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It has been said that what goes down must come back up. If that is truly the case, then Newton’s laws provide some evidence that the Bills’ offense must be taking steps in the right direction. In fact, I would argue that as disappointing as the week 1 performance was, the Bills’ offense is already strides ahead of where it was last year. However, the question still remains: When will Trent Edwards be given complete control of the playbook?

Edwards, a Stanford graduate, has shown to have the intelligence to master this position. Last season, Dick Jauron tried to use the no-huddle offense to turn the reigns over, but this was very unsuccessful as well. Will Chan Gailey give Edwards the green light to be a play maker on offense? Only time will tell. My guess would be that in week 2, Edwards will take on a role that has less to do with conservative game management and more to do with trying to make plays. If this happens, I believe that he is accurate enough to make some big plays down field, like the 31 yard touchdown pass to Roscoe Parrish on the 4th and 11 during the fourth quarter of the game against the Dolphins.

As far as the run game goes, I would say that will be much improved as well. It is going to be difficult working enough touches to Marshawn Lynch, CJ Spiller, and Fred Jackson during the course of one game. I do believe though, Gailey has a scheme up his sleeve to make this offense much more productive and it will start with these guys. As Gailey said on the Buffalo Bills’ website, he plans to continue forward with all three guys getting significant touches.

I would project that this weekend’s game is going to be much more competitive with more home-run style plays. On Thursday, we will preview the match up against the Packers.

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The score doesn’t show how lopsided this game was. In fact, without watching the game, it would be hard to see how badly the Bills constantly backed themselves into a corner. Overall, the Bills were out-gained on the ground and in the air, had fewer first downs the the Dolphins, and had way more penalties. Simply put, the Buffalo Bills will have to go back to the drawing board to prepare for week two.

The Bills scored on a Rian Lindell field goal to make the score 10-3 in the first half. Going into half time, Lindell tried what was about a 62 yard attempt that fell just short of making the game 10-6. After halftime, the Bills’ defense woke up and went to work, allowing only three more offensive points for the rest of the game.

Trailing 13-3, the Bills scored a touchdown on a 31 yard touchdown pass from Trent Edwards to Roscoe Parrish. The pass occurred on a questionable 4th and 11 in the fourth quarter where a field goal would have made it a one possession game. Chan Gailey has made a name for being an innovator, and this type of call was further evidence of his aggressive play.

A call that back fired against Gailey however, was the punt play that resulted in a safety with the Bills needing to travel at least 70 yards to tie the game. On a fourth down play from their own one yard line, the Bills appeared to make an intentional safety when the long snapper threw the ball out of the back of the end zone. If this was an intentional call, I’m not sure that I completely understand the decision. Although the game was all but hopeless, I think you must take a shot in that situation. The safety for the Dolphins provided the final score of 15-10. Thankfully Bills’ fans, next week is a new week.

With the start of the 2010 NFL season here, the Buffalo Bills’ have selected their captains for 2010, as chosen by players and coaches in the organization.

Starting Quarterback Trent Edwards and Wide Receiver Lee Evans were named the captains on the offense. Edwards is a fourth year veteran who has had this honor before. After surviving a career roller-coaster of proportions, Edwards seems poised to reposition the Bills as a true contender in the NFL. Evans is a seventh year veteran who has seen his share of different quarterbacks, coaches, and styles of play during his tenure with Buffalo. However, Evans has always been a very reliable receiver and has played a huge role in Buffalo’s recent successes.

Veteran linebacker Chris Kelsay and defensive end Marcus Stroud will represent the Bills’ on defense. Kelsay, entering his eighth year in the league, is a three time captain and has been a solid anchor on the Bills’ defense. Stround, a ten year veteran, has been named as a captain for the first time in his career; this is an honor for him that is long overdue.

Rounding out the captains are safety George Wilson and punter Brian Moorman, who are both representing special teams. Moorman is a tenth year veteran who has been widely publicized as one of the best punters in the NFL. He has had various honors as a punter including being elected as a Pro Bowl player.

Wilson, Edwards, and Kelsay have been elected captains for three straight years, which is a good sign of leadership and things to come.

It is official: C.J. Spiller will be the starting running back against the Miami Dolphins. Spiller was the feature back for most of the 2010 preseason after Fred Jackson broke a bone in his hand and Marshawn Lynch suffered a severe ankle sprain. This announce from Buffalo Head Coach Chan Gailey comes just four days prior to the Bills’ season opener.

I believe that this decision will give Bills’ fans a spark of hope that they haven’t had in a few years. When a first round pick can come into an organization and contribute immediately, that proves to be good for the organization.

Dolphins’ Head Coach Tony Sparano believes that the Bills’ will run a wildcat offense, among other things on Sunday:

“First of all, I know that Chan’s history is one that he’s done whatever he has to do to move the football and he has utilized his personnel as best he can,” Sparano said. ”That’s really what we did when we started the Wildcat thing. As far as them running it, I’ve seen everybody else running it so it’s not something new anymore. And most defenses are now having to prepare for it every day against their own team. Do I expect to see it this weekend? I expect to see a little bit of everything this weekend.”  (http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2010/09/09/sparano-expecting-bills-wildcat/)

When the Buffalo Bills trimmed the roster to fifty-three players, many back-up players were cut to make room for possible new veterans fresh off the waiver wire. However, the Bills took this to the extreme when they cut some pretty significant names from their own roster.

