The Buffalo Bills beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 this past Sunday, but the game didn't completely turn Buffalo's way until linebacker Kawika Mitchell intercepted a pass by San Diego's Philip Rivers, thwarting a would-be go-ahead touchdown.  Mitchell's interception set up the field goal that iced the game for Buffalo as well.  Here's how it happened.

The Situation
San Diego ball, 1st and Goal, 4th Quarter

* This is a bread and butter play for San Diego.  The Chargers line up in an off-set I formation with Vincent Jackson (83) wide left, Antonio Gates (85) in the slot and Brandon Manumaleuna (86) out wide to the right.  The Bills counter with the defense they set aside for Gates.  Reserve safety Bryan Scott (43) lines up in man coverage across from Gates, while Jabari Greer (33) takes Jackson solo and Donte Whitner (20) lines up across from Manumaleuna.
* This play is designed to get single coverage on either Gates, Manumaleuna or LaDainian Tomlinson (21).  Prior to the snap, Manumaleuna motions inside of Gates with Whitner shadowing, meaning that the Gates/Scott matchup now takes place on the outside of the formation.  Clearly, the Chargers' main target on the play is going to be Gates.
* The key to the play for Buffalo here?  Buffalo's linebackers are playing zone underneath the man coverages of Greer, Scott and Whitner.  It's a mix designed to confuse Rivers, but only a terrific read by Mitchell makes the play work.

The Snap

* Things actually fell into place for San Diego here.  The line does a good enough job on the Bills' defensive line, though Copeland Bryan (96) gets some good pressure on Rivers' blind side.  John McCargo (97) takes up the guard (Dielman) and center (Hardwick); Spencer Johnson (91) takes up Goff's attention, and Chris Kelsay (90) occupies Jeromey Clary.
* Paul Posluszny's action seals the play.  Playing in a zone, Posluszny comes up in front of Keith Ellison (56) as the two zone guys responsible for Tomlinson and fullback Mike Tolbert (35) out of the backfield.  Posluszny looks like a blitzer in the process, however; both Tolbert and Tomlinson stay in to max protect.
* Still, the coverages almost work for the Chargers.  Whitner follows Manumaleuna in man coverage into the end zone, where the bulky tight end is doubled by free safety George Wilson (37).  That effectively takes Wilson out of play in terms of coverage on Gates, who is now officially singled up with Scott - and he's got a lot of space in front of him for a score.  This is exactly what the Chargers wanted.
* Normally in this situation, Mitchell is stuck in no-man's land.  The Chargers run this play for a reason - it nearly always works.  Usually, as this play is developing, Mitchell drops back in a zone to "double" Jackson on the left side of the field with Greer.  As you may have heard, however, Buffalo expected the play - and they knew how to defend it when it inevitably showed up.

The Pick and The Aftermath

Mitchell recognizes the play and does what his coaches wanted him to do.  He crosses the field to double Gates; a shallow throw by the unsuspecting Rivers is easily intercepted by the Bills' weak side linebacker.  Game, set, match.

This was a great designed play by the Chargers that they used a bit too often in games leading up to this one.  This is why offensive quality control coaches exist - to eliminate defenders knowing what's coming.  San Diego's guys didn't do their jobs well enough; Mitchell and the Bills coaching staff were on this one like stink on cheese.

That's this week's Paint Analysis, folks.  More Film Analysis to come a bit later on today, but I'll only have some abbreviated thoughts in one post.  For now, enjoy reminiscing about Kawika's pick of Philip Rivers!

Schobel, front four not making plays (buffalobills.com)

One of the Buffalo Bills' biggest problems defensively in 2007 was their inability to consistently get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  The Bills finished the 2007 season with just 24 sacks as a team, and as a result, they fielded one of the league's worst defenses (statistically) last season.  The defense did enough for the Bills to scratch and claw their way to a 7-9 record, but it was clear that without an improved pass rush, the Bills weren't going to get much better.

So the team spent the off-season getting tougher up front, and the impact was immediate - the Bills registered five sacks in a season-opening win over the Seahawks.  All was well - newcomers Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell registered three of those sacks, and the Bills' defense dominated, holding the Seahawks to just 10 points.  Four games later, however, the Bills have added only five more sacks to that season-opening total, and the team's pass rush woes are resurfacing.

The stat that tells all
Last season, in picking up 24 sacks in total, Buffalo's leading sacker was, unsurprisingly, defensive end Aaron Schobel, whose 6.5 sacks made up what was, statistically, one of his worst seasons as a professional.  The more concerning stat was that it took 12 Bills defenders to get to that 24-sack total.  While it's not necessarily bad news that the Bills had twelve defenders register sacks, it does smack of the need to blitz often.  Behind Schobel, no Bill had more than 2.5 sacks last season.

Nothing has changed in 2008, save the fact that the blitz is a bit more diverse and potent.  The Bills have registered 10 sacks, and it's taken nine defenders to do so.  Stroud leads the team with the two he piled up on opening day; Mitchell, Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney, Spencer Johnson, Kyle Williams, Ashton Youboty and Donte Whitner have all added one sack each to that total.  It's the same deal - defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has been forced to utilize the blitz to get pressure, and while it worked early, opponents are starting to figure it out.

