Broke-Back Buffalo | The Buffalo Bills

[Driveshaft815]

Ohai! I've had an itch to do a franchise diary for awhile, and finally decided to do one of the Buffalo Bills. I'm nearing the end of my vacation, so I'm hoping to get the big parts of this done within the next couple days - layout, first weeks, stats, etc. Right now, my main focus is getting the pre-season done and posted, along with the first week. Tomorrow, or Sunday, whenever, I'll work on the graphics and getting my thread all prettied up.

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Settings
Platform: Xbox 360
Game: Madden 12
Rosters: Final update (post-Super Bowl)
Sliders: Default All-Pro (for now)
Quarter Length: 10 minutes, 20 second run-off

[Driveshaft815]

Reserving. For organization and stuff. :>

[Driveshaft815]

One more; just in case.

[Driveshaft815]

PRE-SEASON RESULTS

Week 1
L @ Bears, 17-23
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Week 2
L @ Broncos, 16-26
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Week 3
L vs. Jaguars, 14-23
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Week 4
T vs. Lions, 24-24

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Trades
Buffalo receives (from Cowboys):

WR Dwayne Harris
CB Mike Jenkins
3rd round draft pick (2012)

Cowboys receive (from Buffalo):

1st round draft pick (2012)

Signings

FB/TE James Casey (1 yr, $460K)
C Kris O'Dowd (1 yr, $310K)

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Buffalo Bills Depth Chart - 2011
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	S. Johnson (88)	D. Nelson (72)	D. Jones (72)	B. Smith (76)
TE	J. Casey (87)	S. Chandler (77)	L. Smith (64)
LT	D. Bell (77)	C. Hairston (66)
LG	A. Levitre (88)	K. Williams (65)
C	E. Wood (84)	K. O'Dowd (66)
RG	K. Urbik (76)	C. Rinehart (79)
RT	E. Pears (83)	S. Young (67)
WR	D. Harris (66)	D. Nelson (72)	D. Jones (72)	B. Smith (76)
QB	R. Fitzpatrick (82)	T. Thigpen (69)
FB	C. McIntyre (71)
HB	F. Jackson (92)	C. Spiller (78)	J. White (66)
Base 3-4 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	M. Dareus (84)	A. Carrington (69)
NT	K. Williams (92)	T. Troup (66)	K. Heard (65)	M. Jasper (54)
RDE	D. Edwards (82)	S. Johnson (72)	K. Moore (69)
LOLB	C. Kelsay (77)	D. Batten (63)
LILB	N. Barnett (89)	K. Sheppard (71)
RILB	K. Morrison (79)	K. Sheppard (71)
ROLB	S. Merriman (81)	A. Moats (69)
CB	T. McGee (82)	L. McKelvin (79)	D. Florence (75)	A. Williams (70)
SS	G. Wilson (82)	D. Searcy (70)
FS	J. Byrd (86)	B. Scott (77)
CB	M. Jenkins (81)	L. McKelvin (79)	D. Florence (75)	A. Williams (70)
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	R. Lindell (82)
P	B. Moorman (91)
H	B. Moorman (83)
PR	R. Parrish (96)	C. Spiller (95)	L. McKelvin (90)	T. McGee (88)
KR	C. Spiller (95)	R. Parrish (96)	L. McKelvin (80)	B. Smith (81)
LS	A. Levitre (87)	E. Wood (84)	D. Bell (81)	E. Pears (81)

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BUFFALO BILLS - WEEK 1 REPORT

A Close Comeback
The Bills were able to score first with a 15 yard run from C.J. Spiller, as he dashed into the endzone. "Lights Out" Shawne Merriman was a huge factor in the first half - a hard hit to Jamaal Charles would sideline him for the rest of the first half, and then he got Buffalo's only other touchdown of the first half on a fumble recovery. Succop put the only points for Kansas City on the board in the first half, racking up three field goals.

The Bills would lose recently acquired LCB Mike Jenkins in the first drive of the second half. He would be out for the rest of the game, but the type of injury or how serious was yet to be released. However, recently acquired WR, Dwayne Harris, did get his first touchdown in the NFL, a nice 82 yard bomb from Fitzpatrick.

