Buffalo Bills' Injuries Require More Shuffling to Starting Lineup

As the Buffalo Bills enter final preparations for their Week Eight home contest against the Houston Texans, injuries are continuing to be a major factor in the Bills' game planning.

Here are some observations along with the latest news position-by-position regarding this weekend's decisions.

Defensive Secondary

It was hoped that Donte Whitner would be returning this weekend, after missing last week's contest against Carolina. However, he continues to miss practice, and it now seems likely that he will not play this weekend. 

Terrance McGee has been banged up a little, but should be okay to play. His fellow cornerback Leodis McKelvin is out for the year. Drayton Florence and Reggie Corner have come in and played pretty decent ball. They still need to provide better run support, but that should not be a pressing issue for this particular Sunday.

Rookie safety Jairus Byrd, fresh off being named as the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Month (October), needs to be on the field full time against the pass-oriented attack of the Houston Texans, led by QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson, TE Owen Daniels, and RB Steve Slaton.

Just as he did last weekend in sliding over to help out on Carolina WR Steve Smith, expect Byrd to slide over towards Andre Johnson, wherever he is lined up. The Byrd streak (three straight games with an interception) going up against a talent like Andre Johnson (NFL's No. 1 receiver) makes for a very exciting matchup.

We should note that although Andre Johnson was hospitalized for coughing up blood last Sunday, his bruised lung is not expected to hold him out of this Sunday's game.

Who plays the other safety position for Buffalo? Bryan Scott had missed the Panthers game, but he is now back practicing with the team. George Wilson, just like fellow safety Byrd, is riding a consecutive-game interception streak. Wilson has racked up at least 10 tackles in each of the past two games.

So who do the Bills sit against Houston, Wilson or Scott, or do they rotate them so they stay fresh?

Could the Bills devise a hybrid scheme to play all three safeties—Byrd, Scott and Wilson—at the same time on obvious passing downs to try to confuse Schaub? You could let Byrd play centerfield, something he excels at, and let his instincts take over.

Linebackers

Chris Draft has seemingly pleased everyone with his play after signing on as a free agent two weeks ago. In that short period of time, he has apparently got a handle on the defensive schemes, and is pleasing the coaches with his play, leadership, and maturity.

Keith Ellison is currently ranked second in the NFL in tackles. This stat suggests several things, and the truth lies somewhere within these statements:

The Bills are on the field for too many plays every week. Somebody has to be credited with making the tackles out there, so why not Ellison?

Ellison is the only starting linebacker that is still healthy enough to have started every game.

The defensive line is letting so many running backs through that the LB's have to make more tackles than they should.

Ellison is underrated, and is really coming in to his own.

Paul Posluszny looks like he is coming around again after missing some games due to the broken arm. Had a huge play on fourth down last week when he combined with Chris Draft to stop a drive and get the ball back for the offense.

Defensive Line

Kyle Williams has a sprained knee. At least it does not sound like he needs to go under the knife, but expect that he will miss some games.

How many? Too early to tell, but for each game he is out, he will be sorely missed. Williams is one of the best interior linemen the Bills have.

So, filling his role on Sunday will be a combination of Spencer Johnson and John McCargo. Johnson made some plays last week and McCargo hasn't done anything real special yet. Hopefully one of them can step up on Sunday because the line needs to put heat on Schaub.

The whole defensive line needs to come up big on Sunday. Perry Fewell needs to devise some blitzing schemes to get in Schaub's face. If the Bills can do that, he can then let his secondary take advantage of any errant or tipped passes to create some turnovers.

The Bills are tied with the Saints for the NFL lead in interceptions. Look for them to come up with some more on Sunday, as the pass-happy Texans should be throwing the ball often at Ralph Wilson Stadium. I have not heard any weather news yet that suggests the elements will prevent the ball from being thrown all over the place.

Injuries to the Offense Impacting Sunday's Game Plan

Quarterback : Ryan Fitzpatrick will still be the man for at least one more game. How he performs at home this weekend will probably be a major factor in Dick Jauron's decision as to who his starting QB will be in the long term. 

The Bills come back after the bye week to travel to Tennessee to face the winless Titans, and there is a wide debate as to who should be the starting QB that day—Trent Edwards or Ryan Fitzpatrick?  

Many people operate under the premise that a starter should not lose his position due to injury. That axiom appears to make sense, but then you realize the Bills were 1-4 with Trent, and 2-0 with Ryan, so how much stock do you put in results? 

The decision will probably cause Dick Jauron to lose some sleep during the bye week.  

For what it is worth, Trent Edwards has already been ruled out for this Sunday due to his post-concussive injuries. Gibran Hamdan will once again be the backup, and expect Roscoe Parrish to be the emergency QB once again. 

