SB Nation - Jason Whittle

2009 Schedule Preview: Week 3 @ the Buffalo Bills

Saintsational — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:00:21 -0000

The Saints follow up their game in Philadelphia with another trip to the Northeast to take on Buffalo in a week three late game. The Bills finished 2008 with a less-than-mediocre 7-9 record and hope to get over that .500 hump this season. It's been a while, four years to be precise, since these two teams last met in the regular season. The Saints have the misfortune of playing in frigid Buffalo but the fortune to have it scheduled during the mild-weather month of September when it shouldn't be an issue. Let's take a look at what fans can expect against the Saints first AFC East opponent of the year.

Bills Offense

Buffalo has had a pretty action-packed off-season this year and much of that excitement has been on the offensive side of the ball. Obviously, the signing of wide receiver Terrell Owens has contributed most to that excitement. Owens is a game changer and inevitable Hall of Famer who always seems to play well in his first year with a new team. T.O. will play opposite wideout Lee Evans, teaming up to create a formidable aerial threat. With former Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman now out of the picture, it will be the responsibility of Trent Edwards to get Evans and Owens the ball, making sure to keep the latter happy on the field. Ryan Fitzpatrick was brought in this year to provide a little competition in camp but the job is Edwards' to lose.

The other big story of the Bills off-season was the trade of offensive tackle Jason Peters to the Eagles. It is that loss of Peters as well as guard Derrick Dockery combined with a lot of other offensive line tinkering that has Bills fans worried about the state of their quarterback protection. Last years team ranked poorly in sacks per pass attempt and this year, things could get worse before they get better.

On the ground the Bills remain strong. Marshawn Lynch continues his duties as the number one back with Fred Jackson and newly acquired Dominic Rhodes taking on backup roles.

This could be a good, early test. If Gregg Williams does suceed in building that blitzing, attack-style defense we've all been promised then they should have no problem exploiting Buffalo's weak offensive line and rattling unproven quarterback Edwards. Allowing him time to throw to Owens and Evans could be damaging to our secondary. Advantage: Saints.

Bills Defense

First round draft pick Aaron Maybin has been tapped to hopefully play alongside veteran Aaron Schobel and be the defensive end of the future, adding talent and depth to a pass rush that has been lacking. Getting the most out of this unit will be a deciding factor in the overall success of the Bills defense for 2009. In the linebacking department, Keith Ellison, Pat Thomas and John DiGiorgio were all signed in the off-season with the hopes of shoring up the middle of the field and offsetting the loss of several players.

One of the bigger hits to the Bills defense this off-season was the loss of cornerback Jabari Greer to our very own New Orleans Saints. Decent against the pass last year, the Bills should still have a solid secondary with Terrence McGee, Leodis McKelvin and Drayton Florence as well as newly drafted and versatile Jairus Byrd. The secondary is rounded out by aptly named Reggie Corner.

Though the Bills may match up well against Saints receivers, their lack of a pass rush should give Brees time to find the right guy. This will also be a good game to establish a ground attack.

Bills 2008 Season

7-9 Record

Last Meeting

October 2, 2005

Week 4	1	2	3	4	OT	Final
Bills	7	0	0	0	--	7
Saints	0	13	0	6	--	19

Why the Saints Can Win

Brees should have all day to do his damage.

Why the Saints Can Lose

T.O. or Evans could have a great game.

Prediction

Saints 27 - Bills 17

Newly Acquired

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

RB Dominic Rhodes

WR Terrell Owens

G Seth McKinney

C Geoff Hangartner

ILB Pat Thomas

CB Drayton Florence

CB Ellis Lankster

CB Cary Harris

RB Bruce Hall

LB Keith Ellison

OL Kirk Chambers

FB Corey McIntyre

CB Dustin Fox

DE Marcus Smith

LB John DiGiorgio

WR Justin Jenkins

WR Felton Higgins

OL Chris Denman

WR C.J. Hawthorne

2009 Draft Picks

DE Aaron Maybin

C Eric Wood

CB/S Jairus Byrd

G Andy Levitre

TE Shawn Nelson

SS/OLB Nic Harris

CB Cary Harris

CB Ellis Lankster

Key Losses

QB J.P. Losman

TE Robert Royal

G Derrick Dockery

G Jason Whittle

C Duke Preston

C Melvin Fowler

OLB Angelo Crowell

OLB Blake Costanzo

ILB Teddy Lehman

CB Jabari Greer

OT Jason Peters

Linkage

Buffalo Rumblings

SB Nation Bills Coverage

Saints @ Bills Coverage

Buffalo Bills Roster

Buffalo Bills Depth Chart

Buffalo Bills Transactions

Poll

Do you consider the Saints game against the Bills to be an easy victory?

Sure thing.

34 votes

There's no such thing as an easy victory.

167 votes

I do but I would never admit it.

20 votes

The Bills definitely present a challenge.

97 votes

318 votes | Poll has closed

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!

