Bleacher Report - Articles by Thomas Castelone

Roscoe Parrish May Be Slotted for a Big Year in Buffalo

Thomas Castelone — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:02:47 -0400

During the Bills three-day mini-camp in early June, Roscoe Parrish made it clear that he was frustrated in how he’s being utilized in the Bills offense.

Parrish is one of the most dangerous and explosive return men in the NFL, but the Bills have used him on and off as a receiver since drafting him as the 55th overall pick in the 2005 draft.

Parrish’s main role in Buffalo has been coming out of the slot in three-receiver sets, but ESPN’s John Clayton reported in April that the Bills were shopping him to other teams just before the draft.

The report said that Buffalo was looking to move Parrish because they were deep at receiver. However, the fact is that for whatever reason, the former University of Miami standout has never been able to make the same impact at receiver that he has in the return game.

In four seasons with the Bills, Parrish has caught 97 passes for 1,052 yards and five touchdowns.

Those aren’t terrible numbers, but one would think that a player with Parrish’s elusiveness in the open field would find the end zone more often than roughly once a season.

In contrast, Parrish has three touchdowns as a return man. His career-high in receptions came back in 2007 when he caught 35 passes for 352 yards.

It’s kind of a catch-22 situation for Parrish and the Bills. Parrish is certainly a talented individual, and it’s understandable that he wants to be on the field more often.

However, the numbers don’t back him up, because when he is on the field, he doesn’t always produce.

Parrish does have the support of one very important member of the Bills: quarterback Trent Edwards. Here is what Edwards told Buffalobills.com during mini-camp about Parrish:

“He’s one of best slot receivers we have. It’s just a matter of putting him in a position to win and putting him in a position where he’s comfortable and he understands what he’s supposed to do. And that comes with practice, that comes with getting him his reps in practice, and then actually performing in the game.

“He’s one of the most exciting guys on our team, so we need to find a way to get the ball in his hands, and I’m working with Turk (Schonert), I’m working with Alex (Van Pelt) to try to come up with ways we can do that. That’s definitely a weapon we need to take advantage of.”

If you read what Edwards said, it speaks volumes about Parrish’s situation in Buffalo. Edwards is basically saying both sides need to do better.

The coaching staff needs to do a better job of putting Parrish in position to make plays, but on the other hand, Parrish needs to go out and actually produce more in game situations.

I think Edwards summed it up perfectly. Parrish is one of the most explosive players on the Bills roster, so it makes no sense not to take advantage of that kind of game-breaking talent on offense. As a quarterback, Edwards is just telling it like it is.

Edwards sees what kind of weapon he has in Parrish and he wants that weapon on the field where he can utilize him. Now it’s time for Parrish to walk the walk and go out and make plays.

The Bills brought in Terrell Owens this offseason, and Lee Evans remains one of the most underrated players in the NFL. The duo should give Buffalo one of the top receiving tandems in the NFL.

Josh Reed is consistent, if not spectacular, and Stevie Johnson showed some potential at the end of last season. Not to mention last year’s second-round pick James Hardy, along with improving Justin Jenkins, so the Bills certainly aren’t hurting at the receiver position.

Yet none of those players possess the quickness and elusiveness that Parrish brings to the slot. Parrish says he wants a bigger role in the offense, and the Bills say they will do what’s best for the team.

If both sides get their way, I suspect Roscoe Parrish will have a big year catching passes out of the slot in the Bills offense.

Why Jairus Byrd Is Just What the Doctor Ordered in Buffalo

Thomas Castelone — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:18:27 -0400

The Buffalo Bills have struggled to take the ball away from opponents the past couple of years.

How do you fix the problem?

Draft one of the Pac 10's biggest ballhawks over the last three seasons, that's how.

The Bills selected Oregon CB Jairus Byrd in the second round and announced right away that they would be moving him over to safety, a position Buffalo has been searching to find playmakers at for some time.

If Byrd plays for the Bills the same way he played in college, the Bills search for a playmaking safety is over.

Byrd ranks second all-time in Oregon history with 17 career interceptions. A majority of his picks came at crucial points in games and swung momentum to the Ducks' side.

These are the kind of game-changing plays the Bills were sorely missing from their secondary a year ago.

Last season the Bills starting safeties and top four corners combined for a measly six interceptions. By not turning the ball over, that kept the defense on the field and wore the unit down throughout the game and as the season went on.

It's imperative that the Bills start creating more turnovers and that's the main reason Byrd now calls Orchard Park home.

Besides his knack for always being around the ball and making big plays, Byrd possesses another quality the Bills look for in a player: versatility.

The Bills will initially try Byrd at free safety but much like they have with Donte Whitner, you could see Buffalo line him up at strong safety, nickel corner and even boundary corner.

When a team selects a player like Byrd, it's almost like they are getting four players in one.

In this day of the salary caps and trying to fit 53 guys on a roster, players with the versatility of Byrd and Whitner give teams a lot of bang for their buck.

I'm not going to compare Byrd to a potential Hall of Famer like Ed Reed. The guy hasn't even played a down in the NFL yet. In college though, Byrd was that kind of player.

Whenever the Ducks needed a big play or whenever they needed a player to step up and change momentum, Byrd was the guy who always seemed to find a way to make a play.

If he can come up with a couple of big plays during his rookie season, the Bills will have gotten their money's worth.

