Friday's preseason finale against the Lions (7:00 p.m. ET at Ralph Wilson Stadium) will be the last chance for several players "on the bubble" to convince the coaching staff that they deserve a spot on the team's 53-man roster.
The Bills made three roster moves on Tuesday to reduce the active roster to 65 players before the NFL deadline of 4:00 p.m.
As tough as I knew the Chicago Bears would be against the Buffalo Bills this week, they were certainly much tougher than I expected. However, that is good at this point as we need to see where the teams weaknesses are and what the Bills can improve. No doubt the pessimistic and bandwagon fans are ready to jump off ship and exclaim that the Bills are no good and that this season is another lost season. Others may return to exclaim that Drew Bledsoe should be back or that Kelly Holcomb should be in. And still others may believe that the Bears run game man-handled us because they had 1 or 2 good runs here and there. Hold on there, folks. This should have been what we expected – especially against a very formidable defense that the Bears now have with all their previous injuries no longer holding them back. Instead of concentrating on what we weren’t able to accomplish, we should focus on the positive aspects of the game and separate this from the negative.
So? What were the positive aspects to the game? Well for one, the 1st string defense gave up nothing but a field goal. The Bears offense had one good run and then they were stopped for a touchdown. It’s the score that counts! How many teams are going to be able to beat us if they can only have a few field goals? At the half, the score was 9-3, Buffalo leading, and when the 1st string defense left the field in the 3rd quarter, the score was 12-3.
I did notice an interesting tidbit in this game. When the Bills blitz, they look like the elite defensive team they want to be. That doesn’t sound very positive, does it? Does this mean that they need to blitz to look good? I think it says more about the type of defense they are than anything else. Their exotic blitz schemes are what set them apart from being average. The positive part of this is that we have excellent personnel to accomplish these schemes. Takeo Spikes and Lawyer Milloy appear to be major cogs in these exotic schemes. I find that whenever they blitz, even if they don’t get there in time, their presence is felt and the opposing quarterback is frequently rushed and ends up taking a much higher and riskier shot than he might of done otherwise. However, whenever you want to be reminded of what these exotic blitzes do for the team, take a look at the consecutive sacks that the Bills had at the end of the 2nd quarter where 1st and 10 quickly became 3rd and 29. The defense actually scored once on an interception from Nate Clements and almost scored twice on another interception, this time by Takeo that was then lateraled to Clements. If not for Clements accidentally stepping out at the 3 yard line, the defense would have brought in 2 touchdowns on their own. At this point, I should point out that had Chicago read my review last week about the Bills preseason game 2, and listened to me when I said that Clements was on a mission and that opposing teams should not throw his way…they might have save themselves a couple of turnovers had they listened.
Even when Chicago broke through with a 39 yard run, to bring Chicago close enough to score a touchdown, the Bills defense stiffened and only allowed a field goal. What a truly elite defense should do. In the 1st half, if not for that one long run that resulted from great blocking from Chicago and poor positioning of London Fletcher, the net results would have been 41 yards rushing in the 1st half running for Chicago. With Thomas Jones in their line up, I’d say that’s pretty good. A thumbs up to Troy Vincent who was able to keep up with Thomas Jones to knock him out of bounds. Who says Vincent is getting old?
From the 2nd half and onwards, backups began filtering in, and finally took over midway through the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, the Bills 2nd string defense weren’t as top notch on this game as they had been the last few games. Nevertheless, I’d say the 2nd string defense faced a better quarterback in Kyle Orton of Chicago than the 1st string defense did. Kyle Orton appears to be the better quarterback, and I expect his role as a backup will not remain that way for long.
One last thing I noticed on defense…while watching a zone blitz play by the Bills, on one camera angle that showed up field, I saw Constantin Ritzmann sitting where a linebacker might sit. And it occurred to me, that in their type of defense, where the Bills blitz a great deal and use exotic packages to confuse the opposing quarterback, the speed of Constantin Ritzmann is probably better suited for this type of defense than the strength of George Gause who is battling Ritzmann for a spot on the roster as a backup defensive end. Previously, I had preferred Gause because of his size and strength, but I have changed my mind feeling that Ritzmann’s speed allows him to be better suited for zone blitz attacks that we might throw and therefore better suited for our defense.
On special teams, what more can be said. They continue to be solid. Not only do they get a lot of yards in their returns, but you also have to look at the big picture – Chicago’s special teams had a penalty in almost every special teams play. Is that because they are really bad? No, Chicago special teams are actually considered pretty good. On the contrary, the Bills were so fast that the Bears were forced to commit penalties on almost every play to keep up with them.
I only have one thing negative about special teams and this may be directed more at Mike Mularkey than at the special teams themselves. At the end, knowing they are winning 12-10 and in jeopardy of losing the game, the Bills kick off using Steve Baker as our punter instead of Moorman??? Baker is horrible and absolutely had no chance of making the team. Was Mularkey trying to make it harder on his team on purpose to give them a bigger challenge? Baker’s atrocious kick allowed the Bears to already be at the halfway point of the field. Baker, as anyone might have predicted, was among the 1st cuts that needed to be done by this Tuesday. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Chicago was able to come through against 2nd and 3rd stringers to score and win the game. I have to wonder if Mularkey was trying to make it hard for Buffalo to win on purpose…perhaps to see if the 3rd string defense could step up and make an important stop? Or was it perhaps so that they don’t get too overconfident in their play? I think Mularkey is smarter than we might be giving him credit for. He may be realizing that sometimes a loss, like our loss to Pittsburgh at the end of last year, can create a lot more wins in the future. Baker is a terrible kicker and in a *real* game, we’d have our fantastic Moorman to rely on, and indeed he would come through for us.