Running Backs : Corey McIntyre has a sprained knee and will probably miss the game. On the surface, this injury would not cause many Bills fans to pause. But after a closer examination of the alternatives, consider that this is going to force the Bills' hand into doing something different. But what will they do? 

For starters, McIntyre was the only fullback on the Bills roster.

So, if you don't have a FB on the field, how do you alter the attack? Here are some options to consider, and I expect the Bills to use some combination of these:

a) A two-running back formation with Marshawn Lynch and Freddy Jackson on the field at the same time. Many fans have been wanting to see this specific alignment used, and this may be the time to finally roll out this unique look.

For example, I could see a screen pass play where most of the line swings out to one side with Marshawn set to catch the screen, taking most of the defense over to that side of the field with him. But then after Fitzpatrick fakes a toss to Marshawn, he goes back to the opposite side where Freddy Jackson is there with only one lineman and a TE left to provide an escort. 

Facing just a lone defender or two, and lots of wide open space, he could go a long way.

This is just one example of a play that makes sense with both guys on the field at the same time. When you don't use them together, this kind of play has no chance of seeing the light of day.

b) Utilizing Xavier Omon as a blocker for Lynch or Freddy, or bringing a TE back in to the backfield as an H-back. I don't know if Omon's blocking skills are sufficient to hold up in that arrangement, and Fine's blocking skills are only so-so at best. This seems like a less desirable option.

c) Go with a four receiver, one running back set. This would mean more of a short, quick passing attack. You can run draws with the one running back, or screens, or let Fitzpatrick do some pre-planned QB draws. This would also mean more snaps for players like Stevie Johnson, and could get Roscoe Parrish on the field as well.

It also means limited pass protection, so figure that the deep ball is not really an option in this arrangement, unless Texans only cares to rush three defenders. This could be a fun or interesting option with Evans, Owens, Reed, and then either Parrish or Steve Johnson as your fourth receiver.

Another thought would be to set up trip receivers on one side, and then isolate either Terrell or Lee as a single receiver on the opposite side. Just think of the possibilities with that kind of set. This would allow receivers to take advantage of their ability to run with the ball after the catch, as Lee Evans did on the quick slant for the touchdown against the Jets.

d) Maximum pass protection with two running backs and a tight end. Employ only two wide outs, looking for the occasional home run ball, and if nothing is there, have either Marshawn or Freddy slide out as a last resort on the swing pass.

Whatever Alex Van Pelt decides to do, he has to come up with a scheme that will generate longer drives and more time for the offense to stay on the field. Better overall production on first and second downs would go a long way towards making that happen, as well as being less predictable.

Tight Ends

The concussion that Shawn Nelson suffered against the Jets has now turned in to bad migraine headaches. Nelson has not practiced this week, so is probably not going to suit up. That means with Nelson out, and Derek Schouman already out for the year, the Bills only have Derek Fine and practice squad activated TE Jonathan Stupar as options.

Stupar almost came up with a nice long catch last weekend off of a Fitzpatrick scramble, but the defender hit him with a perfectly timed collision and jarred the ball away. Fine did recover a key fumble on a special teams play, but the TE position has not resulted in much production since early on this season.

Nelson did score a touchdown in Week One, but has not been on the field as much as the Bills were hoping. He needs to come on in the second half of the season and give the quarterback another option.

Wide Receivers

No major injuries to report.

Terrell Owens had a press conference that demonstrated that he is at least aware and appreciative of the issues that the offense is faced with. He is not pleased with his personal performance, and seemed to be in reasonable spirits in spite of all the naysayers that are concluding that the end for T.O. is near or is already here.  

I gained more respect for T.O. after he made an admission in the press conference. When T.O. signed, the city of Buffalo awarded him with a key to the city. In return, Owens promised a trip to the playoffs and boasted that he would personally score 10 touchdowns.

Terrell admitted that if he does not come up with the 10 touchdowns he promised,  that he would give back the key to the city. Maybe this year is more about his personal growth and less about his personal achievements. Perhaps it has been a good thing for Terrell's ego to be a little more removed from the national spotlight, and as a result, he has matured in the process.

James Hardy is getting closer to be ready to play, but it won't happen before the bye week.

We were expecting to see and hear more from Stevie Johnson by now, but it hasn't happened yet. Look for the Bills to get him more playing time as they need to find wide receivers that are going to make plays on a consistent basis outside of Lee Evans.

Offensive Line

Not much news to report, but Jonathan Scott is getting closer to being ready to play again. So, that leads us to question if the Bills should insert Scott back in to the starting lineup, or whether they should continue to let the rookie Jamon Meredith play at tackle and gain some experience.

Based on how Julius Peppers handled Meredith last weekend, I would say that the Bills will go with Scott and let Meredith rotate in and out as needed.

That appears to cover the latest injury news. Please take a second to vote on the offensive scheme you want to see the Bills employ this weekend, if Corey McIntyre can't go.