It's just another day at the office for Jairus Byrd.

2009 Preview: Texas Longhorns

Thomas Castelone — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:59:29 -0400

Over the next couple of months, I am going to try and preview roughly 20 teams for the upcoming college football season. Because of time constraints and the fact that there are so many teams in CFB, I simply can’t do them all, so I will pick 20 teams that I find intriguing heading into the fall.

Some will be title contenders, while others could be up-and-comers looking to secure a bowl bid for the first time in years (SMU, perhaps?).

So let’s get things started with a squad that thought they should have been playing for a National Championship last season and is gearing up for another title run once again in 2009.

Texas Longhorns

The Good

Some teams in the Big 12 will come back to earth this season and won’t be quite as proficient on offense as they were a year ago. The Longhorns won’t be one of those teams.

Led by the precision passing of Colt McCoy, Texas will put up points-a-plenty once again this fall.

McCoy’s ability to find the open receiver and make plays when the pocket breaks down will once again make him a legit Heisman Trophy contender and the leader of one of the most prolific offenses in the nation.

McCoy has shown he’s a multi-threat weapon as well. He led the Longhorns in rushing last season but that’s something Texas would like to see change.

The Longhorns averaged 4.3 yards per carry in 2008, which ranked sixth in the Big 12. Texas is hoping someone from the group of Cody Johnson, Vondrell McGee, or Foswhitt Whitaker can step up and become a star. That remains to be seen.

Also keep an eye on highly recruited freshman Chris Whaley. If none of the other backs are getting the job done early in the season, Mack Brown could turn the reins over to Whaley.

Brown and the Longhorns coaches believe the running game won’t be a liability and with the way Texas throws the ball all over the field, it probably won’t be.

Although, the main goal remains that someone other than McCoy lead the team in rushing at the end of the year.

Luckily for McCoy, the NCAA granted Jordan Shipley a sixth year of eligibility, allowing the Texas signal caller’s favorite receiver to return for a final title run.

Shipley leads a deep group of pass catchers that includes Brandon Collins, Malcolm Williams and James Kirkendoll. Needless to say, McCoy will have a plethora of targets to choose from this season.

The offensive line was inconsistent at times last season but was bailed out thanks to McCoy’s ability run away from the rush. However, left tackle Adam Ulatoski is a stud and he anchors a unit that the Texas coaching staff expects to be much improved this fall.

The Bad

As good as Texas’ offense was last season the Longhorns still didn’t win a National Title. That’s because Texas had to play defense too.

The Longhorns’ defense bordered on laughable at times last year. They finished 104th against the pass, allowing 259 yards per game.

Texas finished 113th in interceptions, recording just six all season. Longhorn fans know if that number was seven their team would have been playing for it all against Florida.

Even when Texas’ defense did rank high in a category the numbers were inflated.

Because teams were so busy passing all over the Longhorns they ranked third in the nation against the run. However, any time a team wanted to run against the Longhorns they did just that.

Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Ohio State—all power based running teams—racked up over 200 yards on the ground against Texas. So basically the Longhorns were an equal opportunity defense.

As bad as the secondary was at times in 2008, the coaching staff expects it to be an area of strength this season with all four starters returning.

Corners Aaron Williams and Chykie Brown, along with safeties Earl Thomas Blake Gideon, have had good individual performances but now the foursome needs to put it all together and play well as a unit.

The next defensive star for the Longhorns is OLB Sergio Kindle. The speed rusher had 10 sacks last year and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said he’s going to line up Kindle all over the place to try and confuse offenses.

Kindle will need to have a big year because the Longhorns must replace three starting defensive linemen, including first-round NFL draft pick Brian Orakpo.

The key to the defense is going to be the play interior of the line. The Horns got pushed around too often last season and Muschamp wants his unit to become more physical at the point of attack and that starts up front with the two tackles.

Lamarr Houston is moving over to the nose and Kheeston Randle will step into his spot at defensive tackle. Ben Alexander looked good in the spring and he’s expected to be in the rotation as well but the Horns aren’t very deep at tackle should one of these guys go down.

The bottom line is this side of the ball must step up and avoid getting pushed around by the Oklahoma’s and Oklahoma State’s of the world because those teams can score with the Longhorns, so defensive stops will be crucial.

Schedule

Barring an upset of monumental proportions, the Longhorns are a lead-pipe lock to start the year off 5-0. Then things get a bit more challenging.

There is the tussle with OU, followed by road tests at Missouri, Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Texas A@M. Kansas also visits Austin on Nov. 21.

Still, this is as good as it gets for a title contender, especially considering there are no serious challenges outside of the conference.

Bottom Line

There is no question that the Longhorns have the talent on offense to compete for a National Championship but I see too many question marks to believe Texas is the No. 2 team in the country heading into the regular season.

While today’s brand of CFB is a little different and teams can win it all with a great offense and some defense, you still need to play SOME defense.

Texas showed last year against Texas Tech that no lead is safe against them so as long as Colt McCoy is healthy, they will always be in games.

The Horns also have an excellent special teams unit, as Shipley is a game-changing return man and punter Justin Tucker averaged 45.2 yards a kick in 2008.

However, the game against Oklahoma and a trip to Stillwater are going to be too much in my opinion if this defense doesn’t get a lot better in a hurry.

This is a very talented team but coming into the year I think they are a little overrated due to question marks surrounding the defense and running game.