Bills Mafia — #BillsMafia

 
Originally posted by Dan Begnoche at AFC EAST DAILY.

Mike Pettine summed up his game plan for the Buffalo Bills defense in one word Wednesday: flexibility.

One Bill who’s trying to prove he can fit that mold is defensive back Aaron Williams. (photo: Jeffrey Beall, Flickr)

(Photo by Jeffrey Beall, Flickr)

Williams, who is entering his third season with the team, was recently thrown into the safety role by Pettine after a disappointing run at the cornerback position. According to the former Jets assistant, Williams is taking the change in responsibility in stride.

“He’s doing a nice job, and that’s a difficult thing,” Pettine said, via Chris Brown of buffalobills.com. “You could make the argument, he’s a DB and he’s staying at DB. But the safety world is very different from the corner world. He’s very intelligent. He’s soaking it all in.

“Every day is a challenge for him as far as new concepts in the playbook. I think he’s done a real nice job buying in and really getting quickly to the graduate level details of it.”

Williams move to the head of the class is a crucial one for Pettine’s system. His schematic hinges on the squad knowing the assignments of multiple positions in order to effectively confuse the offense pre-snap and disrupt the play with an aggressive move once the ball is snapped.

Pettine’s plan for Williams and the secondary is dependent on two factors: the strong play of corners Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin, and, more importantly, the eventual return of two-time Pro Bowler Jairus Byrd.

Byrd represents one of only two true safeties on the Bills’ roster — the other being Nevada rookie Duke Williams. Pettine will look to him to help lead the young DB squad and to familiarize the two young safeties with their new roles. Byrd was franchise tagged by the team earlier this year but has yet to sign the one-year, $7 million deal.

Williams has just one interception and zero sacks since joining Buffalo. If Pettine’s system is successful, that’s likely to change, though Williams will also need to stay healthy to make that happen. The former Longhorn has struggled with various injuries since he was drafted, playing in only 20 games over the past two years.

Thanks to AFC EAST DAILY for sharing this with us. Check them out on Twitter at @afceastdaily.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Buffalo Bills traded middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for outside linebacker Jerry Hughes today. Hughes was selected with the No. 31 overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but didn’t see much playing time in his first two seasons.

Hughes was a bit undersized for the defensive end position and was stuck behind Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the depth chart, which is why he only managed to play 256 snaps in his first two seasons.

In 2012, the Colts transitioned to a 3-4 defense under their new head coach Chuck Pagano and Hughes made an impact at his more natural position as an outside linebacker, appearing in all 16 games while making six starts. Hughes racked up 42 tackles and four sacks, despite playing only 55.1% of the Colts’ defensive snaps.

Hughes is solid in coverage, grading out as ProFootballFocus’ sixth best 3-4 outside linebacker in that department after allowing just eight receptions and ranked 11^th overall as a pass rusher, generating 27 quarterback pressures on 225 pass rush attempts.

The Bills moving Sheppard didn’t come as much of a surprise, as the team selected inside linebacker Kiko Alonso in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft, along with hosting free agent Karlos Dansby last week.

However, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine now has yet another pass rush specialist to play with along with Mario Williams, Manny Lawson, Mark Anderson and Arthur Moats at the outside linebacker position.

This is just another player acquisition that shows that Pettine will be utilizing primarily a 3-4 defensive front, and an aggressive one.

So, Fred Davis swung by this week — before signing with the Redskins. (Photo by YNN)

What’s going on Bills Mafia? Del has been kind enough to let me start a weekly series here on BillsMafia.com, where we will re-cap what happened the past week around the league, and hopefully talk about some rumors floating around with the Bills, (seeing how the whole ‘Fred Davis Target’ thing didn’t work out, *Sad Face*). If some of you are unaware what I am referring to, Fred Davis was being targeted by the Bills to replace Scott Chandler while he is out for with his torn ACL. Davis had dinner with Bills reps in Washington, then came in and looked at the Bills facilities at OBD. We made him an offer, he went back to Washington a day later, and signed a one-year deal with the Redskins. That is the most recent offseason news we have here in Buffalo, so let’s recap where we are at so far.

March 13th, the Bills inked Linebacker Manny Lawson to a 4-year deal worth 12
million bucks, with 4.6 million of that being guaranteed dollars. Lawson is a big boy, coming in
at 6 foot 5 inches, and 240 pounds. He spent the previous two years in Cincinnati after coming
over from San Francisco. Lawson will fit in well, he can play both the outside linebacker
position, as well as defensive end. A versatile player such as Lawson will be a major asset in
new DC Mike Pettine’s system. Lawson started 10 games last year, played in all 16, and
recorded 47 tackles and 2 sacks. Most of you are already aware of all these statistics, as I am
sure that a lot of you went and Google’d Manny as soon as we got wind of his singing.

