Inside The Bills

Jackson, Smith not practicing

Fred Jackson and Brad Smith aren’t practicing here on Monday.

Jackson has still not been medically cleared from his concussion. Smith is dealing with a hamstring injury.

We’ll get an update from coach Gailey after practice.

Jackson, Kelsay improving

Injured Bills Chris Kelsay and Fred Jackson are improving according to head coach Chan Gailey.

“We hope to have them both next Wednesday for practice,” said Gailey “That is not set in concrete, but we hope to have both of them.”

Jackson is recovering from a concussion.

“I think he’s a lot better,” said Gailey. “He would answer that better than I can, but the report I get is that he feels a lot better. The steps that you have to go through now, everything is going according to plan.”

C.J.’s numbers still ground breaking

C.J. Spiller had 130 total yards from scrimmage Thursday night in Buffalo’s victory, good for better than 46 percent of the team’s offensive output in the win over Miami. But it’s his per carry average that is headed for the team record books.

Spiller has averaged a club-record 5.40 yads per carry in his career (290-1,567) (min. 200 att.). The second highest
average was posted by Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson (4.80 – 2,123-10,183). Fred Jackson hold the number three spot (4.58 – 892-4,092)

Averaging 6.63 yds. per attempt thus far in 2012 (109-723) would also be a new club single-season record. The current mark is held by Simpson in 1973 (6.03 – 332-2,003)

That 6.63 avg. through 10 games is also the fourth highest in the NFL since 1960 among players with at least 100 att. through 10 games. The others with 6.50 or better: Miami RB Mercury Morris in 1973 (7.18, 117-840) & Cleveland RB and Hall of Famer Jim Brown in 1963 (7.09, 204-1,447), and Chicago QB Bobby Douglass in 1972 (6.89, 102-703).

Wood: Bills will miss Fred Jackson

It’s going to be exciting to watch C.J. Spiller get his turn in the national spotlight against the Dolphins.  But the Buffalo Bills know they will miss running back Fred Jackson when they take the field Thursday night.

Jackson, one of the Bills captains, will miss the game with the concussion he suffered last Sunday in New England.

His teammates, including Center Eric Wood, say Jackson’s absence is notable, even though it provides C.J. Spiller a chance to get the bulk of the running back workload.

“Fred’s one of the best players on our team,” Wood said Wednesday night on The John Murphy Show.

“ Everyone wants to compare him to C.J., and be upset that he’s taking carries away from C.J., but those are two of the best players on our team, regardless of position. You gotta get the ball in both of their hands.  One of them might have the hot hand more than the other, and it’s easy to say, C.J. averages seven or eight yards a carry—give him the ball thirty times, and he’ll have 210-yards.  I’m gonna bet that probably won’t be the case.  And the way we’re using them, he’s extremely effective.”

Wood says he has no doubts Spiller can handle the extra carries, while Jackson is sidelined.  He did it earlier this year when Jackson missed two games with a knee injury.

“I think C.J. is capable of carrying the load,” Wood said in his radio appearance.  “I think he could start for most, if not all of the teams in this league.  But he definitely benefits from playing with Fred Jackson.”

The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7-9pm on the flagship station of the Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

4 non-participants at practice

Here are the non-participants for Tuesday’s practice.

Chris Kelsay, Mark Anderson, Fred Jackson and Aaron Williams.

Choice takes issue with Spikes actions

Bad enough that Patriots LB Brandon Spikes had an illegal helmet to helmet hit on Ryan Fitzpatrick that drew a flag and a likely fine from the league. Spikes also showboated after his hit on Fred Jackson that have him a concussion. That didn’t sit well with Tashard Choice.

“I don’t like to see anybody get hurt and then on top of that (Spikes) making fun of him while he’s on the ground. That really got me stirred up,” said Tashard Choice of the Patriot linebacker’s actions, “He’ll get his though. When players go down from concussions they’re serious. He wasn’t moving. It’s cool to make a big hit, but it’s not cool when somebody is down like that. He’s a good player, but you don’t do that.”