Succop finally scored the Chiefs' first points of the second half with another field goal, making him 4/4 on the night. On the next drive, a hard hit from Hali made Fred Jackson fumble the ball, which ILB Johnson would scoop up and run it in for a 49 yard touchdown.

After failing to get anything going, the Bills punt the ball, only for the Chiefs to end the drive with Jamaal Charles touchdown run, leaving just a minute and sixteen seconds left on the clock. On a 3rd and down play, Fitzpatrick threw a hailmary pass deep to the rookie Dwayne Harris, who was able to snag the ball away from two defenders, and run it in for the touchdown, giving the Bills a 28-25 comeback victory.

Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
Sep 11, 2011	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Buffalo Bills (0-0)	7	7	7	7	28
Kansas City Chiefs (0-0)	3	6		16	25

Buffalo Bills PASSING C/A YDS TD INT R. Fitzpatrick 10/20 269 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD F. Jackson 16 38 2.3 0 C. Spiller 3 17 5.6 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D. Harris 4 175 43.7 2 S. Johnson 4 70 17.5 0 J. Casey 1 4 4.0 0 D. Nelson 1 20 20.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK E. Pears 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD S. Merriman 7 0 0 1 C. Kelsay 4 0 0 0 G. Wilson 4 0 0 0 J. Byrd 4 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG R. Lindell 0/0 4/4 4 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 B. Moorman 3 122 40.6 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. Spiller 4 95 23.7 0 R. Parrish 2 40 20.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Parrish 1 3 3.0 0

Kansas City Chiefs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT M. Cassel 18/32 297 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Charles 18 17 0.9 1 T. Jones 7 3 0.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Baldwin 8 90 11.2 0 T. Moeaki 3 66 22.0 0 D. Bowe 2 51 25.5 0 S. Breaston 2 52 26.0 0 J. Urban 2 37 18.5 0 D. McCluster 1 1 1.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD D. Johnson 6 0 0 1 J. McGraw 4 0 0 0 B. Flowers 5 0 0 0 T. Hali 4 0 0 0 T. Jackson 3 1 0 0 B. Carr 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG R. Succop 4/4 1/1 13 46 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 D. Colquitt 2 82 41.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Arenas 2 27 13.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Arenas 1 8 8.0 0

Around The League
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Packers 31, Saints 23
Ravens 20, Steelers 10
Bengals 20, Browns 10
Texans 38, Colts 31
Titans 20, Jaguars 9
Falcons 44, Bears 30
Eagles 34, Rams 22
Buccaneers 20, Lions 17
49ers 19, Seahawks 16
Giants 35, Redskins 22
Chargers 35, Vikings 20
Cardinals 17, Panthers 7
Cowboys 12, Jets 7
Patriots 38, Dolphins 27
Broncos 24, Raiders 9

Offensive Player of the Week - Arian Foster (HOU)
25 attempts, 223 yards, 3 touchdowns

Defensive Player of the Week - Ed Reed (BAL)
2 tackles, 2 interceptions

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Burning Questions
By Chris Brown, lead journalist
Posted Sep 12, 2011

Another week of Buffalo Bills football, another week of this week's "burning questions!" Let me start off with the week's biggest question:

Why Dwayne Harris?
Chan Gailey may have struck gold with this guy. He was quiet in the draft, going behind big-name wide-outs like AJ Green, Julio Jones, Greg Little, etc. He had his biggest year at ECU last year, racking up over 1,100 yards for 10 touchdowns, he's also pretty dynamic on kick returns as well. His lack of speed is a bit of a concern, but once he gets the balls in his hands, he's bound to make a big play happen; he's got the moves to get it done, and he definitely has the hands to make those plays.

When are we going to see something out of Marcell Dareus?
Give Marcell a break here - he's a great player. He did only have one tackle, but that one tackle was for a 4 yard loss on Jamaal Charles. The whole D-Line didn't make too much noise, Dwan Edwards only had two tackles, and Kyle Williams only had one. Even though the D-Line only mustered up four tackles, all four tackles were behind the line of scrimmage on Jamaal Charles. It's only been one week; I'm guessing we will see huge things form Dareus in the coming weeks.

