Official Buffalo Bills Thread!!!!

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***Injury Update***

This one hurts.............

Later in the first half strong safety Lawyer Milloy left the game with a broken forearm after forcing a Colts fumble. It is not yet known how much time he will miss, if any.

"I think my hand got caught in the turf after doing a turn," Milloy said. "I couldn't feel anything in my fingers. I just knew something was wrong. With everybody running around after the fumble or whatever, I just sat there and held my arm."

Milloy now will have surgery in an attempt to speed his recovery with doctors inserting a metal plate. The veteran safety who has never missed a start in his career said he will prepare as if he will be starting against Jacksonville in two weeks.

"I've been pretty fortunate in my career to be able to avoid injuries," Milloy said. "This will be my first time dealing with something like this so I'm going to let the doctors do their thing and then I'm going to prepare for Jacksonville like I'll be the starter."

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***Cuts***

Now 68 players on their roster.......they have to bring it down to 53 soon. The big surprise is Antonio Brown. He played all of last season with the Bills and is cut very early!

Kevin Beard WR Miami
Antonio Brown WR/KR West Virginia
Mark Graham S Buffalo
Johnny Lamar CB Florida
Jerel Myers WR LSU
Jason Peters TE Arkansas
David Porter OT Iowa
Lawrence Richardson CB Arkansas
Richard Seals OL Utah
Mike Shafer K Syracuse
Darryl Towns LB Nevada

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***Injury Update***

Bills Receive Some “Good” Injury News

Gregg Pastore, buffalobills.com
08/30/2004 5:30 PM

Team President and General Manager Tom Donahoe told the media Monday afternoon that the injury to backup quarterback Travis Brown will not sideline him for the season, as initially feared. Instead, Brown will likely be sidelined four to six weeks while recovering from a left knee sprain of his medial collateral ligament (MCL).

"The news is better than we anticipated," said Donahoe. "Travis has a sprain of the knee. His anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is fine. It's a four to six week injury but it could be sooner or it could be a little bit longer."

Brown was hit on his second series against Indianapolis on Saturday night and was taken to the locker room immediately. Initial reports had him tearing his ACL, ending his season.

The injury to Brown is coupled by the fact that the Bills lost their third-string quarterback, rookie J.P. Losman, to a broken leg earlier in the week, leaving starter Drew Bledsoe and inexperienced backup Greg Zolman as the remaining healthy quarterbacks on the roster.

Donahoe says the team will be looking at its options at quarterback over the course of the next few days and expects a decision to be made by Tuesday evening.

"We're not going to go into the first regular season game with just one experienced quarterback," said Donahoe. "We would not think that's a fair position to put the team."

Among the quarterbacks mentioned for consideration is Shane Matthews, who was with Cincinnati in 2003, but did not appear in a single game. The 10-year veteran had played with Chicago (1993-2001) and Washington (2002) before signing a one-year contract with the Bengals last summer. In 29 games, Matthews has completed 490 of 836 passes for 4,712 yards, with 30 touchdown passes and 24 interceptions.

Donahoe, however, was quick to point out that the Bills are considering a number of different options at this point.

"Right now you'd have to say we're interested in everybody," said Donahoe. "We're trying to get the guy that makes the most sense and would be a good fit for our football team."

In related injury news, starting safety Lawyer Milloy underwent successful surgery Sunday on his broken forearm. Milloy seems confident he will be able to play in the Sept. 12 opener against Jacksonville.

"I've been pretty fortunate in my career to be able to avoid injuries," Milloy said. "This will be my first time dealing with something like this so I'm going to let the doctors do their thing and then I'm going to prepare for Jacksonville like I'll be the starter."

"He said he'd be ready and he's never missed a game," Donahoe said. "Everybody is different with injuries and that's why you'd hate to say it is two weeks, four weeks or whatever because sometimes a guy just finds a way to play with it."

If Milloy can't play, third-year safety Coy Wire will replace him in the lineup, where he started 15 games as a rookie in 2002.

