Once again this holiday season 97 Rock, the flagship station of the Buffalo Bills is doing its part to fight hunger in Western New York.

97 Rock’s 4th annual Operation: Rock Out Hunger is taking place in the parking lot at Rosa’s on 3770 Union Rd Cheektowaga, NY 14225. 

As of 4PM this past Wednesday, 97 Rock radio personality Jickster is living on the Food Bank’s empty moving van and will remain there until the truck is full of food donations.  Please stop by with any nonperishable food or cash donations. Here’s Jickster’s set up (below).

For all the out-of-towners coming to Jacksonville for the Bills vs. Jaguars game… 

Join the fun at the pregame party at Wing-It, home of the Bills Backers of Jacksonville! 

PregameParty
Saturday, November 21, 4:00 PM

Wing It
11018 Old Saint Augustine Road
Jacksonville, FL

Here we go entering the first week under interim head coach Perry Fewell. Let’s get right to the questions.

1. Is there any reason the NFL stopped putting stats on the pro bowl ballots?  I feel like this really hurts the chances of good young players like Jairus Byrd and just gives you a game of some of the over the hill guys who make it every year.  The NFL is trying to revamp the game, so shouldn’t they want the best players?  That being said what do you think Byrd and Moorman’s chances are, and are there any other guys with outside shots?  I know I was surprised to see Keith Ellison cracking the top 5 in tackles.
Thanks,
Nick
CB: I can’t speak to the stat question, but a lot of fans like yourself are irate that there’s no way for them to vote for Byrd because he does not appear on the ballots that were set up at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately only the players and coaches will have the opportunity to vote for Byrd for the Pro Bowl.

As for Moorman’s chances, he’s got a real good shot. He’s currently second in the AFC in net punting behind Oakland’s Shane Lechler, who is a four-time Pro Bowl punter including the last two seasons (2007, 2008).

I believe Marcus Stroud has a decent shot at it. He’s a recognized name, has three Pro Bowls in his career, and entering last week he was among the league leaders in tackles at his position.

Keith Ellison’s injury hasn’t helped his cause.
2. Do you think Fewell will run the wildcat with Jackson more than Jauron had been? Some say the wildcat is a fad but I believe its very effective when used in the right manner. I would say Buffalo could be effective running at least 5-6 plays a game with it. What do you think?
Thanks Wes

CB: I think we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this weekend. There was talk about the Wildcat portion of the playbook being expanded as the weeks move along. I have a story on it on the home page from this past Wednesday.

I think with as much as the offense struggles in a conventional set, putting the ball in Fred Jackson’s hands as much as possible is a good idea. You suggest 5-6 plays. I’d prefer 12-15 because the quarterback play has been subpar this season.
3. I always wanted the Bills to draft Brohm – how long until he gets on the field?
 
I know he hasn’t gelled in GB, but I think it was a bad fit for him there. Brohm looked and played like Jim Kelly in college.
 
thanks,
Brendan, NYC

CB: Based on what I’m hearing from the coaching staff it’s unlikely that he’ll be on the field this season. They said they’ll try to get him up to speed as quickly as possible with the offensive system and if he’s a quick study there may be an outside chance he gets some time late in the year if the Bills are just playing out the string. But other than that you’ll likely have to wait until next year.
4. Hi Chris,
 
I, like quite a few people I would imagine, was shocked to learn that the Bills had not been practicing in pads in the Jauron era.  When Perry Fewell took over as Interim Head Coach he said that he was going to start having them practice in pads and I was kind of like – what were they doing before?  Two hand touch?  And then it got me thinking – how many other teams practice with pads?  I remember reading an article interviewing a player and he said that even when they wear pads in practice they don’t tackle their own guys.  Is this just the fine line each coach/team has to walk between getting players ready to play and not hurting your own guys?
 
Thanks,
Kenny

CB : Dick Jauron typically had his team in pads on Thursdays. All Fewell did was put them in pads on Wednesday and then again Thursday. Jauron by most NFL coaching standards took it easy on his players with respect to contact in practice during the regular season.

As a result I think it takes away from preparing effectively. Once players take the pads off in practice, the speed has to slow down, the intensity slows down and very often focus wanes. Now there has to be a balance and coaches do have to recognize where their team is dragging or really beat up and back off, but Jauron did it regularly, particularly after the midway point of the season.