The Bills are staying fairly quiet in Free Agency so far, although their UFA’s are not. An
anchor on the offensive line last year, Andy Levitre signed with the Tennessee Titans, as well as
Former Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Strong Safety George Wilson. The Bills also let go of
Guard Chad Rinehart, who signed in San Diego. Many fans thought that Rinehart would re-sign
here and be the heir to Andy Levitre on the line, instead he signed a 1 year deal to play for the
Chargers. The Bills have let go of two Wide Receivers as we chose not to give tenders to both
slot receiver David Nelson, and the man who played opposite Stevie, Donald Jones. So with all
of that, our offensive line is not left with much other than Eric Wood, Cordy Glenn and Kraig
Urbik. Our receivers are Stevie Johnson, and….uhm… TJ Graham, and Brad Smith? Uh oh..

A new report has just come out however, from NBC Sports, that the Buffalo Bills are
interested in…drum roll please….Kevin Kolb! Oh boy.. It is clear that the Bills QB situation is
pretty dire, but Kevin Kolb wouldn’t do anything other than add to the salary cap. If the Bills are
truly looking at Kolb as an option to start, I would much rather have us trade and get Fitz back.
Kolb is injury prone, and hasn’t lived up to any potential since the trade to Arizona. The Bills
just need to hang tight till the draft. If a trade comes along where we can get Matt Flynn for a
third or fourth rounder in NEXT year’s draft, then I would take that, still draft a QB this year,
and cut Tavaris Jackson, seeing how none of his 1.75 million dollar deal is guaranteed.

Hopefully over this next week we will learn some more on what the Bills plans are
moving forward, but until then, I’m signing off, See ya next week!

Crossman has ties to both head coach Doug Marrone as well as assistant General Manager Doug Whaley. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

The Buffalo Bills have reportedly hired former Detroit Lions special teams coordinator, Danny Crossman, to the same position with the team. The hire is interesting, because the Bills had one of the top kick/punt return units in the National Football League during the 2012 season, however, their coverage units were pretty awful. While the kickoff return team allowed an average of 22.4 yards per return, good for ninth in the league, the punt coverage team allowed 14.8 yards per return, the worst number in football by a whole yard.

Crossman has ties to both head coach Doug Marrone as well as assistant General Manager Doug Whaley. Crossman coached at the Coast Guard Academy with Marrone, and the two were teammates during their time in the World Football League. Crossman was a defensive back for the University of Pittsburgh, as was Whaley.

Crossman became the special teams coordinator of the Carolina Panthers in 2004, serving there through 2009. There, his units were decent, ranking as the No. 5 punt coverage unit in the league his first season, with a No. 11 ranking covering kickoffs. However, each year that he was coaching his units slid towards the bottom of the league in coverage rankings.

When Crossman took over the job as the Detroit Lions special teams coordinator in 2010, his units became some of the worst in all of football, ranking 27th, 31st, and 18th in punt coverage, and 7th, 26th, and 14th in kick coverage, while allowing eight return touchdowns in those three seasons.

Throughout Crossman’s coaching tenure, his punt coverage units have an average rank of 18.12, while his kickoff coverage units have an average rank of 17.1, while allowing an average of 1.6 touchdowns per season. The Bills have some solid talent on their coverage teams such as Ruvell Martin, Chris White, Brad Smith, and everybody’s favorite, Corey McIntyre. But the team’s real strength is in it’s vast group of return men, as quite a few players on the team have the ability to effectively return kicks and punts.

Leodis McKelvin, an unrestricted free agent, was arguably the best return man in the entire National Football League, averaging 28.3 yards per kick return, and a league-high 18.7 yards per punt return, while scoring two touchdowns.

While retaining McKelvin should be desired, the Bills have players such as T.J. Graham, Brad Smith, C.J. Spiller, Marcus Easley, and Justin Rogers, who are all more than capable of returning kicks effectively. The real issue is how the team defends those kicks, keeping the big plays and breakaway runs to a minimum.

Editor’s note: In case you missed it, check out the Crossman Q&A Del did earlier today with PrideOfDetroit.com’s managing editor, Sean Yuille.

Doug Marrone (Photo by David Duprey/AP)

After roughly a week of searching for the right candidates, the Buffalo Bills have filled their head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator positions. Bills fans who were against the idea of retreads taking the sidelines in Orchard Park were pleasantly surprised to learn that the team had hired Syracuse head coach, Doug Marrone, and his 33-year old offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. The team also hired Mike Pettine, formerly of the New York Jets. But who are these guys? What kind of systems do they operate?

