Bleacher Report - Articles by Matthew Zelasko

Buffalo Bills Preseason: Halfway Point

Matthew Zelasko — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:18:12 -0400

Buffalo Bills preseason is half over and things have been up and down. There have been plenty of highlights as well as lowlights. I still think that having an extra preseason game will in fact benefit such a young team, but at what cost?

Currently sitting out practices, and in some cases games, are names like Terrell Owens (toe), Fred Jackson (wrist), Aaron Schobel (elbow), Demetrius Bell (back), and Drayton Florence (knee).

Many believe that T.O. sitting is merely precautionary and that if this had occurred during the regular season he would have at most missed one game. Aaron Schobel's situation is a little more disturbing. Jauron said after the practice during which the injury occurred that, “We don’t think it’ll be a problem long, long term, but it could be a week or so, maybe more than that.”

I personally don't like the sound of that when it is about a player that missed nearly all of last season.

Drayton Florence may not even make the team even though the injury is not as bad as originally feared. Reggie Corner has impressed though, and many believe that he may supplant Ashton Youboty or Drayton Florence as the starter at nickel.

Looking ahead, though, there are some bright spots to highlight. The following are what I believe to be the five most promising things we've seen thus far in the preseason.

5. Tight End Play

Tight end was a major debate this past off season. A lot of people felt that we needed to draft Brandon Pettigrew with our number 11 pick. I was personally opposed to that idea, not because I didn't feel that Pettigrew would someday be a good tight end, but because of the players that we already had on the roster.

Now, "the Dereks'" numbers haven't been spectacular, but they have shown an ability to catch the ball and make some good blocks while helping in pass protection. Schouman has two catches for 14 yards and Fine has three catches for 18 yards.

The real story is the 2009 4th round draft pick Shawn Nelson, who has five receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown, and second year man Jonathan Stupar, who has 15 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown. Granted neither of these guys have played with or against starters, their numbers do look good.

The six foot-three inch Stupar was built to play tight end in the NFL. Shawn Nelson is looked at to become the next Pete Metzelaars. Whether or not that is true is left to be seen.

4. First Team Run Defense

The 2009 Bills run defense looks much improved from last year. With a number of tackles for a loss so far in the preseason, the defense looks poised to have a good year.

The pass rush is still struggling. Although with an improved ability to stuff runners, teams may become desperate and pass more often practically forcing the Bills to become better in the pass rush automatically. If Marcus Stroud can continue to be a dominant play on the interior this should continue.

3. Receiving Corps May Be Back Loaded

Everyone and their brother knows that the Bills picked up Terrell Owens in the off season. It was arguably the most shocking signing of the year by any NFL team.

Regardless, the Bills reserve wide outs have thus far impressed. Felton Huggins has hauled in 10 receptions for 84 yards. CJ Hawthorne has caught thee passes for 28 yards and Justin Jenkins has reeled in seven passes for 71 yards. The man who impressed many last year was Steve Johnson who so far has three receptions for 52 yards.

Johnson has the best shot at making an impact this season and his numbers are less than expected this preseason due to being out with an injury for the first two games.

Overall, I have been very impressed with these reserve players and I am looking for one, if not more, of these players to take a roster spot this season.

2. Running Backs That Aren't Named Marshawn or Freddy

If the Bills do not utilize the "running backs by committee" strategy they are fools. They have the hard running Marshawn Lynch starting week four. Fred Jackson is a home run hitter as well as a major receiving threat, but the signing of Dominic Rhodes gives them a look that can be compared to that of the 2008 New York Giants.

Add Xavier Omon, Bruce Hall, and even Corey McIntyre to that mix and you might just have too much talent. Obviously there is no such thing in the NFL as having too much talent, but this is as close as it gets. Bruce Hall and Xavier Omon have impressed me with their styles of running. Corey McIntyre reminded me of Robb Riddick, the big man the Bills once used to ice games back in the late 1980s.

