Simpson, others playing for 2009 jobs? (buffalobills.com)

One may read the headline of this piece and think "Oh boy, Galliford's the latest to give up on the Buffalo Bills this season".  Though I might argue that - along with everyone else that's hopped off the bandwagon - we have good reason to doubt it, rest assured that's not the case.  So when (if?) you read this piece, read it with the knowledge that I am not denying that the Bills still have a shot at the playoffs.

Instead, I'll speak briefly about how I'm a guy that's constantly looking forward - just as many of you are.  I love watching football, but I also love the idea of building a roster; finding those ever-elusive pieces of a contending puzzle and fitting them together.  Whether the Bills make the playoffs this year or not, the 2008 season can now officially be considered in the home stretch with just six weeks to go.  Even if the Bills end their post-season drought, there are guys on this roster who should recognize the fact that they're playing for their jobs beyond this season.  Lighting a fire under these players could, in fact, give the team a spark heading into these ultra-important six games.

Those ten players, in no specific order...

QB Trent Edwards.  To answer your question, yes, I do hate putting Trent on this list.  In reality, I don't believe that Edwards is on the proverbial "hot seat" in any sense of the term when it comes to his status with this coaching staff.  But it's not hard to imagine a scenario where if Buffalo's quarterback continues to struggle as the season closes out, Bills fans will be calling for the team to begin a new quarterback search.  A nice, strong, confidence-boosting finish by Edwards would erase a lot of that potential.

WR Steve Johnson.  Stevie isn't going anywhere; it should be noted, then, that Johnson makes this list because he's playing for a much bigger role in 2009.  Johnson has seen his role increase of late, and while he hasn't been perfect, he's shown a pretty good rapport with Edwards.  He knows how to find a hole in a zone, and he's looked pretty good both as a run blocker and after the catch.  This kid has a future.  He and Josh Reed could wreak a lot of havoc underneath in 2009.

TE Robert Royal.  There are games where Royal looks like a highly competent tight end; those games, however, are few and far between.  Clearly, the Bills need an upgrade at tight end.  Royal is entering the final year of his deal next season.  He's one of a few Bills veterans that fall under the category of "most likely to get cut"; he is, quite literally, playing for a job in 2009.

OT Jason Peters.  I'm not one of the bandwagon fans who like to boo Peters every time he makes one little mistake.  Peters may not be as dominant as he was in 2007, when he was voted to his first Pro Bowl, but he's playing at a very high level.  He'll need to return to dominant form as the season closes if he expects to receive that fat contract extension he so desperately desires.

C Duke Preston.  Melvin Fowler, benched since early in the season, is a goner, as he's an unrestricted free agent after the season.  Problem is, so is Preston.  The Bills are expected to upgrade the center position from outside the organization, but Preston has a legitimate chance to be re-signed as the new guy's understudy.  He'll have to play better than he has in recent weeks, however.

DE Chris Kelsay.  Kelsay's contract runs out in 2010.  He hasn't been productive from an on-field standpoint.  There will come a time when Dick Jauron has to upgrade players he likes with players he likes and can win with.  Kelsay's contract, as most of you know, is gigantic (for a player his caliber).  I still have my doubts that Kelsay is a goner after the season, but his time as this team's starting left end is likely growing short.

DE Ryan Denney.  If Kelsay's not a goner, Denney is.  He's 31 years old and is scheduled to earn $2.4 million in base salaries alone next season - the final year of his deal.  That's too much money for a guy who, if the Bills upgrade the position, would be fourth or fifth in the rotation.

DT John McCargo.  He's been a healthy scratch, he's been traded, and he's been a healthy scratch again.  Motivation is McCargo's problem, and although he's under contract through the close of the 2010 season, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which McCargo returns to the Bills in 2009 after what he's gone through the past 8 months.  If McCargo sees the field again this season, he'll be playing for his next job in another NFL city.

CB Terrence McGee.  Hear me out on this one.  McGee is under contract through the end of next season.  He'll be 29 if he hits unrestricted free agency as scheduled.  Rookie corner Leodis McKelvin has come on strong, and it's hard to imagine a scenario where the Bills let Jabari Greer walk, as he's been the team's best defensive back this season (Greer is a UFA after this season).  Don't forget about Ashton Youboty and Reggie Corner, either.  Buffalo's cornerback spot is still crowded despite the injuries, and McGee is the toughest guy to figure into the team's future plans.  He'll need to perform to keep his status as this team's top cover man (and, for the record, he was excellent against Cleveland).

FS Ko Simpson.  Simpson has been juggled around a lot.  He missed the entire 2007 season with an ankle injury.  He's been semi-benched this season in order to move Donte Whitner to his free safety spot, sliding Bryan Scott into the starting lineup at strong safety (though he still plays more at free than any other safety on the team).  The Bills are deep at this position, but they lack playmakers.  If the Bills feel the need to add a play-making safety in the off-season to team with Whitner, it's clearly Simpson who'll be riding the pine or looking for employment elsewhere.

***

Feel free to add names to the list.  And on a side note, let's keep coaches out of this.  We've heard enough about everyone's opinions on Dick Jauron, and there are a million FanPosts in which you can vent about Buffalo's head coach if you feel inclined to do so.  This is about the roster.  Have at it, folks.