Fred has concussion, won’t play Thurs.

Bills RB Fred Jackson, who left Sunday’s game with a head injury, does have a concussion and will miss Thursday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, head coach Chan Gailey announced Monday.

Chan Gailey: #Bills RB Fred Jackson will not play this week.

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) November 12, 2012

Jackson went to the ground late in the fourth quarter after he took a blow to the head while being tackled. He was able to leave the field under his own power after remaining on the ground for a few minutes. He finished the game 135 all-purpose yards, including 80 yards and a pair of TDs on the ground.

Gailey revealed Monday morning that Jackson had not felt well on the team’s flight back to Buffalo following the game, and that Jackson was undergoing further evaluation to determine the extent of his injury.

With Jackson out, C.J. Spiller and Tashard Choice figure to see an increased workload.

Check back to buffalobills.com for a full story later.

The delicate Fred-C.J. balance

Finding enough opportunities for both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller has been a weekly challenge for Buffalo’s offensive staff. They try to keep the workload as even as possible.  Head coach Chan Gailey however, was asked about whether C.J. Spiller’s league-leading 7.3 yards per carry average would change or shift that balance.

Making his weekly appearance on WGR Sportsradio 550 Monday morning, Gailey acknowledged that there could come a time when one back’s production could cost the other time on the field, citing last year as an example.

“Could it come to that? It sure could,” said Gailey. ”Last year if Fred had gotten back (from injury), he was playing at such a level that you couldn’t get C.J. on the field. If C.J. is playing at such a level you might not be able to get Fred on the field as much as you want, that may be the case. That’s the way it is in football.”

Spiller averaged a shade over 10 yards per touch in Sunday’s game against the Patriots, which exceeded his season average (7.3). Jackson averaged a very respectable 5.75 per touch.

“We try to balance it out as much as we can,” said Gailey. ”Some weeks he’ll have more touches, some weeks Fred will have more touches. That’s not by design. That’s just the way it happens in the game sometimes. If we feel like we need to run it and Fred happens to be in there, if C.J. is in there and we’ve got a screen called. They both run the screens well. They both run the ball well.

“We don’t make that much disparity with some of those things, but there are some plays we want C.J. in there for and some that we want Fred in there for. I just think it’s going to work out as time goes on some days one will get more and some days the other will get more, and it may not be an issue this week if Fred can’t play.”

Gailey said Jackson has concussion-like symptoms after the hit that forced him from the game late in the fourth quarter Sunday.

Fred has concussion-like symptoms

Bills head coach Chan Gailey appearing on his weekly radio segment on Bills flagship WGR Sportsradio 550 Monday morning said Fred Jackson was not feeling well Sunday night.

“I don’t know how he feels today,” said Gailey. ”He was not feeling well last night on the plane coming home so we’ll see how he feels today and that’ll give us a better idea. He may or may not feel good enough to play on a short week. He might be good in a normal week, but on a short week he might not be ready.”

When asked specifically if Jackson had been diagnosed with a concussion Gailey said the following.

“They’ve said concussion like symptoms,” Gailey said. ”They do this whole battery of tests now and run the gamut to make sure the guy is okay.”

Fred sustains head injury

Fred Jackson left the game late in the fourth quarter Sunday with a head injury. Head coach Chan Gailey didn’t have much in the way of details right after the game.

“I don’t know if they’re calling it a concussion,” said Gailey. “I don’t know what the word is. I don’t know if it’s a concussion or not. They didn’t tell me.”

Jackson after being on the ground for a few minutes was able to get to his feet and walk off under his own power. If it proves to be a concussion it would be unlikely to see Jackson being ready for Buffalo’s next game, which is Thursday night against Miami.

Fan Friday 11-2

Alright Bills fans, second half of the schedule is up and there are two difficult road games on tap. Let’s hope for the best and get to your latest round of questions from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and @ChrisBrownBills on Twitter.

