Bleacher Report - Buffalo Bills

Bills at Jaguars Preview: Time For Buffalo To Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Dan Van Wie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:21:29 -0500

This Sunday the Buffalo Bills (3-6) will travel to Jacksonville to play against the Jaguars (5-4) in a game that features franchises going in different directions. The irony of this game is that Bills fans are showing up regularly in hopes of seeing a winning team again, whereas Jaguars fans have a winning team and couldn't care less that they do.

The local faithful in Jacksonville have been showing up at around 40,000 strong per game, which means that once again the game will be blacked out locally. At least the young Bills lineman won't have to worry about crowd noise drowning out Ryan Fitzpatrick's audibles or getting illegal motion penalties due to the noise.

This year the Bills are 0-2 versus the AFC South as they have already lost to Tennessee and Houston. The Jaguars have gone 1-0 against the AFC East as they beat the Jets in a close game 24-22. In fact they have won two close games in a row, having also bested KC by a narrow margin of 24-21.

This week has been a noteworthy week of change and turmoil for the Bills players and coaches. To illustrate what I mean, here is the list of events that have happened since last Sunday:

1) Bills fire head coach Dick Jauron and promote defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to take over as interim coach.

2) In his first practice Fewell announces that the Bills are going to be wearing pads throughout the week in an attempt to get more physical and to help fix issues with the running game. This is sending a message loud and clear to the entire team that things are going to be different and that Dick Jauron has left the building, once and for all.

3) For the first time in his career, (not due to an injury), the Bills bench starting quarterback Trent Edwards, and promote back up Ryan Fitzpatrick, because he gives the team the best chance to win against Jacksonville, according to Fewell.

Trent Edwards may be a forgotten man for the rest of the year. Translation - nobody's job is safe anymore.

4) The Bills decide to upgrade their roster by swiping QB Brian Brohm off of the Green Bay Packers practice squad and sign him to a two year contract. The former number two round draft pick of the Packers from 2008 was a standout QB at Louisville, but had trouble making a positive impression in Green Bay.

Would be pretty funny if Brohm turns out to be lactose intolerant. What you can also conclude is that no other practice squad player on the Packers is safe from the scrutiny of the Bills.

Jamon Meredith was the first player stolen this season, and now Brohm is the second. The Packers are trying to figure out what they ever did to the Bills to justify this behavior.

5) To make room the Bills waived like-able third team QB Gibran Hamdan, who never was given a legitimate chance to show what he could do. Brohm has more upside so Hamdan was shown the door.

And with the Bills all but eliminated from the playoffs, it is not at all out of the question to think that Brohm will see some playing time this season. If he shows well, it may result in the Bills feeling less pressure to draft a franchise QB with their first pick in the draft.

It's not like Brohm has to beat out any All-Stars or Pro-Bowlers that are ahead of him on the depth chart. Both Fitzpatrick and Edwards threw an interception that were returned for touchdowns by the Titans in the fourth quarter last week.

Both qb's have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, and have meager passer ratings. The Bills had graded Brohm at a high level, but then again, they had also graded out Mike Williams in the same strata. That didn't turn out too well.

6) The Bills placed starting tight end Derek Fine on IR, which makes the 11th player so far this year that the Bills have had to put on the season ending injury reserve list. They signed free agent Joe Klopfenstein to replace him.

Klopfenstein was a second round pick of the Rams in 2006 and gives the Bills a little more depth at tight end. It also means the Bills made a run on former second round draft picks that flopped elsewhere, hoping a change of scenery will work wonders for these once-highly-thought-of-prospects.

What you can read in to from all of this activity is that the Bills are no longer content with sitting still and losing. They expect to see results.

It is a rather dramatic wake up call for the team. For Perry Fewell, who has been waiting for an opportunity to become a head coach, that chance is now at hand, and you just know that he is going to try and make the most of it.

Fewell's mantra is short and sweet. He said his team will: "Play like hell" and "Win." I like the approach. He will not be afraid to get in to players faces and read them the riot act when it is warranted.

If you see the Bills playing with more fire, emotion, and passion on Sunday, it is okay, you don't have to adjust your TV set. Well you would, if you lived in Jacksonville, since you won't be able to watch the game locally anyway.

Let's move on to some keys to this weekend's game:

When Jacksonville Has The Ball:

The Jaguars feature the NFL's touchdown leader this year, RB Maurice Jones-Drew, who has already tallied 12 times this year, which is one more than the entire Bills offense has scored. Jones-Drew has rushed for 860 yards on the season, and could be cracking the 1000-yard-barrier by the time this game is over.

I wouldn't be surprised if Fewell has laid down a challenge to his defense unit to prevent Jones-Drew from reaching that plateau. Chris Johnson did it against the Bills last week, so they are probably smarting over that already.

Quarterback David Girard is 13th in passing in the league and has seven touchdowns compared to five interceptions. He has a passer rating of 83.5 and historically he has given the Bills problems with his scrambling ability.

Probably not to the extent that the Bills experienced last Sunday versus Vince Young, but they will have to account for his ability to run with the ball never the less.

At wide receiver, the Jaguars are led by Mike Sims-Walker who is ranked at 19th in the league in receiving yards with 603 yards and five touchdowns. He very well may be going up against some replacements, as Terrance McGee's knee injury has not healed yet, Leodis McKelvin is already on the IR and the interceptions leader in the NFL, Jairus Byrd, has been out of practice this week due to issues from his groin injury.

It would be a shame if Byrd's streak of five straight games with an interception came to an end due to the injury, or if he is limited and only plays in a handful of snaps. You know he was hurting last week as it appeared to me that he was shying away from physical play.

Against the Titans, Jairus was the Bills starting safety and should have had plenty of chances to make tackles. Chris Johnson and Vince Young were running up and down the field on the Bills.

Yet Byrd only registered one tackle last week. That to me says that something wasn't quite right, even though he did find a way to come up with another pick. It was revealed after the game that the prior groin injury was still bothering him, and that may account for why it seemed that he shied away from some contact.

The Bills defense will still have head coach Fewell calling their plays this week. He has not yet named anyone to succeed him as defensive coordinator.

If Fewell determines that he has too many other responsibilities in running the team, that prevent him from focusing on calling the defensive alignments, look him for him to pass the torch over to ex-Packers Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders, who coaches the Bills defensive line.

There are the Packers popping up again. It just seems like we have this crazy connection with the Packers going on this year, so thought I would mention it.

The Bills defense is coming in to another game with a long list of injuries, as the question marks for this week include:

Defensive Line : Kyle Williams and Marcus Stroud have both been missing practice due to injuries. Won't know their status until closer to kickoff. That could mean both Spencer Johnson and John McCargo get the start.

Linebacker : Keith Ellison, Bills leading tackler is still out. It appears that Bryan Scott is going to remain at linebacker as he continues to make the transition over from safety. Nic Harris was also out at practice this week due to illness.

Defensive Secondary : Terrance McGee looks like he is out. Jairus Byrd is a question mark due to the groin. So, you could have Drayton Florence and Reggie Corner starting at corner, with some combination of George Wilson, Donte Whitner and Byrd rotating at safeties.

By the time this game is over, George Wilson may have taken over the team lead in tackles. Since Wilson is a safety, that is usually a bad thing when you have a safety leading the team in tackles. It means the front seven are letting the ball carrier get through to the last wave of defense far too often.

When The Bills Have The Ball

After the Titans loss it was discussed in interviews (in what proved to be Dick Jauron's final press conferences as Bills' coach), that the team would probably be signing a free agent tackle to come on board due to the recent injuries that sidelined Demetrius Bell and Jamon Meredith.

Well, here we are coming in to Friday, and no new tackles have been signed. Perhaps we can forgive the Bills this week, as they had some other pressing issues to tend to.

The Bills did add Christian Gaddis, a center/guard reserve to their practice squad but that just isn't the same as bringing on board a player like Jon Runyan.

Due to the ongoing health issues of Meredith and Bell, it means that more patchwork offensive line play will be exhibited for at least one more week. Andy Levitre is now expected to get his first career start at left tackle since he held his own when forced in to the position last Sunday.

You always hear talk about how important it is for an offensive line to gel and to gain experience by playing next to each other, and knowing how the guy next to you is going to react in the heat of battle to certain situations. This experience and knowledge is vital to how an offense performs and to developing confidence in each other.

But when the guys you are plugging in are Seth McKinney and Jake Chambers, the chemistry issue is thrown out the window and it becomes more of a "every-man-for-himself" mentality.

Hopefully, Meredith, Scott and D. Bell will all emerge to play some meaningful reps over the final month so that the Bills can have a fighting chance at developing a running game, along with some cohesion for the offensive line.

Levitre did play tackle in college so he does have some idea of what to do out there. Jonathan Scott has returned to the team from the recent passing of his father, and we wish Jonathan and his family our condolences.

He apparently is not ready to resume a starting role, so will be in a back-up mode this week.

Jamon Meredith will give it a go if he is deemed healthy enough, and if not, then it is going to be Jake Chambers job to protect Fitzpatrick. If you feel the need to turn on your own siren, or emergency sounds, you have my permission.

The Bills offense is only averaging 15 points a game but are facing a defense in Jacksonville that is ranked 26th against the pass by giving up 238 yards a game, and is 22nd against the run, giving up 118 yards a game.

If the Bills intend to show a new look in being more physical, then that means there have to be some holes opened up for Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch to run through. Those holes have not been there enough through nine games.

We will see if the extra work with pads this week in practice results in any new daylight. I don't believe that Fewell is overly concerned about burning out the lineman, since they have been on the field for so few plays this year as it is.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will probably be given the green light to stretch the field and use his wide receiver tandem of Terrell Owens and Lee Evans to throw the ball long. Jacksonville is going to be missing their leading interceptions guy, as CB Rashean Mathis is going to be sitting this game out due to injury.

There are two other question marks on defense- MLB Justin Durant and strong safety Gerald Alexander. They have both been sitting out of practice this week, so if the Jaguars are missing half of their starting defensive secondary, then Fitzpatrick may have an easier go of it when it comes time to looking for open receivers.

Intangibles

The Bills are going to need to keep an eye on two kick off return men the Jaguars have in Brian Witherspoon and Mike Thomas, as both of them have average returns of at least 24 yards. Fred Jackson leads the Bills with 26 yards in average returns.

The Bills lead the NFL in interceptions, so if they are able to mimic the fiery attitude demonstrated by Fewell, and exhibit some physical play in shutting down the running game, the secondary might be able to pad their interception totals this week.

Forcing Jacksonville in to third down and long scenarios will be the key, as much as stopping them when they get it to favorable down and distance. That did not happen last Sunday against the Titans, and I am sure that did not sit well with Fewell.

The Bills Are In The Headlines All Over The Internet

The rumor mill has churned out a long list of names as people speculate as to who is the right guy to run the Bills next year. Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Fassell, Jim Haslett, Brian Billick, Tony Dungy, and Jon Gruden are some of the names that have been offered up.

You could make a case for any of them to come in and have a degree of success.

That was just the ex-head coaches. Then there are the coordinator types, some college coaches that are thought to be up-and-comers, and then I saw some ideas from guys in the CFL like Mark Tresman.

As the rumors continue to swirl that the Bills will be sitting down with people like Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher as soon as next week, it will be interesting to see how the players react to playing under Perry Fewell amid all of the distractions.

The team had been growing accustomed to playing under the protective fatherly figure of Dick Jauron, who was quick to throw himself on top of all hand grenades that came up in post-game press conferences. Jauron was a players' coach, and never threw his players under a bus, even though his job was very much in jeopardy.

For me, the most memorable example of that was how he handled the Leodis McKelvin fumble against the Patriots on opening night. That was as masterful a job of shielding a player from criticism and negative press as you can possibly imagine.

I will be curious to see if Perry Fewell does the same thing, or if the "wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee" attitude of this week, results in more players packing up their locker or office for good at One Bills Drive.

Should be an interesting game Bills fans. Just make sure that if you are in the Jacksonville area that you are actually at the game, or else you need to know where are the outer limits of the blacked out area.

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Buffalo Bills' Busy Week: New Coach, New Starting QB, New QB of the Future

Alec Joy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:52:17 -0500

It's been quite the week at One Bills Drive. On Tuesday, head coach Dick Jauron was officially relieved of his duties and replaced by interim coach Perry Fewell.