   
Buffalo Bills (5-2) vs New York Jets (4-3)
Sunday, November 2 - 1:00 PM EST

Another week, another tough division battle.  After blowing a golden opportunity to really control the division last week in Miami, our Bills get a chance to get in the divisional win column against the Jets inside the raucous Ralph.  This is a crucial game in the context of the rest of the season; here are the keys to a big Bills win:

Get it going early: A fast start is something we're all hoping for, and Turk Schonert is striving for.  The play calling needs to be a tad bit more unpredictable.  The Jets are tough to run on (only 82.6 ypg), so being able to throw early will really give us a good chance to put some points on the board in the first half.  However, we can't simply abandon the run, as the Miami game may suggest, but instead vary up the run calls.  Enough with the numerous dives up the middle Turk, especially this week with big, fat Kris Jenkins and the force field that surrounds him taking on Duke Preston.  We had success against Miami off tackle and outside, two places we've been asking for more runs all season.  The Jets run the 3-4 just like Miami, so running outside away from Jenkins will be the way to get it done on the ground.  Marshawn Lynch has had very few opportunities to run to the outside this year, but every time he does, he makes something happen.  Why is this not a staple in the Offense?  Also, don't be surprised to see some more no-huddle.

Force the action defensively: Going up against Brett Favre and the gunslinger mentality, this is the perfect week to implement a ton of press coverage on the Jets' wideouts.  Favre absolutely LOVES throwing misguided passes into tight double coverage, so getting up on Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey will really increase the chances of getting some turnovers.  If Fewell plays Jabari Greer, Terrence McGee and Ashton Youboty 10 yards off the ball again, Favre will feast on the quick slant this week.  If teams like the Chiefs, Raiders and Bengals can play Favre tough, there's absolutely no reason we shouldn't be able to shut the Jets passing game down.  But if we sit back and wait for him to make the mistakes, we will be in for a long afternoon.  By the way, is there a better WR first name trio than Laveranues, Jerricho and Chansi in the NFL? I think not.

Win the turnover battle: Currently, the Bills turnover margin is sitting at -3, which is #23 in the NFL.  Our 2 losses have produced a whopping -7 margin (8 giveaways, just 1 takeaway), though it is debatable whether those turnovers cost us those games as 7 of them came when we were already losing.  They have obviously cost us chances to mount comebacks, but it's tough to say whether they are reasons we lost against Arizona and Miami.  Either way, the offense has to take better control of the ball, while our defense needs to step up and start forcing some turnovers.  We've only accumulated 4 ineterceptions on the season, with one coming in the last minute against Seattle.  That just isn't good, and there's no better time to pick off a few passes than when Brett Favre rolls into town.  This is one area that should really decide Sunday's winner.

Pressure Fav-ruh: Piggybacking the turnover idea, it's important to get into Favre's face and force him to throw when he's not ready.  Again, if he has time to throw and space to put it, he'll hurt us.  Getting after him with some blitzes will lead to his patented crazy throws, which should again increase the chance for turnovers.  I'm not afraid of Coles and Cotchery beating us deep, so we've got to get up on them and make Favre squeeze the passes in there quickly.  I'm not confident that this will be part of the game plan though.

Make Special Teams special again:  This has been an overlooked area of the team this year.  Quite frankly, the ST units have not lived up to their lofty expectations this year.  They have been solid, but other than the Seattle game, have been very unspectacular.  Kick coverage has been up and down, the punting unit has been mostly good but there have been mistakes (see snap last week) and the kick return team has been borderline bad.  Leodis McKelvin just doesn't look like a good kick returner out there.  He heads directly to the sideline EVERY time and rarely shows the propensity to cut back.  Maybe Bobby April is instructing him to take what he can for now, until he gets more comfortable, but this unit has been far from explosive this year.  McKelvin's instincts just haven't seemed to be there, we shall see what he develops into in the return game.  This week would be a great time for a big play.  Controlling Leon Washington in the return game is going to be another tough job for the Bills ST's this week.

Involve Evans early and often: Here's your weekly "get the ball to Lee Evans early in the game" key.  With Josh Reed out, it's going to be as important as ever to get Evans involved early.  Look for the Jets to really roll coverage to him this week, so Roscoe Parrish and James Hardy will need to step up. Roscoe wants the ball more, now is the time for him to take advantage of the opportunity.

Protect the home turf:  To be honest, this is a game the Bills shouldn't lose, and probably can't afford to lose.  Starting 0-2 in the division and heading to New England is NOT what the team needs come Monday morning.  Like I thought the Chargers game might be, this game is a season definer, one that sets the stage for the rest of the year.  A loss here with a tough game at New England next week is really not the downward spiral I want to see occur.  If we win this week, to finish the first half 6-2, we will be in great shape going forward, but another divisional loss, at home no less, would really put a damper on where this team might be headed.  Luckily, the rest of the AFC is a jumbled mess, but it'd be nice to rise above that quagmire.  I'd much rather head to New England next week with 6 wins and at worse, a share of the divisional lead with them.  I don't want to be a game back or in a 3 way tie including the Jets at 5-3.  Rise up Buffalo, it's time you win a big game against a team with a winning record for once!

***

Let's go Bills, dispose of the New York Bretts!  Make my daily life in NYC merrier!

