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Opponent History: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars

sireric — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:50:01 -0000

Buffalo Bills (3-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)
Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 1:00 PM EST
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium - Jacksonville, FL

This is a little later than we normally start to look at next week's opponent, but after the events of the past two days, it seemed appropriate to push it back a little bit. This will be the tenth meeting between the Bills and the Jaguars, including their first ever meeting in the 1996 AFC Wild Card playoff game. The Bills hold a 5-4 lead in the all-time series. This is also the fifth ever meeting to take place in Jacksonville, where the Bills hold a 3-1 victory edge. With the exception of two contests, these have been very close games, with the average margin of victory being a little over a touchdown. Recaps of last five meetings are after the jump.

Sunday, September 14, 2003: Bills 38, Jaguars 17
Completely unable to run the football, Drew Bledsoe and the Bills went to the air. Bledsoe passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns, while Travis Henry proved to be useful in the red zone by pushing in three goal line touchdowns to pace to Bills' offense. Alex Van Pelt even got into the game late and completed one pass for 14 yards. Eric Moulds had a nice day, with 7 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Sunday, September 12, 2004: Jaguars 13, Bills 10
This was another good day for Moulds, but his 8 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown weren't enough. The Bills had a 10-6 lead in the closing seconds of the game, but Byron Leftwich hit Ernest Wilford in the back of the end zone as time expired to give the Jags the win. I remember that I couldn't watch this game, but I was watching a different game looking for updates. The scroll on CBS kept saying that the game was over and the Bills had won, so I was happy. When they showed the game break, I got really pissed.

Sunday, November 26, 2006: Bills 27, Jaguars 24
This time it was the Bills scoring as time expired to get the win. The Bills jumped out to a 17-7 lead on the strength of two Willis McGahee touchdown runs and a Rian Lindell field goal. The Jags pulled closer by adding a David Garrard-to-Marcedes Lewis touchdown pass to the Maurice Jones-Drew TD run they already had to make the score 17-14 at the half. After a Roscoe Parrish punt return for a touchdown and a Josh Scobee field goal, Garrard hit Matt Jones with 28 seconds left to tie the game up. But the Bills got into filed goal range in just 28 seconds, and Lindell hit a 42-yarder to give the Bills the win as the clock hit zeroes.

Sunday, November 25, 2007: Jaguars 36, Bills 14
This game was never really close. Fred Taylor and Jones-Drew combined for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and Josh Scobee hit five field goals as the Jags rolled over the Bills. Anthony Thomas and Roscoe Parrish found the end zone for the Bills as lone bright spots.

Sunday, September 14, 2008: Bills 20, Jags 16
This was probably the one game that I blame the high expectations from the previous year on the most. The Bills headed into heavily favored Jacksonville and pulled out a win. With the Jags leading 16-10 late in the fourth quarter, Trent Edwards hit James Hardy in the back of the end zone on a beautiful fade pass to give the Bills a 17-16 lead. Lindell added an insurance field goal to help seal it for the Bills. Buffalo would win their next two game to move to 4-0 on the season before starting a downward spiral that would crush all of our hearts.

20/20 Hindsight: Re-examining the Bills' 2006 off-season

Brian Galliford — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:15:10 -0000

TE Robert Royal joined the Bills in 2006 (photo source)

To say that the current front office regime of the Buffalo Bills has taken a lot of criticism over the past three-plus years is an understatement. The group - featuring GM Marv Levy (for two years), COO Russ Brandon (for two years), head coach Dick Jauron and VPs John Guy and Tom Modrak - has made several bold personnel decisions through four off-seasons of re-building, and the result has been three consecutive 7-9 seasons. When finger-pointing, most Bills' fans fingers - we'll leave you to speculate on which fingers are used - are pointing directly at this group.

As hindsight is 20/20, we thought it would be prudent to take a look back at the regime's initial off-season in Buffalo, transitioning between 2005's 5-11 group (led by GM Tom Donahoe and head coach Mike Mularkey) and the '06 Bills that would finish 7-9 under the leadership of Levy and Jauron. How did the Bills get there? More importantly, looking back three years later, do we perceive the season as one of progress or recession?