"You hate to have injuries," Donahoe said. "I think other than cutting players the hardest part of the job is having injuries that happen. The good news is that none of the players are gone for the season and at some point we'll get all the players back."

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***Signing***

New Quarterback

The Buffalo Bills have signed quarterback Shane Matthews, who was with Cincinnati in 2003, but did not appear in a single game. The 10-year veteran had played with Chicago (1993-2001) and Washington (2002) before signing a one-year contract with the Bengals last summer. In 29 games, Matthews has completed 490 of 836 passes for 4,712 yards, with 30 touchdown passes and 24 interceptions.

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***BUFFALO BILLS PRESEASON UPDATE 1-3***

A loss to the Lions 20-17:

1st Downs: Buf 21, Det 11
3rd Down Conversions: Buf 7-15, Det 3-12
Time Of Possesion: Buf 37:36, Det 22:24
Total Net Yards: Buf 400, Det 176

Now you may ask yourself....how could the Bills possibly lose?

Penalties: Det 5, Buf 17!

All I can say is WOW!

For the third straight year, the Bills and the Lions wrapped up their preseason versus each other. After splitting the first two contests, the Lions won a 20-17 decision at Ford Field on Thursday despite productive play by Buffalo’s first-team offense. The Bills drove nearly the entire length of the field on the game's opening possession. The scoring drive lasted nearly nine minutes with the Bills moving the ball 90 yards on 16 plays. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe played only one series and was nearly flawless. He was 4-of-6 for 62 yards

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***Debut***

Less than 72 hours after signing a contract with the Bills, veteran quarterback Shane Matthews was working with the first-team offense in the team’s final preseason game against the Detroit Lions Thursday. The Bills signed Matthews late Monday afternoon to fill a void in the roster after quarterbacks Travis Brown and J.P. Losman went down with injuries last week, leaving starter Drew Bledsoe and the inexperienced Greg Zolman as the remaining healthy quarterbacks on the roster.

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***Article***

Brown Not Part of Return Game Plans

John Tramontana, buffalobills.com
08/31/2004 12:30 PM

Kick returner Antonio Brown was cut by the Bills on Tuesday, paving the way for a new starter for the upcoming season. Brown spent last season with the Bills as their starting return man after a successful 2003 preseason in which he returned two punts for touchdowns. But his success seemed to end there as he averaged only 4.4 yards per return on punts last season.
With the emergence of Josh Reed and Terrence McGee, along with punt returner Nate Clements, the coaches determined there just wasn't enough room on the roster for Brown.

“Some of the circumstances that have happened this year, having four quarterbacks and with the numbers it was tough,” Mularkey said. “It’s tough to keep that kind of a specialist around.”

Brown caught the Bills' attention and signed as a free agent with the team in March of 2003 after a successful 2002 campaign in the Canadian Football League as the primary receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Brown was the victim of others playing well around him. McGee broke out some big gains early in the preseason and showed how dangerous he can as a return man.

"The team was the one making the holes for me," McGee said after the game against the Tennessee Titans. "I just had to go through them. It was easy. I don't know who the (permanent) guy will be."

McGee later was injured and missed the game against the Colts. Though he was sidelined, Brown still did not get any return action.

"Terrence McGee has done a nice job for us so far," said Special Teams Coordinator Bobby April. "He's taken advantage of the opportunities in front of him."

April said there are a lot of qualifications that the coaching staff looks for in a return man.

"He's got to have good judgment," April said. "If he's real fast and doesn't have good judgment it's tough. There's a combination of speed and judgment that a guy has to have. If you're not fast, then you've really got to be something special. Judgment is more important though because the longer the ball is in play, the more chaos there is on the field."

Josh Reed has also been impressive returning kick-offs. Though he may not have the explosive speed of Brown, he has great instincts and knows how to find holes in front of him.

"Josh is a good runner," April said. "He makes good decisions when he's got the ball in his hands. I feel very confident with the guys we have back there."

