Die Hard Bills Fan

Hello Bills fans.  I just came across this article written by Mike Lombardi from sports illustrated listing three non-playoff teams that will make a big leap this season.  Lombardi’s first team is the Bills.  He states that he loves the team and feels that Bills will be a very tough team this year.  He goes on to say that last year with a few bounces here and there the Bills were almost a playoff team.  He lists our playmakers such as Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish.  He also mentions our great special teams and our  bright young quarterback Trent Edwards.  Lombardi is also the guy that said the Bills had a fantastic draft when he was on NFL Network.  Check out the article on SI.com.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  I can’t believe training camp starts in 10 days.  I am very excited to get this season underway because of the improvements the team has made this past off-season.  I have a few concerns right now going into camp.  The Bills top three draft picks are still unsigned.  Leodis McKelvin, James Hardy and Chris Ellis need to be in camp on day one.  McKelvin and Hardy especially because both players are going to be relied upon from week one.  Hardy needs to get comfortable in this offense because he will eventually become our #2 receiver.  I feel comfortable with our starting corners and would like to see McKelvin learn from Jabari Greer and Terrence McGee.  McKelvin should also be used on special teams as a returner.  He has great speed and showed in college that he is a threat to take one to the house on every return.  Its tough to say if he will beat out McGee or Roscoe Parrish but it will be great to see him get some shots in the preseason.  The only other main concern I have, which probably is the biggest, is the Jason Peters situation.  Peters missed all the voluntary and one mandatory camp this offseason.  It has been speculated that he is looking to cash in after his Pro Bowl season last year.  Peters also must be there from day one to continue the chemistry the o-line developed last season.  Lets hope all the rookies and Jason Peters are at St. John Fisher come July 25th.  Cant wait to get this thing started.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  We are only five weeks away from training camp at St. Johns Fisher College.  There is a ton of optimism by most Bills fans about the team this season.  Trent Edwards showed flashes last season that he could finally be our long term starter at quarterback.  He had some good games and helped the team win.  He also had some rough games which is totally normal for a rookie signal caller.  Trent showed his smarts and quick reaction when going to his second or third target.  He hardly ever locked on to one receiver and sensed when the heat was coming.  I am very excited about this upcoming season.  With offensive weapons such as Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish, Josh Reed and rookie James Hardy along with Trent Edwards, I expect this team to make some noise.  Our defense is going to be much improved due to the additions of Kawika Mitchell, Marcus Stroud, and rookie Leodis McKelvin.  Mitchell is going to make an immediate impact on the weakside.  He is a big linebacker with a knack for the ball and can also help out in coverage.  Stroud will be a dominant force in the middle.  Stroud and John McCargo will help out our run defense tremendously.  This team has a bright future and will continue to improve under Coach Jauron.  Can you say playoffs?  I can.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  Tomorrow starts the first mandatory minicamp at One Bills Drive.  The last couple of weeks were voluntary and almost the entire roster was in attendance.  The only player to not make an appearance was starting left tackle Jason Peters.  It will be interesting to see if he shows up tomorrow.  If he doesnt, the rumors are true that he is unhappy with his contract situation.  Peters has three years left on his deal but his the teams third highest paid lineman.  He was elected to the Pro Bowl last year and is viewed by many as one of the best tackles in the game.  We need Peters here from the start of camp.  He is a tremendous blocker and is counted on to protect Trent Edwards blindside.  I hope the Bills can make Peters happy so we dont have to go into training camp with a distraction. 

Today was the last day of OTA’s and the offense shined.  Trent Edwards is starting to show why he was named the starting quarterback.  He has great chemistry with Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish and Derek Schouman.  Look for Schouman to get a ton of playing time this season.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  The Bills were back on the field today at One Bills drive.  The offense is starting to come together after some struggles last week.  Trent Edwards is becoming more comfortable in offensive coordinator Turk Schonert’s offense.  Scott Mayle, Felton Huggins and Josh Reed all had good days catching the ball.  Marshawn Lynch was practicing but declined to comment about the recent hit and run with a vehicle that is registered in his name.  Its good to see most of the players in attendance.  Lee Evans, Roscoe Parrish, Aaron Schobel and Jason Peters were not present.  I hope Peters makes the mandatory camp on June 11th.  He is a big part of this team and we need him out there to help us win.  Check out Chris Brown’s notes on buffalobills.com.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  There is a great article on buffalobills.com about when Donte Whitner was in college at Ohio State, they had to specifically game plan for James Hardy.  Whitner goes on to say that Hardy will make some noise this coming season.  He states that he was one of the few receivers in college that demanded great attention.  I feel that Hardy is going to help our offense out tremendously.  He is going to open things up for Lee Evans on the other side and get Roscoe Parrish and Josh Reed more opportunities out of the slot position.  The Bills will use Hardy size on a weekly basis especially in the red-zone.  I cant wait to see this guy in action.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  As of right now, it doesn’t look like the Bills will be signing a wide receiver in free agency.  Free agent Bryant Johnson was in Buffalo two weeks ago and is still trying to decide on which spot he wants to call him.  There are reports that Johnson will be meeting with Tampa Bay and possibly the Tennessee Titans.  The Bills are playing this smart because they want to lock up Lee Evans before giving a big contract to basically an unknown.  Although I do think Johnson would help this team out tremendously, I don’t want the team to give him more than he is worth.  It has been said that the team is trying to extend the contract of Lee Evans.  Evans has one year remaining on his rookie contract and is due for a big payday.  Evans is a true #1 and although he struggled a bit in 07, he should be locked up with a long-term deal.  The only thing that scares me is the amount of money wide receivers have been getting.  Larry Fitzgerald from the Arizona Cardinals just signed a four year 40 million dollar contract with 30 million guaranteed.  The only way the Bills will get this deal done is to offer Evans a contract of close to eight million a year.  We need to have Lee on this team long term.  Receiver Josh Reed has two more years left on his deal and Roscoe Parrish was just signed to an extension.  Reed and Parrish are both valuable slot receivers.  Reed is a physical receiver that does not go down on first contact.  Parrish is an excellent punt returner also and has the ability to take a short pass to the house.  Look for the Bills to draft a receiver with either their first or second round pick.  As of right now the teams main concern should be to get Lee signed and then look at the best possible receiver in the draft.  Lets Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans. Its almost time for the NFL combine. Its always fun watching future NFL players run the 40 yard dash, bench press to their max and do all of the other individual drills that will push them up the draft boards. The front office is already working on their draft board and the combine will only help them choose the players that the team needs.