Here's how the 2006 off-season (with a bit of in-season dashed in) unfolded in Buffalo. Your homework? Tell us whether or not you like what happened.

+ Jauron chooses - then sticks with - QB J.P. Losman
When Jauron arrived in Buffalo, he inherited a murky quarterback situation. The 2005 Bills, behind Mularkey and his desperation to field a winner, split QB duties between Losman - a first-year starter - and veteran Kelly Holcomb. Jauron held an "open competition" during training camp for starting quarterback duties, but it quickly became apparent that Losman would beat out Holcomb - which, of course, he eventually did.

Far more importantly, Jauron stuck with Losman, even after the team started 2-5. Jauron's patience paid off a bit, as Losman would go on to enjoy his best season as a pro, finishing the season with an 84.9 quarterback rating, 3,051 yards passing, 19 TD and 14 INT. The Bills closed out the season 5-4, with a Christmas Eve loss to the Tennessee Titans permanently derailing their playoff hopes. Clearly, we all know how Losman's career finished in Buffalo, but Jauron gets a thumbs-up for this move - in the midst of re-building, he got a full year out of his inherited young quarterback, found out what he had in the asset, and nearly pulled a playoff appearance out of the decision.

+ The mid-season O-Line shuffle
Buffalo started the season 2-5; during their Week 8 bye, Jauron elected - rather boldly, I might add - to re-shuffle his offensive line. Mike Gandy moved from left tackle to left guard. Jason Peters flipped from right tackle to left tackle - a position at which he would earn two Pro Bowl berths in later seasons. Rookie seventh-round draft pick Terrance Pennington took over at right tackle; while starting C Melvin Fowler and RG Chris Villarrial (with Duke Preston as an injury fill-in) remained, Tutan Reyes found himself on the bench.

By all accounts, Buffalo's offense functioned better during a stretch that saw the team put up a 5-2 record to reach 7-7, on the cusp of the playoffs. The Bills improved their per-game scoring average to 22.2 points per game over their final nine games (5-4), as opposed to just 14.3 points during their 2-5 start. Again - a bold, in-season move by the Bills' coach that paid dividends.

There were some good moves made, clearly, but not all was peachy keen during '06 - the initial season for the current regime. Head on in past the jump for other important developments during the 2006 season.

+ Finding five rookie contributors in the Draft
In an off-season in which the team rid itself of some veteran roster fat (see below point), the Bills did well to find five rookies that were able to contribute positively in 2006. S Donte Whitner (Round 1), S Ko Simpson (Round 4), DT Kyle Williams (Round 5), LB Keith Ellison (Round 6) and OT Terrance Pennington (Round 7) all started games, with the first three on that list emerging as full-time starters. Three more players - DT John McCargo (Round 1), CB Ashton Youboty (Round 3) and OT Brad Butler (Round 5) have contributed as well, though the rookie season impact of each player was largely minimal.

+ Shedding veteran roster fat
The first thing Jauron and the current regime did upon arriving in Buffalo was get rid of overpriced and/or underachieving veterans. Household names such as WR Eric Moulds, OT Mike Williams, DT Sam Adams and safeties Troy Vincent and Lawyer Milloy were let go. TE Mark Campbell, OG Bennie Anderson, C Trey Teague and LB Jeff Posey joined them. The Bills didn't have salary cap issues at that point in time, but losing these players didn't exactly hurt them in the long run - not even Adams, a pretty good player in his heyday, was productive post-Buffalo (23 tackles and 2 sacks in his final two seasons).

- Weak free agent class
Perhaps the most frequently-referenced and noticeable downfall to this initial off-season was the lack of impact found in the free agent class. Take a look at the veteran players brought in:

RB Anthony Thomas
WR Peerless Price
WR Andre' Davis
TE Robert Royal
OG Tutan Reyes
C Melvin Fowler
DE Anthony Hargrove (trade)
DT Larry Tripplett
CB Kiwaukee Thomas
S Matt Bowen

Tripplett was the "big" signing of the group, yet he lasted just two unspectacular seasons in a Bills uniform. Royal became notorious for dropped passes and key fumbles. Fowler was a major flop as the starting center, eventually being replaced by the aforementioned Preston - who also is no longer with the team. Perhaps the best player of this group is Davis, a speedy wideout that saw little playing time offensively, signed with Houston in 2007 and promptly put up solid receiving numbers (33 receptions, 583 yards, 3 TD) while returning 3 kickoffs for touchdowns. The sad reality is that of the names on this list, only Royal and Fowler lasted more than two seasons in Buffalo, and neither is with the team any longer.

