The Buffalo Bills are done with three quarters of their preseason.  With the starters getting their most extensive playing time of the summer, the team knocked off a quality opponent for the second straight week on Saturday, upending the Cincinnati Bengals, 35-20.

While wins and losses are hardly the bottom line when it comes to how Chan Gailey is evaluating his roster right now, impact plays and consistency are surely at a premium.  With so many new coaches in tow, very few roster spots have been guaranteed.

After Saturday’s game the players get but one final audition to prove they belong in the NFL.  That comes this week against the Detroit Lions.  For many players, especially non-starters, it’s basically life or death. Based on last Saturday’s game, here’s a small list of what is up and down in terms of team stock.

STOCK UP

David Nelson: If there was any doubt that the undrafted free agent would make the Bills, it was erased Saturday night.  Nelson scored another touchdown and looked fantastic with his route running.  Frankly, he looks more like a five-year veteran on the field than a rookie passed over in the draft.  Nelson has all-but-earned the fourth receiver position behind Lee Evans, Steve Johnson and Roscoe Parrish. His meteoric rise up the Bills depth chart is even more remarkable when you consider he’s already missed a preseason game with a leg injury.   Still not sure if his pending roster spot is an endorsement of him more than an indictment on the rest of the roster, but color me impressed with his play so far this summer.

Roscoe Parrish: After years of various coaches and schemes designed around getting Parrish involved in the offense via gadget plays and quick screens, it seems Chan Gailey has finally figured it out.  Just treat him like another receiver, let him do his thing and get him the ball.  Clearly, it’s working.  Parrish looks to be this year’s reborn Bill and has locked down the right to extensive playing time.  Last season his Bills career was on life support, but a year later it looks brighter than ever.

Aaron Maybin: He’s been the poster child over the past 12 months for the front office’s futility in drafting over the past decade.  Bottom line is Maybin couldn’t control where he was drafted and what role Dick Jauron envisioned for him.  The switch to the 3-4 defense was expected to see him start yet he remains semi-buried on the depth chart.  Still, when he got his opportunity against the Bengals he was ultra-impressive. Maybin had a pair of sacks Saturday night, the second one looking like he could be an elite pass rusher. He also forced an intentional grounding penalty just before the end of the first half.  It still doesn’t seem like he’s going to be a consistent factor in this defense, but at least he showed his potential when his number was called Saturday.

C.J. Spiller: He was drafted ninth overall because he can be a home run hitter.  After the last two preseason games, he looks like he can be Babe Ruth.  Spiller scored another pair of touchdown Saturday night, including an exciting 20-yard scamper late in the second quarter.  Couple that with the 37-yard touchdown against the Colts and it’s easy to see what Buddy Nix sees in him.  Yes, his running style is conducive to having too many negative carries, but he’s a true threat to put up six literally any time he touches the ball.  Worst case scenario is his play will keep Bills fans excited for 2010. I’ll guarantee you there are scores of Bills fans right now who are hoping Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch take their time getting back.

Trent Edwards: We will keep it brief because it’s never smart to anoint a quarterback based on vanilla preseason opposition, but for right now Edwards is looking like a legit NFL starting quarterback. I’m hesitant to write anything positive about Edwards because he’s annually looked solid in shorts and during preseason games, but giving credit where it’s due he doesn’t look the same rattled, broken hearted signal caller he was a year ago.

STOCK DOWN

Cornell Green: The veteran starting right tackle might want to thank his lucky stars the Bills are woefully thin at the position.  Green has been awful in consecutive weeks to the point that if Jamon Meredith has showed anything he can be considered a threat to take Green’s job.  Green has given up a sack in consecutive weeks and has struggled to block anybody.  On a deeper team he’d be a serious candidate to get a pink slip.  Demetrius Bell’s uncertainty (though he’s looked good thus far) keeps Meredith in a swing tackle backup spot and Green in the lineup.  He better improve quickly, because he’s looked awful thus far.

Special Teams: Yes, it’s only preseason and we all expected a drop off after Bobby April left town, but what once an annual are of strength has looked terrible all summer long.  The Bills are struggling to cover kickoffs in a big way.  Cincinnati averaged 32 yards per kickoff return Saturday.  Whatever it is Bruce DeHaven needs to do in order to get this unit rounded into shape, he better find a way to get it done quickly.  The Bills aren’t good enough to lose the special teams battle each week.

Ellis Lankster: I really like this kid, but he is continuing to play his way out of a job.  After being torched against the Colts on consecutive long passes, he gave up another against the Bengals on Saturday.  To his credit, he did make a couple of plays afterward, but his spot on the roster is hardly secure enough to be getting beat long three times in two weeks.

Brian Brohm: It’s not necessarily his fault and certainly not his decision, but Ryan Fitzpatrick’s performance against the Bengals may have locked him into Trent Edwards’ backup spot, and it may have sealed Brohm’s fate in the process.  Whatever positive Bills fans seem to see in Brohm it appears Chan Gailey and his staff isn’t on the same page.  His playing time has been nearly non-existent in two of the team’s three preseason games.  That can’t possibly be a glowing endorsement on his chances of sticking around past another week.  Conceivably, the Bills could keep both backups, but it’s highly unlikely.

James Hardy: Yes, he did have a 30-yard grab against the Bengals which seemingly helps his case, but a review shows he was wide open and Fitzpatrick made a perfect throw.  Hardy also dropped a pass and had another broken up.  He just can’t seem to get open with any regularity either in practice or in games.  Nelson’s rise pushed Hardy to do more; he hasn’t done it and now he’s clearly running out of time.  Hardy isn’t a good enough special teams player to warrant a fifth or sixth receiver spot.  In my opinion, his hour glass is running out.

(Photo Credit: Michael Thomas)