Quick strike offenses
Part of the Bills' issue with getting to the quarterback has been the offensive strategy of its opponents.  With Buffalo employing a Cover 2 zone scheme, teams have relied on quick routes and a "possession passing game", for lack of a better term, more and more as the season has progressed.  Arizona executed this attack to perfection; quarterback Kurt Warner didn't even average six yards per attempt (250 yards on 42 throws), but he completed 78 percent of his passes, moved the chains and didn't take a sack.  The Cardinals basically ran the ball down Buffalo's throat via the short passing game.

It's a bit unfair to expect the Bills to put up astronomical sack numbers when opponents are running this type of offense.  As it is, the Bills rank near the middle of the pack in sacks this season.  Until the Bills figure out how to slow down this type of attack - a minor alteration to the coverage scheme should do it - don't expect the Bills to start adding significant numbers to their sack total.  It's just not realistic.

Inconsistency starts up front
The blitz is utilized so often in today's NFL that teams are becoming increasingly proficient at picking up extra rushers.  Buffalo's blitz packages are working about as well as we can honestly expect them to - the Bills aren't registering a lot of sacks, but we've seen guys such as Mitchell, Paul Posluszny and Whitner put big hits on quarterbacks this season.  That's the sign of an effective blitz package.

The problem, then, has to lie with the guys on the line of scrimmage.  This post isn't designed to knock Schobel and Kelsay; they're good football players.  They're guys that could play on any team simply because of their energy levels (although perhaps not at their current respective salaries).  They belong on the field.  But there's a dimension missing, particularly on the edges, and that dimension is athleticism.

Rookie Chris Ellis - a third-round pick out of Virginia Tech - was expected to provide that athleticism this season.  After an underwhelming pre-season, Ellis has yet to be active for his first NFL game.  Schobel and Kelsay aren't phenomenal athletes; they're effort rushers.  Those guys can work well in this league if they're complemented.  Right now, Ryan Denney and Copeland Bryan aren't doing the complementing.  We're still not even sure if Ellis can provide that spark if he ever gets the chance to play.

Bottom line
Basically, what it comes down to is this: the Bills' pass rush is what it is.  Currently, it is a problem.  As long as the team stays healthy, it has the opportunity to have some big games and be moderately proficient for the rest of this season.  But Bills fans need to start dealing with the reality of the situation: Buffalo isn't an elite pass-rushing team, and the defense is going to struggle at times because of it.  Understand it's going to be intermittently problematic moving forward.  This Bills defense is good enough to take the Bills to the playoffs, but it's not elite - and it's not elite because it lacks an athlete at defensive end.

That's the only missing piece, folks.  Perhaps Ellis is the answer; I'm not convinced.  We just need to deal with the reality of the situation; anticipate the problem areas, and you'll have no reason to complain about them as the season wears on.  The Bills have the ability to overcome their pass rush woes, especially when considering the schedule the team faces.  But log this in your off-season observation book, and try not to break it out until the off-season arrives (whether that's the first or third week of January remains to be seen): the Bills need to address this area with a top-notch athlete in the very near future.

Stroud & Co. must be stout on Sunday (buffalobills.com)

In 2007, stopping the run was the Achilles' heel of the Buffalo Bills.  Despite its best efforts to claw their way back into the playoff race, Buffalo's inability to shut down the run (along with inconsistent quarterback play) ultimately dashed those dreams last season.  Opponents ended the season averaging 4.4 yards per rush against the Bills, and the team's final record was 7-9.

2008, however, has started off a bit differently.  The Bills have won two straight games, and with a win this coming Sunday against the Oakland Raiders are poised to start a season 3-0 for the first time since 1992.  Ed. note: I was seven years old.  Buffalo spent their off-season attempting to upgrade their run defense, and thus far it's paid off: the Bills are giving up just 3.8 yards per rush, and their 91.5 rush yards allowed per game is much lower than the 124.6 they gave up in 2007.

This unit has been tested, too; they passed the test of shutting down Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor in Jacksonville in last week's big road win.  The unit is legitimate.  But they face another unique challenge this Sunday in the formidable Raiders rushing duo of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush.

Raiders one-dimensional, yet still explosive
To underestimate this duo simply because of the team they play for (to say the Raiders are "dysfunctional" is an understatement) would be a grievous error.  Just look at the numbers: in his first two professional games, McFadden has compiled 210 yards on just 30 carries.  Yes, folks, that's seven yards per rush - double the 3.6-yard average that Buffalo's own Marshawn Lynch has established to date.  Bush did not register a carry in Week 1, but when Justin Fargas went down with a groin injury in Week 2 (he won't play in Buffalo), Bush responded with 90 yards, a 5.6 yard-per-carry average and a touchdown of his own.

McFadden and Bush - Raiders draft picks in '08 and '07 respectively - were highly touted backs coming out of college for a reason.  McFadden has a chance to transform into one of the league's most explosive offensive weapons; he's on that path already.  Bush has recovered from a devastating knee injury he sustained in his final college season nicely; at 245 pounds, he's got a Jerome Bettis quality to him.  Now they have an opportunity to establish themselves as one of - if not the - most talented rushing duos in the league.