- Lack of big-play impact
This ties into the free agent group listed above, but also counts for the nine players the Bills drafted (all of whom have been mentioned aside from seventh-round OG Aaron Merz) - Buffalo was unable to find a single long-term impact player during this critical first off-season. Not even Whitner - widely considered one of the NFL's best young players at the safety position - nor other starters from the draft class (Williams and Butler) have earned the "difference-maker" label. Buffalo did well to find a few starters in this draft class - Williams and Butler in particular were excellent picks - but the overall lack of play making from their rookies and, more importantly, their free agents really hamstrung a young team playing behind a young quarterback. Which leads me to my last point...

- Where is the help for Losman?
Any time you're building around a young quarterback, you need to surround him with weapons. Maybe Jauron knew at that point in time that Losman wasn't really his guy; maybe he just wanted to address the defensive side of the ball first (his first five draft picks in Buffalo were defenders, after all). Either way, Trent Edwards wasn't in the picture at that point in time. Losman was the future then. We gave him three late-round rookie linemen, two journeyman veteran linemen (Fowler and Reyes), Peerless Price and Royal. Losman didn't even have a full season's worth of starts under his belt at that point in time; Lee Evans and Willis McGahee were effectively all he had offensively. The offense was productive at times, sure, but is it any surprise that teams eventually figured out that to stop the Bills, all you had to do was double-team Evans?

There's a lot to like about this initial off-season - in particular trimming veteran fat, getting a deep (if unspectacular) draft class, and committing themselves to one quarterback. Those were good moves; so was the mid-season re-structure of the offensive line. But the lack of impact from the rookie class and what many might consider one of the worst free agent classes in team history considerably weakens any positive that emerged from Year One of the Jauron regime in Buffalo.

The poll question is self-explanatory, and the comments section is open. Before you ask, the answer is yes - we'll be doing this for 2007, 2008 and even 2009 as well.

Poll

2006 Buffalo Bills off-season approval rating, three years later - cast your vote!

Approve

135 votes

Disapprove

208 votes

Unsure

71 votes

414 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona Cardinals News: Chris "Beanie" Wells Versus Other Big Ten Running Backs

Hawkwind — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:18:00 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Browse more photos »

When the Arizona Cardinals selected Chris "Beanie" Wells with the 31st overall pick in this year's draft there was hope amongst the coaching staff and fans alike that the franchise had finally found the running back to establish a powerful ground game. Wells was a punishing back with a surprising burst while at Ohio State and the only red flag seemed to be his inability to stay healthy, but will his game translate to the NFL? We've seen in recent years that many Big Ten teams have struggled against other conferences and the struggles have also been shared with their running backs at the NFL level.

Since the 2000 draft, nine Big Ten running backs have been selected in the first or second round, although the league seems to be souring on the conference in recent years. After selecting six backs between 2000 and 2003, only four backs (including Wells) have been selected in the first two rounds in the past six drafts. So is Wells destined to join in Big Ten counterparts or will he break out of the mold? Let's take a look at each of the other nine backs.....

2000 Draft: Round 1 - Pick 11: Ron Dayne - Dayne had it all during his days at Wisconsin. He won the Heisman trophy, was the NCAA all-time rushing leader when he left and remains one of the only players in NCAA history to record four 1,000 yard seasons. As a professional though, he never got close to duplicating the kind of success that he had in college. He never even recorded 800 yards in a season and only topped 200 carries once in his career, as a rookie. Despite his size (5'10, 245) he could manage to even carve out a role as a goal line specialist and his last season was in 2007, with his third team in eight seasons.

