SB Nation - Ryan Neill

Bengals have invited four non-turtle long snappers for a visit this week

Kirkendall — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:41:44 -0000

Here's where we stand with long snappers. Brad St. Louis is going to snap at least one more game; why not give him a last chance in a critical divisional game, makes sense (that's sarcasm). On Tuesday, the Bengals gave Nathan Hodel a look; he left Cincinnati without a reported contract. On Thursday, the Bengals released Geoffrey Pope and signed "The Stuka", Dan Skuta, off the team's practice squad.

This has led to speculation that the Bengals are planning to use that eighth spot for a long snapper. It makes sense. If Shayne Graham and Kevin Huber need work on the timing with a long snapper, then signing a long snapper to the practice squad wouldn't affect your roster. And if Brad St. Louis, who has to be under more pressure than anyone on this squad, falters again, then the Bengals can sign the long snapper off the practice squad and plug him in immediately.

Where they stand now is finding that long snapper.

The Bengals keep bringing them in. Joe Reedy writes:

The Bengals worked out Bryan Pittman and Clark Harris on Thursday. Pittman, who spent the last six seasons with Houston, worked out with the Chargers on Tuesday while Harris played four games with the Texans last year. The team also recently worked out Ryan Neill, who was Buffalo’s long snapper the last two seasons, while Nathan Hodel was in for a visit.

That makes four long snappers the Bengals have worked out this week. My ultimate question is this:

If you're so worried about the long snapper on this team, why would you have the guy that's about to lose his job baked under so much pressure during an important division game?

2009 Bills Training Camp is officially in the books

MattRichWarren — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:45:09 -0000

This morning was the final day of 2009 Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford. I was in attendance today - as I was for a dozen practices this year - as the moving vans arrived and the team headed back to Orchard Park for the remainder of the pre-season. Due to the copious amounts of rain yesterday, my phone was not operational for Twitter updates this morning, so I am going to change up and give you a timeline of the typical practice after the jump with my notes from today.

I arrived early thanks to a friend who attends SJF. She gave me her parking pass and I rolled into the parking lot instead of taking the blasted shuttles. That was pretty sweet.

9:30 - 9:40 Special Teams - Punt Team
Bobby April led the punt team through some work on blocking, then on getting off their blocks; meanwhile, the gunners worked at the other end of the field. As has been a continuous trend, Ryan Neill got all first team work with Garrison Sanborn squarely behind him. Working at gunner (in no particular order) were Justin Jenkins, Reggie Corner, Ashton Youboty, Felton Huggins, Jairus Byrd, Shaine Smith, Lydell Sargeant, John Wendling, and Ko Simpson. Easily the most vocal player during this work was Marcus Stroud, standing on the sideline.

9:40 - 9:49 Walk Through vs. Scout Teams
The first team offense was without Terrell Owens again today; Owens has been officially ruled out of Saturday's pre-season contest in Green Bay. Josh Reed took his reps on the outside. Bryan Scott continued to practice following his injury and alternated moving up in the box with Donte Whitner during the exercise.

9:49 - 9:55 Warm up and Stretch
Easily the most boring thing to watch in practice, it's also the best to see who is participating. QB Matt Baker was stretching, but didn't throw a pass all day, instead standing and watching in a ball cap. WR James Hardy joined Owens in the training room, and defensive tackles Corey Mace and Marcus Smith watched from the sidelines. TE Shawn Nelson was late arriving on the field, but eventually joined the team during team work. Everyone else was participating fully.

9:55 - 10:11 Position Work
At this point in the practice, the team broke up into their position groups: DL, LB, DB, OL, TE, WR, RB, QB and ST (kickers, punters and long snappers). Without pads on, the OL and DL were working on footwork and hand techniques on opposite ends of the field. The RB and QB groups started together working on hand-offs before the RB group went to work on footwork and cuts. LBs were working on gap assignments, and DBs were focusing on backpedaling and ball skills. TEs were focusing on blocking and when to move off onto the blitzing linebacker. The WRs were catching passes after breaking off routes, but the most interesting part was that a coach was smacking them with a pad when the ball was in the air. Essentially the guys had to keep their focus even though they were being hit as the ball arrived. Then the WRs and QBs got together and worked on pass routes before the TEs and RBs were mixed in as well.

