Buffalo Bills Observations on 2010 Regular Season Eve

Buffalo Bills fans will be pouring in to Ralph Wilson Stadium tomorrow to see the 2010 debut of head coach Chan Gailey and their beloved Buffalo Bills. Will all of the optimism, hopes, and prayers of Bills fans be rewarded this year with a winning record?

There have been too many experts that predict doom and gloom for the Bills to be overly smug about the Bills chances. There are many opinions that I could cite, but this one expert opinion struck a nerve:

From Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network on his Fearless Forecast of the 2010 Season, and I quote: 

"If things go as badly as I fear they might in Buffalo, then you have to wonder if the club spends the winter seeking its third coach in two years. Chan Gailey has an immensely difficult chore ahead, lacking a QB who really fits his style of play and with gaping holes on the offensive line.

The front seven has all kinds of issues as well, and the Bills are stuck in a deep and revenue-laden division, competing against clubs with serious playoff aspirations. Injuries and retirement have stripped them of some of the few playmakers they had. C.J. Spiller might end up as rookie of the year, but there might not be too many other positive developments to relish."

Not only does LaCanfora predict a miserable season for the Bills, but he also is questioning if Chan Gailey will even survive the first year as a head coach in Buffalo. He trashes the Bills offensive line, the front seven on defense, Trent Edwards, and outside of C.J. Spiller, disses the rest of the team.

If the Bills were looking for any bulletin board material, I would recommend that they print out LaCanfora's article and place it in a prominent position inside the locker room, for all to see.

In addition, I find it hard to believe that GM Buddy Nix would hand Chan Gailey a pink slip after one year regardless of whatever the win-loss record turns out to be. Gailey was the guy that Nix wanted to hire and anything short of at least a three-year stay would seem shortsighted. Nix stated very clearly that they were overhauling the team and it would be a three-year project from the get go.

It will be interesting to see how the Bills eventually finish this year and how much of LaCanfora's Fearless Forecast turns out to be either fact, fiction or folly. I opt for the latter. 

Buffalo Bills Injury Situation and the 53 Man Roster

We have witnessed two unique situations over the past week that made me wonder if somehow situations like this can be avoided in the upcoming NFLPA labor agreement with the NFL. I am referring to the injuries and subsequent placement on injury waivers of both Kawika Mitchell and Derek Schouman.

Both players are injured now but are thought to have injuries that would allow them to still come back at some point later this season. Because the Bills did not have the luxury of losing a roster spot and waiting for them to heal, they had no choice but to drop both players to waivers. If both of them could be healthy and able to play the second half of the schedule, shouldn't there be some type of way to keep them on the team and make a subsequent cut when they are ready to roll?

In Major League Baseball, you have your 40-man roster. Somebody gets hurt and you call up a minor leaguer. If the player in question was not part of the original 40-man roster, you have to move somebody to the 60-man DL to free up a roster spot. There should be some type of mechanism in place for the NFL due to the number of injuries that teams suffer throughout the season that allows for greater movement of player personnel.

What if the NFL expands the regular season from 16 to 18 games? All the more reason that there should be some sort of system in place to allow players to return to their jobs when they are healthy.

What Happened To Levi Brown?

One of the more interesting stories about the final round of cuts was the disappearing act of seventh round quarterback Levi Brown. Coming in to the final week of cuts, Buddy Nix had stated that Brown was going to be the Bills developmental quarterback and that they liked what they saw in him. Chan Gailey had also verbalized his endorsement of Brown. The speculation then shifted to which backup quarterback would be waived, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Brian Brohm.

Instead, to the surprise of Bills fans, Brown did not make the team or the practice squad. His Twitter post that said he was pissed and angry over the situation is available in cyberspace to see. It is somewhat curious that neither Gailey or Nix have said anything publicly about why Levi is no longer part of the team.

Partly due to the lack of any real feedback, I wanted to raise the issue and see if any of our faithful fans have heard anything of substance regarding this whole scenario. I realize full well that he played at a small college program at Troy, and that he only really played QB in a spread offense formation. But he seemed to have a strong arm and an understanding of the game. Then out of nowhere, he is told to clean out his locker and take care. Adios.

To a lesser extent, I could have substituted the name of Kyle Calloway in the above paragraph, as he was another seventh round draft pick that was supposed to have been a steal for the Bills due to his potential. Calloway, needless to say, was dealt the exact same fate. Not a member of the final roster, and not even an invite to stay on with the practice squad.

