SB Nation - Derrick Jones

Defining the Buffalo Bills' roster bubble players

Brian Galliford — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:00:24 -0000

For one last time, at least for another year or so, we're about to talk about the roster bubble. It's pretty difficult to define a roster bubble, particularly if you're nerdy enough - like yours truly - to project an NFL's 53-man roster obsessively until your thoughts are no longer relevant.

Heading into their pre-season finale, the Buffalo Bills (and more particularly, its coaching staff) very likely has their final 53 already selected. For fans, however, speculation rules the day this time of the year. This post is meant to do three things: define Buffalo's list of "bubble" players, force you to pay attention to those bubble players, and serve as one last spot for y'all to formulate your thoughts before tomorrow's "Buffalo Rumblings Roster Projection Contest" begins.

Staying with the team, but they don't count yet (2)
RB Marshawn Lynch (Reserve/Suspended) - Lynch probably won't play tonight, and he begins his three-game suspension on Saturday.
WR James Hardy (Physically Unable to Perform) - Right now, Hardy is on Active PUP, meaning that he counts against the active roster, and that he can be activated at any time. Active PUP ends when the pre-season ends. It's very likely the coaches will give Hardy an extra six weeks to get into football shape and all healed up by placing him on Reserve PUP.

With those two moves in mind, the Bills will have 72 active players. That list, obviously, needs to be whittled down to 53 - so 19 more must go.

Certain cuts (11)
Let's face it - if any of these eleven players make the roster, every single one of us will be floored.

QB Matt Baker, RB Bruce Hall, WR Felton Huggins, WR C.J. Hawthorne, TE Tyson DeVree, OT Nick Hennessey, C Christian Gaddis, DE Ataefiok Etukeren, DT Derrick Jones, DT Corey Mace, LB Ryan Manalac

That list puts us down to 61 players. We've now officially reached the bubble portion of our roster.

THE BUBBLE (15)
I've got 15 players listed as "on the bubble." All of these players have at least something going for them that could keep them on the roster through the weekend. By current math, eight of these players will make the final roster, while seven will try to latch on with other NFL teams.

RB Xavier Omon, FB Corey McIntyre, WR Justin Jenkins, TE Jonathan Stupar, OT Jonathan Scott, OG Brandon Rodd, DE Chris Ellis, DE Copeland Bryan, LB Marcus Buggs, LB Jon Corto, LB Alvin Bowen, LB Ashlee Palmer, CB Cary Harris, FS Ko Simpson, SS John Wendling

Picking eight of these names as keepers may seem easy, but it's made a bit more difficult by potential surprises. We've got four such scenarios below. For every scenario that comes to fruition below (and we're not saying any of them will), pick another name from the above list and toss it onto your final roster.

Surprise cuts/roster decisions (4)
TE Derek Fine - He's dealing with a hamstring issue, and to say the competition at tight end is heavy is an understatement. It wouldn't completely shock us to see him released, even after being a 2008 fourth-round draft pick.

OT Langston Walker - WGR 550 reporter Paul Hamilton is already on the record as saying Walker could be a surprise release. I'm not sure I buy that, particularly given Demetrius Bell's bad back, but Walker's apparent fall from grace seems legitimate. I can't fathom a scenario in which the Bills would be comfortable entering a season with three highly unproven tackles - but in the spirit of "it wouldn't shock me," we'll list Walker anyways.

DE Ryan Denney - The Bills, for the first time in what seems like forever, actually have some depth at the defensive end position. They've got three young ends - two listed on the bubble above - that have proven worthy of roster consideration. It's difficult to imagine the team cutting Denney, but it's not impossible. They could also dangle him in trade talks if they try, as some suspect they might, to swing a deal for veteran linebacker depth.

CB Ashton Youboty - Speaking of veterans that are candidates to be dangled in trade talks, meet Mr. Youboty. 25-year-old corners with some promise aren't exactly easy to come by, but the Bills have solid depth at corner without considering Youboty. (There's also a reason I listed Cary Harris as "on the bubble" above.) Buffalo obviously doesn't feel the need to actively try to trade Youboty, and he certainly won't be released. But if the right offer comes along - particularly if it involves that aforementioned veteran linebacker - the Bills might just pull the trigger.

***

That's it. That's about as ironclad as you can get on a pretty ambiguous topic. I'm off to Ralph Wilson Stadium to take in tonight's game; the open thread will air at 6:00 PM ET, and I'll have a recap up for y'all when I get back from the stadium. Enjoy yourselves this evening.