Look for the Bills to use all of these backs especially during the first three games of the season while Lynch sits.

1. Pittsburgh has Linebacker U, Western New York Has Cornerback School

If anyone says the Bills haven't been able to develop cornerbacks in this league you can immediately disregard anything else they say.

Leodis McKelvin will become a premier corner in this league. Terrence McGee is a top 15 corner and Reggie Corner is the man out of nowhere. Add Ellis Lankster and you can say that the Bills have stolen two great corners out of the past two drafts.

If Jarius Byrd works out at free safety I will have to bet that the Bills secondary has the potential to become one of the premier units in this year's season.

Unfortunately for the Bills though, not everything has been good, which is to be expected in the preseason. An NFL team is always a work in progress. There have been plenty of aspects of this team that I'd be most willing to call just that.

The no huddle has shown signs of life so far and the coaching staff seems intent on implementing it throughout the 2009 season. I like that they aren't exactly trying to recreate the K-Gun offense of the early 1990s Bills teams as they just don't have the same talent.

Rather it seems that Turk Schonert simply wants to disrupt defenses and their ability to read a play at the line of scrimmage along with hurry them to get subs on the field. It has had mixed results thus far.

The offensive line has looked inexperienced and why shouldn't it? With two rookies playing two new positions it should look a little confused. I've had people ask me why we didn't just have Eric Wood play center and let Geoff Hangartner, a veteran who has played plenty of guard, do just that.

The only answer I can come up with is that the coaches do not want to put a rookie at center due to the nose tackles that we face two times a year each, Jason Ferguson, Justin Jenkins, and Vince Wilfork. The coaching staff merely wants a little more experience against these monsters, and I personally agree with them.

The Bills pass rush is still pretty nonexistent. Schobel has shown signs that he will be able to return to his all-pro form, but now he is injured again. For how long? Your guess is as good as mine.

With Aaron Maybin finally signing and practicing with the team perhaps he will add the rush necessary to get to the quarterback. Chris Ellis should get more playing time this year than Ryan Denny - just my opinion.

Things to look for/need to happen in the two final preseason games:

The Bills will continue to work on perfecting the no huddle. A lot of it comes down to Trent Edwards knowing when to hurry up and when to settle down.

The Bills need to prove that they can rush the passer in order for their secondary to continue performing the way that it has thus far. Look for Aaron Maybin, Chris Ellis, and Copeland Bryan to get extra reps as the staff needs to find something, someone to get to the quarterback.

Trent Edwards will see extra time during the next game, but the offensive line should see a ton of extra time in hopes that it can "gel".

Watch the safety situation. Bryan Scott looks great in run support, but horrendous in pass coverage. Whitner will start, but will the Bills run more three safety sets? That depends on if Jarius Byrd looks good in the next two games. Ko Simpson will make the team, but this is likely his last chance.

Buffalo Bills: Training Camp and Position Battles

Matthew Zelasko — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:09:58 -0400

Here we are. Training camp is finally upon us and as Bills fans we get to have a little hope once again, and perhaps this year our hopes and dreams of glory will not be all together crushed just yet.

Trent Edwards is entering his third season and for once in this decade a Buffalo Bills quarterback has had the same offensive coordinator both seasons he started.

Perhaps firing Dick Jauron wouldn't have been such a great thing because continuity is key in this league.

The sky is the limit with the talent that is now in the locker room, but there are still a number of position battles that must be fought during training camp.

The number one battle is less of a positional battle as it is basically the entire offensive line that needs to be solidified during this year's camp.

We can expect Langston Walker to take over for the overrated and recently departed Jason Peters at left tackle, but Walker does have some competition that might transpire as the season goes on.

I will say his name, but the talent has yet to be known fully—Demetrius Bell. A seventh round pick from a year ago turned some heads ever so slightly in last years preseason—some say enough to hint that perhaps the Bills knew what they had in him and that is the reason that they didn't want to give Peters the big payday.