Marrone was hired by Sean Payton to become the Saints’ offensive coordinator / offensive line coach in 2006. There, his offensive scheme prospered, ranking No. 1 in total offense twice, and finished in the top 5 of scoring offense twice. What should strike the fans as “innovative” about this hire, is that not only the front office will be involved in the analytics team, as well as supportive of it, is that Marrone fully supports it as well.

“We’ve used quite a bit of it in when we were in New Orleans when we were there. We want to be innovative,” Marrone said. “We want to use that to be in the cutting edge and push us forward. So again, it’s part of what we do. It’s part of our planning; it’s part of our process.”

Marrone’s offenses in New Orleans were explosive to say the least. He utilized Reggie Bush, a running back with a skill set very similar to that of C.J. Spiller, very well. In the three seasons that Marrone was offensive coordinator for the Saints, Bush averaged 70 receptions a season.

Nathaniel Hackett (Photo courtesy SU Athletics)

Nathaniel Hackett is a boom-or-bust situation for the Bills. While he does have the “NFL Experience” that Coach Marrone made it clear that he desired, that experience only comes in the form of a quality control coach, which he served as with the Bills in the Dick Jauron era in the 2008-2009 season.

Hackett has also spent time at Stanford as an offensive/defensive assistant, and has only been an offensive coordinator for two seasons at Syracuse. During his time in Buffalo, the Bills attempted to bring back the K-Gun offense, which the Jim Kelly-led team utilized in their Super Bowl years.

The K-Gun offense is predicated on a no-huddle, high tempo, attacking offense. The system is designed to wear down opposing defenses, just like we have grown to see with the New England Patriots, as well as at the college level with Chip Kelly’s Oregon Ducks.

For the K-Gun to be successful, the quarterback must be accurate and intelligent enough to make sight adjustments at the line of scrimmage. This is why Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib has now been linked as a possible draft target of the Bills; he knows the offense, he is intelligent, and he is a fairly accurate passer.

Mike Pettine (Photo by New York Post)

On the defensive side of the ball, Mike Pettine will be coaching. He is a Rex Ryan disciple, having joined him with the Baltimore Ravens in 2002 as a defensive assistant. There, he quickly rose up the coaching ladder becoming a defensive line coach, an outside linebackers coach, and finally a defensive coordinator when he followed Ryan to the Jets in 2009.

Pettine has operated with a 3-4 base defensive front since joining the league, however he utilizes both the 4-3 and 46 defenses so much, that it’s difficult to say “He’s a 3-4 guy” or “He’s a 4-3 guy.” With the Jets, Pettine’s defenses have ranked no lower than No. 8 in the National Football League in total defense, and in his first year had a No. 1 ranking.

Pettine has been credited on numerous occasions with being the primary reason for cornerback Darrelle Revis’ and linebacker David Harris’ fast development in his defensive scheme.

These moves, while risky on the offensive side of the ball, should excite Bills fans for the simple fact that these aren’t your same old Bills. They’re trying something new. Something exciting. Something innovative.

The Bills are desperate for a winning team, failing to earn a playoff bid in each of the last 13 seasons, and youth, energy, and excitement is what this young roster needs to succeed. Coupled with a solid showing in free agency and the 2013 NFL Draft, it’s hard to count these Bills out of a playoff run.

(Photo by David J. Phillip /AP)

Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL are considering changing the regular 12-team playoff format to a 14, or possibly 16-team format.

While I am opposed to a 16-team format, I think a 14-team playoff would be very interesting.

In the usual 12-team format, we end up with 6 teams from each conference making the playoffs, with 4 teams playing in week 1 and two teams on the bye. In the 14-team playoff we would have 7 teams making it. The playoffs would consist of 6 teams playing week 1 with the number 1 team on the bye. This then creates an extra playoff game which is good for football fans like myself who cannot get enough playoff football. I believe that having only 1 team on the bye will create better quality games, especially in the last few weeks of the season, with teams trying to earn the number 1 seed.

How would this affect the Bills organization? We will have to wait and see but I believe it will make a difference if the Bills happen to make the playoffs due to a 7th AFC playoff team. Playoff ticket sales would help with the team expenses. I also believe that if the Bills were to make the playoffs it would make the team more profitable. I can almost guarantee if the Bills made the playoffs, you would see season tickets sales for the following year sky-rocket.