Is Fred Jackson the starter?
Yes. For now, at least. The rushing game against Kansas City was pretty nonexistent, Jackson couldn't get too much done against the Chiefs' D. Spiller did get about half of Jackson's yards on 3 carries, and one of those was for a touchdown. But for now, yes, Fred Jackson is indeed the starter. Look for Spiller to get a lot of playtime too though, returning kicks, splitting carries with Jackson, and even in the passing game. Spiller is an amazing talent!


Buffalo Bills' Week 2 Preview
By Chris Brown, lead journalist
Posted Sep 15, 2011

The Bills are going up against yet another electrifying halfback this week: Darren McFadden. If they can shut out DMC like they did Charles last week, the Bills should be in decent shape. Carson Palmer looked a little shaky out there in his first start with a new team, throwing for 221 yards with an interception. Even though the recently-acquired Mike Jenkins won't be in action for this one, Raiders' lack of depth at wide-out should make up for the loss.

As always though, the Raiders' D is scary good. Especially with Richard Seymour at nose-tackle, and two young, impressive, strong defensive ends on either side of him. It'll be interesting to say the least to see if Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller are able to get anything going this week against an even more impressive run defense.

I see this game being a low-scoring game, unless Darren McFadden has his way with the Bills' defense, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is able to tear up the Raiders' secondary. It'll be interesting to say the least!

My prediction:
13-10, Oakland

[Driveshaft815]

BUFFALO BILLS - WEEK 2 REPORT

Bills lose heart-breaker at home
The Raiders/Bills game was definitely a defensive one, to say the least. The Bills looked good on the field, especially in the running game, in the first half. Despite lack to put up any points, Jackson broke off some good, hard-fought runs while Spiller broke off a big 36 yarder, which would be is only rushing attempt of the night.

The Bills definitely held McFadden in check for the first half of the game. It was a soaring punt by Lechler that pinned the Bills back at their own 1 yard line, and then a safety on Fred Jackson, which gave the Raiders the first points on the board of the game. In the second quarter, each team put up a field goal, giving Oakland a slight 2-point lead going into halftime.

It was the second half that the Bills fell apart. They couldn't stop McFadden or Palmer, it seemed like they were ripping off first down after first down. McFadden got a 2 yard run to give Oakland the first touchdown of the game. And then a turnover by the Bills later in the quarter resulted in another field goal for Janikowski.

The Bills were in comeback mode yet again, for two weeks in a row, in the fourth quarter. The Bills made a few huge 3rd down conversions, one of which resulted in a 32 yard pass to Stevie Johnson. On the Bills' final drive with less than 30-seconds on the clock, Fitzpatrick connected with a pass to Johnson yet again, but a hard hit from the young ILB Rolando McClain would force the ball, sailing out of Johnson's hands, and into a rookie corner of the Raiders.

Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Oakland Raiders (0-1)	2	3	10	0	15
Buffalo Bills (1-0)	0	3	0	7	10

Oakland Raiders PASSING C/A YDS TD INT R. Fitzpatrick 10/30 184 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD F. Jackson 11 41 3.7 0 C. Spiller 1 36 36.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD S. Johnson 6 131 21.8 1 D. Harris 1 11 11.0 0 D. Nelson 1 11 11.0 0 J. Casey 1 13 13.0 0 D. Jones 1 18 18.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK F. Jackson 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD C. Kelsay 7 2 0 0 N. Barnett 6 0 0 0 L. McKelvin 4 0 0 0 K. Morrison 3 0 0 0 M. Dareus 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG R. Lindell 1/1 1/1 4 43 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 B. Moorman 4 207 51.7 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C. Spiller 2 44 22.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD R. Parrish 3 13 4.3 0