You know things are going poorly for your defense when a second-year wide receiver already widely labeled with the term "bust" nearly doubles his receiving yardage total on the season against your secondary.  That's exactly what Miami Dolphins wide receiver Ted Ginn did yesterday to the suddenly porous pass defense of the Buffalo Bills.  Ginn made several big plays on the day, and most of them came on similar types of play calls.

This one may have been Miami's most important.  The Bills had just driven down the field on the opening drive of the second half to take a 16-7 lead.  I know that I was comfortable at that point; I'm assuming many of you were as well.  One Ginn play, however, changed the entire complexion of the game...

The Situation
MIA ball, 1st and 10, 3rd quarter, Bills lead 16-7

This is a pretty basic formation for the Dolphins, whose offense is coordinated by Dan Henning.  Henning's offenses are famous for being conservative.  That's exactly the look the Bills get here - Anthony Fasano (80) flanks the Dolphins' left tackle, and the Dolphins line up in an off-set I formation.  Ginn (19) is split wide right, lined up opposite the hobbled Terrence McGee (24); Greg Camarillo (83) draws Jabari Greer (33).

The Bills line up in their standard Cover 1 shell here (one safety deep).  Due to Miami's formation, strong safety Bryan Scott (43) and linebacker Kawika Mitchell (59) line up on the line of scrimmage, as this particular Dolphins formation is typically a running formation.  Keith Ellison (56) joins them near the line, feigning blitz, but drops back into zone prior to the snap of the ball.

The Snap

This looks like a running play from the start; the Bills, as a result, get caught peeking.  At the snap, Pennington immediately drops back, but there's a split second where all three of Buffalo's linebackers - Ellison, Mitchell and Paul Posluszny (51) - stand frozen in place, waiting for the run.  The fact that Mitchell is frozen here is the first part of what killed this play for the Bills.  That split second is all Miami needs.

Essentially, free safety Donte Whitner (20) is caught here - in a traditional setup, that is.  Greer plays Camarillo well, jamming him within 5 yards and effectively taking him out of the play.  Both of Miami's tight ends stay in along with fullback Lousaka Polite (36) to max protect; RB Ronnie Brown (23) sneaks through the line and flares left for a dump-off pass.  The pass is out so quickly that Scott, blitzing off of Pennington's blind side, barely has time to engage his blocker.

In normal circumstances, I believe this play goes left.  In normal circumstances, McGee isn't giving up such a huge cushion.  McGee tackled well yesterday, but his sprained knee limited his agility.  Leaving McGee on the field wasn't defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's mistake; matching him up on the speedy Ginn was.  McGee would have fared much better against the bigger, not-as-quick Camarillo.

Mitchell and Posluszny are slow dropping back into zone, and McGee's cushion makes Ginn's square-in route wide open from the moment the ball was snapped.  Pennington gets the ball out on rhythm (on a three-step drop), McGee misses a tackle, and Ginn is off to the races with Whitner, who inexplicably shaded to his right before crossing the field to pick up McGee's man.  64-yard gain.  Momentum immediately reverts to - and remains with - Miami.

The Aftermath

These types of plays happen from time to time in the NFL.  Miami had a good formation that the surprised the Bills with, and it worked to their advantage on this particular play.  The issue, however, was that the Bills allowed receptions like this twice more in the second half, all while this was a one-score game either way.  The problem was that McGee was lined up on Ginn each time.  Miami max protected each time; the Bills were quicker to recognize, but the coaching staff simply didn't counter this Dolphins formation with anything resembling a defense that could slow the image down.

Again, don't blame McGee.  Considering the fact that his lateral movements rivaled my grandfather's yesterday (and both of them are in remarkable shape, considering their respective ages, FYI), he played pretty well.  The problem was that Fewell repeatedly lined him up across from Ginn, exactly the type of receiver that was going to give McGee problems yesterday.  Was this brilliance by Ginn or the Dolphins' offensive "genius", Henning?  Hardly.  They were just taking what Fewell's defense gave them.

Let that image of Ginn sink in.  Let it irritate you to no end.  It should.  Buffalo's coaching staff got smacked around by Bill Parcells' minions yesterday.  It's embarrassing.  It can't happen again.  Let that image of Ginn - who, here in a few weeks, likely will re-assume his label of "bust" - stand as a symbol of yesterday's coaching mediocrity.  Change it, Perry.  Lots needs to change before Laveranues Coles comes to Buffalo this Sunday.

Royal, offense fumble away key road game (Associated Press)

For a team that has made a name for itself with excellent fourth quarter play this season, the Buffalo Bills sure fell short of expectations today.

Four second-half turnovers and 18 unanswered points by the Miami Dolphins led to a 25-16 loss for the Bills in their first AFC East matchup of the season.  The Bills remained in the game until late into the fourth quarter, but their unexpectedly sloppy play caught up to them by the end of the game.

Miami deserves credit for this win; they earned it.  Chad Pennington carved Buffalo's defense up to the tune of 314 passing yards.  Ted Ginn Jr. had 175 receiving yards, nearly matching his season total of 177.  The Dolphins were able to make plays on their home field while the Bills tripped over their own feet.

