1 - Hi Chris,

I enjoy your column and follow it virtually every week. Thank you for the good work. The Bills tend to steal defeat from the opponents during the last minute of the game. What is the strategy to address this issue from the new coaching staff?

Regards,
C.J. Wong

CB: Well the first step has been an ultra-competitive and demanding offseason conditioning program. To a man, every player has said the program has been extremely challenging. It’s designed to have the players properly conditioned for fast-paced play and to have some gas left in the tank come the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

I think the personnel department made a point of adding players that not only had talent, but a track record of toughness in an effort to add some grit to the roster. These are initial steps, but they will help the team’s fortunes late in games.

2 – Chris:
Thanks for all the great insight you provide.  I have a few questions for you:

1)  I know the Bills released John Potter last year. Can you tell me if he signed with anyone, and why didn’t the Bills entertain bringing him back for kicking competition at camp?
2)  I feel Robert Woods is a great addition to this team and he reminds me of former # 1 draft pick in 1979,  Jerry Butler.   In your opinion, are there similarities between them?

3)  In a recent radio interview Bills (DE) Mark Anderson sounded as if he is still having knee issues, and he didn’t sound too comfortable moving to the linebacker spot.  I know the Bills are building this roster with the idea of players contributing in multiple position on defense.  Will the Bills keep him around just to be a specialty rusher, or could he be released before or during training camp?
Thanks
Joe

Blasdell

CB: Potter to my knowledge is not in the league right now. The main reason he wasn’t brought back was because he was a kickoff specialist only. He wasn’t an especially accurate field goal kicker. Then add in the fact that Buffalo drafted Dustin Hopkins in round six, who is an accomplished field goal kicker and a solid kickoff man and Potter would not be a realistic part of a competition with Hopkins and Lindell. He’d just be taking reps away from the other two. Not practical.

The Bills, much like you, are excited about Woods too because he’s a polished, NFL ready wideout. He should be able to contribute right away in this offense. I don’t know if he’s quite as explosive as Jerry Butler when he came out, but he’s a talent in his own right and has above average speed.

Mark Anderson’s troublesome knee is going to become a concern if it does not allow him to do what makes him an effective player on the field. He had two surgeries through the course of last season, which ultimately landed him on injured reserve. We’ll try to get an accurate update on his situation when OTAs start up here next week. If he’s healthy and available I would expect Mike Pettine will find a role for him.

3 – Chris,

Love the work that you do on buffalobills.com. I got a question for you, as I’m sure most people do when they email you. Now that Chris Kelsay has retired, is Mario Williams going to be taking up jersey number 90? I remember Kelsey wouldn’t give it up last year, but obviously that problem is no longer there.

Thanks for the hard work,

John W

CB: Thanks for the kind words. As it has been explained to me Mario has chosen to keep jersey number 94, which I’m sure has every Bills fan with a Mario jersey breathing a sigh of relief.

4 – Hey Chris ,

I was just wondering if Kyle Williams has decided to or has gotten surgery on his other foot . Toward the end of last season i remembering that there where reports of his foot giving him some trouble & that he was going to wait until after the pro bowl so he could get the surgery done . To this point I haven’t read anywhere if he has had that done. If after the surgery he had last year he felt a 100 times better & if he had both feet done he may be even more of a force than he has been.
Well thanks again for all you do for the fans !!

Mr. T from Fort Myers via Nashville

CB: Yes, Kyle Williams did have surgery on his other Achilles in mid-February. He’s still not cleared to participate in any way at this time just three months removed from surgery. So it’s clear, much like his surgery last year it was not a ruptured Achilles that can take up to a year to heal. Instead it was a frayed Achilles. In such an instance doctors detach the Achilles, repair and strengthen, then lay it back down and re-attach it. Rehab last year was about five months.

When Kyle is ready to discuss it we’ll have the details on his outlook for you.

