Inside The Bills

Couple of undrafteds have a shot

Buffalo has a good history of landing undrafted rookies that ultimately make the roster and it appears it could happen again this weekend.

In six of the last eight years at least one undrafted rookie free agent has made the Bills opening day roster. Here’s the list of Buffalo’s undrafteds that will have their fingers crossed on Saturday.

OL Sean Allen
RB Andre Anderson
RB Joique Bell
OLB Antonio Coleman
TE Andrew George
SS Dominique Harris
OL Cordaro Howard
WR Donald Jones
WR David Nelson
WR Naaman Roosevelt

Hardy’s big play wiped out

At some point or another the luck has to change for James Hardy. The wide receiver whose time on the field has been limited in the preseason by injury got his most extended time Thursday night, but his biggest play of the night went for naught.

“We were trying to give him a good chance,” said Gailey. “He’d been out so much. We were trying to make sure that he got as many opportunities as he could get.”

Hardy appeared to make the longest play of the night when he pulled in a tipped 65-yard pass from Levi Brown and then fought off another defender to reach the end zone for a 74-yard touchdown. Only problem was the play was negated by a holding penalty.

The receiver kept plugging away and late in the game was targeted twice in the end zone. A fade pass attempt by Brown was off the mark on 2^nd-and-goal from the four-yard line. Then on 3^rd-and-goal, Hardy ran a slant inside and Brown’s throw was not on the mark for his intended receiver. In fact it went the other way for a 102-yard touchdown return.

To his credit, Brown took the heat for the play.

“I thought I could’ve thrown the ball a lot better than I did tonight. I was really inaccurate on a few of them. The interception I had was just an awful throw. It was an easy throw and I could throw it 100 more times and hit it every time, but for some reason I just missed it. There were a couple like that where I missed and I shouldn’t have.”

Hardy finished with three catches for 23 yards. Still in all that touchdown catch is on tape whether it counted or not, and that might prove more important than the six points in the end.

OT Green out

Bills starting RT Cornell Green will not play tonight.

Green will be replaced in the lineup by Jamon Meredith.

No Spiller vs. Lions

Buffalobills.com has learned that RB C.J. Spiller will not play in tonight’s preseason finale against the Lions in Detroit.

Head coach Chan Gailey has chosen not to dress Spiller simply to rest him up for the regular season. With Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch out the past two weeks, Spiller has endured a heavy workload as the primary back in each of the last two preseason games. Gailey would like to rest his top pick for the season opener.

Marshawn Lynch will get the start with the first unit tonight, but will not see more than the 12-14 reps that the rest of the starters will get because he’s still working his way back into game shape after returning to practice this week. That means Chad Simpson, Joique Bell and Andre Anderson should all see significant playing time this evening.

Bills returners tonight

It’s final audition time for some players on Buffalo’s roster in the preseason finale, and often the ones that can show they can help on special teams in addition to offense or defense are the ones that help themselves the most. Here is the list of kick returners and punt returners for tonight’s game agains the Lions.

On kick return Joique Bell, Donald Jones and Chad Simpson will be the primary returners.

On punt return Naaman Roosevelt and Ellis Lankster will be the returners.

QB rotation update

After Trent Edwards’ time on the field is done with the starters in tonight’s preseason game against the Lions, here’s how things are expected to go at the quarterback position.

Brian Brohm will be the next quarterback on the field and he’s expected to get two quarters of action. Brohm barely got any playing time in the last preseason game against Cincinnati last weekend. He got on the field with 4:40 left in the game and attempted just one pass.

Buffalobills.com has learned that Ryan Fitzpatrick will not play in tonight’s preseason finale. Fitzpatrick got the majority of the playing time last week against the Bengals where he went 6-9 for 77 yards and a touchdown along with a 130 passer rating. At this point one has to think that the Bills know what they have in Fitzpatrick, which is why he won’t see any time on the field tonight.

Levi Brown will come on after Brohm has had his time on the field.

Playing time update

Buffalo’s starters will get a respectable amount of time in the team’s preseason finale tonight against the Lions.

