Inside The Bills

Why Nelson isn’t practicing

Bills TE Shawn Nelson isn’t practicing because he had a slight setback coming off his groin surgery last week.

It happened in last Friday’s practice, his first week back from suspension and following groin surgery a little over a month ago.

“I re-injured myself Friday,” said Nelson. ”So, we came to an agreement that I would hold myself out (against Jacksonville) and be ready for Baltimore. I just kind of tweaked it a little bit. They weren’t really expecting me to come back 100-percent, but I just wanted to give it a go. I was excited about getting back and just wanted to get back on the field and just over-extended it a little bit.”

With plans to play against Baltimore, it’s expected that Nelson will re-join his teammates in the practice setting early next week at the latest.

Practice update

Here’s the rundown of players not practicing here during the bye week on Wednesday.

CB Terrence McGee
S Bryan Scott
LB Arthur Moats
LB Keith Ellison
OL Eric Wood
OL Cornell Green
OL Demetrius Bell
TE Shawn Nelson

Presumably Wood and Bell are getting rest coming off of their major offseason surgeries here in the bye week. Green was nicked up in last Sunday’s game. McGee, Scott, Ellison and Moats all missed last week’s game due to injury.

Evans to fire up his Badgers

Lee Evans will still be on a football field on this bye weekend, but his job will be more motivational.

Evans is headed back to his alma mater in Madison, as his #18 Wisconsin Badgers host #1 Ohio State for a 7 pm (ET) kickoff Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

“I’m going to be an honorary captain,” said Evans, who was the first player in Wisconsin history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a season, doing it twice in his Badgers career.

Evans will be out on the field for the coin flip Saturday and provided his travel schedule allows address the team prior to the game. When asked who will win the game the receiver had an incredulous look on his face that he was even posed the question.

“Wisconsin,” he said. “C’mon now.”

Fitz focused on here and now

Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was asked for his reaction to Ralph Wilson’s comments to the Associated Press that quarterback would be a top priority entering the upcoming offseason and the draft process.

Fitzpatrick responded with the following.

“I can’t focus on that,” he said. “I’ve got to help this team get wins. We’re not looking at three years down the road in here. We’re looking at Baltimore.”

The players will have three days of practice here during the bye week before getting the weekend off.

Bills bye week schedule

The Bills will be putting in a few solid practice days this week.

The players are on the practice field today (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday before getting the weekend off to fix some of the things that have plagued them through the first five games this season.

We’ll have more in Bills Roundup later today.

Wilbon on Mr. Wilson

Washington Post columnist and Pardon the Interruption co-host Michael Wilbon had an interesting take in response to Mr. Wilson’s comments on the state of his team earlier this week in a write up by the Associated Press.

Wilbon commented on Mr. Wilson accepting blame for a lot of what has gone wrong with the Bills franchise of late saying the following.

“You know what I like about Ralph Wilson, and when I was covering the league I got to know him a little bit, he doesn’t pass off stuff on other people,” said Wilbon. ”He comes out and says you know what I made that decision.  He says ‘if that guy failed, I brought him in.  I didn’t do a good job bringing him in.’  He takes accountability.  He’s doing that here.  I think this is very wise.”

Here’s the link if you want to watch Wilbon’s comments, but you have to be an ESPN Insider to watch it.

Bills fans to see Ravens

During the bye week Bills fans in Western New York will get an up close preview of Buffalo’s next opponent Sunday.

Football fans in Western New York will get the Ravens vs. Patriots game on CBS at 1 pm, which should be a good one with New England no doubt hungry for revenge after getting waxed by Baltimore in the Wild Card playoff game in their own stadium last season.

Baltimore is a lot more balanced on offense with Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmanzadeh joining veteran Derrick Mason in the receiving corps.

Here’s a look at what games you’ll be getting this Sunday even if you’re not in the WNY area.

Pluses and minuses

Here’s a look at some of the Bills stats that have improved for the better and some that have tailed off thus far this season.

We decided to assess improvements and deficiencies from where they were prior to Week 3 (2 games played) to where they are now following Week 5 (last 3 games played).

We know this is less than an ideal sample size, but at least it provides an idea as to where the Bills performance is trending up and where it might not be as well.

Pluses
The Bills have shown some of the most notable improvement in the following areas.

Total net yards per game (251 yards – up from 176)
–This is due to an increase of more than 54 ypg passing with Ryan Fitzpatrick in the lineup and an jump in almost 20 ypg rushing.

Yards per carry (4.8 – up from 3.6)
–Fitzpatrick’s scrambling vs. the Jets skews the numbers a bit, but Fred Jackson’s 5.0 ypc avg. thus far has bumped the figure up too.