5 – Chris,

Thanks for the excellent coverage on the 2013 NFL draft.  Now that it’s over, could you explain exactly how the Bills work their “Board” with photos or diagrams.  You can use fictitious names but I’d like to follow how the have the players ranked and then how they work the board as the draft is proceeding.  Is it set up in columns by position and in rows by ranking?  I have a hard time visualizing how it’s set up.  I would appreciate a detailed explanation or if you could create an article for it that would be even better.

Thanks,
Ed White

CB: Actually you’ve got a good handle on it. Positions run across the top of the board from left to right with players grouped by position vertically in columns underneath those position headings. Then the draft grades run down the left side of the board in order 1-7. So a player at the top of the board will have a first-round grade all the way across no matter the position. And so on down the board.

The Bills also have a priority free agent board by position so they can effectively target the best of the undrafted prospects too.

Here was his video segment from NFL.com.

1 - CB,

Buddy had mentioned following the way the Bengals drafted AJ Green and Andy Dalton. Do you seen a scenario where the Bills go QB in round 1 and WR in round two? What do you think of the possibility of Geno Smith and Justin Hunter? I think these two are the might be the best players available when the Bills will pick in rounds 1 and 2. What are the scouts saying about Hunter, can he separate from DB’s at his size/speed?

CB: I’m at a point now where I getting the sense they don’t like any of the quarterbacks enough to take one at 8. I think that Buffalo doesn’t take a quarterback for sure at 8 if Geno Smith is off the board. So your scenario I believe is unlikely to transpire even though Buddy Nix did mention the desire to make those kinds of additions. I think a receiver is certainly a possibility in round two.

The value at the receiver position is very good between rounds two and four, so there’s also a window of opportunity there for Buffalo to wait on a receiver and address quarterback in round two and receiver in round 3. So what you’re proposing may happen, just in rounds 2 and 3 as opposed to 1 and 2.

As for Hunter specifically there’s no denying his deep speed, but he’s a straight-line speed guy. Having the combination of speed and quickness makes you a killer at wideout. He doesn’t possess both of those qualities, which is why he’s a second round prospect. He is a good route runner, which is what gets him separation. My only concern with him is his slight build. It makes me wonder if he’ll struggle early in his career with press coverage and the physical corners in the NFL. That also concerns me in terms of battling for the ball with DBs in the air.

2 – Chris,

Since Chris Kelsay has retired do you think Mario Williams will want his old number back? If so does the new Nike contracts require Mario to pay for all his unsold number 94 jerseys?  Or how does the process work for changing numbers?  Thanks for everything you do Chris!

-Fred M, Scotia NY

CB: It is my understanding that Mario is keeping number 94, but yes if Mario had changed to 90 he would’ve had to cover Nike for the outstanding inventory in terms of money.

3 – Chris,
Chris,
With Levitre will the Bills get draft picks this year or next year, from Tennessee, for guard Andy Levitre?
If so, what round picks?

Thanks,
Lee D

CB: The Bills will qualify for compensatory picks if they first and foremost have a net loss of free agents (sign fewer than they lose). That equation can prove difficult because some free agent signings and losses qualify, while others do not. I can say the size of Levitre’s contract would play in Buffalo’s favor, but again only if the Bills have a net loss of free agents or are even.

Determining the rounds is almost impossible at this point because the situations of the other 31 NFL clubs would have to be factored in.

4 – Chris,
Do you see the Bills taking Geno Smith or an OG over one of the very talented OLBs (Jarvis Jones or Dion Jordan) or one of the top tackles (Lane Johnson) with the 8th pick?  Just don’t see the value of taking a QB at 8 with the inconsistencies shown by the current candidates.  Also, what do you think of Nigel Bradham possibly moving inside?  Adding his athleticism and speed inside might add significant flexibility as the team moves to a Hybrid structure.

Thanks
Jim from Allentown Pa.

CB: I’m not convinced they like Geno Smith enough to take him at 8. I obviously do not have an expert opinion like the members of the Bills scouting department, but I do like Geno Smith a lot and would not have a problem with them taking him at 8 at all. I’m just doubting he’ll be there.