Career line: 96 games (28 starts), 983 carries for 3,722 yards (3.8 avg) and 28 TDs. 57 receptions for 340 yards.

2001 Draft: Round 1 - Pick 27: Michael Bennett - Bennett was actually Dayne's backup for two seasons before breaking out with over 1,500 yards in his first season at a starter at Wisconsin and he was also a stand-out performer in the 100 and 200 meters. Despite his speed though, Bennett struggled with injuries for his entire career and has only logged 16 games in a season twice. His best season in 2002 was the only year that he broke 1,000 yards or 200 carries and his lack of size (5'7 207) kept him from being a factor around the goal line. Bennett finished the 2008 season with the Chargers, his fifth team in nine seasons, and has been traded or released in the middle of the season for two consecutive years.

Career line: 94 games (50 starts), 817 carries for 3,627 yards (4.4 avg) and 13 TDs. 151 receptions for 1,220 yards and 6 TDs.

2001 Draft: Round 2 - Pick 38: Anthony Thomas - Thomas was a standout at Michigan and still ranks second in the school's history in yards in a career and yards in a season. He blasted onto the NFL scene with 736 carries for 2,928 yards in his first three seasons. In the process he logged 35 starts and won the NFL Rookie of the Year award in 2001. The problem though is that in the five seasons since those first three seasons he's bounced around between Bears, Cowboys, Saints and Bills while managing just 308 carries for 963 yards. His final season in 2007 consisted of two starts, 36 carries and 89 yards.

Career line: 86 games (43 starts), 1,044 carries for 3,891 yards (3.7 avg) and 23 TDs. 113 receptions for 756 yards and one TD.

2002 Draft: Round 1 - Pick 18: TJ Duckett - Duckett can still be found in the top five of most rushing lists at Michigan State University and even though that success didn't completely translate, he's the first guy on this list who has found his niche in the NFL. After flirting with a starting role during his first two seasons, Duckett has basically settled in as a backup running back and goal line specialist. He's never logged 200 carries or 800 yards in a season but he has managed eight touchdowns or more in four different seasons, while playing for four different teams in seven seasons.

Career line: 93 games (14 starts), 717 carries for 2,814 yards (3.9 avg) and 44 TDs. 35 receptions for 303 yards.

2002 Draft: Round 2 - Pick 56: Ladell Betts - At the time Betts left Iowa he was the second leading rusher all-time at the school and was the only Hawkeye to lead the team in rushing each of the four seasons that he played. Betts has never been much more than a backup, although he did break 1,000 in the one season that he started in place of an injured Clinton Portis. During that season, 2006, he logged 245 carries for 1,154 yards but in every other season of his career he's failed to carry the ball more than 100 times or go over 400 yards. He is the first player on our list though that has spent his entire career, to this point, with the team that drafted him.

Career line: 93 games (11 starts), 720 carries for 2,966 yards (4.1 avg) and 11 TDs. 148 receptions for 1,326 yards and three TDs.

2003 Draft: Round 1 - Pick 27: Larry Johnson - Johnson's the first back on our list to become a bona-fide star. Johnson won multiple awards during his final season at Penn State but wouldn't truly break into the NFL until 2005 when he logged back to back seasons of more than 1,700 yards. Since the 2006 season though he's been hampered by injuries after being overworked to the tune of 416 carries. He showed some signs of returning to his former self in 2008 but has spent the off season amidst constant trade talks after multiple arrests.

Career line: 68 games (48 starts), 1,243 carries for 5,638 yards (4.5 avg) and 55 TDs. 139 receptions for 1,293 yards and six TDs.

2004 Draft: Round 1 - Pick 26: Chris Perry - Perry won the Doak Walker Award (nation top RB) after his senior season at Michigan but he's been worse than disappointing as a pro. In four injury plagued seasons he's almost missed more games (29) than he's actually played (35) and he didn't score a rushing touchdown until 2008. Over that time he's managed just 606 yards rushing and started a grand total of nine games. This past season was actually Perry's best season when he started six games and posted a career high with 104 carries but the Bengals were not impressed considering that they cut him shortly after the draft.

Career line: 35 games (9 starts), 177 carries for 606 yards (3.4 avg) and two TDs. 83 receptions for 474 yards and two TDs.

