Die Hard Sports Fan

It is being reported by NFL.com that Jason Peters has told the Bills today that he will be ending his holdout and report to the team on Saturday.  The Pro Bowl left tackle will NOT be in Sundays game.  It will be interesting to see what kind of game shape he is in and how quick he can pick up the new offense.  Big news for the Bills who lost starting LB Angelo Crowell for the season yesterday.  The Bills will have a two week period to activate Peters.  Hopefully he will be ready for Week 2.  

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We are now just a mere 3 days away and counting until the Bills home opener on Sunday afternoon at the Ralph!  As a Bills fan I am PUMPED!!  Finally we get to see the team back in action and see what they can do against some pretty good competition in the Seattle Seahawks.

 

I broke down the Bills defense a couple days ago so today is time to show a little love to the O!

 

QB

1.  Trent Edwards

2. J.P. Losman

3. Gibran Hamdan

…The biggest question mark with this group is can they perform?  They all combined for 12 touchdown passes last season which was good for 29^th in the league.  Their combined passing yards of 2,634 was 30^th in the league.  In comparison to how bad this group was take a look at former Bills QB Todd Collins.  Last season the 35 year old (now 36) threw for 888 yards and 5 touchdowns in 4 games!…  Edwards worked hard in the off-season and added much needed muscle to his frame.  It will help him be more durably and keep him in the lineup.  It won’t hurt for his deep balls either.  When drafted he was suppose to be a leader.  The 2^nd year signal caller was voted team captain this season…  Losman is entering his last season as a Buffalo Bill.  His contract is up and he will take his services elsewhere.  A very gifted QB but was never very consistent…  Hamdan is back for another season.  He was on the practice squad last season before being signed to the club due to Edwards last season injury…

GRADE: C

 

RB

1. Marshawn Lynch

2. Fred Jackson

3. Xavier Omon

…Beast MODE is back!  After leading AFC rookies last season in most of the rushing categories, Lynch is looking to build on the numbers he had last season.  He is already one of the top 10 backs in the league…  Action Jackson is now in his second season of backing up Lynch.  Look for an article on him to come later in the year.  Not many people realize what he has gone through to make it to the league…  Omon, the rookie draft pick beat out Dwayne Wright during the preseason for the final RB spot.  Won’t see much time with the two guys he has in front of him…

GRADE: A-

 

FB

1. Darian Barnes

…Barnes is a 7 year vet and his big body should pave the way for a great season for Lynch.  The 6′ 2″, 240lb FB loves hitting people.  Look for him to clear the way for a great season running the ball.  Will do much better than those stupid H-backs in the past…

GRADE: C+

 

WR

1. Lee Evans

2. James Hardy

3. Josh Reed

4. Roscoe Parrish

5. Steve Johnson

6. Justin Jenkins

…Evans continues to be a huge deep threat and is by far the best WR for the Bills.  He worked with Edwards during the off-season so we will have to wait and see if that will pay off.  Evans put up some of the worst numbers of his career last year…  Hardy is the 2^nd round pick from Indiana.  The big target should get some opportunities in the red zone…  Reed is a great possession receiver on the Bills team.  He has reallu improved his catching ability since joining the Bills…  Parrish is the speed man who the Bills want to get the ball to.  His speed can change games.  A 5 yard slant could turn into a touchdown…  Johnson is the rookie wideout from Kentucky.  He was selected in the 7^th round.  He stood out during training camp and the preseason to win a roster spot…  Jenkins was kept for his special teams ability…

GRADE: B+

 

TE

1. Robert Royal

2. Derek Schouman

3. Derek Fine

…Royal caught 3 touchdown passes last season, and 2 came in one game.  He has had a good preseason though so let’s see if they try to get him more involved in the gameplan…  Schouman has 3 receptions in his career and is currently coming back from injury…  Fine the rookie from Kansas looks to get more reps at special teams this year than tight end.  When he gets healthy look for him to be an impact player on special teams which he was very good in at college…

GRADE: C

 

LT

1.  Jason Peters (HOLD OUT)

2. Langston Walker

3. Kirk Chambers

4. Matt Murphy

5. Demetrius Bell

…Peters is a bum.  Report to your team.  You’re not only hurting yourself but your teammates also…  Walker switched over from the right side of the line with the absence of Peters.  At 6′8″, 366 lb. he defiantly has the size to do it.  He will need to step up big time though.  Let’s be honest he is no Jason Peters… Chambers is starting at RT after Walker switched over… Murphy is a 7 year vet who is undersized for the LT position.  He should be on special teams duty all year…  Three years ago, Bell wasn’t even playing football.  He was playing basketball.  In college he started 22 games in a row at LT.  He has the size but needs to work on fundaments.  Has raw talent just needs to be groomed.  He was selected in the 7^th round, Pick 219^th overall…

