Buffalo Bills

Off-seasons can be difficult if you run a blog about a pro football team, because even when said team is practicing in the spring, those practices are in shorts, don't include pads and provide very little of substance. Said blog runner is therefore left without much in the way of substantive posting ideas, which is why I have to thank the multitude of Buffalo Bills fans and loyal blog readers that submitted questions for this week's mailbag post. Keep them coming, please. (Seriously: pretty please?) Brian, can you talk about some of the players that might not be snug fits for the Mike Pettine defense, either this year or in the future? - Richard Two players immediately came to mind, and for very different reasons: Leodis McKelvin and Kyle Williams. McKelvin's is based on performance, obviously; five years into his pro playing career, it's hard to imagine him ever bucking the inconsistent label he's earned since 2008. There's a ton riding on McKelvin this year; he's a lock to start at this point, and considering that he was the team's fifth cornerback at times over the last two seasons, that is frankly terrifying. I also don't think of him as a particularly versatile player; he was abysmal in the slot in 2012, and I think he'd be physically overmatched as a safety, too. Pettine's defense is man-coverage reliant, so that might help McKelvin adjust as an outside, starting corner this year. I only bring up Williams because of Pettine's system. Williams, to my eye, is the Bills' best defensive lineman by a significant margin. He has to be on the field a lot in 2012 if the team is going to reverse their fortunes on defense and, dare we dream, compete for a playoff spot. In the bigger picture, though, Williams is the least versatile of the team's prominent linemen - he's a one-gap penetrator from a handful of different techniques, but struggles to play two gaps head-up on a blocker because of his smallish stature - and his value may decrease quickly for the organization, particularly if younger defensive linemen reach their potential. Hey Brian, I was wondering if you could do an article on an updated roster projection of the 53 man team? - The Sweeglings Sure, why not? I'll do about 30 more of these anyway; one of them is bound to be right. (Right?) Pos. Starter Backup Reserve Reserve FL T.J. Graham Brad Smith TE Scott Chandler Lee Smith Chris Gragg * LT Cordy Glenn Zebrie Sanders LG Chris Scott Sam Young C Eric Wood Colin Brown RG Kraig Urbik RT Chris Hairston Erik Pears SL Robert Woods * Marquise Goodwin * SE Stevie Johnson Da'Rick Rogers * QB Kevin Kolb E.J. Manuel * RB C.J. Spiller Fred Jackson Tashard Choice Frank Summers NT Kyle Williams Alan Branch Torell Troup DT Marcell Dareus Alex Carrington RE Mario Williams Mark Anderson Jerry Hughes SLB Manny Lawson Marcus Dowtin MLB Kiko Alonso Arthur Moats Chris White WLB Nigel Bradham Bryan Scott RCB Stephon Gilmore Crezdon Butler SS Da'Norris Searcy Jonathan Meeks * FS Jairus Byrd Duke Williams * NCB Aaron Williams Justin Rogers Nickell Robey * LCB Leodis McKelvin Ron Brooks K Dustin Hopkins * P Shawn Powell LS Garrison Sanborn Do you think the time has come where we will see a return of prominence for the fullback position in Buffalo? - Matthew It would not necessarily surprise me, but I sincerely doubt it. Put another way: if the Bills do use the fullback more frequently in 2013, I would anticipate that being a short-lived development. Much like a hybrid defense, offenses are trending toward trying to find personnel that can line up in multiple positions to create matchup disadvantages. You'll note that New England, for example, can line their tight ends up pretty much anywhere they want, and