Keep in mind, also, that these two backs have put forth these eye-popping numbers with no help from their quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, and the passing game.  Russell's QB rating on the year is a respectable 84.9, but most of the solid stats he accrued in the team's opening-week loss to Denver (180 yards, two scores, no picks) came in garbage time as Denver was icing a 41-14 victory.  Last week in a 23-8 win over the Chiefs, Russell completed 6 of 17 passes for a paltry 55 yards.  To say the Raiders are one-dimensional is an understatement.

Oakland's likely Sunday rushing strategy
The Bills are a well-coached football team, and their strategy on Sunday to beat the Raiders is a simple one: stop the run and force Russell to beat you.  If Russell is forced to throw the ball at least 25 times, the Raiders are toast - it's as simple as that.  The problem, obviously, is making that happen on the field.  Don't expect the Raiders to attack Buffalo's defensive line with the run.  The Bills boast an excellent defensive tackle rotation with four solid run-stoppers in Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams, Spencer Johnson and John McCargo.  The Raiders aren't likely to attack that group, especially with MLB Paul Posluszny backing them up.

In their first two games, the Raiders have spent the majority of their time attacking the edges of opposing defenses.  What's more, they've rarely attacked defensive ends in the run game to this point.  Just 24.6% of their run plays have attacked the interior line to date; the majority of their runs have come to the outside.  45.8% of their rushes attack left end/left tackle, while the remaining 30.5% are to right end/right tackle.  The Raiders have athletic backs and an athletic line, and they've put them to use thus far.

So the onus on stopping the run won't be on the tackles and the middle linebacker; it will be on the outside linebackers and the defensive backs.  Considering the Bills missed a dozen tackles (seven in the offensive backfield) in their win over Jacksonville, this is a bit concerning.  Aligned on the right side of the defense (the side that Oakland has attacked most frequently by far), LB Keith Ellison is sure to be a target.  Players such as Kawika Mitchell, Terrence McGee, Ashton Youboty, Jabari Greer, Ko Simpson and Donte Whitner will be heavily involved in stopping the run this week, based on the Raiders' tendencies.  Considering the talents of the Raiders' two backs (not to mention the size of them), great tackling from Buffalo's back seven is a must in this matchup.

How to beat the Raiders
Buffalo is going to load the box with defenders.  Considering the fact that Russell has struggled and the Raiders' receiving corps hasn't been at all helpful to their young quarterback, don't be surprised to see as many as nine Bills defenders in the box for the majority of Sunday.  They're going to dare Russell to beat them, because the chances of the young quarterback doing it in Buffalo are slim.

The other way to neutralize Oakland's running game is to get off to a fast start.  It's not exactly rocket science, but if the Bills get out to an early lead, the Raiders - a young team with a young coaching staff - will try to get back into it quickly.  Go for the jugular early, and the jugular will expose itself quickly.  The easiest way to dispose of the Raiders is to go for the quick kill, and as football is the ultimate team sport, Buffalo's offense could end up being the key to its run defense on Sunday.

But don't underestimate the importance of shutting down McFadden and Bush.  They took over and dominated an NFL game by themselves last week.  I don't care if it was "just the Chiefs", as I've heard all week.  It was an incredible showing, and the Bills are quite right to not take the tandem lightly.  Quickly snuffing out this duo should lead to a Bills victory, but by no means will it be an easy task.

McCargo currently the #4 DT in rotation (Photo Source)

Back in early March, mere hours after the Bills had made a splash by securing a trade for former Jaguars Pro Bowl DT Marcus Stroud, the Buffalo Bills appeared to have it made at the defensive tackle position.  Experts drooled at the potential that Stroud - along with free agent addition Spencer Johnson, imported on the same day - brought to a position that was a prominent weak point defensively in 2007.  Stroud would surely speed the development of the young man he'd be starting next to - 2006 first-round pick John McCargo, and the pair would surely work themselves into one of the better interior duos in the league.

Flash forward to less than two weeks prior to the start of the 2008 NFL regular season, and McCargo has quickly become a non-factor in Buffalo's defensive tackle rotation.  Sure, he's played a lot of snaps, and it's hard to say his play has been bad - we just can't be sure it's been good, either.  The young, developing talent that flashed big potential during the 2007 season has quickly fallen to fourth on the depth chart at his position.

The Oddity Of It All
What's strange about McCargo's absence from the defense - and yes, we're calling it an absence, because one solo tackle and two assists in three pre-season games is hardly an impact - is that the Bills' run defense has been superb to date.  In fact, Buffalo's first team defense, on the whole, has looked very good (dare we say "playoff caliber"?) in the short amount of time they've been on the field together.  Buffalo is producing defensively without much help from McCargo, who was expected to be a key cog in his third season.

Kyle Williams - drafted four rounds after McCargo in 2006 - and Johnson are competing for the starting spot that many assumed would be McCargo's.  Meanwhile, 97 barely shows up on game film.  If you explicitly pay attention to the tackle, you see the athleticism that made him a first round pick.  Yet despite playing well into the second half in each pre-season game this season, his presence has been negligible.  He's the Invisible Man amongst Buffalo's suddenly very good defensive tackle corps.

