The Bills scored the last 18 points last night with the last three points coming on a 40-yard field goal by Rian Lindell in O.T with only 3:04 left in the game.  Ryan Fitzpatrick looked awesome last night as he completed 11 of 12 passes for 165 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Tyler Thigpen followed him into the game and he looked awful as he completed 11 of 28 passes for 101 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 ypc) last night.  Levi Brown finished up this game by completing 3 of 5 passes for 24 yards last night.  Brad Smith threw 1 incomplete pass last night and he also carried the ball 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 ypc).  Fred Jackson led the way on the ground for the Bills last night with 9 carries for 33 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 30 yards.  Bruce Hall also ran the ball well with 33 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run last night.  Anthony Elzy pitched in with 26 yards on 7 carries (3.7 ypc) last night.  WRs Stevie Johnson (4 rec, 76 yards, TD), Marcus Easley (5 rec, 51 yards, TD) and Phil Hubbard (3 rec, 39 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bills last night.  The Bills rushed for 153 yards on 37 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 46 passes (56.5%) for 290 yards as they had possession of the ball for 40:23 last night.

The defense wasn’t too good against the run last night but they were pretty solid against the passing game.  LB Brad Jefferson (8 tackles) and safety Bryan Scott (7 tackles) led the way for the Bills’ D last night.  CB/S Da’Norris Searcy (interception) and DT Michael Jasper (fumble recovery) also made big plays last night.  The Jaguars finished up with 145 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 34 passes (50%) for 135 yards last night.  The Bills are now 1-2 on the year.

The Buffalo Bills have lost 30-year old inside linebacker Reggie Torbor for the 2011 season due to a shoulder injury.  Torbor played in 10 games for the Bills last year and he had 41 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 4 passes defensed.  He has now played in 104 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 241 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 13 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  He will hope to continue his NFL career in 2012 with the Bills.

The Bills have signed 29-year old linebacker Kirk Morrison.  Morrison played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last year and he had 89 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 4 tackles for a loss.  He has now played in 96 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 721 tackles, 41 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 20 passes defensed and 7 interceptions.  The Bills needed more toughness against the run and Morrison will help them with that in 2011.

The Bills have signed 29-year old WR Ruvell Martin.  Martin played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Seahawks last year and he caught 7 passes for 158 yards (22.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 54 games (9 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 65 passes for 1,006 yards (15.5 avg) with 7 TD grabs in his NFL career.  The Bills need depth at WR, so I like this signing for them.

UPDATE:  (9/6/2011) – The Bills have released Ruvell Martin.

UPDATE:  (9/13/2011) – The Bills have re-signed Ruvell Martin.

The Buffalo Bills had another rough night last Saturday in Denver.  Ryan Fitzpatrick looked awful in this game as he completed 6 of 16 passes for 44 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Tyler Thigpen was better as he completed 11 of 20 passes for 118 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Brad Smith is looking more and more like the Bills’ #3 QB.  He completed 4 of 4 passes for 34 yards and he also carried the ball 4 times for 24 yards (6.0 ypc) in this game.  RB Bruce Hall led the way for the Bills on the ground and he carried the ball 5 times for 40 yards (8.0 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg) in this game.  Fred Jackson also helped out with 4 carries for 34 yards (8.5 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg) in this game.  WRs Marcus Easley (2 rec, 45 yards) and Felton Huggins (2 rec, 20 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bills.  The Bills rushed for 126 yards on 24 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 40 passes (52.5%) for 188 yards in this game.

The defense looked good against the run but they got lit up by the Broncos’ passing game.  Safety Bryan Scott led the way for the Bills in this game with 5 tackles.  CB Terrence McGee also had a decent game with 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception (he returned it 50 yards).   The Broncos finished up with 101 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7%) for 264 yards in this game.  The Bills are now 0-2 on the pre-season.

The Bills are likely going to try to run the ball a little more in 2011 to help control the clock and protect their defense.  30-year old Fred Jackson will likely be the main ballcarrier for the Bills once again in 2011.  Jackson played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Bills last year and he carried the ball 222 times for 927 yards (4.2 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 31 passes for 215 yards (6.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jackson has now played in 56 games (28 starts) in his first four years with the Bills and he has carried the ball 647 times for 2,860 yards (4.4 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He has also carried the ball 136 times for 1,093 yards (8.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far in his career.  Jackson is a good all-around back, but the Bills might lessen his workload a tad in 2011 in order to get their young RBs some carries.  That will keep Jackson fresh and healthy in 2011.

24-year old C.J. Spiller will likely see a larger load offensively in 2011 for the Bills.  Spiller played in 14 games (1 start) for the Bills last year and he carried the ball 74 times for 283 yards (3.8 ypc).  He also caught 24 passes for 157 yards (6.5 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Spiller has the speed to be lethal on the edges of the D and that’s where the Bills need to get him the ball.  Look for him to have a larger role on offense in 2011.

