SB Nation User Blog: Teaters33

Foote signs with Steelers

Teaters33 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:40:23 -0000

According to NFL.com writer Jason La Canfora, free agent LB Larry Foote has signed / resigned with his original club the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Foote signed a 3yr deal worth $9.3mil and a $1.8mil signing bonus. According to La Canfora, Foote was receiving interest from the Redskins and Cardinals.

With Foote off of the market, hopefully the Bills can make some type of move to add a veteran LB. With FA LB Andra Davis visiting today and tomorrow maybe he is a serious option for depth and experience.

Trade: Lynch for Cromartie?

Teaters33 — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:33:59 -0000

ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that the San Diego Chargers are looking to trade Pro Bowl CB Antonio Cromartie to acquire a RB. LaDainian Tomlinson's career is all but over in San Diego and Darren Sproles is a pending Restricted Free Agent.

Tomlinson stated after the season had ended that he believes his career in San Diego is all but over and Sproles has stated that he is interested in testing the market but is also interested in returning to San Diego.

Mortensen also reports that Cromartie has fallen out of good graces with the Chargers organization, plus they have 2 other 1st round draft choices in Quentin Jammer and Antoine Cason. Many individuals at Buffalo Rumblings feel that Lynch has falling out of favor with the Bills organization as well and we already have Fred Jackson spearheading our rushing attack.

Would a straight up Cromartie / Lynch trade work for the Bills or possible add a mid - late round draft pick? Cornerback is not a huge need for the Bills this offseason but McKelvin has struggled at times, McGee is aging and Florence is in the final year of his contract. Corner has proven very inconsistent after a some what promising rookie season and Lankster is just depth in case of injuries.

This trade could be a win / win situation for both teams if the two sides could come to an agreement. The Bills will be getting a quality starting cornerback with experience in the 3-4 man coverage schemes and will be able to dump a troubled Lynch in the process. The Chargers will be able to dump a cornerback that they feel they do not need and will receive a Pro Bowl caliber running back that is from the Oakland, CA area. I think the Chargers stable OL could really do wonders for Lynch's game and a change of scenery for Cromartie could make all the difference for him; plus he would be reunited with former teammate Drayton Florence.

If the Bills feel Jackson can consistently put up numbers like he has the past 1 1/2yrs and plan to look for more of a complimentary back in the draft, is this trade worth a shot?

Poll

Would you trade Cromartie for Lynch?

Yes

287 votes

No

174 votes

461 votes | Poll has closed

Bills release seven, including Wendling, Fine

Teaters33 — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:12:09 -0000

According to the Buffalo Bills' team website, the new regime at One Bills Drive released seven players on Tuesday: TE Derek Fine, DE Jermaine McGhee, LB Ashlee Palmer, DT Marcus Smith, S John Wendling, WR Justin Jenkins and C Marvin Philip.

It looks as though the new regime isn't going to keep many players around that are only special teams contributors, being that they let go of Palmer, Wendling and Jenkins. All three were key contributors on the team's coverage units under former special teams coordinator Bobby April.

The team had significant investments in two of these players, as Fine was a fourth-round pick in 2008, while Wendling was a sixth-round pick in 2007. McGhee, Smith and Philip were placed on IR prior to the season beginning. Palmer is not a good schematic fit for the team's new 3-4 defense, and Jenkins may have been the casualty of a numbers game at receiver.

It's nice to see the roster overhaul begin! (Hat tip to silverstreak3k for breaking it first here.)

Joey Porter

Teaters33 — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:24:04 -0000

I'm not sure if this has been discussed or not yet but do you think it would be a good idea for the Bills to go after Joey Porter?

He's obviously stated that he has played his last game in a Dolphins uniform and being that George Edwards is our new DC I thought George might have a swing. Yes I will say Joey is past his prime but he can still be a decent performer with glimpses of dominance if kept healthy. If we could trade a mid to late round pick for him I wouldn't be opposed to it because he could help us transition into the 3-4 more easily and brings a fiery attitude to our D.

I've obviously watched him throughout his Steelers career and always had a love / hate feeling towards him...love to have him on your team but hate going against him. Yes he's a little controversial at times but I think that could be to our benefit to help fire up our team after spending the past few years with an emotionless sideline.