10:11 - 10:19 7on 7, OL vs. DL
While the offensive and defensive linemen did some one on one work, the first team offense and defense worked in the passing shell. It was around this time that people were figuring out that T.O. was just not going to show up. Many were sad. It would have been nice for him to at least come out and wave or something. Skill players with the first team offense were Lee Evans, Derek Fine, Josh Reed (in for Owens) and Shawn Nelson in the slot. He moved in tight on a couple plays as well before Roscoe Parrish replaced him. Roscoe and Nelson's reps were split pretty evenly as the "third WR" option. Good to see the big guy getting some first team reps. As an aside, it's pretty clear that Derek Schouman and Derek Fine are 1A and 1B and will rotate with Nelson. We officially have a three-headed monster at TE.

Trent Edwards was hitting guys in stride today and not one throw hit the ground during position work or 7 on 7. He was working the ball down the field, hitting Evans and Reed for gains on 15-20 yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick also looked good, completing good passes before throwing a 30+ yard bomb to Justin Jenkins. It was a gorgeous arching pass right over the top of the defender. Even Gibran Hamdan got in on the act, threading the ball between two defenders for a 25-yard pickup to C.J. Hawthorne.

10:19 - 10:31 Special Teams - Kick Return
Bobby April had the front six on one side of the field and his back five on the other. The starters for the front line were George WIlson, Jon Corto, John Wendling, Marcus Buggs and Justin Jenkins (L to R facing the kicker), with Shawn Nelson about ten yards behind Wendling. They were working on picking up their guys based on what the kick team does. The wedge (April used the term) portion was Leodis McKelvin returning with Xavier Omon five yards in front of him, and Spencer Johnson five yards in front of Omon. The Dereks were about five yards further up splitting the field in thirds. When the ball was kicked deep, the Dereks stood about three yards apart and Johnson came between them about two yards back. They also worked on short kicks and getting communication down so they know who is going to catch it.

10:32 - 10:38 11 on 11
The first full-team work of the day again highlighted the offense as they continued to practice without pads. James Hardy made his way onto the field prior to the team work, walking out and talking with teammates. Bryan Scott had a simulated stop in the backfield on a Roscoe reverse, the second of those I witnessed today. Jairus Byrd had a nice pass breakup on a Gibran Hamdan throw working with the third team. Answering some questions, the second team center was Brandon Rodd and Seth McKinney, running second team guard, slid over to the pivot with the third team. Watching more position battles, Chris Ellis is clearly getting more reps than Copeland Bryan, who ran third team today. Ellis has been seeing second team reps while Aaron Maybin continues his holdout.

10:38 - 10:54 Walk Through vs. Coaches
A staple of the end of practice is a walk through against a team of coaches simulating a defense. It's not interesting to watch, but the fans were getting anxious and began chanting. At one point between plays, Eric Wood and Langston Walker raised their arms in the air exhorting the chants to continue and get louder. The first team offense was working against the coaches, but on the other side of the field, it was the second and third team defense getting the reps against the ghost team.

10:54 - 10:58 Stretching and Team Huddle

10:59 Position Meetings and Break
DB, OL, LB, and TE met with their position coaches briefly while the rest of the team made their way towards the locker room for the final time this year. After practice, Fitzpatrick signed autographs and Walker and Butler threw their gloves into the stands.

***

Best Development of the Day
Only one Trent Edwards pass hit the ground all day. It was a yard overthrown to Lee Evans on the sideline about 18 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Worst Development of the Day
The moving vans were moving stuff from the sidelines and locker room during the entire practice. I still have at least one camp story to tell and you should see that later this week, but for now, the only time we'll see the Bills is when they play the Packers this weekend.

Recapping week one of Buffalo Bills training camp

Brian Galliford — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:30:09 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

Browse more photos »

The Buffalo Bills are now nine practices deep into 2009 training camp, and after eight full days of hard work, the entire team is getting Sunday off to rest and recuperate. The pads go back on on Monday as the team prepares for its first pre-season game of the year, which takes place a week from today in the Hall of Fame Game.

A lot has happened to this point - in terms of players performing (or not), in terms of lineup surprises, and in terms of who is not in camp. We were fortunate to have representation at camp seven days, and have recaps here for those in the reviewing mood: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7. (You'll have to rely on bigger-name sources for Day 8 coverage; we'll be back camping next week.)