With that in mind I think the best defensive player on the board is the most likely outcome at 8.

Your assessment of Nigel Bradham is very astute. He has experience playing inside from his days at Florida State. So I would almost anticipate him moving there and being the three down linebacker.

5 – Chris,

With the new defensive coaching change, do you feel this will benefit A. Moats who lost his LB spot and then late season played some DE? What position do you see him competing for? Also, with Wilson and Levitre gone, any ideas for who’s going to be the next Show host? Do the fans have a say? Thanks again for all you do Chris!!

Dan in LA

CB: I anticipate Moats lining up in a couple of places, both OLB and ILB. Inside might be the best fit for him, but there is competition there. It’s a wait and see quite frankly.

As for our programming on Buffalobills.com concerning player involvement we’ve reached out to a couple of players, but feel free to provide suggestions. Obviously, participation in such a program is a commitment that a player has to make. We leave it up to them to decide if they want to do it, so please understand if your suggestion is not honored there’s usually a good reason why. Thanks for your viewership of our player programming on Buffalobills.com.

It was all offense all weekend in Bills Bracketology as Scott Chandler’s endzone jump ball and C.J.’s long run for the TD beat out defensive plays by Kyle Williams and Mario Williams.

As expected, the 7 vs. 10 seed game came down to the wire. The 7th seeded Chandler TD eked out the win with 57% of the vote to Mario Williams’ 43%. Chandler will go on to play the perennially tough Jairus Byrd and his primetime pick in the 2nd round of Bills Bracketology, which starts tomorrow.

The C.J. Spiller win was an upset as his 11th seeded 66-yard touchdown run beat Kyle Williams’ 6th seeded sack over Kansas City. C.J. will advance and play the winner of today’s No. 3 vs. No. 14 seed game: a C.J. TD run against the Jets vs. a Bryan Scott interception for a touchdown. Will we see a C.J. vs. C.J. battle in the 2nd round? VOTE NOW!

Bills defensive line coach Anthony Weaver may have been coaching with the New York Jets the past couple of seasons, but he was fully aware of the level of talent on Buffalo’s defensive line this past season. Now he’ll get the chance to coach them.

“The thing about our group is a lot of our guys that I have I’ve admired from afar,” said Weaver, who played for seven seasons in the NFL with Baltimore and Houston. ”I’ve seen them play and I’ve said, ‘Man those guys are talented.’ Now to get the opportunity to actually work with them I’m just thrilled. Thrilled about it.”

Just looking at the names on the defensive line got Weaver’s mind racing with possibilities.

“As a coach you’re always thinking of things you can do to help beat offenses and put your guys in positions where they can get after the quarterback,” said Weaver. ”That being said our coaching staff, particularly coach Pettine is a phenomenal defensive mind. I know he’s going to put this team together where all our guys are getting after it.”

On the home page of Buffalobills.com we examine Weaver’s challenge of now being the position coach of Mario Williams after being his teammate for three seasons.

“I just feel like it’s one of those things where you can’t even put your finger on one thing at this point,” he said. “It was another put up and shut up and go out and play ball and try to win the game. We go out and have a game full of penalties. Missed tackles here and there. They hit us that one time with the read (option) where we had three chances to get (Tannehill) on that sideline and he took it all the way down and pretty much scored.”

Williams didn’t doubt for a second that his teammates played hard, but he doesn’t believe that’s enough.

“I know we were out there scratching,” he said. “With the way things were going I can’t really understand how everything is unfolding like this. We definitely went out there and played our hardest and tried to get it done. For the situations that occur having guys here and there out of place, you’ve got to finish. You play hard, but you’ve got to finish. Playing hard only goes so hard and after that it’s finishing and making a play and that’s something we obviously didn’t do.”