Whatever the case is we will just have to wait and see during the season, as I highly doubt that Bell will have that good of a camp and preseason to take over on opening day.

Elsewhere on the offensive line are more questions that need to be answered. The Bills selected two offensive linemen on day one of this year's draft—Eric Wood and Andy Levitre—and many expect them to be day one starters.

Wood was a college center who will likely convert to a guard this season and Levitre is expected to start opposite Wood at guard.

Center will likely be shored up by recently signed Geoff Hangartner. Hangartner was a reserve center/guard for the Carolina Panthers since they drafted him in 2005.

He took over the center position in 2006 when starter Justin Hartwig was injured and has started 27 of 54 career games. He has played admirably in all starts, earning him a contract with the Bills this off season.

Last there is right tackle and this is a true position battle in some eyes.

Brad Butler is penciled in to start but might see some fight in Kirk Chambers who saw playing time last season when Jason Peters was a holdout. Chambers could also start for either Eric Wood or Andy Levitre if they do not impress in camp and the preseason.

Another interesting position battle to keep an eye on during training camp and the preseason is at the weak-side linebacker position between incumbent starter Keith Ellison, rookie Nic Harris, and second-year backup Alvin Bowen.

While Ellison has the most experience it is a commonly held belief that someone needs to take over as he has not exactly been the ideal candidate for the job. This will be, to me, the most interesting position battle of the season.

A close second as far as my interest goes would definitely have to be defensive end, particularly left defensive end.

Buffalo spent its first first-round draft pick on Penn State DE Aaron Maybin and have high hopes for him as the Bills pass rush ranked near the bottom all of last season.

While much of the reason the pass rush was so terrible was because the Bills were missing pro-bowl DE Aaron Schobel for much of the season, some of the blame can also be placed on the ineffectiveness of starting LE Chris Kelsay.

Look for Maybin to compete to take away Keslay's starting spot on the defensive line. We cannot forget Chris Ellis, the third round pick from a year ago, who will, along with Copeland Bryan, compete for what will likely be a second-string spot at DE.

While there will undoubtedly be other position battles I daresay that none will be as close as the ones I have already mentioned.

For the first time in years the will be no sort of quarterback controversy, which lends to the continuity I spoke of concerning the coaching staff. They know who and what they have in Trent Edwards and this is Trent's season. Let's wait and see what he can do with it. He has the weapons: let's hope the offensive line can block.

The offensive line will be key in the turnout of another position battle. Going into the 2009 season the Bills have a pretty clear cut battle at the running back position.

Marshawn Lynch will likely become the featured back after his three-game suspension. For those three games that Lynch won't play, touches will likely be split by Fred Jackson and newly-signed Dominic Rhodes. Rhodes isn't coming to Buffalo to sit, he wants to play and wants to prove that it will be beneficial to the Bills organization to have a running back-by-committee approach to the game.

I wouldn't mind seeing all three backs getting plenty of touches this season. I believe that Marshawn Lynch is the back of the future for the Bills, but with his hard running style I feel it be imperative that we conserve his touches.

Lynch runs hard. Extremely hard. He puts a lot of wear and tear on his body.

With Jackson signing a four-year deal, it seems that the Bills staff agrees with me, or rather I agree with them.

Buffalo has something special at the wide receiver position. With Lee Evans and Terrell Owens, I expect greatness. I'm not saying greatness is inevitable, because it's not, but with two extremely gifted receivers, you can expect to have greatness. I don't think there is much doubt that these two will be the numbers one and two at wideout.

After Evans and Owens the Bills WR depth chart gets a little more unclear. With Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish, James Hardy (who will be on the PUP list for a while), and Steven Johnson likely to make the team's final 52-man roster, there will most certainly be some battling going on this season.