Be sure to remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country on this Memorial Day weekend. There’s a reason we can all have backyard barbecues this weekend. Let’s get to the latest edition of your questions from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills. 1 – Chris, I think we can still get players like Charles Woodson, etc . to further help this year if we can get them at the right price? Don’t get me wrong. I love what we have done so far this off season and draft. CB: Sure you saw that Woodson returned to the Raiders where his career started on a one-year deal. I don’t know that he’s cornerback material anymore at his age. That being said I will say I’d feel better if the team added a veteran cornerback. I think the team is well stocked with inside slot defenders, but outside where you need more size, Gilmore and McKelvin are the projected starters. Crezdon Butler (6’1”) and T.J. Heath (6’1”) both offer good size, but not much experience. The free agent market at corner however, doesn’t offer much. There are a lot of vets that are past their prime. Still, a vet that could be plugged in should injury strike that can still get the job done even for a four to six game stretch could prove valuable. 2 - Hi Chris, I enjoy your articles and videos every day during the off season! Buddy before he stepped down said there will be more veteran players released from their teams to make more cap room, etc. What are any of the dates between now and training camp when teams will have to make decisions on keeping or releasing players? Please keep up the good work, 40 year Bill’s fans like me can’t get enough updates and info. Thanks again! Bob S CB: The releases that Buddy was referring to were due strictly to cap room being hard to come by for some NFL clubs. It’s not really any roster reduction dates that will prompt that between now and the start of training camp. Offseason rosters are now at 90 players, but only the top 51 count toward the salary cap. The first cutdown from 90 to 75 players happens the last week in August, with the cut to 53 just a few days later. 3 – Hi, Chris! As a former WNYer, and a long time Bills fan living afar off in NJ, in the midst of huge numbers of Giants, Jets, and Eagles fans, thanks for helping me stay abreast of all things Bills related.  I was excited to see the schedule come out and find that I will be in the New Orleans area while my favorite team is playing the Saints! What’s the best way to get tickets to that game where I will be sitting among fellow  WNYers?  Keep up the great work, my friend! Michael C. Edison, NJ CB: I’d recommend getting in touch with the local Bills Backers chapter in New Orleans. They can probably tell you where to park to tailgate and might be able to help you with tickets at the Superdome. Here is their info from the Bills Backers page on Buffalobills.com. Big Easy Bills Backers The Bricks Courtyard Bar & Grill 735 St. Joseph St. New Orleans, LA 504-525-2396 4 – Chris, After years of being one of the oldest in age from top to bottom run nfl operations the bills have emerged with young executives and coaching staff to possibly being one of the youngest. Can you comment on this ? Also have you seen Bill Polian walking the halls at 1 Bills Drive? Just asking ! As always enjoy your work……. Wally J.  in Fredericksburg, Va. CB: Thanks to our crack research staff the Bills front office (Brandon, Marrone, Whaley) is the youngest in the league in terms of average age, which we blogged last week. And no, no Bill Polian sightings. 5 – Dear Chris: Great draft coverage and congratulations on predicting EJ Manuel as the 1st pick.  Can we play “What if”?  What if the Jets used their 2nd pick on Manuel instead of their 3rd on Geno Smith?  What would the Bills have done with their pick at 16 overall? Thanks, Neil in Jamestown, NY CB: I think there’s a strong chance they would’ve tried to move back again