“It’s definitely a step back for us as far as run defense goes,” said Nick Barnett. ”It’s unconventional runs, but we’ve got to be able to stop those and it’s not that big of a deal if we execute our responsibilities and we got a little nosy on a couple of plays and you can’t do that against this team. They’ll make you pay for your mistakes.”

Barnett pointed to himself for missing the ‘B’ gap on the 44-yard run by Marshawn Lynch that led to a Seattle field goal. But more than that was Buffalo’s inability to slow the keeper carries by Wilson.

“That is a type of offensive run scheme that we’ve had trouble with, that option that zone read,” said Kyle Williams. ”Since the bye against conventional offenses we’ve made some strides, and done some good things, but to go back to that we’ve had some trouble with that zone read thing. To defend that you have to play very disciplined and we didn’t.”

Mario Williams even went so far as to say there were continuous screw ups with assignment responsibilities.

“You go from being pretty traditional with the running games that we faced here in the last weeks to hitting somebody who is deadly with the read option and get Marshawn on top of that. Now it’s just not one person,” said Williams. ”Now if you know one (defensive) guy switches the other (defensive) guy has to switch too. We both can’t end up on the quarterback and we both can’t end up on the dive and for whatever reason that’s what happened.

“For some reason, whenever they gave us motion and what not and we kind of had the responsibilities switch one person knew what was going on and the other person for whatever reason didn’t and we definitely got hurt in every aspect as far as keeping it or giving it.”

George Wilson said practicing for Russell Wilson and then seeing him live just aren’t the same, but admitted they were undisciplined.

“We worked on it all week, but seeing it in practice and defending it in the game are two completely different deals sometimes,” he said. ”With the way those runs were springing early on there had to be guys being overly aggressive and doing more than what was asked of them on a given play and trying to do too much as opposed to their particular job.”

Seattle finished with 270 rushing yards on the day.

Williams was tied for fourth on the list with Houston’s J.J. Watt with six of his 10.5 sacks this season coming on third or fourth down. Here’s the list.

Williams currently stands tied with Marcells Wiley at 10.5.

1 – Chris,

I wanted to address the “Fitzpatrick Situation”. A few weeks ago, Buddy Nix acknowledged the need to upgrade the quarterback position, which was in stark contrast to his and Chan’s position on the issue 11 weeks ago. My fear is this seems to be set in motion more by public opinion than cognitive thought and, given the incoming crop of potential rookie quarterbacks, a draft pick may be sacrificed to appease the fan base rather than invested on more pressing needs in the secondary and linebacking corp.

Thanks for all you do,
Rob

CB: Buddy actually addressed that very subject in his weekly appearance on WGR Sportradio 550 this Friday. Here’s what he said.

“I know we’ve discussed the quarterback many times. The fans are so eager for us to make something happen and they’re not any more eager than I am,” said Nix. “They got the idea I think that we were automatically going to draft a quarterback in the first round. That’s not necessarily true. We’re going to always stay with the integrity of the board. We’re going to try to find a quarterback. If one is there and he’s rated at the right spot we’re going to take him wherever that is. I don’t want people to expect that no matter who is there in the first round we’re going to take a quarterback because that’s not true. We’ll still take the best player.”

2 - Chris,

There’s been a lot of criticism of Chan Gailey’s play calling.  A lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacking obviously.  But the one area I feel the Bills are particularly weak is 3rd/4th and very short yardage (2 yards or less).  Aside from some game changing fumbles in those situations (Patriots home game going into the half comes to mind), the heavily criticized wildcat formations, and the failure in the four minute offense on Thursday against Miami, most egregious to me is why the team doesn’t ever use a QB sneak (particularly on 1 yard to go situations).  The interior of this line would seem to be the strength. And with Eric Wood and Levitre playing at All-Pro levels, and Fitz being a fairly stout guy, it would seem that calling a QB sneak behind Wood/Levitre would be a reasonable call. Yet I can’t recall the team using it in any key situations this season (or any situation for that matter).  Tom Brady will often race to the line and use a quick snap QB sneak. But even a traditional sneak would seem a reasonable play that they rarely ever use.  Why not?  Is it even in their playbook?