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***Article***

Veteran Matthews Impressive in Bills Debut

Gregg Pastore, buffalobills.com
09/03/2004 2:30 AM

Less than 72 hours after signing a contract with the Bills, veteran quarterback Shane Matthews was working with the first-team offense in the team's final preseason game against the Detroit Lions Thursday.
The Bills signed Matthews late Monday afternoon to fill a void in the roster after quarterbacks Travis Brown and J.P. Losman went down with injuries last week, leaving starter Drew Bledsoe and the inexperienced Greg Zolman as the remaining healthy quarterbacks on the roster.

With Brown expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a knee sprain and Losman anticipated to be sidelined for 8-12 weeks with a broken leg, President and General Manager Tom Donahoe felt it was necessary to land a veteran to backup Bledsoe.

"We're not going to go into the first regular season game with just one experienced quarterback," said Donahoe. "We would not think that's a fair position to put the team."

Team officials contacted Matthews on Sunday afternoon and the former University of Florida quarterback flew in Monday to meet with the team.

"I'm excited to be here," said Matthews. "I was just in Florida playing golf and hanging out with my kids."

Matthews was with Cincinnati in 2003, but did not appear in a single game. The 10-year veteran had played with Chicago (1993-2001) and Washington (2002) before signing a one-year contract with the Bengals last summer. In 29 games, Matthews has completed 490 of 836 passes for 4,712 yards, with 30 touchdown passes and 24 interceptions.

Admitting he wasn't surprised to get a phone call from an NFL team so close to the start of the regular season, Matthews said it wouldn't take him long to learn the offense.

"Everybody runs the same plays in this league, you just have to learn how to call them," he said. "I just try to translate in other offenses what we called this play and go from there."

Matthews showed his ability to translate quickly, taking over the controls of the team's offense after a 16-play, 90-yard scoring drive by starter Drew Bledsoe to open Thursday's game.

"He was pretty impressive," Head Coach Mike Mularkey said after the game. "I hope other quarterbacks don't get that mind set that you can be home with your wife and kids and can miss training camp and 48 hours later you can come in an NFL game and move a team."

Based on the unique circumstances, Offensive Coordinator Tom Clements and Quarterbacks Coach Sam Wyche put a package together for the Lions game that Matthews was comfortable with.

"That's the first time I put on pads since the pre-game warm-up the last game in December last year," said Matthews. "It felt a little weird but I had fun out there."

After a three-and-out on Matthews' first series, the 10-year veteran led the Bills on an 11-play, 57-yard drive that was capped by a 38-yard field goal by Rian Lindell.

Later in the game, Matthews engineered a 9-play, 93-yard touchdown scoring drive to give Buffalo a 17-13 lead with midway through the third quarter. The drive was fueled by a 51-yard completion to Sam Aiken on third-and-10 from the Buffalo 30 yard line.

"I felt comfortable with where everybody was going," Matthews said. I kind of dinked and dunked just because I was more concerned about just getting to the snap and trying to get the correct snap count."

Now with a week of practice ahead before Buffalo's regular season opener against Jacksonville on Sept. 12, Matthews is confident he'll be ready to step in when the team needs him.

"You hate to see guys go down but it happens, it's part of the deal. It's fortunate that Travis isn't too severe and he'll be back here soon. In the meantime I've got to be ready to play in case something happens to Drew."

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***More game analysis***

Bills Offense Efficient, Scores on First Drive

John Tramontana, buffalobills.com
09/02/2004 9:45 PM

The Buffalo Bills offense got out of their scoring drought on Thursday against the Detroit Lions and it didn't take very long. The Bills drove nearly the entire length of the field on the game's opening possession. The scoring drive lasted nearly nine minutes with the Bills moving the ball 90 yards on 16 plays.
Quarterback Drew Bledsoe played only one series and was nearly flawless. He was 4-of-6 for 62 yards, including a 12-yard strike to wide receiver Bobby Shaw on fourth and four. After a 21-yard pass to Eric Moulds, running back Willis McGahee sealed the deal with a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Bills starting offense had failed to score a touchdown in the first three preseason games, though they had been able to move the ball consistently. Bledsoe said it was a relief to finally break the goal line.