Buffalobills.com has learned that they’ll get 12-14 snaps at the least. Head coach Chan Gailey believes anything less would be a waste of time because it would not allow for enough time to get in a rhythm on either side of the ball.

Remember that kickoff has been moved up a half hour to 6:30 pm. If you tune in at 7 pm you’re likely to miss the starters.

Rap giants vs. Bills-Lions

The Bills and Lions will be dealing with competition that’s secondary to facing each other, though not by much.

The Bills-Lions preseason finale kicks off at 6:30 pm, but a half hour later rap giants Jay-Z and Eminem will be doing the first of a two night show right down the street at Comerica Park where the Tigers play.

The two performers will then do two nights in Jay-Z’s hometown of New York City at Yankee Stadium the following week.

Due to downtown traffics concerns, the Lions moved kickoff back a half hour to 6:30 pm.

Lynch to play Thursday

Head coach Chan Gailey made their plans official for Thursday night. Marshawn Lynch will play in the preseason finale against the Lions.

“Marshawn took quite a few reps today and looked good,” said Gailey after the team’s Tuesday practice. “He didn’t look like there were any residual effects so we’re looking forward to seeing him Thursday night.”

Fred Jackson also participated in practice, but he will not play Thursday night as the goal is to have Jackson ready for the regular season opener.

Screen game has potential

Screens and draws are two elements of Buffalo’s offense that have been noticeably absent the past few years as they’ve been run rather infrequently. That could change this season.

The Bills had a pair of well executed screens in Saturday night’s win over Cincinnati. One went to Corey McIntyre and picked up 16 yards, while the other went to C.J. Spiller and picked up 26. One of the main reasons for that success were the key blocks delivered by Buffalo’s offensive linemen who got downfield.

“They did a good job,” said Chan Gailey of his offensive linemen. “We’ve got some pretty good athletes up front that can run, so that’s got a chance to be a pretty big part of our ball game before it’s over with.”

LB Davis on 3-4 progress

Bills ILB Andra Davis assessed where the defense is at in their assimilation to the 3-4 system of defensive coordinator George Edwards after three preseason games.

“We’ve played against three really good quarterbacks with [Donovan] McNabb, Peyton [Manning] and Carson [Palmer],” said Davis. “So, it’s not one group, it’s everybody. We’ve got to get a better pass rush. We’ve got to have tighter coverage. Everything is hand-in-hand. It’s not one spot. We’re all in it together. When we all do good, we all look good. When we look bad, we all look bad together. We’re in this together.”

Davis admitted that the defense did give up some plays that they can’t afford to give up in the regular season, but overall felt the defense did okay on Saturday night.

Why Kyle didn’t play Saturday

Bills starting DT Kyle Williams did not even dress for Saturday night’s game against the Bengals. Head coach Chan Gailey explained why.

“We just protected him,” said Gailey. “He had a little injury and we thought it was smarter not to play him in that ball game, let him fully recover and play this week.”

Williams is expected to start on Thursday night, but the length of time he’s going to play is not expected to be significant as is usually the case for starters in the preseason finale.

More time for Brohm Thurs.

After Brian Brohm saw the least amount of playing time of the three QBs that played Saturday against the Bengals, the Bills coaching staff intends to get him some more against the Lions in the preseason finale.

“We were trying to get him in there and they kept the ball for a little bit longer than we thought they might,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “So we’re going to try to make sure this week we get his numbers up in this ball game.”

Brohm entered Saturday’s game with 4:40 left in the game and got a total of just eight plays. He made just one pass attempt, which fell incomplete.

Bills-Bengals re-air times

Here’s a listing of the stations and times when Saturday night’s exciting Bills win over the Bengals (35-20).

WKBW-Buffalo                  Sun., Aug. 29           8:00 p.m.

WHAM-Rochester                 Sun., Aug. 29           7:00 p.m.            

Rogers-Toronto                  Sat., Aug. 28        11:00 p.m.

