29-year old Fred Jackson and first round pick C.J. Spiller will likely give the Bills a really good running game in 2010.  Spiller has the speed to take the ball the distance on any carry or catch.  He is also a good return man but I don’t think the Bills should use him in that role.  Fred Jackson bumped Marshawn Lynch from his starting job last season.  He played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Bills last season and he carried the ball 237 times for 1,062 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Jackson also caught 46 passes for 371 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jackson also helped out on special teams last season for the Bills returning 6 punts for 69 yards (11.5 avg) and 41 kickoffs for 1,014 yards (24.7 avg).  Jackson has now played in 40 games (15 starts) in his three years with the Bills and he has carried the ball 425 times for 1,933 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 105 passes for 878 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his young career.  Jackson has returned 13 punts for 185 yards (14.2 avg) and 56 kickoffs for 1,241 yards (22.2 avg) in his career.  I look for Jackson to do most of the heavy lifting between the tackles with Spiller getting a lot of sweeps to try to exploit defenses with his speed.

24-year old Marshawn Lynch has been rumored to be on his way out of town via trade but he’s still on the team as of right now.  Lynch played in 13 games (6 starts) for the Bills last year and he carried the ball 120 times for 450 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 28 passes for 179 yards (6.4 avg) last season.  He looks like he’ll be third in line for the ball this season which won’t make him too happy.  It will be interesting to see if he decides to mope or play harder.  Lynch has now played in 41 games (34 starts) in his three years with the Bills in which he has carried the ball 650 times for 2,601 yards (4.0 ypc) with 17 TD carries.  Lynch also has caught 93 passes for 663 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab with the Bills.

24-year old Chad Simpson was a late free agent signing for the Bills.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Colts last season and he carried the ball 15 times for 102 yards (6.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 1 whole yard (0.3 avg) last year.  Simpson has now played in 25 games (0 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 30 times for 147 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Simpson also has caught 6 passes for 31 yards (5.2 avg) in his NFL career.  The reason the Bills probably signed Simpson is so that they won’t be tempted to use Fred Jackson or C.J. Spiller on kickoff returns.  Simpson returned 38 kickoffs for 898 yards (23.6 avg) with a TD last year and he has returned 53 kickoffs in his NFL career for 1,242 yards (23.4 avg) with 1 TD return.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BILLS RBs in 2010:  A-

The Buffalo Bills decided to go with what they have at QB for the 2010 season as they passed up picking Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clausen (twice).  Now they will head into the 2010 NFL season with the same riff raff at QB that they used in 2009 unless 7th round pick Levi Brown steps up.  26-year old Trent Edwards likely heads into training camp as the starting QB but his job is written in pencil.  Edwards played in 8 games for the Bills last season and he completed 110 of 183 passes (60.1%) for 1,169 yards with 6 TD passes and 7 INTs (73.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 106 yards (7.6 ypc) without scoring a TD.  Edwards is starting to remind me more of Rob Johnson every day and that is a bad thing for the Bills.  He has played in 32 games in his career with the Bills now and he has completed 506 of 826 passes (61.3%) for 5,498 yards with 24 TD passes and 25 INTs (77.9 QB Rating).  Edwards has also carried the ball 64 times for 272 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD carries in his career so far.  Edwards has the potential to be a decent QB if he can stay in one piece for a whole year which is doubtful as he is pretty brittle.  The Bills have a 14-16 record (46.7%) in games started by Edwards in his career with them.

24-year old Brian Brohm will be #2 on the depth chart coming into training camp for some reason.  The Bills’ brass has him competing for the starting job in training camp which makes me think that he must be a very impressive player in practice.  He has played in 2 games in his NFL career (both last season) in which he completed 17 of 29 passes (58.6%) for 146 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (43.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for -3 yards (-1.0 ypc).  The fact that Brohm is competing for the starting job just shows you how much in shambles the Bills are at QB.  The Bills are 0-1 when Brohm starts at QB for them.

