29-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick came out like a ball of fire in 2011, but after the Bills gave him a contract extension…he stunk it up.  The Bills finished with a 6-10 (37.5%) record last year and Fitzpatrick was a big reason for that.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bills last year and he completed 353 of 569 passes (62%) for 3,832 yards with 24 TD passes and 23 INTs (79.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 56 times for 215 yards (3.8 ypc) last year.  Fitzpatrick has now played in 58 games (52 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 1,032 of 1,744 passes (59.2%) for 10,936 yards with 68 TD passes and 65 INTs (75.0 QB Rating).  Fitzpatrick also has carried the ball 204 times for 993 yards (4.9 ypc) with 5 TD carries so far in his career.  Fitzpatrick is now 18-33-1 (35.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

27-year old QB Tyler Thigpen is not much of a player.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Bills last year and he completed 3 of 8 passes (37.5%) for 25 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (6.8 QB Rating).  Thigpen also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards for the Bills last year.  He has now played in 25 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 272 of 504 passes (54.0%) for 3,192 yards with 21 TD passes and 18 INTs (72.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 78 times for 470 yards (6.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Thigpen is a woeful 1-11 (8.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

29-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been awful lately and he has taken his team down with him.  The Bills are 0-6 in their last six games and they have only scored 77 points in those games.  In Fitzpatrick’s last six games, he has completed 123 of 220 passes (55.9%) for 1,271 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs.  Fitzpatrick seems to be buckling under the pressure of his new contract that he recently signed before the downfall of the Bills.  Fitzpatrick has played in 13 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 278 of 449 passes (61.9%) for 3,013 yards with 20 TD passes and 16 INTs (81.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 46 times for 150 yards (3.3 ypc) so far this year.  The Bills need Fitzpatrick to step up if they are going to win more games this year.

No one doubts 25-year old WR Steve Johnson’s talent.  But, he needs to quit acting like a fool so much because it often backfires and the Bills have to pay for it.  His whole celebration last Sunday making fun of Plaxico Burress and then flying around like a Jet,  cost the Bills 15 yards, which certainly aided the Jets in the game.  Johnson has played in 11 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 54 passes for 622 yards (11.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has now played in 43 games in his first four years with the Bills and he has caught 148 passes for 1,807 yards (12.2 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  Johnson has the talent to be one of the best WRs in the league, but he needs to start acting his age instead of his shoe size.

With Fred Jackson out for the season, 2nd year RB C.J. Spiller will be the new featured back in the offense the last six weeks of the year.  Spiller has played in 10 games (5 starts) for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 21 times for 115 yards (5.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 15 passes for 82 yards (5.5 avg) so far this year for the Bills.  Spiller was a first round pick in April, 2010 by the Bills and they saw him as Fred Jackson’s eventual successor….so it’s his time to shine now.  Rookie Johnny White will be expected to give Spiller a break when he needs one.  White played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 10 times for 32 yards (3.2 ypc).  He also has caught 1 pass for -3 yards this year.

28-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been awful since signing the big contract extension he got.  In the last three games, Fitzpatrick has completed 55 of 101 passes (54.5%) for 546 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs.  The Bills have lost all three of those games, by a combined score of 106-26!  Overall this year, Fitzpatrick’s numbers are still solid.  He has played in 10 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 210 of 330 passes (63.6%) for 2,285 yards with 16 TD passes and 14 INTs (82.4 QB Rating).  Fitzpatrick has also carried the ball 32 times for 89 yards (2.8 ypc) so far this year.  They need to get Fitzpatrick back on the right track as 27-year old Tyler Thigpen isn’t too good.  Thigpen has played in 2 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 1 of 5 passes (20%) for 6 yards without a TD pass or INT (39.6 QB Rating).

The Buffalo Bills have lost 31-year old starting CB Terrence McGee for the year due to a torn patella tendon.  He had surgery today to repair it.  McGee played in 6 games for the Bills this year and he had 28 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  McGee has now played in 115 games in his first 9 years with the Bills and he has 512 tackles, 17 interceptions (1 TD return), 96 passes defensed, 15 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.

The Bills will have to start 30-year old Drayton Florence and 21-year old rookie Aaron Williams at CB the rest of the season, and that could spell trouble.  Florence has played in all 10 games for the Bills so far this year and he has 32 tackles, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Williams has played in 4 games for the Bills so far this year and he has 12 tackles.  The Bills need these two guys to step up, or they are going to have big time trouble against passing teams.

The Buffalo Bills aren’t getting much production out of the return game so far this year.  WR Brad Smith is the primary kickoff returner for the Bills, but opponents aren’t giving him much of a chance to show what he can do.  He has only returned 5 kickoffs for 103 yards (20.6 avg) so far this year.  RB C.J. Spiller has returned 1 kickoff for 16 yards for the Bills this year.  That means that the Bills only have 6 kickoff returns for 119 yards (19.8 avg) so far this year, and that’s not too good.  WR Roscoe Parrish is out for the season due to an injury but he returned 5 punts for 46 yards (9.2 avg) before he was injured.  RB C.J. Spiller has taken over as the main punt returner for the Bills and he has returned 8 punts for 58 yards (7.3 avg) so far this year.  The Bills need more explosive plays out of the return game the rest of the 2011 season.

The Buffalo Bills will be without 23-year old WR Donald Jones for four to six weeks due to a serious ankle injury.  Jones has played in 5 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 174 yards (10.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  23-year old Naaman Roosevelt will be counted on to step up for the Bills while Jones is out of action.  Roosevelt has played in 3 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 6 passes for 69 yards (11.5 avg).  This is Roosevelt’s big chance to prove himself.

The Bills will be without 31-year old DE Chris Kelsay indefinitely due to a strained calf muscle.  Kelsay has played in all four of the Bills games so far this year and he has 7 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Look for 23-year old Danny Batten to take over Kelsay’s old starting job until he’s ready to return to action.  Batten has played in all four games for the Bills so far this year and he has 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.

The Bills gave 27-year old WR/RB Brad Smith a nice contract after the lockout was over, but he’s been laughing all the way to the bank as he hasn’t done much this year.  Smith has played in all 4 games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 7 times for 32 yards (4.6 ypc) and he has also caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg).  Smith has only thrown 1 incomplete pass so far this year as the Bills have not used much trickery so far this year.  I have a feeling that will be coming soon.  Smith has also returned 2 kickoffs for 44 yards (22.0 avg) as other teams keep kicking the ball out of the end zone.