1 - Dear Chris: 

Do you think Chan will ever not only start CJ, but give him the majority of the carries? I love Fred but he is not the game breaker CJ is and I think if he was on a lot of other teams CJ is a 1800 to 2000 yard man an 12-15 touchdowns. I admire Chan’s loyalty but question its productivity? CJ is a game changing threat every time he touches the ball and keeping him on the bench half the time no longer makes a lot of sense. What do you think? Please let me know what you think, and what Chan might be thinking, if he is at all? Thanks!

Jim

CB: While I certainly believe C.J. is a game-changing back I think we all need to be fair to Fred Jackson and respect the fact that his knee was not right or close to 100 percent until Week 7 against Tennessee. We all saw the old Fred Jackson in that game, which was in stark contrast to what we saw the previous three games in his return from the LCL knee injury.

If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt it’s Jackson. In case you forgot he was lighting the league on fire with numbers similar to what C.J. is doing thus far this season. Right now they’ve got a good balance developed between them. Fred averages 14 touches a game to Spiller’s 13. They combined for over 220 yards of offense against Tennessee, which was the first time that both of them were truly healthy.

I think Spiller can take it the distance on any play and I don’t mind seeing him get more of the work, but Fred’s talents cannot be ignored. Not to mention the fact that in this day in age in the league you do need two backs to get through a season. Week 1 when Fred went down in the first half and Week 3 when Spiller went down in the first half were reminders of that.

2 - Hey Chris,
Any chance that Matt Flynn will be available this season or next? And if he is would the Bills be interested?

CB: I think the Flynn contract could prompt them to move him, but the Seahawks need to find a trade partner that believes he’s a starter. His base salary does not fit for a backup because it goes up to $5.25M and then $6.25M. Unless he’s willing to take a pay cut to go elsewhere Seattle might be stuck with him.

And furthermore I don’t see the Bills being interested even if he were available. As Buddy Nix told us he wants a long term franchise quarterback for the future.

3 – Hey Chris,

Why didn’t Coach Gailey challenge the fumble call in the 4th qtr against the Titans? From the one replay that was shown, it looked like neither the ball or Gilmore were out of bounds. Since this was a critical time and play of the game I was wondering why it wasn’t challenged. Thank you for your time and consideration

Dan Stepanski
Dallas, PA

CB: We at Buffalobills.com wondered the same thing so we took a look at that play on tape and as the ball bounces near the sideline prior to Stephon Gilmore trying to bat it back in bounds, the nose of the ball is right on the line. It’s difficult to determine whether the nose of the ball is making contact with the sideline, but it’s extremely close.

Knowing that’s before Gilmore even tries to make a play on the ball it’s easier to forgive the absence of a challenge there. Gailey did address this play and said they were not given a good enough replay angle to see if the challenge was worth it. At that point in time preserving your timeouts in the game were becoming critical. Granted if a chance to get the ball back is in play you probably challenge it, but without conclusive video evidence you can understand them not throwing the red flag.

Furthermore the officials would’ve been looking at the same replay angle and likely would have let the play stand as a fumble out of bounds due to lack of conclusive evidence.

4 – Hi Chris,

I saw Chris Kelsay’s press conference regarding lack of effort, and having accountability. Watching the game, it appeared to me that the Bills’ defensive line was fine, and did have a push in the pocket. However, where I noticed a lack of effort was in the linebacking corp, and some in the defensive backfield. Now, I am a native Buffalonian, and have been in Central Florida for just over five years, and  I am still a die hard Bills fan. In my opinion, the players are either not buying into the scheme, or the players themselves, be it veterans or rookies, are not holding each other accountable.

Coaches are important, but they can preach all day long, the players have to perform. The offense is fine, when Fitzpatrick does not throw bone head interceptions. I am just venting. I want the Bills to do well in the worst way. What is your analysis? 

Tony, Ormond Beach, Fl

CB: I don’t think there’s any question that the defensive has underachieved. Head coach Chan Gailey did say that Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus both have to do better in particular. The linebackers in the Titans game did mess up some gap assignments, including the one that Chris Johnson took 83 to the end zone.