No doubt people are very down on Rian Lindell for missing an extra point and a 47 yard field goal…although he did make two field goals. The Bills appear to be experimenting and using Duke Preston, our rookie Center, to short and long snap. Using him would save a roster spot that currently Jon Dorenbos occupies. As a result, there seems to be some gelling that these guys will need to do. However, I do applaud the move. I have been asking for this to be done for years. It is too expensive, from a roster spot point of view, to lose a roster spot to a person that is going to perform one task and one task only. If Duke Preston can learn and succeed in the role, it will be a huge upgrade for the special teams. Having a big massive guy like Duke Preston in the middle to block will be much better than having a 250 lb linebacker sized guy in the middle attempting to block massive linemen penetrating up the middle. Those guys don’t seem to have the chemistry down yet, but that’s what preseason is for. If they can get that figured out come the season, it will be a huge improvement. It may also mean they can keep 6 wide receivers, 4 running backs or an extra defensive end which would definitely be a plus to the Bills on depth!
Last, but not least, the offense…the offense did struggle somewhat, but against a good defense, this should be expected. Most people are not predicting a perfect season, are they? Buffalo’s defense and special teams are top notch. If their offense was top notch and they had a Colts-like offense, we’d be going to the Super Bowl. Nobody should be expecting that. The offense may have struggled, but in the 2nd quarter and beginning of the 3rd quarter, mounted a decent drive and got field goals out of it. The biggest negative they had was not being able to score a touchdown from the 3 yard line after the defense handed them what should have been a touchdown waiting to happen. I’ll forgive Lindell for now on the misses until they gel a little more with the new snapper (Duke Preston). However, if he has another off year, he might as well say his goodbyes in the locker room before he leaves.
Josh Reed played better this game, but I was disappointed that Mularkey didn’t allot more time to test Drew Haddad or Eugene Wilson more thoroughly. Haddad had a catch robbed from him in the 1st quarter as the referees claimed he stepped out of bounds on a catch. Wilson made a nice catch also. Jonathan Smith had two nice catches but also missed a couple and showed that he is too small to play special teams. Special team personnel should be ones who love to hit, as it is one of the few times you can hit all out and not have flag thrown at you for personal foul. Smith continues to get smacked around and makes me wince every time he has the ball.
The running backs didn’t have a great day either – though my guess is that with tough defenses like that of the Bears…you just have to keep pounding them until you wear them down. I suspect that Willis McGahee is strong enough to do that, but will need more help from his offensive line. In the 1st quarter, Willis would have had longer runs in some instances if the blocks in front of him had gone as planned. There were several situations where the blockers missed their appointed block causing an immediate loss of yards for Willis. For the same reasons listed above, Lionel Gates didn’t particularly have a good night either and even dropped two passes, surprisingly, as he usually has pretty sure hands.
Lastly, the Bill’s offensive line played okay in terms of protecting JP Losman, allowing only 1 sack – caused by Greg Jerman being beat and out-hussled, but did not do so well in terms of opening holes for McGahee or Gates. However, I will reiterate that I still felt like they are forcing runs up the middle. I suspect they do not want to show that their main running might consist of once again going to the right. I also did not see much trapping which they seem to practice a lot in training camp except for the beginning of the 3rd quarter when the mounted a decent drive. Much to my surprise, Jason Peters was positioned at the tight end position and did fairly well, though no balls were thrown his way. My guess is a lot of what we are seeing might just be a dumbed down version of what we might be seeing when the season starts. With this in mind, my only disappointment is that Bennie Anderson has gotten at least one penalty in all 3 preseason games. I guess when Tom Donahoe brought him in and told him he wanted him to be the future Ruben Brown, Anderson must have took it literally. He also got in the way of a screen pass thrown to Lionel Gates. Considering that defenses are probably going to attack JP to rush him and shadow McGahee, Buffalo had better get good at handling screen passes fairly quickly.
All in all, the starting defense of the Bills was able to control and push the Bears starting offense around. The defense and special teams combined were able to give the offense good field position. That’s an excellent positive to take from this game. The offense, my guess, will not be as dumbed down in a real game and should be able to take advantage of that. That is probably the biggest positive that I will take from this game. Once again, nobody that I know of is predicting a perfect season by the Bills. Therefore, losses against top notch defenses will probably be our toughest games to swallow. Especially when we feel that the game was so close and a play or two here or there could have won it. In these type of defensive-minded games I expect that the Bills will keep the games close, as they did in this past games with the bears. They just need to make sure they impose their will on the game and come out on top.