GRADE: C

 

LG

1. Derrick Dockery

2. Jason Whittle

…Dockery stands at 6′6″ and 330 lbs.  He has to step up his play with Peters gone for the foreseeable future.  This is his 2^nd year with the Bills…  Whittle is a 10 year vet with a lot of experience.  Will help provide depth on the OL…

GRADE: C+

 

C

1. Melvin Fowler

2. Duke Preston

…Fowler has started all 16 games at center for the past two seasons for the Bills…  Most of Preston’s playing time last year came from special teams…

GRADE: C+

 

RG

1. Brad Butler

2. Duke Preston

…Butler is a 3 year player that has a huge body.  The 6′ 7″, 315 lb. guard started all 16 games last season…  In case you needed another fact on “Duke”, his real name is Raymond Newton Preston III…

GRADE: C

 

RT

1. Langston Walker (moved to LT while Peters holds out)

2. Kirk Chambers

…The former 6^th round pick is given the starting role by default.  He has only one start in his NFL career.  It was at left tackle against the Eagles in last year’s season finale.  The outcome?  No sacks allowed and helped Lynch gain 105 yards on the ground…

GRADE: D

 

 

Overall the Bills need to be able to run the ball and whatever QB is in needs to play consistent.  Edwards gets the ball out quick and not saying that Peters being gone will hurt the running game but Peters is a much better pass blocker than run blocker.  A true FB will also help out Lynch on the ground game.  The offense also needs to get the ball to the playmakers.  Lynch, Evans and Parrish should all be in the game plan every week to get a lot of touches.  Royal at TE also needs to be more of a receving threat.  He is a good blocker though so that will help out the line too.  The Bills O won’t do much this year numbers wise but if they can hang on to the football and control the clock it should be enough to get by on.    

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Hello Bills fans. The Buffalo Bills just announced that they have placed linebacker Angelo Crowell on injured reserve. Buffbillsfan posted earlier that Crowell would be out for Sunday’s game because he decided to have his knee scoped just three days before the season. Being placed on injured reserve is not going to sit well with Angelo because this is a contract year for him. The Bills decided to place him on IR because they are short handed at linebacker and were upset that Crowell waited this long for surgery. This is terrible news because Crowell is a great player and the leading tackler on this team. Keith Ellison is once again a starter and will be counted on to fill the shoes of Crowell. Lets hope this is the last of the injuries we will face. I can’t stomach another year like last when 1/3 of the team went down. Go Bills.

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It is being reported by rotoworld.com that the Bills starting strongside linebacker Angelo Crowell has had his knee scoped today and will be out for the season opener.  The time table for his return is 2-4 weeks.  The leading tackler on the Bills last season will be a huge loss to the D.  His backup, Keith Ellison will have to step up big time to help the Bills go after a Wildcard spot. 

In other injury news, starting middle linebacker Paul Posluszny was also not practicing today.  It is unclear wheteher or not he will be available in the game vs. the Seahawks. 

More news to come as the Bills get ready to open up the season on Sunday.  My Bills breakdown of the starting offense  will come later tonight.

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Hello Bills fans.  Today the team announced its injury report for this weekends game against Seattle.  Tight end Derek Fine and offensive tackle/tight end Matt Murphy are the only two players listed.  Fine is definitely out with his thumb and Murphy will most likely miss this one due to the shoulder injury he suffered a few weeks back.  Tight end Derek Schouman and linebacker John DiGiorgio practiced and will be available for Sundays game.  The Seattle Seahawks also released their injury report.  Wide receiver Bobby Engram is out and Deion Branch and Lofa Tatupu were limited in practice.  If Branch is out, the Seahawks are going to be short handed at the wide receiver position.  If the defense can stop the run, the Seahawks will be in trouble.  Go Bills. 

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The Buffalo Bills named their team captains today.  Six were named in all and of the 6 captains, 3 are retutning from last season. 

Lee Evans (offense), Chris Kelsay (defense) and Brain Moorman (special teams) were the 3 captains that were named again for a second straight year.  Second year quaterback Trent Edwards was also named a captain on the offensive side of the ball.  Thrid year saftey Donte Whitner, who has showed great leadership for such a young player will also represent the defense.  George Wilson, the backup saftey was given the 2nd special teams captains role.

All of the players were voted captain by their teammates.

 

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Hello Bills fans.  We are only five days away from seeing our 2008 Buffalo Bills take the field against the Seattle Seahawks at Ralph Wilson Stadium.  I’m so excited to see our new defensive talent and our improved offense under new coordinator Turk Schonert.  The 10 day forecast on weather.com shows that it will be 72 and partly cloudy for Sunday.  If this holds true, that is fantastic football weather.  Great weather plus a Bills win, what more could one ask for.  Go Bills. 

