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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.

When the National Football League owners and players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement recently, ending the lockout that wiped out the off-season and the Hall of Fame preseason game, it set off an unprecedented frenzy of team activity involving trades, cuts, and signings of both undrafted college grads and unrestricted free agents. It was almost impossible to keep up with the comings and goings, and with training camps being shortened, along with two-a-day practices in those camps being reduced, it will force teams to be focused and try to put together clubs that play together in a short period of time. Personally, I think this phenomenon will result in a better brand of football being played once the regular season starts, because teams will be forced to simplify their schemes in order to let new players get comfortable. Players will get a chance to play instead of being overcoached and forced to play schemes they don’t understand. There’s one thing I like about the new CBA – the rookie wage scale. Almost all of the 32 teams were able to sign all their draft picks within a week of the agreement being ratified. That never even came close to happening under the old system.

In looking at the trades and signings, the Philadelphia Eagles made the most spectacular moves. They snuck in at the last moment and signed the top FA prize, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, inked defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins, running back Ronnie Brown, traded backup QB Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominic Rogers-Cromartie, and brought in Vince Young as their new backup QB. The New York Jets hoped to sign Asomugha, but instead remade their wide receiver corps, signing veterans Derrick Mason and Plaxico Burress and letting Braylon Edwards leave for the 49ers. Some other good receivers changed addresses, with Sidney Rice leaving Minnesota and signing with Seattle, and Steve Breaston leaving Arizona to sign with the Chiefs.

New England made a couple of eye-opening trades, acquiring DL Albert Haynesworth from Washington and WR Chad Ochocinco from the Bengals. The Cardinals, who self-destructed after Kurt Warner retired, tried to bolster the QB position by trading for Kolb, while the Vikings looked to replace Brett Favre by dealing for another aging QB, Donovan McNabb. Miami lost Ronnie Brown, an average back but a key component of their “wildcat” formation, and is still considering trading for Denver’s Kyle Orton to challenge starting QB Chad Henne. They also brought back DE Jason Taylor but I’ll be surprised if he even makes their final roster. Locally, the Bills watched Paul Posluszny and Donte Whitner, both defensive starters, sign elsewhere. Considering their defense was horrible last season and both players had huge contracts, those losses shouldn’t hurt that badly. Re-signing CB Drayton Florence was a good move, and signing Nick Barnett to replace Poz was a positive. Signing versatile Brad Smith from the Jets is intriguing. He seems to fit the Bills’ team profile of unsung players perfectly. Tyler Thigpen didn’t do much in Miami last year, but he’s familiar with Chan Gailey’s offense, has experience and is a definite upgrade at the backup QB position over Brian Brohm.

News came out this week that the Buffalo Bills’ players, in the midst of the current lockout, are holding “informal” workouts in the area to get some semblance of normalcy in their routine. This is the time of year when minicamps would be in full swing, and it’s great to see that the players are at least giving the effort to remain a “team” while the lockout drags on. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had previously held workouts at his home in Arizona with the team’s receivers, trying to build on the chemistry developed last season. Fitz is also present at these most recent “practices”, along with other team leaders such as player rep George Wilson, Lee Evans, Chris Kelsay and Fred Jackson. The players have admitted that due to injury concerns, they can’t accomplish as much as they would at a formal team minicamp, but see a lot of value in just building camaraderie among their teammates. Wide receiver Donald Jones is not here for the workouts. He will be taking part in another informal workout in Florida next week with other players – from the Jets and Dolphins – being called the “AFC East Blitz”. It’s funny that no members of the Patriots will be there. Maybe the participating players didn’t want to be bothered with having to search the Pats’ players’ gymn bags for hidden video cameras. The idea of these players from rival teams practicing at the same facility is pretty strange. One blogger – Brian Galliford on Buffalo Rumblings.com, wrote that these workouts “make me wonder what would’ve happened if Kent Hull and Bryan Cox had worked out together”.