2006 Draft: Round 1 - Pick 21: Laurence Maroney - It's too early to tell what kind of careery Maroney will have but he's managed to decent seasons so far. If he can stay healthy he's proven to have the talent to succeed.

Career line: 30 games (9 starts), 388 carries for 1,673 yards (4.3 avg) and 12 TDs. 26 receptions for 310 yards and one TD.

2008 Draft: Round 1- Pick 23: Rashard Mendenhall - It's way to early to even look at Mendenhall's career considering that he broke his shoulder just 19 carries into his first NFL season.

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So of the nine selections (although we'll reserve judgement on Maroney and Mendenhall), and 53 seasons, Larry Johnson and maybe Anthony Thomas were the only picks would probably be considered 'successful picks.' Do you think "Beanie" can break the trend and what will set him apart from these guys? Is there even a trend here?

Can the Arizona Cardinals Afford Pass on a First Round Running Back?

Hawkwind — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:58:13 -0000

For those of you that have been around ROTB for any length of time, you know we've covered the Arizona Cardinals inability to run the ball ad nasuem so I won't bore you with the same old stats (like we were the worst rushing offense in the league last year, ok I tried). Moving forward something must be done to improve the running game and upgrading the running back position seems like the most pressing need. It seems like a forgone conclusion that the Cardinals will emerge from the draft with at least one running back and the only real question is how early they'll call his name. Many fans and draft-niks alike fully expect the Cardinals to take the best available running back with their first round pick while others are clamoring for a middle round pick. With that in mind, here's a historical look at first round backs versus their counterparts chosen in later rounds.

First some explanation of what we're about to discuss. I disregarded past two drafts so that each player would have three full seasons of stats to dissect and I went back as far as 2000. That leaves us with seven years of draft history and ~~136~~ 135 ( we won't count Dante Hall as a RB, even though he was one in college) running backs to analyze. In an effort to be somewhat concise (not my strong suit) we won't cover each and every back individually. I took some liberties in determining whether each player was a 'successful' or 'unsuccessful' pick but I tried to be somewhat fair across the board. Basically I looked at each and every back and assigned a 'grade' to their careers so far (0-4). Here's a quick breakdown of the grading system:

Zero: Very little or no impact on their team's running game
One: Strictly a role player and minimal impact
Two: Backup RB at best
Three: Borderline starter and somewhat lengthy career
Four: Front line starter and/or franchise back

I'm sure we could quibble about the grades of individual players (whether they're a 3 or 4 or a 2 or 3), but I tried to be consistent with the rankings. The end result hopefully will give us some kind of indicator as to how long we can wait in the draft before selecting a running back capable of becoming at least a productive player, if not starter at some point in the future.

As a quick disclaimer, I did not consider special teams contributions or return ability since we're looking for a starting-quality running back.

For those who were hoping to read a story supporting the use of a middle round pick on a running back, you might be disappointed. The likelihood of drafting a starting-quality running back drops every round after the first round in the past seven years. Here's the average grade for each round:

Round 1: 3.227
Round 2: 2.571
Round 3: 1.833
Round 4: 1.222
Round 5: 1.000
Round 6: 0.556
Round 7: 0.208

Now, does that mean that quality backs can't be found any later than the first round? Of course not, but it's much more likely to find a starting running back in the first round than any other round in the draft. For those that are still skeptical, here's a year by year look at the running backs selected from 2000 to 2006.

2000 Draft: Overall there were 23 backs selected in the 2000 draft, including five first rounders, but this wasn't a particularly great year for backs. First round backs included Jamal Lewis, Thomas Jones, Ron Dayne, Shaun Alexander and Trung Candidate of which three of those (Lewis, Jones & Alexander) become starting quality backs (worthy of grade 4). After the first round though, the only notable names include third round pick Reuben Droughns (graded 3), fifth round pick Sammy Morris (graded 2) and sixth round pick Mike Anderson (graded 3).