I also think that if the NFL adopts the 14-game playoff scenario, the NFL would shorten the preseason to 3 games. I see a lot of tweeps complaining about how many preseason games there are so this would be a positive as well. When asked about the possible change, former Bills and Colts GM Bill Polian said he thinks it is a great idea and he would vote yes. We all know how many good decisions he has made in the past.

While there is no guarantee that the Bills would make the playoffs with a 14-team playoff, you cannot deny that it can only help the cause.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

(Photo courtesy of StadiumJourney.com)

The Buffalo News has reported that Erie County, the State of New York and the Bills have agreed to a ten year extension for the team to remain in WNY and play at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Additionally, the deal includes a $400 million dollar penalty that must be paid if Mr. Wilson or new ownership decides to move the team out of WNY. However, in year seven of the agreement, the owner may move the team with no penalty. There is much discussion and anxiety being expressed by various media outlets as to why there would be this type of “out clause.”

While others are postulating that this might be risky, others are claiming that most contracts of these nature do have “out” clauses of some sort. I have a different thought about this.

I believe it’s possible that they have specifically designated the seven year “out” to give time for new ownership to perhaps decide to build a new stadium in WNY (I’m thinking most likely Niagara Falls, NY). It would take about that long to plan, build and perhaps include other structures like hotels, etc… to be built to support a year-round domed stadium facility. Just a thought.

Any way you slice this, what a great Christmas present for Bills fans. Now if only they can figure out how to get back to the playoffs.

What are your thoughts about this new stadium lease?

Chelo handles weekly news updates here on the blog, with the occasional opinion column here and there when inspiration strikes. Be sure to follow her on Twitter!

There have been rumors and whispers going around for some time about the Bills moving out of Buffalo and about Los Angeles needing a team.  Let me just say very clearly (as someone only 30 minutes from downtown L.A.), I don’t want the Bills in L.A. and they don’t want to be here.  This is not a city to inspire great fans or player-fan relations.  But there are even better reasons for the Bills to stay in Buffalo, as seen here on the Freedom for Fans website.

There was big #BillsMafia hullabaloo about Fred Jackson wearing a Bills Mafia bracelet when he signed his contract extension.  But he’s not the only Bill to rep Buffalo and the Mafia lately.

David Nelson’s dog wears a Buffalo Bills jersey (and looks just the tiniest bit uncomfortable). Gronk may get the headline, but our George Wilson is out visiting schools on a regular basis.  Everywhere you look, the players are repping the Bills and interacting with the fans.  Is it any wonder that they have some of the most active and loyal fans in the NFL?

There have been grades and reviews for how the Bills have done in the pre-season all over the media.  It was no big surprise that this writer ranked the Buffalo Bills dead last in their draft effectiveness (based on pre-draft rankings of players); he writes for the NE Patriots Draft site.  National media ranked the Bills anywhere from an A to a C (only a couple of C’s) on this compilation; overall, the rankings seem to average out to about a B-hopeful (including on this 49ers site).  Even ESPN had to give the Bills a marginal chance of makng the playoffs (along with an equal chance of tanking even worse than last year).

I’m going to group news into links for the next little bit, with a lot less of my commentary. I don’t plan to do this every week, but there’s so much I want to include and this is the easiest way to break it down.

Tank's got a Fathead!

TANK CARDER

• On BMX, his near-fatal accident, and moving on to football at TCU
• Wakeboarding with his dog (YouTube video). Patient dog!
• TCU inspirational video featuring Tank
• Carder is the first of the rookie draft to sign for a deal

JAIRUS BYRD

• Jarius Byrd should be next Bill to get contract extension

CORDY GLENN

• Cordy Glenn and Bills Line Coach a Good Fit

TJ GRAHAM

• Interview with TJ Graham by Bills Mafia
• TJ Graham Shaped by Adversity
• TJ Graham YouTube Video

ANDY LEVITRE

• Secret Buffalo Bills superstar (last year was George Wilson!)
• Lake Effect Ice Cream

MARK ANDERSON

• Mark Anderson is the Defensive Player to make the most impact?

RON BROOKS

• Ron Brooks patient to wait his chance

VINCE YOUNG

• VY welcomed to Buffalo
• Vince Young gives a shout out to Bills Mafia (around 4:00 mark)

MARIO WILLIAMS

• Press Conference

STEVIE JOHNSON

• Johnson Expected to Miss OTAs

And I’m still not caught up and there’s so much I didn’t get into. This could be a full-time job, so I’m going to leave you all with this for now.

Editor’s note: Say hello to Chelo Felice, aka @ConseuloBurrito on Twitter. Chelo is handling weekly news updates here on the blog, with the occasional opinion column here and there when inspiration strikes. Be sure to give her a follow on Twitter!

