Official Buffalo Bills Thread!!!!

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***Article***

The Buffalo Bills defense continues to play well this preseason and they seem to be finding a way to get the ball back into the offense's hands. The Bills forced two Titan turnovers on Saturday's game against Tennessee at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Linebacker Jeff Posey forced a fumble in the second quarter giving the Bills the ball deep in Tennessee territory. Posey hit Titans quarterback Billy Volek from behind knocking the ball to the turf while defensive tackle Sam Adams scooped it up.

"It was a blitz, I beat the back and stripped the ball," Posey said. "It meant a lot. It changed the momentum and we were able to go down there and kick a field goal."

The defense also got the sold-out crowd into the game on the Titans opening drive. Tennessee controlled the ball for over nine minutes to start the game, driving down to the Bills 13-yard line. On fourth and inches, Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher decided to go for it and the Bills stuffed the run to take over on downs.

"In ordinary situations we'd take the field goal but we needed to work it against a real good defense," Fisher said. "They made a big play."

Bills Head Coach Mike Mularkey said the defense made some mistakes, and that they could have done a better job against 2003 NFL MVP quarterback, Steve McNair.

"If you watch, he (McNair) doesn't hold the ball very long," Mularkey said. "It's quick passes and the run game. Their objective is to get in third-and-short, which they did. They're (Tennessee) a top-five team in time of possession just about every year. They stuck with their game plan and we didn't handle it very well."

Despite creating some turnovers, linebacker Takeo Spikes said the Bills defense needs to play more consistently.

"We didn't come to play tonight as a whole," Spikes said. "We didn't play the way we needed to play in order to achieve our goal of being the number one defense."

Later in the game, the Bills reserve defense capitalized on another Titan miscue. Safety Pierson Prioleau grabbed the ball off the field after Tennessee dropped the hand-off. The turnover gave the Bills the ball back and the possession eventually led to the go-ahead field goal by Rian Lindell.

"I saw the ball on the ground and I picked it up," Prioleau said. "I tried to run with it and make a move on the quarterback but I couldn't get there. I would have liked to get it into the end zone. It probably would have helped us out a little more."

The Bills defense played most of the first half against the Titans starting offense. While Tennessee dominated in time of possession early on, the Bills held the Titans explosive attack to only 10 first half points.

Posey said the defense made some key plays in the game but that there is still a lot of work to be done before the season opener against Jacksonville on September 12.

"There are some things we have to get better on and some things we have to do," Posey said. "It's something we're going to have to look at and get a handle on it."

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***Camp Over***

The 2004 Buffalo Bills Training Camp held at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY came to an end on Thursday. The Bills will resume practice at their training facility in Orchard Park, NY where all workouts are closed to the public. Overall, Head Coach Mike Mularkey said he was pleased with the team's progress. "It was a productive camp," said Mularkey. "I have to give credit to these guys on the focus and approach they came to camp with."

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***Article***

Center Trey Teague is not worried about the offensive line being ready for opening day in less than three weeks. Despite injuries up front and personnel changes, Teague said the line will have time to jell and be an effective unit. "These things happen in camp all the time," Teague said. "People get banged up over the course of the four weeks here and coaches constantly rotate guys to get a look at how they play. It's a physical sport, especially up front. It's all part of the game and I don't think there's anything to worry about."

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***Injury Update***

Rookie quarterback J.P. Losman has suffered a broken leg and will be out indefinitely. Such injuries typically require a recovery time of 8-12 weeks. Losman went down during 11-on-11 action with 25 minutes left in practice and was helped into a cart and driven off to the locker room. The first-round draft pick was injured when he made contact with cornerback Troy Vincent while he was finishing up a run to the right side during a two-minute drill. "He had said that he caught the edge of my shoulder pads on my cutback," said Vincent.

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***Releases***

Cedric Bonner WR Texas A&M Commerce
Clarence Coleman WR Ferris State
Asa Francis LB New Mexico Military
Dan Koons C Louisville
Isaac Mitchell RB Idaho State
Michale Spicer DE Western Carolina

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***Article***

The Bills took to the practice field for a double session on Wednesday without rookie quarterback J.P. Losman, who is out indefinitely with a broken leg. Losman, the second of the team's two first-round draft picks, was injured during a two-minute drill on Tuesday.

Head Coach Mike Mularkey told the media that Losman will have surgery Thursday to expedite the recovery time. Although no time frame has been put on his return, Mularkey says he anticipates that Losman will return to practice before season's end.