James Hardy was a second round draft choice for the Bills which usually makes your place guaranteed on the team. However, after three lack-luster and injury prone seasons, the 6’6″ target has seen his stock fall right off the chart. As a result, Hardy is stuck looking for a new job.

Joique Bell was another surprising cut from the Bills, following a very good summer and preseason. It is very likely that Bell will find a job with another team as he has shown tremendous versatility and skill. Many people (myself included) felt Bell was pretty much a lock to make the cut-down roster because of the depth he added to an already deep backfield. Given the injury issues and the difficulty of the running back position, I am shocked the Bell is no longer a Buffalo Bill.

Levi Brown, rookie seventh round pick from the University of Toledo was also cut. This is only surprising to me because I felt he was a good project quarterback that could fill in roster space at the third place on the depth chart. Of course for that to happen, the Bills would have had to trade away one of their three quarterbacks that were trying to win the starting job. I believed the smart move would have been to trade one of those guys for an offensive lineman, but I guess it wasn’t to be.

The Buffalo Bills have also added a few veterans that were cut from there previous teams, including former Miami Dolphin tight end David Martin. Martin has been a relatively successful player that provides depth to a position that currently has none.

Usually the starters would see only limited action in the final preseason game of the year and this will be no exception. Tonight’s game against the Detriot Lions, slated for a 6:30 p.m. start will feature the Buffalo Bills’ starters for only about “12-14 snaps” as indicated by Chan Gailey on Buffalobills.com. Gailey also stated that the purpose for the number of reps was simple, keep the starters in rhythm without risking injury.

Come back tonight for a full recap on the Buffalo Bills final preseason game.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Arizona Cardinals are looking to part ways with quarterback Matt Leinart, just a day after it was announced that he wouldn’t be the starter for the Cardinals in their final preseason game.

According to Schefter, the Buffalo Bills are included on a list of three teams that are showing immediate interest in Leinart, including the Oakland Raiders and the New York Giants. The Giants are in need of a good quality back-up quarterbackafter Jim Sorgi suffered a season ending shoulder injury. Sorgi has spent the majority of his career as the Peyton Manning’s back-up in Indianapolis.

To the contrary however, are the reports from the Buffalo Bills that state they haven’t in fact been in contact with the Cardinals. The possibility of interest from the Bills wouldn’t be surprising, given that their offensive coordinator was the running backs coach in Arizona. If this had come up as a possibility during mini-camps and OTAs, it would have been very possible Leinart would be jogging out of the tunnel in a Bills jersey.

Do the Bills really want or need Leinart though?

Simply put, the answer is no. The Bills seem to have their quarterback depth chart figured out and I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded away Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Brohm, or both. As this has become Trent Edward’s team yet again, he will have one last chance to showcase his skills. If he succeeds, the Bills have a franchise quarterback. If he fails, like most predict he will (myself not included), then the Bills draft a franchise type quarterback next season. Bringing in a Matt Leinart into a sub-par and volatile quarterback battle wouldn’t have improved the situation and probably is that reason it wasn’t happened.

Is there any doubt as to who is the number one receiver for the Buffalo Bills? Simple answer, no.

However, as simple of an answer as that was, the rest of the depth chart at wide reciever seems to be up in the air. With such a young receiver core group, it is easy to see why the Bills will struggle to determine this going into week one of the regular season. Believe it or not, the wide receiver depth chart is beginning to look deeper and deeper with each played preseason game.

With all of the questions surrounding who will be the number two receiver for the Bills, here are hopefully some answers:

Third year wide receiver Steve Johnson has shown that he has what it takes to stretch a defense both vertically and across the middle of the field. He also has shown his quickness and ability to gain separation in tight coverage. Johnson’s biggest attribute though, may be his 6’2″ height.

Sixth year veteran Roscoe Parrish is also fighting for that same spot that is up for grabs. Parrish possesses many of the same qualities as Johnson, but is much smaller physically. He has shown to have much more explosive speed though, as seen in Saturday’s contest with the Bengals.  Although he only caught three passes for thirty four yards last season, he will very likely be on the field often.

Third year receiver Chad Jackson has also joined the mix in the fight for the second spot on the depth chart. Jackson has been relatively ineffective in his three year career, but has shown bright spots all throughout this off-season.

Between these three candidates, they caught six passes for a combined sixty-three yards in 2009. With that type of production, it is hard to imagine great success for the Bills. However, Buffalo Bill Head Coach Chan Gailey has shown the offensive know-how to get all of these guys involved throughout the preseason, including Parrish’s four catch, fifty-six yard game that included a touchdown.

If I had to guess, I would say that Parrish could very well sneak up and steal the job from Johnson, who is currently listed as number two on the depth chart. Parrish’s years of experience combined with Gailey’s offensive schemes could provide for a breakout year.

After testing his ankle, Marshawn Lynch is expected to play against the Detroit Lions in Buffalo’s final preseason game on Thursday, September 2.  I would expect for Lynch to be in a limited role on Thursday, as the Bills press closer to the start of the regular season.

Fred Jackson also returned to the practice field on Tuesday after having the cast on his hand containing the broken bone removed.

Both of these items are good news for Bills’ fans. The likely depth chart for the Bills’ first regular season game will feature C.J. Spiller as the number one running back followed by Lynch.

Stay tuned for more information as it comes.