Thanks,
Jeffrey Suchocki

CB: Well we did see a one-yard sneak for a touchdown by Ryan Fitzpatrick against Jacksonville, so yes it is in their playbook. I also think you’re a bit off the mark regarding short yardage. Buffalo is 15^th in the league in 3^rd-and-1 conversion percentage (64.3%) and 16^th in the league in 3^rd-and-1 and 4^th-and-1 conversion percentage (64.3%). On 3^rd-and-short conversions they’re 18^th in the league (53.7%). It’s not great, but their success rate is respectable.

3 – Hi Chris,

Just looking ahead at the possibilities of the Bills filling in some holes with Free Agency and how active they might be this coming off-season. I would love for them to make upgrades at corner, wide receiver, and linebacker (quarterback too, but that would likely be addressed in the draft). How much cap space do the Bills currently have to work with in the off-season? I know that re-signing Byrd and Levitre will be top priorities for them, but once they’re taken care of, how much room will they likely have to work with, if any at all? Would love to see Dwayne Bowe in a Bills uniform!

As always, love the coverage you provide for us … please keep up the great work!

Paul

CB: Thanks for the kind words. I am not in a position to provide cap space figures, but I can tell you that Buffalo has a lot of young players coming up for contract consideration. You mentioned Byrd and Levitre. They’ve also got Kraig Urbik, Chad Rinehart to consider for their offensive line. Restricted free agents include David Nelson and Donald Jones. Leodis McKelvin is another unrestricted free agent of note. So very quickly just for the Bills to keep their own they’ll be eating into heavily into their cap space if they decide to do some long terms deals with any of the aforementioned players.

One free agent to be that hasn’t garnered much attention is Kyle Moore, who will also be unrestricted at season’s end.

That’s why the thought of Dwayne Bowe in a Bills uniform is a pipe dream. Buffalo is already heavily invested in the wide receiver position with Stevie Johnson. They likely intend to invest more with Nelson and Jones. So to try and add Bowe, who is looking for upwards of $10M a season, it’s just not going to happen.

Other veteran free agents of note include Bryan Scott, Corey McIntyre and Spencer Johnson.

4 – Chris,

Numbers don’t lie and it’s clear that Mario Williams’ production has spiked since his wrist procedure during the bye week.  Also, since it only took him 7-10 days to heal and be back at practice it’s obvious that this should have been corrected during Training Camp.  I’m wondering who, if any, should receive the blame for the failure to address this injury until after 7gms and a fine from the NFL related the Bills injury report?  Seems unfortunate because his current production could have really helped during the first half of the season.

Thanks,
Aaron from Brooklyn

CB: To clear up some confusion, Williams injured the wrist in the preseason finale at Detroit. Granted that was 10 days before the opener, but I think the parties involved likely made the decision to play through the injury since that’s what happened. After it failed to improve surgery was decided upon.

It’s very easy for hindsight to be 20-20 in any case like this. The bottom line is the next time there was a window of opportunity to Bills jumped on it.

5 – Hey Chris,

Just wanted to see what you thought of Crezdon Butler’s play against the Jaguars.  With the game blacked out I didn’t see much.  Did he fare well?  And if so, does that count for anything even if it is against the young receiving core of the Jaguars? 

Thanks,
Tommy of Pittsford

CB: Well he got 16 snaps in the Jacksonville game, 13 of those came in coverage. He did draw a flag in the game for defensive holding that led to a first down, but the biggest pass play he gave up was an 18-yard completion to Cecil Shorts. So all in all it wasn’t a bad debut performance in limited action.

At running back C.J. Spiller appeared on five of the six ballots.

Andy Levitre appeared on two of the six ballots for guard.

Mario Williams was on three of the six ballots for defensive end.

Kyle Williams was on two of the six ballots for defensive tackle.