For comparison Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio told us after the midway point of the season he goes pads on Wednesday, shells (smaller version of pads) on Thursday and no pads on Friday. Earlier in the season he goes pads on Wednesday and Thursday.
5. Chris,
 
Honestly, what are the chances of landing a big time coach in Buffalo?  Especially when there could potentially be major market coaching positions open (with arguably more talent on their rosters), such as Dallas, Washington, Chicago, and St.  Louis.  Would Shanahan really consider joining a team like the Bills?

CB: That’s tough to say at this point. I believe Shanahan will listen to what the Bills have to offer. In my opinion Shanahan wants to put himself in the best situation to win right away, and you can’t do that where there is uncertainty at quarterback, which is the situation in Buffalo. So that is strike one against the Bills. That’s why if jobs like Chicago or Dallas open up Shanahan would undoubtedly prefer those jobs.

Believe it or not it’s less about the money and more about how quickly he or any other big name coach can succeed. Shanahan, Holmgren, Cowher have all the money they need. They’re more concerned with being successful in what would likely be the last head coaching stint of their careers.

Here is the status of the guys on the Jaguars injury list.

Starting CB Rashean Mathis is out.

Starting MLB Justin Durant is doubtful after failing to practice all week.

Starting SS Gerald Alexander is questionable after finally practicing in full on Friday. He missed practice Wednesday and Thursday.

Backup OT Maurice Williams (illness) is listed as probable as he practiced fully on Friday. He missed Thursday’s practice.

Here is the status of all injured players for Sunday’s game for the Bills.

Out for Sunday
OT Demetrius Bell
LB Keith Ellison
DT Marcus Stroud
CB Ashton Youboty

Questionable for Sunday
FS Jairus Byrd (groin)
WR James Hardy (groin)
CB Terrence McGee (knee)
DT Kyle Williams (knee)

Andy Levitre will start for Bell at left tackle, with Seth McKinney taking Levitre’s spot at left guard.

Spencer Johnson will start in place of Marcus Stroud at LDT.

Bryan Scott will start at OLB in place of Keith Ellison.

Justin Jenkins, who had a sinus infection and Roscoe Parrish who was also ill earlier in the week at good to go for Sunday.

Bills interim head coach Perry Fewell was not playing any of his cards after practice Friday’s practice with respect to any lineup changes for Sunday’s game at Jacksonville.

One particular player of interest is Roscoe Parrish. The receiver/punt returner had spent the last month in Dick Jauron’s doghouse after his muffed punt late in the game against the Browns in Week 5, led to a game-winning field goal by Cleveland in the Browns only win of the season. Parrish has been inactive ever since.

But now with Dick Jauron relieved of his coaching duties, it’s believed Parrish has a good chance of being back in the lineup on Sunday, at least as a punt returner.

When Fewell was asked about Parrish Friday he only said that the team likes Roscoe Parrish and that he himself likes Roscoe Parrish and what he has done in the return game in the past. But Fewell also said he likes Fred Jackson, who has been Parrish’s replacement the past four games. 

When asked if he’ll be active on Sunday Parrish was just as evasive.

“You’ll see on Sunday,” said Parrish.

My guess is Parrish will return punts on Sunday. It’s hard to keep a talent of his caliber off the field, especially for a team so starved for points every week. Parrish has the ability to go the distance every time he touches the ball. Facing the number one punt coverage team in the league this week, why not try to counter that with the punt returner who has the highest return average in league history.

Bills DT Marcus Stroud (knee) could not go for a third straight day of practice and as a result has been declared out for Sunday’s game at Jacksonville.

Interim head coach Perry Fewell thought Stroud’s knee would improve as the week went on and allow the 3-time Pro Bowl DT to play Sunday, but it did not respond.

Keith Ellison, Ashton Youboty and Demetrius Bell were also declared out for Sunday.

Friday’s practice had a bit of a different air to it for the Bills under interim head coach Perry Fewell.

Practice got underway with a little background music as George Clinton’s ‘Atomic Dog’ was the first track. That was followed by James Brown’s ‘I Feel Good.’

We’ll ask coach Fewell about the choices after practice, but after a tumultuous week our guess is the aim was to lighten the mood. Seemed to work. Had a few players breaking out some dance moves if only for a few seconds. Some smiles as well.

Terrence McGee and Jairus Byrd are out on the practice field here on Friday.

