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 Last Monday, Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix stood in front of the podium for his season ending press conference and offered precious little to say, instead telling a contingent of reporters he wanted a full week to appraise matters and talk to everyone on the staff, including owner Ralph Wilson before diving head first into subjects with those who cover the team.
Today Nix delivered. Engaging if not flat-out candid with reporters, Nix talked at length about a wide variety of topics ranging from personnel to offseason needs and even the salary cap.
If you want to skip all the way to the end, you can read word-for-word every question for Nix and subsequent reply (courtesy of the Bills media relation department.) If that’s too long-winded for your enjoyment, here’s my point-by-point summary of Nix’s conversation followed by my effort to read between the lines of what he was saying.
Buddy Nix Presser: Reading Between The Lines – continue reading…
 As first reported by the Buffalo News, Buffalo Bills wide receivers coach Stan Hixon is leaving the organization to become receivers coach at Penn State University, effective immediately.
Hixon has spent the past two season with the Bills, coming to Buffalo in 2010 after spending six seasons with the Washington Redskins. A former talented college wide receiver at Iowa State himself, Hixon is given a lot of credit in the rise of Stevie Johnson. Hixon also helped developed three undrafted wide receivers into a regular role with the Bills; David Nelson, Donald Jones and Naaman Roosevelt.
Hixon is the second Bills offensive coach to leave the organization over the past few days. Quarterback coach George Cortez left to become head coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL over the weekend.
Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was hired to be the Penn State head coach last week. O’Brien was on the same staff with Hixon for five seasons at Georgia Tech (1995-99.)
 When free agency begins, the Buffalo Bills have 14 pending unrestricted free agents and three restricted to deal with. Since I don’t feel much like writing a long lead-in to an already obvious topic, I’ll jump right into things with a forecast on how things may shake down, who’ll be back and who’s most likely to be playing elsewhere in 2012.
LOCK TO RETURN
Scott Chandler: It makes far too little sense for either side to want to part ways after the season Chandler just had. The Bills finally got solid production out of the tight end spot with Chandler, who caught 38 passes for 389 yards and six touchdowns as he became a go-to guy for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The offense is clearly better with him in the lineup, and I’d be shocked if Buddy Nix didn’t provide fair compensation for his services. Most people, including myself weren’t even sure he’d make the 2011 roster last summer.
Coming & Going: The Bills Free Agent Class – continue reading…
 Monday was locker room clean out day for the Buffalo Bills, and most players (no, not Stevie Johnson) made themselves available to the media.
One of them was linebacker Andra Davis, who had quite the interesting second campaign in Buffalo this year. Davis began the season as the starting inside linebacker but was eventually supplanted by rookie Kelvin Sheppard. Ever the class act, Davis never griped or complained publicly. Instead, he worked as hard as possible and perhaps more importantly, served as an outstanding mentor both on and off the field for Sheppard.
The potential unrestricted free agent spoke with reporters about how grateful he is to still be playing in the NFL and made it clear he has no plans to retire at this time.
Andra Davis Has No Plans To Retire – continue reading…
 Monday was locker room clean out day for the Buffalo Bills, and most players (no, not Stevie Johnson) made themselves available to the media.
One of them was tight end Scott Chandler, who was one of the team’s biggest bright spots in 2011. Chandler entered the season with one career catch but caught 38 for 389 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games. The numbers were spectacular for a tight end by Buffalo’s standards and had he not been bothered by a leg injury near the end of the season, could’ve done even better.
The potential unrestricted free agent spoke with reporters about his season and the prospects of hitting the open market.
The following transcript comes to you courtesy of the Bills media relations department:
Chandler Would Love To Return To Buffalo – continue reading…
 It didn’t take scrolling far down my Twitter feed over the weekend to realize the majority of Buffalo Bills fans were unpleasantly surprised they knocked off the Denver Broncos Saturday in rather dominant fashion, 40-14. To a portion of fans, the win was really a loss in the sense that it will cost the organization at least a few draft slots come next April.
I mean, the Bills are already eliminated from the postseason and a win is something the draft war room may come to regret in 2012, no?
You shouldn’t feel that way.
