Die Hard Sports Fan

1st Quarter

Rain was coming down hard and you could tell that both of the teams quarterbacks didn’t play much in the preseason.  It was a quarter filled with incompletions and punts.  The Bills went on a drive with 4:04 left in the 1^st quarter.  It started with great field position (had the ball at midfield).  Trent Edwards dropped back and threw a nice ball to Lee Evans down the sideline.  Completed for 32 yards.  On this same drive the Bills were stuck on 3^rd and 11.  It looked like they would have to settle for a field goal but a great play call changed that.  The Seahawks showed blitz and it looked like it would work but then Edwards handed the ball to Marshawn Lynch on a draw play.  Evans threw a great block downfield that sprung Lynch for a 21 yard touchdown. 

Bills lead 7-0 after one quarter of play.  

2nd Quarter

The Bills special teams is going to have to step up if they want to stay in ball games this season and they showed up big on a punt return for a TD by return man Roscoe Parrish.  Parrish caught the punt and then showed why he is a game changer, makes cut and breaking tackles before he took it all the way to the house, finishing the 64 yard run. 

Later in the quarter with about 5:00 on the clock, the Seahawks went on a drive of their own.  On 2^nd and 10, the Bills had blown coverage and the Seahawks looked like they could take advantage.  Matt Hasselbeck threw a deep ball to Nate Burleson who was wide open.  He jumped up, had the ball in his hands but just couldn’t hang on.  The next play Hasselbeck dropped back and threw a fade to Burleson who made a great catch in the end zone with Bills CB Jabri Greer on the coverage.  Seahawks finally get on the board, 14-7.

Bills kicker Rain Lindell then added a FG to add to the Bills lead, 17-7.

Then after the Seahawks failed to do anything with a minute left, they gave the ball back to Buffalo.  Edwards made a few good passes which set up Lindell with another FG try.  The 38 yard attempt was up and good.

Bills lead at halftime, 20-7.

3rd Quarter

Seahawks wide receiver Burleson was injured in the 3^rd quarter while running a pattern on 3^rd and 7 with under 6 minutes left.  He ran an out and fell to the ground holding his knee.  He did not return to the game.

Seahawks would also add a FG to the mix.  Score is now 20-10.

With under 3 minutes left in the 3^rd, the Bills lined up for another FG try.  The snap was good, the holder (and also punter) Brain Moorman got the snap and then stood up to throw a fake.  Ryan Denney (the DE and special teams player) was wide open and ran into the end zone for the first TD of his career.  The trick play worked and the Bills are now up, 27-10.

On that kickoff following the Bills TD, Jon Corto the Orchard Park native (who was featured in a previous story) forced a fumble.  Bills recover!  The Bills then went for the stranglehold.  On first and 10, Edwards faked a handoff and steps up in the pocket.  He then delivers a strike to TE Robert Royal who caught it for a 30 yard TD.  Bills now lead 34-10.

4th Quarter

It was just a quarter where the Seahawks couldn’t do anything and the Bills were content with running out the clock.  With :34 left in the game, the Bills finally accomplished something that they were close to the entire game.  They intercepted a pass.  Terrence McGee picked off the Hasselbeck pass and that would seal the game.  BILLS WIN 34-10!

Wrap Up

Trent Edwards went 19/30 with 215 yards and a TD with no INTs.

Marshawn Lynch led the ground game carrying the ball 18 times for 76 yards and a TD.  Fred Jackson also contributed with 31 yards on 10 attempts.

Brain Moorman (holder and punter) went 1/1 for 19 yards and a TD.

It seemed like everyone was catching passes in this game with 6 different players recording receptions.  Evans had 4 catches for 102 yards, Royal had 6 catches for 52 yards and a TD.  Josh Reed caught 3 balls for 37 yards, Denney of course had the TD catch for 19 yards.  The running backs also got mixed into the action with Lynch catching 3 catches for 18 yards.  Not only did Parrish serve as a big return man but he also caught 3 balls for 6 yards (mostly on screens).

Lindell went 2/3 on field goals with one of them being blocked.

McGee had an INT, Denney, Aaron Schobel and Kawikea Mitchell all had 1 sack.  DT Kyle Williams had 1.5 sacks while newcomer Marcus Stroud contributed with .5 sacks. 

Not only did Moorman throw the TD pass, he also averaged 40.6 yards a punt (on 9 punts) with 3 inside the 20.

Keith Ellison played well at LB today in place of Angelo Crowell who will be out for the year.  All of the newcomers on D looked amazing too, not to mention 2nd year man Paul Poz.

MORE TO COME on this game tomorrow where I tell you what my feelings are.  Of course it will be happy though because the Bills WON!  LET’S GO BUFFALO!

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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.  As the roster was trimmed to 53 players, there were a few suprises that made the team.  The first was converted safety to linebacker Jon Corto.  I thought linebacker Blake Costanzo would make it over Corto because he was a great special teams player.  The coaches must feel they can develop Corto and help him make the transition just like they did for Coy Wire.  Corto did look good in the preseason games and was around the ball constantly.  Corto needs to add a little size but will be mostly used on the special teams units.  A suprise cut was cornerback Will James.  I thought James would add experience to our secondary and win the nickel position battle.  Ashton Youboty had a tremendous preseason with a couple of interceptions and was named the starting nickel back by the Bills today.  The team decided to go with rookie cornerback Reggie Corner instead of James as a backup.  Another suprise to me was that the team only kept three tight ends.  Robert Royal is the starter but second year man Derek Schouman and rookie Derek Fine are injured.  Schouman is scheduled to be ready for opening day but Fine will be out for a while due to thumb surgery he had last week.  Lets hope Royal and Schouman can stay healthy and we dont have to worry about finding a tight end mid-season.  Check out the complete 2008 roster on buffalobills.com.  Go Bills. 

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