Jauron's release came after three and a half seasons of mediocrity. In his time with the Bills, Jauron accumulated a record of 24-33 going 7-9 for each of his three full seasons. The team currently has a record of 3-6.

On Wednesday there came the announcement that Ryan Fitzpatrick would replace Trent Edwards as the starting quarterback. Fitzpatrick went 2-1 while subbing for the injured Edwards.

(This is counting the game in which Edwards got hurt, Fitzpatrick played most of that game but Edwards was officially credited with the win.)

Although he was not overly impressive during those games he did enough to win and that's all Bills fans are asking for at this point.

Personally I believe the Thursday announcement to be the best decision of the week was the Bills' signing of Brian Brohm off the Green Bay practice squad.

At first glance, this seems like nothing, but I personally watched Brohm play in college (even living in New York, most of the games were recorded, since I already knew the outcome I just watched Brohm) and he is a very impressive player.

He has the skill set to succeed in the NFL and backs that up with decision making that is un-paralleled. If even a small fraction of that talent is transferred to the NFL, he could well be the Bills QB of the future.

That's right.

I said it.

Quarterback of the future. Mark it down right now.

I know most of you are saying how can he be that great if he's never started an NFL game?

I feel this is mostly due to the city he played in. The Packers wouldn't even change their starting QB for the greatest that ever lived (statistically so don't argue). What chance did a second round draft choice realistically have?

As long as Brohm stays healthy and is given the chance to show what he's got, expect great things.

I hope to soon be the proud owner of a Brohm jersey.

Sign me up, I'm riding the Brohm bandwagon.

Read more Buffalo Bills news on BleacherReport.com

Is Another "Extreme Makeover" Coming to Buffalo To Fix the Bills?

Matt Schaefer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:20:35 -0500

After a local Buffalo home and surrounding area were fixed up with the coming of the ABC hit Extreme Makeover, Home Edition most Buffalonians thought that the drastic makeover was over for the time being.

That may not be the case, as it looks like another extreme makeover might be coming to town, and it involves the local football team.

Instead of Ty Pennington and his group of volunteers, Ralph Wilson Jr. looks to be overhauling the operation.

Wilson talked to the Associated Press today in his first interview since head coach Dick Jauron was let go. In the short interview, Wilson made several strong statements, leading fans to believe that enough is enough, and that there will be some big changes this offseason.

“I tell you, we have a lot of work to do,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to revamp and take a look at the whole operation and that’s what we’re going to do.”

It isn't going to be an easy process turning this team around, but Wilson sounds willing to try.

But what exactly is going to happen?

Over the past decade, Wilson hasn't been one to spend a great deal of money. The only way he could pull this off is to have a strategy in terms of bankrolling the entire make-over.

"It's not about money, it's about winning," Wilson said. "If it was about money, we wouldn't have brought in and paid for somebody we know was a great player."

Wilson was referring to the signing of Terrell Owens, the Bills' big signing of the offseason.

It might not have worked out like he imagined, but just the fact that Wilson made the move to bring in an NFL star with a big contract shows that he is willing to throw around some cash to improve the team.

Yesterday, most Bills fans were excited (or at least intrigued) to hear that the Bills were talking to a proven coach.

The ones who weren't calling for the Bills to throw everything they had at the possibility of landing a big time coach (like me, for example) looked for reasons why the Bills wouldn't go after one.

One big reason was money, but it seems that Wilson may have changed his ways.

"Anybody that says I'm cheap is looking down the wrong side of the street," Wilson also said.

It looks like Wilson had a change of heart about his football team, and it has Bills followers excited about what is to come.

Now I don't really care (and neither should anyone else) what the reason was for the change on Wilson's part—whether it was to make more money, to help fix his tarnishing legacy, or just because he was finally sick of losing, too.

It doesn't really matter to anyone in Buffalo if it means the Bills are winning football games again.

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Ralph Wilson To Revamp the Buffalo Bills: Could Mike Shanahan Lead the Charge?

Robert Quinn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:06:25 -0500

About a day after the firing of coach Dick Jauron, numerous reports surfaced that Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson will meet with former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan regarding the spot now held by defensive coordinator/interim head coach Perry Fewell.

This is the first major move coming out of Buffalo all season, and certainly will not be the last.

"I tell you, we have a lot of work to do," Wilson told the Associated Press Thursday in his first interview since he fired Jauron this week. "We've got to revamp and take a look at the whole operation, and that's what we're going to do."

Also on Buffalo's wish list is former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

Personally, I believe Shanahan would be a great fit for Buffalo. He knows the game, has won two Super Bowls, and doesn't accept losing. Shanahan is also a great offensive coach, something Buffalo has desperately tried to develop the past few seasons.

Something must have really hit Wilson. He has waited 50-plus years for a championship, and it is questionable how much longer he, let alone the fans, will wait. In addition to the head coaching vacancy, I expect further moves in the managing and operations department. Russ Brandon can market the team well, as we have seen after the Terrell Owens signing, but the time to win is now.

In the remaining seven games, no one is safe. These games will serve as a job interview for the future coach of the Bills, who will need the fire to inspire a winning drive in the team.

The quarterback position has recently been given to Ryan Fitzpatrick for this weekend, after signing Brian Brohm, a second-year player from Green Bay's practice squad. Each week, the chances of Buffalo taking a quarterback in the upcoming draft are rising higher and higher.

I am interested to see how wideouts James Hardy and Steve Johnson play in the upcoming weeks. Neither have had an opportunity to showcase their skill-sets, and with the notion that Owens most likely will not be in a Bills uniform next season, they need to perform.

These upcoming weeks will be exciting for Buffalo fans. No Jauron and no permanent head coach means that Buffalo might be playing with more intensity and more creativity. With each player fighting for his spot on the roster, Bills football should be fun to watch!

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Bills' Official Statement on Coaching Search Very Intriguing.

Jeremy Juhasz — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:56:42 -0500

The Buffalo Bills released a statement to address the status of their next head coach.

It read:

“The Bills organization is focused on the next seven games and the efforts of Coach Fewell, the coaching staff and our players. We understand there will be much speculation regarding the head coaching position, but we will not comment during the process until a new head coach has been announced.”

How big of a blanket statement is that?

I don't want to put to much stock into this statement other than to point out what they don't mention here.

Sometimes what isn't said is more important than what is.

If I had to venture a guess, the Bills didn't deny the fact they are considering every possibility, including Shanahan. Without mentioning potential replacements, it appears they aren't opposed to bring in coaches who demand big salaries.

This is potentially the best jumble of words ever assembled by the Bills media relations department.

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Buffalo Bills Reportedly Interested in Mike Shanahan

kevin roberts — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:15:49 -0500

After firing head coach Dick Jauron earlier this week and naming Ryan Fitzpatrick the new starting quarterback, as well as naming Perry Fewell the interim coach, the Buffalo Bills are now reportedly pursuing former Denver Broncos head coach, Mike Shanahan.

At least they've got the right idea.

When you fail to crack .500 football for the fourth straight year under the same coach, it's inevitable to want to change the tires of the system, and like most NFL team overhauls, that change usually starts with the coaching.

NFL.com's Vic Carucci is reporting that the Bills will meet with Shanahan sometime next week, and that the two-time Super Bowl champion is their "number one" head coaching target.

The Bills have been said to be willing to pay Shanahan any amount of money, while it appears they would also be willing to relinquish any and all power and decision making to Shanahan upon hiring him.

The Bills have made two more questionable calls since canning Jauron, as they've named Ryan Fitzpatrick the new starting quarterback over supposed "franchise quarterback" Trent Edwards and recently signed former second round pick, Brian Brohm.

Regardless of any moves or success the Bills have for the remainder of the season, there is little doubt that more changes need to be made, and the early line of thinking is that Shanahan is just the man for the job.

For more breaking news in the NFL and fantasy advice, go to NFL Soup

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Firing Dick Jauron a First Step for Buffalo, More Important Ones Must Follow

Steve P — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:01:55 -0500

So Ralph Wilson has finally done the right thing by firing Dick Jauron. He was clearly unable to turn the team around, and should not have gotten the extension he did last year. So what else is so important for this franchise to do in order to turn things around in Buffalo?

For starters, they need to put GM Russ Brandon back where he belongs, in Sales/Marketing and keep him away from the football operations entirely. Brandon has demonstrated his total lack of knowledge of personnel decisions.

He has no idea how to build a successful team. His authority with the franchise needs to be limited to what he does well, and to his credit, he's done a fine job in regionalizing the Bills. This is what he should stick to.

Next, bring in football people at the top to run things. I'm talking a President or Vice President of Football Operations. I'm thinking Floyd Reese, Ron Wolf, or if the rumors are true and he's getting ready to leave South Florida, Bill Parcells. Any of these men would be well qualified to oversee the rebuilding of this team.

The next area becomes the question mark, if you will. The Bills should not be wasting time looking at guys who might be able to get them to the promised land, they should only be looking at guys who have reached the promised land. This is where it gets a bit sticky.

The three men who best fit the above description are, in order of preference: Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, and Mike Shanahan. The issue is that all three men will likely want control over personnel decisions, if not to be named General Manager along as Head Coach. This is a potential problem.

Ralph is known to dislike the GM/Head Coach as one concept. I don't blame him. It has been largely unsuccessful when tried, especially in recent years. Simply put, it is too much job for one man to do at the level it needs to be done at. But what if that's what it takes to get one of the top candidates?

Normally, I'm not much for trying things that have a history of not working. It is said those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This often turns out to be true. However, due to the pure desperation of this situation, I say if that is what it will take to bring one of those three men to Buffalo to coach the Bills, Ralph, go for it!

Let these men assemble their staffs, hopefully from the scouts up and build the team in their image. Know going in it won't happen next year, and may only begin to be apparent the year after that. But give them the time, the money, and the ability to go get what they need on the field, and I feel confident any of them would pay dividends.

I'm pleased that the Bills have already reached out to Mike Shanahan. Although my own personal preference would be Bill Cowher, due to the violent way his teams play the game, which I think would go over big in Buffalo, I know one thing for sure.

What Bills fans really would prefer in Buffalo is a winner.

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For Ralph Wilson and the Buffalo Bills: Is Mike Shanahan The Answer?

Dan Van Wie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:36:08 -0500

Ralph Wilson recently received his ring from the Hall of Fame for his induction there prior to the start of the 2009 season. That induction was a fitting start for the only owner in Bills history, especially since this was the 50th anniversary season of the Buffalo Bills organization.

When the ring was presented, Ralph was greeted with a loud chorus of boos from the home crowd. Long forgotten was the four straight Super Bowl appearances from 1990 - 1993. It was more like, what have you done for us lately Ralph?

Wilson bit the bullet earlier this week by dropping the ax on Dick Jauron and swallowing the remaining year and a half left on Dick Jauron's pro-rated six million dollar contract. Throwing that much money away is not something Ralph is very fond of doing.

Heck, who would be? You know he hated to do it, but he was faced with such a growing level of discontentment from the fan base that he had to do something. I just wonder if his doctor advised him to make the move for health reasons?

Various sources in Buffalo have leaked word that people like Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas have been talking to Ralph, and the word that is now circulating around the city is that Wilson will step up and pay what it takes to bring in a top flight football man to take over and run the team. Hallelujah!

By "run the team", I mean someone that has a proven plan, that knows what it takes to build a winner step by step, and have the conviction to ignore the complaints and do whatever is necessary to put all of the building blocks in place.

That might mean one more year without making the playoffs, but there had better be some improvement on offense, because you really can't be any worse than the product we saw this year, can you?

Now I realize that this is as close to a collective Christmas present that the city of Buffalo can be wishing and hoping for, outside of our own personal and individual wishes like having a new job, new snow blower, Stanley Cup trophy and a new chicken wing slow cooker.

If this is true, Wilson's decision is smart for a number of reasons. Only the Lord knows how much time Ralph has left on this planet. But as sad as it is to admit, when you are already in to your 90's, the clock is ticking louder and a little faster than you wish.

His family doesn't seem to want to take on the challenges of running the team. So Wilson needs to put the pieces in place if he ultimately has to sell the club. You know for his fifty year investment he will want to command top dollar. So, getting a top flight guy to run the operation makes tremendous sense/cents.