Yards per attempt (7.0 – up from 4.63)
–Again Fitzpatrick’s willingness to push the ball down the field more has resulted in a 33 percent increase in yards per pass attempt in just three games.

Completion percentage (61.2 – up from 55.8)
–pretty straightforward

Passer rating (99.9 – up from 58.3)

Points per game (23.3 last 3 – up from 8.5 in first 2)
–That’s a difference of better than 2 TDs a game. It still hasn’t landed a win, but the offense is at least producing.

Defensively, third down conversion percentage allowed dropped slightly from 50% to 48.5%, but it still ranks 31st in the league.

Minuses
Time of possession (25:02 – down from 26:06)

Rushing yards allowed (182.4 – up from 111.5)
–Going against Green Bay backups helped the earlier figure, and giving up 200-plus the last 3 weeks obviously did not.

Completion percentage allowed (68.4% – up from 63.5%)
–Though the pass defense has reduced passing yards given up per game by 10 yards, opponents are completing more passes. A lack of pass rush isn’t helping.

Time of possession allowed (34:58 – up from 33:54)
–The past three games have knocked the average of opponent possession time up almost a minute.

Opponent passer rating (114.8 – up from 94.5)

Stroud’s Pins for Hope

Bills DE Marcus Stroud is holding his 2nd annual Pins for Hope charity bowling tournament on Fri. Nov. 12th at Thruway Lanes at 1550 Walden Ave. in Cheektowaga from 7:30 - 11:30 pm presented by Isaac Heating and Cooling.

Join Marcus and several of his teammates as proceeds go to the Marcus Stroud Charitable Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting children who face significant physical, mental and financial challenges in a single parent home. 

Their goal is to help enhance and enrich the lives of disadvantaged children by establishing various academic and athletic programs otherwise unavailable to them.

Also the event is running a two for one special for all those that sign up to participate.

From now until Oct. 31st, if you purchase a spectator ticket of $50, it will admit two for the price of one, and if you purchase a $100 ticket for an individual bowler, the individual bowler will receive a Pins for Hope II T-shirt along with unlimited bowling and shoe rental.

For more information about the Pins for HOPE Bowling Fundraiser or the Marcus Stroud Charitable Foundation, please visit Marcus’ charitable website or email pinsforhope@gmail.com.

Heavier 4-3 front explained

The Bills employed a heavy 4-3 front that had Marcus Stroud and Dwan Edwards at the ends and Kyle Williams and Torell Troup in the middle last Sunday. Head coach Chan Gailey provided an explanation as to why that was the approach.

Gailey was asked if the heavier front is a shift in defensive philosophy after the true 3-4 look they implemented at the start of the season was having its problems stopping anyone.

“To be honest with you, it’s not a shift in philosophy,” Gailey said. ”It’s a shift in necessity. We’re not doing what we feel like we need to against the run game. So, we felt like we need to get some bigger people on the field to help us in that respect. It’s a shift in necessity more than it is a shift in philosophy.”

The heavier front worked in the early going against the Jaguars. The only drawback to that heavier front was the bigger, heavier ends do not have as much range to get to the edge and with one less linebacker on the field, the Jaguars tried to take advantage of that with outside run plays and reverses.

As for whether the heavier 4-3 front will be used in the future, Gailey indicated it would largely depend on their opponent each week.

“I think we look at it game-by-game about what we’re facing,” he said. ”If we’re facing a heavy run team, we might be more that way. If we’re facing more of a play-action and more of a pass team, we might be back in our four linebacker schemes. I think it will just depend on the direction that each week takes us with the team that we’re facing.”

LB update

With OLB Chris Ellis moved off the roster Monday, the LB position has a bit of a different outlook and head coach Chan Gailey shed some light on the position’s future.

Part of the reason Ellis was deemed expendable was because they see promise in two of their rookie LBs.

“The other two guys that we like are Coleman and Moats,” said Gailey. ”They’re coming on and that was one of the reasons that we made the decision with Chris that we made. We felt like those two young players were coming on now.”

Moats was shifted from inside to outside LB the week leading up to the Jets game, but sustained an elbow injury. He has a chance to be back for the Baltimore game.

When Gailey was asked for an update in Aaron Maybin’s progress, since he wasn’t mentioned along with Antonio Coleman and Arthur Moats, the Bills head coach didn’t pull punches.

“Aaron is struggling right now,” said Gailey. ”He really is. He’s struggling to get on the field and when he gets his opportunities he’s struggling to make plays. We’ve got to continue to work with him to see how he develops.”

Maybin, who unofficially got two defensive snaps did not even appear on special teams Sunday.