McGee and Byrd have not practice at all this week until today. Both appear to be very limited. We’ll have an update as to the extent to which they practiced from coach Fewell after the practice session is concluded.

Rookie LB Nic Harris is also back practicing after sitting out Thursday’s practice due to illness.

Here’s the list of players not practicing Friday.

Not practicing
OT Demetrius Bell (knee)
CB Ashton Youboty (ankle)
LB Keith Ellison (thigh)
DT Marcus Stroud (knee)

Interim head coach Perry Fewell was optimistic earlier in the week that Stroud would be able to play on Sunday despite his injury, but we’ll have to see if Fewell’s assessment changes with Stroud not practicing at all this week.

It’s been a tough few days for the Spielman family as former Bills LB Chris Spielman’s wife Stefanie passed away Thursday evening after more than decade of fighting breast cancer.

Stefanie Spielman successfully battled four rounds of the disease and raised money for the disease through her Stefanie Spielman fund set up in 1998 not long after she was first diagnosed.

For Bills fans that remember LB Chris Spielman was playing for Buffalo at the time and announced that he would sit out the 1998 season to be at his wife’s side through her first months battling cancer. He even shaved his head in a show of support.

Stefanie Spielman’s foundation raised more than $6.5M in research funding. She was 42.

The Jaguars injury report on Thursday was unchanged as the two defensive starters still in question are looking less likely to play Sunday.

Top CB Rashean Mathis has already been declared out with a groin injury.

Not practicing for a second straight day were starting SS Gerald Alexander with a shoulder injury, and starting MLB Justin Durant        with a head injury.

Among the many things he’ll be doing differently on game day as a head coach as opposed to a coordinator is coaching from the sidelines Sunday.

Though he has called plays from down on the sideline he has not done it this season. Fewell has been up in the coach’s booth calling plays every week as he likes to see how things unfold from above. As the head coach he no longer has that luxury. But he has a plan.

“I’ve been on the sideline before,” Fewell said. ”I have a very good defensive staff. Coach April will handle the special teams. I have a lot of confidence in the offensive staff. We’ve talked about how we would like to manage and run the football game and we have a plan in place.”

Fewell said he plans to have an assistant coach serve as his eyes in the sky in the coach’s booth while he handles his head coaching duties while calling defensive plays from the sideline.

With the return of Jonathan Scott to the team Thursday there was thought that perhaps he would bump Andy Levitre back inside to guard provided he came along well through the practice week. But with time running short before Sunday’s game at Jacksonville, it appears that Scott is a long shot to start.

“We’ll just continue to work with it to see how much he can absorb of the game plan,” said interim head coach Perry Fewell. “And if he can absorb some more of the game plan we’ll evaluate it on Saturday and make a decision on Sunday.”

Scott, who replaced an injured Demetrius Bell in Week 4, said he got reps at a few positions in practice Thursday as he focused solely on football for the first time in weeks with the passing of his father.

“I know at this moment right now I’m kind of playing every position even guard because they want me to make sure I’ve got my momentum back and the feel of things and having multiple collisions,” said Scott. “Due to my situation at home it is always going to be in the back of my head. It was definitely a lift off my shoulders being around my teammates and being around just the camaraderie that we have as an offensive line unit. It’s helped me emotionally.”

With Scott being moved around at different positions, it appears as though he’s taking a backup role this week as he’ll need to be ready to step in at guard if someone goes down there because backup Seth McKinney is likely to start at left guard in place of Levitre with Levtire playing left tackle. Kirk Chambers or Jamon Meredith will start at right tackle.

Bills offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was asked about the quarterback decision on Thursday and offered some of the reasons the coaching staff elected to go with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

“I just think a lot of different things played into the decision, but the fact is we need to win a game,” said Van Pelt. ”Right now we feel he gives us the best chance to win.”

When asked why they feel Fitzpatrick gives them a better chance Van Pelt opened up a little more.

“Just a lot of reasons, experience, knowledge of the game right now might be a little bit better,” said Van Pelt of Fitzpatrick. ”Pocket mobility. Some of the reasons he’s in there now is he did good things when he was in there. A lot of the lack of success while he was in there wasn’t all his fault also. The bottom line is we need to win and we need to find a spark to get us there and we felt like he was going to give us that spark.”