Ralph may not be that crazy after all. Or, perhaps crazy like a fox?

The million dollar question is, who is that right guy to run it?

If reports on the sports wires are accurate, ex-Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is appearing to be the early front runner, as the word is that Wilson will fly him in for a visit next week. From that point forward, if Ralph likes what he hears, and tells Shanahan, okay this it is now your show to run, then the sky is the limit.

You would like to think that Shanahan would want to get as much exposure to the current team as he could with whatever is left of the season to evaluate what is here.

He will want to take advantage of the final month to put together the necessary scouting personnel to start evaluating the college players coming out before their regular season ends and before all of the bowl games have come and gone.

I imagine that Shanahan will want to dig in and find out how badly the current players are hurt that are on I-R now, and what the prognosis is for their return in 2010. There truly is quite a lot of medical inspection and kicking the tires that needs to be done, and not all that much time to play with.

But if Ralph is unwilling to turn over the keys to the penthouse now, or in the next week or two, then we are going to need to back this thing up and start over very slowly from the beginning.

Why Shanahan?

Shanahan has that winner tag written all over him. He has won two Super Bowls. He wears that permanent scowl like Bill Cowher does, and you might get an occasional smile like Cowher, but they are few and far between. Especially when prowling the sidelines on game day.

In fact, I tried to find a picture for this story that showed Shanahan smiling, and couldn't find one. For that matter, Jauron didn't smile either, but that is a different story altogether.

Shanahan is a master at creating a solid running game, and that will play very well in the elements in Buffalo. The Bills have been so horrible on the offensive side of the ball for the past six years, that the fans would relish a true ground and pound attack that is consistent with the mentality of the work ethic of the city itself.

You clearly have some pieces in place already from the core of Lynch, Jackson, Wood, Levitre, Evans and Nelson having a number of years left ahead of them. I suspect that a veteran quarterback would be brought in to run the offense, while they groom the future quarterback that will be selected in the upcoming draft.

You know that the writing is already on the wall for Trent Edwards. If Perry Fewell doesn't have the confidence in him to be his starter, and he has been watching Edwards in practice regularly for the past two and a half years, that pretty much tells you all you need to know.

Sure, maybe Fitzpatrick gets banged up and Edwards comes out firing, realizing that his career may have already peaked. You never know what finally gets a fire lit under someone, or what causes the light bulb to finally turn on. Clearly, that never happened with Dick Jauron at the helm, and he had always believed in Trent from early on.

Timing issues

With so many teams in the NFL playing really bad football, I don't know that Wilson will have the luxury of sitting and stewing on his big decision. Each successive week that comes and goes, we are getting closer to the end of the season, and the best coaches and brightest football minds will be courted and swept up by other organizations looking to right their ship.

What finally made Wilson decide to can Jauron? Ralph doesn't make a bunch of snap decisions, and that is probably a reflection on his level of patience, age and wisdom. But this situation will probably call for him to make a faster decision then he is normally comfortable making.

You would like to think that Wilson could take his time and bring in five, six, or seven people with great credentials as there are clearly a number of qualified people that are not coaching right now. The potential list of choices is growing every time I visit the Bills home page on The Bleachers Report, and read all of the new articles.

But if Wilson really wants to do this right, I think he will need to be bold, and if he sees and hears the pitch of a winner in his gut, to have the courage and fortitude to trust his instincts and to do the right thing and act.

He took the right first step earlier this week. Will he follow that up, or will he get overwhelmed in trying to figure out how to best proceed from here?

We can only hope. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in a certain office in Detroit over the next few weeks.....

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Bills Contact Someone Slightly More Qualified Than Dick Jauron

Fred Richani — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:46:11 -0500

Just one day after firing head coach Dick Jauron (or Dick The Cadaver, considering how he carried himself), the Buffalo Bills have contacted their ideal candidate—someone just a little more qualified.

Okay, that is an understatement if there was ever one.

According to sources and ESPN's NFL insider Adam "The Iron Schef" Schefter, Buffalo has contacted/in the process of arranging a meeting with former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.

Shanahan coached the Denver Broncos from 1995-2008. He won two Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 with a little help from some dudes named John Elway and Terrell Davis.

Besides his brilliant tan, Shanahan would be a significant upgrade from Jauron, due to his winning pedigree and great judgment of talent—mostly on the offensive side of the ball.

You would think the Bills would be decent on offense with Marshawn Lynch (a candidate for the NFL All-Ugly team), a solid quarterback in Trent Edwards (who has been out with yet another concussion), and two outstanding wideouts: Lee Evans (one of the better players no one has ever heard of) and Terrell Owens (or T.O.: Team Obliterater, as Skip Bayless calls him).

Think again!

The team is 29th in total offense, only in front of the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and Cleveland Bums Browns. Not cool, Buffalo, especially for your fans.

How about Denver's ranking last year under Shanahan?

2008: No. 2

And that's a team that didn't even make the playoffs last season. Yes, Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and 1,000 running backs were on that team, but Shanahan even made things work with prior to 2008 with mistake-prone Jake Plummer, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals—pre-non-perennial-losers era.

I have no idea if T.O. will be back next year, but if he can't find another team, it might be in his best interest to stick around if Shana-Tan is at the helm, who may not be the best guy to pick out defensive stoppers, but has an uncanny knack for drafting productive, offensive talent.

Unless he'd rather play for Wade Phillips again..............................................

..................That's what I thought.

Fred "The F-Bomb" Richani is a columnist for The Sports Courier , 411Mania.com , and everythingyntk.com . Richani founded The Sports Courier in 2009. His work has been featured on CBS Sportsline , Pro Wrestling Torch , GOOGLE News , and USAToday.com . He has also interviewed Platinum-selling bands Blue October and OneRepublic . Richani currently resides in Freehold, N.J., just an hour from New York City and Philadelphia.

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Give Mike Shanahan Anything He Wants If It Means He Will Come To Buffalo

Matt Schaefer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:21:01 -0500

When NFL Superstar Terrell Owens came to Buffalo after he signed a deal in the off-season with the Bills, he was greeted with cheers and given the key to the city.

If Mike Shanahan somehow comes to coach in Buffalo, give him the whole damn city.

It was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Buffalo Bills have contacted the Super Bowl winning coach. Buffalo was believed to be setting up a meeting with Shanahan, to take place some time in the next week.

Enough is enough with the Bills just going out on Sundays and losing horribly. I can say honestly, that they are turning into the joke of the NFL. Think about it, what comes to mind when you think of Buffalo?

Snow, chicken wings and the Bills losing.

It is time for things to change in Buffalo. Enough of the losing mentality that has surrounded the team over the past decade.

How could a team that was so great fall so low, so quickly?

Lack of stability is one problem. Lack of talent is another.

The Bills haven't had a legitimate quarterback option since Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season and many of their top players went to different teams. Terrible draft classes over the years certainly haven't helped either.

One of the main problems is the fact that owner Ralph Wilson hasn't been a big spender in players or coaches in recent years, but now he might give anything just to win again.

And Mike Shanahan is that hope, the hope to return them to their winning ways in Buffalo.

Speaking to WGR550 AM , former quarterback Jim Kelly had this to say about the Bills ageless owner and the chance that he would bring in a big name coach; "Do I think Mr. Wilson will do that this coming year? To be honest with you, I really do. He’s tired of losing, he’s tired of putting money into coaches that have not panned out in the past, he’s going on 92 years old—I really think if he doesn’t do it this year, he may never see this again. For him, he wants to go out and build something before he goes and I hope he lives to 110 years old but the thing is I feel he has gotten to the point where he is saying right now I’ve got to do whatever it takes. I want to get that winning feeling not only back for the city for the Buffalo and for the fans but for himself too.”

I personally don't care what it takes for the Bills to seal the deal with Shanahan, they need someone with his expertise to come in and turn this team around. Give him a blank check signed by Mr. Wilson that he can fill out himself and give him the control of the entire team.

As a Bills fan, all I am looking for is hope. I have sat through countless Sunday games watching a mediocre team finding ways to lose games.

An outsider wouldn't understand how much Buffalo fans just want the team to become relevant again. It is one of the best fan bases in the NFL that hasn't been treated to a winning team. With tough times hitting the city, all anyone is looking for is a winning football team here to take their thoughts off of everyday problems.

It is more than just a team here, it is a way of life.

In all honesty, I personally don't see Shanahan or any other big name coach for that matter coming to Buffalo. The organization has so many holes in it that a coach like Shanahan won't even want to waste his time here when he can go to a much better team.

Just that little hope though is all anyone is looking for. As Bills fans, we just want to be able to rally around something we haven't seen in quite sometime.

A winning football team.

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Business As Usual?: Perry Fewell's First Day as the Bills' Interim Head Coach

Jeremy Pike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:16:49 -0500

I just finished reviewing the notes from One Bills Drive on Perry Fewell’s first practice as interim head coach. One concern voiced across the board yesterday was, “How is Fewell going to improve this team?”

Well, it looks like he made quite an impression on the team.

First day back on the practice field saw the Bills in pads and working heavily on the run game. Marshawn Lynch said that he knows one thing: They’re going to be very physical.

Fewell also said that they’re going to be in pads for tomorrow’s practice and that the only way he knows how to improve the run game is to put on the pads and go out there and work.

I think this is the right approach by Coach Fewell. He’s setting a physical tone early and keeping it going. That’s going to be very important for getting the team ready for this Sunday and beyond.

Both sides of the ball need to seriously improve the run game, and he knows it. Good job on focusing on it out of the gate. Teams win by running the ball and stopping the run. Let’s see how that goes on Sunday.

If you yourself want to review today’s practice, check out the video .

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Mike Shanahan: The Next Coach of the Buffalo Bills?

Josh McCain — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:05:09 -0500

Here in Washington D.C., local radio news station WTOP is reporting that the Buffalo Bills are interviewing Mike Shanahan to coach the Bills.

The report did not say whether, if accepted, Shanahan would finish the season up in Buffalo or would take over at the end of the season.

I think if he did take the job he would start at the conclusion of the season. I also think since the Bills do not have a General Manager, Shanahan would be negotiating for that position as well.

I'll have more when this develops.

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And The Stampede Keeps Going

Jeremy Pike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:09:13 -0500

Now news out of One Bills Drive is that the Buffalo Bills are attempting to arrange a meeting with former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan. Sources include Adam Schefter from ESPN. You can find his write-up here .

Now what does this mean? First off, I’m quite happy. i’ve been calling for Shanahan all season long. I think he would do wonders with running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. Shanahan’s used to taking no-name guys and making them 1,000-yard rushers. Lynch has done it every season so far, and Jackson could do it in terms of yards from scrimmage.

The one possible issue I see with this is that Shanahan in Denver tended to not pick the greatest players for his defense. That would have to change if he’s brought in with the power to not only coach, but also call the shots general manager style.

I would like to see him either bring in an established defensive coordinator or keep either Perry Fewell or Bob Sanders, the defensive line coach who was the coordinator for the Green Bay Packers previously.

Obviously nothing will happen right at the moment, but it certainly is a fun time to be a Bills fan.

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Memo to Ralph Wilson: We Can Fix the Bills

Chris Hoy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:58:10 -0500

Greetings, Mr. Wilson. We’ve never been formally introduced, but you have certainly seen enough of my money the past 10 years.

I’m sure you’ve heard of me. I’m a Buffalo Bills fan, and the purpose of this memorandum is to outline a new course of action for the product that I care too ardently about. I’m not gonna pull any punches, and I hope that you won’t either.

Here are five steps to take that will convince the people of Buffalo that you still care.

1. Remove the head coach with no sense of direction.

So...yeah. Done and done.

2. Hire a true general manager. Now.

Do not wait until the season is over. Do not wait until Christmas. Do not wait until the Toronto festival. Show us, Mr. Wilson, that you have a road map for success, and that you’re not running this team the way that Dick Jauron coached—by the seat of his pants.

A new general manager, hired immediately, would have seven weeks to evaluate his roster and determine who is worth keeping and who is leaving town.