I expect the see Josh Reed in the slot, but you can never be sure in the NFL. Parrish hasn't quite lived up to the hype and many feel that he is too small to be an every down receiver, which is something I agree with.

I personally like Steven Johnson. He has shown us a glimpse of what he can do and he is most certainly a guy to watch in training camp.

Training camp is here, and we will see what happens.

Guys to Watch (Other Than T.O.) in Training Camp and Preseason

1. Leodis McKelvin—McKelvin is entering his second year as a pro. He has shown adequate ability as a starter last season when Jabari Greer was injured. Look for him to have an excellent camp and even rival McGee for the number one spot. The cool thing about Leodis is that when he gets the ball on D, he takes it for six.

2. Steven Johnson—a true diamond in the rough. The coaching staff will likely decide that they need to get Johnson on the field.

3. Xavier Omon—now that the Bills signed Dominic Rhodes, this sixth-round pick from a year ago might be done, but he might not if he works hard and proves that he is worth having another year on the roster.

4. Geoff Hangartner/O-Line—Hangartner is going to be interesting, as will the entire offensive line.

5. Turk Schonert—Schonert needs to deliver what he promised last year—a wide open passing game with a little no huddle worked in.

6. The Safeties—I didn't mention the safety position in the article for a reason.

That reason is because I'm not sure what exactly is going to go on. I expect Donte Whitner to start at strong safety but that isn't nearly certain.

Jarius Byrd is another guy to watch and could be electrifying.

Ko Simpson might have played his way into a reserve role at free safety and Bryan Scott will certainly see playing time this season at strong safety.

Top Ten Football Towns in America

Matthew Zelasko — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:42:57 -0400

Recently I saw a list on FoxSports.com of the top ten sports towns in America and had some major issues with the list. So one question arises: what makes a town a football town? Well, in my opinion, a few things. First and foremost the town needs to have a rabid fan base. Going to a game in Jacksonville or Miami isn't quite like going to a game in Oakland or Green Bay. Everything else cannot compare to a loyal fan base so I won't even try to claim that anything else really goes into qualifying a town as a top ten football town. For this article, I will be mainly referencing to the NFL aspect of football towns, as most anywhere with a halfway decent college team one will find a rabid, drunken fan base of college students. I'm not saying that there aren't many great towns that love football and just don't have an NFL team because there are: take Austin Texas for example. Enjoy the list.

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NFL: Five Veteran Free Agents Teams Should Look At

Matthew Zelasko — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:37:52 -0400

Going into the 2009 NFL season a lot of teams look to their youngsters to produce. Unfortunately, not all of them do or some of them get injured. That's when teams will inevitably call upon some of the leagues former superstars, and no, I'm not talking about the Jets bringing back Vinnie Testaverde - although it might be an upgrade to Mark Sanchez, who in my opinion has bust written all over him. But that is neither here nor there. This slide show highlights some of the best of the aging and team-less NFL vets that will likely find teams some time during training camps or in the beginning of the season.

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Buffalo Bills: Top 5 Potential Surprises

Matthew Zelasko — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:48:43 -0400

Every year there are surprises all over the NFL. Be it a late round draftee breaking out into an impact player, or a top rated player not living up to their potential, it happens. Sometimes it is not just a player standing out or disappointing. Rather many times it is just a collection of players coming together to form a team that wasn't supposed to play well, but does. Today I am going to give you a list of things that might happen for the Buffalo Bills that will surprise a lot of people

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Buffalo Bills: Five Things I Can't Wait For

Matthew Zelasko — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:26:29 -0400

With the start of the 2009 NFL season about two months away I was thinking about some of the things that I am most excited for. Obviously I am extremely pumped up for pretty much any football right now, but Buffalo Bills football is in my blood, and I just can't wait to be at Ralph Wilson Stadium, drinking an ice cold beer, grilling some food, and getting nice and rowdy with 80,000 of my best friends and enemies. But what exactly is it, from a football standpoint, that I am most intrigued to see?

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