As for where that leaves Trent Edwards, Van Pelt said he’s the backup now, but noted that could change in a week or may not change the rest of the season.

“Trent is just going through the struggles of being an NFL quarterback,” Van Pelt said. ”Year three we’ve asked him to do a lot, probably a little bit of it is our fault for asking him to do the things we have. But the bottom line in this game is you’ve got to find ways to make the plays and sometimes it’s a fine line between forcing the football in there and making the smart decision. With our guys right now we felt like we needed to get some of those balls thrown that weren’t thrown.”

Van Pelt’s comment is consistent with the popular contention that Fitzpatrick is more willing to take risk when throwing the football. And both Lee Evans and Terrell Owens expressed a degree of confidence in Fitzpatrick.

Nevertheless, interim head coach Perry Fewell stated its a week to week situation.

Terrence McGee’s knee scope carried a prognosis of 10-14 days, but McGee is finding out the hard way that each case is different. Now 17 days removed from his minor surgery, his knee is still not allowing him to practice as it is looking less and less likely that he will play on Sunday.

“It’s kind of frustrating. It’s not supposed to be that long of a recovery, but at the same time I don’t want to push myself out there on one leg trying to play,” said McGee. “If I’m ready, I’ll be ready.”

But McGee’s readiness is not looking too promising. The Bills top corner has only been able to work on the side with the training staff the past two days.

“I’m feeling a little bit better. It’s day to day. I’m seeing what’s going to happen as far as game time, but I feel a little bit better than I was last week.”

McGee said he did not suffer a setback, it’s simply taking longer to heal.

“No complications or anything, it just hasn’t been right,” said McGee.

Not having McGee on Sunday at Jacksonville makes Buffalo’s task that much more difficult. Already with Ashton Youboty who’s not expected to play with a high ankle sprain, the Bills would be down to just three healthy cornerbacks in Drayton Florence, Reggie Corner and rookie Ellis Lankster.

Donte Whitner and Jairus Byrd have some experience at cornerback and covering slot defenders, but with Byrd’s groin giving him problems I’m not certain he’s going to be able to turn and run for 50 or 60 plays.

Here’s the official rundown of injured players for the Bills and their level of participation in practice Thursday. New to the injury list were Nic Harris, who watched practice due to illness and James Hardy, who was limited with a groin injury. DT Kyle Williams practiced on a limited basis.

With respect to Williams specifically, interim head coach Perry Fewell was glad to see the defensive tackle practicing.

“I was very encouraged,” said Fewell. “It’s always good to have him on the football field. Just to have him in a limited fashion was good.”

Did not practice
CB Terrence McGee (knee)
LB Keith Ellison (thigh)
FS Jairus Byrd (groin)
DT Marcus Stroud (knee)
OT Demetrius Bell (knee)
CB Ashton Youboty (ankle)
WR Justin Jenkins (illness)
LB Nic Harris (illness)

Limited in practice
DT Kyle Williams (knee)
WR James Hardy (groin)

With OT Jonathan Scott returning to the team Thursday, it could change the tackle lineup for Sunday’s game at Jacksonville.

The last time Demetrius Bell was out of Buffalo’s lineup with an injury, it was Scott that started at left tackle. Bell missed a start in Week 4 at Miami due to a groin injury and Scott started in his place. Bell returned the following week.

Interim head coach Perry Fewell did not know when exactly Scott would return this week, but did anticipate him being here before the end of the week. Still absent on Wednesday, the plan at left tackle appeared to be rookie Andy Levitre.

We’ll see if things have changed now that Scott is back at the tackle position when we speak with coach Fewell following Thursday’s practice.

The following players were not practicing here on Thursday.

Not practicing
WR Justin Jenkins (illness)
CB Terrence McGee (working with trainers)
CB Ashton Youboty (ankle)
FS Jairus Byrd (groin)
LB Nic Harris (practiced Wed. – new injured player)
LB Keith Ellison (thigh)
OT Demetrius Bell (knee)
DT Marcus Stroud (knee)

Returning to practice Thursday was Roscoe Parrish, who was out sick Wednesday. OT Jonathan Scott has also returned to the team after dealing with the passing of his father last week.

Bills OT Jonathan Scott has returned to the team.

Scott is back practicing with his teammates here on Thursday, but Andy Levitre is still working as a tackle in practice.

Scott had been with his family after the passing of his father.