Don’t become disheartened yet! It’s only 1 loss and they’re in the preseason where Buffalo is not showing everything they have to offer. I think the Bills still have a lot to offer and that they have some tricks planned on the offense. Lining up Jason Peters at tight end shows that Mularkey is not planning to sit around and play a traditional sort of play. He is a risk taker and a tricky planner. This is why the team brought him here. While he gets those plays in from time to time, defense-minded fans out there like me will absolutely love the other part of this team and will love this season!!!
Next game: Buffalo Bills vs Detroit Lions, Sept. 2nd, 7 PM
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Kyle Orton provided the spark struggling Chad Hutchinson could not. Now the Chicago Bears could be looking at yet another quarterback change.
Playing with the first-team offense in the third quarter, Orton drove the Bears 81 yards for a touchdown against Buffalo's second-team team defense in Chicago's 16-12 victory against the Bills.
"We're pleased with how Kyle Orton stepped in and gave the offense a boost," Bears coach Lovie Smith said, adding that he would watch tape before making any final evaluations.
Despite 17 penalties, the Bears (3-1) won when Adrian Peterson ran 3 yards for a touchdown with 1:32 left against Bills' second and third-teamers. That capped a 50-yard drive with Jeff Blake, the fourth Chicago quarterback, running the offense.
But it was Orton's strong play and Hutchinson's poor outing in his second start since replacing injured Rex Grossman -- two interceptions, three sacks and 3-for-14 passing -- that was most noticeable.
"We need to a little work with the quarterback position and we'll do that," Smith said. "We will evaluate it throughout. All starting positions have to play well.
"It wasn't a good effort and it wasn't all Chad's fault. We had other breakdowns. He didn't throw the ball as well as he needs to. He missed some reads. It just wasn't a good night." Buffalo (2-1) led most of the game after Nate Clements returned a first-quarter interception 31 yards for a touchdown against the struggling Hutchinson.
"I think he was locked in. I read the receiver and got to the ball," Clements said. "I saw his eyes and played the route and made a play."
Hutchinson suffered two interceptions and fumbled while being sacked three times a week ago against the Colts in his first start since replacing Grossman. Grossman is out at least three months -- and maybe the entire season -- with a broken ankle.
Hutchinson's play went downhill this night and he was booed in Chicago's first home preseason game. He was not available for comment after the game.
Orton was cheered loudly when he came out to start the third quarter. He completed seven passes in the 81-yard scoring drive capped by a 2-yard TD toss to Desmond Clark that cut Buffalo's lead to 12-10.
He was 7-for-11 for 74 yards, but wasn't ready to pronounce himself the starter.
"You'll have to ask Coach Smith," said Orton, a fourth-round pick out of Purdue. "I think I played pretty well. I had one good drive out of two."
Bills quarterback J.P. Losman wasn't satisfied, either. He played the first half and the first series of the third quarter, completing 9 of 18 passes for 82 yards before he was replaced by former Bear Shane Matthews.
"It wasn't a good performance. I felt like everything was there," Losman said. "They called the right plays, the blocking was there. ... I was hesitating a little to pull the trigger."
Rian Lindell missed an extra point after Clements' touchdown but kicked a pair of field goals for the Bills.
After Hutchinson threw three incompletions in his first three attempts under heavy pressure, he tried to complete a sideline pass to Bernard Berrian. But Clements cut right in front and intercepted the ball, racing easily to the end zone from 31 yards out late in the opening quarter.
When Hutchinson returned to the huddle for the next series, he was booed loudly. Minutes later, Thomas Jones broke off a 40-yard run to the Buffalo 18.
But after Hutchinson completed a 9-yarder, he threw incomplete to the end zone on third down and the Bears settled for Doug Brien's 28-yard field goal.
Hutchinson's pass for Jones late in the half was deflected, then picked off by Takeo Spikes. He lateraled the ball to Clements, who was knocked out on the 3.
But Losman fumbled on second down and was tackled for a 20-yard loss by Hunter Hillenmeyer. The Bills ended up with a 38-yard field goal from Lindell.
He added a 44-yarder at the end of Buffalo's first series of the second half, right after a scrambling Losman missed a wide-open George Wilson in the end zone.
With rookie first-round draft pick Cedric Benson still a holdout, Jones gained 94 yards on 14 carries for the Bears, while Willis McGahee had 61 yards on 21 carries for the Bills.
Bills, Bears dominate defensively
The Buffalo Bills preseason game Friday night went exactly according to form. The defenses were relentless, intimidating and totally dominant. The offenses could barely get out of their own way.
Quick Vick will give Bills a challenge
Watching slick and quick Michael Vick run circles around the Jacksonville Jaguars in Atlanta's 23-7 exhibition road romp Thursday night adds to the anticipation of the Falcons at Buffalo's game Sept. 25 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Clements shows off worth to Bills
Nate Clements' price just went up. The Buffalo Bills' young veteran cornerback, who wants to become the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL, intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in a preseason game at Soldier Field on Friday night.
Orton steps in to lead Bears past Bills
Kyle Orton provided the spark struggling Chad Hutchinson could not. Now the Chicago Bears could be looking at yet another quarterback change.
Mularkey: "We didn't do a good job"
... Buffalo head coach Mike Mularkey was surprisingly unsettled by the defeat.