OT Green liking Spiller’s speed

Bills head coach Chan Gailey has said that C.J. Spiller can help make an offensive line better because he doesn’t need linemen to hold blocks as long. Not surprisingly right tackle Cornell Green was singing Spiller’s praises after his two touchdown performance.

“He’s something else,” said Green. “When I first saw him in minicamps he done made a move on one of our linebackers and I said, ‘Wow, that’s why they picked him.’ It’s good man. He’s got a long way to go too, but we’re stacked back there this year. We’ve got Fred, we’ve got Marshawn, we’ve got him so we might cause a little threat out there.”

If Saturday night was any indication, running the football should not be a problem for the Bills this season.

RB Simpson okay

Bills RB Chad Simpson got his bell rung in his attempt to convert a 4th-and-1 play Saturday night.

Simpson was down for a minute or so, but eventually got to his feet after getting the first down following a violent helmet-to-helmet collision between him and Bengals cornerback Brandon Ghee.

Ghee was knocked out cold as soon as the helmets collided. He stayed down for a few minutes while doctors tended to him. He eventually got to his feet and had movement in his arms and legs.

Head coach Chan Gailey said after the game that Simpson would be okay.

Gailey on 1st time in ‘The Ralph’

Chan Gailey was asked for his thoughts on coaching for the first time on the Bills sideline as the team’s head coach in Ralph Wilson Stadium for tonight’s preseason game.

Gailey recalled some prior visits to Orchard Park when he was coaching for other NFL clubs.

“I’ve been in it a bunch I’ve just been on the other sideline and in the wrong coach’s box,” Gailey said. “So it’s a challenge to play here. When this place is rocking there is none harder in America. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back to that.”

2nd WR role taking shape?

The Bills third preseason game could solidify some starting roles that have been hotly contested through the course of the preseason. One could be the number 2 receiver role where Steve Johnson has been atop the depth chart since training camp opened.

Top wideout Lee Evans believes the man for that role has become clearer as the preseason has worn on.

“I think it’s pretty much starting to define itself, and it has to because after this game it’s pretty much all downhill until Miami,” said Evans. “I think what you’ll see in this game is probably what you’ll be getting. One of them will have to step up and make plays and that’s basically the bottom line.  But I think it’s starting to define itself now.”

 When asked if he’s confident that the team’s number two wideout will be able to draw attention away from him in the passing game, Evans didn’t address his level of confidence that it would happen. He simply said it has to happen.

“I think they know they have to and I think they know that this is an opportunity for them to show who they are and what they’ve got,” said Evans. “That’s the way they have to look at it and put it upon themselves to go out there and make plays. I think if they take advantage of this opportunity, and see it as an opportunity, then they’ll be able to step up and make plays. That’s really what it’s going to be about.”

The only real contender to unseat Johnson at this late stage of the game appears to be Chad Jackson, who led the team in receiving in last week’s preseason game.

Evans still wants more consistency

While their last preseason performance against Indianapolis was good, in no way is Lee Evans and his teammates satisfied.

Heading into tonight’s game against Cincinnati (6:30 pm kickoff), Evans and his fellow starters on offense are striving for a sharp and cohesive effort.

“I think we have to be a lot more consistent,” Evans said. “This preseason game we’ll play a lot more and we’ll get a lot more looks. I think it just comes down to making plays, executing, taking the good with the bad, keep rolling and making plays when we get the opportunities. I just look forward to coming out here and having a lot of consistency. If we can play consistently then we’ll be alright.”

Spiller hoping to build on Indy game

After a good personal performance and a solid offensive performance in their last preseason outing against Indianapolis, C.J. Spiller and the starting offense are anxious to build on their last showing against Cincinnati.

“It’s very important for us to keep going,” Spiller said. “Last game we were starting to jell real good. I think if we continue that we’ll go in to the season in the right direction. But the main thing you want to do, you don’t want to overplay guys, or get anybody hurt, just because the season is right around the corner. So, we’ll play smart but at the same time we’ll be competitive and we’re going to go out there and try to win.”

Spiller is expected to start again in place of the injured Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.