Trent Edwards is M.I.A.
The mystique surrounding Bills QB Trent Edwards evaporated after a miserable performance in Miami.  Sure, he completed 21 of 35 passes for 227 yards; those aren't mediocre statistics by any means.  It was his interception, taken safety, and lost fumble, however, that humbled Buffalo's young signal caller.  His QB rating was a dismal 67.2 on the day; his performance was much worse than that rating.

Lee Evans continued his strong play against the Dolphins; his 116 yards on 7 receptions paced the Bills.  The offense began to struggle, however, when third-down specialist WR Josh Reed left the game with a strained Achilles.

For the first time all season, Edwards had help on the ground.  Buffalo's rushing attack rebounded from a sluggish start to the season in a big way today; unfortunately, playing from behind eliminated their effectiveness.  Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson combined for 102 yards on 23 carries, and Lynch scored from eight yards out to put the Bills up 16-7 early in the third quarter.  The Dolphins, however, dominated from that point forward.

Defense inconsistent, especially against the pass
It was undeniably the Bills' four turnovers that did the team in, but an abysmal performance by the pass defense put the Bills in a precarious position to begin with.  With CB Terrence McGee still hobbled with his sprained knee, Pennington and the Dolphins attacked - and defensive coordinator Perry Fewell couldn't counter.  This was Ginn's best game as a professional by far, and the Bills' inability to shut him down is as embarrassing a stat as any on this day.

As for the Wildcat, it was, essentially, a non-factor.  It was an efficient running play for the Dolphins and led to a few first downs, but in the grand scheme of things, Buffalo had much bigger problems defensively.  Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for just 59 rushing yards on the day (including a Williams score); it was Pennington, who has shredded the Bills in the past, that did Buffalo in today.

Langston Walker blocked a field goal in the first half to highlight another highly average special teams effort by the Bills.

Game balls
When you embarrass yourselves on the road as the Bills did today, nobody gets a game ball - even though there were a few nice individual performances today.

Roll call
38 Rumblers showed up to commiserate in this most awful of losses.  Props to WABillsfan, whose hatred for Perry Fewell led to 122 comments, pacing the day.  Thanks to everyone who joined...

StuckInNJ, krytime, Hassanali181, TheK-GunNeedsReloaded, RabidBuffalo, Tatunka, Northern1, Brian Galliford, NJBillsfan, Scoe221, WABillsfan, silverstreak3k, Memphisbillsfan, jdol1568, Cinga, twoeightnine, Thronsen, patamunzo, ccthemovieman, Kurupt, keuka121, SebastianPruiti, D.O., fletcherjd, chaosthepitbull, BeastMode, BillsNorth, Crizal, pozzed51, MonStarr_716, Joe P., Ron From NM, BenAllen, karovda, TheSharp, Gino Parilli, The Buffalonian, GhostDogg47

Buffalo needs to take this one in the chin, realize that they're not immune to playing like crap, and move past it.  So do we.  We'll take a couple of days to look back at this "performance" and move on as well.  With the Jets and Patriots both pulling out late wins against lesser opponents today, this is the worst possible scenario the Bills could have had today.  Bad Sunday, folks.  How the Bills respond is now the biggest key.

The Buffalo Bills' final injury report for this Sunday's tilt with the Miami Dolphins is out, and once again there are some pretty big names on it.

DE Aaron Schobel: He has been officially ruled out by head coach Dick Jauron and will miss just the second start of his career.  The official site's Chris Brown reports that Schobel is making progress, but his foot remains in an immobilizer boot.  Rest assured that the Bills won't allow Schobel to hit the field until he's 100 percent - they want him completely healthy for the stretch run.  Ryan Denney will start in Schobel's stead, just as he did last week in the win over San Diego.

CB Terrence McGee: Listed as questionable.  He's been limited in practice all week, but Jauron admitted - again according to Chris Brown - that he didn't want to give McGee a full work load this week.  We heard last week that McGee would be good to go against San Diego; clearly that didn't manifest itself, but the injury was described to us as "very close" earlier this week.  I think McGee plays and starts in this one.

CB Ashton Youboty: Listed as questionable.  He was active last week against San Diego, but largely for numbers purposes.  He didn't play a snap.  McGee appears to be much closer to going this week than Youboty, and one of the two is going to play.  Again, my money is on McGee, and if he does, Youboty won't play.  Leodis McKelvin would take over the nickel role, with some of the team's safeties playing their roles as well.

OG Brad Butler: He's out.  He didn't play much against San Diego after spraining his knee; I, for one, didn't even realize he was out in that game for quite a while.  It's unclear how long he'll be out; until he returns, Jason Whittle - the Bills' oldest and most tenured player - will get the start.

C Melvin Fowler: Listed as questionable.  He's been limited in practice this week, and just like Schobel, I don't think the Bills are in any hurry to get Fowler back into the lineup until he's completely healthy.  I agree with Brown on this one - even if Fowler is active, I think his understudy, Duke Preston, will make his second straight start.  With Butler out, however, it may be imperative for Fowler to dress in case another guard goes down and they need to move Preston around.

TE Derek Fine: For the first time in his young NFL career, Fine is completely healthy and ready to play.  Whether or not he'll be active is another question entirely.  My guess is that he won't; the sooner they can get him in on special teams units, however, the better - the team is going to miss John DiGiorgio.

