Exciting win
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 10:18 PM ET
EXCITING WIN: Well the new fans in Toronto can't say they weren't entertained with this one.
Omon could make a move
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 10:12 PM ET
OMON COULD MAKE A MOVE: Xavier Omon is performing better than he did in his debut last Saturday. He breaking through tackles more effectively.
Announced attendance
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 10:10 PM ET
ANNOUNCED ATTENDANCE: Attendance at the Rogers Centre tonight was announced at 48,434.
Wilson covering well
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 10:01 PM ET
WILSON COVERING WELL: On punt coverage George Wilson has been down the field to either make the tackle or channel the return man toward his tackle help all night.
Leodis just made up for that punt
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:35 PM ET
LEODIS JUST MADE UP FOR THAT PUNT: McKelvin's 95-yard kick return for a touchdown made up for the punt he chose not to field . He got the touchdown back that the turnover on special teams ultimately gave the Steelers.
His crossed arms 'X' sign is for his hometown Waycross, Georgia.
Bryan Scott having a nice night
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:31 PM ET
BRYAN SCOTT HAVING A NICE NIGHT: Scott has been stout up at the line of scrimmage nad had that nice pass breakup to force a punt on the last drive.
McKelvin has to field that punt
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:29 PM ET
MCKELVIN HAS TO FIELD THAT PUNT: He thought that punt was going out of bounds, but if you're not sure you have to go and field it. Even if you run out of bounds it's better than having it bound back into the field of play where it could bounce deeper into your own territory or off one of your blockers who are blind to the ball, which was the case on that play leading to the turnover.
Corto looks at home at LB
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:26 PM ET
CORTO LOOKS AT HOME AT LB: He again makes a play right up at the line. You kind of wonder if his situation is similar to that of Coy Wire. A linebacker in a safety's body.
Wright not helping himself
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:22 PM ET
WRIGHT NOT HELPING HIMSELF: Dwayne Wright's fumble is his second in two preseason games. He fell out of favor with coach Jauron last season when he fumbled against the Patriots. You hope he can get past this ball security issue especially in light of how much coach Studesville harps on it.
Preston at RT
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:21 PM ET
PRESTON AT RT: He didn't take any snaps there in practice this week, but Duke Preston is in at right tackle with the third string unit. Perhaps they don't want to put Brad Butler (a starter) at risk.
O-Line getting good push
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:09 PM ET
O-LINE GETTING GOOD PUSH: The second string O-line is getting a good push off the ball in the run game. Wright has had some room to operate.
Wright's pad level looks lower
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:06 PM ET
WRIGHT'S PAD LEVEL LOOKS LOWER: After running more upright in the first preseason game, Dwayne Wright looks lower to the ground thus far and is covering up the ball with two hands on his carries when the defense closes in.
Nice 2nd effort by Ellis
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:49 PM ET
NICE 2ND EFFORT BY ELLIS: Third-round pick Chris Ellis made a nice second effort to get that sack as he spun in the other direction when he saw Leftwich stepping up in the pocket and got a sack and forced fumble out of it.
Looked like Spencer Johnson may have been in bounds on that recovery.
Wendling leaped over the line on FG again
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:40 PM ET
WENDLING LEAPED OVER LINE ON FG AGAIN: Much like he's been doing in training camp and in the Washington game, John Wendling used his leaping ability to clear the line in an effort to block the kick. He didn't get it, but at the very least that can be distracting to a kicker. Maybe it had an effect on that miss by Reed.
Losman and 2nd team offense in
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:29 PM ET
LOSMAN AND 2ND TEAM OFFENSE IN: Nice job by the first team offense. Edwards was 9-11 for 104 yards passing and two touchdowns. Lee Evans was 3-49, Royal 2-20-2 TDs, Lynch 5-25 rushing.
Holmes was Youboty's teammate
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:25 PM ET
HOLMES WAS YOUBOTY'S TEAMMATE: Santonio Holmes will have bragging rights with his former Ohio State teammate Ashton Youboty after pulling in that 40-yard touchdown reception. Hard to tell whether Youboty tripped or got hung up on a double move. Tough break.
Corto reps as 2nd string LB
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:22 PM ET
CORTO REPS AS 2ND STRING LB: With the Bills a bit short on numbers at LB, Jon Corto is being used there with the second string defense. Corto played linebacker in college at Sacred Heart.
Hardy clears out space for Royal
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:17 PM ET
HARDY CLEARS OUT SPACE FOR ROYAL: With Hardy lined up outside of Royal on the right side on that second touchdown play, Hardy took his corner deep into the end zone. The safety had to respect the fade to Hardy and was eight yards deep in the end zone. That allowed Royal to run eight yards after the catch to pay dirt.
Starters on offense getting another series
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:04 PM ET
STARTERS ON OFFENSE GETTING 2ND SERIES: The starters will be back out there after the break. If they do as well as they did on the first series, their night will be over for sure.
Early exit for Whitner
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:00 PM ET
EARLY EXIT FOR WHITNER: Guess the interception was all the work coach Jauron needed to see from Donte Whitner as he got just that first series with Bryan Scott replacing him at SS.
Tight TD pass by Edwards
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 7:53 PM ET
TIGHT TD PASS BY EDWARDS: Trent really put it in a tight window there for the touchdown. Good catch by Royal as well. Edwards and Royal have been connecting a bit more in red zone work the past week at camp.