23-year old Johnny White was a 5th round pick last April out of Louisville.  White gives the Bills a new look as he is a power runner.  I look for him to get some work in short yardage situations and around the goal line in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BILLS RBS IN 2011:  B-

The Bills have released 23-year old OLB Aaron Maybin who has been a complete bust as a first round pick!  Maybin played in 11 games for the Bills last year and he had a whopping 6 tackles.  He played in 27 games in his two years with the Bills and he had 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  Even if he turns into a legit player for another team, the Bills just couldn’t afford to wait as he sucked for them.  This is no loss for the Bills.

The Buffalo Bills played great on defense last night but not so good offensively.  Ryan Fitzpatrick started at QB last night and he completed 7 of 9 passes for 44 yards without a TD pass or interception.  Tyler Thigpen was next up as he completed 1 of 5 passes for 5 yards.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 9 yards (3.0 ypc) last night.  Levi Brown finished up the game by completing 7 of 15 passes for 53 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  RB Joshua Nesbitt led the way on the ground for the Bills last night with 30 yards on 3 carries (10.0 ypc).  Fred Jackson looked sharp in a brief appearance with 3 carries on 18 yards (6.0 ypc) in this game.  Brad Smith ran the Wildcat Formation at QB for the Bills.  He completed 1 of 3 passes for 11 yards and he also carried the ball 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc) in this game.  WRs Naaman Roosevelt (3 rec, 26 yards) and Stevie Johnson (3 rec, 15 yards) led the way for the Bills in the passing game.  The Bills rushed for 89 yards on 23 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 32 passes (50%) for 101 yards last night. 

The defense was excellent for the Bills last night as they racked up an amazing 9 sacks!  LB Danny Batten (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits) and OLB Shawne Merriman (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks) led the way for the Bills’ D last night.  Rookie CB Aaron Williams also had a solid game with 4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  DT Lionel Dotson pitched in with 4 tackles in this game.  The Bears finished up with 164 yards rushing on 35 carries (4.7 ypc) but they only completed 11 of 18 passes (61.1%) for 94 yards.  The Bills wasted a great defensive effort last night.

The Bills have dealt 30-year old WR Lee Evans to the Ravens for a 4th round pick  in 2012.  Evans played in 13 games (all starts) for the Bills last year and he caught 37 passes for 578 yards (15.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 109 games (102 starts) in his 7 years with the Bills and he caught 377 passes for 5,934 yards (15.7 avg) with 43 TD grabs.  Evans finishes his career with the Bills #4 in receptions (377), #3 in receiving yards (5,934) and #3 in TD receptions in franchise history.  The Bills will be banking on Roscoe Parrish and David Nelson picking up some of the slack with Lee Evans no longer on the team.

The Buffalo Bills are depending on 28-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to start at QB and be effective again in 2011.  Fitzpatrick played in 13 games (all starts) for the Bills last season and he completed 255 of 441 passes (57.8%) for 3,000 yards with 23 TD passes and 15 INTs (81.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 40 times for 269 yards (6.7 ypc) last year.  Fitzpatrick’s mobility is a big key behind a Bills’ O-Line that isn’t that good.  He doesn’t have the strongest arm around but he can get the ball field when he needs to.  He has played in 42 games (36 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 679 of 1,175 passes (57.8%) for 7,104 yards with 44 TD passes and 42 INTs (73.0 QB Rating).  Fitzpatrick has also carried the ball 148 times for 778 yards (5.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs in his NFL career so far.  As you can see from his career numbers, Fitzpatrick has never played near as well as he did last season, which makes him a risk as a starting QB.  He owns a 12-23-1 (34.3%) record as a starting QB in the NFL.

27-year old Tyler Thigpen will be Fitzpatrick’s backup.  He played in 5 games (1 start) for the Dolphins last year and he completed 33 of 62 passes (53.2%) for 435 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (73.0 QB Rating).  Thigpen also carried the ball 13 times for 73 yards (5.6 ypc) last year.  Thigpen has a similar skill set at QB to Fitzpatrick’s as he is a mobile QB without a big time arm.  Thigpen won’t be a threat to Fitzpatrick’s starting job in 2011.  Thigpen has played in 22 games (12 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 269 of 496 passes (54.2%) for 3,167 yards with 21 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.7 QB Rating.  Thigpen has also carried the ball 77 times for 462 yards (6.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his NFL career so far.  Thigpen is an amazingly bad 1-11 (8.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

24-year old Levi Brown will be the Bills’ #3 QB in 2011.  He is a developmental project.  Brown played in 1 game (0 starts) last season for the Bills and he completed 2 of 3 passes (66.7%) for 24 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (51.4 QB Rating).  If Brown has to play in 2011, the Bills will be in big, big trouble.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BILLS QBS IN 2011:  C-