Mitchell, defense rebound against San Diego (Associated Press)

This was a weird game, folks.  Playing nearly an entire half of football in what can only be described as "pre-historic" conditions, the Buffalo Bills defeated the San Diego Chargers 23-14 to improve their record to 5-1 on the season.

Ralph Wilson Stadium was without power for the majority of the first half, causing issues for both teams.  The Bills hung tough and took a 13-7 lead into the (completely lightless) locker room.  Surviving that bit of adversity, with severely cramped communications, can't be underestimated.  I've been to a lot of Bills games; this one was the weirdest.

Trent Edwards and Kawika Mitchell were the stars, but this was a total team effort.  This was a huge test for the Bills coming off of their bye week and a tough loss in Arizona; the Bills passed that test with near-flying colors.

Offense dominant through the air
Do y'all remember when, earlier this week, I laid out the blueprint to beating the Chargers?  Ball control passing game, taking advantage of the Chargers' awful pass defense?  Well, either the Bills were listening, or they were already on it.  Edwards completed 25 of his 30 passes, the running game was more complementary than primary, and the Bills held the ball for over 35 minutes in a dominant performance.

It was a sound game plan, and Edwards - in his first appearance after sustaining a concussion - executed it to perfection.  (I'd like to posit a new nickname for Buffalo's star quarterback: "The Executor".)  Edwards threw for 261 yards and notched a beautiful two-yard touchdown toss to Lee Evans, who used his helmet in lieu of a second hand on the reception.  Evans finished the day with 8 grabs for 89 yards and the score; Edwards' passer rating on the day was a stupendous 114.

Buffalo's rushing attack suffered through some of its usual problems - mostly finding any room to run between the tackles - but the duo of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson were effective in this one.  The Bills ran for 109 yards on the day; Lynch amassed 70 of those and scored on a 9-yard jaunt to take the lead for good, with Jackson serving as his lead blocker on the play.  The unspectacular efficiency of the ground game led to the Bills' most balanced game of the season offensively.

Defense makes plays when it needs to
Mitchell gets the credit for swinging the momentum for the Bills.  Philip Rivers had been doing a good job carving the Bills' defense up underneath, but it was a Mitchell interception a yard deep in Buffalo's end zone that thwarted the Chargers' go-ahead scoring attempt mid-way through the fourth quarter.  Mitchell then added a forced fumble - recovered by Copeland Bryan - that put the game on ice for the Bills.

Buffalo's pass rush, which was non-existent for most of the game, showed up when it had to.  Playing without Aaron Schobel, Buffalo's defensive line was once again disruptive; this was especially true in the run game, as the Bills held LaDainian Tomlinson to just 41 yards rushing.  It was the secondary, however, that played well.  With Terrence McGee out and Ashton Youboty's playing time severely limited with an injury of his own, the Bills gave up some big plays, but also kept the Chargers' lethal passing attack largely under control.  The lack of big plays by the San Diego offense is what ultimately did them in.

Game balls
Three game balls to give out today, and I'm pretty sure you know where two of them are going right off the bat...

Trent Edwards: Let's not underestimate this kid anymore.  He's arrived.  When you complete 83% of your passes two weeks after a concussion is, quite frankly, ridiculous.  His QB rating is 98.8 this season, and the Bills are 5-0 in which he's taken the majority of snaps.  He's the real deal, and he played like it against a pretty good pass rush today.

The O-Line: The Chargers came into this game ranked fifth in the league with 17 sacks.  The Bills started a reserve center (Duke Preston) and played with a reserve at right guard (Jason Whittle) for a while.  The Chargers didn't record a sack; in fact, Edwards didn't even take any hits.  This was a spectacular performance for Buffalo's pass blockers.

Kawika Mitchell: He struggled mightily in Arizona; that's not true of his performance today.  7 tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble made Mitchell the engine of an impressive defensive effort.

Roll call and "Image of the Day"
Mad props to the 30 folks who toughed it out through the power outages in today's game thread.  Bigger props to Kurupt for running the blog while I was getting my face burned at the stadium, and also for pacing the threads with a whopping 242 comments (WABillsfan, for the record, wasn't far behind with 203).  Thanks to these 30 folks:

StuckInNJ, karovda, Kurupt, thefourwinds, MonStarr_716, BuffCrunch, MARVelous, Scoe221, tomsbills, WABillsfan, chaosthepitbull, NJBillsfan, Thronsen, Memphisbillsfan, kaisertown, Ron From NM, keuka121, MattRichWarren, DodgerBlueBalls, The Buffalonian, patamunzo, SebastianPruiti, TheK-GunNeedsReloaded, Cinga, Black84GTI, Joe P., fletcherjd, BearsNecessity, GhostDogg47, Northern1

And now, fellow Rumblers, your image of the day:

     
Buffalo Bills (4-1) vs San Diego Chargers (3-3)
Sunday, October 19, 2008 - 1:00PM EDT
SB Nation's Chargers coverage: Bolts From The Blue

It's only been two weeks since the meltdown in Arizona, but it's felt like months.  Buffalo Bills football is finally back, following a long bye week, with the San Diego Chargers in town for a tough AFC matchup.  It'll be a struggle to beat the Chargers and get to 5-1, but below are my keys to a Bills victory Sunday afternoon:

Pray for Melvin Fowler: If anyone watched the Chargers/Patriots game on Sunday night, they saw NT Jamal Williams absolutely destroy Pats' Pro Bowl C Dan Koppen.  He treated him as if he were a freshman in high school. The Fowler (or Duke Preston, if Fowler can't go) vs Williams battle is going to be one where the Chargers have a significant advantage.  The Bills are going to have to give Fowler help or we're going to see pressure up the middle all afternoon.  If they can double Williams and neutralize him, the potential for run success and a pocket for Trent Edwards will be there.  That's a big if.