“He’s struggling making plays period right now,” said Gailey. ”That’s hard for him. It’s hard for us. It’s hard for everybody. He’s just got to step up his game when he gets opportunities and make things happen.”

Why Howard was in for Green

Some may have noticed that Cordaro Howard stepped in for Cornell Green at right tackle in the fourth quarter. Head coach Chan Gailey explained why.

“He was a little bit banged up actually in the fourth quarter,” said Gailey of Green. ”So we had to play Cordaro at right tackle in the fourth quarter.”

Howard also stepped in to spell Demetrius Bell early in the game as has been the case all season to make sure Bell is still fresh come the fourth quarter. Kraig Urbik spelled Eric Wood in similar fashion.

McGee targeting Ravens game

Terrence McGee is grateful for the timing of the bye week.

He’s hoping to heal up from the minor back procedure to fix the nerve problem in his leg.

“Its a good opportunity to get healthy and hopefully I can be ready for the Baltimore game.”

TE Nelson update

Bills TE Shawn Nelson believes he’ll be game ready coming off the bye week.

“I’m sure I’ll be ready,” he said. “I’ll have this bye week to get my timing down and get some good work in before we prepare for Baltimore.”

Nelson is still working his way back to full strength from groin surgery a little over a month ago.

Ellis waived

OLB Chris Ellis was waived on Monday to make room for TE Shawn Nelson on the 53-man roster. The move was not all that surprising as Ellis’ playing time decreased sharply on the defensive side of the ball the last few weeks.

Ellis, who started in week 1 for an injured Reggie Torbor recorded five tackles and a sack against the Dolphins. But he did not record any defensive statistics in the last four games as his playing time was limited.

The DE turned OLB worked hard to make the transition with the Bills moving to a 3-4 defensive front, but apparently the coaching staff found him expendable.

Why Wood is being spelled

Bills RG Eric Wood is still being subbed out for a series or two here and there through the course of football games, and that was again the case on Sunday against the Jaguars. Wood explained the situation.

“They just want to keep me fresh for the fourth quarter is what I’m told,” said Wood. ”It’ll be a lot better looking plan if we are leading in the fourth quarter trying to run out a victory. But at times like this it’s tough to see how exactly it’s paying off.  We don’t envision being in two-minute drills every fourth quarter.  We’re taking a little bit of a rest on it.  Like with any injury it’s going to be fatigue more when you miss practice reps and need a little time off.”

Kraig Urbik was the reserve lineman that stepped in for Wood for a couple of series against the Jaguars. Demetrius Bell, who is also coming off a major offseason surgery was spelled for a couple of series by Cordaro Howard. Howard also played right tackle after the game was out of reach.

Whitner: don’t put it on coaches

Donte Whitner made it loud and clear in the locker room after Sunday’s game that the scheme and the coaching staff shouldn’t be taking the heat for the team’s performance Sunday.

“I can honestly tell you that the coaching staff is doing a really great job of preparing us throughout the week,” said Whitner. ”Now, us as players, we have to do an even better job of going out there and executing the game plan, understanding what they are going to do to us each play and not give up things that twe have practiced against. Things that are so simple in the football world.”

Most of the other players in the locker room also credited the coaches for trying to help put them in a position to succeed, but that they the players are not coming through. The Bills are going to need the bye week to right some of the wrongs that have plagued them the first five weeks of the season.

Foreign territory

For Bills players that have been on the roster for the better part of the last three or four seasons, Sunday’s result was unfortunately all too familiar. But Buffalo’s 0-5 start has caught some of the Bills’ newer free agent additions scratching their heads.

“I’ve never been through anything like this,” said Dwan Edwards. “I hate to make excuses. I’m not an excuse making guy. We’re definitely not getting it done on defense and we’ve got to do better.”

For Andra Davis he too was at a loss for finding an answer to their omnipresent defensive issues.

“Everything is bad right now,” Davis said when asked what the main issue is with the defensive performance. “There is no magic wand that you can wave. I have no idea.”

Buffalo will be very busy in all phases during the bye week as the team will be practicing right up until the weekend.

Kelly in attendance

Bills HOF QB Jim Kelly is on hand for today’s game against the Jaguars.

Kelly also has his dad with him at the game today. As usual Kelly has assumed his familiar position down on the field, on the home team sideline at about the 30-yard line.

Bills inactives

Here are the Bills inactives for today’s game against the Jaguars.

CB Terrence McGee
S Bryan Scott
LB Arthur Moats
LB Keith Ellison
OL Mansfield Wrotto
OL Ed Wang
DE John McCargo

The good news is CB Ashton Youboty is active for today’s game giving Buffalo 4 cornerbacks for the game.