Here’s the good news, Kelsay in that same press conference said players that were not pulling their weight were going to be shaken down and held accountable. And in our 1-on-1 interview with Coach Gailey that will air tomorrow on Buffalobills.com, he told me his players have found a newfound respect for playing for the guy next to them.

“I think that they understand accountability to each other better at this point than maybe they ever have,” said Gailey. “We made that point of emphasis. I think they understand that better. Hopefully that does carry over to the games.”

Let’s hope it makes a difference on the field.

5 – Hey Chris! 

Long time…any chance at letting Morrison suit up and help our struggling defense?  Keep up the good work

Sean

CB: When Coach Gailey was asked about possible lineup changes and about Morrison specifically, he said that Morrison is probably going to be needed in the lineup before the season is over. However, it sounded like he was indicating that somebody in the linebacking corps over a 16-game season is likely to go down and at that point they’d plug in Morrison. So I don’t see the veteran taking somebody’s job right now.

Fred and C.J. play time pretty balanced

On the home page of Buffalobills.com we profiled how Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller have found their rhythm in the run game despite splitting time in Buffalo’s offensive backfield. Their touches per game have been relatively even, and it looks like their snap count per game average is pretty close to even as well.

According to Pro Football Focus, Spiller has 209 snaps through what has been essentially six games, knowing he missed most of the Cleveland game. Jackson has had 154 snaps through the four games he’s played, knowing he missed most of the Jets game and the two that followed after that.

So Jackson’s snaps per game come out to 38.5 per game and Spiller’s snaps are 34.8 per game. Knowing only a handful of their snaps overlap with them on the field at the same time, it’s a pretty good balancing act by Buffalo’s offensive staff.

Kubiak has respect for Bills run game

As we profiled on the home page of Buffalobills.com this morning, the Bills run game appears to have finally found a happy medium in dividing the work between Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. It’s something that has Texans head coach Gary Kubiak a bit concerned heading into Sunday’s game.

“It’s a tough run game too because it’s not your conventional, I back. They spread the field, a lot of motions, a lot of the three wides, four wides, and then here comes the run game and two very good players with (C.J.) Spiller with the big play,” said Kubiak. “You’re very concerned about that so we’re really having to show our defense a different picture. (QB) Case (Keenum) is very much a part of our practice this week trying to get the look that we need. That’s a tough thing for us to adjust to but that’s part of it.”

One area where Buffalo’s run game is superior to that of Houston’s is in average yards per carry. The Bills rank third in the league averaging 5.3 yards per carry. The Texans rank 18th averaging 4.0.

Every two series working for Fred & C.J.

After rotating in and out of the game every other series earlier this season, Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller have modified the rotation with good success.

Jackson and Spiller heading into the Arizona game decided to go two straight series each before rotating out for the other back. It’s not ideal for either of them, but it’s proven to work better in terms of getting each of them into the rhythm of the game.

“It’s worked,” said Jackson. ”It’s about just finding that groove and getting into it. It’s not always gonna be perfect. But as long as we both can go out there and stay fresh and continue to make plays, we’ll do what we can to make this thing work. And I think that’s what this is about—going out there and getting some production out of both of us, and making this offensive unit go.”

Fred Jackson on his vision and balance

Just when you think you know the whole story of Bills running back Fred Jackson, along comes a couple of interesting notes on his background.

Jackson appeared on The John Murphy Show Tuesday night, and he shed some light on his ability to spot holes quickly with the ball in his hands, and his ability to stay on his feet after being hit.

On his vision, Jackson says his two seasons in the United Indoor Football League helped him develop the vision a top running back needs.

“Vision has something to do with playing in the indoor league,” he said on the radio show.  “You had to find small creases in that game as a running back.  Everybody’s right there on a fifty yard field, it’s so small. I think that helped fine tune my vision.”

The color man on the Bills Radio Network, Mark Kelso, constantly praises Fred Jackson for his ability to get yards after the initial hit, citing his “contact balance.”  And Jackson says that balance is the result of childhood horseplay with his identical twin brother, Patrick.

