Regime change in the National Football League is many things to many different people. For fans, seeing their favorite team begin anew is both cathartic and challenging to one’s patience. To ownership, it’s pretty similar. With coaches, it’s all about the opportunity to not only build a team from scratch and try to build a consistent winner, but about making a name for yourself as well.
It’s very different for players. Take the current Buffalo Bills, for instance. Buddy Nix is the new GM, while Chan Gailey is the new head coach. The team will be making massive changes on both sides of the ball, particularly defensively, where they’re switching to the 3-4 alignment. With those changes, many players could quickly be out of jobs. Bills players such as Chris Kelsay, Kyle Williams, John McCargo and others may be released or see their roles change drastically under the new regime. Many more players are in the same boat.
Regime change brings opportunity for young Bills – 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…
We wanted to start this series earlier but as only the Buffalo Bills can do, an overdrawn head coach search consumed your thoughts as much as it did ours.
Now that we at least know Ralph Wilson Chan Gailey will be calling the shots, at long last we can begin to examine the roster of which he inherits. As we’ve stated multiple times over the past few weeks; Vince Lombardi, George Halas or Bill Walsh could’ve taken the job and it wouldn’t matter until they find more talented players.
This is the first of a 10-part series that will take a look at the current makeup of the Bills roster by position, identifying the core talent and exploring where they need the most help. Consider yourself forewarned; most sections won’t be appealing.
Today we commence with a look at the quarterbacks.
Bills Roster Review: Quarterbacks – continue reading…
At the very least, Brian Brohm will take one step up the Buffalo Bills quarterback ladder this week.
According to more than one source, Trent Edwards has suffered a significant high ankle sprain that will force him to miss the rest of the season. He suffered the injury while being sacked in the fourth quarter against New England on Sunday.
The injury moves Brohm to number two on the depth chart. We won’t know until later in the week if he’ll be starting when Buffalo travels to Atlanta on Sunday. That will depend on the health of Ryan Fitpatrick, who’s also suffering from an ankle injury, although it’s not believed to be as severe as Edwards’.
Also, staring cornerback Terrence McGee will be forced to have surgery this week on the shoulder he injured Sunday and will be placed on injured reserve.
It’s already been reported Bryan Scott suffered a concussion last Sunday, making it highly doubtful he’ll play again this year.
If all three players go on injured reserve it would bring the total number of Bills on the list up to 19.
If it wasn’t already a foregone conclusion, Trent Edwards’ season and perhaps career as the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback was quietly nailed shut this afternoon. As the Bills returned to practice to prepare for a trip to Kansas City this Sunday, Ryan Fitzpatrick remained as the first string quarterback. As has been the case recently, he took the vast majority of first team reps at practice, a sure fire sign he’ll be under center come Sunday.
It should come as no surprise, though Buffalo Bills head coach Perry Fewell said three weeks ago upon giving the starting job to Fitzpatrick that he gave them the best chance to win that particular game (Jacksonville), and that he would evaluate the starter on a week-to-week basis with the guy he felt was best suited to get the Bills a victory getting the nod.
Further Evidence Edwards Is Done – continue reading…
After being as unobtrusive as a sick child through half his first, and likely only season in Buffalo, Terrell Owens has made some noise on the field the past few weeks. He has 14 catches for 291 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his last two games.
Uninterestingly enough, Owens, known as much for his mouth than his hands, has been utterly robotic with the media. “I’m just going with the plays that are called” is about the most intriguing sound byte he’s given us this season.
His season has turned around on the field, and after Tuesday so has his withdrawn press conferences off it. If Owens is only here for the next five games, he’s ready to make every moment count, whether it’s on the football field or in front of the podium.
Thank God.. Owens Finally Done Mincing Words – continue reading…
I’ve learned that Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking the first team snaps in practice today, making it very likely he’ll be the starting quarterback this Sunday when the Bills travel to take on Tennessee.
Also, Chris Brown from Bills.com reports that the following players are not participating in practice today:
WR Roscoe Parrish. WR Justin Jenkins, CB Terrence McGee (he was working on the side with the training staff), CB Ashton Youboty, FS Jairus Byrd, LB Keith Ellison, OT Demetrius Bell, OT Jonathan Scott (absent) and DT Marcus Stroud.
Fitzpatrick Back In As Starter – continue reading…
NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora, citing a league source, is reporting that the Buffalo Bills are expected to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback in their Week 11 game in Jacksonville.