Too early for the "B" word?
Many might read this and hastily jump to the conclusion that McCargo was a wasted first round pick in 2006.  Some might even speak/type the feared "b-word" that has come to be associated with high draft picks who haven't turned themselves into serviceable NFL players.  I'm of the belief that such talk is premature.  McCargo's inconspicuous absence is slightly disconcerting, of course, but it's not a huge problem for the team until something happens with Stroud, Williams or Johnson.

My theory: McCargo has simply not found his role yet.  We know what we're getting out of the team's top three tackles: Stroud is the run stuffer; Williams is the hustler; Johnson is the versatile swing tackle.  Where does McCargo fit in?  Pass rush specialist?  Stroud's shoe-cleaner?  He has no distinctive niche yet.  When he finds that niche - and this goes with any NFL player - his play will elevate.  Until that time arrives, however, McCargo will remain Buffalo's very own Mystery Man.  (Or, more specifically, he would had Jason Peters not voluntarily joined the Witness Protection Program.)

  Has Ashton Youboty outjumped the competition? (Photo Source)

As the pre-season begins to wind down, some of the Buffalo Bills' fringe players have one game left to show their stuff.  So the question becomes: what spots on the roster are most up for grabs and who's fighting for these final spots?  Besides the positions that have been discussed previously (Backup TE, Backup LT, Starting CB, Returners, Starting DT), there are some strong battles being waged between players of different positions fighting to make the final roster.

How many spots are available?
To start off, I'd like to point out the positions I feel we are comfortable enough to say who and how many players will make it.  I left a few positions up for grabs as one of those guys is likely to grab the final spot.

QB: 2 (Edwards, Losman)

RB: 3 (Lynch, Jackson, Omon(or Wright I suppose))

FB: 1 (Barnes)

TE: 3 (Royal, Fine, Schouman)

WR: 5 (Evans, Reed, Parrish, Hardy, Jenkins)

OL: 9 (Peters, Dockery, Fowler, Butler, Walker, Chambers, Whittle, Preston, Bell)

DE: 4 (Schobel, Kelsay, Denney, Ellis)

DT: 4 (Stroud, Williams, McCargo, Johnson)

LB: 6 (Posluzny, Mitchell, Crowell, DiGiorgio, Ellison, Spragan for now)

CB: 5 (McGee, Greer, McKelvin, Corner, Youboty/James)

S: 5 (Whitner, Scott, Simpson, Wilson, Wendling)

ST: 3 (Moorman, Lindell, Neill)

That gives us a rough total of 50 roster spots that should be pretty set at this point, at least numbers wise.  Again, the battle for the 5^th WR, backup C and 5^th CB are all debatable by many, but we will definitely be keeping someone for those spots.  That leaves us with roughly 3 open spots to be filled by any number of individuals from various positions: 3^rd QB, 4^th RB, 4^th TE, 6^th WR, 10^th OL, 9^th DL, 7^th LB or 6^th CB.  There should be some heated competition for these final roster spots and it should come down to a number of deciding factors, which we'll discuss after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

DT Williams fighting off S. Johnson for starting role (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills have made the trip to Indianapolis, where they are set to take on the Colts in tonight's pre-season game at the newly constructed - and absolutely gorgeous - Lucas Oil Stadium.  The Bills will be without three key players - QB Trent Edwards, WR James Hardy and WR Roscoe Parrish - for this matchup, and the Colts are missing some starters as well, most prominently QB Peyton Manning.

Despite the starters missing the one pre-season game that's important to a team's growth - especially a team as young as the Bills - there will still be some positional battles and players in unique positions that we'll be keeping an eye on.  We sincerely hope that you'll join us for tonight's open thread; here's what we'll be watching for:

Hamdan vs. Baker: It has become excruciatingly obvious that the Bills will be relying on J.P. Losman as a starting option at some point during the 2008 season.  With that in mind, it's probably high time to start paying a bit more attention to the battle for the team's third quarterback spot raging between Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker.  One of these guys might actually be our primary backup for stretches during this season.  It is prudent, therefore, to know a bit more about these two players.

Dwayne Wright: He's 2/2 this pre-season; unlike in baseball, that's not a good thing - Wright has fumbled in each of this pre-season's two games.  Rookie sixth-round pick Xavier Omon is far more than just a challenger to Wright's job as the third back now.  Wright has looked good running the ball, but he needs to protect the rock, or he won't be a part of this final roster.

Jenkins, Huggins and Johnson: We can only guess, but we're predicting that Josh Reed - due to the problems he's had with his lower back - won't play as much as the rest of the starters tonight.  Lee Evans might not see a huge work load either, though he's expected to play much of the first half.  With Hardy and Parrish out, we're going to see a lot of playing time for the three receivers fighting for one to two spots - Justin Jenkins, Felton Huggins and rookie Steve Johnson.  The time is now for them to prove that they belong on this team.

Langston Walker: Dwight Freeney is making his first start of the pre-season tonight for Indianapolis, and with that, Walker faces by far his stiffest challenge since his move from right to left tackle.  Walker handled Jason Taylor relatively well in Washington, but Freeney steps the challenge up a notch.  We're expecting Ron From NM to keep an eye on #68, but we'll be watching closely as well.