This post is not intended to recap every significant development; you'd be reading for the rest of the afternoon if that was the case. Instead, we'll focus on each position after the jump, giving you some of our general impressions based on what we've seen and heard, with a specific focus on the big story lines for the Bills heading into the regular season.

Quarterback. Trent Edwards is looking pretty comfortable. Not all of his throws have been pretty - defensive backs have made a lot of plays on his passes, actually - but the encouraging sign is that he's making many more big plays himself. He and Terrell Owens have quickly established a good on-field rapport, though, as with Edwards and any other player, the rest of the relationship is a work in progress. Trent's also looking more comfortable making his reads and with his footwork. Signs are encouraging. Meanwhile, steady improvement has been the name of the game for backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was awful when camp opened, but has leveled off to the point where we don't have to have nightmares about our backup QB situation every night.

Running Back. Marshawn Lynch looks great. He is his usual explosive (in the short area), difficult-to-tackle self. Fred Jackson has been pulling off his best Swiss Army knife impression, running the Wildcat and catching passes as a receiver in addition to his running back duties. Veteran free agent signee Dominic Rhodes is in great shape, running hard, and looks quick with the ball in his hands. He is easily the best receiver of this group; even when Lynch returns, Rhodes will get playing time.

Fullback. Nothing to see here. The position has been completely eradicated from Buffalo's offense as they transition to the no-huddle, and if Corey McIntyre wants to make the team, he'll have to do it as a specialist.

Wide Receiver. Terrell Owens has been outstanding. The man, quite simply, is a freak. His skills don't look diminished a bit, no matter what the "experts" tell you. As long as he's happy this season, the man will produce. Lee Evans is his usual self. Josh Reed is going to have a monster year, folks, provided Owens and Evans are on the field. He might lead the team in catches. Seriously. Before injuring his ribs, Steve Johnson was off to a great start as well. He's got a bright future. Roscoe Parrish has been running the Wildcat in an effort to find ways to get the ball in his hands offensively. One young receiver has been impressing as well - Shaine Smith might be just a street free agent, but he's been making plays, and is very long and athletic. Keep your eye on him.

Tight End. Derek Schouman currently has the inside track to start over the more talented, yet slightly less polished Derek Fine. Schouman looks quite impressive - he's a reliable short-area receiver, and his blocking has been outstanding thus far in camp. He routinely handles defensive ends with ease. Jonathan Stupar is a similar player, and he's been very solid throughout the first week as well. He might find a way to sneak onto the roster. Shawn Nelson is currently dealing with a foot injury, but his outstanding athleticism is apparent when he's on the field. He's easily got the softest pair of hands of this group, and he's a willing, yet highly unpolished blocker. His impact might not be immediate, but Nelson will be a player in this league.

Offensive Tackle. Outside of quarterback, this area has easily been the biggest worry for the fan base, but Langston Walker and Brad Butler are playing well. Butler has struggled some with bull rushes, but he's still re-learning tackle techniques, so that's to be expected. Once he fixes pad level issues, he'll be fine. These two are known commodities and play consistently, so as long as their shortcomings aren't anything more than physical - and thus far, they haven't been - the Bills should be alright offensively. Demetrius Bell has shown tremendous improvement in his second year; you're going to see him on the field a ton in the pre-season. Jonathan Scott has been solid as well, and has a shot to make the roster.

Offensive Guard. Eric Wood is a freaking monster. He's huge, athlhetic, strong, and tenacious. He's a leader. Buffalo's offensive line has been physically talented over the past few years, but there wasn't any leadership up front. Wood is that player. He might be an offensive captain next year; the kid oozes leadership. Andy Levitre has been impressive as well, though not anywhere near the level Wood has; Levitre is improving, but don't be surprised if he's beaten out for the starting left guard job by Kirk Chambers, a dependable veteran who doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Levitre has some growing up to do. Seth McKinney doesn't stand a chance to beat out Wood at right guard, but he's been solid as well, and he'll be a valuable reserve this season.

Center. Geoff Hangartner, unsurprisingly, has picked up the intricacies of Buffalo's no-huddle offense quickly. There isn't an awful lot to report here, as we've had a tough time keeping an eye on him, but no news isn't necessarily bad news. Brandon Rodd has been getting second-team reps at center; he's a big, thick kid that in all likelihood will end up back on the practice squad. He has some talent.

