It’s fair to say that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch had a terrible 2009. That’s not 2009 season – it’s 2009 the full calendar year. He was arrested; he was suspended by the NFL for three games; most importantly to his future, he rushed for only 450 yards at 3.8 yards per carry, missed out on rushing for 1,000 yards for the first time in his NFL career, and lost his starting job to Fred Jackson.
Thanks to that down season, Jackson’s emergence, and the constant fear that Lynch is one off-field slip-up from both punching his ticket out of the NFL for a considerable amount of time and out of Buffalo, Lynch’s name is by far the most popular amongst Bills fans when discussing possible trade opportunities. Given the fickle state of the running back position league-wide – who ever thought we’d see LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook released on consecutive days? – there’s a very strong chance the Lynch trade predictions have a high degree of accuracy, even if a deal never materializes.
Bills don’t need to trade Marshawn Lynch – continue reading…
(Admitted hot head fan/blogger Joe Pinzone AKA “JoeFromNYC” has a blueprint to solve the Buffalo Bills woes. Many won’t agree with his views–and we probably won’t either. But they’re still interesting enough to publish. This is the fourth in a series of moves he would like to see the Bills make to return to respectability)
If you were to look at the premiere dynasties in NFL history, the majority of those franchises started from the bottom of the barrel. Before the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the 70’s; they were being dominated in the 60’s. Before Joe Montana was guiding the 49ers to four championships in 8 years; they were the joke of the 70’s. Before the Bills were circling the wagons in the 90’s; they were circling down the drain in the mid 80’s. You can include the Cowboys of the 90’s in that conversation as well.
Playing Bills GM- Volume IV – continue reading…
It remains to be seen if the Buffalo Bills will soon be more competitive or descend even further into oblivion, but one thing about this team is certain; the roster turnover is going to be extreme.
There’s a slew of pending free agents, led by Terrell Owens and a cluster of mid tier to lower tier players the club won’t bring back.
Some players will get cut simply because they either don’t fit or underachieved. John McCargo, Nic Harris, Chris Ellis and Roscoe Parrish are among those prime candidates.
The following are six players that could be dealt this offseason. All contain a reasonable amount of value to other teams; even if they’re no longer needed here.
Six players the Bills could trade – continue reading…
Buddy Nix likes running backs. Or, at least, the team he last worked for before he came to Buffalo (San Diego) really likes running backs. During Nix’s tenure out west, the Chargers drafted running backs particularly well. That’s not to say that they drafted a lot of running backs; they nabbed just three in the eight years that Nix spent there. You might recognize those three names, however: LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner and Darren Sproles were all scouted by Nix.
Chan Gailey likes running backs, too. He’s worked with some of the greatest in league history, including Emmitt Smith and Jerome Bettis. Most recently, Gailey was part of a Kansas City organization that spent a third-round pick on Jamaal Charles, who exploded onto the scene with a 1,417-yard, 8-TD season in 2009 (albeit in Todd Haley’s offense, and not Gailey’s).
Bills Roster Review: Running Backs – continue reading…
Early this past week, news broke that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was facing a lawsuit stemming from his 2008 hit-and-run incident. This morning, the news gets worse on the Lynch front, as The Buffalo News is reporting that Lynch has been accused of stealing $20 from a woman in Hamburg last month.
The woman is the wife of Buffalo Police Sgt. William Crawford. Lynch allegedly took a $20 bill from the woman, and when her girlfriend confronted Lynch and asked for the money back, he threatened her.
Crawford filed a complaint against Lynch, and with the former Pro Bowl running back out of town after a disappointing 2009 season, a statement has since been given against Lynch. Crawford told the News that his wife and her friend are “terrified” of Lynch, whom he referred to as a “predator.” Crawford’s hope is that the case lands before a grand jury.
More legal trouble for Marshawn Lynch – continue reading…
The Buffalo Bills have struggled to run the ball this season. Amidst massive offensive line changes and a three-game suspension to former starting running back Marshawn Lynch at the outset of the season, the Bills have surpassed 100 rushing yards as a team in just 6 of 13 games this season, to the team’s overall offensive detriment.
Things are turning around for this unit, however. Interim head coach Perry Fewell has re-established the importance of the running game into his offensive game plans, and as a result, the Bills have rushed for over 100 yards as a team in three of Fewell’s first four games as the head man, all in the last three contests. Buffalo’s 200-yard rushing effort in yesterday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs may have been their most dominant ground performance of the season.
Bills need to keep pounding the rock – continue reading…
The Buffalo Bills have a rich tradition of fielding excellent running backs. The dynamic duo of Cookie Gilchrist and Wray Carlton helped Buffalo win consecutive AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965. O.J. Simpson set a single-season rushing record and was really the only player of note on some terrible Bills teams in the ’70s. Joe Cribbs had some outstanding seasons in the ’80s, and, of course, the gold standard is Thurman Thomas, a phenomenal all-purpose back now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Buffalo is a blue-collar city. It’s a city that prides itself on its “lunch pail” attitude – work hard, play hard, no excuses. Bills fans want their football team to embody those characteristics. Run the ball, play tough, physical defense. Winning ugly is fine, because glamor isn’t part of the fabric of this city. Perhaps that’s why running backs in particular are remembered so fondly in Buffalo.
Bills need to get their ground game going – continue reading…
In a way, it’s fitting that 2009 is the Buffalo Bills’ 50th anniversary of existence. I say that because if you’ve been around for all or even most those years, you’d be hard pressed to find more than a small handful of seasons more exasperating than this one.
Despite having sufficient talent, this is a team and an organization clearly stuck in the mud. With the exception of a certain rookie who has the same amount of interceptions as our two quarterbacks have touchdown passes, combined, nobody has played closed to their expectations.
For that, we’ve compiled our midseason list of the five Least Valuable Players (LVP). It wasn’t as easy as you think, as there were many candidates to choose from.
The Bills’ Midseason Five Least Valuable Players – continue reading…
I’ve learned today that the Bills tentative plan this week is to release wide receiver Justin Jenkins in order to make room on the roster for Marshawn Lynch.
While he was suspended for three games Lynch was not part of the 53-man roster. His return means the Bills will have to clear a spot for him on the 53, and a source tells me that person is Jenkins. A move will have to be made by Thursday at the latest.
His stay of execution however could come if the Leodis McKelvin fractured bone in his leg could cause the team to put him on injured reserve. I’m told that although head coach Dick Jauron didn’t say so, there’s a good chance
McKelvin can be gone for a long period. It’s highly unlikely they will occupy a roster spot for him if he’s to miss more than four-to-six weeks when the team is deep at the position.
Marshawn Lynch is back, but will Beast Mode be back with him?