Buffalo Bills PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Palmer 16/25 151 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. McFadden 18 80 4.4 1 M. Bush 4 8 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D. Moore 4 41 10.2 0 T. Houshmandzadeh 3 16 5.3 0 K. Boss 2 7 3.5 0 D. Heyward-Bey 2 14 7.0 0 D. McFadden 2 18 9.0 0 M. Reece 1 15 15.0 0 B. Myers 1 26 26.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK C. Carlisle 0 1 S. Heyer 0 2 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD T. Branch 4 1 0 0 A. Curry 2 1 0 0 R. McClain 2 0 0 0 L. Sheppard 2 0 0 0 M. Huff 2 0 0 0 S. Routt 0 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG S. Janikowski 2/2 1/1 7 46 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 S. Lechler 6 286 47.6 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Ford 2 21 10.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Ford 3 28 9.3 0

Around The League
Chiefs 17, Lions 10
Steelers 28, Seahawks 21
Panthers 38, Packers 27
Ravens 20, Titans 14
Colts 23, Browns 20 (OT)
Vikings 24, Buccaneers 14
Cardinals 38, Redskins 32
Saints 20, Bears 16
Jets 20, Jaguars 16
49ers 27, Cowboys 14
Patriots 24, Chargers 10
Bengals 43, Broncos 22
Texans 31, Dolphins 21
Falcons 23, Eagles 17
Giants 28, Rams 24

Offensive Player of the Week - Kevin Kolb (ARI)
29/45, 393 yards, 4 touchdowns

Defensive Player of the Week - Aldon Smith (SF)
5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 touchdown


Top Stores

Dwayne Harris out!
It's official, the Bills have lost both their players received in a trade with the Cowboys last week due to injures. Dwayne Harris will miss the next 8 weeks of actions with a broken collarbone. We wish Harris a safe and speedy recovery!

Manning squeezes out first win in OT
Peyton Manning hasn't been himself after having surgery. The future hall-of-famer threw for 344 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in the Colts 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns in overtime. Meanwhile, the young QB out of Texas, Colt McCoy, was near perfect on the day; throwing 18/23, 167 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Redskins still winless
Redskins played their hearts out; starting QB Rex Grossman threw for 332 yards and 2 touchdowns (with no picks!), and veteran wide-out Jabar Gaffney was among this week's leaders in receiving, with 6 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. However, Kolb's near-400 yard day was enough to land the Cardinals the win.

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Bills sign young cornerback Bruce Johnson
By Chris Brown, lead journalist
Posted Sep 20, 2011
With Mike Jenkins missing one more week of action, Bills look to add a little more depth to their secondary against the big match-up next week against New England by signing the former New York Giant, Bruce Johnson. Johnson had 51 tackles, 2 interceptions, a touchdown, a sack, and two forced fumbles in his two years with the Giants.

Dwayne Harris to miss next 8 weeks
By Chris Brown, lead journalist
Posted Sep 20, 2011
Dwayne Harris, late in the first quarter against Oakland, was helped off the field. He never returned that game, and later that night, it was revealed that he had suffered a broken collarbone, and would be missing the next 8 weeks. In that big trade the first week with Dallas, the Bills have now lost both players from the trade due to injuries.

CJ Spillers' increased role
By Chris Brown, lead journalist
Posted Sep 21, 2011
With Dwayne Harris out, CJ Spiller will see a big number of increased snaps. Not in the back-field, but as a wide-out instead. Spiller will continue to split carries with Fred Jackson, but he's such a dynamic player, HC Chan Gailey wants to see him at different positions as well. "CJ Spillers' big-play ability is scary," headcoach Gailey said, "and we're going to see just how 'scary' in the next few weeks.

Week 2 Preview
By Chris Brown, lead journalist
Posted Sep 23, 2011
Next week, the Bills host their first game of the 2011 season against the New England Patriots. Patriots have won 15 straight against the Bills; last time Bills beat New England, was in 2003, and was actually a shutout victory. This game should be an interesting one, as the Patriots have one of the weakest secondaries in the league. Whereas the Bills secondary has gotten better over the years, Tom Brady is without a doubt, an elite quarterback who has the ability to pick apart ANY secondary in the NFL, no matter how talented.
Overall, I'm expecting a high-scoring game, at least on New England's part. New England has won the past 15 times these two teams faced, and are looking to make it 16.

My prediction:
45-17, Patriots