Bills Banter

Would Michael Vick Have Been a Good Fit With the Bills?

Jeff Greenwell — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:59:42 +0000

Now that Michael Vick has signed edwith the Philadelphia Eagles, we can put to rest all the speculation that had popped up in the days prior to the announcement, that the Bills were interested. The rumor mill was in full swing, even going so far as to say that Vick was spotted at the Buffalo Airport (he wasn’t), and was in town to get a physical (once again, not true). Bills Chief Operating Officer Russ Brandon did his best to quell the rumors, stating flat out that the Bills were not interested in Vick. Period.

But would Vick have been a good fit in Buffalo anyway? The team seems intent on Trent Edwards as the starter, so Vick would’ve been brought in as a backup. Receiver? For the first time in years the Bills seem stacked at that position, with Lee Evans, Terrell Owens, Stevie Johnson, Roscoe Parrish and, potential bust, James Hardy. Punt returner? Parrish is the man, almost on par with Chicago’s Devin Hester and the Saints Reggie Bush. Kick returner? McKelvin showed last year he has the potential to be a game changer, and he’s only going to get better.

The obvious answer then would have been Vick as the QB in the Wildcat formation. Which, to me anyway, would be intriguing becasue he’s so multi-faceted. He can most definitely run (he’s like a 1000 yd running back), and he proved himself a decent, but not great, QB, so teams would have had to respect the pass. But I think that you’re going to see teams having a lot less success in the Wildcat formation this year. Last year it was a novelty, and defensive coordinators are at this moment devising new and better ways to stop it. Personally, I don’t think Vick does well with the Eagles.

Thankfully the Bills didn’t sign Vick, because this team has enough players with “character issues”…Marshawn Lynch, Terrell Owens and James Hardy are three that come to mind. Not to mention the protesters that you’re going to see parked outside of stadiums wherever the Eagles are playing. Talk about a tailgating buzzkill…nothing ruins a good beer-buzz than a bunch of fired-up PETA activists.

Best of luck Philly fans.

It Ain’t Much, But We’ll Take It

Jeff Greenwell — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:13:00 +0000

As my title says, it ain’t much, but still, a top ten showing is a top ten showing. Unfortunately for the Bills, it took a player like Terrell Owens to get there.

But us desperate Bills fans will take anything right now.

Seems that Owens’ no. 81 jersey is the 8th most popular NFL jersey, based on sales. It’s the first time since 2001 a Bills jersey has placed in the top 25 in sales. The numbers are based on jersey sales from April to July of this year.

Not surprisingly, the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers have the most jerseys in the top 25, with three in the top 10. And Bears fans must be as desperate as the Bills fans, because the no. 6 Bears jersey of newly acquired Jay Cutler tops the list.

Here’s the list…

1. Jay Cutler, Chicago
2. Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
3. Mark Sanchez, Jets
4. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
5. Tony Romo, Dallas
6. Tom Brady, New England
7. Brett Favre, Green Bay/Jets
8. Terrell Owens, Buffalo
9. Hines Ward, Pittsburgh
10. Michael Crabtree, San Francisco
11. Eli Manning, Giants
12. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
13. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
14. La Dainian Tomlinson, San Diego
15. Matt Ryan, Atlanta
16. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
17. Jason Witten, Dallas
18. Brian Urlacher, Chicago
19. Joe Flacco, Baltimore
20. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia
21. Kurt Warner, Arizona
22. Brandon Jacobs, Giants
23. Devin Hester, Chicago
24. Matt Cassel, Kansas City
25. Willie Parker, Pittsburgh

What surprises me is that Donovan McNabb isn’t on this list. Oh, and next time this list is put together, expect to see Michael Vick’s no. 7 Eagles jersey on here..

As for me, I’ll stick with my Fred Smerlas jersey. [WGR 550]

Bills 27 Bears 20 in Preseason Action

Jeff Greenwell — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:11:35 +0000

Thank god that the preseason is finally here. Ask any football fan and they’ll tell you that the worst time of year are the months between the Pro Bowl and the opening of training camp. But with camp in full swing, and the preseason games now here, let’s get this blog off with a bang.

The Bills played their 2nd preseason game of the year last night, taking on Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. And I must say, this effort was much improved over their preseason opener. Both the offense and defense looked good, and in the end, the Bills triumphed 27-20.

Bills QB Trent Edwards, although not orchestrating any scoring drives, looked good running the no-huddle for his three series, going 10 of 10 for 79 yards. He also ran for 14 yards on a bootleg to convert a fourth down in Bears territory. Edwards’ backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick, also played well, going 13 of 16 for 143 yards. Hopefully this is a sign that if Edwards goes down during the season, we now have a backup capable of winning games (no offense J.P. Losman).

But as good as the offense looked, it was the defense’s night to shine, as they forced 5 Chicago turnovers, including 2 INT’s by seventh round pick Ellis Lankster. Both picks came against the Bears third string QB Brett Basanez. Bills CB Leodis McKelvin picked off Bears new QB Jay Cutler, snatching a terribly underthrown pass attempt for speedster Devin Hester. Cutler was almost as unimpressive as former Bears, and now Broncos new QB Kyle Orton, going 5 of 10 for 64 yards and the aforementioned pick. Cutler was quick to point out that Bears coach Lovie Smith didn’t play RB Matt Forte and TE Greg Olsen, and used their absences as a possible explanation of his middling play. Jay, another reason may be that your team lacks a true number one wide receiver. And speaking of receivers, Bills WR Terrell Owens sat out the game with a toe injury, but will hopefully return to the practice field come Monday.

Final notes: Bills SS Bryan Scott and CB Drayton Florence both sustained knee injuries, both of which were described as sprains by Bills coach Dick Jauron.