Listen, I’m not saying a draft pick inside the top 10 wouldn’t have been nice, but to me it was far more important for this team to finally get back on the right track. After a promising seven weeks followed by a disastrous two months, the Bills were a team in dire need of feeling good about themselves. The victory over Denver accomplished just that. Buffalo faced a team that had plenty to play for, seemingly had all the momentum and intangibles to send the Bills to an eighth straight loss but to be perfectly honest, the underdog Bills smacked Tim Tebow and his teammates in the mouth repeatedly.
Bills Finally Back On Right Track: Random Smatterings – continue reading…
 It’s rare that Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson speaks publicly these days and when he does, you can bet money its usually with Associated Press reporter John Wawrow. Thursday was no exception as Wilson commented on several topics. While the meat-and-potatoes of Wawrow’s piece centered around Wilson’s interest in continuing the Toronto series beyond 2012, his comments about quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick seemed telling to say the least.
Like him or not, it appears set in stone Fitzpatrick will continue to be the starting quarterback beyond just this season.
Wilson blamed injuries and a lack of supporting cast around him for the quarterback’s miserable second half struggles that have seen him toss 12 interceptions during the Bills’ seven-game losing streak.
Wilson Makes Clear Fitz Is His Guy – continue reading…
 The Buffalo Bills are abysmal and don’t expect to win anymore. Hey, I didn’t say it; Chris Kelsay did (well the second part anyway.) In front of their less than capacity home crowd against a team they badly wanted revenge on, the Bills were out-hit, out-classed and most importantly, out-scored Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, 30-23 in a game not as close as the final scored indicated.
Miami safety Jeremiah Bell said following their first meeting last month that the Bills essentially laid down to the Dolphins. Allegedly, Buffalo used it as extra motivation this past week in preparation for the rematch. Maybe next time Bell should say that the Bills are a terrible, embarrassing product to all of Western New York and their fans around the world.
Would it really have mattered? This team needs a lot more than just bulletin board material. Right now, they’re simply powerless to do anything about verbal barbs.
Bills Lose Again: The Good, Bad & Ugly – continue reading…
 For Buffalo Bills fans too young to remember, there once was a time when Buffalo vs. Miami week was the only that mattered to people in Western New York. Obviously, that’s pretty much gone now, especially this year with the Bills officially out of the AFC playoff race and Miami out even longer, which makes this week’s game in Orchard Park have a lethargic feeling.
However, there was one intriguing storyline that got the fans’ juices flowing over the past few days— the thought that Matt Moore’s injury would equate to former Bills quarterback J.P. Losman under center for Miami against his old team.
Reportedly, that’s now gone too.
Report: Moore, Not Losman Expected To Start vs Bills – continue reading…
 I like Stevie Johnson. He’s charismatic, personable, colorful and highly opinionated. More importantly he’s a heck of a football player. He’s far and away been the most productive Buffalo Bills wide receiver over the past two years and his numbers place him in the upper echelon of receivers in the league.
Unfortunately he’s also his worst enemy, beginning last year with his “why so serious” t-shirt homage to Chad Ocho Cinco and Terrell Owens, which was a precursor for the overtime disaster against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Well, maybe it’s time he did get serious.
Time For Johnson To “Be So Serious” – continue reading…
 Good news for the Buffalo Bills as they prepare to face the New York Jets in a key AFC showdown this Sunday. Wide receiver Donald Jones is participating at practice today and told WGR550 reporter Sal Capaccio that he’s ready to go against of the Jets—as of right now.
The addition of Jones back to the passing game would provide another weapon for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Jones has 16 receptions for 174 yards and a touchdown in a little over four games this season, including his five catch, 101 yard effort against the New England Patriots.
Jones hasn’t played since injuring his ankle early in the first quarter during Buffalo’s victory over Philadelphia. The Bills have used a wide receiver by committee approach to replacing him in the lineup since the injury, including running back C.J. Spiller getting several reps with Jones out. With Darrelle Revis likely to be matched up against Stevie Johnson for much of the day, Jones could have an opportunity for a big game in his return.
 If you paid any mind to nearly every preseason prognosticator (this one included, sadly) you’d surely have been more inclined to think the Buffalo Bills would be closer to the Andrew Luck sweepstakes come next April than an AFC playoff spot in roughly two more months. But every season the NFL has Cinderella teams and low and behold, the Bills’ glass slipper has been as shiny as anyone.