"It's obviously very good for us to come out and put together a nice drive," Bledsoe said. "To finish up the preseason for the first offense to put the ball into the end zone, that's what we've been needing to do. We finally put it together and avoided some of the mistakes and showed the kind of efficient offense we can be."

The offense knew they were not going to play very much in the final game before the regular season but nevertheless they knew they had some things to accomplish to take some momentum into next weekend's game against Jacksonville.

"We are ready for the regular season," Bledsoe said. "I'm looking forward to starting some of the game plan for Jacksonville and I can't wait to start playing this game for real."

The offensive line was also very effective in pass blocking. Bledsoe had all sorts of time to hunt out his wide receivers and make some plays. Bledsoe was never pressured and was able to step-up into the pocket and make accurate throws. It was the first time the projected starting offensive line played together in game action with the return of left tackle Jonas Jennings from an injury. The unit looked cohesive and made some key blocks on the drive. Left guard Lawrence Smith opened up a hole for McGahee to stroll into the end zone to put Buffalo up 7-0.

The Bills offense did what they set out to accomplish to do, so Head Coach Mike Mularkey saw no need to keep them in the game for very long. He did, however, keep in the starting offensive line a tad longer in order to give them some more playing time together.

"(Center) Trey Teague has been the only guy who has been in there for every snap," Mularkey said at a press conference earlier in the week. "We want to keep those guys in the game a bit longer to give them a chance to mesh together. The chemistry is not working together like it should."

Newly acquired quarterback Shane Matthews came into the game on Buffalo's second possession. Matthews was signed just three days before the game and had only limited practice time to learn the offense. Regardless, the coaching staff wanted to get him some reps in a game situation while they still had the chance. Matthews finished 7-of-10 for 104 yards, including a 51-yard completion to wide receiver Sam Aiken.

The Bills now head back to Orchard Park to start preparations for the regular season.

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***AFC East Outlook***

AFC East football capsules
By Jim Keller SportsTicker Staff Writer
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS --------------------

Biggest changes: New England traded a second-round pick to Cincinnati for Corey Dillon, one of only four running backs in league history to gain 1,000 yards in each of his first six years. As a team, New England hasn't averaged four yards per carry since 1985 and hasn't had a rush of 50 yards or more since 1998. Dillon should help improve upon both categories. Selected defensive tackle Vince Wilfork in the first round of the draft after losing nose tackle Ted Washington. Also drafted tight end Ben Watson in the first round.

Positives: The Patriots return 10 starters to the league's stingiest defense. Two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who just turned 27, is one of the best in the league and excels under pressure. Kicker Adam Vinatieri is a proven clutch performer. Bill Belichick's schemes continue to baffle opponents.

Negatives: The biggest weakness was the running game before the Pats acquired Dillon. Punter Josh Miller was brought in to replace Ken Walter, who averaged only 37.7 yards and was terrible in the postseason.

On the spot: The solid but unspectacular offensive line will be charged with opening holes for Dillon and protecting Brady, who has no proven backup.

Prediction: The Patriots seem poised for 12 wins and to repeat as division champs. Howeverm three of the last five Super Bowl champions failed to make the playoffs the next season, including the 2001 Patriots.

Tidbit: In winning 40 of his 52 career regular season and postseason starts, Brady has engineered 15-game winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, including both Super Bowl wins and playoff victories over Tennessee last season and Oakland in 2001. He is 7-0 in overtime contests.

BUFFALO BILLS -------------

Biggest changes: First-year coach Mike Mularkey, the former offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, replaces Gregg Williams. Mularkey has brought in former Giants offensive line coach Jim McNally, considered one of the best in the game. New offensive coordinator Tom Clements and quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche are getting Drew Bledsoe to concentrate more on the short passing game. Replaced cornerback Antoine Winfield with veteran Troy Vincent and also added linebacker Jason Gildon. Selected receiver Lee Evans with their first-round pick.

