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After the first two preseason games this year, the Buffalo Bills have given their fans mixed messages as to whether they will improve on the 4-12 record of 2010. In the opener against the Chicago Bears, the first team offense moved the ball well and looked sharp even though they only managed a field goal, and the defense was surprisingly strong, generating 9 sacks against a suspect Bear offensive line. The second game in Denver was an outright disaster. Coach Chan Gailey claimed that the team played vanilla schemes on both offense and defense to better evaluate whether young players can play, basically eliminating the chance of too many mental mistakes overshadowing their physical talent. Normally, this type of evaluation would have been done in the off-season minicamps and OTAs. Gailey couldn’t have been very happy with what he saw, as the Bills looked physically overwhelmed. Donald Jones and Johnny White were injured on plays where they took hard hits from the Denver defense. The offensive and defensive lines both played terribly, as Ryan Fitzpatrick was running for his life the whole time he played, while Kyle Orton picked apart the Buffalo defense for the most part. Here are a few first impressions I got from these 2 games on individual players for the Bills:

Shawne Merriman – judging by his performance in the Bears’ game, his signing late last year could be GM Buddy Nix’s best move. He looks ready to give the Bills a force on defense that opponents will have to account for. The only concern with him is durability, since he has battled injuries and already is being held out of practices and games for “rest”.

Tyler Thigpen – he looks like a competent backup QB so far, a vast improvement over Brian Brohm. It was a good move by the team to add a seasoned veteran to back up Fitzpatrick rather than the unproven Brohm.

Brad Smith – adding this versatile playmaker to the offense and special teams was a great move. He has gotten a surprisingly large amount of snaps at quarterback, which makes you wonder what plans the team has for him in the offense.

Nick Barnett – he was signed to replace Paul Posluszny and so far looks like he is more instinctive and far more active than Poz. The amount of times he overruns plays makes a fan wince, so it’d be a good idea if new LB coach Dave Wannstedt could get him to play a little more under control.

Danny Batten – one of the forgotten draft picks of 2010 who sat out all last year with injuries, he looks like he can play in the league once he gets a little more polished. On a team desperate for improved play at the linebacker position he should get ample opportunity to get playing time.

Arthur Moats – he was one of the surprise positive developments as last season wore on, after he was moved from inside LB to the outside. He has been moved back inside and gotten most of his playing time in the preseason this year with the backups, which is a little tough to understand. On a team that traded a quality veteran like Lee Evans to supposedly give their young receivers opportunities, it makes no sense to have a guy like Moats playing behind mediocrities like Reggie Torbor and Andra Davis.

Marcel Dareus – finally, after years of picking busts like John McCargo and Aaron Maybin, the team looks like it has found a quality defensive player who will be a difference-maker. He had a sack in each game and has looked like he’s ready to start from day one.

Ryan Fitzpatrick – his play in the Denver game isn’t going to give too many Bills’ fans a lot of hope that the offense will improve this year. He didn’t get much help from his offensive line, but didn’t look sharp at all. He showed no signs of the player he became last season after becoming the starter, but hopefully the timing will improve as the preseason goes on.

Leodis McKelvin – the Broncos had a ton of long, sustained drives and consistently kept them alive by throwing at McKelvin on third down. For a high first round draft pick, he is the furthest thing from a “shutdown corner” that you can get. Reggie Corner and rookie Aaron Williams have both outplayed him in my opinion, and to me he should be sent packing along with McCargo and Maybin as another draft bust. It will be interesting to see how the coaches evaluate him.

Alex Carrington – he looks much improved and I see him lining up with Dareus and Kyle Williams as third starter on the three-man line when the season starts.

Marcus Easley – like Batten, he was out all year with injuries and this is basically his rookie season. He hasn’t shown much yet, but with both Donald Jones and Namaan Roosevelt slated to miss the last 2 exhibitions due to injuries, he will get a great opportunity to impress the coaches and earn some playing time.