Defensive End. Chris Kelsay, surprisingly, has been the bright spot. Chalk it up to going up against Butler in practice if you'd like, but Kelsay has recorded numerous sacks and pressures, and his run defense has always been solid (when he's not getting faked out on a misdirection play, that is). Aaron Schobel is showing no ill effects of his Lisfranc foot injury, though he hasn't been particularly effective rushing against Walker in practice. Chris Ellis is looking great as a reserve; his upper body strength has improved tremendously, and he looks pretty quick out on the field. He might be ready to make an impact. Still, Aaron Maybin cannot get here fast enough - this is not an athletic group of people.

Defensive Tackle. Marcus Stroud is Marcus Stroud. Nothing to worry about here - the guy can play. Kyle Williams has been borderline dominant to this point; he might now take the crown as the Bills' best pure run defender. John McCargo was putting together some nice work before a hamstring injury sidelined him. This group isn't particularly deep (Spencer Johnson helps, of course), but all four of these guys can play. If there's a young player to be stashed on the practice squad for depth in the event of an injury, it's David Lindquist.

Outside Linebacker. Kawika Mitchell has looked solid on the weak side, and Keith Ellison has found himself making plays in the backfield on more than one occasion on the strong side. No one has come close to unseating Ellison for his starting job. Nic Harris has flashed some promise as a reserve, but his technique work currently leaves a lot to be desired. Alvin Bowen and Ashlee Palmer are easily the best athletes at this position; they're quite fast, and both have a chance to make the roster as reserves and specialists. Don't count out Jon Corto, either - he's revered by Bobby April, and he's not a bad linebacker, either.

Inside Linebacker. Paul Posluszny has been outstanding against the run, and he looks far more comfortable defending the pass and blitzing than he did a year ago. He's much, much less tentative. Pat Thomas and Marcus Buggs have been splitting second-team reps at the position, with Thomas looking a hair better. We're going to miss John DiGiorgio, however; he's a much more physical defender than either Thomas or Buggs.

Cornerback. Just like with any veteran, you can safely say that Terrence McGee has been his usual self. Not many big plays, but a lot of pass break-ups and few big plays given up. Leodis McKelvin, on the other hand, has been far more up-and-down, and he's spent a lot more time down than up. Owens and Evans are brutalizing this kid. Here's to hoping it doesn't ruin his confidence. On the other hand, he's also made some beautiful plays, including a couple of gorgeous interceptions. Once Leo gets himself consistent, he's going to be quite the ball player. The battle at nickel corner rages on, but only technically - Drayton Florence has distanced himself early from Reggie Corner and Ashton Youboty (and right now, we'd place Corner slightly ahead of Youboty as well, but that should change quickly once the team starts playing games). Ellis Lankster continues to surprise; he's a great athlete.

Free Safety. Donte Whitner has seen every first-team rep here, and that's not likely to change for a long, long time. Buffalo's coaching staff is very anxious to get Jairus Byrd onto the field, but as he's currently on the PUP list recovering from sports hernia surgery, the idea that he'd line up next to Whitner as a starter is borderline absurd. Ko Simpson has been dependable as the second-team safety, though his climb to a roster spot is still an uphill one. Antwain Spann, recently signed from the Patriots, will be watched with interest over the next couple of weeks - he's got some talent, but his role has yet to be clearly defined.

Strong Safety. Bryan Scott has been excellent, recording a few interceptions and taking one back for a score. He's even gotten some reps here and there at linebacker, in the event that the Bills have to deal with a bunch of injuries there. George Wilson has made some nice plays running with the twos at this position. John Wendling appears to be nothing more than a solid run defender and specialist; we still maintain that he, too, should make a move to linebacker.

Specialists. Rian Lindell is Rian Lindell. Brian Moorman is Brian Moorman - but circa a few years ago, when he was awesome, and not last year, when he was just very good. Ryan Neill and Garrison Sanborn will duke it out for the long-snapping duties, but let's be honest, we're not at camp to watch long snappers. We'll chart them both during pre-season games. One last note - Leodis McKelvin has looked absolutely fantastic returning kicks. He's in line for a possible Pro Bowl season in that department.