Mike Pettine has left Rex Ryan to make a name for himself as a top defensive coordinator and possible future head coaching candidate and his first and most would like to hope is only stop will be Buffalo. The point of me writing today is to breakdown mostly the pros and the one big worry fans should have about their new defensive boss. Brian Galliford wrote a very informative piece (http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/5/22/4353848/defining-mike-pettine-bills-defense-a-philosophical-endeavor) earlier in the week breaking down Pettine's scheme and strategy. I suggest that you should read it as it is very good. Pettine's defense in New York finished eighth in total defense, second against the pass and 26th against the run last year. Compared with the Bills who finished 22nd, 10th and 31st respectively in those same categories, it appears that Pettine is clearly an upgrade from Dave Wannstedt and George Edwards. We know from watching the Jets the last few years that this will be a much different defense then what BILLS fans are used to and this is a good thing! Pettine has said that his defense is going to be aggressive and rush the quarterback. The big positive to me is finally the BILLS have a defensive coordinator who is going to disguise his coverage and audible. The last four years under Perry Fewell and the above mentioned Edwards and Wannstedt the BILLS would line up in a base scheme and wait. This is why Tom Brady torches the defense twice a year because there was no trick to what the BILLS were going to do. You knew when they were blitzing and you knew when they weren't. The same goes for zone and man coverage. There were college defenses being more slick then what the BILLS have been putting on the field the last four seasons. With Pettine the fans and players should be confident that the defensive scheme is going to be more aggressive and is going to have quarterbacks and offensive coordinators worrying about what the defense is going to do instead of the other way around. He is going to blitz, he is going to audible and disguise his coverage, he is going to rely on all 11 players to do their part instead of leaving the pass rushing to the front four and the tackling to the rest of the players. These are the positives and fans should be excited that finally there is a progressive defensive coordinator who appears to have the right schemes and mindset to fix this defense and make the BILLS competitive in more games. The worry is does he have the talent and if he doesn't can he coach well enough to hide the weaknesses and utilize the strengths? This is a worry for one reason only and it is not because he worked under Rex Ryan. The worry is because he has had phenomenal talent in New York and Baltimore. As fans know he had the best cornerback duo in Revis and Antonio Cromartie, a very good linebacking group in David Harris, LaRon Landry and Bart Scott and a competitive defensive line that helped register 47 sacks last season compared to the BILLS who only had 30 for the year which was less than two per game. Obviously in Baltimore he had that guy named Ray Lewis so Pettine has always had great talent to coach. When you have that level of talent you can get away with a lot more then you can when you can with average or slightly better than average talent. The BILLS do have talent on defense. The line now with Pettine calling the plays will hopefully reach its potential of being the top d-line in the NFL. But the linebacker and secondary units are young. Talented but young. Can Pettine make the same type of man-to-man calls with Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin at the corners instead of Revis and Cromartie? If he can't will he figure that out soon enough and adjust his packages to give those guys chances to succeed? The same goes for Manny Lawson and company at linebacker? Over the years the BILLS have shown an inability to make proper in game and halftime adjustments. Can Pettine do that? The succes

I want to try something a little different on the message board today. I am a life long Bills Fan, grew up in Western New York and now live in Atlanta, GA. The Bills are playing at Tampa Bay and at Jacksonville this year in December. I can drive to both cities. However I can only afford to go to one game. So fellow Bills Fans if you were me which game would you go to and why? I want to try something a little different on the message board today. I am a life long Bills Fan, grew up in Western New York and now live in Atlanta, GA. The Bills are playing at Tampa Bay and at Jacksonville this year in December. I can drive to both cities. However I can only afford to go to one game. So fellow Bills Fans if you were me which game would you go to and why? Poll Which Game would you want to be at Tampa Bay Jacksonville 2 votes | Results

Nov 6, 2011; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills former players Jim Kelly (left) and Thurman Thomas (right) before the game against the New York Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports In yesterdays trivia questions to challenege all of you long time Buffalo Bills fans, we asked two different questions.  These questions were… Jim Kelly has thrown 237 touchdowns in his career.  What team does Jim have the most touchdowns against and how many has he thrown? Which Buffalo Bills Quarterback holds the most passing yards thrown in a loss? This Quraterback threw for over 400 yards. So now the answers. Jim Kelly has thrown 237 career touchdowns.  He has the most touchdowns against the New York Jets.  He has thrown 33n total touchdowns against them.  Most against any other team. The quarterback with the most passing yards in a loss was Drew Bledsoe.  He threw 417 yards in a 49-31 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Trivia Questions: During the 2000′s there have been 4 running backs that have had over a 1000 yards for the Buffalo Bills.  Combined they have 7 1000 yard seasons.  Name the four running backs. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Joe Ferguson was the first Buffalo Bills quarterback to put up a 3000 yard season.  He did this in 1979.  Two years later, in 1981, he would become the first quarterback in team history to have two 3000 yard seasons.  No Bills quarterback has more 3000 yard seasons though than who? He has a total of  eight. Did You Know? Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Jim Kelly’s last regular season touchdown pass was caught in 1996 by Quinn Early.  His last overall touchdown pass was caught later that year in the playoffs by Thurman Thomas.