And to think that the Bills would pass up on drafting players like Antonio Coleman, David Nelson, Cordaro Howard, and Donald Jones boggles the mind. Just goes to show how funny the draft is and how many gems are out there that never even were deemed worthy of a draft pick.

The Injury Bug Continues To Hang Around The Bills Team Like a Dark Cloud

If we thought the 2009 season was an endless stream of headlines revealing the name of one injured starter going on to the season-ending IR list after another, then the 2010 season is starting to seem eerily familiar. Last season's IR list went over the 20 mark, which was surreal.

Although we have not lost a true starter yet, we have lost some key depth along with some promising rookies that would have helped the team. To date, the Bills have lost Derek Schouman, Marcus Easley, Kawika Mitchell, and Danny Batten to season ending injuries.

From that list, Schouman and Mitchell were the two players that would have contributed the most to the team, and their talents will be missed. Marcus Easley was a potential home run threat and would have been an interesting option to target based on what NFL defenses will do to try to neutralize C.J. Spiller. We will hopefully see Easley next year and hope that he does not become the second coming of James Hardy.

Luckily the preseason injuries that hit Bills players such as Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Ed Wang, and Cornell Green were not very serious, so they will be part of the Week 1 roster. All should play against Miami, with the exception of Wang. I suspect he will be inactive for awhile until his thumb has properly healed.

Then you take into account the procedures done recently to Jairus Byrd and Paul Posluszny, and they both appear to have mended and are ready for game action. Finally, you add in the year-long rehabs for players like Eric Wood, Demetrius Bell, and Leodis McKelvin and you realize that the Bills medical staff and trainers have been very busy.

Bills Now Have Six Co-Captains for 2010 Team

Bills have named six different players to serve as co-captains this year, which is a reflection on their leadership skills, value to the team, and a tribute to their characters. They are Trent Edwards, Lee Evans, Chris Kelsay, Brian Moorman, Marcus Stroud, and George Wilson.

Roster Shuffle

To keep pace with the roster moves is a chore during this past week, so here is a quick rundown of the latest transactions.

New additions to the active roster:

LB Akin Ayodele (No. 50) is basically going to replace Kawika Mitchell. Another ex-Dolphin who will back up Andra Davis and probably see some time with special teams.

Tight End David Martin (No. 80) is another ex-Dolphins player added to the roster. Martin replaces Derek Schouman, and is even wearing Schouman's number. Remains to be seen if he will continue to be with the team after Shawn Nelson has finished serving his suspension.

Guard Kraig Urbik (No. 60) is a backup to Eric Wood and Andy Levitre. He is a big kid at 6'5" and 323 lbs—think of your typical Wisconsin Badger lineman. Adds some depth to the offensive line and has potential like Jamon Meredith.

Newest Practice Squad Members

Safety Dominique Harris (No. 36) was waived right after he made the 53-man final roster, cleared waivers, and then was added to the practice squad.

Paul Hubbard (No. 16) is another wide receiver to join the practice squad along with Naaman Roosevelt. Like Urbik, he is another Wisconsin alumni.

John Russell (No. 45) is a linebacker from Wake Forest that has good size at 6'3" and 260 lbs. Gives the Bills another in-house option if another linebacker goes down.

Dajileon Farr (No. 49) is a rookie tight end out of Memphis that is a big target at 6'5" and 256 lbs.

Final Thoughts

With no scheduled special games for Monday Night Football, or Thursday evening games, the Bills will not be in the national spotlight. They don't have an instant headline grabber in Terrell Owens anymore.

What they do have is a hard working team that knows its role and is excited and happy to be playing football. C.J. Spiller will very much be in the running for the Rookie of the Year award, and his chances of winning the award will be based on how often he is allowed to touch the ball and how frequently he is featured in the offense. I suspect that as Fred Jackson's hand injury gets better, C.J's touches will go down somewhat from what we witness in Weeks 1 and 2.

I am looking forward to the season to see what tricks Chan Gailey has in store each week. I am excited to see C.J. Spiller play every week and hopefully develop that feeling that on any play he could take the rock all the way to the house. That means that Bills fans would have to pay attention during the whole game so they don't miss one of his special moments. Isn't that a nice change?

Go Bills!