Five bubble players sweating Bills training camp

Brian Galliford — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:10 -0000

Second-year DE Chris Ellis a forgotten man in Buffalo. (AP)

View full size photo »

It happens every year in the NFL - players that are expected by fan bases everywhere to contribute in some manner to their local team end up being released prior to the regular season for any of a variety of reasons.

The Buffalo Bills have made surprise pre-season cuts in the past. Just last year, veterans CB Will James and LB Donnie Spragan were released as part of the team's final roster cut-down. James was signed earlier last off-season and was expected to compete for the nickel corner role; Spragan was signed as veteran insurance to an injury-depleted linebacker corps (then-rookie Alvin Bowen and Angelo Crowell had both succumbed to injury at the time), but got beat out by the team's youth at the position anyways. In 2007, the big names were QB Craig Nall and OT Terrance Pennington (who was the starter at right tackle for the second half of the 2006 season).

The longer a regime is handling personnel decisions, however, the less surprising roster cut-down day is. For the past two seasons, Buffalo's roster has been largely set heading into training camp, and only a surprise or two occurs when the official cut-down is made. That's likely to continue this year, as the coaches have personally scouted and acquired nearly every player on the roster; they know the people they're working with. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't players on the roster that have a lot to think about heading into next weekend's open of Bills training camp. Head on in past the jump to check out five guys who are unmistakably bubble players and will have to stave off serious competition to spend the 2009 regular season in Buffalo.

WR Justin Jenkins. Jenkins didn't make the final roster in 2007, but after a season-ending injury to Peerless Price, he was activated from the practice squad and carved out a niche as a special teams ace for coordinator Bobby April. That's what earned him a spot on the team last year as well. This year, however, the Bills are loaded at receiver after the free agent signing of Terrell Owens. Buffalo's depth chart at the position runs legitimately six deep, and Jenkins isn't part of that equation. His fate ultimately rests with the fate of Roscoe Parrish, a disgruntled player that wouldn't mind being traded. If the Bills make that happen - and it'll take a serious offer, they're not just going to give a player like Parrish away - then Jenkins has a shot to stick. If not... well, you get the picture.

DE Chris Ellis. Drafted in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Ellis had a very quiet rookie season in which his impact was minimal. He appeared in just seven games, recording three tackles, and ended the season on Injured Reserve. Young veteran Copeland Bryan saw more playing time and had a far bigger impact on the field than Ellis. Now rookie DE Aaron Maybin is cluttering up the depth chart, and Aaron Schobel is returning from a foot injury. Buffalo hasn't hesitated to release high draft picks before, cutting 2007 fourth-round pick RB Dwayne Wright just last season. If Ellis doesn't have a strong camp, he could be next.

LB Pat Thomas. Signed just this past March, Thomas may be headed down the path of James and Spragan. Thomas is a known commodity - a solid athlete with a significant amount of game experience in zone-based schemes. He's been semi-productive early in his career, and he's solid on special teams as well. The Bills would like to see somebody unseat Keith Ellison as the starter at strong-side linebacker, but Thomas didn't get preferential treatment for that role in team mini-camps, running largely with the third unit defense at middle linebacker. Strong camps from young linebackers like Alvin Bowen and rookie Nic Harris could make Thomas expendable.

SS John Wendling. With the Bills spending a second-round pick this year on Oregon FS Jairus Byrd, Buffalo suddenly has a logjam at the safety position. Three players are safe - Byrd and veterans Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott. George Wilson is likely safe, too, as a special teams captain that has shown a flair for the dramatic when he's been given an opportunity to play defensively. The Bills have kept five safeties in each of the past two seasons; that's not a lock to happen this year, but if it does, the battle for that final spot could be between fourth-year FS Ko Simpson and third-year SS John Wendling. Don't be shocked if it's Wendling that gets the boot, even though he has been a centerpiece of April's coverage units through his first two NFL seasons. Simpson has shown an ability to be a factor on special teams as well; if Simpson has a strong camp, Wendling might be done in Buffalo.

LS Ryan Neill. It might seem strange to see a long snapper on this list. Neill has not been spectacular, but he's gotten better in each of his two seasons. Still, Buffalo's interest in (and eventual signing of) rookie long snapper Garrison Sanborn is not insignificant. Neill will make $460,000 this season and is a restricted free agent after the season. If Sanborn is consistent enough with his snapping in the pre-season, Neill might be expendable in a (very) minor salary purge.