3. Cut Terrell Owens. Now.

This is not a knock on T.O. Sure, he’s struggled this year, but Jerry Rice would have struggled this year. It kind of makes you have a brand-new respect for Lee Evans, but I digress. The Bills should release Owens for two reasons:

A. There are two young receivers on the roster, James Hardy and Steve Johnson, who are not getting any playing time. You need to know if they botched another high draft pick in Hardy, and I believe that Johnson has Owens-esque potential. Get these guys involved in the offense for the next seven weeks so that we know if there is a future worth building.

B. Owens has served his purpose. He saved the fiscal year for Buffalo by selling a butt-load of season tickets and jerseys. He brought national attention to the city. Financially, he has been worth way more than his $6.5 million contract.

So return the favor, Mr. Wilson. Give Owens a chance to sign on with another team and save his career. He’s playing for his next contract, and every week that he remains in Buffalo equals another foot of water over his head. A Hall of Fame career is sinking here, so let him prove that he can still play, even if it is for another team. You owe him that much.

4. Somehow, some way, lock in a permanent head coach before the season is over.

I’m personally torn between Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan, and that’s running on the assumption that you, Mr. Wilson, can convince either of those two to come to Orchard Park. Lie, cheat, steal, hold their Super Bowl rings for ransom. Just get one of them here.

5. Make Fred Jackson the feature back.

Whenever he’s been given the chance, Jackson has not only proven more than adequate; he also has shown that he possesses that rare ability to make those around him better. Were we not praising the play of the offensive line during the first two weeks of the season? Was Edwards not playing to his potential the first two-and-a-half weeks?

Now, I absolutely love Marshawn Lynch’s style of play. But if he wants to add 10 pounds of muscle and run head first into potential tacklers, then congratulations: You’re the new fullback. The scary part is that you’re a fullback that can gain yards on third and short.

There are some other things, but they are really for the next head coach to decide. The removal of the Tampa 2 defense, which quarterback to bring in next year, moving Eric Wood over to center, and buying a proven left tackle are all predicated on the successful implementation of the process above.

Sorry for quoting Jerry Maguire, but help us help you, Mr. Wilson. We want to give you our money, we really do. Now give us a reason to.

P.S.

I’d like to add that I was not one of those dopes that were intent on booing you during your ring ceremony. I can separate the glorious accomplishments of a 50-year career from a couple of seasons of unhappiness.

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A Change of Direction At One Bills Drive

Jeremy Pike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:35:17 -0500

The abrupt release of head coach Dick Jauron sounded like the start of something big at One Bills Drive to me. A sign that business as usual for the Bills was no longer going to cut it.

Multiple people with league sources and sources at One Bills Drive are confirming that thought. Thurman Thomas, Hall of Fame running back and still heavily involved with the Bills as evidenced by his weekly Thurman Thomas Show, spent some time at One Bills Drive today according to his Twitter account, and this is what he had to say.

“Nobody is safe at One Bills Drive, they are cleaning house and bringing in a Football guy to run the ship. Jimbo says Ralph will spend money!!!!”

“When I say clean house, I mean clean the f****** house out!!!!!!”

“Everybody, players included!!!!!!!!!”

Jimbo of course being fellow Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. It’s obvious that Kelly has owner Ralph Wilson Jr’s ear when it comes to the team.

As time passes, it becomes more evident that this time is different. It’s looking like Ralph realized that he doesn’t have much longer, his team is going to miss the playoffs for the tenth straight season, and things won’t get better unless he starts spending money.

Time to open the checkbook, Mr. Wilson. Fix this and bring respectability back to our once-proud franchise.

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Dick Jauron Stepping Down As Coach of Buffalo Bills?

Ian Cowan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:16:00 -0500

Well my friends, it finally happened.

The moment that we have ALL been waiting for.

Dick Jauron has been relieved of his duty as the Head Coach of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

Yes, that noise you hear is the collective sigh of relief from “Bills Nation.” Christmas has in fact come early. Although, for some (including myself), it came about a year and a half late.

But, I digress.

The Jauron “era” has come to an end, an era that probably should have never started.

In order to completely understand the frustration of Bills fans, I feel we must first take a look at the path of both coach and team that set them on a collision course of horrible, uninspired football.

First, my beloved Buffalo Bills. They won two consecutive championships in the AFL before becoming a member of the NFL, where the successful seasons failed to transfer over.

From 1966 to 1986, they posted a staggering 104-199-4 record. They were the equivalent to the modern day Lions, Bucs, Rams, or even Bills. It wasn’t until the 1986 season, when Marv Levy took over, that they began to resemble a football team.

During Levy’s tenure (1986-1997), the Bills went 112-70. This included the infamous stretch of four Super Bowls in a row, from 1990-1993. I’m not sure how, but Levy was able to instill such a desire to win in his players that they became one of the most tenacious defensive teams paired with a deadly offensive attack that could put points on the board against anybody; accept the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Things took a turn for the worse once Levy decided to step down as Head Coach after the 1997 season.

In stepped Wade Phillips. He coached from 1998-2000 winning 29 of 48 games.

Now, I must admit, this looks like a decent record. However, the numbers are deceiving. This was in fact the period of time where the desire and the “know-how” to win football games slipped away from the Buffalo Bills, and has yet to return.

After Phillips, came Greg Williams and Mike Mularkey. Both of them are very capable coordinators–defensive and offensive respectively.

Unfortunately, their success as coordinators did not translate into successful head coaching careers. They combined for a record of 31-48 between the years 2001-2005, all of the while not making one playoff appearance.

This brings us to our beloved Dick Jauron.

The simple fact that he was chosen be the head coach beginning the 2006 season was simply mind-numbing. When Jauron came to Buffalo, he brought with him a 36-49 record as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions

So began Jauron’s career in Buffalo.

His first season came to an end at 7-9. Not too horrible, considering they were 5-11 the season before. In 2007, he “coached” the Bills to another 7-9 season. This is when Bills fans began to get a little uneasy, but Jauron received a free pass because of certain situations during that season to included the dreaded “quarterback controversy” between J.P. Losman and newly drafted Trent Edwards.

By the beginning of the 2008 season, Trent Edwards had been officially named the starting quarterback. Bills fans were optimistic, despite two consecutive 7-9 seasons. The team began the season 5-2, then the injury bug bit.

Edwards went down, and so did the Bills season.

They finished…

...drum roll please...

…7-9.

Everyone thought for sure that this meant the end of Dick Jauron. I mean, three consecutive 7-9 seasons with no upside in sight, there is no way he returns. Right?

Well, apparently Bills upper management felt otherwise and decided to stick with Jauron for the 2009 season. The season is now over half way through, and our beloved Bills sit near the bottom of the league at 3-6. It doesn’t even look as though they will attain the 7-9 record that the fans have grown to know and expect.

So, as I stated before, Bills fans have been awaiting this moment for about a year and a half.

I’m sure some of you may be thinking that I’m cold hearted for wishing/hoping that this person lose his job. To that I say, he shouldn’t have been a horrible coach!

P.S. I hear Charlie Weis may be looking for a job soon! Here's hoping! I can't wait for the next clown of a coach to step in for five games.

Hidden within that record is ONE winning season, in which he let the Bears play to a 13-3 record in 2001.

To this I quote a very wise man; "Even a blind dog can find his nuts once in a while." J

Jauron's resume simply reeked of success. At least the Bills front office thought so.

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Jauron's Firing Confirms How Biased The Coach Of The Year Award Is

Aaron Liebman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:48:59 -0500

Fired for the second time (third if you count not being offered the position after being an interim in Detroit) Dick Jauron was named Coach of the Year in 2001. That was his third season coaching the Chicago Bears in which he led them to a 13-3 record after seasons of 6-10 and 5-11, respectively. After that 13-3 season, Jauron never posted another winning season—or even an 8-8 season—for the rest of his coaching career.

The fact that he can put coach of the year on his resume really should mean nothing to general managers looking for head coaches, or even coordinators. Jauron receiving the honor proves that the award really doesn’t go to the coach of the year, but instead to the coach of the most surprising team that year.

This year, Josh McDaniels is all but guaranteed the recognition because NOBODY would have expected a 6-0 start for him after all the drama that happened in the offseason. Yet, nobody has mentioned Jim Caldwell, the first year head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, because the Colts are expected to win every year. This year however, the Colts have had injuries and fewer weapons to work with on offense, and yet and they are still 9-0.

Even Romeo Crennel, former coach of the Cleveland Browns, finished second for coach of the year in 2007 simply because nobody thought the Browns would finish without double digit losses. For this, he was given a contract extension, and hopes rose for the Browns (an odd concept I know), who then finished 4-12 with the fans asking for Crennel’s head.

Back to Jauron, all may not be lost for him. He has some exclusive company in Dan Reeves, Norv Turner, and Wade Phillips as coaches who have been fired twice. Phillips was even an interim coach like Jauron, ironically because Dan Reeves was fired for the third and final time during the middle of the 2003 season.

And Norv Turner’s continued head coaching positions in the league always convince me that if this guy can get a coaching job, anybody can. So we may not have seen the last of Jauron. But if that’s the case, he’ll have to start from the bottom and work his way back up as a coordinator. However given his track record, he might want to stick with a job as a coordinator instead. It’s worked out for Dick Lebeau now hasn’t it?

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What Now? The Buffalo Bills on the Field for 2010

Jeremy Pike — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:44:06 -0500

Even before the news today of head coach Dick Jauron’s firing, it was painfully clear that the 2009 Buffalo Bills season was a complete loss. The offense had regressed which I was pretty sure was impossible after last year. The defense has struggled in the fourth quarter of games, but when the offense isn’t staying on the field, that’s no surprise.

So I’ve been thinking about what positions need to be overhauled for next season. Three come immediately to mind: quarterback, offensive tackle, and defensive tackle. The first two will be addressed in later articles. This is about defensive tackles and why the Bills need to get another one.

I was thinking about the need for another defensive tackle yesterday, but in Michael Lombardi’s article on National Football Post, he talks about the need for the Bills to get bigger, faster, and stronger because they have to deal with the elements especially as the season wears on.

I also think that the Bills need to get bigger on the defensive line to help shore up the run defense. A big, dominant defensive tackle would help all levels of the defense. He would consistently require double teams.

That would help the other three defensive linemen, but also help free up the linebackers currently on the roster. If they didn’t have offensive linemen always in their faces, they’d probably do a better job against the run.

So I spent some time looking at possibilities for a dominant defensive tackle, and one name keeps popping into my head. Now before anyone who is a fellow Bills fan or a football fan who hates dirty players starts foaming at the mouth, I will say this. I cannot stand the man who I am about to mention. He’s a dirty player who’s been punished on more than one occasion.

However, he also happens to be one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the league. He consistently demands a double team and still causes havoc for offensive lines. I would know, I’ve seen him in the Bills' backfield way too often.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about upcoming free agent defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

Now, I’m not necessarily advocating the Bills go out and sign him. However, they NEED a dominant player with his skills and size. If he simply stopped being a dirty player, he would be a perfect fit. He’s shown the ability to play in both the 3-4 and 4-3.

Adding a player like him would go a long way to replacing the long-since-departed Fat Pat Williams. The defensive line has never been the same since he left.

Do I think he will be on the Bills next season? No. However, I’m not exactly sure what to expect out of the Bills after today. Things are changing. We’ll have to wait and see how much.

No matter what, though, the Bills are definitely in need of a dominant presence on the defensive line. That much is for sure.

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Bills Promote Defense Coordinator Perry Fewell To Interim Head Coach

Dan Van Wie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:32:06 -0500

Ralph Wilson was pretty busy on Tuesday. The Bills owner fired Dick Jauron earlier in the day and then decided to promote defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to the interim head coach role for the remainder of the season.

The last time the Bills fired a coach in the middle of the season, 1986, they hired some guy by the name of Marv Levy to take over as the interim head coach. I wonder if the Bills can find lightning in a bottle for the second time?

In a team statement, Ralph Wilson said of Fewell: “Perry Fewell will be our interim head coach...Perry has done a great job with our defense and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills as defensive coordinator. Our players and staff have a lot of confidence in him and that is important as we look forward to these next seven games.”

Wilson was trying to build up the new head coach, but I would question his use of the term "great job with our defense" when trying to describe what Fewell has done this year.

The positives would be that the Bills lead the NFL in interceptions and lead the AFC in creating turnovers. The minuses would be that the Bills are last in rush defense, and are on the field for more plays than any other team.