“That just comes from me and my brother picking on each other growing up,” he said.  “We were able to fine tune that.  Every now and then, we would try to sneak up on each other and knock each other down.  I would be walking  through the kitchen, and he would jump off a couch and try and tackle me.  I think that has something to do with it.”

The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7-9pm on the flagship station of the Buffalo Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Tuesday’s John Murphy Show

Players day off–coaches day on at One Bills Drive.  We’ll start talking about the matchup with the Houston Texans tonight on The John Murphy show.

Bills running back Fred Jackson joins us in studio at 7:20pm.  We’ll talk to Fred about the benefits of the bye week, his struggle coming back from his opening day knee injury, and sharing the running game workload with his talented teammate C.J. Spiller.

Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas joins us live in studio at 8pm.  Thurman makes his regular Tuesday night appearance, and tonight we’ll get his take on the Bills after the bye week.

And we’ll go back into the Bills past at 8:20pm when former punter Chris Mohr joins us live on the line from his home in Georgia.  Mohr will be back in Buffalo in early December when he’s presented with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Distinguished Service Award.

As always, we’ll cover the news of the day from the Bills and the NFL, and we’ll make time for your phone calls.

The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7-9pm on the flagship station of the Buffalo Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Run game battle

Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller had one of their most encouraging dual performances in Buffalo’s last outing against Tennessee. But both of them they’ll have to turn it up another notch to match Houston’s high-powered rushing attack rush for rush.

“They’ve got two great backs in Arian and Tate,” said Fred Jackson. ”It’ll be good for us. We know that they want to get their ground game started, and that’s a way to keep us off the field, and likewise.  Between C.J. and I, if we can get the running game going, get some production out of us, we think we can give ourselves a good chance to do some things, too.” 

Jackson is well aware of Houston’s formidable run front. The Texans rank fourth in the league against the run.

“Good defense. Probably one of the best defenses, if not the best defense, we’ll see this year,” said Jackson. ”J.J. (Watt) is playing out of his mind right now. It’ll be a good challenge for us, but to get to where we want to be, we gotta play teams like this. We have to go down to their place, which is going to be a tough thing for us to do. We like what we got here, and what we can do. So, it’ll be a good challenge for us, but we look forward to it.”

Fred: Players need to reflect on their game

Bills RB Fred Jackson doesn’t expect his teammates to spend the entire four days they have off in this bye week to focus on football. He does however, expect them to re-evaluate their individual play at some point in the time they’re away from the team.

“We’ve got to rely on each other, and we need to be where we need to be, to get things to go the way that we need them to,” said Jackson. ”A lot of guys are gonna need to do some self- reflection during this bye week,  and whatever it is you need to do to take your game to the next level, that’s what we gotta do when we come back off this bye week.”

Fred finally feels back to old self

Bills fans that watched the game this past Sunday could see it. Fred Jackson, a month and a half removed from his knee injury, finally feels 100 percent again.

“Without a doubt,” he said. ”I haven’t felt as well as I did (Sunday) in a long time.  I was able to go out and make a few plays—didn’t make enough because we still got the loss.  But I did feel good and hopefully I can continue to play well.”

Head coach Chan Gailey saw the old Fred Jackson as far as he was concerned.

“He was back to the old Fred,” said Gailey. ”It was great to here the Freddy chant again going through the stands on some of those runs.”

Fred: No issue with calling guys out

Fred Jackson couldn’t speak to exactly what Chris Kelsay was addressing when he discussed how defensive players did not give their full effort on every play in Sunday’s game. He doesn’t watch defensive film. But he has no problem with Kelsay’s plan to address individual players on his side of the ball that aren’t giving their level best.

“You have to depend on the guy next to you, but at the same time you have to be able to tell them what you expect from them,” said Jackson. ”If they’re not getting the job done, you got to let them know.  But to do that, you have to look at what you’re doing on the field as well.  I think guys are going to start pointing out things that need to be done right.  That’s just what needs to be done.”