The Bills had to be happy with the play of their quarterbacks and their defense in last night’s victory over the Lions. J.P. Losman was sharp in his brief appearance completing 5 of 6 passes for 43 yards. Rookie Trent Edwards put on another great display completing 18 of 24 passes for 182 yards. Craig Nall also made a brief appearance completing 3 of 5 passes for 29 yards. Rookie running back Dwayne Wright looked sharp carrying the football 12 times for 51 yards (4.3 ypc) to lead the Bills. Shaud Williams got his most work of the pre-season carrying the football 7 times for 24 yards (3.4 ypc). Fred Jackson pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.6 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 12 yards. Rookie 1st round pick Marshawn Lynch looked bad again carrying the football 6 times for 9 yards (1.5 ypc). WR Justin Jenkins led the way in the passing game with 5 grabs for 56 yards (11.2 avg). The Bills finished with 112 yards rushing on 39 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 35 passes for 254 yards.

The defense looked pretty sharp last night for the Bills as they held the Lions to 73 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.3 ypc). The Bills also held the Lions highwire passing attack to 164 yards on 15 of 25 passing.

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The Bills moved the football Friday Night but they didn’t finish drives effectively resulting in only 17 points. J.P. Losman completed 9 of 20 passes for 180 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Rookie Trent Edwards had another solid game as he completed 7 of 10 passes for 100 yards. Craig Nall finished up the game completing 4 of 7 passes for 38 yards. Rookie RBs Marshawn Lynch (9 car, 9 yards) and Dwyane Wright (9 car, 21 yards) both had issues running the football on Friday Night. Fred Jackson had another solid game with 4 carries for 31 yards (7.8 ypc) with 1 TD carry. Lee Evans was outstanding on Friday Night with 5 grabs for 100 yards (20.0 avg) with 1 TD grab. Frisman Jackson (4 rec, 80 yards) and Peerless Price (3 rec, 78 yards) were both outstanding catching the football against the Titans. The Bills finished the game with 94 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.4 ypc) and they completed 20 of 37 passes for 305 yards.

The defense did not play well against a poor Titans’ offense. The Titans rushed for 132 yards on 30 carries (4.4 ypc) and they completed 19 of 30 passes for 261 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270824002

The Bills have signed defensive end Al Wallace to a 1-year contract. He played in 16 games (2 starts) last season for the Carolina Panthers and he made 25 tackles, had 3 sacks and defensed 1 pass. He was brought in for depth reasons due to Kyle Denney’s injury in the pre-season. Wallace has now played in 96 career NFL games and he has made 150 tackles, has 23 sacks, has defensed 13 passes, forced 6 fumbles and he has 4 interceptions. This was a good move for the Bills who are looking a little thin along the D-Line.

The Buffalo Bills offense was stuck in neutral last night except for the performance of rookie QB Trent Edwards. Edwards completed 11 of 16 passes for 101 yards with a TD pass to Roscoe Parrish. J.P. Losman didn’t fare as well as Edwards did as he completed 7 of 13 passes for 78 yards. First round pick Marshawn Lynch made a brief appearance as he rushed for 16 yards on 5 carries (3.2 ypc). Fred Jackson is a long shot to make the team at running back but he was busy last night. He carried the football 9 times for 22 yards (2.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 31 yards (10.3 avg). WR Roscoe Parrish had a solid game at WR grabbing 3 passes for 26 yards and a TD. The offense as a hole didn’t produce good numbers last night as they carried the football 22 times for 69 yards (3.2 ypc) and they completed 18 of 29 passes for 158 yards. They must get the offense going as they are only three weeks away from playing a game that counts.

The defense kept the Bills in the game which is not a surprise based on the offensive players that the Falcons ran out on the field. The Falcons wound up running the football 33 times for 118 yards (3.6 ypc) and they completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards.

 http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270817002

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Defensive end Ryan Denney fractured his right foot in last night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons and he could miss the entire 2007. This is a tough break for both Denney and the Bills who were counting on him to have a good season. Denney played in 16 games (0 starts) last season for the Bills and he had 38 tackles, 6 sacks and defensed 4 passes. Denney has now played 5 seasons for the Bills covering 72 games (18 starts) and he has made 114 tackles, has 16.5 sacks and he has defensed 12 passes.

This could fall under the heading “Wishful Thinking”. Robert Royal is a possession type receiver that’s good for 1-2 catches per game.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) last season for the Bills and he caught 23 passes for 233 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs. He has now played in 51 games (44 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 54 passes for 482 yards (8.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.

The Bills are holding out hope that Kevin Everett will improve in his third season in the league. He didn’t play as a rookie because he blew out his knee. Last season the Bills took it easy on him despite playing him in all 16 games (4 starts) as he caught only 1 pass for 1 yard.