The Bills’ local workouts attracted at least 32 players from the roster, along with some local undrafted college free agents hoping to get their NFL shot once the lockout is over. There was a rumor that J.P. Losman was taking part also. Yikes. It was great to see that a pair of Buffalo draft picks – linebacker Kelvin Sheppard from LSU and safety Da’Norris Searcy of North Carolina – are taking part in the workouts also. Sheppard is a guy the Bills’ coaching staff fell in love with at the Senior Bowl this year, and this kid appears to be a real leader who has no qualms about taking charge in any situation. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the starting lineup at inside linebacker on opening day this year, whenever that opening day finally happens. Searcy could be the heir apparent to Donte Whitner’s starting safety position, and at this point him being involved in the workouts and getting to know his future teammates is a great move on his part, while Whitner continues to “tweet” his way out of town.

Shortly after the NFL draft every year, each team’s coach and/or general manager step in front of the cameras and pronounce “We got all the players we wanted”, or some version of this. In looking at the Buffalo Bills’ draft selections for 2011, it’s important to keep in mind that the process that began last season of rebuilding the club into a respectable NFL team was done in an unusual manner. The team’s “personality” at this point centers around players who aren’t superstars but worked their way to where they are the hard way – as low round draft picks and even undrafted free agents. Consider the key players on both offense and defense for the Bills – Ryan Fitzpatrick (low budget free agent signing from the Bengals), Fred Jackson (undrafted free agent), Stevie Johnson (7th round pick), Donald Jones and David Nelson (undrafted free agents), Kyle Williams (5th round pick), Arthur Moats (6th round pick), George Wilson and Bryan Scott (undrafted free agents). This being the case, we’ll evaluate the Bills’ picks with the idea that they all, regardless of which round they were picked in, have a legitimate opportunity to make the final roster.

1. Marcell Dareus – there was no question going into this draft that the Bills’ biggest need was adding youth, strength and speed to their front seven on defense, so this pick is a great one. As noted in a previous post, Dareus is capable of playing both tackle in a 4-3 scheme and end in a 3-4, so he’s a perfect fit for the Bills’ “hybrid” scheme. It’s encouraging that when he visited One Bills Drive after the draft to be introduced to the media, that he was really excited and wanted to go in and see the stadium.

2. Aaron Williams – cornerback from Texas who was rated by many as a first round talent. He’s a big, physical corner who tackles well (remember Antoine Winfield?). Incumbent starter Terrence McGee has had trouble staying on the field the last couple of years because of nagging injuries, Ashton Youboty and Drayton Florence likely won’t be back, so this was a need position.

3. Kelvin Sheppard – a hard-hitting linebacker from LSU, the Bills’ coaches fell in love with him when they coached him at the Senior Bowl. He’s an emotional player known at LSU for emotional speeches, learned the schemes quickly during Senior Bowl week practices and handled all the calls during the game. You have to love this post-draft comment from Sheppard: “I see we got big Marcell up in front of me now, so I’m going to try and get his big butt fired up so he can keep the linemen off of me.”  That sounds like it could be another Darryl Talley/Bruce Smith type of relationship beginning.

4a. Da’Norris Searcy – defensive back from North Carolina who plays both safety spots and in his own words “plays with a linebacker mentality”. This choice may be a sign that Donte Whitner won’t be back. His strength is playing physical and supporting the run defense, but he has some ball skills too – he led his team with 4 interceptions last year despite missing 3 games.

4b. Chris Hairston – he was a 3 year starter at left tackle at Clemson, but the Bills will put him at right tackle. He blocked for C.J. Spiller during his career. He’s big and athletic and has long arms, which helps in pass blocking. He’ll have plenty of competition from the roster holdovers, but starting for 3 years at a major college against SEC competition will help him hold his own.

5. Johnny White – this pick was a head scratcher at first since he is a running back, which isn’t a need position for the Bills. But take a look at his history at North Carolina – he came in as a running back, was switched to cornerback, then back to running back, then, because of suspensions and injuries to other players, to wide receiver, then back to RB. Oh, and he was an outstanding special teams “gunner”, the position Steve Tasker basically invented during his time with the Bills. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay called him the most underrated running back in the draft. Because running back is an extremely injury-prone position in the NFL and because he can help on special teams, this could be a good pick, unless White turns out to be that annual guy who looks like a superstar in August, then gets cut. He does seem to fit in perfectly with the team’s “guys from nowhere” identity.