Purging the Roster

Teaters33 — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:14:04 -0000

With the new coaching regime starting, we all should assume some of the players on the current roster will not be back next year. I've taken a look at the current contract statuses and have come up with my own list of players that I think SHOULD not return. I obviously have no inside information, just a lot of wishful thinking. *Players I think that won't be returning will be struck through.

QB: Brian Brohm, Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, ~~Gibran Hamdan~~

Analysis: Look for the Bills to add another QB either during FA or the Draft. If a potential Rookie starter is drafted look for Edwards to be realeased during training camp.

RB: ~~Justise Hairston~~, Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Corey McIntyre

Analysis: If Lynch's off the field issues continue he may be trade bait; especially if the Bills feel they can find a speed back to compliment Jackson in the draft.

WR: Lee Evans, James Hardy, ~~C.J. Hawthorne~~, ~~Justin Jenkins~~, Steve Johnson, ~~Terrell Owens~~, ~~Roscoe Parrish~~, Josh Reed

Analysis: Jenkins did sign an undisclosed contract but he serves no purpose in terms of offensive production and hopefully with Bobby April gone the new coaching staff won't keep players around for ST purposes only. I would love to see T.O. resigned because I think he can do a lot of good on our team with a new HC. Roscoe is a huge question mark, he could easily be kept but I think sometime during the off season he will be traded for more draft picks. Look for the Bills to add a veteran WR for depth and possibly one during the draft.

TE: Derek Fine, ~~Joe Klopfenstein~~, Shawn Nelson, ~~Derek Schouman~~, ~~Jonathan Stupar~~

Analysis: Even though Schouman is still signed until next off season I don't see him making the roster with his average at best skill set and injury riddled short career. I think a FA TE may be brought in as more for depth and blocking purposes unless there is an amazing snag in the draft.

T: Demetrius Bell, Brad Butler, Kirk Chambers, ~~Nick Hennessey~~, ~~Jamon Meredith~~, ~~Andre Ramsey~~, Jonathan Scott, ~~Jason Watkins~~

Analysis: The Bills NEED to upgrade this position in the 1st or 2nd round. If more then 1 elite tackles are available I would suggest they draft them.

G: Richie Incognito, Andy Levitre, Seth McKinney, ~~Kendall Simmons~~, Eric Wood

Analysis: I personally like Incognito as long as he can keep his cool. He did as good as a job as you could ask for when being thrown into the starting line up just a few days after joining the team. I look for them to possibly add a veteran back up which may mean McKinney not making the team.

C: ~~Christian Gaddis~~, Geoff Hangartner, ~~Marvin Philip~~

Analysis: I think this entire position needs fixed. I just don't see Hangartner as an every down starter. Possibly move Wood to C and either draft or sign a guard to fill that void.

DE: ~~Chris Ellis~~, ~~Ryan Denney~~, Chris Kelsay, ~~Jermaine McGhee~~, Aaron Maybin, Aaron Schobel, ~~Marcus Smith~~

Analysis: I cannot wait to see Denney gone. He has never been worth a roster spot in my opinion. Kelsay isn't a FA until next off season but I'm hoping not to see him play for the Bills next year either. I have never liked him nor will my feelings for him change; he is terrible as a pass rusher and always get sucked inside when teams rush or run reverses to his side. Ellis just hasn't shown enough to me to keep him on this list. I look for the Bills to add a DE during the draft.

DT: ~~Rashaad Duncan~~, ~~Lonnie Harvey~~, Spencer Johnson, ~~John McCargo~~, Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams

Analysis: Even though McCargo is still signed through this year he just hasn't shown anything that would want to keep him. I also think Johnson may not make the roster if the Bills address their small DT's during the draft or FA.

LB: ~~Marcus Buggs~~, ~~Jon Corto~~, Chris Draft, ~~Keith Ellison~~, Nic Harris, Kawika Mitchell, ~~Ashlee Palmer~~, Paul Posluszny, ~~Josh Stamer~~

Analysis: This position is one of the spots that needs the most over hauling. I have waited years to put that line through Ellison's name! He is the one person on this team that I absolutely HATE. I won't be suprised if either Draft or Harris doesn't make the roster. We definately need a new starter along side Mitchell and Posluszny. I'm hoping someone in the draft will be added along with a back-up or 2.