Demetrius Bell: See Walker, but substitute Freeney's name for any of a number of the Colts' reserve ends who have ridiculous speed, most prominently rookie Marcus Howard.  I'm very intrigued with this kid, as most of you know, and he'll get tested tonight.

Williams vs. Johnson (vs. McCargo?): Apparently, there's a battle raging for the starting tackle spot next to Marcus Stroud, and the two main combatants are Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson.  The winner of the battle's title may in reality be only a figurehead position, but we've spent enough time with our eyes glued to Marcus Stroud this pre-season to know he's legit; it's time to get more familiar with his running mates.

Angelo Crowell: Buffalo's starting strong-side linebacker makes his 2008 pre-season debut tonight.  Will he look rusty?  How does he look in pass coverage?  How will he operate next to, in essence, two new teammates in Paul Posluszny and Kawika Mitchell?  Well, that's why we're watching him tonight.

Cornerback rotation: The third pre-season game is followed swiftly by initial roster cut-downs and the fourth pre-season game - this coming Thursday against the Lions - so Buffalo's cornerback battle is about to get furiously heated.  Ashton Youboty will again get most of our focus, but we're expecting Leodis McKelvin to take a step forward in the competition tonight as well.

Evans extension could be completed soon (Photo Source)

After over three weeks of training camp practices, the Buffalo Bills are just two sessions shy of wrapping up 2008 Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher College.  Unbelievable, right?  With camp closing after Wednesday's practice concludes, several story lines are becoming prevalent again; and, of course, the Bills continue to make stories on the practice field as well.  Here's what we should be talking about as training camp comes to a close...

Peters Watch: Decision Time?
In case you took a holiday to Mars in March and are only just now returning to this glorious planet, Bills LT Jason Peters hasn't reported to Buffalo since taking a physical in early January.  Holding out for more money, the break of training camp seems a logical place to get a further reading on Peters' intentions for the 2008 season.  Will he report with camp over, or will he continue his holdout?  If he continues to stay away, it's likely that he'll be sitting out at least a portion of the regular season.

WGR 550 mentioned on this morning's "Howard Simon Show" that Bills LG Derrick Dockery - the only Bills player to have communicated with Peters (via text message) that we know of - mentioned that he believes Peters will be reporting for team duties "soon".  Whether this manifests into truth remains to be seen, but that - coupled with the fact that the Bills made no attempt to sign a replacement tackle after the injury to Matt Murphy - are encouraging signs for fans who'd like to see Peters report ASAP.  Stay tuned - we should be hearing much more on this throughout the rest of the week.

New Deal for Evans Imminent?
Rumors have been circulating ever since this past Thursday's pre-season win over Pittsburgh that WR Lee Evans and the Bills are coming closer to agreeing on a long-term contract extension.  COO Russ Brandon, who mentioned that he'd like to see Evans in a Bills uniform for the rest of his career, and Evans both confirmed that talks were moving in the right direction late last week.

Evans' deal is expected to be huge, and should it happen quickly, it will really solidify Buffalo's receiving corps for the foreseeable future.  This one seems to be much closer than any return by Peters, and it's expected that the ink will be dry on a new contract for Evans by the start of the regular season.

On/Off the Field
The Bills held a night practice Sunday evening and followed it up with an afternoon practice yesterday.  The Bills are steadily getting healthier, highlighted by the return of WR Josh Reed to the practice field.  Reed's lower back had kept him out of several practices and both pre-season games, but his back is now fine - though he's not completely out of the woods yet.  Reed has re-assumed his role of "Trent Edwards' favorite underneath target" immediately since his return; Edwards has spoken glowingly of Reed all week.

“I’m very, very happy with the progress that Josh has made this offseason,” said Edwards. “I was happy with the way he practiced during OTAs and minicamps and he’s progressed a ton since last year, so I’m excited for him this year.”

OT Patrick Estes, injured last week, also returned to the practice field.  Missing practice time over the past two days were TE Derek Schouman (who could miss several weeks), WR Scott Mayle, WR Roscoe Parrish (minor knee), WR James Hardy (resting hamstring), CB Kennard Cox and SS Donte Whitner (excused - family).

Position Battles Still Heated
Several position battles are still making headlines over the last few practices of training camp.  Let's review:

- RB Xavier Omon took second-team reps yesterday ahead of second-year pro Dwayne Wright, indicating that the rookie has snuck ahead of Wright in the battle for the team's #3 RB role.  Wright's fumbles appear to be the culprit.

- Receivers James Hardy and Josh Reed appear to be neck-and-neck for the starting role opposite Lee Evans.  Both are expected to be heavily involved in Buffalo's offense.

- With Derek Schouman ailing, rookie TE Derek Fine's solid performances could lead to him staying on the field ahead of Schouman when the latter returns from his knee injury.  Courtney Anderson's chances at making the final roster have improved as well.

- Both Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson - as well as John McCargo to an extent - are vying for the starting DT role next to Marcus Stroud.  All three are expected to factor in heavily, but it appears that Williams and Johnson in particular are making strong cases to see the bulk of playing time between the three bigs.

- Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer are entrenched as the starting corners, but the battle for the nickel job is heating up.  Will James is the likely starter at this point, but rookie Leodis McKelvin - as well as fellow rookie Reggie Corner - are making a late push for the role.  It's expected that James will man the nickel spot to start the season (with McKelvin taking dime work), but the first-round pick should take over the third slot well before the end of the season.