Fewell's defense has fallen apart in two consecutive games in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line. Instead of generating three-and-out drives to give the ball back to the offense, Buffalo let Tennessee convert on at least six different instances of third-and-longer-than-six.

Granted, there have been a host of injuries to Fewell's unit. The extensive list of Bills starters (and reserves) that have missed time this year due to injuries include:

Defensive Line: Aaron Schobel and Kyle Williams

Linebacker: Paul Posluszny, Keith Ellison, Kawika Mitchell, and Marcus Buggs

Secondary: Leodis McKelvin, Donte Whitner, Terrance McGee, and Bryan Scott.

Why Did The Bills Promote Fewell Instead of Bobby April?

Earlier today I had speculated that Bobby April would get the nod for interim head coach. In retrospect, Bobby April's world has been focused on special teams and special teams players.

I am not privy to the information necessary to understanding how many of the other coaches' meetings he had been regularly attending, to truly have a strong feel for what was going on with the offense and defense. He did carry the "assistant head coach" title, but at the end of the day, that did not seem to matter very much when it was time for Wilson to name a successor to Jauron.

As for being qualified, Fewell has spent 12 years coaching in the NFL, primarily as a secondary coach. He was promoted to the defensive coordinator role by Dick Jauron, so he probably owes a debt of gratitude to Jauron for elevating him to the status of coordinator. Serving as coordinator for that long, he clearly is qualified for the interim job now.

Did the Bills Really Need Another Defensive Mind to Serve as Head Coach?

With all of the problems that the Bills have faced with their offense this season, one has to wonder if Fewell will be able to give enough insight and guidance to oversee an offense that has been struggling for six years running.

Dick Jauron was always a defensive coach, just as Perry Fewell has always been. Fewell never coached any area of the offense previously in his coaching career. Is this a recipe for more offensive disasters ahead as the Bills close out the 2009 season?

Who Should Take Over as Defensive Coordinator Now that Fewell Was Promoted?

My wish for the new defensive coordinator would be Bob Sanders. Sanders had previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2008. Those three years of on the job experience, and the pressure that he was able to generate from the defensive line, are examples of why I feel he makes the most sense to be promoted as well.

What Happens Now for the Bills Over the Final Seven Games?

The Bills have a chance to play spoiler as they are all but eliminated from playoff consideration. They will close out with three tough games against New England, Atlanta, and Indianapolis.

The players that show up for those three games will be giving themselves a leg up on their competition in 2010. We have no way of knowing if Fewell will continue to be the head coach after this season ends, but I am assuming that the Bills will go out and bring in a head coach with a strong track record.

That new coach will have the game films from the last month to look at and evaluate which players truly want to be Buffalo Bills, and which were going through the motions.

If I was able to spend any time with Perry Fewell, I would encourage him to give the younger Bills players a chance to prove what they can do. Specifically, I want to see more of Steve Johnson, Aaron Maybin, James Hardy, Nic Harris, and Shawn Nelson.

I would also like to see Roscoe Parrish return to kickoff and/or punt return duties and give him another chance to contribute to the team. He is still under contract, so give teams a chance to see if he is still valuable enough to keep or trade for something of value.

Plus, activating Roscoe frees up Freddy Jackson to focus on offense, where his skills are needed on every down, not just third down.

I would like to see the offense take off the Mickey Mouse gloves and do things out of the norm. You know, things like take a random drive in the middle of the first or third quarter and run a hurry up shotgun attack that the other team would not expect.

I would like to see more of the Freddy Jackson and Marshawn Lynch combination in the backfield at the same time. I am also open to seeing more use of the Wild Turkey offense (my favorite name for the Bills' version of the wildcat offense) with Freddy Jackson taking snaps directly.

As for Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick, use the weapons at your disposal. You have talented players like Lee Evans, Terrell Owens, and Josh Reed to throw to. You have younger potential talents in Steve Johnson, Shawn Nelson, and James Hardy that you can help to develop and bring along. Use them, that is why you have so many receivers on the roster.

I am open to pulling a quarterback if he is not doing the job. Start Trent or start Ryan, it doesn't matter. If you are at the helm for a couple of three-and-out drives, you can expect to have your butt sitting squarely on the bench.

If you produce, you play. If you stink up the joint, you will have time to reflect on why you are playing so poorly.

Well, that is my two cents. Wishing Perry Fewell nothing but the best and hope that his interim gig turns out to be one of highlights and rewards, kind of like his predecessor Marv Levy's was.

What do you want to see the Bills do over the final seven games?

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Dick Jauron Fired By The Bills: Who Will Be Named His Successor?

Dan Van Wie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:37:45 -0500

Ralph Wilson finally had enough. He had seen the big billboard asking for Head Coach Dick Jauron to be fired. He had heard the chants in the stands calling for: "Dick Must Go".

We will never know, but maybe the final straw was seeing Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams flip off the Bills after Sunday's loss, and Ralph thought to himself, I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore".

Wilson fired Jauron today in a mid-week move. That is rare. Wilson is known to be cheap when it comes to paying coaches, much less firing one, and then needing to pay for two head coaches while he honors the remainder of Jauron's salary.

Ralph is probably trying to figure out if there is a way that he can get the NFL to funnel some of the quarter million dollar fine they collect from Bud Adams' gesture to help pay for the new coach.

So Who Will The Bills Name as New Interim Head Coach?

There are a myriad of possibilities, but realistically I only see one option happening. Bobby April. He has been the Assistant Head Coach for the team already. He has fire and passion, two things Dick Jauron had trouble demonstrating.

Bobby April knows the team, knows the players and knows the organization top to bottom. He has a loyal following of Bills fans that have been asking him to take over the team for a long time.

Another realistic choice is Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell. He also knows the organization and the players, but lacks the "Assistant Head Coach" title that April has.

Is April or Fewell the best choice? There are a number of more high profile choices available, but they would cost Wilson a lot more than April. Those other options range from John Gruden, Marty Schottenheimer, Tony Dungy, Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, Brian Billick, Dennis Green, Jim Stassel, and Jim Haslett.

There are other names too, but how long of a laundry list do you want to kick around?

Out of the prior head coaches that are available I would love to see Tony Dungy come in and take on whatever job title/role he wants. My second choice after that would be Jon Gruden, followed by Jim Haslett (an ex-Buffalo Bill player).

Tony Dungy is somebody that everybody respects and is as solid a football mind as you can find. If Michael Vick will listen to him and do what Dungy tells him, don't you think that all of the various egos and personalities on the Bills (T.O. included) would fall in line with whatever Dungy is preaching?

If Bobby April is hired:

April will bring some immediate calm and restoring order for the organization something they need. His tenure could only last until the end of the season, when the Bills brain-trust determines that they need a head coach with experience and a track record of winning.

This also means that he is a marked man if the Bills do go outside the organization in the off-season, and if he is the interim head coach, he will be probably relieved of his duties by whoever takes over.

If the Bills name anyone from outside the organization:

If that happens, then it is not an interim tag, so expect a longer term contract for Mr. X. With that scenario, the coach will then be in a "What-do-we-have-to-work-with-here mode"?

That is a situation where everyone will see playing time, the wins and losses are irrelevant, and jobs are up in the air. Nobody is safe and big names could be dropped from the roster.

For the immediate future, the Bills for all intensive purposes have already been eliminated from the playoffs. The fans wanted change, and so now they have it.

The final seven games may not be very pretty, but they could be more entertaining. Don't be surprised if you see the Bills play out their schedule with more passion and fire.

I would also expect to see more imagination exhibited on offense, as the new coach will take off the training gloves and remove the "vanilla-Mickey-Mouse" tag from the offense.

Regarding immediate coaches decisions, expect to see both Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick play to determine if either of them will still be starting in 2010 until whatever quarterback they draft is deemed ready to take over the reigns.

Some player's attitudes will have to change quickly. T.O. in particular may either welcome the new coach with open arms, or will be shown the door if his attitude or body language shows that he really doesn't want to be there.

Stay tuned, as this promises to be an interesting week. What are your ideas for who the next head coach would or should be?

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No Shocker, Buffalo Bills Fire Dick Jauron Quickly and Quietly

Max Roosevelt — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:29:11 -0500

Following a lackluster 2-8 finish to the 2008 NFL season, Dick Jauron's 3-6 start to 2009 was enough to turn the "hot seat" into the "ejection seat." On Tuesday, owner Ralph Wilson listened to the screaming voices of fans, sports journalists, and others nationwide and let Jauron, the 14th coach in franchise history, go his own way.

The firing should come as no shock to any parties involved or uninvolved. Jauron's seat has been hot since last season's horrendous collapse and hasn't cooled down since. Fan sites, none more appropriately titled than www.firedickjauron.com, have been calling for the action for some time.

Sunday's 41-17 loss to the also 3-6 Tennessee Titans was simply the last straw. Tied at 17 after three quarters, the 24-point fourth quarter collapse surely left a sore taste in Wilson's mouth and a queasy feeling in the stomachs of both fans and players.

Still to be named are Jauron's successor and the team's choice for an interim coach. No names have been tossed about with any true gravity simply because nobody actually expected Wilson to ever pull the trigger, but odds are that the team will keep its choice in-house. Such an action would certainly not please fans. Anybody in-house is associated with the failure that the Bills have been over the last 19 games (5-14).

A possible successor who would simultaneously quell the complaints of fans and players could be any of the UFL's top coaching names. Such candidates would include Jim Fassel, Dennis Green, Jim Haslett, and Ted Cottrell, who could bump up the team morale, at least temporarily.

What one must realize, though, is that staying in-house might be a good choice. Reaching out to Terrell Owens certainly has not shown to be a worthwhile investment thus far. The former star wideout has yet to legitimately impact the team's struggling offense.

Also to be noted are the woes of the team's defense, especially against the run. In fact, there is not one aspect of the team that cannot be drastically improved. This makes the choice of a head coach all the more difficult.

Regardless of what the executives decide on, the Bills need to pick a direction and stick with it. The new head coach will not be a fix for every hole that the team has, but he can certainly bring some new blood and life to the team, as well as some improvement to a very lackluster group of players.

It is very debatable whether or not the Bills are underachieving or just a really bad team. A new coach may not take them to the promised land, but will surely answer that question at the very least.

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First Look: Buffalo Bills Fire Head Coach Dick Jauron

Matthew Young — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:15:43 -0500

By now, you've probably heard the news. Dick Jauron is out as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. To say that it was a move long coming is an understatement. Fan sentiment against Jauron has been simmering ever since the Bills' ignominious third losing season in a row in 2008. Tensions came to a head a few weeks ago when a grassroots campaign raised funds to put up a billboard calling for his ouster.

It seems Ralph Wilson needed a little more convincing. He finally got it Sunday.

Not only did the Bills lose following a huge fourth quarter collapse in Tennessee, but Jauron probably made the move that broke the camel's back late in the fourth quarter. He benched Edwards following an interception that was run back for a touchdown late in the game.

At the time, diva receiver Terrell Owens was clearly unhappy with Edwards; he could be seen venting on the sidelines to anyone who would listen. When backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick came out on the ensuing series, one had to wonder if Jauron made the switch to placate the volatile receiver. But to do it so late in the game with the score well out of reach was just a little too little and a lot too late. It was a feeble attempt to salvage the unsalvageable. He had finally hit rock bottom.

I won't deny that Wilson should have fired Jauron after last season. Most Bills fans would agree with me. And firing him now may also seem too little, too late. But it's a sign that the Bills' owner is at least marginally plugged-in and listening to his fanbase. Of course he is. He likes money. The remaining question now is this: How much will he spend for a head coach next year, and who will he get?

The Western New York community will wait with bated breath once the offseason arrives. Will 91-year-old Ralph Wilson provide?

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Buffalo Bills Fire Head Coach Dick Jauron: What Now?

Jeremy Pike — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:08 -0500

Well, today is finally the day. The Dick Jauron era in Buffalo has finally come to an end. Whether you think it came too late (most people) or too early (mid-season firings rarely work out that well), there is no question that everyone thinks Jauron needed to be gone.

The question now is how do the Bills begin to pick up the pieces? There are huge holes that need to be filled both on the field and off the field. Who will the quarterback be next season? How does the offensive line get fixed? How does the run defense get fixed?

