Buffalo Bills' Injuries Require More Shuffling to Starting Lineup

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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.

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