He was particularly disappointed with the offense's play, calling it undisciplined.
After The Buffalo Bills scrimmaged before a packed house in Lambeau Field, played in the dome at Indianapolis Colts, and faced the Green Bay Packers at a sold-out Ralph Wilson Stadium, this week's preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field should provide yet another good test for JP Losman and the Bills as they prepare for their season opener at the Ralph against Houston.
The third preseason game is generally the one in which the starters get the most playing time, often playing well into the third quarter. Buffalo’s JP Losman should be able to get plenty of reps in against a very good Bears defense led by Brian Urlacher. While no one is likely to mistake Chad Hutchinson for Jim McMahon, the Bill’s run defense will also get a decent test from the Bear’s running game that has scored 5 TDs and is averaging 128.3 yards per game in three preseason games. And, even the Bills' special teams, which have been superb once again thus far, should get a challenge, at least on the coverage teams, from the Bears who got a 54 yard punt return for a TD from Bobby Wade last week.
With roster spots up for grabs and fierce competition at several positions, there are a number of players to watch closely and things to look for in this game. The Bears' defense and special teams are probably the best that the Bills will face this preseason and, with the starters likely to play significant time, this game should give Bills fans their best take to-date on how JP Losman and the rest of the team are progressing in their preparations for the season opener.
The Bills Offense vs The Bears Defense: The Bears defense, with Adewale Ogunleye, Tommie Harris and Alex Brown up front, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs at linebacker, Jerry Azumah, Mike Green and Mike Brown in the defensive backfield, are a quality unit that suffered from injuries and being left out on the field too long by their pathetic offense last season. Even if they "play vanilla", they will pose a stern test for JP Losman and the Bills offense, especially the offensive line.
In three games thus far in the preseason, the Bears are giving up only an average of 50 yards per game on the ground, which could mean that JP Losman will be called on to show if he can lead the Bills to victory through the air. Mike Gandy has surprised a lot of people with his play thus far and he did a creditable job in matching up against. K. Gabaja-Biamila, one of the NFL's top sack-masters, last week and in the scrimmages in Green Bay. He will have to show that he can do it again this week against a less familiar opponent in A. Ogunleye, the former Dolphin DE. Bennie Anderson, who has had some rough moments in the preseason, will be facing a tough, young, up-and-coming star in T.Harris.
Depending on how well the Bills offensive line does, yards could be hard to come by for Willis McGahee and the other Bills Running Backs who are trying to make the roster and battling for the # 2 RB job. With S.Williams getting significant playing time against Indianapolis and RaShard Lee being first off the bench last week, it is possible that this week could it could be Lionel Gates' turn to show what he can do against stiffer competition.
The spotlight will also, once again, be on the battle for roster spots at Wide Receiver where Drew Haddad appears to have pushed past Jonathan Smith and is pushing Josh Reed for the # 3 spot in Roscoe Parrish's absence and George Wilson is making a serious run at a roster spot with Sam Aiken failing to show the kind of consistent hands that you would like to see from him at this stage. M.Brown, M.Green and nickel CB Nathan Vasher will present a good challenge to JP Losman and the wideouts who are looking to replace Parrish in the slot.
The Bills Defense vs The Bears Offense: This would be a much better test for the Bills' defense if Rex Grossman had not been injured because Grossman was beginning to develop a good rapport with free agent WR import Mushin Muhammad before the injury. Unfortunately, with Grossman out, the Bears passing game was as awful last week against the Colts, with Chad Hutchinson at the helm, as it was last season. Hutchinson went 5 of 8 for 40 yards with two interceptions and a fumble and he was sacked three times in six possessions. Ugh! Hutchinson vows to be more relaxed and ready to play this week, but it is hard to imagine him being that much better playing behind a Bears offensive line that simply can't pass block. While much has been made of Grossman's fragility because he has been hurt so often, the fact is that he's not the only QB to get hurt playing behind this offensive line: Jamie Martin and Craig Krenzel also suffered injuries playing QB for Chicago last year; and no QB is going to look good if he's laying on his back. With Hutchinson going down 3 times last week against an Indy defense that was missing 6 starters, this offensive line could get a QB killed out there! Even if Jerry Gray keeps the Bills blitzes "vanilla" this week, it could be a long, rough game for Hutchinson.
As bad as the Bears' offensive line is in pass protection, with John Tait, Olin Kreutz, Fred Miller and our old friend Reuben Brown up front, they are a very good running team, especially when their opponents don't stack 8 men "up in the box". Cedric Benson's holdout has given Thomas Jones and Adrian Peterson a chance to hold onto their jobs for the time being and they have played well in the preseason. With Hutchinson still trying to settle in as the starting QB, it is very likely that the Bears will try to run the ball at the Bills' defense and will use the kinds of draws and passes to the RBs that hurt the Bills' defense last week against Green Bay. This will be good for the Bills defense that is likely to see much the same thing from Houston and Domanick Davis in the season opener. Without Grossman to get the ball to Muhammad, it is unlikely that the Bears' passing game will pose enough of a serious deep threat to the Bills defense to "keep them honest" however and it would be very surprising and disappointing if the Bears were able to sustain many drives or put up many points in this game while the starters are in. Unfortunately, because of the Bears' ineptitude in the passing game, they are unlikely to pose much of a challenge to the Bills whose reserve defensive backs are still fighting for roster spots. If Hutchinson struggles, Kyle Orton, who has been very good playing against reserves, and Jeff Blake, who is experienced and was signed to replace Grossman, could see enough action to make things more interesting.
