Buffalo Bills news, 9/27: working through injuries for the Baltimore Ravens

Bills Focus: Manny Lawson Setting the Edge - VIDEO - BuffaloBills.com

"Bills linebacker Manny Lawson has been an unsung hero for the Bills defense three weeks into the season and John Murphy shows why his strong play has earned him extra reps."

Inside The Bills | EJ uses off day to work on deep throws

"We worked on throwing the deep ball," said Manuel. "Not only the deep ball, but just, if you’re getting blitzed like crazy and just throwing the ball up, not necessarily throwing it out of bounds. Just give the guy an opportunity to catch it." He was joined by Jeff Tuel.

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Bills DBs working through a state of flux - BuffaloBills.com
"Injuries in the Buffalo secondary have presented far more challenges than expected early in the season."

Inside The Bills | Stevie "managing" hamstring
"It’s day to day," Johnson told Buffalobills.com. "Just managing it and working with (head athletic trainer) Bud (Carpenter) and ‘G’ (athletic trainer Greg McMillen)."

Inside The Bills | Kyle, Urbik back practicing
Kyle Williams (Achilles) and Kraig Urbik (knee) both sat out Wednesday’s practice, but were back working Thursday. Both are expected to play Sunday against the Ravens.

Doug Marrone says Bills will be careful with Doug Legursky - The Buffalo News
"We're still working with Doug," Marrone said. "A lot of it is communication with Doug and exactly how he feels. He's coming back, and there's still some things that pull a little bit. Now, it's more of conditioning and when he can be 110 percent and feeling good. Then I think we'll be able to pull the string, make a decision of whether he's up or down."

Mario Williams: Thin secondary makes D-line feel 'a lot of stress' - The Buffalo News
"The biggest thing is I think if we can protect some of the guys that are on their front and get some time to work in the back end, then we'll be able to accomplish what we want to accomplish," Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said. "But it all starts up front. If we can block them, then I think we’ll have time and those guys will make some plays on the back end."

Bills notebook: Chandler, Manuel forming a connection - The Buffalo News
"When I really started to ramp up was when EJ hurt his knee, so we really didn’t get to work much together in preseason," Chandler said. "It’s really just been these first three weeks. I think last week was a big step for us."

WGR 550 SportsRadio - Bills' Byrd Makes Slight Progress
"Even through Wednesday's practice, all Byrd had participated in during that drill was on the scout team side. Although not a sign of an outright breakthrough with his condition, Byrd made slight, yet notable progress by being on the defensive side of the ball for a couple of repetitions during that very drill. He was not one of the base safeties, but rather the third safety in the defense they were simulating."

Sal and Leo preview Bills vs. Ravens - Democrat and Chronicle
"Sal Maiorana and Leo Roth discuss Buffalo's game against the Baltimore Ravens."

Opponents targeting tired Bills defense - ESPN
Stats from Mike Rodak indicate the Bills do much better stopping the run in the first half: First quarter: 3.28 yards per carry (6th in NFL) Second quarter: 3.91 yards per carry (19th in NFL) Third quarter: 5.81 yards per carry (26th in NFL) Fourth quarter: 4.25 yards per carry (24th in NFL)

Countdown Daily Prediction: BAL-BUF - ESPN Video - ESPN
The NFL Live crew makes their picks for Baltimore at Buffalo.

Inside Edge: Ravens at Bills - ESPN Video - ESPN
"ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando delivers some stats to help you make your pick for Baltimore at Buffalo."

Double Coverage: Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills - ESPN
"It’s worth noting that teams are racking up most of their rushing yards in the middle of the field. Once opponents get deep inside Bills territory, they struggle to run. Buffalo allows just 2.36 yards per rush inside its own 25-yard line, 10th best in the NFL. That’s when a well-stocked defensive line, especially Kyle Williams, seems to be at its best."

Buffalo Bills lack consistency in running game - Democrat and Chronicle
"Spiller and Jackson have combined to carry 75 times, and on 38 of those plays — yes, just more than half — the net result was two yards or fewer."

5 Things To Know About The Bills - BaltimoreRavens.com
Through the looking glass... "The Bills have a rookie QB and head coach, but don’t write them off. They nearly knocked off the Patriots."

Bills Conference Call With Baltimore Media - BaltimoreRavens.com
EJ Manuel and Doug Marrone talk to the Baltimore media.

New-look Bills seek to shed losing reputation in tough test against Ravens | Associated Press
"The Bills' hurry-up offense has so far been fast — in getting off the field. Buffalo has converted just 14 of 45 third-down chances and is 0-for-2 on fourth down. It's a reason the team ranks 31st in the NFL, behind only Philadelphia, in time of possession (24:48)."

First Rounders in Focus - Pro Football Focus
"It started off pretty well but since then Manuel has stuttered and then imploded with a horrid outing versus a rampant Jets defense. His numbers don’t do justice as he sits bottom of our quarterback grading, reminding us of a time when it was okay for rookies to struggle."

Rookie of the Year Race, Week 3 - Pro Football Focus
"E.J. Manuel, QB, Bills: That was a big giant step backwards. He'll have to learn from that quickly because that was unacceptable." The rook dropped like a lead balloon out of their conversation.

Had a Bad Day Team, Week 3 - Pro Football Focus
EJ Manuel, C.J. Spiller, Colin Brown, Nick Mangold, Calvin Pace, Jeff Cumberland, and Kyle Wilson all made the squad after the Bills-Jets tilt with Fred Jackson and Justin Rogers (huh?) as dishonorable mentions.