Five bubble Bills making strong pre-season impressions

Brian Galliford — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:15:08 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

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It happens every year - NFL head coaches must cut roughly 25 players in a matter of a few weeks, paring their rosters down to 53 guys that they'll go to war with. Invariably, every year, there are a handful of players that coaches love to death - and who have performed when called upon - that might not fit onto the roster.

Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron will make precisely those types of decisions over the next few weeks. Here are five players that are going to be tough to cut. Jauron (as well as every other NFL coach) still has over three full weeks to make this decision, as rosters don't have to be pared down to 53 until September 5.

WR Justin Jenkins. This is Jenkins' third season in Buffalo. He began the 2007 season on the practice squad, but was signed to the 53-man roster that October after injuries riddled the Bills' receiving corps. Since that point, he has stuck with the Bills (for the better part of two seasons) as a key cog in Bobby April's special teams coverage units. Now, however, Terrell Owens is here. Jenkins is decidedly seventh in the pecking order at his position. Still, he turns in plays at practice and performs on special teams. He helps the team on Sundays. He stands a strong chance of being the victim of the numbers game, but if he goes, it certainly won't be an easy goodbye from Buffalo's coaching staff.

TE Jonathan Stupar. Tight end is traditionally a weak position in Buffalo. Stupar, a second-year player out of Virginia, spent part of the 2008 season on the practice squad and finished the year on the active roster. This year, he's fourth in the pecking order behind two players he resembles greatly - Derek Schouman and Derek Fine - and rookie Shawn Nelson, who is clearly the most talented player of the group. Yet Stupar has had a surprisingly productive training camp; he also led the team in receiving yardage (4 receptions, 36 yards) in the Hall of Fame Game. Oh, yeah - he, too, can play special teams. Fourth tight ends are tough to keep around, but Stupar might be an exception.

DE Chris Ellis. If I'm speaking frankly, I, myself, have been underwhelmed by the admittedly little I have seen of Ellis this pre-season. There's got to be a good reason, however, that Ellis has been sneaking in first-team reps at right end (other than the possibility that guys like Aaron Schobel and Ryan Denney are getting fewer reps thanks to their status as grizzled veterans). A third-round pick in 2008, Ellis is far better suited physically for the rigors of the game than he was in his rookie season. But when Aaron Maybin signs his deal and reports to camp - and if you believe John Clayton, that could happen within the next 24-48 hours - Ellis might have a hard time cracking the top 53 as a fifth defensive end.

DT Derrick Jones. This is, without a doubt, the most surprising name on the list - but Jones certainly deserves mention. The 6'4", 315-pound defensive tackle spent part of 2008 training camp with Buffalo, but was released prior to the season. Jones has essentially bounced from practice squad to practice squad in his very short career. He did not start camp with the Bills this season; instead, the team signed him on August 6 as an extra body while several of their tackles recovered from injuries. Jones has seized the opportunity; he registered two tackles and a sack in the Hall of Fame Game, and has been a standout in the practice setting. He's done the best that any camp body can hope to do - raised eyebrows. Is there a chance he could make the team? We'll see, but he's certainly not cracking the top four in the tackle rotation any time soon.

LB Jon Corto. There's little question that Corto played out of position last year in Buffalo; as feisty as Corto is, you're going to be overwhelmed playing linebacker at 205 pounds. Corto has made some waves this pre-season, however; he showed up to camp with 15 extra pounds of muscle while preserving all of the speed and quickness that made him a borderline NFL safety prospect. He stuck on the Bills' roster when he probably shouldn't have in 2008 as a core member of April's special teams units. At linebacker, of the nine 'backers on the roster, Corto has easily taken the most third-team reps as he continues to learn the nuances of his position. But while there hasn't been a discernible difference between many of Buffalo's other young backup linebackers, Corto stands alone as the best special teams player of the group. That could provide him with an opportunity to slide up the depth chart when cut-down dates draw nearer.

Owens highlights growing Bills injury list

Brian Galliford — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:00:14 -0000

More photos » by David Richard - AP

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The big news out of Buffalo this morning is, of course, the toe injury of Buffalo Bills WR Terrell Owens. After spraining his toe at an undisclosed point in the Bills' 21-18 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the Hall of Fame Game, Owens missed the Bills' Tuesday walk-through as well as their evening practice. Head Coach Dick Jauron described Owens as "day to day," and would not speculate on whether or not the star receiver will play in this Saturday's pre-season contest against the Chicago Bears.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, Owens isn't the only player injured. Fellow WR Steve Johnson, who returned to practice late last week after a rib injury sidelined him, re-injured the rib when he got tangled up with rookie CB Cary Harris in a drill on Tuesday. Harris landed on Johnson to re-aggravate the injury; from what Johnson told BuffaloBills.com last night, he will likely miss practices for the rest of this week as well as his second straight pre-season game.

