Toronto Bills Blog

The Bills are 2-1/2 point favorites over the winless Dolphins. Miami quarterback Chad Pennington is facing surgery after injuring his shoulder in the San Diego game. He will be replaced by Chad Henne, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 92 yards and 1 interception after Pennington went down. On Tuesday the Dolphins acquired Tyler Thigpen from Kansas City as backup to Henne. Bills running back Marshawn Lynch will return to play after a 3 game suspension. All eyes will be on Terrell Owens, who has only 5 catches for 98 yards, while Fred Jackson has amassed 15 catches for 134 yards. With Pennington out for the season, this is a winnable game that Buffalo desperately needs.

The Bills continue to be plagued by injuries. The team announced that cornerback Leodis McKelvin is out indefinitely with a broken leg. Safety Donte Whitner had surgery on his thumb and is doubtful for the Miami game. Both were hurt in Sunday’s match up with New Orleans. This further weakens the Bills starting defense. Middle linebacker Paul Posluszny is out with a broken arm. Drayton Florence will take McKelvin’s place while rookie Jairus Byrd will cover for Whitner. The struggling offensive line suffered another set back with the injury of left tackle Demetrius Bell. This is in addition to right tackle Brad Butler who is on injured reserve. With so many starters hurt, the Bills prospects are fading.

The Saints defeated the Bills 27 – 7. It was a sweet victory for New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams who was fired as Buffalo head coach 6 years ago. The Bills did very little on offense, raking up just 243 yards and 13 first downs. Trent Edwards was 20 of 35 passes for 156 yards. Buffalo’s only score came on a fake field goal, when punter Brian Moorman threw to Ryan Denney for a touchdown. Terrell Owens was shut out from making a reception, ending his 185 game streak that was the third longest in league history. Owens and fellow wide receiver Lee Evans have been in a slump. Together they have just 196 yards and 13 receptions in the first 3 games. The Bills need to get the offense on track quickly or the season will be a blowout. Dick Jauron’s job is hanging by a thread.

The Saints are looking to make it a 3 – 0 start when they take on the Bills this afternoon. The New Orleans offense is first in the league with an average of 468 yards per game. Quarterback Drew Brees has thrown for 669 yards and 9 touchdowns. Tight end Jeremy Shockey is on a roll, with 8 receptions and 2 touchdowns. They face a Bills pass defense that is second to last in the league. On offense, Trent Edwards has 442 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running back Fred Jackson has 328 rushing and receiving yards and 1 touchdown. It comes down to the Bills defense stopping the ball and offense putting points on the board.

The Bills need to contain Saints quarterback Drew Brees in tomorrow’s match up. Brees is arguably the premier quarterback, leading the league with a 132.9 passer rating. He will be playing without injured running back Mike Bell, fourth in rushing in the NFL with 229 yards. Look to him to throw to tight end Jeremy Shockey. Bills quarterback Trent Edwards is holding his own, ranking fifth overall with a 104.9 passer rating. He will rely on running back Fred Jackson, who has played well in place of the suspended Marshawn Lynch. Jackson leads the team in both receiving and rushing yards. All eyes will be on the Buffalo defense. They need to hold back Brees to keep the game close.

The Saints are 6 point favorites over the Bills in Sunday’s match up at Ralph Wilson Stadium. New Orleans is on a roll, averaging 468 yards per game, highest in the league. They are only the fourth NFL team to score 45 or more points in the first 2 regular season games. Buffalo is looking for its 350th club victory. Trent Edwards is showing confidence throwing downfield, completing 2 long touchdown passes for 32 yards to Lee Evans and 43 yards to Terrell Owens. Kicker Lian Lindell is on target, going 4 for 4 field goals in the Tampa Bay game. The defense has 3 interceptions. This is Marshawn Lynch’s final week of suspension. Look for a high scoring contest in which the Bills give New Orleans a run for their money.

The Bills will meet the Saints at home this Sunday. New Orleans has been impressive, racking up high-scoring victories over Detroit (45 – 27) and Philadelphia (48 – 22). Quarterback Drew Brees has thrown for a commanding 669 yards and 9 touchdowns. Don’t write the Bills off in this one. Buffalo’s rushing game ranks fifth in the league. Trent Edwards pass rating is 104.9, fifth highest in the NFL. On defense, the Bills rank ninth in pass rush. Donte Whitner returned an interception 76 yards to score against Tampa Bay. On special teams, despite the costly Leodis McKelvin fumble in the Patriots game, both Rian Lindell and Brian Moorman have been playing well. While the Bills face an uphill battle against the Saints, don’t count them out.

The Bills placed right tackle Brad Butler and tight end Derek Schouman on injured reserve. Both sustained injuries in the Tampa Bay game. Butler is out for the season and awaits surgery. Schouman had 62 receiving yards against the Buccaneers. To shore up the offensive line, Buffalo signed rookie tackle Jamon Meredith off Green Bay’s practice squad. He is an intelligent and able player who should add depth to the line. The Bills released linebacker Alvin Bowen who missed all of last year with a knee injury. The team replaced him with rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman from Chicago. These roster moves are designed to help the injury plagued Bills.

Bills offensive tackle Brad Butler will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. He went down in Sunday’s victory over Tampa Bay and will require surgery. Jonathan Scott played out the game at tackle. Butler’s injury leaves the Bills with only 2 reserve offensive linemen, Kirk Chambers and Seth McKinney. The team will have to look for free agents to fill the void. The young offensive line shows promise despite adversity.

Buffalo held on to win over Tampa Bay 33 – 20. There were several outstanding individual performances. Terrell Owens had a 43 yard touchdown reception. Running back Fred Jackson rushed for 163 yards. Donte Whitner returned an interception 76 yards to score. The victory did not come without a price. Four Buffalo players left the game with injuries – Derek Schouman, Brad Butler, Leodis McKelvin, and Shawn Nelson. The Bills put in a solid performance that broke a 5 game home losing streak. They should have momentum going into next week.