.  Sure you can play the pressure and Roscoe Parrish for slipping but as a QB you don’t throw that ball into double coverage.  It didn’t even look like Edwards looked at Roscoe, just threw it where he thought he would be.  Edwards needs to step up his game too if he wants to led the Bills to the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade. 

With many of these problems being with the offense, the defense has also lacked in one big part of the game, stopping the opponent’s offense when it is needed.  Now don’t get me wrong the pick six by Jabri Greer was a great play that brought the Bills back into the game but the Bills had to come out and get the ball back.  Instead the Jets went right down the field, taking 8 minutes off of the clock and adding another field goal to put the game away.  A playoff caliber defense needs to step up and make that stop. 

The Bills started off the year so great, 4-0 and then 5-1.  They had the entire city of Buffalo behind them, cheering them on every week.  Even if it meant going to a friends house, crowded bar or dusting off the rabbit ears to catch the Bills game with grainy reception.  The game next week against the New England Patriots on the road is a must win for this Bills team.  They cannot go 0-3 in this division because teams will pass them by.  How can they accomplish a win?  For starters the team needs to get healthy and play like they did early in the season.  When the Bills had the good record to start off the season, they were playing great on all three aspects of the game.  Their offense was clicking, defense was solid and their special teams unit was game changing.  Now nothing is working on all sides of the ball.  They have to get back to basics and go with what worked early in the season.  Holding onto the football and establishing a rushing game is a must.  They have already lost to the Jets and Dolphins.  A loss to the Pats this week, by default, would make the Bills the worst team in the AFC East.      

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The Bills didn’t deserve to win this game at all and they didn’t, dropping to the New York Jets 26-17 at home.

1st Quarter

Twenty points were scored in total in the 1^st.  The scoring started with a Jets field goal by Jay Feely on the opening drive.  The Bills countered with a TD pass from Trent Edwards to rookie Derek Fine to make the score 7-3.  Jay Feely then added another FG.  On the Bills drive headed towards more Bills points, Edwards was intercepted by Abram Elam and he took it 90 yards the other way for a pick 6.  Jets lead 13-7.

2nd Quarter

No scoring happened in this quarter as the two teams went back and forth.  Going into the tunnel at halftime the Bills were still down 13-7.

3rd Quarter

Jay Feely added another FG in this one.  It was countered with a Rian Lindell FG later in the quarter.  Running back Thomas Jones then scored a 7 yard TD run to put the Jets up 23-10 heading into the 4^th.

4th Quarter

Bills corner Jabari Greer made the game interesting, having a pick 6 of his own and making the score 23-17.  Jay Feely kicked another successful FG though and the game was sealed with Edwards throwing an INT in the end zone with under 2 minutes remaining, Jets win 26-17.

Wrap Up

The Jets’ offensive line did not allow a sack on Brett Favre. Their defense sacked Trent Edwards five times, two from DT Kris Jenkins.

The Jets snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the Bills.

The win was Favre’s first in Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Favre did not throw a touchdown for the second time in three weeks.

The Bills lost at home for the first time this season.

The Bills failed to score a rushing touchdown for the first time this season.

Bills RB Marshawn Lynch, suffering from flu-like symptoms, managed just 16 yards on nine carries. Lynch did have 52 yards through the air, including a 42-yard reception on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage.

Trent Edwards went 24 for 35 with 289 yards (career high), 1 TD and 2 INTs.

Marshawn Lynch had 9 attempts for 16 yards while Fred Jackson had 7 for 15.

Paul Poz led the defense in tackles with 9.

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Today we are going to try something new on the site for the PreGame and put on a show.  You can find it by going to youcastr.com and looking for the show called Bills Weekly.  The show will air at noon (eastern time today) and I will try to run it til 1:00 to give you something to do as you wait for the Bills game.

I am going to try this out instead of just a normal post to try and get the loyal website vistors more involved in the pregame talk.

Today on the show I will be going over the big matchups in this game vs. the Jets and make some predictions. 

Please stop by as your support is greatly appericated.  If today has a strong showing, I will continue to do this for all the Bills games for the rest of the season.

Again, to listen LIVE to the show go to youcastr.com.  Look for the Bills Weekly show (the episode today is Bills Countdown to Kickoff).  You can also find the show by searching for the user buffbillsfan on the site.  The show will air LIVE at noon today and run til 1.  Register with youcastr.com before you start listening to the show so you can join me in the live chat room.  You can also just listen as a guest and send over any questions or comments to buffbillsfan517@yahoo.com

Thanks in advance and LETS GO BUFFALO!

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Coming into the game against the New York Jets this weekend, the Bills were expected to start WR James Hardy at the #2 WR spot in the offense due to the injury to Josh Reed that will keep him out the next few days.  Hardy took over the spot in the loss against the Dolphins but that might change this week.

A report from rotoworld.com is saying that the Bills will lean towards Roscoe Parrish in this one.  Here’s the quick rundown:

Bills WR Roscoe Parrish has been running with the first team offense in practice this week.
It was thought that rookie James Hardy would take over while Josh Reed was out because Hardy was the one who replaced him in-game after Reed’s injury occurred. Parrish, though, offers more experience and knows the offense better.

It shouldn’t make too much of a difference as Hardy will now be used in the slot to get better one on one matchup with linebackers.  As much as I want to see Hardy step up to be used in this offense more, look for him to make a few catches in the game and possibly even a TD in the red zone. 

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The Buffalo Bills injury report is just getting longer and longer as the days go by.  The Bills will be without a bundle of key members of the squad.  For the latest injury news, let’s get the update from WGR550.com:

The Bills will be without DE Aaron Schobel, G Brad Butler and WR Josh Reed for Sunday’s contest against the Jets. All three starters were declared out at Friday’s practice. CB Ashton Youboty practiced fully on Friday, according to Coach Dick Jauron. Youboty is listed as questionable to play.

James Hardy and Roscoe Parrish will combine to replace Reed at wide out. Jason Whittle will start at guard in place of Butler.

Tight end Derek Schoman was working with the wide receivers during Friday’s practice.

This is not good news for a Bills team that really needs a win against division foe, New York Jets.  Youboty being back will give the secondary some much needed depth though.  It will be interesting to see if the backups and role players can step up big time.

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Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was back at practice again today after being excused by the team yesterday. He had to tend to a personal matter and nothing more was said about the missed practice. 

Things don’t look so good for DE Aaron Schobel and WR Josh Reed. Neither is working out with the team.  Schobel did finally take the walking boot is off but it doesn’t look like he will play.  Reed is recovering from a sprained Achilles suffered in Sunday’s loss at Miami.  The usual recovery time for such an injury is two to three weeks.  Head Coach Dick Jauron has not ruled out the wide receiver for this Sunday.  The Bills coach will update the injury report tomorrow.

There is a mix up at the offensive line now too.  Jason Whittle is lining up at guard.  The veteran lineman occupying the spot left vacant by the injured Brad Butler (knee).  The injury has kept him out of practice all week.  Duke Preston is getting first team reps at center.

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