Press Coverage

Chan Gailey, right, had his moments, but went 16-32 as the Bills' head coach. (James P. McCoy/News file photo)

By Tim Graham

How will we remember Buddy Nix's tenure as Buffalo Bills general manager? With the help of beat reporter Mark Gaughan, we look back on the past three seasons and four drafts under Nix.

Here are his five biggest misses:

Continue reading "Looking back: Buddy Nix's five biggest misses as Bills GM" »

By Tim Graham

Curiosity abounds with new Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone.

One of the biggies for me is whether he'll be the type to punt from his opponent's 36-yard line or go for it on fourth-and-inches from his own 41.

Previous coach Chan Gailey -- and the man before him, Dick Jauron -- infuriated Bills fans with ultra-conservative fourth-down philosophies at times.

Continue reading "Will new Bills coach Doug Marrone go fourth and conquer?" »

Stevie Johnson is eager to see how the Buffalo Bills will juggle their wide-receiver depth chart for 2013. (Photo: James P. McCoy/Buffalo News)

By Tim Graham

Stevie Johnson accounted for a preponderance of the numbers posted by Buffalo Bills wide receivers the past two years.

Subtract the contributions from David Nelson and Donald Jones, as the club did when it announced it won't re-sign them, and Johnson practically is on his own.

Of the wide receivers still on Buffalo's roster, Johnson has been responsible for 70 percent of the catches, 74 percent of the receiving yards and 76 percent of the receiving touchdowns in 2011 and 2012.

Continue reading "Stevie Johnson excited to learn who his new WR mates will be" »

By Tim Graham

INDIANAPOLIS -- Whatever Chip Kelly does as Philadelphia Eagles head coach, he said he'll have a little Chan Gailey in him.

Kelly was the Buffalo Bills' guest at a 2012 practice and claimed the experience -- along with every visit he's made to an NFL workout -- has influenced how he conducts himself as a coach.

"I think we're all byproducts of our experiences," Kelly said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Lucas Oil Stadium. "Whether you're visiting with [Bill] Belichick, or I went to OTAs with Joe Philbin last year. I went with Chan Gailey down in Buffalo. I've been to see Jim Harbaugh at the 49ers. I've been to see Pete Carroll at Seattle.

"All of those guys have been gracious to let me come watch practice."

Kelly will have some other Buffalo flavor on his Philadelphia coaching staff.

Bob Bicknell, who coached the Bills' receivers or tight ends the past three seasons, is the Eagles' receivers assistant. Kelly's quarterbacks coach is Bill Lazor, the University at Buffalo's offensive coordinator and QBs coach under Jim Hofher.

Although Kelly wasn't believed to be interested in the opening, he was one of five candidates the Bills interviewed for their coaching job that eventually went to Doug Marrone.

By Tim Graham

If Pete Metzelaars had the chance to improve the Buffalo Bills, then he would begin by replacing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

"I don't want to throw Fitz under the bus, but you've got to get an answer at quarterback," Metzelaars told me. "That's got to be the No. 1 priority."

Metzelaars has intimate knowledge of Buffalo's offense as the tight ends coach. He was dismissed along with the rest of the staff when the team fired head coach Chan Gailey.

Continue reading "Pete Metzelaars on what ails Bills: It starts with Ryan Fitzpatrick" »

By Tim Graham

Tarvaris Jackson not only couldn't get on the field for the Buffalo Bills last year, but he couldn't get the team to issue him a uniform on game days.

New coach Doug Marrone, however, wants Jackson to compete with Ryan Fitzpatrick for Buffalo's starting quarterback job.

The Bills re-signed Jackson today, and Marrone delivered his first insightful comment about how he intends to approach the Bills' most important position.

Continue reading "Bills coaching switch finally gives Tarvaris Jackson a chance" »

By Tim Graham

Doug Marrone's last season as an NFL play-caller was for the New Orleans Saints in 2008. That was the year the Miami Dolphins introduced the wildcat formation, so we don't know how viable Marrone believes it can be as an NFL device.

Marrone did, however, use the wildcat -- or "stallion," as he sometimes called it -- on occasion as Syracuse's head coach.

With that in mind, it's worth reviewing how effective the Buffalo Bills were with the wildcat last season. The players former head coach Chan Gailey used in the direct-snap formation still are on the roster for Marrone to consider.

"It's an effective play, and you can be successful at it," Bills receiver/quarterback/wildcat pilot Brad Smith told me recently.

Smith claimed the Bills' version of the wildcat last year wasn't too far removed from the pistol, zone-read offenses popularized by the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks last year.

"When you talk about Wildcat, people kind of group it incorrectly," Smith said. "Wildcat is two running backs and you run a dive or a counter play or things like that. The way we ran it was a zone read or speed option with sweeps.

"You have to account for 11 people. With the quarterback in the game, it's often 10 against 11. That's why it's been so successful in the playoffs when you have to account for every single guy."

The wildcat was a bad word around Western New York last season. Stats indicate it was effective, but the timing of certain calls and critical errors out of the formation made fans weary.

Gailey called 28 wildcat plays last year. Smith was the quarterback for almost all of them. Tashard Choice handled it three times. Fred Jackson took one snap.

C.J. Spiller ended up with the ball six times for 26 yards, including runs of 7, 7, 7 and 9 yards.