CB: Reggie Corner, Drayton Florence, ~~Cary Harris~~, ~~Ellis Lankster~~, Leodis McKelvin, Terrence McGee, ~~Ashton Youboty~~

Analysis: This has been a problem position for the past few years in regards to injury so I wouldn't be suprised if Youboty or Lankster are brough back as well as either a FA or a draft pick.

S: Jairus Byrd, ~~Bryan Scott~~, ~~John Wendling~~, George Wilson, Donte Whitner

Analysis: I love Wendling because of his ST prowess but like I said before, it's nice to see a few players go that serve no purpose on offense or defense. Wilson is a wild card player for me. He's a ST Captain and plays OK on defense but I think the Bills could upgrade the back-ups with either a FA signing or a draft pick.

ST: Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman, Garrison Sanborn

Analysis: I have no faith in Lindell. I have never been more scared when a player steps onto the field then when he does. He is signed through the next few seasons but I would not be heart broken at all if someone is brought in to compete for his spot.

There it is folks. My purging of the roster according to contract statuses and a one trade of Parrish. If I was a part of the Bills FO I would resign T.O. cut Kelsay and Lindell but lucky for those players I'm not. Read, digest and react please :-)

Jauron considering QB change

Teaters33 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:26:20 -0000

Per the Bills website, HC Dick Jauron hasn't decided who the starting QB will be this week against the Jags. Is there really a question as to who the starter should be? Yes, Trent has underperformed compared to the expectations that were set for him but is Fitz really a better choice?

Fitz has proven to be an OK backup at best and Trent hasn't really proven anything besides being inconsistent and Captain Checkdown. We can basically put this season in the books because we're not making the playoffs. We might as well see what Trent has and make a decision in the off season.

Stats have shown that both QB's are similar so why make a change and really take away time from Trent's possible development when we know Fitz isn't our long term answer? Reading the article really bothered me. I mean we know Jauron is an idiot and couldn't coach a high school team but if he makes a switch now then we know he's really throwing the season away.

Any ideas?

Offensive Variety

Teaters33 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:11:11 -0000

Dick Jauron's offensive scheme has been called "vanilla" and "pop warner" from multiple people around the league, including former coaches. I will agree and I feel that is one of the biggest problems this offense has. The "No Huddle" was a bust and I'm glad to see it go. Our offense is too young to not regroup and get a new play set in the huddle. Below are a few things I think the Bills coaching staff needs to do to try and improve this offense.

Formation Variety: Over the first 5 weeks of the season while the no huddle was employed, the offense used about 2 different formation types. Either double TE's or 3 WR's. Those are good base formations to either pound the rock or spread out the defense but you need to switch it up more. Even this past weekend when we did huddle they didn't offer much variety and that HAS to change for the offense to start to be effective. We have a wide array of WR's and RB's so why not use them? 4 and 5 WR sets, bunch WR's, motions and movements. Buffalo's coaches have to do something more to get our playmakers on the field...Johnson, Parrish and eventually Hardy.

Pound the Rock: Marshawn Lynch made his first Pro Bowl last season. How? Because Buffalo was committed to running the football despite the inconsistent play of their offensive line. We have one of the best, if not the best, RB duo's in the league and our coaches are waisting their talent by running vanilla and predictable plays. This past weekend it was either a run up the middle or a sweep to the outside. How about try some counter traps, draws and stretchs? Let the RB's use their talent to make a play...we all know they can!

Stretch the Field: My favorite type of offense is to run the football, move the chains and take your shots down field and our offense hasn't done a good job of any of those. Yes, they have gone deep a few times and look at the results! We get defensive penalties and score TD's (TB and NYJ games). Common sense says continue that attack but obviously our coaching staff didn't receive the memo. Play action passes, sluggos and just taking shots downfield on 2nd and 3rd and short will move the safeties back and open up lanes for the RB's.

Now I know this all seams elementary in regards to fundamentals, but it's obviously something our coaching staff hasn't figured out how to do. We have the offensive weapons to be a very dangerous team, unfortunately we have a defensive minded coach who is more about not losing the game then trying to win the game.

Bills / Steelers game...I was there

Teaters33 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:53:59 -0000

As I had stated a few weeks ago I would be attending last night's game in Pittsburgh since that is where I live. Needless to say there was about 10 Bills fans and almost all of them, including myself, had on Poz jerseys. That was about the highlight of the evening because as everyone knows the Bills sucked it up big time. Below you will find some points I want to discuss as I watched the game last night.