"It's disappointing," said Mularkey. "It's a freak thing that happened and it happens all the time around the League."

At this point Mularkey said it's premature to discuss whether the team will bring in an additional quarterback or place Losman on the injured reserve list.

"We're looking at all our options right now but haven't made a decision yet."

The Bills currently have three additional quarterbacks on their roster: starter Drew Bledsoe, five-year veteran Travis Brown, and undrafted free agent Greg Zolman, who competed in NFL Europe this past season playing with Rhein.

"Travis has played well and we'll still go (into the season) as we were before the injury," Mularkey said. "I don't think there is going to be a change there."

Losman went a combined 9-of-11 for 78 yards passing and rushed for 80 yards on seven carries during Buffalo's first two preseason games. He was selected with the 22nd pick overall and is being groomed as Bledsoe's eventual successor.

"You'd like him to have more reps in preseason games but this game I don't know how much he was going to play anyhow," Mularkey said. "We're going to play the starters longer. I think him watching film and being around the guys and still being involved in it, I don't know how much it will hamper his development at all."

Quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche agrees that Mularkey's assessment.

"He'll come back and be brought along when he gets back," said Wyche. "He'll recover and when he comes back he'll be full-speed. I'm going to be on him hard and make sure he doesn't get behind mentally. He'll just have to catch up, no other way to do it."

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***Injuries***

Notes: Tackle Jonas Jennings is day-to-day with an ankle injury. Cornerback Terrence McGee (leg contusion) has been watching practice and is also day-to-day. Running back Travis Henry did not practice (bruised ribs). Coy Wire will see work at both strong and free safety. It's uncertain whether the Bills will pare down the roster prior to Saturday's game at Indianapolis.

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***Game Day***

Bills Battle Colts

While the Colts offense has been their main threat in recent years, third-year Head Coach Tony Dungy and his staff have improved the defense as well. The Bills offense has yet to score a touchdown this preseason and playing the Colts does not guarantee they'll cross the goal line. "The third preseason game is the game when the starters have the most playing time," quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. "There are a lot of things we're looking to accomplish and bottom line, we need to put the ball into the end zone. I think we'll correct the mistakes that have plagued us so far and I expect us to put some in the end zone."

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***BUFFALO BILLS PRESEASON UPDATE 1-2***

The star of the game was Drew Bledsoe. Most of his passes were on target. It's also nice to see that he is trying to avoid sacks this year. He even had a rush to get out of a sack.

The Bills fell to the Colts, 30-17, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis Saturday night. Buffalo drops its preseason record to 1-2 and will travel to Detroit to play the Lions Thursday evening in the team’s final tune-up before the regular season opener against Jacksonville on Sept. 12. Backup quarterback Travis Brown was injured late in the third quarter and had to be carted off the field. Early reports from the Bills sideline indicated that Brown suffered a knee injury.

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***Injury Update***

The Buffalo Bills injuries just keep piling up as the preseason progresses. Just days after losing reserve quarterback J.P. Losman with a broken leg, three more players went down in Saturday's game against the Colts.

Cornerback Troy Vincent left early in the game with an apparent pinched nerve. His jaw was X-rayed by doctors but the results came back negative. It was later determined to not be a pinched nerve and Vincent is not expected to miss any action saying he plans to be back at practice on Monday.

"I thought it was (a pinched nerve) but that was just for precautionary measures," Vincent said. "I had lost the feeling in the right side of my face. It just kind of went numb."

Vincent said the injury occurred after he and Lawyer Milloy collided down deep in Buffalo territory.

"We collided down there in the red zone," Vincent said. "He came in and my head went the other way and I was out for a play. They (Indianapolis) were going rapid fire so I had to stay in."

The most significant injury came to back-up quarterback Travis Brown. Brown was hit on his second series in the game and was taken to the locker room immediately. Initial reports are that he injured his left knee.

"Without being a doctor or without being able to diagnose it officially, it's probably not real good," Brown said. "I think I'm still in shock. It's painful."

Brown will have to wait for results from an MRI before it can be determined how much time he'll miss. Now with two quarterbacks down, Head Coach Mike Mularkey said the team will have to address the issue one way or another.

With Brown out of the game, quarterback Greg Zolman got his chance to show the coaches why they should keep him around after cuts this Tuesday. The Bills now have two healthy quarterbacks on their roster and will have to decide which direction they will take in order to possibly bring in someone else.