Keep Trent upright:  This is twofold.  On one hand, nobody wants to see him take another shot, as I'm sure we'll all be holding our breath every time he hits the turf.  We need him healthy and running the offense if we want to beat the Chargers.  On the other hand, we also need to keep him upright in order to keep the chains moving.  As Brian said, the potential to control the clock via the pass will be there, but that won't happen if Trent is getting hit early and often.  The Chargers have 17 sacks on the season, including 12 in their past 3 games, and our OL has given up 16.  It's time for Jason Peters and Langston Walker to finally come to play. 

Start fast: Other than the Jacksonville game, we haven't played very well in the first half of any game.  A strong start would go a long way towards a victory this week.  We also have to limit San Diego early on.  In their two best performances of the season, against the Jets and Pats, the Chargers have outscored the opponent 48-17 in the first half.  They proceeded to roll after that.  If the Chargers get up early, they are very tough to come back on.  This is definitely not a game we can start slowly in.  After two weeks to prepare, there's no reason the offense shouldn't come out strong, especially if Edwards isn't rusty.  San Diego will obviously be keying on a fast start themselves, so this will be one to watch.

Find a way, any way, to get after Rivers:  I've harped on it enough and we all know the pass rush has been stagnant at best.  With two weeks to prepare and work on some blitzes, Perry Fewell's defense has to come out and get after Philip Rivers.  With Aaron Schobel iffy with his foot injury and an ineffective rush around him, Buffalo's blitzers are going to have to come up huge this week.  We cannot let Rivers sit back there and pick apart our defense underneath like Kurt Warner was allowed to do two weeks ago.  Rivers likes to go deep to his big receivers; we have to disrupt his timing and force him to move around.  With that, Fewell has to let his corners play up on the line of scrimmage to take away the quick stuff that killed us against Arizona. With Terrence McGee out, we definitely need to force Rivers' hand.

Don't let Tomlinson find his footing: We've all heard about LT's struggles this year, but he's getting healthy and he's still as good a RB as there is in the NFL.  Personally, I don't want to see him return to prominence this week.  Our potentially mediocre run defense (currently 18th in the NFL) has started to regress as the season has progressed.  The Chargers haven't run it all that well yet this year, but have the potential to do so.  Our run D has been mostly stout, but water has started leaking in as we've allowed 145 rushing yards per game the last two after a great start.  Which run D will show up this week?  Hopefully the one we saw in our first three games (94 ypg), not the past two.

More Marshawn: With the Bills continuous struggle to run the ball, Turk Schonert needs to continue finding other ways to get him the ball in space.  It'd be nice to incorporate the screen pass back into the offense this week.  Lynch and Fred Jackson should receive heavy workloads this week.

Win the turnover battle: This has been a sore spot for the Bills thus far this season.  We're near the bottom of the league at a -3, having only forced 6 turnovers in our five games.  The Chargers on the other hand are sitting at +4, which is third in the NFL.  I'm guessing if these trends continue, we're not going to have a happy Sunday.  The Bills D needs to find some ways to get the ball for the offense, while the offense has to take good care of the rock this weekend.  The Chargers and their high-powered offense are not a team you want to turn it over against.

Get Lee Evans the ball:  I say this every week, and I'll probably say it every week going forward.  We need to get Lee Evans the ball more than 3-4 times a game as we have.  The third highest paid WR in the game needs many more touches than that.  I expect Evans to see some of Antonio Cromartie this weekend, which will be an extremely tough matchup for him.  Cromartie is big, physical and fast, not the type of CB Evans is built to beat. Schonert is really going to have to move him around this weekend, including putting him in motion, to prevent jams.  Some quick passes to Lee will be essential to open it up deep for him.  DaBolts believes Quentin Jammer will be matched up with Evans often to take away the deep ball.  If that happens, I like Evans to have deep ball success.  He can beat any CB in the league deep.  Jammer would be no exception.  I think it would be much tougher on him to be matched up exclusively with Cromartie and his physical play.

Win Special Teams:  The Chargers have a dynamic return man in Darren Sproles, assuming he's healthy, so it'll be a challenge for our coverage units this week.  It'd also be a great game for Leodis McKelvin to finally break a big kick return.  He's been solid, but has yet to really showcase the big play we saw in the preseason.  And with Roscoe Parrish back in the mix, our punt return unit should again have that big play element back in it's repertoire.  I just hope the thumb injury and wrap doesn't hinder his ability to hold onto the ball.

Simply put, WIN:  To me, this game is a season definer.  With a tough schedule coming up with 3 straight division games, including a tougher-than-anyone-could-have-expected-in-a-million-years road game in Miami next week, we really could use a victory this week.  With another playoff contender coming into our stadium, the Bills need to prove themselves capable of beating the better teams in the league.  It's been a struggle to do that for as long as we can all remember.  This week is a good time to help change that attitude and prove to the league that the Bills will be there all year.  If we can come out with a big W over the Chargers, we will be in GREAT shape going forward.  A loss and we're close to teetering the wrong way with road games 2 of the next 3 weeks.  A win really sets the stage for a great rest of the season.  A loss and we're really headed in the wrong direction.  This game could really define the rest of the season and how it plays out.