The Bills have their final night practice tonight, and follow it up with an afternoon practice Wednesday to close out their three-week stay at St. John Fisher.  We'll discuss the events of those two practices - as well as events tied in with the end of camp - as it happens.

McKelvin, cornerbacks solid in pre-season debut (Photo Source)

As promised, I've reviewed Saturday night's broadcast of the Buffalo Bills' pre-season opening 17-14 loss to the Washington Redskins.  And, as promised, I took plenty of notes and hit the rewind button often in an attempt to get more nitty gritty details on Buffalo's personnel lineups and overall play Saturday night.

I've only had time to rifle through the first half thus far; rest assured that we'll talk about the scrubs either tomorrow or Wednesday.  For now, here's what I noticed re-watching the Redskins game in our first ever Buffalo Rumblings Film Session:

Quarterbacks: Now is definitely not the time to freak out about Trent Edwards' poor performance.  He just needs to play more.  Trent did make some bad reads while he played - both throws to Schouman, for example, were forced balls - but he's still doing the one thing that Dick Jauron wants him to do: getting the ball out quickly and, for the most part, accurately.  It's high time that Jauron sacrifice some of J.P. Losman's pre-season playing time to get Edwards some more experience reading defenses; it's quite clear that Losman doesn't need a ton of time after his strong performance Saturday.  Losman was, quite simply, in the zone.  He had one poor throw (the slant to Roscoe Parrish on third and goal); the rest was excellent work upon further review.

Running Backs: Not much to report here.  Fred Jackson got most of the work in the first half, and he played as advertised.  He looked good, but didn't stand out in any way.  Jauron did the right thing by limiting Marshawn Lynch to three carries - he doesn't need to work this early.

Fullbacks/Tight Ends: I thought Derek Schouman played poorly.  He doesn't play as fast in games as he does on the practice field; it is clear, however, that Edwards likes throwing his way.  Derek Fine looked smoother than anticipated; he did, however, whiff badly on a blitz pickup, which led to a Losman sack.  I am glad, however, that Darian Barnes is part of this team - I didn't realize how much I missed a good old fashioned lead blocker until I saw Barnes popping linebackers in the hole.  He looks like a good acquisition.

Wide Receivers: If you want a scapegoat for Buffalo's first-team offense issues, blame James Hardy.  He was routinely lined up out of position, missed some pre-snap motions, and was responsible for a false start, a near-false start, and a timeout.  He also misread the Redskins' defense on third and goal with Edwards under center.  Washington was blitzing from Hardy's side; Hardy should have read that blitz and cut his route off.  That's exactly where Edwards threw it, but Hardy wasn't home.  He's got a long way to go before he's an every-down receiver.

I really liked what I saw out of Roscoe Parrish; he might be ready for a break-out season of sorts.  I hope to see more of Justin Jenkins as well - he looks smooth operating out of the slot and is a bit bulkier than Buffalo's top two slot options, Parrish and Josh Reed.  Jenkins is a virtual lock to make the final roster.

Offensive Line: For a first-team analysis, see Ron from NM's FanPost.  I saw nothing different than he did re-watching the first half.  The second team line was comprised of Matt Murphy (LT), Christian Gaddis (LG), Duke Preston (C), Jason Whittle (RG) and Kirk Chambers (RT; also started).  I was particularly impressed with Murphy - he looked great in pass protection against a very good Redskins DE in Chris Wilson.  He's still raw at the position, however, so don't expect an immediate contribution.  Preston also fared well; he was the man responsible for blowing open a huge hole on Fred Jackson's 11-yard screen pass.  Gaddis was disappointing; he missed his assignment badly on a stunt on the Losman-to-Parrish deep throw.  Gaddis was the reason Losman had to throw that off his back foot.

Offense General: Clearly, Buffalo's offense could have played better.  But don't blame the short throws the Bills employed on Turk Schonert - he's done a great job giving Edwards options.  On two poor reads by Edwards, Schonert had layered his receivers' routes so that, within the same throwing lane, there was a short and deep option for Edwards.  Both times, the deeper route was open for Trent, and both times, he forced it to Schouman underneath.  Edwards telegraphs his passes in an obvious way; Schonert may have built in an offense wrinkle to hide that weakness.

Defensive Line: Buffalo's starting defensive line got one series, and I thought they looked great.  Marcus Stroud looks great, and the Redskins threw double teams at him quite often (he did get dominated by two 'Skins linemen once, but otherwise was a force up front).  I also thought the defensive ends looked disruptive, though clearly, they didn't play much.  Stroud and Aaron Schobel were pulled after the first series.  (By the way - there's no reason to knock Buffalo's pass rush after this game, either.  Washington threw so many balls off of three-step drops that there was no chance for the Bills to get any pass rush going.  Buffalo's blitz, however, did look weak.)

That's when things got interesting.  Spencer Johnson replaced Stroud inside and played all right; when Chris Kelsay left the game for good, however, Johnson slid out to defensive end for early downs (Chris Ellis replaced him on later downs).  Speaking of Ellis, I thought he looked good - he's quick and a bit more powerful than I imagined he would be.  He wasn't a liability in the run game, either.  He played a lot, which is good for him.  (Now Jauron just needs to employ the same philosophy with his starting quarterback.)