27-year old Ryan Fitzpatrick played the most of the Bills’ QBs last season but he opens training camp as the #3 guy.  Fitzpatrick played in 10 games for the Bills last season in which he completed 127 of 227 passes (55.9%) for 1,422 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 INTs (69.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 31 times for 141 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run last season.  Fitzpatrick has great mobility as he is a great runner but he has a very weak throwing arm which often hampers both him and the Bills’ offense.  Fitzpatrick has played in 28 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 424 of 734 passes (57.8%) for 4,104 yards with 21 TD passes and 27 INTs (67.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 108 times for 509 yards (4.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs in his career.  #3 on the depth chart is where Fitzpatrick doesn’t hurt the Bills.  Ryan Fitzpatrick has a career record of 8-14-1 (36.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

Rookie 7th round pick Levi Brown out of Troy will have a hard time making the Bills and that says a lot about his talent.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BILLS’ QBs in 2010:  D-

The Buffalo Bills are heading into the 2009 season without a safety net at backup QB.  The Bills have replaced J.P. Losman with Ryan Fitzpatrick and that’s a huge downgrade.  With that in mind the Bills need injury prone QB Trent Edwards to stay upright if the offense is going to have any success.  Edwards is a solid QB as he has a good throwing arm and with T.O. and Lee Evans lining up at WR it gives the Bills a good chance to have a good downfield passing attack.  If anything happens to Edwards the Bills’ season will likely go right into the toilet.  Fitzpatrick doesn’t have much of an arm as his feet are his best asset on the football field.  The Bengals went into the tank last season when Carson Palmer got injured and Fitzpatrick had to play.  Untested Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker will battle for the #3 QB job this summer.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  C-

31-year old placekicker Rian Lindell is money in the bank for the Bills.  The amazing thing about that is the fact that the often terrible weather in the 2nd half of the season in Buffalo doesn’t seem to effect him at all.  Lindell played in all 16 games for the Bills last season and he was 24 of 27 (88.9%) on field goals and he made all 24 of his extra points.  Lindell is very important to the Bills because the offense wasn’t potent last year often leaving it to him to put points on the scoreboard.  Lindell has now played in 124 games in his NFL career and he has converted 175 of 217 field goals (80.6%) and all 248 of his extra point attempts in his career.  Look for Lindell to have another outstanding season in 2008 for the Bills.

The Bills have essentially been using their tight ends as extra offensive linemen because they don’t throw the ball much to them.  6’4″, 255 pound veteran Robert Royal will be the starter for the Bills in 2008.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Bills last season and he caught 25 passes for 248 yards (9.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Don’t expect numbers better than that in 2008 as the Bills will be looking to throw to other players in the passing game.  Royal has now played in 67 games (59 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 79 passes for 730 yards (9.2 avg) with 11 TD grabs.

2nd year man Derek Schouman has converted to TE from fullback and he is currently #2 on the Bills’ depth chart at the position.  He is 6’2″, 247 pounds and he has good hands and is a solid blocker.  He played in 3 games (1 start) last season for the Bills and he caught 3 passes for 19 yards (6.3 avg) as a rookie.

Rookie Derek Fine could move up the depth chart quickly if he plays well in training camp and the pre season.  Fine is 6’3″, 245 pounds but he runs a 4.8 40 so don’t expect a lot of long pass plays out of him.  Fine played in 13 games (10 starts) last season for Kansas and he caught 46 passes for 394 yards (8.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Fine finished up his career at Kansas having played in 48 games (33 starts) and he caught 98 passes for 1,009 yards (10.3 avg) with 10 TD grabs.

6’6″, 270 pound veteran Courtney Anderson will try to work his way up the depth chart before the season begins.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) last season for the Lions and Falcons and he didn’t catch a pass for either team.  Anderson has now played in 43 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 62 passes for 763 yards (12.3 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He could surprise this season if he’s healthy and focused.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D

The Bills drafted James Hardy in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft to provide a big target for Bills’ QBs and to help stop teams from doubling up on Lee Evans.  We shall see if it will work out or not.  Evans is 5’10″, 197 pounds and he’s as fast as lightning.  Evans started all 16 games for the Bills last season and he caught 55 passes for 849 yards (15.4 avg) with 5 TD runs.  Opposing teams doubled him almost every game because the Bills didn’t have anyone else they had to worry about in the passing game.  If Hardy does a good job on the other side of the field Evans could have his best season yet.  Evans has now played in 64 games (57 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 233 passes for 3,727 yards (16.0 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  He’s also shifty on trick plays as he has carried the ball 9 times for 123 yards (13.7 ypc) in his career.

6’6″, 220 pound James Hardy gives the Bills a legitimate big target for the first time in years.  He’s not the fastest runner around but he has good hands and his size helps him win a lot of jump balls.  Hardy played in 13 games (all starts) at Indiana last season and he caught 79 passes for 1,125 yards (14.2 avg) with 16 TD grabs.  Hardy finished up his career at Indiana having played in 33 games (32 starts) in which he caught 191 passes for 2,740 yards (14.3 avg) with 36 TD grabs.  He should have a solid rookie season for the Bills.