The Bills hope to attack the opposition with more plays down the field. That will work if someone steps up at the WR position opposite of Lee Evans. Evans had a true breakout season in 2006 as he played in 16 games (15 starts) and he caught 82 passes for 1,292 yards (15.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs. Evans will even be better if he gets more help from the rest of the wideouts. Evans has now played in 48 games (41 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 178 passes for 2,878 yards (16.2 avg) with 24 TD grabs. He also has carried the ball 9 times for 123 yards (13.7 avg). Last year was only a glimpse of things to come as Evans might be one of the best receivers in the NFL if J.P. Losman continues to improve.

Roscoe Parrish is the most likely WR to step up and assist Lee Evans. Parrish is on the small side but it’s evident that he’s a playmaker so the Bills must get him the ball in the open field. He played in 16 games (1 start) last season and he caught 23 passes for 320 yards (13.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 2 times for 18 yards (9.0 ypc). Parrish did most of his damage on special teams for the Bills last season as he returned 32 punts for 364 yards (11.1 avg) with a TD return. Parrish has now played in 26 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 38 passes for 468 yards (12.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he has carried the ball 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc). Parrish has also returned 10 kickoffs for 261 yards (26.1 avg) and 46 punts for 550 yards (12.0 avg) with 1 TD return. Look for Parrish to break out this season like a lot of WRs do in their third NFL season.

Veteran Peerless Price is starting to slow down big-time as he now projects as no better than a #3 WR for the Bills. Price played in 16 games (15 starts) last season for the Bills and he caught 49 passes for only 402 yards (8.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he carried the ball 5 times for 18 yards (3.6 ypc). Don’t look for Price to rebound this season as he seems to have lost some of his trademark speed. Price has now played in 119 games (98 starts) and he has caught 396 passes for 5,213 yards (13.2 avg) with 31 TD grabs and he has carried the football 23 times for 173 yards (7.5 ypc).

Josh Reed will likely be the #4 WR for the Bills and he’s been a disappointment since they drafted him as they expected much more from him than he has produced. Reed played in 13 games (1 start) for the Bills last season and he caught 34 passes for 410 yards (12.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also carried the football 4 times for 13 yards (3.3 ypc). The Bills expected Reed to develop into a #2 WR for them but he is still the same receiver he was when he entered the league and that’s not saying a lot. He has now played in 73 games (26 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 177 passes for 2,109 yards (11.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 10 times for 47 yards (4.7 ypc).

Sam Aiken will likely be kept as the #5 WR on the Bills because he’s a good special teams player. He played in 15 games last season for the Bills and he made 6 tackles on special teams. He has now played in 52 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 18 passes for 240 yards (13.3 avg) and he has made 29 tackles on special teams.

The NFL has suspended DT Anthony Hargrove for the first 4 games of the NFL season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Hargrove played in 14 games last season for the Bills and he made 24 tackles and had 1.5 sacks. He was a key reserve for the Bills so they will miss him.

The Bills pulled out a narrow victory over the Saints in New Orleans last night. They did it with a bend but don’t break defense and just enough offense. J.P. Losman started the game and he made a quick exit. Losman completed 4 of 6 passes for 20 yards and he carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards. Craig Nall replaced Losman and he looked o.k. completing 5 of 7 passes for 54 yards. Rookie Trent Edwards made a good NFL debut completing 10 of 11 passes for 49 yards. Running back Fred Jackson is a long shot to make the Bills but he looked good last night as he carried the football 8 times for 49 yards (6.1 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 19 yards. Rookie RB Dwayne Wright carried the ball 6 times for 20 yards (3.3 ypc) in his NFL debut. Wright looked a lot better than first round pick Marshawn Lynch who made a small cameo carrying the football only 2 times for 3 yards. The Bills spread the ball around to 11 different different receivers which was lead by Roscoe Parrish who caught 3 passes for 43 yards (14.3 avg). Sam Aiken also had a decent game with 4 grabs for 30 yards (7.5 avg). The Bills offense ran the football 27 times for 113 yards (4.2 ypc) and they completed 19 for 24 passes for 96 yards.

The Bills defense was bend but don’t break as they gave up quite a few yards. The Saints carried the football 23 times for 102 yards (4.4 ypc). The Saints also completed 27 of 41 passes for 241 yards. All in all it was a good showing for the Buffalo Bills last night.

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The Bills will use three converted tight ends as fullbacks in 2007. That means that they likely will focus on blocking and catching a few passes so don’t look for them to run the ball much. Ryan Neufeld is sitting atop of the depth chart at this moment. He played in 9 games for the Bills last season and he caught 1 pass for 4 yards and it was a TD. He has now played in 63 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1 time for 14 yards and he has caught 11 passes for 115 yards (10.5 avg) with 1 TD grab. Brad Cieslak is currently #2 on the depth chart at fullback. He played in 7 games (2 starts) last season for the Bills and he caught 6 passes for 46 yards (7.7 avg) with 0 TDs. Cieslak has now played in 9 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 6 passes for 46 yards (7.7 avg). Rookie Derek Schouman is the #3 man on the depth chart. He also played TE in college so don’t expect him to run the ball at all in 2007.