One last D-Line note: Jason Jefferson is terrible, whether he's lined up at tackle or end.  He's worse at end.  The guy defines the word "mediocre", and he's routinely five yards up field and out of position.  This guy can't get off our roster fast enough.

Linebackers: Buffalo's defense gave up some plays in the passing game, but don't blame the corners - the Bills' linebackers are currently pretty bad in coverage.  Both Paul Posluszny and John DiGiorgio are consistently a yard or two too deep or a step slow getting to the receiver.  Kawika Mitchell displayed a similar trait (while also looking great defending the run).  Buffalo's corners took some heat for some slant routes being completed, but the corners, in reality, were blanketing their receivers - the linebackers were just a bit off with their responsibilities.  Right now, the linebackers are the weakness of the defense, but their play isn't far off from being good.

Cornerbacks: In short, these guys looked great.  Five corners saw action in the first half (Terrence McGee sat this one out), but the best performer of them all was, of course, Ashton Youboty.  Youboty showed a physicality we haven't seen from him to date - he's an excellent tackler.  He also did very well in coverage and didn't make any mistakes.  His INT was a gift, however - Todd Collins should never have thrown that ball.  What got me most excited about Youboty was seeing him talk some smack with Redskins WR Santana Moss; I don't think I've seen that type of confidence out of Youboty before.  He looked great; I wouldn't be shocked if he pushed Jabari Greer (whose play was solid as well) for a starting spot.

Will James saw the most time in the slot, and while his play was generally good (his coverage was better than good), he did miss a tackle pretty badly on a screen pass.  Reggie Corner was the dime back (again, with McGee out of the lineup), and while he made some alignment mistakes and gave up some throws, he also showed pretty good instincts.  I like his future as the nickel back.

Leodis McKelvin made one big error - ducking inside a block rather than engaging it - and it led to a touchdown.  Other than that, he looked good in coverage (and great on kick/punt returns), but his body doesn't look NFL-ready to me.  He's really quite small.  I still think he's a starter by season's end, but he's probably fourth on the depth chart - at best - right now.

In all, I liked what I saw out of all five of Buffalo's corners - but if I had to pick a guy most likely to be released, I'm going with James.

Safeties: Not good, folks.  Ko Simpson was terrible, both on the blitz and in run support.  He was in the box a lot more than expected, with Bryan Scott playing deep.  Look for opponents to try to exploit that this season.  John Wendling, in my opinion, should be playing linebacker - he's OK by the line of srimmage, but a nightmare deep.  He hits hard.  He did, however, miss Ladell Betts badly on a draw play that led to big yardage.  He's quite green, and shouldn't see the field as a defender this season.

Special Teams: Monitored this closely for personnel.  Kick and punt coverage starting lineups listed below; these are a good indicator as to who Bobby April likes on his units, and who, therefore, stands a good shot at making the roster as of today:

Kick Coverage: Blake Costanzo, Justin Jenkins, Will James, John DiGiorgio, Keith Ellison, Derek Schouman, John Wendling, Donnie Spragan, Bryan Scott, Dustin Fox

Punt Coverage: John Wendling, Justin Jenkins (gunners); Ryan Neill (long snapper); George Wilson, Derek Fine, Blake Costanzo, Bryan Scott, John DiGiorgio, Keith Ellison, Donnie Spragan

Dwayne Wright, Duke Preston, Kirk Chambers, Kyle Williams, Marcus Buggs and Darian Barnes all saw coverage or blocking responsibilities in the first half as well.  Blake Costanzo surprised me; he was on the field for nearly every special teams play in the first half and played very well.  Is it possible he's a lock to make the roster?

Feel free to discuss/ask questions/leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Reed (right) continues to sit out with back issue (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills are four days away from opening their 2008 pre-season schedule with a visit to Washington, and the team continued its training camp preparations last night despite nearly being driven off the field due to inclement weather.

Rain delayed practice twice, but the Bills were able to complete their full session as they head into Wednesday's 1PM practice.

Not participating in Tuesday night's practice were SS Donte Whitner (ankle), WR Josh Reed (back) and DE Copeland Bryan (hamstring).  Whitner and Reed are expected to be back on the field by the end of the week and should see some (albeit very little) playing time on Saturday.  Rookie WR James Hardy (hamstring) and veteran CB Will James (groin) were scheduled to return to the practice field last night, but due to the slick weather conditions participated only in individual drills.  They should be full go today.

Interesting Debate
An interesting debate that can arise out of a situation like last night is whether or not it's a good thing to have to fight through a practice in those types of weather conditions.  Clearly, the Bills are a young football team, and a large percentage of their most important players have not had to deal with harsh weather conditions on a regular basis before.  That'll happen often in Buffalo.  At the same time, this is just practice - and the team is, in fact, attempting to answer a lot of questions and install a new offense prior to the start of the important games.  There are definitely two strong (opposing) arguments to make.

I'd be very interested to hear what everyone here believes about this topic.