The Bills Special Teams vs The Bears Special Teams: What more can be said about the Bills special teams? They were the best in the NFL last season and, so far, it looks like they are trying to be even better this year. It almost seems like whomever the Bills put back to return a punt or kickoff can get a big return. And, Rian Lindell hitting a 54 yard field goal? Whoddathunkit?!?! Still, the Bears will pose a pretty good challenge this week for the Bills' special teams, especially the kick coverage teams. Wade's punt return for a TD last week was the team's third in three years and Jerry Azumah's 25.5 yard average per kick off return the past two season ranks fourth in the NFL over that period. While no one will confuse Doug Brien with Adam Vinitieri, Bear punter Brad Maynard is very similar to the Bills' Brian Moorman: a great bad weather kicker who leads the NFL in punts inside the 20 since he entered the league in 1997. With the competition for roster spots so tight at so many positions on the Bills, special teams play is likely to be the determining factor in a number of instances. Jobs will be on the line for players like D.Haddad, J.Smith, G.Wilson, S.Aiken, T.Woodbury, R.Lee, L.Gates, J.Burns, J.Goldsbury, C.Ritzmann, G.Gause, C.Wire, J.Leonard, E.Oglesby, R.Lee, T.Fontenot and others on special teams this week and next.
Things To Look For:
1. Once again, all eyes will be on JP Losman, as they will be throughout this coming season. Thus far, JP has improved his performance every week since the beginning of training camp. The Bears defense will be the best he has faced thus far and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to show improvement against them. JP showed much better composure and footwork against Green Bay last week than he did against Indy: will he be better still in these areas this week? How well will he read the blitz? The Bears are likely to test him with Urlacher and Briggs. Will he improve on picking out his receivers? Green, Azumah and Brown, in particular, are ball-hawks who will make him pay if he makes mistakes. And, of course, will JP get down to avoid getting hit when he runs with the ball? He can't afford to be foolish with Urlacher and Brown lurking.
2. Can Mike Gandy neutralize Ogunleye? This is another big test for Gandy.
3. Will Bennie Anderson be able to handle Tommie Harris without holding him? Harris is a DT with the quickness of a DE. Anderson must keep him from getting too close to JP Losman and Willis McGahee without committing penalties (more on that later).
4. Which of the Bills' reserve receivers will be able to get open and make the plays when JP goes to him? Will Josh Reed be able to hold onto the ball and his job, or will Drew Haddad continue to get the job done? Can Sam Aiken make the grab? Will George Wilson continue to catch everything thrown his way? Will Fast Freddy Smith be able to do something to impress the coaches and make the team?
5. How long will Willis McGahee play and will the Bills offensive line be able to get him some running room? Which RB will be first off of the bench to him up? Will it be Lionel Gates and will he continue to impress against better opposition? Will Shaud Williams get in the game at RB this week? How much playing time will ReShard Lee get and how will he perform? Will Joe Burns get any carries at RB and will he show anything?
6. Will the Bills defensive front be able to stop the Bears' running game? They must be much better than they were against the Packers in the first series last week if they are going to contain the likes of L.Tomlinson, P.Holmes, C.Martin, C.Dillon and D.Davis this season. T.Jones and A.Peterson aren't in the same class as those RBs.
7. Can the Bills defense dominate the Bears offense the way that a top flight defense should be able to dominate an offense whose passing game is as pathetic as the Bears' passing game has been with Hutchinson at the helm?
8. Will the Bills' special teams continue their dominance and be able to contain the Bears' return teams? In particular, who will stand out on special teams?
9. While the Bills improved significantly in cutting down the number of penalties that they got from 19 against Indianapolis to 8 against Green Bay, eight penalties is still too many. To be a playoff caliber team, especially with an inexperienced QB, the Bills cannot afford to commit that many penalties. They must be more disciplined. With the starters playing a significant portion of this game, it will be interesting to see if they can continue to improve in this area and further limit the number of penalties that they commit.
10. Will Rian Lindell get another chance to kick a FG from more than 40 yards out? And, will he make it?
It should be an interesting game. The best test of the preseason for JP Losman. There are a lot of things to look for in this one. I hope you enjoy it.
Friday night's preseason game in Chicago (8 p.m. ET) may be the last chance for several Bills players to showcase their talents in front of the Buffalo coaching staff in hopes of securing a spot on the opening day roster.
The Buffalo Bills have kicked off a new exhibit on the history of the team at the Toy Town Museum in East Aurora, NY, which will be open to the public until early 2006.
Matched up with one of the best defensive ends in the NFL, left tackle Mike Gandy more than held his own against Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila in the Bills' 27-7 preseason victory over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Still, it's safe to assume that everyone in the Bills organization, from the owner on down, would rather Losman not get into the habit of leading the team in rushing. That distinction belongs to Willis McGahee, the franchise running back, the man being counted on to carry the bulk of the offensive load this season.