State of the Bills Roster: Guards/Centers

Brian Galliford — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:30:05 -0000

Butler still can't stay healthy (buffalobills.com)

The "State of the Bills Roster" series trucks on! If you're new around these parts within the past nine months or so, this series is an off-season progression of posts in which we'll break down Buffalo's roster in-depth. From these discussions, we'll put together a "Community Needs List" in priority order, then begin researching potential free agent and draft acquisitions that will satisfy all of the Bills' needs as we perceive them.

Hey - at least this way, we're doing the job right. Right? Unlike a certain front office we're forced to support.

And now, we continue our foray into heavy-duty off-season work at Buffalo Rumblings. It's our "State of the Roster" series, off-season mode, and we'll continue the discussions by breaking down the Bills' situation on their interior offensive line - the much-maligned centers and their wingmen.

Previous installments: QB :: RB :: TE :: WR :: OT

Opening statement
There isn't a lot to be said here that hasn't already been thoroughly discussed throughout the season. Buffalo's center play has been lackluster for a number of years now, and though the guard play has been better, it hasn't been great. There is little depth to speak of here. This is clearly the problem area on Buffalo's underachieving offensive line. With three of the five non-practice squad players unrestricted free agents, the time for change is ripe.

#75 Duke Preston (starter, center)
6'5", 326 pounds
Age: 27 in June 2009
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent
- The best that can be said about Preston's 2008 efforts is that he beat out veteran Melvin Fowler for the starting center job during the season, and that he played with some passion while he was in the lineup. Clearly, his actual blocking is lacking however. At this point, Preston's best shot at returning to the Bills in 2009 is as a backup at all three interior spots - and that's not a given.

#66 Derrick Dockery (starter, left guard)
6'6", 330 pounds
Age: 29 in September 2009
Contract status: 5 years remaining (UFA after 2013); owed $26.25M in base salaries.
- When Buffalo's line was struggling to run block and pass protect in the middle of the '08 season, Buffalo's coaches called out Dockery as the man not playing up to snuff. They were right - Dockery, Buffalo's highest-paid lineman, stunk during the critical mid-season stretch. He responded by playing better in the run department late in the season, but when former fifth-round pick Brad Butler is out-playing him, there are issues. Dockery has another season or two to prove that he'll be worth the exorbitant dollars he's scheduled to make as his contract expires; if he doesn't do any proving, he'll likely be released.

#60 Brad Butler (starter, right guard)
6'7", 315 pounds
Age: 26 in September 2009
Contract status: 4 years remaining (UFA after 2012); owed $5.65 million in base salaries.
- Butler once again had a strong season, proving that the modest contract extension that he signed prior to the start of the '08 season was a smart move by the Bills. Butler still missed a stretch of games due to injury, however, also proving that the Bills can't rely on his health for a full slate of games. He's a keeper, but his injury history is one of the main reasons the Bills need to bolster their depth on the interior.

#65 Jason Whittle
6'4", 279 pounds
Age: 34 in March 2009
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent.
- He has spent two seasons on Buffalo's roster and has not made an impact in any capacity. He's dealt with injuries as well. Re-signing Whittle would be pretty easy, but if the Bills want to upgrade their depth on the interior - and they certainly should - Whittle's spot is the one that will be upgraded.

#67 Melvin Fowler
6'3", 310 pounds
Age: 30 in March 2009
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent.
- Fowler struggled as the starting center in both 2006 and 2007, and was eventually replaced by Preston as the starter this year after Preston got an opportunity thanks to a Fowler injury. With an upgrade at center looming and Preston a more versatile depth option, Fowler is almost certainly a goner.

Other guards/centers on the roster: Brandon Rodd (practice squad)

The Breakdown
Keepers: Dockery, Butler. Their contracts dictate they'll be back. Butler's injury history is a concern, as is Dockery's lethargy and underachieving. Depth is sorely needed here, and it wouldn't hurt for that depth to be a young guy they can develop.

Extendables: Preston I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea, either, but you can do worse than Preston as a reserve. He should not, and likely won't, be re-signed as a starter.

Expendables: None.

Questionables: None.

Goners: Whittle, Fowler. Both are going to be at least 30 next season, and both are rather average, run-of-the-mill players. They'd be cheap to re-sign, but why bother?

What we need: Obviously, we need a starter at center. We need at least one reserve guard as well to replace Whittle and possibly develop to replace Dockery and/or Butler. We'll put Preston's future up to a vote. If you, the Rumblings community, votes down re-signing Preston as a reserve, we'll add a second swing guard to the list. So yes - we could possibly be looking at needing three players at this position, depending on the Preston vote.

That's it. I'm done with the easy stuff. Now it's on you, folks. Who wants to gush some more about Cal center Alex Mack? Or should the Bills try to fill their need at center with a veteran? Have any names of potential additions you'd like to throw into the ring? Have fun with this, and let's get brainstorming.

Poll

Should the Bills re-sign Duke Preston as a reserve?

Yep - his versatility has value

200 votes

Nope - let's just overhaul this position

137 votes

337 votes | Poll has closed