Who will be on the coaching staff next season and who will be in the front office?

My personal choice for head coach and quasi general manager is former Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan. He worked miracles with no-name running backs for years in Denver. Imagine what he could do with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.

On the defensive side of the ball, if Shanahan is OK with it, I'd like to see either Perry Fewell stay on as defensive coordinator or current defensive line coach and former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders promoted. He's been a big part of the Bills' defensive line, generating pressure for once. I'd like to see what they could do with a bit more free reign.

What this move does NOT change is the fact that the Bills need to find a quarterback. If Shanahan is hired, I could see him going with an accurate veteran quarterback to help control the clock. If Chad Pennington recovers well from his shoulder injury, I would definitely not be adverse to him being brought in to run the offense and have a rookie QB learn from him.

Also top on my priority list are tackles, both offensive and defensive. I'll actually be highlighting the defensive tackle position in an article on my new blog, Man Meets Football. Suffice it to say, the Bills need a massive tackle that demands double teams a la Pat Williams or Vince Wilfork.

Obviously the Bills need to get better at protecting the quarterback and the biggest weak spot this season has been the tackle position. That really needs to be rectified, both at the starting position and in terms of depth.

Regarding current players, there's a good chunk of players who will still be with the team next year. However, in what capacity is still to be determined. Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick, the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart, are still going to be with the team next year, barring releases. However, I could see that happening if another veteran is brought in and a player drafted.

Right now, I highly doubt much effort will be made by any coaching staff to re-sign Terrell Owens unless a miracle occurs.

It's also possible that with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell now the interim head coach, a change in the offensive play-calling occurs. Jauron was a conservative head coach in terms of the offense. It will be interesting to see if Fewell wants to continue that trend or just get an idea from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt in terms of what he thinks the offense is best suited to do.

Right now, I want to see a lot of younger players getting significant playing time to see if they've got anything. It will be an interesting rest of the season and offseason, that's for sure.

Jeremy Pike is currently the only writer at the blog Man Meets Football, found at http://jeremynpike.com/manmeetsfootball.

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Jauron-Imo! The Bills Finally Make the Big Leap, Fire Coach Dick Jauron

Chris Trapasso — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:52:37 -0500

Usually...my weekly "Seen and Herd" column is posted early in the week, but there's some news from Bills camp that's got everyone talking—at least in the Western New York region.

The Bills have officially fired head coach Dick Jauron as of today, Nov. 17, 2009, sometime around three o'clock.

New national holiday in the Queen City?

Maybe.

I originally wasn't as mad about Jauron as it seemed the rest of Bills faithful was, but after continual embarrassing defeats and fourth quarter meltdowns, I was really beginning to dislike what that man was doing to the Buffalo Bills.

He had two weeks to prepare for the worst passing defense in the NFL, and once again, the Bills quarterbacks looked like Junior Varsity starters.

The run game has actually worsened sine Marshawn Lynch's return, and outside of Jairus Byrd's monster season, the defense as a whole has been a massive disappointment.

Jauron was 24-33 in Buffalo, making triumphant runs at 7-9 in his three seasons. His passionless attitude never meshed well with the extremely gritty, blue-collar Bills fans.

I love the move, as I'm sure thousands of Bills fans are elated today, but the only gripe I have is, why not fire him during the bye week?

He was bound to make more coaching blunders and mismanage the clock, and he did both Sunday.

The fact that he's gone, however, gives me reason not to complain.

Instantly, all is a little better in Buffalo.

What's Next?

Now that the massive load is off our backs, we must look forward as a fanbase.

Perry Fewell or Bobby April will most likely be named as the interim coach, and without Jauron there to hinder any creativity or aggressiveness, don't be shocked to see some adjustments to the game plans.

All these weeks I was hoping and praying for changes, but now I think there's a realistic chance we'll see somewhat of a different team.

I'm not saying the Bills will win seven straight, but Jauron being gone will finally allow some player development. He was that bad.

I want to see young guys like James Hardy, Steve Johnson, Chris Ellis, and Aaron Maybin in the lineup. Also, I'd like to see what Roscoe Parrish can do. He was in Jauron's doghouse and should now be freed.

As far as the 2010 season, it's too far away to predict who will lead the Bills. One thing's for sure: It won't be a weak, defensive coach. It'll be someone with plenty of fire and animation.

After the loss in Tennessee, the feeling of the season being over so soon had me beyond disappointed. Frustrated. Annoyed.

Now with Jauron gone, I feel a new beginning for the Bills. At least there's one less thing we as Bills fans can complain about.

I like the fortitude in Ralph Wilson. He must have been more fed up than the rest of us, and he made a change.

Tracking the Bills will be very interesting these next two months. At least there will be no more of Jauron's deathly stares from the sideline.

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Buffalo Bills Pounded in Fourth Quarter By Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans

Robert Quinn — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:46:30 -0500

Yesterday's 41-17 loss against Tennessee was embarrassing, to be kind. After a promising first half, Buffalo was not able to make any changes going into the third quarter.

To make matters worse, Chris Johnson, who pounded the rock for 232 all purpose yards while scoring two touchdowns, was holding up T.O's jersey in the press conference, after Owens bet the running back Buffalo would win the game.

Johnson eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the season while constantly breaking for devastating gains. Buffalo's defense could not contain him in the passing attack either, allowing him to earn nine receptions for 100 yards as Vince Young's top target.

Buffalo started strong, even utilizing some creative play calling in which Fred Jackson connected with Lee Evans for a 27-yard touchdown pass out of the Wildcat formation.

Buffalo's Rush Offense

The Bills' running attack looked very strong, despite the limited carries. Each back averaged four yards or better per carry, however, they only chose to rush 17 times during the game, allowing Trent Edwards to pass the ball 28 times.

Fred Jackson's rushes were mainly out of the Wildcat, but Marshawn looked strong and more like "Beast Mode" in his limited carries. He constantly fell forward, fighting for the extra yard. He also showed his beautiful combination of power and speed, for which we love him so much.

Buffalo consistently failed to convert on third downs, which is why both of their carries are slumping.

Buffalo's use of the Wildcat formation surprised me. In the situations they used it, it turned to be a success. I am interested to see if they will continue to develop these plays for further weeks.

Buffalo's Pass Offense

Trent Edwards looked solid during the first half, connecting with Owens on a deep pass, followed by a fade in the endzone to Lee Evans, for his second receiving touchdown of the day.

He did throw one interception, however, on a pass intended for T.O, but it was not the performance he needed to have to keep his job. Edwards was replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter, going two-for-seven with an interception.

Tennessee's defense was sub par to say the least, but they proved to be better than Buffalo.

Buffalo's Rush Defense

I don't even know where to start on this one. Chris Johnson did what he pleased yesterday, forcing linebackers to miss tackles and bursting away from any defender in his way.

The Bills' rush defense is again showing why they are ranked dead last in the NFL, constantly making running backs look like Hall of Famers week in and week out. Given, Chris Johnson is a superb running back, but there is no excuse for giving up 100 yards on 14 carries.

Buffalo needs to focus on tackling and executing defensive plays.

Buffalo's Pass Defense

Vince Young passed for 210 yards, leading the Titans to their third straight victory and Young's seventh straight as a starter, yet 100 of these yards were on screens or short passes to Chris Johnson.

Star rookie Jairus Byrd recorded another interception, giving him eight on the season and keeping his streak alive, now recording an interception in five straight games.

With Terrence McGee and Donte Whitner out, Young capitalized on long passes to Nate Washington and Kenny Britt.

Overall on the defensive side of the ball, Buffalo failed to keep up with the lighting fast speed of Chris Johnson. They were outplayed, and again we are sent home with our tails between our legs, wondering what Maurice Jones-Drew will do to us next weekend.

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Buffalo Bills Analysis: Botched QB Sneak Helps to Seal Jauron's Fate

Dan Van Wie — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:59:34 -0500

Every close NFL game has one, two or maybe three plays that turn out to be the big momentum-swinging plays and ultimately decide the contest. If you are on the losing side, those are the plays that you wish you could have a chance to say "do over" or get a mulligan off the tee.

For the Buffalo Bills, that play occurred towards the end of the third quarter Sunday at Tennessee. The Bills came out of the locker room trailing by a field goal at 17-14, but had driven down the field to score and tie the game up at 17.

The Bills much-maligned defense had forced the Titans to punt and were getting the ball back. All of the aspects that the Bills needed to show improvement in seemed to be clicking.

Their offense was staying on the field for more plays than normal. They were seeing longer drives, and churning up minutes in time of possession. When you hold the ball for 10 plays or more on a drive, that is considered to be a successful drive.

The Bills were last in the NFL at doing that, as they had only been able to muster five drives of 10 plays or more in the first half of the season. So far, they had already done it twice in the game, which had to make the Bills feel good.

Of course, it helped they were facing the Titans defense, which isn't exactly known as the Steel Curtain. They were next to last in the NFL at passing yardage allowed, and they demonstrated that they can still give up the long pass play with the best of them.

Turning Point of the Game

So, with three minutes left in the third quarter, the Bills began a drive at their own 10 yard line. Drive the ball down the field, eat up some clock, and try to score to take the lead was the objective.

The Bills gained nine yards on the first two plays and were faced with a 3rd-and-less-than-a-yard for a first down. This, to me, was the turning point of the game. Trent Edwards attempted a quarterback sneak.

Edwards stood up and was met at the line of scrimmage. He didn't get low enough to avoid getting hit. Edwards was stopped dead in his tracks and the Bills were forced to punt. How often does a QB sneak not work?

In the post-game press conference, Jauron said that the quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1 was their most successful play. That might have been the case normally, but what Jauron failed to mention was the offensive line at the time happened to include both Seth McKinney and Jake Chambers.

Of all the plays that were available, the Bills found one that would come back and haunt them. The Titans forced the punt. They drove down the field and ultimately scored a touchdown on a one-yard run by All-World RB Chris Johnson and never looked back.

Johnson scored on third down from the one yard line. He was met at the line of scrimmage on a hard hit by Bryan Scott and Paul Posluszny. It almost seemed that the force of impact from both Bills defenders made them bounce off of Johnson, and he was able to absorb the hit, and went in to the end zone to score.

From then on, it was all Tennessee, as they went on to score the final 24 unanswered points that accounted for a final score of 41-17.

The Bills loss gives them a record of 3-6, and the six losses all but guarantees that the Bills will miss the playoffs for the entire decade, and with it fail in the final chance that Dick Jauron had to lead them to the playoffs.

The Bills will probably ask Jauron to finish out the year, but from this point forward, he is now officially a lame duck coach. Quack quack.

Chris Johnson Put on an Amazing Show

After nine games this year, the Bills have only had one player crack the 100 yard mark, when Fred Jackson rushed for over 100 yards against Tampa Bay in Week Two. Chris Johnson was able to single-handedly crack the mark twice in the same game.

Johnson had 100 yards receiving and 132 yards receiving. Very impressive feat. Breaking 100 yards receiving and rushing by the same player is a brand-new feat for the Titans franchise. That has never been done in the history of the team.

Speed Kills

The Bills defense was not fast enough to keep up with Johnson. His ability to outrun the defense was on display all day. Paul Posluszny and Chris Draft in particular looked to be too slow to be able to run him down.

The younger, more athletic Bills like Aaron Maybin and Nic Harris did not have a tackle for the entire game. I don't know how many plays they were in for, but you would think the Bills would have tried to utilize their speed and athleticism.

Being short-handed and without the services of leading tackler Keith Ellison, their fastest defensive back in Terrence McGee and defensive lineman Kyle Williams was too much for the Bills to overcome.

When the Bills seemed to have an answer for Johnson on some plays, that meant there wasn't anyone left to keep an eye on Vince Young. The quarterback was able to use his legs and elusiveness to scramble and pick up some key first downs that kept drives alive.

Converting on Third Down

The Titans converted on third down 11 out of 17 tries, and the majority of those came on runs by Chris Johnson, swing or screen passes to Chris Johnson, or scrambles by Vince Young. The Bills defense lacked the speed, mobility or athleticism to stop them on most 3rd-and-long scenarios.