2001 Draft: Overall there were 18 backs in this draft including three first rounders, but this was a good draft for backs in the middle rounds. The first round backs included LaDainian Tomlinson (4), Deuce McAllister (4) and Michael Bennett (2), but starting quality backs also emerged from later rounds. Of the backs who graded out with a 4, Travis Henry was drafted in the second and Rudi Johnson was selected in the fourth. Of the backs who graded out a 3, Anthony Thomas and LaMont Jordan were second rounds picks and Kevan Barlow was a third round pick.

2002 Draft: This was a great year for all of those who'd prefer to wait until the middle rounds. 22 picks were used on running backs but both, William Green and TJ Duckett, didn't live up to the billing and there were out shined by a solid class of middle round picks. Clinton Portis (2nd rounder) and Brian Westbrook (3rd rounder) both graded out as a 4 and Chester Taylor (6th rounder) also graded out as a 3. This was one of the only years when the first round didn't have the highest average.

2003 Draft: The trend from 2002 didn't bleed over to 2003 though. Fifteen backs were drafted but none were better than the two that came out of the first round, Willis McGahee and Larry Johnson. The only other backs of note were third rounders, Chris Brown and Justin Fargas and fourth rounder Domanick Williams. Overall this was a pretty bad year for backs as nine of the fifteen backs graded out as a one or zero.

2004 Draft: A decent year for running backs produced 17 backs, including three in the first round and three more in the second round. The first round backs are headlined by Steven Jackson but Chris Perry and Kevin Jones have been disappointing to say the least. In the second round, Tatum Bell, Julius Jones and Greg Jones have all been decent players in the league. Michael Turner was also a gem out of the fifth round and Derrick Ward made a name for himself out of the seventh round.

2005 Draft: A big year year for running backs produced 24 picks, including three of the top five picks in the draft. Unfortunately though, those high first rounders, Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams, haven't been consistently productive so far and have been out done by backs selected in later rounds. Backs who graded out as a 4 include third round pick Frank Gore and two fourth round picks Marion Barber and Brandon Jacobs. Other notable backs include J.J Arrington and Darren Sproles, both of which were graded as a two.

2006 Draft: The final year that we looked at produced 17 running backs and so far has been a very deep year for backs. First rounders include Reggie Bush, Laurence Maroney, DeAngelo Williams and Joseph Addai, of which three of the four (Bush, Williams and Addai) grade out a a three or better. Quality backs were also found in the second and third rounds though when LenDale White, Maurice Jones-Drew and Jerious Norwood were selected.

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So what, if anything, can we conclude from all this data? First, in nearly every year there is a first round bust at running back (Ron Dayne, William Green, Chris Perry, Cedric Benson and Laurence Maroney) and there is always a back or two who emerges from the middle rounds who turns out to be a quality starter (Reuben Droughns, Rudi Johnson, Brian Westbrook, Chester Taylor, Justin Fargas, Michael Turner, Frank Gore etc). But, I think we can also see that the most likely round to draft a running back with the potential to become a future starter is the first round. After all for every Westbrook and Gore, there are two Brian Calhouns or Manueal Whites or Quentin Griffins. So what do you think? Is it worth the risk to wait until the middle rounds to select a running back?

Chicago Bears Position Breakdowns: Running back

BearsFan1 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:51:14 -0000

After a conversation with WCG, I have changed the format of my running series, and it even has a new name, switching the word "Possibilities" with "Breakdowns."

Now although I know that you all love to read about the inner workings of my articles, I think I should probably get to breaking down our running back situation.

The Bears were helped immensely by the addition of rookie Matt Forte, who came out as a second rounder from Tulane and gathered over 1,700 total yards.

Adrian Peterson and Kevin Jones were decent last year as backups, but the Bears ultimately failed as a rushing team, finishing 24th in rushing yards and yards per rush, a very, very, very bad team that supposedly "gets off the bus running."

So how are we looking personnel-wise?

How are we looking now?

Matt Forte was obviously a big help last season, just one look at his stats will show you that he is a player who can become dominant, as he was one of the best rookies in this year's class.

		Rushing						Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	Lng	TD
2008 - Matt Forte	16	316	1238	77.4	3.9	50	8	63	477	29.8	7.6	19	4

His 1,715 total yards were huge to the Bears; however, Forte struggled with consistency and ultimately was stopped down the stretch, which hurt the Bears and their post-season aspirations.

