April 26, 2013 - 11:59 AM
By Jay Skurski
Former Buffalo Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay, who retired earlier this offseason, will make the team's second-round pick in the NFL Draft tonight at Radio City Music Hall.
The NFL is having 32 notable alumni make the announcement of their former team's second- or third-round picks (for those teams without second rounders), a tradition the league started two seasons ago. Former Bills receiver Andre Reed made the announcement of Texas cornerback Aaron Williams in 2011, while Phil Hansen announced Cordy Glenn's selection in 2012.
A second-round pick out of Nebraska in 2003, Kelsay was a three-time Bills defensive captain during his 10 seasons. He became a starter in his second season, and from 2005 through 2011 started all 105 games in which he played. He recorded 32.5 sacks, ranking ninth in team history.
The complete list of who will be making tonight's picks, courtesy of the NFL.
Continue reading "Chris Kelsay to announce Bills' second-round pick tonight" »
By Tim Graham
Sometimes, quarterbacks get slapped with a label that can
doom them.
He gets sacked too much.
Buffalo Bills fans are familiar with Drew Bledsoe and Rob
Johnson. Daunte Culpepper and David Carr are two of the more prominent recent examples.
Kevin Kolb insisted he shouldn't be known as one of those
guys.
Continue reading "Kevin Kolb dismisses idea he's a QB who gets sacked too much" »
March 21, 2013 - 12:18 PM
By Tim Graham
I've wondered out loud how a team can miss 13 straight postseasons and claim to rebuild through the draft yet fail to re-sign
the players who develop just as they hoped they would when drafting them.
I asked Andrew Brandt, an ESPN business analyst who handled
player contracts and the salary cap for the Green Bay Packers, how the moribund Bills
could connect on a second-round draft pick such as left guard Andy Levitre and not
be able to re-sign him.
The problem, Brandt explained, is that the Bills should have
addressed Levitre's future a long time ago.
Continue reading "Is Buffalo's front office allowing itself to get out-leveraged?" »
March 18, 2013 - 11:33 AM
By Tim Graham
And on the seventh day of free agency, the Press Coverage blog
reviewed the Buffalo Bills' offseason personnel moves to date ...
Players who have re-signed
- • Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson
- • Linebacker Bryan Scott
- • Cornerback Leodis McKelvin
Players whose rights were retained
- • Tight end Mike Caussin
- • Tight end Dorin Dickerson
- • Safety Jairus Byrd
Players who have joined
- • Linebacker Manny Lawson
Players who have departed
- • Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (Tennessee Titans)
- • Wide receiver Donald Jones (New England Patriots)
- • Wide receiver David Nelson
- • Guard Andy Levitre (Tennessee
Titans)
- • Guard Chad
Rinehart (San Diego
Chargers)
- • Defensive end Chris Kelsay (retired)
- • Defensive end Shawne Merriman (retired)
- • Linebacker Nick Barnett
- • Cornerback Terrence McGee
- • Safety George Wilson (Tennessee Titans)
February 28, 2013 - 10:45 AM
By Tim Graham
When the Buffalo Bills rebooted their operations in January,
a point of emphasis was the creation of an analytics department. While no
details have been divulged on how the Bills will implement analytics, a common
usage around the league is in determining contract values.
ProFootballFocus.com, one of the most popular analytics sites,
has applied its metrics to the Bills' 2012 roster to determine who underperformed
and outperformed their salary-cap figures last year.
You can check out PFF for its explanation of each player, but
here are the lists:
Undervalued
- 1. Jairus Byrd, safety
- 2. C.J. Spiller, running back
- 3. Andy Levitre, left guard
- 4. Kyle Williams, defensive tackle
- 5. Alex Carrington, defensive tackle
- 6. George Wilson, safety
- 7. Nick Barnett, linebacker
- 8. Scott Chandler, tight end
- 9. Bryan Scott, linebacker
- 10. Cordy Glenn, left tackle
Overvalued
- 1. Mario Williams, defensive end
- 2. Chris Kelsay, defensive end
- 3. Ryan Fitzpatrick, quarterback
- 4. Brad Smith, wide receiver
- 5. Terrence McGee, cornerback
- 6. Spencer Johnson, defensive tackle
- 7. Mark Anderson, defensive end
- 8. Tyler Thigpen, quarterback
- 9. Erik Pears, right tackle
- 10. Shawne Merriman, defensive end
The Bills already have released two of the PFF's 10 most
undervalued players (Barnett and Wilson). Byrd, Levitre and Scott could become unrestricted free
agents in a couple weeks.
From the overvalued list, the Bills have dumped McGee.
Kelsay announced his retirement Wednesday night. From the free agents on the
list, we safely can assume Thigpen won't be back, Merriman's probably a goner and Johnson isn't worth re-signing.
February 28, 2013 - 8:37 AM
By Tim Graham
The Buffalo Bills have parted ways with four veteran
defenders in less than three weeks.
Defensive end Chris Kelsay, cornerback Terrence McGee and
safety George Wilson didn't play games for any other team. Linebacker Nick
Barnett started every game for the Bills the past two seasons after eight years
with the Green Bay Packers.
Here is a breakdown of how much experience has been deducted
from Buffalo's
roster with these four players.
- • 38 seasons
- • 500 games
- • 404 starts
- • 59.5 sacks
- • 44 interceptions
- • 20 forced fumbles
- • 20 fumble recoveries
- • 7 defensive touchdowns
- • 8 seasons as Bills captain
Numbers, of course, don't paint the complete portrait.
Kelsay (neck) and McGee (knee) ended last season on injured
reserve. Barnett and Wilson were the Bills' top two tacklers, but they were
lacking when it came to game-changing plays.
But the Bills' defensive leadership will have a substantially
different composition in 2013.
February 27, 2013 - 7:32 PM
By Tim Graham
Buffalo Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay will walk away from the NFL never having
experienced the postseason.
Kelsay played for the Bills from 2003 to 2012, the dark
ages.
The Bills are in the NFL's longest active playoff drought, a
13-year dry spell that began three seasons before Kelsay arrived.
Kelsay experienced a winning record only once, his second
season. The Bills lost double-digit games six times and went 63-97 in Kelsay's tenure.
Continue reading "Chris Kelsay the poster child for Bills' postseason frustrations" »
February 27, 2013 - 6:44 PM
By Tim Graham
Buffalo Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay has informed the
club he will retire after 10 seasons.
Kelsay, a second-round draft choice in 2003, was a
three-time captain who recorded 32.5 sacks, ninth-most in franchise history, but struggled to crack the starting lineup last year.
"I want to thank Mr. Wilson for the opportunity he gave
me 10 years ago to be a Buffalo Bill," Kelsay said in comments distributed
by the team. "One of my goals was to finish my career with the team that
drafted me and that came to fruition. I feel very blessed to say that."
Continue reading "Veteran Bills DE Chris Kelsay announces retirement" »