***

There you have it, keys to a big Bills win.  It's going to be a very, very difficult challenge for the team.  Let's hope they are up to it.  The Ralph hasn't rocked in almost a month, let's hope it is this Sunday.  Go Bills!

     
Buffalo Bills (4-1) vs San Diego Chargers (3-3)

Here's a quick update on the injury status of several Buffalo Bills players as we continue to slog through the work week awaiting the Bills' home date with San Diego...

QB Trent Edwards: It's official, folks - like, really official.  Edwards is going to play in this one less than two weeks after sustaining a concussion.  Edwards practiced both Monday and today at full force and says he "feels great".  We figured this would happen, but it's still great news to hear.

WR Roscoe Parrish: Buffalo's most explosive player - period - will also return to the field this weekend.  Parrish is slightly less than four weeks removed from thumb surgery, but he's practicing fully and catching both passes and punts.  This is an important guy to have on the field.  It's very relieving to hear he's back.

TE Derek Fine: The Bills' rookie tight end is no Tony Gonzalez, but he appears to be closer to being ready to make his NFL debut.  Fine likely won't play against San Diego, but should be healthy enough to play in Miami if the Bills see fit.

DE Aaron Schobel: This is the first bit of bad news (unless, of course, you don't like Aaron Schobel).  The Bills' starting right end missed the fourth quarter of the loss in Arizona with a bum foot, and today, Schobel was spotted with a walking boot on said foot.  Clearly, he didn't practice.  WGR 550 reports that Schobel calls himself questionable.  Like him or not, the Bills need him on the field.

CB Terrence McGee: We heard earlier in the week that McGee was likely to be a go for the Chargers game, but on Wednesday, McGee practiced on a limited basis.  It's unclear at this point whether or not McGee will practice, let alone take the field.  There's still reason for optimism, but having McGee isn't as certain as we once believed it to be.

CB Ashton Youboty: Compounding the fact that McGee remains injured is the fact that his starting replacement, Youboty, has also been limited by a left leg injury.  Youboty is far more likely to play at this point, but the fact that he's dinged is a concern.  If both McGee and Youboty can't go, rookie Leodis McKelvin would get the start next to Jabari Greer, with fellow rookie Reggie Corner serving as the team's nickel back.  Ouch.

FS Ko Simpson: He, like Schobel, also left before the end of the Cardinals game with a hamstring injury.  According to WGR 550, however, Simpson considers himself to be "over 90 percent" and plans to play on Sunday.  He was limited today; if he surprises and doesn't go, George Wilson will get the nod.

***

So, in short: Trent is back!  Collective sigh of relief.  The big concerns right now are the defensive injuries, particularly in the secondary.  We're about to take on a potent Chargers passing attack, and we're going to need every healthy defender we can muster.  I still believe that McGee will find a way to play, though his chances are certainly diminishing.  Schobel's injury is cause for concern as well; perhaps this will be an opportunity for rookie DE Chris Ellis to prove his worth.

McGee likely questionable for Sunday vs Chargers (buffalobills.com)

"He's too short."  "He's no Antoine Winfield or Nate Clements."  "He doesn't match up well with great wide receivers."  "He's not a number one cornerback."

These are all criticisms that Buffalo Bills cornerback Terrence McGee has played with in his three seasons as a starter in Buffalo, specifically the last two as the team's top cornerback.  Most of them are open to interpretation and opinion; it's likely that every Bills fan reading this believes one or more of those statements to be true.

But we've seen first-hand what McGee's absence can mean for this Bills defense.  Cardinals QB Kurt Warner had a field day picking apart the Bills' secondary sans McGee.  You may not like him; you may think he's one of the team's best defenders.  No matter the opinion, one thing is hard to debate: McGee is Buffalo's best defensive back, and is a model of consistency.

Measurables and Production
Most of the problems that Bills fans have with McGee and his status as the team's top cornerback is the fact that he stands just 5'9" and weighs in at 198 pounds.  He's also been top dog in a Bills passing defense that - let's face it - hasn't been too good over the past three seasons.  But to blame McGee for this production, specifically for his physical shortcomings, is a mistake.

McGee is, quite simply, Buffalo's most consistent defensive performer.  Drafted in the fourth round in 2004 out of Northwestern State, McGee was the team's nickel back by 2004 and is now in his fifth season (of six in the league) as a major contributor in the defensive backfield.  He's missed just 4 of 69 Bills games during that tenure, and his statistical output has been remarkably efficient.  He's registered between 73 and 78 tackles in each of the last three seasons.  His career high is 92.  He's registered 15 career interceptions, 3 sacks, and has scored defensive touchdowns three times in his career.

What's even more impressive is the 67 pass break-ups he's registered in the five years he's seen the most playing time.  That's roughly one break-up per game; that's tough to do in the NFL.  Consider, for example, that over 147 games of Champ Bailey's career, he's registered 154 pass break-ups.  Chalk McGee's success up to his technique, which he's perfected within the last two seasons; McGee is one of the most technically sound cornerbacks to play in Buffalo in quite some time.  His footwork is often a thing of beauty.