Forte averaged over five yards per carry three times throughout the season, but also averaged less than three yards per carry another three times, one of those coming against the lowly Detroit Lions.

If Forte is going to become an every down back who will help the Bears become a Super Bowl winning franchise, he needs to work on his consistency or he will risk becoming another Anthony Thomas.

Kevin Jones was thought to be a player who would come in, share the load with Forte, and help the Bears in the running game.

Although he had a great rookie year, he has disappeared from the spotlight and is now trying to make his way back (Anthony Thomas?). However, I don't see him being able to do this with the Bears.

Possible Free Agents?

Deuce McAllister: Although he has had injury concerns, he is still able to run well and could provide a lot of guidance to help Forte avoid a disappointing career.

Fred Taylor: Taylor was just released and Jack Del Rio said that Taylor should have a chance with another team. Could that team be the Bears?

Look out for the next installment on wide receivers, coming likely on Friday.

Poll

Which free agent running back would be the best fit for the Bears?

Deuce McAllister

43 votes

Fred Taylor

122 votes

Correll Buckhalter

32 votes

J.J Arrington

25 votes

Other (specify in comments)

15 votes

237 votes | Poll has closed

Bills/Jaguars: Opponent History

sireric — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:45:04 -0000

Buffalo Bills (1-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)
Sunday, September 14, 2008, 1:00 PM ET

All right Rumblers, it's time for a new feature that I will call "Opponent History". Each week I will look back at the last five times the Buffalo Bills played the current week's opponent. This week's opponent for the Bills are the Jacksonville Jaguars:

October 18, 2001: Bills 13, Jaguars 10
This was one of the few highlight games of the 2001 season that saw the Bills go 3-13 in Gregg Williams' first season as head coach (he's now the Jags' defensive coordinator). The immortal Jake Arians hits a 46 yard field goal with 1:03 left on the clock, giving the Bills their first win of the year and Williams' first as Bills head coach (and it was a road win, no less). The Jags finished 6-10 that year, good for fifth in the old AFC Central.

September 14, 2003: Bills 38, Jaguars 17
The game after the Bills beat up the Patriots 31-0, the Bills headed into Jacksonville and hung 38 on the Jags. Travis Henry runs for only 26 yards on 21 carries but gets 3 scores, and Drew Bledsoe throws for 314 yards, highlighted by a 54 yard pass play to Bobby Shaw, and a 37 yard score to Eric Moulds. Buffalo started the '03 season out 2-0, only to flop badly and finish the year 6-10. The Jags were 5-11.

September 12th, 2004: Jaguars 13, Bills 10
The '04 season opener sees the Bills drop a heartbreaker to the Jags on a 7 yard TD pass from Byron Leftwich to Ernest Wilford in the back of the end-zone as time expires. The Bills rebounded later that year behind break-out running back Willis McGahee to finish 9-7 and miss a playoff berth by the skin of their teeth (thank you, Willie Parker); the Jags finished 9-7 as well.

November 26th, 2006: Bills 27, Jaguars 24
The Jaguars racked up 207 yards rushing in this one, but the Bills - on the strength of a Roscoe Parrish 82-yard punt return for a TD and a Rian Lindell FG as time expired - pulled out the win. That may have been Parrish's finest game as a pro, as it was also his fancy footwork on a sideline throw by J.P. Losman that got the Bills into position for Lindell's game-winner.

November 25th, 2007: Jaguars 36, Bills 14
The Bills go into Jacksonville with playoff aspirations only to have Fred Taylor quickly squash them with a long 50 yard TD run just 5 minutes into the game. Taylor would finish with 104 yards on only 14 carries. Buffalo was in this game in the third quarter, trailing 22-14 on two nice scores (a screen pass by Anthony Thomas and a reverse by Parrish), but a long touchdown reception by Reggie Williams and a Maurice Jones-Drew score sealed Buffalo's fate late.

Bills' record, last five meetings: 3-2
Next meeting: Sunday, September 14, 2008 (Jacksonville is favored by 5.5)