In defense of all the armchair critics, it was excruciatingly easy to write off the Bills before the season even started. They weren’t very good last year—unless you consider four wins in 2010 an achievement, and general manager Buddy Nix didn’t exactly set the league on notice with marque free agent additions. To make matters worse, the Bills looked awful through most of training camp and even worse for a majority of the preseason. The offensive line depth was so bad the team cut three active reserves from last year following their preseason finale.
Fortunately for the organization, games are played on the field and not newspapers, websites and blogs. The Bills are 5-2 and quite frankly, a couple of plays away from being undefeated. In the process they got the colossal monkey off their back by finally beating New England, forced Tom Brady and Michael Vick into four interceptions apiece, and have one of the most explosive offenses in the league on the other side of the ball.
Buffalo Bills: Five Biggest Surprises – continue reading…
 Sadly, no one is above falling victim to crime in this day and age— not even professional football players. Just ask former Buffalo Bills running back and local product Jehuu Caulcrick.
The 28-year old former high school star at Clymer had his truck burglarized Tuesday in broad daylight. According to Caulcrick via Twitter, his GPS and a diamond necklace were stolen.
Caulcrick led Clymer to four consecutive Section VI Class D division championships in high school and is Western New York’s all-time leading high school rusher with 6,559 yards. After high school he went on to star at Michigan State and was a team captain by his senior season.
Caulcrick went undrafted in 2008 and spent time on the practice squads of the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers before eventually signing with the hometown Bills last year. He had one rush for two yards in two games last season and was one of the team’s final cuts this past September.
Here is a photo of Caulcrick’s burglarized car, which appeared late Tuesday afternoon on his Twitter. We’re trying to reach Caulcrick for comment and reaction following this senseless crime and will bring more details as they become available.
**UPDATE** I got the chance to speak with Caulcrick. His truck was burglarized in the parking lot next to his place on Pearl Street, near the Pearl Street Grill. There is a parking lot attendant there and it’s a busy area, so this just reeks of dirty suspicions. Obviously, we’re hopeful the dirtbag(s) that did this are caught and brought to justice.
 When it comes to the Buffalo Bills, Fred Jackson is labeled “Mr. Versatility” for his ability to be a huge weapon in both the passing and running game. Perhaps it’s time for Jackson to share his much-deserved label with a teammate who’s also quietly doing it all— offensive lineman Andy Levitre.
Like many other players on the team, it was easy to worry about Levitre during training camp and the preseason. He got off to such a slow start in camp that he temporarily lost his starting left guard gig to Chad Reinhart. But since the season started Levitre’s not only been fine at guard, but performed at a Pro-Bowl level through five and a half games, being largely responsible for Jackson running wild early in the season.
Injuries to left tackles Demetrius Bell and rookie Chris Hairston forced Bills head coach Chan Gailey to move Levitre over to left tackle and his first start of the season there last Sunday against Washington, Levitre was outstanding. His play against Pro Bowler Brian Orakpo was a big reason the Bills offense was firing on all cylinders Sunday… and it didn’t go unnoticed by Gailey on Monday morning either.
Levitre Showing Off His Versatility – continue reading…
 Now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is signed to a long-term deal with the Buffalo Bills, many expect general manager Buddy Nix’s next major negotiation to be with wide receiver Stevie Johnson, whose in the final year of his contract and could become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
According to a report by Mike Florio or Pro Football Talk however, the sides aren’t currently negotiating. Florio cites a source that says the Bills have not renewed contract talks with the fourth-year receiver and that talks ended before the season when the sides exchanged offers and reached an impasse after failing to be close to agreeing.
Florio also writes the Bills are now likely to turn their focus towards working on extensions for kicker Rian Lindell and offensive tackle Erik Pears, both also in the final year of their deals.
Report Says Bills, Johnson Aren’t Talking Extension – continue reading…
 To use the roster spot vacated by Shawne Merriman being placed on Injured Reserve Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills brought back outside Antonio Coleman and signed him to the active roster. Coleman was signed off the New York Giants practice squad, which he joined following the Bills making him one of the last roster cuts in early September.
Coleman’s release from Buffalo prior to the season had been a mild surprise, given he had one of the best performances of any Bills defender during the preseason. The undrafted college free agent out of Auburn signed with Buffalo and in eight games last year, had 12 tackles. He’ll back up outside linebackers Chris Kelsay, Danny Batten and Arthur Moats.