JP Losman showed the Buffalo Bills that he can provide at least one thing his predecessor could not.
Running around the field like it was a game of sandlot football, the Buffalo Bills' 24-year-old new starting quarterback gave a taste of things to come, leading the Bills to a 27-7 win over the Green Bay Packers last night.
For the second straight year, the popular Kids Day game was a sellout, with an announced attendance of 71,323, just shy of last year's full house of 71,549 and the all-time mark of 80,020 set during the first game played in the stadium in 1973.
Happy with leading the Buffalo Bills to a preseason victory, quarterback J.P. Losman acknowledged there's still a few things he needs to learn. One's sliding to the turf to avoid getting hit. Another is how to celebrate a touchdown. He stated "'Should I celebrate, should I not, should I wait for the regular season?'"
The first-year starter appeared a little lost, not knowing what to do after his 1-yard scamper into the end zone opened Buffalo's scoring in a 27-7 win over Green Bay Aug. 20.
"I was like, 'Should I celebrate, should I not, should I wait for the regular season?'" said Losman, who simply stood in the end zone holding the ball before his teammates arrived to celebrate. "But it was a great feeling to get that first one out of the way."
It happened on the Bills' first series in front of a sellout house and in Losman's home debut since the 2004 first-round draft pick replaced Drew Bledsoe in February.
Losman followed the touchdown by engineering scoring drives on Buffalo's next two possessions, finishing 7-of-14 for 59 yards passing with five carries for 36 yards.
It was a much better performance after Losman managed one first down in his first four series in Buffalo's 17-10 win at Indianapolis last weekend.
"It was exciting to come out strong tonight, especially after the slow start last week," Losman said. "I think definitely we got better this week."
Special teams contributed with ReShard Lee 's 69-yard kickoff return and Drew Haddad 's 37-yard punt return setting up both of Buffalo's two first-half touchdowns.
Willis McGahee scored on a 6-yard run and Lionel Gates added a 14-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Rian Lindell kicked two field goals, including a 54-yarder.
The Packers played with more cohesion than in their sloppy 10-7 win against San Diego last week. But they had difficulty generating offense after Brett Favre needed only one series to show he's ready for the regular season.
Favre went 4-of-6 for 41 yards, capping a 75-yard, 13-play opening drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Ahman Green.
"It was better than last week, so it's good to show some improvement," Favre said. "But we still have a long way to go."
In two games, Favre is 13-of-16 for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Green finished with 22 yards rushing and two catches for 14 yards. Just as important, he held on to the ball after fumbling twice against San Diego.
Rookie first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers struggled taking over for Favre. He finished 4-of-9 for 21 yards and an interception in four series.
Without Favre, the Packers managed a mere 108 yards of offense the rest of the game.
"Concerned isn't the word. Aggravated probably is," Packers coach Mike Sherman said. "I'm disappointed that our second offense was not more productive."
Down 7-0, the Bills responded with 27 consecutive points. They improved to 2-0, marking only the second time the team has opened a preseason with two straight wins -- and first since 1966.
Losman's performance was not error-free.
He was sacked for a safety early in the second quarter, but the play was negated by an illegal contact penalty against the Packers. There were also a few times when Losman took unnecessary hits, like when he was bowled over into the sideline by Green Bay's Aaron Kampman, 2 yards after Losman had already picked up a first down.
"I'd still like to see him get down," coach Mike Mularkey said. "But that's something that'll go until he figures it out or takes a good solid hit. Hopefully, he'll pay attention to that before it happens."
It's a particular fear with Losman, who missed the first half of last season with a broken leg after he was hit and fell awkwardly after a scramble during training camp.
Losman said he's trying.
"Sometimes you get so caught up, it's just a game and you don't think it's preseason," Losman said.
Notes: Bills WR Eric Moulds did not return after bruising his ribs in the second quarter. Moulds said he felt OK after getting the wind knocked out of him...Bills backup TE Tim Euhus (strained pectoral) will have tests Aug. 21, coach Mularkey said...Packers TE Ben Steele did not return after he hurt his back and neck in the second quarter. Other Packers injured were: S Todd Franz (shoulder) and DL Kenny Peterson (neck).
Favre not-so-eager for another look at Bills
The Buffalo Bills' defense made a strong impression on Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre during the scrimmage between the teams two weeks ago.
Bills take second looks at RBs
Coach Mike Mularkey is intrigued by the No. 2 running back race, which is too close to call going into tonight's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Adams to provide Whitticker with giant test
Rookie Will Whitticker could solidify the starting right guard spot with a solid performance in tonight’s preseason game at Buffalo.
Notebook: Packers prep for Bills’ blitzes
Coach Mike Sherman took the team inside the Don Hutson Center on Thursday afternoon for a half-hour session that was closed to the public and the media. The offense spent most of that time working against blitzes.
QB Holcomb eases into familiar role
During his three seasons as Peyton Manning's backup, Kelly Holcomb didn't take a single snap in a regular-season game. Now, at age 32 and entering his ninth pro season, Holcomb finds himself backing up yet another young quarterback.