In other news, Adam Schefter from NFL Network reported that the Bills are one of the teams interested in ex-Dolphins Linebacker Zach Thomas. I don’t see Thomas as a fit for this team because our defense relies on speed at the linebacker position. Thomas was a great player but his lingering problems from concussions make him a risk.

Wide Receiver Roscoe Parrish was arrested a few days ago for driving under the influence. This really shocks me because I always thought of Roscoe as person of high character. I know that everyone makes mistakes and hopefully Roscoe has learned from this. I really do like him and feel that he will continue to get better and play a bigger role on the team in 2008.

I also heard that the Bills are interested in wide receiver Ernest Wilford from Jacksonville. Wilford is scheduled to become a free agent on February 29th. It would be great if the Bills can sign him because of his size. This team desperately needs a tall receiver especially in the red zone.

Here is to a great draft and offseason. Go Bills.

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Hello Bills fans.  I just watched the Senior Bowl and here is my list of players that would help the Bills in a big way.  Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis from USC is a beast.  He made a bunch of plays today and had to be doubled teamed most of the time.  I hope this guy falls to the Bills at #11.  He will most likely be a top five pick.  The guy is going to be a great pro.  Draft expert Mike Mayock ranks Ellis above Glenn Dorsey from LSU.  I pray that he is still there when the Bills are on the board.  Another defensive tackle that impressed me was Trevor Laws from Notre Dame.  He is another defensive playmaker.  He gets into the backfield quick and has a knack for the ball.  Either Ellis or Laws would be great alongside John McCargo.  Linebacker Dan Conner is also another possibility.  He is a great tackler and would be a great complement to Paul Posluszny and Angelo Crowell.  Conner will definitely be a first round pick but I don’t know if the Bills will go linebacker with their first round pick.  Defensive Back Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State had a tremendous game.  He has the speed to close on receivers and the ball skills to get the interception.  He might be the best corner in the draft.  I was trying to get a good look at the wide receivers.  There wasn’t one that jumped out at me.  I like Adarius Bowman’s size but he couldn’t hold on to the ball in the endzone.  Caldwell from Florida is a speedster but reminds me of a bigger Roscoe Parrish.  There were a few receivers that didn’t play because of injury that I would have liked to see.  I think the Bills should go defense in round one and then draft a receiver in the second round.  The receiver class is deep this year so the Bills can afford to wait.  I can’t wait for the combine to see more of the players I mentioned.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  I cannot believe the 2007 regular season ends tomorrow.  What looked like a promising season turned into another year not making the playoffs.  It seems like so long ago that we reached the postseason.  It has been eight years and the longest drought in Bills history.  The Buffalo Bills will play their last game of the 07 campaign against the Philadelphia Eagles.  I usually write about the key matchups to this week’s game but decided that wasn’t necessary for two mediocre teams.  The Eagles come into this game with a 7-8 record just like the Bills.  This could possibly be Donovan McNabb’s last game as an Eagle.  This will be a tough game for us because the Eagles have a really good defense and a great running back.  McNabb is dangerous because not only can he beat you with his arm, but can run with the football.  The Bills must pressure McNabb from the get go and force him into some bad situations.  I’m hoping to see a bounce back game from quarterback Trent Edwards.  He started out great last week but could not get the offense going late in the game.  Edwards has showed flashes this season and the coaching staff believes in him.  He will be our starter next season and a win this week will be huge for his confidence.  Running back Marshawn Lynch has had a fantastic rookie season.  He has rushed for over 1,000 yards in only 12 games played.  The Bills must establish Lynch early if they want to wear down the Eagles defense.  It hurts that starting left tackle Jason Peters is out with a groin injury.  Kirk Chambers must fill his shoes and protect Trent as well as open up some holes for Marshawn to run through.  Look for the Bills to put either Robert Royal or Michael Gaines next to Chambers to give him help.  I would like to see the Bills open up the playbook and get Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish more involved in the offense.  We will need to hit some big plays to get some points on the board.  The Eagles will play hard, as they have done all season.  Its going to be tough stopping Westbrook because he is an all purpose back.  He can beat you with a long run or take a screen pass and go the distance.  The Bills defense should be motivated to stop him because they had a terrible game last week against the Giants.  I would love to see Marshawn and Trent end the season with a bang.  Let Trent sling the ball all over the field.  There is absolutely nothing to lose by doing that.  I will predict a Bills win like I do every week.  I just can never go against my team no matter what.  I am extremely disappointed the way this season has turned out but at least we found some things out about the guys we drafted.  With a strong offseason, I believe this team can be playing in January next season.  Go Bills. 

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