Meanwhile Merriman announced he’ll undergo surgery to repair his Achilles. Merriman, who’s likely played his last game in Buffalo, has made just a shade under $7million from the club despite playing in just parts of five games over two seasons.
 Earlier today we talked about how the remainder of 2011 could be in jeopardy for Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams. There’s no speculation when it comes to linebacker Shawne Merriman— his season is now officially over.
Chris Brown of Bills.com reports that Merriman has been placed on Injured Reserve, effectively ending his 2011 campaign before it got a chance to get moving because his Achilles is bad again.
“Shawne has worked extremely hard, but unfortunately, his Achilles flared back up and it doesn’t appear that he will be able to return to the field anytime soon,” said Bills GM Buddy Nix to Brown. “So we felt it was in the best interest of our team and for Shawne to put him on I-R.”
Shawne Merriman Placed On Injured Reserve – continue reading…
In a move that probably has Buffalo Bills fans thinking the Miami Dolphins are looking for some Andrew Luck sweepstakes should starting quarterback Matt Moore go down to injury, the winless and hapless Dolphins have signed former Buffalo signal caller J.P. Losman to replace Sage , who was placed on Injured Reserve.
Losman has thrown just one pass in the NFL since he lost his starting job to Trent Edwards with the Bills in 2008. Since that time he’s temporarily bounced around with Seattle and Oakland as well as spending time in the UFL and has been out of the league since the start of the 2011 season. As a starter in Buffalo, Losman compiled an unimpressive 10-23 record.
This means when the Bills face Miami upcoming on the schedule (twice), they could be just one hard hit of Moore away from seeing Losman line up against them. Something tells me Bills fans would enjoy seeing that.
 The Buffalo Bills return from their bye this week to face off in Toronto against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. If the Bills think they’ve got some injury problems, they got nothing on their upcoming opponent.
The Redskins were already a mess on the injury front and following their loss at Carolina on Sunday, are even in rougher shape. Starting running back Tim Hightower injured his knee and may be lost for the rest of the season. Hightower hurt the knee early in the third quarter after he already gained 88 yards on the ground. Washington also lost wide receiver Santana Moss to a fractured hand in the loss. Moss has 25 catches for 301 yards and two touchdowns this season. Lastly, Washington likely lost starting linebacker London Fletcher for the showdown in Toronto and probably beyond. Fletcher injured his hamstring Sunday.
Washington has already dealt with severe injury problems before the Carolina loss yesterday, their third loss over the last four games. Starting left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Chris Cooley are all injured and will not play against Buffalo.
Of course, Buffalo has little sympathy for Washington when it comes to injuries. Kyle Williams has already been ruled out of Sunday’s contest with a foot problem. Demetrius Bell is iffy to return at left tackle after missing the past one and a half games and his replacement, Chris Hairston injured his ankle against the New York Giants and will miss a couple of weeks. Linebackers Chris Kelsay and Shawne Merriman both missed the New York game but are hoping to return this week, and wide receiver Donald Jones is still a couple of weeks from returning.
Still, Buffalo appears to have a big advantage when it comes to healthy bodies going into this game. They need to take advantage, as this is a game they’re expected to win.
 There’s a lot for fans of the Buffalo Bills to feel good about after six games. The team sits at 4-2 and is the middle of what’s shaping up to be an exciting AFC playoff race. One thing, however, that has many riled up is the sudden emergence of Aaron Maybin as a playmaking force—with the New York Jets.
Maybin, the 11th overall pick of the Bills in 2009 that turned out to be one of the biggest busts in franchise history, was cut early in the preseason and has clearly found a productive home in New York. Maybin had a key first quarter sack in the Jets win over San Diego Sunday and now has three sacks and three forced fumbles in just four games with New York. The Bills as a team only have four sacks in six games.
It’s certainly hard to blame the Bills for throwing in the towel on Maybin after two seasons. The coaching staff didn’t consider him good enough to get on the field despite having one of the worst defenses in the league over the past two years. He failed to generate a sack or cause a turnover during his entire tenure in Buffalo. But with Maybin becoming a key role player for New York, it poses the question if Maybin was badly coached and misused during his time as a Bill, or was the pressure of being a high pick simply too much to handle?