Trent Edwards, the team’s opening-day starter, was pulled in favor of Fitzpatrick at the end of the team’s Week 10 loss to Tennessee despite a solid first-half showing from the offense. Fitzpatrick has been at the helm for two of Buffalo’s three wins this season, though he has yet to throw for more than 123 yards in a game as a Bill.
For Edwards, this move represents the low point in a career that showed early signs of promise, but quickly fizzled to mediocrity. The Bills are 3-10 in the last 13 games that Edwards has completed. Edwards returned to the lineup last week after recovering from his second career concussion, but his return didn’t last a full four quarters.
Trent Edwards Getting Benched for Fitzpatrick – continue reading…
Call this ripping the band-aid off quickly, or pinching your nose to avoid the bad taste. I typically run film reviews on Tuesdays, but I couldn’t force myself to watch a second of Buffalo Bills football on an otherwise valuable Monday evening. So this is the short, get-it-over-with-quickly version of what we usually do on Tuesdays. I sincerely doubt many of you will mind, given the sad state of affairs that was the Bills’ 41-17 loss yesterday to the Tennessee Titans.
To discuss (briefly): Trent Edwards and the quarterbacks, Alex Van Pelt, the offensive line, John McCargo, the linebackers, Jairus Byrd and Dick Jauron.
Flim Session: Titans 41, Bills 17 – continue reading…
Dick Jauron met with the media this afternoon, a day after the Buffalo Bills 41-17 fiasco in Tennessee that saw them give up 24 unanswered fourth quarter points.
On the injury front, Demetrius Bell suffered a knee injury yesterday and Ashton Youboty left with a high ankle sprain.
Bell will see a doctor again today after seeing the team’s physician yesterday, but Jauron sounded anything but assured he‘d back soon.
“We’re not optimistic about that at this point.” Jauron said., who also indicated they’ll bring in some free agents to work out this week.
Jauron Hints At Changes In Presser – continue reading…
When it comes to meltdowns, Amy Winehouse has nothing on these Buffalo Bills.
It was the defining play of the game and for the Bills, their season. In the fourth quarter Sunday of a deadlocked game with Tennessee, the defense faced a third down and goal from just inside the two. Hold the Titans to a field goal and momentum was one their side. Allow a touchdown and the game is likely over.
Chris Johnson took a handoff from Vince Young and went smack dab into Bryan Scott and Paul Posluszny. Two guys went down. Johnson wasn’t one of them. He ran through both Bills defenders, into the end zone, and just like that the Bills were down a touchdown with 10:44 remaining to play.
From there the Bills did what has been customary this season. They folded like a lawn chair. A Titans field goal and two interception returns for touchdowns closed out the game, as the Bills gave up and gave out in their 41-17 defeat.
Latest Meltdown Has Bills’ Season On Verge Of Imploding – continue reading…
In case you missed it, here’s the short, up-to-date version of the latest on the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback “situation” (or lack thereof): Trent Edwards has returned to full practice during the Bills’ bye week, and barring an unforeseen setback in his recovery from a Week 6 concussion, he is expected to start in Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who guided the Bills to three abysmal offensive performances and, curiously, a 2-1 record in essentially three full games as the starter, will return to backup duties.
Edwards will very likely, therefore, resume a Bills career that has reached new lows after the team lost four of his first five starts this season. This is a pivotal season for Edwards, not just because of the circumstances with the team, but because it’s his third season in the NFL. That’s typically when you know what you have in a player. Last I checked, that third season is not yet over for Edwards.
Examining Trent Edwards’ steady decline in Buffalo – 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…
No matter how vehemently the most optimistic of Bills fans may try to deny, the New Orleans Saints are going to be a very difficult team to beat. Yes, they faced two newly christened starting quarterbacks (Kelvin Kolb, Matt Stafford) in their first two games. In part, that’s why they enjoyed the benefit of seven turnovers in those contests. But free gifts or not this is an offense that knows how to move the ball and score a lot of points. The effectiveness of the Saints’ aerial attack combined with a more forceful defense than last year’s version makes beating this team a thorny proposition.
I can guarantee there are more than five things that Buffalo needs to do to beat the Saints, but without stating the obvious (i.e. John Madden was not consulted), these five are most vital in this reporter’s eyes.
Five Ways to Silence The Saints – continue reading…