Packers will be bombarded by the blitz
NFL preseason games normally don't have a grudge quality to them, but this evening's clash between the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers at Ralph Wilson Stadium is an exception.
NFL Preseason Preview - Green Bay (1-0) At Buffalo (1-0)
The Buffalo Bills will be seeking to continue their preseason momentum within friendly confines on Saturday night, when Mike Mularkey's team will take the Ralph Wilson Stadium field to host the Green Bay Packers in the second summer outing for each club. The Bills, who narrowly missed the playoffs in 2004, went to Indianapolis last Saturday and emerged with a 17-10 victory over the defending AFC South champion Colts.
Packers Brace For The Blitz Of The Bills
Crowd noise pumped through the speakers at the Don Hutson Center during Friday's walk-through practice to simulate the Buffalo Bills' raucous Ralph Wilson Stadium, while the Green Bay Packers' work during this week's practice prepared them for facing the Bills defense on Saturday.
Scenery Change: Bills Host Packers
The Bills will take on the Green Bay Packers for the second time in two weeks on Saturday when they open their home preseason slate at 6 p.m. The two teams had a scrimmage in Green Bay on Aug. 5. And in what promises to be a season of firsts for J.P. Losman, this weekend's game will be Losman's first opportunity to step onto Ralph Wilson Stadium as Buffalo's starting quarterback and play in front of a soldout crowd.
Today was another fast paced hard hitting day and it was the last of the double sessions. I was at the afternoon session where the players practiced on the nearest grass field and the Growney Stadium. The Buffalo Bills worked on a bunch of different drills and were in full pads today. There was definitely some nice hits as the players had a hard workout. The Bills worked on some individual drills, field goals, 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and some 11-on-11 drills this afternoon.
After the players got their stretching done, they split into their individual units. The offensive players went over to Growney Stadium, while the defensive players stayed at the grass practice fields. I watched the defensive backs work on some drills since they were right in front of me. They started out with pass deflection drills and would try to knock the ball down or catch it. A bunch of players just knocked it away, but a couple of them came down with it. Next, Jerry Gray intentionally threw the ball right to them and was trying to get them to intercept the ball. Eric King dropped one, and a couple of the undrafted rookies did too, but everyone else did a nice job getting it. Finally before their drills ended, the defensive backs works on their hitting skills. One of the assistants would hold a pad and the players would run full force into it, with their shoulders and try to tackle it like they would with a player. On the other side of the field, the defensive lineman worked on tackling the sled with Coach Tim Krumrie, while the Linebackers worked on intercepting passes. Takeo Spikes had a nice leaping grab to haul one in.
Following the individual drills, JP Losman and some other quarterbacks came over with the running backs and tight ends to practice. The quarterbacks threw the ball to the backs and tight ends, while the linebackers would try to cover them. Mark Campbell and Tim Euhus both had some nice grabs, so did Rod Trafford. But, Willis McGahee had the best catch. He made a beautiful fingertip grab right in front of Josh Stamer and would have gone into the secondary.
Next up, the field goal unit worked on kicking field goals. Rian Lindell looked solid as he was hitting all of them threw the uprights. He was making them, so they kept moving the chains back and he even made a few that were about 45 yards. Steve Baker then had his chance to get the crowd's attention, but he was off-target and missed the longer ones. He even drew some boos and jeers from the crowd. Rian Lindell got another shot to impress with a 47-yard field goal, under "pressure." The Bills players all stood near him and were screaming into his ears and trying to get the crowd to cheer too, to distract him. It didn't work, Lindell nailed the 47-yarder with a kick that would have been good, even if it was a 55 yarder. He definitely had the leg. It appears that his offseason training has worked so far. I know it's only camp, but Lindell has never really impressed me in camp before.
Next up was the 9-on-7 drills. They worked exclusively on the running game. Every back got a chance to show their stuff, except for Shaud Williams, who was out again. Willis McGahee was back full force and had some nice runs up the middle. He also did good around the right tackle, as Mike Williams made a small hole for him. Lionel Gates also had some nice runs. He was stuffed a couple times, but shoved his way through for whatever yardage he could get. He also had a huge hit put on him by Liam Ezekiel, who tackled him behind the line. ReShard Lee struggled a bit, but then found a hole and pounded his way through. Joe Burns was the one that didn't impress me. He was stuffed for a short gain a few times and tackled in the backfield once.
The 7-on-7 drills were next. JP Losman did the best out of all the quarterbacks. He is starting to find Eric Moulds more often and hit him twice in this drill. Losman also found Reed twice and threw nice long balls to Mark Campbell. He did have two misses though. On one play, Losman threw a nice sideline pass to Lee Evans, but Evans turned around too late. And on another, Losman underthrew George Wilson. Kelly Holcomb struggled a bit when he overthrew Drew Haddad, but he made up for it later by connecting with Haddad with a 18-yarder. Shane Matthews just focused on dumpoff passes and screens.
