Die Hard Sports Fan

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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Hello Bills fan.  Tomorrow the Buffalo Bills will travel to Washington to face the Redskins for their first preseason game of the 2008 NFL season.  Coach Dick Jauron stated that the starters will play between 10-20 snaps.  Donte Whitner, Josh Reed and Angelo Crowell are the only starters that will not play in this game.  Im upset that I will not be able to see those three because I want to see our offense and defense at full strength.  Rookie wide receiver James Hardy will play unless his hamstring tightens up before the game.  Im very excited to see how Trent Edwards has improved and added size since last season.  I cant wait to see some of the other rookies such as Leodis McKelvin, Chris Ellis and Reggie Corner in action.  I will report on my trip to Washington when I get back into town on Sunday night.  I cant believe the preseason is here already.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans. The team just announced that they have signed third round pick Chris Ellis and sixth round pick Xavier Omon. Ellis will be competing for the fourth defensive end spot. Omon will be competing with Dwayne Wright for the third running back spot. The team now only has Leodis McKelvin and James Hardy to sign as camp opens tomorrow at St. John Fisher. Go Bills.

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Hello Bills fans.  The team announced today that they have reached a contract agreement with fifth round pick linebacker Alvin Bowen.  Bowen was a tackling machine at Iowa State and will most likely be a backup and special teams player.  Bowen will be a great asset on special teams because of his aggressiveness.  Their are still four picks that havent signed yet.  First Round pick Leodis McKelvin, second round pick James Hardy, third round pick Chris Ellis, and sixth round pick Xavier Omon.  Look for Omon to sign tomorrow and Ellis to follow shortly after.  I expect McKelvin and Hardy to sign Friday.  Check out the article on buffalobills.com.  Go Bills. 

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Hello Bills fans.  I can’t believe training camp is only five days away.  The only concern I have at this time is that there are still five draft picks unsigned.  Leodis McKelvin, James Hardy, Chris Ellis, Alvin Bowen and Xavier Omon.  I believe Ellis, Bowen and Omon will get signed within the next few days.  McKelvin and Hardy will be more difficult and might miss the beginning of training camp.  The team needs both guys there from day one to learn from the veterans on the team.  Both McKelvin and Hardy will be relied upon to contribute from the start.  I feel that Hardy is the one that we need to have in our starting lineup from week one.  Hardy has the height and ball skills to help this offense in the redzone.  The team needs Hardy to take pressure off of star wide receiver Lee Evans.  If Hardy can develop into a solid threat, look for Evans to have a monster season.  McKelvin will most likely be the nickel corner unless he has a tremendous camp.  Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer are solid and are more than capable starters.  Lets hope everyone is signed and in camp on Friday. 

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Hello Bills fans.  I can’t believe training camp starts in 10 days.  I am very excited to get this season underway because of the improvements the team has made this past off-season.  I have a few concerns right now going into camp.  The Bills top three draft picks are still unsigned.  Leodis McKelvin, James Hardy and Chris Ellis need to be in camp on day one.  McKelvin and Hardy especially because both players are going to be relied upon from week one.  Hardy needs to get comfortable in this offense because he will eventually become our #2 receiver.  I feel comfortable with our starting corners and would like to see McKelvin learn from Jabari Greer and Terrence McGee.  McKelvin should also be used on special teams as a returner.  He has great speed and showed in college that he is a threat to take one to the house on every return.  Its tough to say if he will beat out McGee or Roscoe Parrish but it will be great to see him get some shots in the preseason.  The only other main concern I have, which probably is the biggest, is the Jason Peters situation.  Peters missed all the voluntary and one mandatory camp this offseason.  It has been speculated that he is looking to cash in after his Pro Bowl season last year.  Peters also must be there from day one to continue the chemistry the o-line developed last season.  Lets hope all the rookies and Jason Peters are at St. John Fisher come July 25th.  Cant wait to get this thing started.  Go Bills. 

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