Positives: The Bills finished as the No. 2 defense in the NFL and allowed 279 points, fourth fewest in the league but forced just 18 turnovers. Buffalo is loaded in the backfield with Travis Henry and Willis McGahee and Mularkey has vowed to feature a power running game.

Negatives: The Bills scored the fewest points and allowed the most sacks in the NFL and ranked 21st in rushing. The team added right guard Chris Villarrial from Chicago to replace eight-time Pro Bowl guard Ruben Brown. Tackle Mike Williams, the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft, showed up heavy, was fined for missing practices due to personal reasons and then got hurt.

On the spot: Bledsoe, who would have been traded or released in the offseason if the Bills had another experienced quarterback, renegotiated his contract to stay and has this season to prove himself. Buffalo drafted J.P. Losman with the 22nd pick to groom for the position, but he broke his left leg and will be out for at least the first half of the season.

Prediction: Buffalo looks like a .500 team, but if it can survive a November stretch against New England, St. Louis, Seattle and Miami in consecutive weeks, they could sneak into the playoffs.

Tidbit: The Bills failed to score an offensive touchdown in seven games last season, Bledsoe passed for 200 yards just once in the last eight games and his 67.5 quarterback rating for the season ranked 15th of 16 among AFC quarterbacks.

NEW YORK JETS -------------

Biggest changes: Fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and replaced him with Donnie Henderson, the former assistant at Baltimore who is implementing a hybrid defense that will be more aggressive than past years. Cut linebackers Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones and added two linebackers - Jonathan Vilma in the first round of the draft and free agent Eric Barton. Acquired receiver Justin McCareins from Tennessee.

Positives: Quarterback Chad Pennington, whom the Jets hope to re-sign to a long-term deal before the season starts, is one of the league's most accurate passers. Wide receiver Santana Moss returns after a breakout season and is joined by McCareins.

Negatives: The defense ranked 21st overall, 28th against the run, 24th in average yards per pass and interception percentage. The offense ranked 25th in rushing and 19th in total offense.

On the spot: Defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, one of four first-round picks on the defensive line, has to be more productive against both the run and pass after being a non-factor last season. John Abraham, an outstanding pass rusher who is being asked to play both end and linebacker in Henderson's scheme, needs to bounce back from injuries and off-field distractions.

Prediction: The Jets could win eight to 10 games and challenge for the wild card but will fall short of the postseason for the second straight season.

Tidbit: Curtis Martin is attempting to join Barry Sanders as the only two backs in league history to run for 1,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons. He's been given more of a workload in preseason to hopefully avoid the slow starts he's had the last two years.

MIAMI DOLPHINS --------------

Biggest changes: Still rocked by the loss of workhorse Ricky Williams, who announced his retirement before training camp. That leaves Travis Minor as the team's top back. Traded for Bears wideout Marty Booker to replace David Boston, who was acquired from San Diego but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. But the addition of Booker cost them AFC sacks leader Adewale Ogunleye. Sent a second-round pick to Philadelphia for quarterback A.J. Feeley, who battled Jay Fiedler for the starting job in the preseason.

Positives: The defense allowed the third fewest points (261) in the NFL last season, but lost Ogunleye, who led the AFC with 15 sacks. Wideout Chris Chambers caught 11 touchdown passes last season and signed a multi-year deal. Solid in the secondary with cornerbacks Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain.

Negatives: A young, inexperienced offensive line will need to develop quickly to offset the loss of Williams. Minor and Sammy Morris are not the answer in the backfield.

On the spot: New offensive coordinator Chris Foerster, a former offense line and tight ends coach for Tampa Bay and Indianapolis, will have his hands full running this offense with limited talent. He replaced Joel Collier, who resigned in the offseason.

Prediction: The Dolphins defense will keep them in games, but the offense may not be able to keep them off the field. Figure on eight wins at best and a third straight season of missing the playoffs.

Tidbit: The last time the Dolphins missed the playoffs for three straight seasons was 1987-89. The Dolphins haven't won more than 11 games or made a conference championship game since 1990 but haven't had a losing season since 1988.