Jairus Byrd appeared on two of the six ballots for free safety.

Leodis McKelvin got one of the six votes for kick returner.

Remember you can vote for what Bills you believe are deserving of Pro Bowl recognition by casting your own ballot.

“My football knowledge and my chemistry with the guys I’m working with has boosted my play tremendously,” Carrington told Buffalobills.com. ”I’ve learned a lot from these guys just by sitting and watching film, talking to them and asking questions.”

Just listening to Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson interacting with the coaches in the meeting rooms has helped Carrington know what to expect against specific opponents and even specific players out on the field.

“It’s not one specific piece of advice. It’s kind of collective,” he said. ”I’m very observant and I see the way these guys watch film. I see the kinds of questions they ask and it gives me a different perspective on how to approach my opponent.

“They’ll ask questions that I wouldn’t think of and they’re veterans so they’ve played a lot of these opponents multiple times. So they already have a bead on what kind of player he is and what he’ll do in certain situations. It’s unbelievable. That’s what makes them great players and shows you that they put the time in with film study and the advantage of experience. You can’t teach that stuff.”

Whether Carrington knows it or not, they’re teaching it to him.

Now with 9.5 sacks, Williams is now tied for fifth in the AFC with Cincinnati’s Geno Atkins. Ahead of them are Houston’s J.J. Watt (15.5), Denver’s Von Miller (15), Miami’s Cameron Wake (10.5) and Kansas City’s Justin Houston (10).

It’s clear that Williams’ injured wrist was a detriment to his power game as a pass rusher. Since wrist surgery during the bye week six of his 9.5 sacks have come in the last five games. And according to Williams, the wrist still isn’t 100 percent healthy.

“My wrist deal is healing definitely,” he said. ”When I got the procedure and everybody was freaking out about it, I knew that after doing that it was going to progress and not be stagnant.  With something like that, and continuing to play, obviously, it’s not going to be totally healed until after the season.  But it’s definitely feeling better and its making me feel better.

“The ace in the hole for us is Spencer Johnson,” said head coach Chan Gailey. ”He’s been able to play defensive end. He played it last year. He can go out there and play there if we need him to. That’s kind of our ace in the hole for the defensive line and defensive end position specifically.”

If Kelsay can’t play, Buffalo would only have three defensive ends in Kyle Moore, Shawne Merriman and Mario Williams. Johnson would give them a fourth option to rotate.

“I have not heard anything about that. I don’t know where that came from, but I have not heard that he had anything wrong with a ligament at all.”

Gailey did say that Williams’ wrist came out of the game Sunday at Houston relatively well.

“The report this morning was it was better than it had been in weeks past the day after a game,” said Gailey.

Ironically, it came in a stadium where he had played home games for the previous six seasons. Nonetheless Williams was far more active than he had been in any other game this season registering a team leading seven tackles including a pair for loss, a sack and a quarterback hit.

For more on Williams game and what he thought about it check out Kyle Zamiara’s story on Mario’s performance on the home page of Buffalobills.com Monday morning.

Schefter is reporting that Williams underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist.

He also compared it to the toe surgery Williams underwent in his rookie season that compromised his effectiveness until he had it repaired and had a strong remainder of the season in terms of production. The Bills are undoubtedly hoping this wrist surgery provides similar results.

Smith told the Houston Chronicle earlier this week that he planned to call Williams by phone.

“Houston fans, don’t get mad at me, but I’m going to pump him up too, talk all kind of (stuff),” Smith said. “I’m gonna tell him (offensive tackle) Duane Brown been talking bad about him. I’m gonna get him mad. I just want to see what happens.”

Buffalobills.com asked Mario Williams after Thursday’s practice if Smith had called him.

“Yeah,” said Williams of his good friend and former teammate. “We talk almost every day.”

Williams explained that the two of them talk trash a lot and that there has already been some give and take. We’ll see if the chatter makes any difference on Sunday.