The Titans successfully converted on all of these: 3rd-and-6, 3rd-and-8, 3rd-and-10, 3rd-and-9, 3rd-and-8, 3rd-and-10, and finally for further insult, 3rd-and-14. There is just no excuse for that. I know there have been a number of injuries, but you have to find ways to take away their best options and make the lesser players beat you.

Streaks Intact

Jairus Byrd came up with another interception as he picked off a Vince Young pass in the first half. That means he now has made picks in five straight games. Byrd is amazing and the Titans stopped throwing the ball down the middle of the field after the pick.

The Titans were convinced, so they just scrapped that part of their offense. They settled for short screens to Chris Johnson, and when they weren't throwing it to him, they handed it off to him. Then they handed it off to him some more.

Speaking of Johnson, he did manage to continue his streak of two rushing touchdowns for the third straight game.

More Bills Injuries

Bills tackle Demetrius Bell was injured in the first half and he did not return. The injury forced the depleted offensive line to make some changes, as the Bills had no healthy alternatives at tackle for Bell.

So, they operated with a makeshift line in the second half with Andy Levitre moving over to tackle and reserve Seth McKinney came in to play guard. The Bills played the second half with Seth McKinney and Jake Chambers, which helps to account for the lone field goal in the second half.

No wonder the quarterback sneak did not work. Maybe the Bills will finally go out and sign a free-agent veteran to plug in until Jamon Meredith returns. Paging Jon Runyan...

Also, Ashton Youbody was injured in the game, but no word yet on severity of the injury.

Trent Edwards Returned to Action

Trent Edwards had some reasonably successful drives today. It was good to see him back under center as he had been gone for roughly one month. Trent did some things well, but still does some things that drive you crazy.

Quarterbacks are either play-makers or they are not. Trent Edwards is not a play-maker.

He has trouble making something happen when a play breaks down and he has to improvise. As often as this happens to the Bills offense, Edwards' lack of improvisation skills is something that will always limit the Bills production.

Compare the improvisation you saw today from Vince Young to what you see from Edwards. The difference is as plain as night and day. Young constantly found ways to make plays that were not drawn up on the board, because he is mobile.

Edwards final drive resulted in a couple errant throws to T.O., and then on third down he kept watching the receiver Josh Reed the whole way on the pattern. It was very easy for the Titans to step in front of the pass and return it for an easy touchdown.

That type of play is something I could see a rookie doing. But in his third year, Edwards should be better than that, but he isn't. That is why there are so many questions surrounding his ability to be a top-flight quarterback.

T.O. Has Some Production then Blows Up on Sidelines .

T.O. was challenged throughout the day by the Titans defense. They hit him often and some of the hits could easily have been flagged as unnecessary roughness after the whistle blew. He did come up with over 75 yards receiving and caught two long passes. Better production was expected against a softer Titans pass defense.

After some more mistakes by the Bills offense, T.O. came off the field and started yelling at whoever would listen to him. It was the first true meltdown that we saw from him this season. I suspect that more of these outbursts will occur with each successive loss.

Losing is something that T.O. has not had to endure often. In his post-game press conference he said he has never been on a losing team before. T.O., welcome to the Bills.

More and More Penalties

The Bills already led the league in illegal motion penalties, and they padded their lead with at least four more of them today. Some of them came to guys that didn't play much like McKinney, but other flags in the game were attributed to rookies Eric Wood and Andy Levitre.

Bills Have Some Success in Wildcat...err...Wild Turkey Offense

I know the Dolphins run the wildcat offense, and the NFL is notorious for copying each other. Since it is almost Thanksgiving, and I feel like the Bills version should have their own nickname, so why not Wild Turkey?

Have you ever drank or ate a Wildcat? No. You can definitely drink Wild Turkey and it tastes better.

Anyway, the Bills ran out of the Wild Turkey with some running plays to Freddy Jackson. They ultimately threw the ball out of the Wild Turkey as Freddy hit Lee Evans for a 27 yard touchdown. It was a pretty pass, hitting him in stride.

This was something they practiced over the bye week. The other new wrinkle I saw was using both Marshawn Lynch with Freddy Jackson in the backfield at the same time while Edwards was under center. We have been asking for that formation for weeks.

That pretty well covers it. Bills travel to Jacksonville next Sunday for another game to see how well this team can respond to more adversity.

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Time to Look Ahead: Who the Buffalo Bills Should Keep for 2010

Matt Schaefer — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:18:56 -0500

There is no doubt about it anymore, the Buffalo Bills are one of the worst teams in the NFL.

This is a team that is going to miss out on the playoffs for the tenth straight year, which is unacceptable. So many things are wrong with this team, and the fans are starting to get impatient with all of these years of rebuilding.

Apparently the Bills have been rebuilding for the past decade but no good has come of it. They have had only one winning season as a team during this time. One. Let me just repeat it for a third time in case it is not sinking in, this team has had one winning season in ten years.

Sometimes you just want to laugh out loud at how bad this team is.

Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the players on the team. They put themselves through hell to be able to be in top physical condition to play in the NFL, not to mention the beatings they take during the offseason, the weeks in practices and on Sundays.

Effort is not the problem here, it is talent.

The players on a whole just aren’t good enough to win.

So instead of writing about how I hate Trent Edwards, or how I have better hands than Terrell Owens or even how all the fans should boycott at halftime of the next home game, lets try to come up with something productive and look ahead to the next season to see just how far away the Bills are from finally reaching their goal of a playoff berth.

Quarterback

On the Current Roster: Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gibran Hamdan

The NFL is a league that is dictated by quarterback play, and the Bills have fallen way short.

Trent Edwards isn’t the answer . Most of Buffalo can agree on that.

Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t the answer either and I am not going to even waste much breath on Gibran Hamdan. The guy is a nice guy, but isn’t a very good football player, especially at the NFL level.

Buffalo doesn’t really have many places to turn to though. The free agent quarterback class is very weak this offseason, with Kyle Orton and Jason Campbell on the top of the list.

Say what you want about Orton’s numbers, all the guy does is win games. However, he will most likely be re-signed by Denver and Campbell is only a slight upgrade over Edwards, as he hasn’t really developed yet either.

Even worse, the draft doesn’t have a lot of guys who are worth taking either. Most of the projected teams that are going to wind up drafting in the top ten of next year’s draft are going to be looking at quarterback prospects and only a few jump off of the page.

Jimmy Clausen, Jake Locker, and Sam Bradford are the top quarterbacks in the draft, but they are all likely to go very early and if the Bills fall outside of the top ten, I don’t seem them trading up to get one of them.

After the top three, the rest of the quarterback class drops of in terms of talent, other than Tim Tebow, who I would personally like the Bills to take.

Like I stated before in previous articles, Tebow brings leadership and a sense of winning to whatever team he goes to. Tebow is a proven winner who could help change the losing mentality at One Bills Drive.

Who Should Stay: Both Edwards and Fitzpatrick should stay with the team, but both should be moved to backup roles. The Bills shouldn’t waste a roster spot on Hamdan anymore.

Players to Look At: Kyle Orton, Jason Campbell, and whatever quarterback they view as the best available in the draft.

Running Back

On the Current Roster: Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson

Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson are having sub-par seasons, especially by their standards.

Jackson started off of the year hot, but has cooled off greatly since Lynch returned to the team after his suspension. The two have combined to give the Bills the 19^th best running game in the league.

A lot of the problems in the running game have been because of the poor run blocking by the offensive line. It just hasn’t show up on a consistent basis.

Now there are the Bills fans out there that want Lynch traded after this season, but in my eyes that isn’t the smartest move.

People have to remember that Lynch still has youth on his side, which is a plus for a running back. He has a unique blend of speed and power that a lot of backs lack in the league.

Fred Jackson is a great football player and will run through a wall for his teammates. Jackson will turn 29 by the start of the next season and we have all seen what happens when running back hit 30, the best of the best start to lose the explosiveness from their game.

Jackson has only been in the NFL for three seasons but he has been a workhorse all his career. From college, to the United Indoor Football league and in NFL Europe, he had to take a pounding running the ball.

Jackson is great now, but who knows how many more carries those legs have left?

Lynch and Jackson are a perfect change of pace backs for each other. Lynch brings a lot of power while Jackson is more finesse and most importantly, each of them runs hard, breaking a lot of tackles in the process.

The NFL is turning into a two-back league and keeping these two together is a must.

Who Should Stay: Both Lynch and Jackson should return to the Bills next season, splitting time with each other.

Players to Look At: No players are really needed with the duo still together. A third running back will be needed just in case, but that could be anyone as they will barely see the field.

Wide Receiver

On the Current Roster: Lee Evans, Terrell Owens, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish, Steve Johnson, James Hardy, Justin Jenkins

Let me start this out by saying that I thought that the “T.O. project” in Buffalo would work out well for both sides.

Boy was I wrong.

Owens hasn’t produced and hasn’t really given the offense a new wrinkle to throw at opponents. Poor quarterback play hasn’t helped either but he is starting to quit on this season.

Lee Evans and Josh Reed are also off to the slowest starts in their career, but Evans has a lot more upside than Owens, who might have reached the ceiling. Reed is an excellent slot man who finds the zones in defenses and keeps the chains moving. For the right price he should stick.

Stevie Johnson and James Hardy are developing and should stay on the team as both are cheap to keep around and have potential.

Roscoe Parrish is a terrible wide receiver, who is only good on screen plays, because he doesn’t recognize defenses well, has suspect hands, and can not create separation on his own.

Justin Jenkins has to be looking for a new team next season also. I understand the value of a guy like him as a special teamer, but that is all he can do. The Bills have to stop wasting roster spots on just special teams' players. You can get quality backups to play special teams just fine, and Jenkins isn’t one of them. He is a 7^th string wide receiver for crying out loud who is taking up a roster spot because he can tackle on special teams. You can not tell me that the Bills could use the roster spot more wisely but getting a player who might see the field while also contributing to special teams too.

Who Should Stay: Lee Evans is here for the long term and if he can be brought back cheaply, Josh Reed should return to his slot duties. Johnson and Hardy both stay because of their upside as they continue to learn what it takes to be a wide receiver in the league. Owens, Parrish and Jenkins should all be looking for work elsewhere.

Players to Look At: With Owens on the way out, the Bills still need a legitimate number two wide receiver opposite Evans. There are a ton of high priced options available (Vincent Jackson, Brandon Marshall, Braylon Edwards, Antonio Bryant, and Steve Breaston), but I doubt the Bills will want to go after anyone of them. Kevin Walter, the wide receiver from the Houston Texans, would be decent candidate. He is struggling this season after coming back from an injury, but he is a play-maker. His off year might reduce how much it costs to get him, and he is only making $1.5 million this year. A slight raise is needed, but the Bills could get a quality guy for a good price.

Tight End

On the Current Roster: Derek Fine, Shawn Nelson, Jonathan Subpar, Derek Schouman

The Bills have a bunch of the same guys at the tight end position, players who can block well, have good hands and can run good routes, however, none of their players now are play-makers.

The jury is still out on rookie Shawn Nelson who has shown signs of becoming a threat, but the offense now doesn’t utilize the tight end position at all, except in the play-action game.

There are some play-making tight ends available in free agency like Owen Daniels and Tony Scheffler, but both will come with a high price. Some other options could be guys like Bo Scaife from Tennessee or Ben Watson from New England.

There aren’t really any players available though that would be an upgrade over what they have and I don’t see them taking a run at one of the play-making tight ends.

Who Should Stay: Derek Fine and Shawn Nelson will be back next season. Schouman is a free agent and he has a similar skill set as Fine, not to mention the fact that Schouman will be coming off of a knee injury, it is really not a must that he stays.

Players to Look At: Tony Scheffler has turned into a solid blocker this season, and can still stretch the field. The Bills would be foolish not to give him a look.

Offensive Line

On the Current Roster: Demetrius Bell, Jonathan Scott, Kirk Chambers, Jamon Meredith, Eric Wood, Andy Levitre, Geoff Hangartner, Seth McKinney

I am not going to sit here and pretend like I know all of the blocking assignments for the line. I can’t tell who’s fault it is on missed blocks, all I know is that the line as a whole is not getting the job done.

They could blow up the entire line again if they wanted too because what they have now is garbage.

There is constant pressure on whoever is behind center and the running game has been non-existent since Week 3.

