Loss of Murphy cripples depth at LT (Photo Source)

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The Buffalo Bills returned to the practice field Monday night following their pre-season opening 17-14 loss in Washington, and before the night was out had been dealt a crippling blow to their depth at offensive tackle.  With Jason Peters still MIA amidst a contract holdout, two more tackles - Matt Murphy and Patrick Estes - suffered injuries and left practice early.  The Bills finished practice with just three healthy tackles: Langston Walker, Kirk Chambers and rookie Demetrius Bell.  The seriousness of the two injuries are not yet known, but neither is likely to play in Thursday's pre-season matchup with the Steelers in Toronto.

The loss of Murphy - who performed admirably Saturday night - is especially concerning, as he was working with the second team as the left tackle.  Estes was working with the third team at the same position.  With just three healthy tackles on the roster, the team might have to experiment with players such as Jason Whittle, Robert Felton or Nevin McCaskill at tackle; they could also make a roster move soon.  Jason Peters' holdout has never looked more desperate than it does today.

In other injury news, SS Donte Whitner returned to practice, was subsequently dinged, left, and did not return - again.  It wouldn't be shocking to see him sit out Thursday's game.  LB Blake Costanzo also left early with a minor head injury.  Not participating were wideouts Josh Reed, Scott Mayle and Roscoe Parrish, tight end Tim Massaquoi and linebacker Marcus Buggs.  LB Angelo Crowell participated fully, and DE Copeland Bryan also returned.

Surprise! Offense Goes Deep
The Bills took some serious heat in the press for their incredibly vanilla offensive performance Sunday.  But hark!  Monday night was a smorgasboard of deep passes for Buffalo's offense.  Should we be surprised?

The first beneficiary of the deep passing game was rookie wideout James Hardy. On the third snap in team work Trent Edwards aired out a 50-yard bomb to Hardy on a deep post as he got between Terrence McGee and Ko Simpson, made the catch and completed the 70-yard scoring play.

Show me some of that during actual pre-season action - as well as increased playing time for Trent Edwards - and I'll get excited about this.  For now, it's merely something that sounds good from the practice setting that hasn't translated the field, a.k.a. a disappointment.

Question of the day: Is there seriously a good reason for the Bills to take Edwards and most of the first unit offense off of the field before halftime on Thursday?

The Bills practice at 1PM today, have a closed practice Wednesday, and hit the turf at the Rogers Centre for the first time Thursday.

Fowler considered the weak link on a strong line (Photo Source)

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft - in fact, prior to the free agent signing period of this past March - we took a look at the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position, breaking down then-current personnel, finding holes, and building our community needs list.

Now that free agency and the Draft have been completed, and the Bills have infused their roster with new talent, it's time to repeat our process.  Where has Buffalo gotten better?  Where have they gotten worse?  How will additions impact which Bills veterans remain on the roster?  These are questions that we'll attempt to answer over the next week or so.

We continue those discussions today with an examination of Buffalo's interior offensive linemen.  To view our previous discussions on Buffalo's G/C situation (pre-off-season), bang it here.

Derrick Dockery: He may not have been completely worth the $49 million that the team invested in him last March, but Dockery proved to be an excellent addition to Buffalo's line.  He finally brought post-Ruben Brown stability to the Bills' left guard position, and along with Jason Peters gives Bills quarterbacks excellent blind side protection.  Dock has five more years on his contract and will be a Bill for the foreseeable future.

Brad Butler: Who was Buffalo's best run blocker last season?  Why, that would be Brad Butler, of course.  The last lineman to lock down a starting spot was the Bills' most efficient run blocker all season and proved that he can avoid injuries; he enters his third NFL season in '08 as a promising young blocker still learning the nuances of his position.  This kid has a bright future as well.

Melvin Fowler: The starter at center for the past two seasons, the 29-year-old Fowler is the elder statesman amongst the Bills' starting linemen, and is regarded here as the weakest link on the line to boot.  Fowler does some good things - he's a solid technician, a fine athlete and pass protector, and can pull on run plays - but in a division where all three of the Bills' opponents run a 3-4 defense with massive nose tackles (Vince Wilfork, Jason Ferguson and Kris Jenkins), Fowler isn't stout enough at the point of attack to handle those guys one-on-one.  Look for the Bills to replace Fowler at the pivot over the next season or two.

Jason Whittle: This veteran lineman will be counted on in two capacities (he's virtually locked up a roster spot): he'll be the team's top reserve at both guard and center, and he'll also be the central member of what's called the "wedge", the lead-blocking unit on kickoff returns.  We'll see a lot of Whittle on special teams this season, but his true value to this team is his versatility and ability to back up starters at several key positions on the line.

Duke Preston: The young vet is the whipping boy for poor lines of the past.  Preston had a shot during '07 training camp to lock down a starting spot at right guard or unseat Fowler at center; he couldn't do either.  If Whittle can prove he's completely healthy and the team likes some of its younger players enough, Preston has fallen far enough from grace that he may just be shown the door prior to the start of the regular season.

Christian Gaddis: Gaddis spent the first half of the season on the team's practice squad, was elevated to the active roster after Week 10, and played in his first professional game in the season-ending loss to the Eagles.  He's a smart, tough young kid with some physical limitations, but he has a very good shot at claiming Preston's tenuous spot on the roster.

Nevin McCaskill: This is another young lineman signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in '07 that spent the majority of his rookie year on the practice squad.  McCaskill is a very similar player to Gaddis (he may be a bit more athletic), but he's likely a longshot to make the roster at this point.  He'd be a logical choice for another season on the practice squad, however.

The Additions: Robert Felton
The Bills chose to largely leave intact their interior offensive line, re-signing Whittle and adding just Felton, an undrafted free agent from Arkansas.  Felton is a massive player (6'4", 324) that is technically sound and played every line position during his time in the SEC blocking for Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.  This was an underrated signing, and if Felton holds his own during training camp, he has enough potential to stick around on the active roster.  If not, he's a natural pick for the practice squad, even ahead of a guy like McCaskill.

The Subtractions: Aaron Merz
Due to a never-ending spate of injuries that routinely landed Merz on the long-term injury lists, he was released.  Merz is a massive player with some potential, but his NFL career may be over thanks to the aforementioned injuries, especially the one to his shoulder.

Pre-Season Outlook: Like the tackles, the Bills have solid - if unspectacular - starters on the interior with young, talented players in reserve.  Whittle is the wild card at this position - he gives the Bills excellent versatile depth with NFL starting experience, something the team does not have on the outside.  This is another position of strength for the Bills, though these starters still have something to prove.

Sometimes, change is a bad thing.  In 2007, the Bills didn't have an overwhelming offensive line, but they did finally establish some consistency among their starting five.  This is a big season for this unit - if they don't make improvements across the board - especially from center through right tackle - we may see some changes next off-season.  Keep an eye on Fowler and Langston Walker - they seem to be the two guys most likely to be replaced in the near future.

Change: Negligible.

As always, your thoughts on Buffalo's offensive line are welcome and encouraged in the comments section.  For those of you who missed it this morning, be sure to check out Ron From NM's in-depth looks at the Bills' 2007 offensive line performance here and here.