The team then worked on the 11-on-11 drills. JP Losman spread the ball around with everyone, except Lee Evans, who was blanketed by the defense. Losman started out by hitting Mark Campbell for a short gain, then threw a nice 10 yarder to Josh Reed. The offense was then called for a false start. Next, Losman found Eric Moulds for 12 yards in the middle of the field. Mark Campbell took a nice hit, but held onto the ball after getting about 8 yards. Losman then found Eric Moulds one more time for 7 yards. Lionel Gates followed that with a nice run around the left tackle for 6 yards. Kelly Holcomb worked on his short passing game and found Ryan Neufeld twice for about 4 yards each. He also found Sam Aiken for 3 yards near the sideline. But he overthrew Gates who was open near the sideline for a screen pass. Gates also had another nice run around the left tackle for 5 yards. The starting offense came back and Willis McGahee had a nice 8-yard run around the right side, thanks to a big block by Mike Williams. McGahee also tried to pound his way thru the middle of the line and gained a few yards. JP Losman underthrew Eric Moulds. Then Kelly Holcomb came in and didn't do any better when he overthrew Sam Aiken. Aiken almost had a beautiful fingertip grab, but he couldn't hang on. ReShard Lee finished the series with a couple runs up the middle for a few yards.
The teams then lined up for a few red zone drills. Lionel Gates started it out with a bruising run up the middle for 8 or 9 yards. JP Losman followed that with a nice 10-yard pass to Eric Moulds. Losman then ran the QB keeper out of bounds for about 6 yards. Losman finished it with a 7-yard pass to Jonathan Smith.
Here's a couple tidbits that I noticed today:
1. JP Losman is finally starting to find Eric Moulds. They had trouble connecting early in camp and now since Parrish has gone down, Losman looks for him a lot more. He still finds Lee Evans out there too, but it's nice to see the Losman to Moulds connection working out.
2. Willis McGahee was back on the field! He was out there in full force and looked pretty good. They even let him participate in all the main 11-on-11 drills and he did have a couple hard hits on him. I didn't notice a difference out on the field, but he did have a slight limp when he came over to the fence to sign autographs.
3. Mike Gandy also impressed me today. He had a few nice blocks for the running backs and also held his own in the passing game. I have definitely noticed an improvement in camp and can't wait to see him on the field on Saturday.
4. Rian Lindell has had a good camp. He has looked great on the kickoffs and is now starting to show his new power on his field goals. Let's hope that he can practice a few 40+ yarders in the Ralph this weekend.
5. Shaud Williams was held out of practice today and Lionel Gates got most of his reps with the starters and backups. Gates has been very impressive and if Williams is injured, this could open the gate for Gates to get the backup Runningback job.
6. Roscoe Parrish went to the huddle and listened in on the plays almost everytime that Losman and the starters were out there.
7. Tim Euhus got into a couple tussles today, including one where he shoves Lawyer Milloy and then it died down.
8. Justin Bannan had the hit of the day. Joe Burns was getting ready to run up the middle and all of a sudden, Bannan came out of nowhere and leveled him. The hit left Burns dazed and confused and he stumbled towards the sideline right after it.
9. Props to all the runningbacks, fullbacks, JP Losman, Tim Euhus, Brad Cieslak, Jon Dorenbos, Duke Preston for coming over the fence to sign autographs. Extra props go to Willis McGahee, JP Losman, and Duke Preston for staying longer to make sure they signed autographs for as many fans as they could.
Overall, it was a perfect day for camp. The weather was beatiful outside and there was even a cool breeze. It was a nice, faced paced practice with some hard hitting and tackling. It will probably slow down for the final 3 practices, so it was nice to see that today. I'll be back next week with my final thoughts from St. John Fisher College.
Parrish's absence gives Brown, Smith chance to shine
The football folks at Sports Illustrated believe Roscoe Parrish could be a diamond in the rough for the Buffalo Bills. But since his right wrist slammed into the turf in practice eight days ago, Parrish has simply been a receiver in a cast. Now he's the symbol of opportunity — for someone else.
Reed has to live up to expectations in a hurry
Josh Reed certainly won’t be confused with Andre Reed when it comes to being a Buffalo Bills wide receiver. And unless Josh Reed proves something over the next few weeks, he shouldn’t even be a wide receiver on the Bills.
Bills Open With "Kids Day" SellOut
The Bills will open up their 2005 home preseason schedule this Saturday, August 20th at 6:00 PM with a “Kids’ Day” sellout against the Green Bay Packers.
Clements' Agent Speaks With WGR
WGR 550's Paul Hamilton caught up with Todd France, the agent for Bills CB Nate Clements, at training camp on Wednesday.
Notes: Clements Awaits New Contract
Fresh off of his first Pro Bowl season, Nate Clements is preparing for a big year in 2005. And after that? Well, that was the million-dollar question - literally - at St. John Fisher Wednesday afternoon.
Bills pre-season game to be televised
Buffalo Bills fans have done it again. It's a sellout for Saturday's pre-season game with the Green Bay Packers. It happened again, for the second straight year. The Bills have sold out a home preseason game for just the third time in history. Saturday's Bills-Packers game at Ralph Wilson Stadium is a sellout, with the announcement coming today at training camp.
He wears blue and red and is part quarterback, part receiver and part special teams player. But the player in reference isn't Superman; it's the athletically gifted Tory Woodbury.