Trent Edwards - HORRIBLE!!!!! I can't express that enough. He looked like a lost puppy dog in the middle of road with traffic wizzing by him. Terrible throws, terrible reads, terrible execution. I'm getting sick of his inconsistent play real fast. I also noticed that he checks down to backs and flat routes waaaaaaaaay too much. There was a play in the 2nd quarter I believe that he ended dumping it off to his RB in the right flat when Lee Evans was running down the middle of the field WIDE OPEN! And when I say wide open I mean the Steelers safeties were 20yds BEHIND HIM!!! Throw the ball downfield!!!!!!!!

Defense - Again it was another "bend but don't break" kind of night...too bad it BROKE! There did have a few promising signs...Williams' forced fumble and Maybin's sack...but other than that it was the usuall scared Fewell's defense that we've come to know and ditest. Big Ben had little pressure, if any, on him outside of Maybin's sack and Johnson's QB hurry. The Bills couldn't even generate pressure when they blizted, but what else is new? I do have to say that when the Bills ran man coverage McGee and McKelvin had the receivers blanketed. Yes they made a few nice catches but there aren't many QB's in the league that could have made some of those throws. Poz was the best player by far on the field. He was making stops everywhere, in the run game and on pass plays. He just needs better coverage skills and he'll be just fine.

Special Teams - Why were there so many penalties on the "NFL's best ST Unit?" The Bills had either Holding or Block in the Back penalties almost every time they returned the ball...it was ridiculous. Besides the penalties they weren't getting any return yards and we all know that the Steelers ST is always middle of the pack AT BEST. We should have had a huge advantage over them in that area of the game but once again they found a way to screw that up.

Coaching Staff - Plain and simple...I HATE THEM. Turks play calling was pathetic (just like Trent's execution), Fewell's defense is vanilla and useless, and Jauron's gameplan and decision making was just as bad as everything else. I was super excited for the season with the draft picks we've made and the FA's we brought in but after watching last nights, and the other games, I'm not so excited anymore. The Bills need to pull something out of their butts real fast to impress their fan base or they'll again be calling for Jauron's head, and probably Trent's too.

All in all the game sucked last night. I did, however, get some pretty sweet pictures of the players as they walked into the tunnel after the game. They also slapped hands with fans and threw their gloves / wrist bands into the stands. Hopefully they know something that we don't and this preseason is just an illusion for what is to come once opening day arrives.

Game 1 Perspective

Teaters33 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:32:07 -0000

All though there are many topics that didn't go well for the Bills this past Sunday, I'm going to give my view point on the things that did go well for us.

Trent Edwards - Although he threw the interception, he did show command of the offense and effectively ran the no huddle. His chemistry with Owens is obviously strong at this point in camp.

Xavier Omon - According to buffalobills.com, Omon has shed a few points since last season and he impressed me during his action on the field. Especially his 3rd and 8 draw up the middle. He mad a few nice cuts and kept his pads low to move the chains. He will be interesting to watch during the remainder of camp to see if he still gets a spot.

Paul Posluszny - MAN BEAST! He had a few nice takles and a nice pass break-up on a Collins' pass. If he can keep it up and stay healthy again this year he may be one of the best LB's in the league. PS...I just got his white AFL jersey!!!

Bryan Scott - He's like a 4th LB in our 4-3 defense. He was consistently making tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. I wouldn't mind seeing him at SS and Whitner at FS on opening day and on passing downs White at SS and Byrd at FS...just a thought.

Although they lost preseason game #1, there were a few good things that came out of it. However, there's still a lot of work to be done and I couldn't be more happy to have football season upon us! PS...I'll be attending the Bills / Steelers game on the 29th if any one else is going. If not, I'll be taking notes and bringing back my analysis!

Blocking TE Option

Teaters33 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:53:07 -0000

Chris Brown reported that the Lions cut TE Michael Gaines and wondered if he would be an option for the Bills to bring in for extra TE depth during training camp and OTA's. After reading his report it made me think of that option as well.

He's a good blocker with a decent set of hands and I would have rather had him last year then Royal. He's durable and is a veteran of the league, as well as knowing the coaching staff and their schemes. We've all seen how Schouman gets hurt quite easily and he would even been a good tutor for Nelson on blocking.

Your ideas?