Nice field awareness by Evans
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 7:51 PM ET
NICE FIELD AWARENESS BY EVANS: Evans knew exactly where the first down marker was on that red zone reception and smartly ducked under the tackle to get the necessary extra yard for the first down.
Pressure prompted INT
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 7:43 PM ET
PRESSURE PROMPTED INT: Pass pressure by Kelsay help to force Roethlisberger to make a play on the move. That's the kind of duress hopefully Kelsay and Schobel will be able to provide with more one-on-ones outside with opponents worried about Stroud inside.
Good tip by Simpson to keep the ball alive and allow Whitner to run under it for the INT.
Roof is in fact closed
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 7:15 PM ET
ROOF IS IN FACT CLOSED: Happy to report we were right from the start and the roof on the Rogers Centre is in fact closed for the game.
Not playing tonight
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 7:02 PM ET
NOT PLAYING TONIGHT: WRs Scott Mayle, Josh Reed, LB Angelo Crowell, OT Matt Murphy, TE Tim Massaquoi.
Starting for Reed as expected with be James Hardy.
Starting Crowell will be Keith Ellison.
OT Patrick Estes is dressed, but whether he'll play remains to be seen. He could very well be an emergency option.
Rogers Centre roof opened
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 5:40 PM ET
ROOF OPENED UP: Well apparently the plans to keep the roof closed have been scrapped because just a few minutes ago the roof was opened. We'll let you know if its closed prior to the game.
Rogers Centre dome will be closed
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 12:36 PM ET
ROGERS CENTRE DOME WILL BE CLOSED: The retractable roof on the Rogers Centre will be closed for tonight's Bills-Steelers preseason game and it has nothing to do with the weather.
Buffalobills.com has learned that head coach Dick Jauron in an effort to simulate the exact conditions that will exist on December 7th when the Bills "host" the Dolphins here in Toronto, he has requested that the roof be closed for tonight's game as well.
Answering some questions
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 12:03 PM ET
ANSWERING SOME QUESTIONS: With some time befor the game tonight here are some answers to more of your questions. You can send your queries to askchris@bills.nfl.net.
Q - when turk was hired as the offensive coordiantor he said he had some ideas to get lee evans the ball more. i was just wondering has he been lining up the slot more or sent in motion more, or maybe even used on some screen passes?
A - Lee has been moved around as all the receivers are required to know all the receiver positions. We've heard talk of moving the top wideout around to get him open more often since the prime of Eric Moulds' career, but I believe Schonert is a straight shooter, so I think Evans will be moved out of the 'x' (split end) position a good amount of time.
Q - Does anyone know or have an opinion on how long Trent Edwards will play on Saturday (pre-season game)? One drive, one quarter, a half?
A - I would anticipate 3-4 series. I would like to see him get more time myself (a quarter to a quarter and a half), but none of us are head coaches. For more on tonight's game see the pre-game notes.
Q - I want to know what all the players are doing for fun on their down time.
A - Truthfully there isn't a lot of down time for the players. Occasionally if there's an afternoon practice followed by a night practice the next day some of them will go out to dinner and leave the campus. As for road trips there are so many meetings in between meals that there are only a couple of hours to do anything. I did spot a few players walking the streets of Toronto last night at about 9:30. Plus they have curfew at 11pm.
Q - Is it realistic to be able to get both peters and evans done with the room we have?
I am thinking the Bills would need 15 mil in cap room for this year.
A - I think they would have to be very creative to do both of them. Remember the Bills operate under their own set of accounting which doesn't afford the same amortization leeway that the salary cap rules of the league provide. I would say between all the guaranteed up front money given to 10 draft picks and up front money for Lee Evans likely to be $10-$12M on an extension the Bills will pretty much be at their limit. There are probably creative ways around that, but I might get a headache trying to figure out how.
Q - i haven't heard alot about spencer johnson thus far. i see him as a darkhorse to have a huge impact on our defense. is he lining up at DT, DE or both? used on passing downs, running downs, etc.....curious on some feedback
A - Spencer has lined up at both the left and right defensive tackle in their regular defense and has kicked out to defensive end (left side) in nickel situations. I think this is how he'll be utilized in the regular season as well.
Offense not playing it close to the vest
Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 9:59 AM ET
OFFENSE NOT PLAYING IT CLOSE TO THE VEST: I asked Dick Jauron about the challenge of not putting all of their offensive cards on the table in the preseason, while at the same time trying to determine what plays work best for the offensive personnel in game situations. Buffalo's head coach said waiting to unveil plays until the regular season to keep their 2008 opponents in the dark really isn't an option.
"I think we're not worried about keeping things under wraps in light of the situation we're in offensively becasue we're still trying to find out what our guys can do and do well at a number of critical positions," said Jauron. "Once we get a strong feeling for that then we can fit the offense and concentrate on specific with more of this or less of that, or forget this totally. (We have to) figure out what they can do and what they do well and let them do it, and that's where we're headed. It's not an easy thing because you have to try a lot of things."
So while some of what we're seeing offensivey is likely to resurface in the regular season, it also appears some of what we witness will also be tossed out. I suppose it's up to Buffalo's first couple of regular season opponents to figure out what the Bills felt good about in terms of execution through the preseason, and what they're likely to jettison.