Free Agency by Buffalo's Book: Team Free Agents

Brian Galliford — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:00:10 -0000

CB Greer headlines Bills' FA class (Associated Press)

With the NFL's free agent signing period set to begin in just under two weeks' time, each NFL franchise is going through similar preparations for the league's annual spending spree. Luckily for us, the Buffalo Bills have been vaguely specific about their process - currently in progress - of addressing their roster holes. In a recent article from Chris Brown (the team journalist, not the allegedly violent R&B artist), several members of the Bills' pro personnel department lent some insight into the team's strategy in determining the best course of action in fixing their team.

In the days leading up to the start of free agency, I'll be running through each step of this process in an effort to put together my own, personal game plan which, if things go swimmingly, will be infinitely worse than the Bills' own plan. Still, it's an opportunity to outline just how difficult strengthening your team via free agency really is, and it's also an opportunity for the rest of you fine, intelligent folks to string together your own game plans as well. We'll kick the process off right now by ticking off steps one and two in Buffalo's process.

From the horse's mouth
What's the first thing that VP of Pro Personnel John Guy and his staff do during their free agency process? Well, they kind of told us, so rather than guess, let's just regurgitate fact.

"We'll start with our team and where our needs are and where our free agents are. So we finish our team first..."

Perfect! We've already painstakingly taken care of the first area of concern by putting together our Buffalo Rumblings Community Needs List. The article specifically mentions identifying three to four positions of need on each side of the ball, and again, we've already done that. (Take note, One Bills Drive.) Since this is my game plan, I'm prioritizing the needs as I see fit. Why? Because I'm now appointing myself General Manager of the Buffalo Bills. You're more than welcome to do the same. Here goes nothing...

Offense: TE, C, QB, FB
Defense: DE, SLB, DT, S

Feel free to disagree with my priorities. I don't care. I'm the GM of the Buffalo Bills. And since you're apparently also the GM of the Buffalo Bills (I think it's probably more like Assistant to the GM), do whatever you like. Just don't screw up - the fan base can be pretty brutal. Wink!

Next up on Buffalo's list - taking care of our own free agents. With our needs in mind, here's how I'm addressing the twenty players whose contracts have expired.

Players to re-sign (or tender)
QB Gibran Hamdan - Hamdan gets an RFA tender from me to remain as the team's third quarterback. Why? He's cheap, smart, and a good influence on my starter, Trent Edwards.

RB Fred Jackson - The plan here is to give Jackson a moderate contract extension of at least four years. He's one of our most valuable performers, and deserves the financial security after being one of the team's lowest-paid players over the past two seasons.

TE Derek Schouman - As an ERFA, he gets the lowest tender and sticks around as my third tight end and my safety fullback.

OT Kirk Chambers - He's a solid, dependable veteran that surprised with some good play and versatility in 2008. He's a high-quality backup, and he's just obscure enough where he won't be getting offers to start elsewhere. Plus, he gives us more flexibility if a certain two-time Pro Bowler becomes difficult. (And if you click that there link, you'll have your answer as to how I'm handling him.)

OLB Keith Ellison - He gets a tender. Smart, versatile backup that is a key cog on the league's best special teams unit.

OLB Blake Costanzo - He gets a tender, but he's certainly not guaranteed a roster spot. The one thing he's got going for him - he's an outstanding special teams player. That's the only reason I'm bringing him back.

MLB John DiGiorgio - See Ellison.

FS George Wilson - I consider safety a weak point on the team, but that doesn't stop me from giving Wilson a tender. He's a special teams captain and has shown that he can make plays when he's on the field as a defender.

LS Ryan Neill - He's becoming more consistent as a long snapper, and he's still a young player. Well worth a tender.

Players I'm letting walk
QB J.P. Losman - No explanation needed.

CB Jabari Greer - No, he probably wouldn't be too expensive to re-sign, but as much as I like the guy, cornerback is a team strength. There are bigger fish to fry, so while I'm obviously not averse to Greer returning, I'm not spending energy on getting him back. Some team will give him a good deal, and he'll probably deserve every penny.