Earlier this off-season, the Buffalo Bills were worried that tight end Scott Chandler wouldn't be ready to hit the field for the start of training camp after January ACL surgery. They were so concerned, in fact, that they targeted tight ends on the free agent market (Delanie Walker and Fred Davis), then took a shot on seventh-round pick Chris Gragg of Arkansas in the 2013 NFL Draft. Gragg was the only tight end departed GM Buddy Nix picked in four years on the job; that should give you some insight on how worried about Chandler's knee. Perhaps their worry was a bit overblown. Just five months removed from the injury and a little over four from the surgery, Chandler is already running routes (albeit not at full speed), according to BuffaloBills.com. "The knee feels really good," Chandler said at the conclusion of his solo workout. "I feel great. Running routes you could probably tell it's not 100 percent, but it's better than most so I feel good." Chandler also told reporters that he'll make an attempt at participating in the team's mandatory mini-camp in mid-June, but that it's more realistic that he'll return to the field when training camp begins in late July. "Honestly I just wanted to be ready to go when training camp and the season came around," Chandler said Thursday. "I’m not a guy who is going to sit there and hope that it gets better. I’m going to be proactive." If Chandler is indeed on the field when training camp, he shouldn't have any trouble holding onto his starting job. As a full-time starter over the last two years, Chandler has recorded 81 receptions for 960 yards and 12 touchdowns in 29 games played. Every other tight end on Buffalo's roster - including Dorin Dickerson, who has been moved to receiver - has a combined 20 career receptions at the NFL level.

Bills Showing Exuberance | Three Point Stance | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle "Still, the breaths of fresh air that are being drawn in the facility are a good sign. This team needed a tremendous overhaul, and it has gotten one. I’ve said that before, too, and been greatly disappointed. Hopefully, things will be different this time around." OTA Practice Notes - Day 6 - BuffaloBills.com "Absences provided opportunities for some young Bills to make the most of the increased practice reps." Scott Chandler news Chandler on fast track in return from ACL - BuffaloBills.com"Chandler, just four and a half months removed from surgery, and five months to the day from sustaining the injury, wasn’t 100 percent, but was effectively dropping his weight and cutting off the surgically repaired knee and pulling in receptions from Bills rookie QB Jeff Tuel." Bills’ Chandler making quick comeback - Sports - The Buffalo News"The knee feels really good," Chandler said. "I feel great. Running routes, you guys saw, I don’t know that it’s 100-percent but it’s better than most so I’m feeling good." WGR 550 SportsRadio - Bills' Chandler Working Hard Through Torn ACL Rehab"Chandler had his January surgery performed by Dr. Leslie Bisson in western New York, and raved about the job he did. Running and cutting the way he was on Thursday, it's rather remarkable how well he was moving just four-and-a-half months removed." More clicks We found the O.J. Simpson tattoo dude: 'It's not a joke' - Press Coverage | The Buffalo News"Think about the passion of Buffalo sports fans. People say they live and die red and blue, bleed blue and gold. Fans carry it on them. To have your favorite sports team on your body forever is a bold, indelible statement of your commitment." Inside The Bills | Bills blitz scheme productiveFrom the other side of it, Eric Wood had this to say: "You’ve kind of got to take the good with the bad in these early stages of an offense and understand that on the back end we’re going to come out all right."

Hannah and Dan work take the gym outside and work on circuit training exercises with the group.

Watch behind the scenes as the 2013 Buffalo Bills rookie class tours Buffalo.

Now that the 2013 Bills rookie class has arrived in Buffalo, it’s only fitting that we show them around the great Queen City. The sixth annual Buffalo Bills rookie tour kicked off from One Bills ...