Maybin Enjoying Turnaround In New York – continue reading…
 A slow NFL news day got a little more notable Wednesday afternoon when Drew Rosenhaus, agent for wide receiver Terrell Owens declared his client 100% healthy and ready to play for a team right now. That’s a big deal for the 37-year old, who underwent ACL knee surgery early this summer. Naturally, Buffalo Bills fans immediately began speculation… if not hope that the Bills would look into Owens returning with the team he played for in 2009, when he had 55 catches for 829 yards and five touchdowns.
From a purely strategic standpoint, it doesn’t seem like the dumbest idea ever, at least not on the surface. The Bills have shown over the past few weeks they could use a downfield threat and the wide receiving unit has been hit hard by injuries. They’ve already lost Marcus Easley and Roscoe Parrish for the season and Donald Jones for at least a few more weeks. Without question despite being past his prime, Owens is a player opposing defenses would have to account for.
However, an Owens return to Buffalo is highly unlikely as Owens at this stage of his career appears to be the polar opposite of the direction Buffalo is headed. Sure, Owens was well behaved during his time in Western New York, almost to the point of appearing robotic, but remember that despite him saying he’d be open to returning, Buddy Nix showed zero interest in re-signing him when he took over following the ‘09 season— and that was when Owens was almost two years younger.
I have little doubt Owens will soon find work somewhere in the league. Even on the decline he’s still a proven talent and surely some team will take a chance on him. However, despite the need for a deep threat so great Buffalo is toying with C.J. Spiller at wide receiver, Owens landing back in Buffalo is probably not a gamble Nix is willing to take.
But until then, I suppose you should never say never.
 A quarter of the 2011 NFL season is now in the books and to the astonishment of almost everyone, the Buffalo Bills have been one of the league’s biggest Cinderella stories–not to mention a share of first place in the AFC East.
Written for dead nearly universally before the season even started, Buffalo began with three consecutive victories, two against playoff teams from last year before finally stumbling and blowing a chance to start 4-0 in Cincinnati last Sunday.
Of course, the highlight to this point, which could prove hard to top going forward is the stunning victory over the New England Patriots, winners of the previous 15 contests between the teams. The win was even more remarkable considering the Patriots at one time led by three touchdowns and seem poised to run the Bills straight out of Orchard Park.
Aside from the dominating victory over Kansas City to start this campaign, Bills fans are quickly getting used to wild scoreboard swings going both ways. Buffalo has already come back from deficits of 18 and 21 points to earn wins while blowing a two touchdown lead against the Bengals in their lone loss.
There’s still plenty of football to be played and how the Bills will fare remains a mystery. Could this be the year Buffalo finally earns a playoff berth for the first time this millennium, or do they let the Cincinnati second half debacle tailspin into their typical pattern of devastating losses in recent years.
That remains to be seen. For now, here’s our positional report card at the quarter mark of the season, with a few individual awards for good measure.
Buffalo Bills: First Quarter Report Card – continue reading…
 Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden has earned the top spot on Brand Affinity Technologies’ monthly ranking of Rising Sports Stars. This special NFL-only edition of the list identifies football players with the most significant leaps in popularity during the previous 30 days – a solid indicator of early-season buzz as standout players emerge. McFadden led the league with 393 rushing yards in September, and has turned heads with plays such as a 70-yard touchdown run in the Raiders’ victory against the Jets.
Buffalo Bills teammates Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson round out the top three with strong performances as leaders in the AFC East with [3] wins, including a stunning victory over the New England Patriots during week 3 of the season. The full list and additional details are available at: www.brandaffinity.net/RisingStars/October2011.
“Darren McFadden’s popularity has jumped 46 percent over the past month, and we expect marketers as well as fans will take notice,” said Ryan Steelberg, CEO of Brand Affinity Technologies. “Our ranking helps identify hot talent at a point where they hold tremendous respect and influence among sports fans, but before they appear on cereal boxes. The return on investment for companies partnering with athletes at this stage is consistently high.”
Fitzpatrick, Jackson secure #2 and #3 on Rising Sports Stars list – continue reading…
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Twitter. Facebook. Look at me. Look at her. Look at him. Look at us. But seriously, look at me.
The Buffalo Bills were off practice Tuesday following their bye week, but potentially significant news is emergency on the injury front regarding Kyle Williams and his injured foot.