On 26 wildcat plays (penalties wiped out two), the Bills gained 175 yards and scored two touchdowns. The Bills averaged a respectable 6.7 yards, but 62 of their yards came on two plays.

Smith threw a wildcat interception that jeopardized an eventual victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week Six. On 46 percent of their wildcat plays, the Bills were stopped for 2 yards or less.

A wildcat breakdown by situation: first down (15 times), second down (nine times), third down (four times and not before Week Seven), 10 yards to go (16 times), 3 yards or less to go (five times), farther than 10 yards (twice).

Gailey's preference to call a wildcat play most frequently on first-and-10 discounts the value the formation has in short-yardage situations.

Nevertheless, Smith is under contract through the 2014 season at base salaries of $2.75 million this year and $3 million next year.

Gailey couldn't seem to figure out how to use Smith, who was the third quarterback in the summer and then a receiver again by the time the season began. But only Spiller, Stevie Johnson and Scott Chandler scored more touchdowns than Smith did.

Smith had 14 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown and 14 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns. On kickoff returns, he averaged 27.6 yards and scored a touchdown.

"I love having the ball," Smith said. "I love having the chance to make plays, but who doesn't? If you don't want to have the ball in your hands and make plays, then you probably shouldn't be playing.

"But whatever coach says. I'll block. I'll tackle. I'll do whatever as long as we're playing this time next year. That's all that matters to me."

By Tim Graham

NEW ORLEANS -- Kirk Morrison couldn't get on the field for an historically bad defense that was considered thin at linebacker.

"My knowledge of the game, how many consecutive games I've started over my career," Morrison said, "not to get a start or play significant time was frustrating."

Morrison signed a two-year contract with the Bills in 2011 after starting all but one game in his previous six seasons for the Oakland Raiders, where he was a captain, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Continue reading "Kirk Morrison wants to return to Bills, prove what he can do" »

By Tim Graham

Looks like you can forget Tarvaris Jackson serving as the Buffalo Bills' backup quarterback, let alone replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick at some point.

The Bills two weeks before the regular season traded a conditional draft choice for Jackson and cut Vince Young. The move essentially saved Tyler Thigpen's job after a wretched preseason, but now it appears Thigpen will be the primary backup for the rest of the year.

"It would be very tough for Tarvaris to challenge for that spot this year because of limited reps," Bills head coach Chan Gailey told the club's official website. "Fitz takes almost every rep we have on offense during the course of the week. The backup gets very few reps through the course of practice. So it's hard for him to get the reps necessary to make a viable charge at this point for that position.

"We knew it would be a challenge. We knew that when we made the move, but we were hoping that we would be able to keep him around and keep him learning and eventually by osmosis pick up enough to help us if something were to happen later in the season."

The Bills also are paying Jackson a $1.75 million base salary. That's an expensive scout-team quarterback, and about $500,000 more than the Bills would have paid Young.

The Bills traded a seventh-round pick to the Seahawks for Jackson, but it will become a sixth-rounder if Jackson is active for at least six games. Based on Gailey's comments, that probably won't happen unless Fitzpatrick or Thigpen gets hurt.

By Tim Graham

The New York Jets' coaching staff has been showcasing Aaron Maybin to the rest of the team as an example of how they want their players to approach the game.

This is the same Aaron Maybin the Bills drafted 11th overall in 2009 but cut after two seasons. He's the same Aaron Maybin who, in his first training camp in 2010  (he held out as a rookie) touched off a brawl when he knocked running back Fred Jackson down from behind in a no-tackle practice, causing center Eric Wood to yell "Give back some of that money you ain't f------ earned!"

But with the Jets, Maybin has remained a favorite of head coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

"The guy has been tremendous," Ryan said in a transcript the Jets disseminated Sunday. "Mike Pettine did a great job [Saturday]. He showed [a film clip of] Aaron running to the football like he does. He said 'Guys, as teammates you have to be embarrassed because this guy embarrassed the other 10 guys that were out there at that time.'

"They might have been thinking they were going hard, but this guy reminds me a little of [two-time Pro Bowl defensive end] Michael McCrary in the fact that when I had this young man in Baltimore, he was relentless. That's the way Aaron plays.

"He goes 100 miles an hour. ... He doesn't play with any brakes. He doesn't slow down until he runs into something. That's who he is, and that's who he's been since he's been a New York Jet."

Bills head coach Chan Gailey told me at the 2011 NFL owners meetings that Maybin's failures with the Bills weren't for lack of effort. That seems to jibe with the player Ryan and Pettine are coaching now.

Maybin didn't have any sacks in his two seasons with Buffalo. He was a healthy scratch on occasion and started only one game because the Bills wanted him to be an all-around outside linebacker. With the Jets last season, he recorded six sacks and forced four fumbles as a situational pass-rusher.

Ryan was asked if Maybin might get more playing time as a three-down outside linebacker.

"I could definitely see that," Ryan said. "He's going to earn that, and you have to earn your way out there, and I think he's on his way to earning more reps and more responsibility from us."

Maybin is a weird story angle for Bills fans. The consensus when the Bills cut him was "Good riddance." He was tough to root for because of his cocky persona and invisible production. I get the sense Bills fans still are glad he's gone even though the team didn't get anything in return.

But as long as he's with the Jets and getting Ryan excited, then there's reason to dread facing Maybin twice a year. He's now one of those villains Bills fans can't stand to see doing well.

(Photo: Julio Cortez/Associated Press)