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The season is starting in just under 5 games with the Buffalo Bills home opener just around the corner.  The game is of course on Sunday, September 7^th when the Bills take on the Seattle Seahawks at the Ralph at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time).

 

So what am I going to do for you guys out there reading this?  Get you pumped for the regular season opener!  From now until Sunday I will be covering the Bills as a team and their chances of making the playoffs.  First, I will cover the Buffalo Bills defense.  I will list the depth chart of the position in my breakdown of the D position by position and give them an overall grade along with some commentary of the team. 

 

DE

1. Aaron Schobel

2. Chris Kelsey

3. Ryan Denney

4. Chris Ellis

5. Copeland Bryan

The Bills have a very solid group of defensive ends on the roster this year.  That means they will have a good duo out there on any play seeing as the Bills like to rotate in the freshest players on the D-line…  Schobel has made the pro bowl two years in a row but he is trying to improve his sack total for this year after only 6.5 sacks last year, the lowest in his career since his rookie season back in 2001…  Kelsey is trying to return to top form after he battled nagging injuries all last season.  He underwent off-season surgery on his torn tendon in his ankle…  Denney is also trying to return to top form after he had to undergo foot surgery.  He was only able to play in 7 games last year due to the injury… Chris Ellis is the rookie DE from Virginia Tech.  He was selected by the Bills in the 3^rd round.  Ellis could be used as a situational pass rusher and is also good against the run.  Fast fact, the last DE selected by the Bills from VT, Bruce Smith…  Bryan appeared in only 2 games last season and was later put on the IR in December.  Before joining the Bills last season, Bryan was on the Bear practice squad…     

GRADE: B

 

DT

1. Marcus Stroud

2. Kyle Williams

3. John McCargo

4. Spencer Johnson

            The Bills are hoping that a healthy Stroud can return to his former pro bowl form.  The 6’ 6’’, 306 lb. tackle was brought in to help improve the Bills D against the run which finished near the bottom of the league last season.  Stroud will also get some double team attention at the line giving the DEs and LBs some room to run and make plays…  The 25 yard old Williams just signed a contract extension this off-season for 3 more years in Buffalo…  McCargo, the former 1^st round pick (26^th overall) in the 2006 draft was fined this spring for being overweight.  He reported to camp in shape and looks to build into a starting DT…  Johnson came over in the off-season as a free agent from he Vikings.  He didn’t put up huge numbers because he played behind the monstrous Williamses in Minnesota…

GRADE: B- (Grade will improve after we see how Stroud plays)

 

 

MIDDLE LB

1. Paul Posluszny

2. John DiGiorgio

            Poz is BACK!  After fracturing his forearm in the Bills Week 3 game last year he is back at 100%.  The guy just has a nose for the ball and is a great tackler.  Through the first 3 games last year, he led the Bills with 26 tackles (remember he didn’t even finish the 3^rd game)… DiGiorgio had a very good year last year filling in for the injuried Posluzny.  He had 113 tackles last season to go along with 2 sacks and 1 INT.  Provides great depth at the MLB position…

GRADE: B+

 

 

WEAK-SIDE LB

1. Kawika Mitchell

2. Jon Corto

            Mitchell was an early free agent signing for the Bills.  The Superbowl Champion is highly underrated.  He had 86 tackles, 4 sacks and 1 INT to go along with 2 forced fumbles.  Something to remember, his last game in Buffalo on December 23^rd of last season, he had 2 sacks, forced a fumble, and returned an INT for a touchdown… Corto is the Orchard Park native now on his hometown Bills squad.  He was on the Bills practice squad last season…

GRADE: B

 

STRONG-SIDE LB

1. Angelo Crowell

2. Keith Ellison

            The 27 year old Crowell is entering his contract year with the Bills.  This is the last season of the 3 year deal he signed in 2005.  He too is another Bills LB that is highly underrated.  He had 126 tackles last season that led the team…  Ellison also played significant time last season.  He had 39 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 INT in 12 games last season…

GRADE: B+

 

 

CB

1. Terrence McGee

2. Jabari Greer

3. Ashton Youboty

4. Leodis McKelvin

5. Reggie Corner

            McGee was the clear choice for the #1 corner spot.  McGee has 78 tackles and 4 INTs last season in 15 games… Greer looked to be the odd man out with the Bills after they selected a bundle of corners in the draft.  He has played hard though and the Bills coaching staff is impressed.  He earned the #2 spot for at least the first half of the season…  Youboty was another guy that was as good as gone before the preseason but he played hard and had two very good games.  He won the nickel corner spot because of his great progress… McKelvin was the #11 pick in this years draft.  He has looked so-so in the preseason.  He has either made a good play or has completely messed it up.  It will be interesting to see whether he plays a lot at all this year.  A candidate to play in the dime and quarter packages for the Bills (which they don’t run very much at all)… Corner was a ball hawk in college and had a sharp preseason.  The rookie has even be rumored to be ahead of McKelvin on the depth chart…