Injuries seem to be a constant issue in Buffalo, and it's for that reason that the Bills have had to sign six street free agents over the past few weeks. C Christian Gaddis is the latest, joining WR Shaine Smith, DE Ataefiok Etukeren, DT Derrick Jones, DT Corey Mace and S Antwain Spann as players that have joined the Bills since training camp opened on July 25. However, one injured player did return to the field last night - and as he's a key figure on a revamped offensive line, Brad Butler's return is an important one.

Keeping track of the O-Line
Butler participated fully for the first time since injuring his back early last week, and looked good as he re-assumed his spot as the starting right tackle. It's still unclear if he'll play this Saturday - the coaches and trainers will likely wait to see how his back responds to a full practice load - but for now, the return is good news. Meanwhile, Butler's understudy, Demetrius Bell - who has impressed this pre-season - took reps with the second unit at left tackle.

With Butler back in the fold, Buffalo's entire offensive line is once again healthy. The more they play together this pre-season, the better.

Linebacker dinged, too
Arguably the most impressive Bills linebacker in the Hall of Fame Game was undrafted rookie free agent Ashlee Palmer. It would figure, therefore, that Palmer suffered a severe ankle sprain in the game and could be looking at missing a significant chunk of practice time. Alvin Bowen took his reps with the second unit on the weak side (as well as a few reps on the strong side with the third unit).

Meanwhile, BuffaloBills.com reports that Pat Thomas and Marcus Buggs continue to flip-flop with the second and third units at middle linebacker. Buggs started with the second unit against the Titans; it's therefore logical that Thomas is gearing up to get those reps against the Bears. This is one of the more unique battles going on at the moment; no matter the winner, both of these guys have excellent opportunities to make the final roster.

More lineup changes to note
Aaron Schobel continues to get a lighter work load, but rather than Ryan Denney taking his first-team reps last night - as usually happens - Chris Ellis took those reps, and took advantage of the opportunity by registering two would-be sacks on Trent Edwards, cleanly beating Langston Walker on both plays. That's what we like to hear. Now we just need to see it in a game.

RB Xavier Omon, who impressed against the Titans, was injured in practice and missed some reps. The injury is not considered serious, but Bruce Hall gladly took his reps.

With Owens and Johnson missing time, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish and Justin Jenkins shot up the depth chart. Jenkins has had a strong camp and pre-season, and other than an ugly pass interference call against Tennessee, has impressed. Ponder for a moment, however, the prospect of the Bills playing any meaningful games without Owens. Who wouldn't mind if T.O. sat out the rest of the pre-season? We're not advocating it. It's just a thought.

CB Ashton Youboty continues to sit with a lingering groin injury. Three cornerbacks with whom Youboty is jockeying for time - Drayton Florence, Reggie Corner and Ellis Lankster - continue to reap the benefits of his sitting out.

Wednesday
Buffalo has a practice scheduled for the early afternoon on Wednesday. It is doubtful that players such as Owens, Johnson and Palmer will practice. Butler should continue to work; it will also be interesting to see if Youboty returns to action.

Linemen dropping like flies at Bills camp

Brian Galliford — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:59:43 -0000

Heading into the Hall of Fame pre-season game this Sunday in Canton, Ohio, the Buffalo Bills have been dealing with several issues along their defensive line. Aaron Maybin is a holdout. Copeland Bryan is injured. Undrafted rookie free agents Ventrell Jenkins and David Lindquist are gone (Lindquist for personal reasons). On Friday, two more players left practice early, as both Spencer Johnson and John McCargo left the field within a five-minute period.

There's a reason that the Bills have acquired linemen Derrick Jones and Ataefiok Etukeren over the past two days - they barely have enough bodies to get through a pre-season game as it is. If Johnson and McCargo can't go on Sunday, Buffalo's second-team defensive tackles will be Jones and Corey Mace. Yikes.

Other than the walking wounded (RB Dominic Rhodes left early as well, by the way), the Bills seem eager to play another team and lay the lumber against a living, breathing opponent. That will happen in a little over two days' time. For now, we'll recap the day's events at St. John Fisher just as we did yesterday - with a few player observations. Those appear after the jump.