Work load and toughness
McGee's consistency is remarkable within itself; it's even more impressive considering the fact that the Bills, up until early in the 2008 season, ran their best cornerback into the ground.  No longer the team's top kick returner, McGee can now focus solely on defense; that wasn't true as little as a month ago.

The toughness of McGee is perhaps his most underrated characteristic.  McGee has dogged it for two years, pulling double duty as the team's shut-down corner and one of the NFL's most dangerous kick returners.  That's easy to do at the outset of a career when you're the nickel back; it's more difficult to pull off when you're the top corner, even if you're in your prime.  As a result, McGee has been dinged up for most of the past three seasons; still, he's only missed 3 games in 3 seasons.  He's tough as tripe.

Keeping it recent
McGee missed the Bills' 41-17 loss to Arizona in Week 5, and - perhaps not as a direct result, but it certainly didn't hurt - Warner completed 78 percent of his passes in the rout.  Prior to that loss, Buffalo's pass defense had been mostly terrific in a 4-0 start, and McGee - with 12 tackles, 5 pass break-ups and two interceptions - had been leading the charge.

At Monday's practice, McGee was on the sideline as he continues to nurse his dinged left knee back to health.  He's likely to be listed as questionable, and there's a strong feeling among the team that McGee will fight through yet another injury to take the field against the potent aerial attack of the San Diego Chargers.  Considering his abilities and the fact that rookie cornerback Leodis McKelvin was torched by Warner in Arizona, it's quite clear that Buffalo needs its most consistent and most underrated defender back as soon as possible.

Edwards, Bills face critical four-game stretch (buffalobills.com)

Things went well for the Buffalo Bills during their bye week, both in their own clubhouse as well as around the league.  Though the New York Jets beat the winless Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, elevating their record to 3-2 and putting themselves a game behind Buffalo in the AFC East, both the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins lost yesterday.  That means that entering Week 7, the Bills retain sole possession of first place in the division, with one-game advantages on the Patriots and Jets, and a two-game cushion over the 2-3 Dolphins.

Quarterback Trent Edwards continues to recover from the concussion he suffered in the Week 5 loss to Arizona (and as an aside, does anyone want to gripe about a loss to an "average Cardinals team" after they beat Dallas yesterday?).  Though it's still unclear whether or not Edwards will be ready to play in this coming Sunday's tilt with the Chargers, all indications are that Edwards will practice this week and play on Sunday.  Cornerback Terrence McGee is set to return from a left knee injury, and there's also a chance - a remote one, but it's still there - that WR Roscoe Parrish, recovering from thumb surgery, could play against San Diego as well (though it's more likely he'll return the following week in Miami).

The Bills got some help this weekend from their bye week and from the rest of the league.  They'll take it.  With four straight huge games coming up, however, it's now on the Bills to take control of their destiny.

Here come the Chargers
The Bills are 2-0 after bye weeks under Dick Jauron.  The team put together a 24-10 win over Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in 2006, and last season, the Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens 19-14 in Trent Edwards' third career start.  Both of those wins came after big defeats leading into the bye week, as well; those include a 28-6 home loss to the Patriots in 2006, and the famous 25-24 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football last season.  The Bills fell to Arizona 41-17 leading into this year's bye week.

The trend needs to continue coming off of the bye week.  Buffalo is healthy and re-focused after their humbling defeat, but the Chargers pose matchup problems across the board, as they're one of - if not the - most talented teams in the NFL.  The Bills will have their hands full, but the Chargers have had their problems making trips to the east coast.  The last time they did so, they lost to Miami 17-10; the last time they traveled to Buffalo, they squeaked by 24-21.  This is a game the Bills can and should win.

We'll have much more on the Chargers game throughout the week, obviously; it's quite clear, however, that if the Bills are to consider themselves legitimate contenders, this is a game they should win.  Another loss would be crippling as the team gets set to open up their division slate.

Division slate must wait
Quick: name the one NFL team that has yet to play a division game.  When the Chicago Bears took on the Detroit Lions in Week 5, the Bears became the thirty-first team to play a division rival this season.  Three weeks later, the Bills will travel to Miami as the last NFL team to take on one of their rivals.

Following this week's tilt with San Diego, the NFL's schedule-makers play catch-up for Buffalo, as the Bills will play three straight divisional games, and only one of them - Week 9's matchup with the Jets - will take place at Ralph Wilson Stadium.  The Bills must travel to Miami in Week 8, as mentioned, and they follow that with a trip to New England in Week 10.

Currently, the Bills fancy themselves in the driver's seat in the AFC East.  That's going to change quickly if the Bills can't keep their heads above water during this critical four-game stretch.  These four games represent the most critical juncture of Buffalo's season, as how they emerge through these games will either leave them in position to control their own destiny, or leave them trying to claw back into contention during the season's stretch run.  A 2-2 record in this stretch is a minimum to keeping themselves alive in the playoff race.  Having two home games clearly helps.

It starts with San Diego on Sunday.  Bills football is back, folks, and we're about to see some of the team's biggest games in recent memory.  Get fired back up after your bye week.  These are winnable games, including the Chargers; Sunday can't come soon enough.