Mighty mite Roscoe Parrish is fast but he’s too small to take a constant beating as he is only 5’9″, 171 pounds.  Parrish will likely either be the #3 or #4 WR for the Bills this season.  He played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Bills last season and he caught 35 passes for 352 yards (10.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 19 yards (6.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Look for Parrish’s numbers to spike a little bit this season as the Bills try to create mis-matches with his speed in the slot.  Parrish has now played in 42 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 73 passes for 820 yards (11.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Parrish has also carried the ball 7 times for 35 yards (5.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Josh Reed is a possession receiver and he can take the punishment going over the middle as he is 5’10″, 210 pounds.  Reed has good hands but he doesn’t have good enough speed to make really big plays.  Reed played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Bills last season and he caught 51 passes for 578 yards (11.3 avg).  He also carried the ball 4 times for 10 yards (2.5 ypc).  If Reed wins the #3 WR job in training camp he could catch a lot of balls this season for the Bills.  Reed has now played in 88 games (35 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 228 passes for 2,687 yards (11.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Reed has also carried the ball 14 times for 57 yards (4.1 ypc) in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

The Bills will likely just have there fullbacks block in the running game and that’s about it.  28-year Darian Barnes heads the depth chart heading into training camp.  He is 6’2″, 240 pounds and he brings a lot of experience to the position.  He played in 5 games (3 starts) for the Jets last season but he didn’t get to touch the ball.  Barnes has now played in 66 games (25 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 5 times for 10 yards (2.0 ypc).  He has also caught 14 passes for 87 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Don’t expect big numbers out of Barnes but he will put in a honest effort on both offense and special teams.

Jonathan Evans will be Barnes’ backup.  He doesn’t have any experience yet in the NFL but he has nice size at 6’0″, 240 pounds.  Don’t expect much out of Evans in 2008.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON:  D+

The Buffalo Bills will be depending on a flock of running backs that have three years of experience among them.  Marshawn Lynch was everything the Bills expected and more as a rookie last season.  He runs with surprising power and he’s really fast as he can separate from defenders if he can get behind them.  Lynch will be the main man in the running game as long as he can stay healthy and out of jail (he’s being investigated for a hit and run accident).  Lynch played in 13 games (all starts) for the Bills last season and he carried the ball 280 times for 1,115 yards (4.0 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 18 passes for 184 yards (10.2 avg).  Look for Lynch to improve on his numbers as a rookie and for him to be the focal point of the Bills’ offense.

Fred Jackson is an overachiever as he doesn’t test well with a stopwatch but he plays much faster on the football field with someone chasing him.  He played in 8 games (1 start) for the Bills last season and he carried the ball 58 times for 300 yards (5.2 ypc) and he also caught 22 times for 190 yards (8.6 avg).  Look for Jackson to have decent numbers this season as he will likely get more playing time so that they can keep Lynch fresh for the season.

Dwayne Wright had a disappointing rookie season for the Bills.  He played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Bills last season and he carried the ball 29 times for 94 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg).  Wright better come to camp focused as he could move either up or down on the depth chart based on his performance.

Rookie Xavier Omon was a power runner at little Northwest Missouri State and it will be interesting to see how he handles the jump in competition.  If he’s impressive in camp he could have a somewhat significant role on the Bills’ as the depth chart behind Marshawn Lynch could change.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C+

Trent Edwards burst onto the scene last year in Buffalo and he took the starting job at QB away from J.P. Losman.  Edwards didn’t have great numbers as a rookie but you could just tell that he was a better leader than Losman ever was.  He will need to stay healthy if he wants to keep the job and that has been a problem for him in the past including last season.  Edwards played in 10 games (9 starts) for the Bills last season and he completed 151 of 269 passes (56.1%) for 1,630 yards with 7 TD passes and 8 interceptions (70.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 49 yards (3.5 ypc).

J.P. Losman lost the starting job last season but that doesn’t mean he won’t be ready if the Bills need him.  Losman is a really good scrambler but he sometimes has ball security problems and that gets him into trouble with the coaching staff.  Losman does have a stronger arm than Edwards does and he can get the ball downfield to Lee Evans.  Losman played in 8 games (7 starts) for the Bills last season and he completed 111 of 175 passes (63.4%) for 1,204 yards with 4 TD passes and 6 interceptions (76.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 110 yards (5.5 ypc).  The bad thing about Losman is that he is still the same QB he was earlier in his career as he hasn’t shown much improvement.  Losman has now played in 37 games (31 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 495 of 837 passes (59.1%) for 5,627 yards with 31 TD passes and 29 interceptions (77.3 QB Rating).  He also has run the ball 91 times for 419 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker will battle for the #3 QB job on the Bills and neither of them have any game experience in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C