Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Bell loses reps at LT, Roosevelt out, Pryor interest, Key players back, White & Jones update, and Fred Jackson possibly unseated?

BELL LOSES REPS AT LT
Andy Levitre took some reps with the first team unit yesterday as the Left Tackle. This is clearly not a good sign for Demetrius Bell. Bell has been inconsistent from the start of camp. Bell had a decent year last year and that was coming off a pretty serious knee injury. He had that built in excuse. The coaching staff believed that with another off-season of strengthening that knee and improving his upper body strength, he could be formidable Left Tackle in this league. So far, he's been disappointing. His performance against the Broncos was not good. In fact, it was one of the worst of his career. Then again, it was a preseason game. All offensive and defensive schemes were very basic, line up and see who can play type of schemes. This doesn't necessarily spell the end of Bell's tenure at LT but it certainly can be seen as a wake up call for Bell. Gailey has done this a few times at other positions.

Back to Levitre, who has to taken reps at just about every position on the line. He was under center, played guard and is now trying the left tackle spot with the team. The thing this line needs is consistency. Figure out who you like on the line, keep them there and roll with it until September 11th. This should have been addressed sooner. This again raises the question, why didn't Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley bring in more competition for the line? They still have roster openings and it looks like they have no desire to try out any free agent veterans. If the line fails again this year, the front office deserves all of the criticism and blame that they will surely receive from the fans.

ROOSEVELT OUT FOR REMAINDER OF PRESEASON
Naaman Roosevelt is out for the rest of the preseason. His ankle was rolled up near the end of the Broncos game. I'm not sure how this affects his status on the team but if I were a betting man, he's done enough to make the team. The only way he's in danger is if Craig Buster Davis comes back and plays lights out while providing some veteran leadership on that receiving corps. Very unlikley to happen.

Another possibility is if Kamar Aiken keeps showing enough to justify keeping him. I've kept my eye on this kid and I think he can play. He's got good size and runs good routes. He deserves a stronger look. Aiken is a good candidate for the practice squad. Because of Roosevelt's experience with the team last year and familiarity with the offense, I can't see them cutting him but nothing would surprise me with this team.

PRYOR INTEREST
Chris Brown (of Buffalobills.com, not the abusive rapper/singer) revealed that the Bills were interested in Terrelle Pryor. They weren't interested in giving up the 3rd round pick that the Raiders gave up but possibly a low round pick. With Thigpen and Brad Smith as your guys behind Fitzpatrick, I'm not sure where Pryor would have fit in. I'm guessing they could have eventually listed Smith as a WR and kept Pryor as the #3.

BILLS GET KEY PLAYERS BACK
Shawne Merriman, Roscoe Parrish, and Kelvin Sheppard all returned to practice yesterday. Encouraging news for Bills fans. They desperately need Merriman and Parrish to stay healthy. Parrish is still limited in practice.

EDIT/UPDATE: Merriman and Roscoe Parrish are back to sitting out of practice today along with a list of others. More later.

LONG DAY
Yesterday was a long day for the players. Practice and meetings ran from 3pm until 9pm at night. Meetings also took place earlier in the day as well.

WHITE AND JONES WILL BE BACK
The Bills got some good news after some injury concerns from Saturday's game. Donald Jones and Johnny White will be back for the regular season opener against the Chiefs. Both will miss the rest of the preseason.

“They’re both going to be back for the first ball game as I understand it,” Gailey said. ”Johnny will probably be back a little quicker than Donald, but I think they’ll both make the first ball game.”

FRED JACKSON DOWN THE DEPTH CHART?
Tim Graham tweeted the following on Saturday:

ByTimGraham: Hearing more and more Bills top RB job is C.J. Spiller's to lose, not Fred Jackson's.

Chan Gailey also revealed that he viewed Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller as #1's and that right now Fred was just a little bit ahead. Spiller got a good, long look on Saturday. Clearly they have an investment in Spiller and want to see some results this season. They are going to give Spiller every opportunity to win the job but it won't be easy because Fred Jackson has been in this position before. Fred has been constantly overlooked, under-appreciated and an after thought to most coaching staffs during his tenure with the Bills.

Most people point to his age right now as a reason to move Spiller up. Jackson is 30 years old. The thing is, he has low mileage on him comparatively speaking. He hasn't slowed down a bit. He was never the fastest guy to begin with. What makes Jackson such a good football player is his never say die attitude. He never quits on any play. He fights for extra yardage and is often successful getting that extra yard when you need it. He's one of the best run blocking backs in the league. He's also a receiving threat coming out of the backfield.

There is no denying Spiller's abilities. He is dangerous when he has space in front of him. He even looked better running the ball against the Broncos. But his biggest issue right now is picking up blitzes. He was on the wrong side when a would-be blitzer brought Fitzpatrick down for a sack on Saturday. If he could clean that up, I could see the Bills wanting to make him their #1 guy but with the offensive line looking so awful, they need all of the blocking help they can get and Fred provides stability there. Besides all of that, Fred is the unquestioned "heart and soul" of this team as his Quarterback said yesterday. He is one of the few veteran leaders left. Based on his comments to the Buffalo News, Fred is pissed off.

"I was shocked," Jackson said. "I feel like a No. 1 back, and I should be treated like one. As far as what's going on, you would have to ask them. I'm going to come out here and compete. I feel like I have been competing. I feel like I have done everything I can. It's been like that for two or three years, and nothing has changed."

Gailey tried to cool the situation down. "I told him what we were going to do," Gailey said. "Nothing has changed on our thoughts with Fred and where Fred is for our football team. He's a major part of what we're trying to get done here. I would hate for somebody to feel underappreciated because it's not true from my standpoint."

Fred also retweeted a bunch of comments from fans and players. Here's a few from former Bill Kawika Mitchell:

@KawikaMitchellBruh bruh... every1 in the locker room knows what u bring 2 the table and knows you've earned it and more.-already Bruh Bruh!


@Fred22Jackson everything you want in a player. Leader, solid man off the field, versatile on the field. Baller!

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