Only T.J. Graham (3rd round) is still unsigned for this draft class. (Photo by David Duprey/AP)

Bills individual game tickets went on sale for current season ticket-holders on May 16th. The first two home games of the season sold out (against KC Chiefs on 9/16 and NE Patriots on 9/30).  Group tickets go on sale on June 9th; individual tickets on July 10th. For more details, see here.

The Bills released QB Aaron Corp and S Ian Wild on May 14th.  They signed OT James Carmon, S Nick Saenz, and FB Dorin Dickerson.  Contrary to some rumors, the release of Corp did not mean that the Bills signed tryout QB prospect Alex Tanney.

The Bills also signed first-round draft pick CB Stephon Gilmore to a 4-year, $12 million contract, and second-round OT draft pick Cordy Glenn to a four-year deal.  Only third-round WR draft pick WR TJ Graham is still unsigned for this draft class.

Have a great week and keep #Billieving!

Editor’s note: Say hello to Chelo Felice, aka @ConseuloBurrito on Twitter. Chelo is handling weekly news updates here on the blog, with the occasional opinion column here and there when inspiration strikes. Be sure to give her a follow!

A very happy Mother’s Day to all the Bills Mafia out there… and to all the Bills’ moms!  Think you have a great gift planned for your mom for Mother’s Day?  Probably won’t top Fred Jackson, who bought his mom a house (and threw in a truck for his dad).  Other NFL players are featured with their moms in this NFL.com slideshow, including Bills Vince Young, Stephon Gilmore and Kirk Morrison and former Bill Willis McGahee when he was signed by the Bills.  (It’s an interesting side note that out of 38 slides, 4 were current or former Bills.)

#moatswedding2012
(Photo courtesy Arthur Moats' Twitter account)

Arthur Moats (@dabody52) actually tweeted his wedding.  He stopped tweeting before the honeymoon.  Considering that Moats is one of the most socially active Bills (and that’s saying a lot) and actually lives in Buffalo, this one seemed kind of special.

Kraig Urbik also got married this weekend. Andy Levitre’s girlfriend, Katie Riznyk (@katieriznyk), shared a couple photos over Twitter.

RB Fred Jackson (@Fred22Jackson) was signed to a two-year contract extension with the Bills for $8.7 million.  At 31 years old and coming off an injury, some believe that this is the right price.  Bills fans believe #FredEx is priceless.

Shortly after Jackson, QB Vince Young signed with the Bills for a one-year, $2 million deal.  There was an immediate firestorm on Twitter about saving franchise quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and/or the immediate demise of backup QB Tyler Thigpen.  Buddy quickly “Nix’d” rumors in the bud by confirming Fitz as the starting quarterback for 2012, but there could be some hot competition with Thigpen for the third spot on the Bills roster.  Bruce Smith is listed as a wide receiver and should not be in competition, despite this quote from Fred Jackson.  Vince Young immediately made more news by hosting a charity event in Dallas to benefit scholarships for kids.  If nothing else, this new Bill will bring more media attention… which Nix insists will not be allowed to be a distraction.  The Bills have now signed three of the top 75 free agents according to ProFootballWeekly.

2012 Bills Draft Class
(Photo courtesy BuffaloBills.com)

It’s on. The rookies showed up for the rookie mini-camp this weekend, along with first year players, UDFAs, and undrafted invitees.  Six of the players were signed before ever coming to camp. There was plenty of excited tweeting by the incoming players (further endearing them to the Bills Mafia) and plenty of news and speculation. First-round draft pick Stephon Gilmore picked off three passes in three sessions (one shown here).  Trick-shot QB Alex Tanney showed he was more than just a YouTube sensation… but that the video wasn’t faked, either.  Kicker John Potter had to be moved back because he was kicking so far that the kick return specialists couldn’t show their skills.  Tank Carder (@tankcarder) tweeted often, as did Ron Brooks (@YpaperplaneM13) and Nigel Bradham (@nigelbradham).  All in all, it seems to have been a successful mini-camp, but with only two free spots on the Bills’ roster, the competition looks to be tight.

George Wilson continued to do what he so quietly does well: take care of the community.  On NFL Take a Player to School Day, Wilson showed up at Holy Family Catholic School and spoke on several topics.

Former GM Bill Polian will be the 28th man added to the Bills’ Wall of Fame.  He was GM during the Super Bowl era and was fired after the third Super Bowl.

Finally, ex-Bills CB Drayton Florence signed with the Denver Broncos.  We wish him all the best!

Chelo Felice
Bills Mafia Blog