GRADE: C+

 

FS

1. Ko Simpson

2. George Wilson

            Simpson is looking to rebound after he was injured in the Bills 1^st game last season against the Denver Broncos and then placed on the IR for the year.  The 4^th round draft pick from the 2006 draft is looking to have a breakout year and also continue the chemistry with SS Donte Whitner after the two started their entire rookie seasons together…  Wilson played in 12 games last season after Simpson and former Bills safety Brain Leonard went down, before of course he went down to injury also.  It occurred before the last week of the season.  He ended the year with 37 tackles and 2 picks…     

GRADE: C

 

 

SS

1. Donte Whitner

2. Bryan Scott

3. John Welding

            Whitner guaranteed that the Bills will make the playoffs this season.  He has been an unofficial team captain since he was drafted.  He shows great leadership and also builts team chemistry by having the team over for film watching and he even took McKelvin under his wing during the off-season  Hard qualities to find from a 23 year old entering his third season of NFL play…  Scott returns for another stint in Buffalo after he played in 15 games last season, most in a special teams role… Same goes for Welding.  Will play in the special teams role…

GRADE: B

 

Overall the Bills defense has a good mix of playmakers and role players.  Due to all of the injuries last season, the Bills now have good depth at almost all of their positions.  They are a young D that flys to the football.  Look for team to improve as an entire unit this year.

 

Here is the rundown on what I will be covering the rest of the week:

Weds: Bills Offense

Thurs: Bills Special Teams

Fri: Breakdown of the Bills Schedule and Chances of Making the Playoffs

Sat: Game Preview with my Picks of all of the Winners in Week 1

Sun: Game recap with Commentary 

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     Jon Corto’s journey to make the Buffalo Bills squad has finally come to an end. The good news came on Saturday when Corto made the final 53 man roster for the Buffalo Bills. This comes a year after the undrafted linebacker was on the Bills practice squad. When Corto first joined the team during training camp of the 2007 season, he was moved to safety, where he wasn’t quite comfortable. The Bills coaching staff decided to make the move with him because of his size. He stands at 6’1’’ and 195 lbs. He was viewed as being too small of a player to play the physically demanding linebacker position. At the safety position, Corto blended in with the rest of the Bills secondary, not really standing out. Obviously he was cut from the team but was signed on the practice squad for the season.

 

     Halfway through the 2008 training camp, Corto was asked by Bills coach Dick Jauron if he wanted to move back to his natural position. Of course he jumped on to the idea. He was a Division I-AA All American linebacker at his college of Sacred Heart. Of course he excelled during the preseason, back at his old spot. In the last preseason game he was even given the starting spot at linebacker, on a Thursday night game in front of the Bills home crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

 

     Now you might be saying to yourselves, “So What?”. Well it just happens that Corto was born and raised in Orchard Park, New York. He went to Orchard Park High School, where he earned All Western New York honors in both football and lacrosse.

 

     Corto is now entering his second year in the NFL, and is one of 6 Bills linebackers on the squad.

 

     It is unclear what role Jon will have on the team. It looks like he will play special teams and will add some depth to the linebacker position. He is currently behind Kawika Mitchell on the depth chart at the weak-side linebacker position.

 

     The kid has heart too. During the last Bills preseason game against the Detroit Lions, Corto suffered a concussion during the game but no one knew until after it was all over. Jon ended the preseason with 8 tackles.

 

     Now the young linebacker can return home and play in front of his family and friends. I know we will all be rooting for the hometown kid.

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Hello Bills fans. Tonight is the last preseason game as the Buffalo Bills take on the Detroit Lions at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Coach Dick Jauron stated yesterday that it is a game-time decision regarding who will play in this game. I don’t think Trent Edwards or Langston Walker will be suiting up for this one being that the regular season is right around the corner. The fourth preseason game is usually for players that are on the bubble and coaches looking to see who will fill out the final roster spots. This is also for players to show their potential and winning a spot on the practice squad. The roster must be cut down to 53 on August 30th. It will be interesting to see who makes the final cut. I have a feeling there will be a few surprises. Last years #3 running back Dwayne Wright might lose his job to rookie Xavier Omon. If Omon has a big game tonight and Wright gets shutdown like last week, it will be an easy decision for the coaches. The countdown is at 10 days and the season is amongst us. Go Bills

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