QB Trent Edwards. He looked much better today than he did last night. His throws were crisp, and he looked far more decisive. He did throw an interception to rookie Ellis Lankster, but had a few nice connections with Terrell Owens and a terrific 20-yard seam route to Derek Schouman. Edwards and the starters will get a series or two on Sunday; let's hope the offense can make use of those live reps. Look for Trent to call his own plays as well.

RB Marshawn Lynch. He looked as good as he usually does in practice, but that's not why I'm mentioning him here. The dude walked right past me; he was literally inches away. The added weight everyone is talking about is legitimate. He's a specimen. You couldn't pay me enough to try to tackle that guy. We're going to miss him in Weeks 1-3.

WR Steve Johnson. Johnson has been essentially a full participant at practice for the past two days after missing a bunch of practices with a rib injury. He looked very solid out on the field today; Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker look for Johnson a lot. Even with Roscoe Parrish on the team, I'll go out on a limb and guess that Johnson will be the primary backup to each of Lee Evans, Terrell Owens and Josh Reed.

WR Shaine Smith. This guy is freakishly skinny. But he can play. He's very long and has some good speed; you'll see him run some deep routes on Sunday. He has a chance to stick in some capacity (likely the practice squad).

TE Derek Schouman. I've been impressed with Schouman. He's the best tight end on the field by a considerable margin.

The offensive line. These guys sucked today. Chris Kelsay blew up Demetrius Bell (who once again took first-team reps at right tackle) on a continuous basis. Derrick Jones, of all people, made Geoff Hangartner look like a tackling dummy. Jermaine McGhee looked like the second coming of Jevon Kearse. It really was brutal; the run game wasn't any better. My guess is that it'll be like this for a while - they'll be dominant at times, and awful the rest of the time. They've got the right players; all of them have their moments. Gel time is so crucial.

Chris Ellis. I paid pretty close attention to him today; there could literally be a million reasons why, but the guy looked like he was going half-speed through every drill. Bob Sanders got on his case more than once. Somebody needs to remind Ellis that the Bills are four-deep at end - Aaron Schobel, Kelsay, Ryan Denney and Aaron Maybin aren't going anywhere - and there's no guarantee the team will keep five ends. No sense of urgency on his part; he looks like he either is resigned to his fate, or believes that there's no chance he'll get cut.

John McCargo. Before he limped off the field, nobody was busting tail harder than McCargo (though Kyle Williams, who was the best player on the field today, certainly gave him a run for his money). 97 looks like he's in great shape, and he's moving very well. Here's hoping he recovers quickly, because he looked like he's primed for a big season today.

Kawika Mitchell. I like watching Kawika practice. He moves well out there. You can tell that the rest of the linebackers - Paul Posluszny in particular - mimic his every move. He's an underrated player, but more importantly, he's an outstanding influence on some talented young players.

Leodis McKelvin. I've seen him live dozens of times, and I'm still floored by his athleticism. He is an astonishing, unique athlete. He looked much better in coverage today than he has over the past couple of weeks.

Ellis Lankster. More praise for the rookie seventh-round pick. While Ashton Youboty watched in sweats, Lankster calmly stepped in front of an Edwards dart and took it the other way. We might even be talking about Lankster as a fifth corner behind Terrence McGee, McKelvin, Drayton Florence and Reggie Corner before long. Seriously.

That's all for this week's camp practice recaps. I can take questions if you have them; saw a lot more today than I did last night, as I was able to move around much more. Tomorrow is all about the Hall of Fame. Hang in there for 48 hours, folks - we're thisclose to seeing the 2009 Buffalo Bills suit up.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Players Report Today! Edition

August West — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:19:19 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Expect this man to put ink to paper within the next 24 hours.

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The Titans released Ryan Schmidt and Derrick Jones to make spots for Sen'Derrick Marks and the soon-to-be-signed Kenny Britt.

Don't worry, says Mike Reinfeldt, Kenny Britt not being signed yet is pretty standard in the NFL.

Terry McCormick gives the uninitiated a taste of what they can expect at training camp.

The Titans also released the autographs schedule for the first week of camp, and there are some heavy hitters on the docket early this year.

Winning starts in the offseason, writes Gary Estwick.

In perhaps the best news of the day, it's looking like there won't be a messy battle over Steve McNair's estate after all.

T-Rac's Posse has a few ways to beat the boredom of the NFL offseason.

If there's anything you would like to share with the MCM community, please take advantage of the comments, fanshots and fanposts to do so! Or, you can always email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com.