Others that I'm straight up ignoring once free agency starts - FB Corey McIntyre, WR Justin Jenkins, OT Jonathan Scott, OG Jason Whittle, C Melvin Fowler, DE Copeland Bryan, CB Dustin Fox

Players for the back of my mind
C Duke Preston - There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'm keeping this guy around to start in any capacity. I'm not even fully interested in re-signing him. But he does offer some versatility and familiarity in the pivot, so if he isn't signed with a new club after a week or two of free agency, I'll make his cell ring.

OLB Angelo Crowell - If things go well, I'm filling Crowell's strong-side linebacker spot with a new player. That player is going to be a veteran. If, however, things don't go well, I'm going to make an effort to bring Crowell back on a short-term deal as opposed to starting a rookie - provided he doesn't have a new team by that point, that is.

***

So that takes care of steps one and two of Buffalo's free agency process. I've identified a handful of needs on both sides of the ball. I've identified our own free agents that I'm quickly and efficiently bringing back. I encourage everyone here to do the same if you want in on this GM game, because next up in "Free Agency by Buffalo's Book" is identifying preliminary free agent targets. Get those GM hats on, folks. It's time for each of us to start ironing out our very own free agency plans. Go!

Bills/Jaguars Film Review: Bills special teams

Brian Galliford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:30:04 -0000

The Buffalo Bills are coming off of their second straight win to open the 2008 NFL season, and since it's Tuesday, it's time for another Buffalo Rumblings Film Session to get into the finer details of Sunday's game. Their performance wasn't as high-impact as it was in the season opener, but Buffalo's league-leading special teams played well for a second straight week.

Punt returns? Check, and it's becoming business as usual to excel for Roscoe Parrish. Coverage units? Check. Great performance. Kick returns, on the other hand...

Underwhelming kick returns
For a second straight week (and for the record, they only got one legitimate chance in Week 1), Buffalo's kick return units weren't the outstanding unit we've come to expect. Terrence McGee in particular was bad; on the opening kick of the game, he chose to run out of bounds on the short sideline rather than cut toward the middle of the field, where he had a bit more blocking. That was unexpected, and something I haven't seen from him in a while. Leodis McKelvin didn't fare much better on his returns; the Bills barely scraped possession at their 20-yard line each time they touched the ball.

Give some credit where credit is due - Jacksonville's special teams units are emerging as some of the league's best, and that was evident in their kick coverage (and you can bet they're working on punt coverage this week). However, to me, the problem lies in the wedge - thanks to how Dick Jauron chooses his inactives, we've had some changing of personnel in this unit. Sunday's wedge consisted of Fred Jackson, Darian Barnes and Kyle Williams, and their play wasn't great. This is just one area (the other is kick coverage) where we'll see some growing pains as Bobby April adjusts to new special teams personnel.

Simpson, Scott, Neill excelling in kick/punt coverage
Three guys showed up on tape as having excellent days covering kicks: Ko Simpson, Bryan Scott and long snapper Ryan Neill. Simpson in particular has been making some big hits on kick returns early in the year - and against a couple of good kick returners in Brian Witherspoon and Josh Wilson. Scott's contributions aren't surprising; we've known for a while that he's a good hitter, and he's one of a few defenders who tackle consistently on first contact. Neill's the most fun to watch - play in and play out, he's gangbusters down the field and is often the first cover man to reach a punt returner. He just needs to work on keeping his snaps up for his holder.

Overall, there's room to improve in both kick and punt coverage units, but plays are being made. The Bills have some of the best pure athletes on special teams, and each of them is going 100% every play. As I said above, they're playing well right now; it's hard to imagine them not getting better as they play together more.

Roscoe outstanding once again
Here's a question that I'll put out there for y'all to ponder: is there a more exciting play in the NFL than a Roscoe Parrish punt return? I'm going with "no", and I wish more football fans league-wide realized it. He's sensational. It helps, of course, that his blockers routinely give him tons of room to operate (and let me tell you, they block hard - it's common to see two or three bone-crunching hits on a Parrish return).

Buffalo's offense will likely experience some inconsistency in coming weeks - they are still, after all, very young at key positions - so it would be beneficial if you could just keep on keepin' on, Roscoe. Take notice, football fans - the NFL's best punt returner is NOT named Hester. It's Roscoe Parrish.