The line is leading the league in one category though, false start penalties. I don’t understand how that is even possible. Sure, bring up the fact that the line is inexperienced, that still doesn’t matter. These guys have been playing football their whole life and they can’t remember the snap count?

Wood and Levitre are the only one in my eyes worth keeping. Demetruis Bell has shown upside to the coaching staff (although I haven’t seen it) so I guess he gets a pass too. Geoff Hangartner has been ok, and he is still under contract for pretty cheap so he is staying too. Everyone else should be out of work.

Who Should Stay: Wood and Levitre because of their upside, along with Bell and Hangartner.

Players to Look At: Anyone. Really. The team needs some experience on the line, and anyone who knows how to actually block. I haven’t had a chance to look at any lineman in particular, so I guess I’ll leave that one up to the readers in the comments on who they would like to see.

Defensive End

On the Current Roster: Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney, Aaron Maybin

Aaron Schobel is starting to lose some of his speed and power that he had during his Pro Bowl days. He isn’t getting any younger either.

The problem is that the Bills don’t have anyone to turn to if they were to try to trade Schobel while they can still get some value for him. Denney and Kelsay are both the same player, good at stopping the run but disappear when they need to pressure the quarterback, and neither is an upgrade over Schobel.

Aaron Maybin has also been a non-factor in the limited playing time he has received.

The Bills don’t have anywhere else to turn to other than the draft to try to get a force at defensive end. Other than Julius Peppers, there really isn’t a true upgrade over any of the players the Bills already have. There are a lot of underachievers the Bills could take a chance on, but it doesn’t really make any sense to do so.

Who Should Stay: The Bills have their hands tied on this position. They have to keep Schobel even though his best days are behind him. Kelsay and Maybin will stay too and Ryan Denney is a free agent and should be shown the door. He isn’t worth the money.

Players to Look At: Defensive end prospects in the draft, although anyone they pick will take time to develop. Whoever they can get will come in the later rounds. The Bills can not spend high picks on defensive ends two years in a row.

Defensive Tackle

On the Current Roster: Marcus Stroud, Spencer Johnson, Kyle Williams, John McCargo

Defensive tackle is the position on the team that I have liked the most this season.

The stats suggest otherwise, but watching this unit every week lets me think that the Bills are set at this position.

Marcus Stroud is still a force and Kyle Williams' game has been elevated because of him. Spencer Johnson is a quality backup who can fill in if needed. John McCargo has finally got his head on straight and is working hard to stay on the team. In his limited playing time, he has made some decent plays and is starting to show some promise if he continues to work. He comes on the cheap too.

Who Should Stay: Everyone should be back next year.

Players to Look At: None.

Linebacker

On the Current Roster: Paul Posluszny, Chris Draft, Keith Ellison, Nic Harris, Jon Corto

Unlike the defensive tackles, this unit has been terrible this season.

The Bills need a play-maker at the linebacker position. They have guys who can just make tackles. Posluszny hasn’t turned into the force he was suppose to be, and most weeks I don’t even realize Keith Ellison is on the field. Both can pile up tackles, but neither can change the course of a game.

Chris Draft is a decent veteran who is a good backup to have on your team. Harris is still a work in progress.

It hates me to say it, but Jon Corto should not be on the roster. He is a great story, the hometown kid playing for the team he grew up rooting for, but he isn’t a good football player. When the Bills move a safety to linebacker instead of going with Corto, you know there is a problem. He is another guy kept around just for special teams.

Who Should Stay: Posluszny, Ellison, Draft and Harris should all be back. Only Posluszny should be starting though. John Digiorgio should also return to the team as a backup (he is out with an injury). Also remember that Kawika Mitchell will be returning from knee injury next season. He is signed long term, but after watching him during training camp and the preseason the Bills might want to part ways with the under productive, overpaid linebacker.

Players to Look At: All of the elite linebackers out there will come with a high price, but they really need a play-maker. Youngsters like Barrett Ruud, Thomas Davis and DeMeco Ryans could be available and the Bills should pay whatever any one of them wants to get on the team. They could also take a chance with Shawne Merriman, who has been slow coming back after a knee injury, but that is a high-risk/high-reward chance that the Bills might not want to take. No matter what, Buffalo has to get an elite linebacker someway or another, whether it is on the outside or at the middle linebacker position. Posluszny can play any spot on the field at linebacker.

Cornerback

On the Current Roster: Terrence McGee, Leodis McKelvin, Drayton Florence, Reggie Corner, Ashton Youboty, Ellis Lankster

Terrence McGee is one of the most underrated corners in the league and he continues to shut down top wide outs who line up against him. Leodis McKelvin was starting to show promise but an injury knocked him out for the rest of the season.

The signing of the offseason turns out not to be T.O. but Drayton Florence who has returned to top form He still is vulnerable to the deep ball, but if you can get him a little help over the top, he is a solid number two cornerback. Reggie Corner has also shown some promise as he continues to develop.

Who Should Stay: McGee, McKelvin, Florence, and Corner are all locks. Youboty can provide depth as the number five guy, and would be cheap to keep. Lankster was a good preseason story, but he shouldn’t be on a NFL roster. I don’t see how the Bills could upgrade this position either through the draft or free agency. The players I named are very good, and all come responsibly priced.

Players to Look At: None

Free Safety

On the Current Roster: Jairus Byrd, Donte Whitner

Have you heard?

The Byrd is the word in Buffalo as rookie Jairus Byrd has been the only bright spot on the Bills so far this year. The Bills finally found the takeaway machine they were looking for when they drafted Donte Whitner is the first round of the 2006 draft.

Byrd is leading the league in with eight interceptions and he wasn’t even a starter coming into the season. With the rest of the year to learn, along with the off-season to improve his game, he could turn into an elite free safety very quickly.

While Byrd has watched his playing time increase one hundred percent, Donte Whitner is now the odd man out. The trade value of Whitner is not great so you can’t really move him and he does provide depth at both the free and strong safety position. He is also a leader on the team, and is good for team chemistry on the defensive side of the ball. He should stay as a backup, as he only makes about $2 million for the next two years.

Who Should Stay: Both Whitner and Bryd will be back in a Bills uniform in 2010.

Players to Look At: None. The Bills finally found their guy at free safety.

Strong Safety

On the Current Roster: Bryan Scott, George Wilson, John Wendling

Bryan Scott and George Wilson are two veteran players who will do anything to stay on the field. Wilson is exactly what am I talking about when I say that the Bills should get guys who can be backups who can not only play on special teams but can fill in when needed too.

Scott is very good against the run and taking opposing tight ends out of the game. He is exactly what you want out of a strong safety. Wilson is a good backup and Whinter can play the position well too.

John Wendling is the odd man out, seeing as he can only produce on special teams.

Who Should Stay: Both Scott and Wilson should return. Wendling will be looking for a new home in 2010.

Players to Look At: None.

Special Teams

On the Current Roster: Brain Moorman, Rian Lindell

Who Should Stay: Both players are very good at what they do, and there are no upgrades available over them.

Players to Look At: None

There are some players that can help the Bills win in the future, but something needs to be done in order to help turn this team in the right direction.

The Bills should keep some of the old and then go out and get some new players to help fill in holes on their team.

A decade is long enough to wait. The Bills need to make the playoff soon.

This season is already over, might as well start looking forward to the future.

Read more Buffalo Bills news on BleacherReport.com

Mid-Season Report Card: Buffalo Bills 2009 Draft Class

Dan Van Wie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:12:34 -0500

This slide show is a run down of how well the Buffalo Bills rookies from the draft class of 2009 have performed so far at the halfway mark. With eight games down and eight games to go, the rookies still have half a season left to impact how their rookie season will be finally viewed. Pitcured is Jairus Byrd, doing what he does best, being in the right spot at the right time, making a play on the ball and intercepting passes.

Begin Slideshow

You Need a New Program For This Week's Buffalo Bills Starting Lineup

Dan Van Wie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:10:25 -0500

The last time the Buffalo Bills took the field was two weeks ago, against the Houston Texans, in week eight. During the two weeks they had off, it is uncanny how many changes their starting lineup will have undergone by the time they square off with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

After you see all the changes due to take place, you have to wonder how much stock Jeff Fisher could put in any of the game film they watched from the Texans' game. The Bills are looking at as many as eight potential changes in the starting lineup from one game to the next, which is roughly one third of their starters.

This is not all set in stone yet, because there are still a number of Bills that are listed in questionable and may not be decided until game time. Here is what we do know so far:

Changes on Offense

Starting quarterback Trent Edwards is back as he has been medically cleared to resume play after the concussion he suffered against the Jets. He will relieve Ryan Fitzpatrick of his duties.

Starting tackle Jonathan Scott is back from his injury to return to the starting lineup. His replacement Jamon Meredith is recovering from his own knee sprain and may be available to play as well.

Starting fullback Corey McIntyre is presumed healthy enough to return to the lineup. For plays involving max pass protection, that is a good thing because Marshawn Lynch and Freddy Jackson have done their fair share of whiffing on blitzing linebackers.

Starting wide receiver Terrell Owens may or may not play due to a strained hip. He is one of the question marks.

If Owens can't go, it will be probably be Steve Johnson or the recently activated James Hardy (off of the PUP list) that would see more reps. Josh Reed would move to T.O.'s starting spot.

T.O. missed two practices this week, so his availability may boil down to a game time decision.

Hopefully there are no couches in his hotel room, as falling asleep on a couch is what initially caused his hip to act up. If he plays and does not come up with any catches against a suspect Titan's secondary, it will be very difficult for me to not call T.O. "Couch Potato" for the rest of the season.

Roscoe Parrish, who could have been brought back to take T.O.'s place, has his own new injury, that being a twisted knee in practice this week. He had been listed as the emergency QB for the Bills while Edwards was out, so we don't need to worry about that now.

Gibran Hamdan will probably be inactive as the emergency QB, since the Bills will need his active roster spot for either McIntyre or Hardy.

Although there hasn't been talk of him starting, rookie tight end Shawn Nelson is expected to return, and should be one more weapon that Trent Edwards needs to re- introduce himself to, along with Hardy and Johnson.

I would like to see Nelson take over for starter Derek Fine, but Nelson needs to show more complete play, from catching passes to blocking. It would also help if he could avoid any more injuries.

Now let's move over to the defense, for the changes there.

Bryan Scott is now healthy enough to return, but not at his normal safety spot. He will instead be taking over at linebacker for injured Keith Ellison. Expect to see some reps for Nic Harris there as well, as the Bills get a chance to see what the rookie from Oklahoma can do.

Terrence McGee had his knee scoped in the past ten days, and is not ready to return. So Reggie Corner will be plugged in to, appropriately enough, the corner. Ashton Youboty will see some time on the corner as well in McGee's absence.

There are at least two more question marks that could have an impact on the starting lineup on defense.

Aaron Schobel has a sore groin and the Bills can't say if he is starting or not. If he can't go, then Ryan Denney gets the call to start, with more reps for Aaron Maybin as well.

Donte Whitner is another question mark, and could return to safety, which would bump George Wilson back to the bench. That is a little hard to believe, since Wilson has been the Bills leading tackler recently and had come up with an interception in two of the prior three games.

Don't be surprised if the Bills come out with some three safety looks, as Whitner, Byrd, and Wilson can be used to help shore up the run defense. If that occurs, and the Bills still have Bryan Scott in at linebacker, then in reality you have a four-safety look, taking Chris Draft out of the game.

Kyle Williams is still expected to be out so no changes there. It is still going to be Spencer Johnson filling in for him, with John McCargo getting some time there too.

AFC Defensive Rookie of the month for October, Jairus Byrd, is probable to play. The Bills rookie safety whiz-kid recently had his off-season hernia surgery checked out, which is something that has been bothering him recently.

So, there you have the run down. A bunch of moving parts. Will there be some blown assignments and coverages? I am confident there will be, as you have to expect that to happen with guys being gone for so long.

The thing I wonder about is how healthy these returning players truly are. They will need to be able to run like the wind if they want to stop Chris Johnson. The Bills will miss Terrance McGee this week, as he has been able to run guys down all season long, and this is a game where his speed will be missed.

Finally, Trent Edwards needs to get acclimated to the offense again, and they to him. The new wrinkles installed during the bye week will have an impact as well, so you need to keep watching to see who is doing what. Throw out that old program already.

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