S. Johnson at DE?
As the Bills' defense practiced in nickel packages last night, there was one surprise player playing outside at defensive end:

Spencer Johnson got some reps at defensive end in the nickel package.

This is curious.  Perhaps I'm not seeing the positive spin on this, but this doesn't make a ton of sense to me.  Do I think Spencer Johnson can play end?  Certainly - he's probably the quickest, most explosive athlete the Bills have at defensive tackle.  But to play him outside on passing downs?  To me, that sacrifices some of what little pass rush the Bills already have.  Johnson would be a force to be reckoned with on run downs, but I'd rather see them sub in a guy like Chris Ellis for passing downs.

Clearly, it's far too early to get worked up about this - or to believe it's a permanent wrinkle that Perry Fewell is installing - but it's definitely something to think about.

Youboty Still Making Plays
It seems that every practice, CB Ashton Youboty - seemingly buried on the depth chart - makes one or two good plays.  Maybe it's because he's working on throws made by Gibran Hamdan most of the time, but it also speaks volumes about his work ethic.  He's working his tail off to prove he still belongs on this team; maybe the light is about to go on for this kid.

Ashton Youboty made a nice over the shoulder interception on a deep pass down the sideline from J.P. Losman. Youboty also had a pass breakup late in practice.

Rookie Reggie Corner continues to take first-team nickel back reps with James sidelined, and as krytime discusses, he's been one of the more surprising players on the field for the Bills through the first week-plus of camp.  He leads the team with three interceptions to date.  Leodis McKelvin worked outside with the second unit and also saw some reps in the nickel package with the second unit, as they continue to experiment with ways to get their top draft pick onto the field.

The Bills practice at 1PM today.  They follow it up with another night practice Thursday, a closed practice Friday, and then they hit the field in Washington for the first live game action of the 2008 season.

Evans pleased with progress on contract negotiations (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills hit the field at St. John Fisher College for two practice sessions today, as they opened 2008 training camp with two solid practices.  Here's what happened of note on the first day of camp (as reported by BuffaloBills.com):

Peters Holds Out
The big story, of course, is that Jason Peters is holding out.  We'll definitely discuss this a bit more over the weekend (probably tomorrow morning); for now, if you're looking to vent on Peters, check out this story.

Evans Has a Great Day
Lee Evans had a good day, both off the field and on.  In his usual candid manner, Evans confirmed that progress has been made between his agent and the Bills on a contract extension.  This is great news - Evans has been a true professional, never missing a workout and never complaining about his deal (he's currently working on his rookie deal), and the Bills are rewarding him for his loyalty and professionalism.  Hear that, Mr. Peters?

Evans also reportedly ran several outstanding routes today in what was a strong performance by Buffalo's revamped passing attack.  Always one for a good quote, Evans spoke about his comfort level with QB Trent Edwards as they enter their first full season starting together:

"It's only day one, but we certainly have a comfort level with each other," said Evans. "I think he trusts me and I trust him and now it's just a matter of getting in that rhythm and staying in that rhythm and staying consistent."

Edwards Looking Good
Keep in mind that this was just a practice session, but the fact that Edwards started both practice sessions with 10 consecutive completions in 7-on-7 work.  Buffalo's offense, under coordinator Turk Schonert, will have more of a West Coast feel - we're going to see more passing, and Edwards will need to be accurate.  It sounds like he's been precise to this point.

Play of Note: "One of Edwards prettiest passes of the series was when he looked the safety off to the right and then dropped a well-timed ball in between three defenders to Josh Reed on the left side of the field for a 20-yard gain."

Defense Quiet, but Corners Looking Good
Naturally, on a productive day for the offense, the defense didn't have such a good go of it.  Of note, however, was the play of two of Buffalo's sub-package corners in Will James and Ashton Youboty.  Both made multiple nice pass break-ups (James more so than Youboty); the defensive backfield picked off a few passes, and in general were active on the day.

Play of Note: "A deep ball intended for Evans was tipped on a nice play by Ashton Youboty and Simpson was the final beneficiary."

Depth Chart Notes
Kirk Chambers replaced Peters at starting left tackle.  Robert Royal and Derek Schouman both worked with the first team at tight end; they were followed by Courtney Anderson in the rotation.  James Hardy worked with the second team offense at wideout, as Josh Reed ran with Evans at the top of the lineup.  With Kyle Williams excused, John McCargo and Spencer Johnson split first-team reps next to Marcus Stroud.

McKelvin Still Unsigned
Top draft pick Leodis McKelvin missed both of day one's workouts as he remains unsigned.  There was talk that a deal was close enough that a deal might be worked out to get McKelvin on the field for this afternoon's workouts, but that did not materialize.  A deal is expected to be completed over the weekend.

Look for the Bills to wrap up talks with Evans and McKelvin before doing anything with the Jason Peters situation.

Day Two: Saturday 7/26
The Bills hit the field again tomorrow for two more practices - one at 8:30 AM, the other at 2:15 PM.  We'll talk a bit more about Peters, McKelvin and Evans tomorrow morning, and we'll follow it up with another short recap of tomorrow's events.  Again, I'll urge you all - if you go to camp and have anything to say about your visit, let us know.  We'd love to hear about Buffalo's progress from a fan's perspective.