6. Chris White – from Mississippi State, another linebacker. He has a reputation for playing hard on every down. He also played for the South in the Senior Bowl, so the Bills’ coaches got a close-up look at him and must have liked him. He’ll likely have to make the team with special teams play.

7a. Justin Rogers – a cornerback from Richmond, not exactly a football powerhouse. One thing that stands out about his play in college is his great interception numbers. Hopefully that means he has good coverage skills and can catch the ball. He has NFL-caliber speed but lacks size. But, those numbers – 12 picks and 5 returned for touchdowns – jump out at you.

7b. Michael Jasper – Bills’ fans clamoring for more size on defense will love this pick. The guy weighed 440+ lbs. in college, but has “slimmed down” to 395 (see picture below). He played guard in college, at Bethel, but is projected as a nose tackle. At the combine, he ran a respectable 40 yard dash and showed great athletic ability for a man his size. You get the feeling this guy is going to be a fan favorite as he tries to make the team this summer. Another William “The Refrigerator” Perry maybe?

Some of the picks surely won’t make the team, and sometimes the ones who stick and the ones who get cut aren’t the expected ones. In any case, you have to give the Bills credit for trying to improve their defense in a big way.

                                        Michael Jasper (69) had enough athletic ability to be a pulling guard at Bethel.

The annual NFL draft always amazes me. The league has become so popular now that their annual drafting session of college players is more of an event than other sports’ actual games. This year was a really intriguing one, as opinions of the potential draftees seemed to be all over the board. Auburn QB Cam Newton has been compared to JaMarcus Russell, the colossal bust of the Oakland Raiders, and been labeled a “one year wonder” as his overwhelmingly great national championship year at Auburn this year was his only one. Other scouting reports marvel at his size and athletic ability and call him a once in a lifetime talent. The Carolina Panthers sided with the latter reports and picked him #1 overall. As a supporter of the local team, the Buffalo Bills, I was hoping that they would add a playmaker to their defense, and felt that Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller would be that guy. But the Denver Broncos must have felt that way too, as they chose Miller with the second overall pick. That left Buffalo with Alabama defensive lineman Marcell Dareus. My thoughts on him are this: There were 12 defensive linemen in total picked in Round One, so obviously this a draft deep in D-linemen. Basically all pre-draft scouting reports had Dareus rated as the top lineman, so the guy must be an honest-to-goodness player. Also, his scouting reports all call him “the most NFL-ready defensive lineman available”, so he should make an immediate impact with a defense that couldn’t stop the run last year. He is also considered a versatile player, equally comfortable playing inside at tackle in a 4-3 defense, where he provides run-stuffing ability and a terrific inside pass rush,  or at end in a 3-4. Since the Bills have said their scheme on defense will likely be a “hybrid” of a 3-4 and 4-3 this year, Dareus looks like a great fit.

Some other thoughts about the first round: A couple of quarterbacks were surprise first round picks for different reasons. Jake Locker, who was considered to be the top pick of last year’s draft, but decided to stay in school, had a down year, and his draft stock fell considerably. He was thought to have fallen to the second round, then surprisingly was taken eighth overall by the Tennessee Titans. Christian Ponder of Florida State was thought to be a second or even third round pick, then had great pro day workouts, a terrific Senior Bowl and impressive team interviews, and jumped all the way to 12th, chosen by the Minnesota Vikings.  The other thought is this – is there any doubt now that the NFL is a pass-happy and quarterback-driven league?  Apparently the days of the O.J. Simpsons, Walter Paytons, Emmitt Smiths, Barry Sanders and Adrian Petersons is over. Only one running back, former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram of Alabama, was picked in Round One. Most teams use a running back by committee approach today, and being a copycat league, I’m sure a lot of teams watched Green Bay win the Super Bowl riding Aaron Rodgers’ arm and getting just enough running game contributions from an unknown like James Starks, to figure whatever RBs they have on their current rosters are good enough.