30-year old RB Fred Jackson is proving one and for all that he is by far the best RB on the Bills’ roster.  It always seems like they are trying to replace this guy, but he always steps up.  Jackson has played in all 3 games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 47 times for 303 yards (6.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 8 passes for 115 yards (14.4 avg) so far this year.  The Bills’ passing game is getting all of the headlines but Jackson and the rest of the Bills’ runners are averaging a very impressive 155.0 yards rushing per game and 5.6 yards per carry.  Jackson is one of the most underrated RBs in the entire NFL and he is going to make a run at the Pro Bowl if he can stay healthy all year in 2011.

28-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been incredible so far this year for the Bills.  He has played in both of the Bills’ games so far this year and he has completed 45 of 71 passes (63.4%) for 472 yards with 7 TD passes and 1 INT (109.6 QB Rating).  Fitzgerald has also carried the ball 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 ypc) so far this year.  Fitzpatrick is a big reason why the Bills are averaging 39.5 points per game so far this year as the Bills loaded up on defense in free agency and the draft.

26-year old TE Scott Chandler didn’t do much in his first two years in the NFL.  In his first two years in the NFL, Chandler played in 4 games in which he caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  But, last week, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was looking Chandler’s way quite often as he completing 5 of 5 passes to him for 63 yards (12.6 avg).  Two of those receptions by Chandler went for TDs.  The Bills have not had a good pass catching TE in a long, long time.  If he can keep up the good work, it will make the Bills’ offense much less predictable in 2011.

24-year old WR Steve Johnson has exploded on the scene this year.  The Bills have waited for years for Lee Evans to be the receiver that Johnson is now but it never happened.  Johnson has played in 15 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 77 passes for 1,001 yards (13.0 avg) with 10 TD grabs!  Those are really shocking numbers when you consider that Johnson only caught 12 passes for 112 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his first two years with the Bills!  I happen to think that Johnson is for real and that he’s going to continue to get better which should worry CBs and safeties in the AFC East.

When the Buffalo Bills used the #9 overall pick of last April’s NFL Draft on RB C.J. Spiller out of Clemson the plan was for him to return kicks while backing up Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  After the trade of Lynch to Seattle, Spiller started to see more work on offense but he’s still behind Fred Jackson on the depth chart….and he should be.  Spiller has played in 11 games for the Bills so far this year and he has carried the ball 56 times for 232 yards (4.1 ypc).  He has also caught 20 passes for 82 yards (4.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Spiller has remained effective on special teams the whole year long.  He has returned 34 kickoffs for 835 yards (24.6 avg) with a TD and he has also returned 8 punts for 97 yards (12.1 avg).  Spiller has touched the ball 118 times so far this year and he has a combined 1,246 yards (10.6 yards per touch) which averages out to 95.8 total yards per game.  He has also scored 2 TDs so far this year.  Spiller has a nice upside and he might eventually bump Fred Jackson from the starting lineup some time in the near future.

28-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been solid so far this year for the Bills.  Fitzpatrick has played in 10 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 207 of 355 passes (58.3%) for 2,384 yards with 20 TD passes and 11 INTs (84.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 32 times for 187 yards (5.8 ypc) so far this year.  Fitzpatrick has been so good this year that if he finishes strongly be might go into the 2011 season as the Bills’ starting QB.

24-year old undrafted rookie WR David Nelson out of Florida is stepping up.  Nelson has played in 11 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 23 passes for 247 yards (10.7 avg) but he has yet to catch his first NFL TD pass.  Nelson has been playing well since Roscoe Parrish’s injury as he is now the #3 WR for the Bills behind Steve Johnson & Lee Evans.  Look for Nelson to keep getting more looks the rest of this year.

26-year old linebacker Paul Poslusny is a tackling machine for the Bills when healthy.  He has played in 6 games for the Bills so far this year and he has 65 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 sack.  Poslusny has now played in 37 games in his first four years with the Bills and he has 311 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 4 sacks.  The Bills need him to stay healthy as he brings his A-game every week.

In his first two years with the Bills, 24-year old WR Steve Johnson played in 16 games in which he caught 12 passes for 112 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Bills have been looking for a complement to Lee Evans for a long, long time and it appears that they have finally found one.  Johnson has played in 8 games this year for the Bills and he has 41 catches for 554 yards (13.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He is leading the Bills in every receiving category this season and I don’t see that changing any time soon unless he gets hurt.

27-year old QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is making the most of his opportunity to start at QB for the Bills this year.  He replaced Trent Edwards as the Bills’ starting QB for week #3 and he has improved the offense gradually since then.  Fitzpatrick has played in 5 games for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 105 of 176 passes (59.7%) for 1,200 yards with 12 TD passes and 5 INTs (91.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 22 times for 159 yards (7.2 ypc) so far this year.  Fitzpatrick might not have a great throwing arm but he’s really smart (he graduated from Harvard) and he is a good runner.  The sum of the parts of Fitzpatrick have him playing by far the best football of his NFL career right now.  The Bills need him to parlay his fine play into some wins but he needs help.