The Bills have lost Leodis McKelvin indefinately with a fractured bone in his lower leg.  He has 11 tackles and has defensed a pass in three games this season for the Bills.  He also has returned 5 kickoffs for 121 yards (24.2 avg) this season.  That means he’s one of the few players that require two players to replace him.  On defense it will be Drayton Florence who has 1 tackle and he has defensed 1 pass this season.  That will be a huge dropoff.  The Bills were trying to trade WR/PR Roscoe Parrish this season but they are lucky they have kept him.  He will replace McKelvin as the kickoff returner.  He has returned 5 kickoffs for 111 yards (22.2 avg) this season for the Bills.  He should do a solid job while McKelvin is out of action.

UPDATE:  The Bills have placed Leodis McKelvin on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.  This is a huge blow to the Bills.

The Bills will be without Donte’ Whitner for a while as he has had surgery to repair a broken right thumb.  There is no timetable for Whitner’s return yet.  He has played in all 3 of the Bills games this season and he has made 23 tackles, has defensed 2 passes and he has one interception (he returned it 76 yards for a TD).  Jairus Byrd will start while Whitner is out of action and he has 12 tackles this season for the Bills.  The secondary is in shambles for the Bills so look for teams to pass a lot against them for the time being.

The Buffalo Bills (1-2) lost to the New Orleans Saints (3-0) today, as they were held to a season low seven points.  Wide receiver Terrell Owens did not have a single reception in this game, the first time since his rookie year he has gone a game without at least one reception.  The Bills defense did look pretty solid throughout the first three quarters, as they held the Saints stellar offense in check most of the game and were down only 10-7 at the half.

When the fourth quarter rolled around, it seemed as if the Saints offense finally woke up as they put up 17 points in the quarter.  It was the running game that got it going too, as Saints’ running back Pierre Thomas had a career high 126 yards on 14 carries (9.0 avg) with two touchdowns.  All of this came in the second half for Thomas, with most in the 4th quarter as the Bills defense allowed Thomas to go for two big touchdown runs.  He had a 36-yard touchdown run and a 19-yard touchdown run both in the 4th quarter.

The Bills offense was pretty much non-existent today, especially in the second half, as they only racked up a total of 243 yards.  They go into the Saints territory only once in the second half and quarterback Trent Edwards ended up throwing an interception.  Edwards struggled, as he went for only 156 yards on 20/35 (57%) with no touchdowns and one interception.  The only offense the Bills got was from its special teams, on a trick play.  In the second quarter punter Brian Moorman faked a punt and threw a 25-yard touchdown to Ryan Denney.

The Bills really need to get their offense going, as their defense was obviously exhausted by the 4th quarter.  Trent Edwards needs to find a way to get TO more involved, as he is probably going to start yapping about not getting it enough.  Head coach Dick Jauron knows this, and I expect TO to get a lot of balls thrown to him next week when the Bills head to Miami to take on the Dolphins.

The Buffalo Bills (1-1) have the offensive powerhouse New Orleans Saints (2-0) coming in to town this week.  The Bills have looked very good offensively so far this year, as quarterback Trent Edwards is off to a good start.  Edwards has the fifth best QB rating in the league at 104.9.  He has 442 passing yards and four touchdowns with only one interception.  Fred Jackson has been huge for the Bills so far, and look for him to lead the attack against the Saints defense.  Jackson has 229 yards and a touchdown so far and has solidified the starting spot with Marshawn Lynch out serving a three game personal conduct suspension.

One of Edwards favorite targets, TE Derek Schouman, is out for a while with a knee injury.  Terrel Owens got his first touchdown as a Bill last week and the Bills better hope TO has a big game against the Saints, as they are going to have a tough time keeping up with the Saints stellar offense.  The Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees is playing out of his mind, as he already has nine touchdowns and has passed for 669 yards.  Their running game has been great too, as Mike Bell has rushed for 229 yards and a touchdown.  Good thing for the Bills that Bell is out with a sprained MCL.  Their running attack is still dangerous though, as Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas will replace Bell in the running game.

The Saints offense has looked almost unstoppable so far this season, but the Bills have surprised most of the league with their offensive performance.  This will be a high scoring affair, but I think the Saints have too much for the Bills to handle.  The Bills are going to put up a good fight and will be very effective on offense, but the Saints are too good and will win this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Saints 42, Bills 31

Veteran linebacker Keith Ellison is leading the way for the Bills on defense with 27 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Bills are only allowing 65 yards rushing per game and Ellison is a big reason for that.  The bigger reason however is the fact that the opposition is throwing for 332.0 yards per game.  Still, Ellison has been a big plus for the Bills’ D this season.