Two weeks ago, it seemed all but certain that rookie quarterback EJ Manuel would be the starter while Jeff Tuel and Kevin Kolb would battle for the second string job. Fast forward to the final game of the preseason and Kolb is pondering retirement after while Matt Leinart and Thaddeus Lewis are fighting for a spot on the quarterback depth chart. It’s funny how much can change so suddenly.
The Bills, Lions and the rest of the NFL will be cutting their rosters down to a league mandated maximum of 53 players by 6pm Saturday.
Since both the Bills and Lions preseasons concluded Thursday night, both coaching staffs will have only 42 hours to determine which 22 players to release from their roster.
At halftime, the Bills trailed the Lions 35-6, and head coach Doug Marrone had this to say regarding players on the bubble: “They need to seize the moment. They have to go after it. Right now, it’s out there. They have an opportunity to make this team. That’s why they’re out there right now.”
Photo Credit: Derek Zeller
Entering Thursday, the Bills had some question marks at the quarterback and cornerback positions. Due to injuries to Kevin Kolb and EJ Manuel, the Bills coaching staff focused primarily on the teams newest additions; QB’s Matt Leinart and Thaddeus Lewis. These quarterbacks had approximately 72 hours to learn a new playbook and execute in a live game situation, which is no easy task.
Against the Lions, Leinart started the game and played until the ten minute mark in the second quarter. The second interception he threw in the second quarter would be his last pass attempt of the night. “I was hoping to maybe get in there in the second half and maybe redeem myself but you can’t turn the ball over in this league and expect to win,” Leinart said following his performance Thursday night. “Obviously it’s disappointing when you have an opportunity and you don’t play as well you wanted to, but I will not sit here and make any excuses,” Leinart added.
Leinart ended his performance with a passer rating of 0.0, completing just three of ten passes with two interceptions.
Ex-Detroit Lion Thaddeus Lewis was better for the Bills Thursday night. To be fair, Lewis played the rest of the game at quarterback once Leinart was benched. Lewis completed seven of sixteen passes, including a 79-yard bomb to Marcus Easley, another player on the Bills’ bubble. After the game, Lewis was asked if he deserved a spot on the team. “You never know, the only thing I can do is worry about the things I can control. I can look myself in the mirror and say I laid it all out on the line tonight.”
The coaches also had to pay close attention to T.J. Heath and Crezdon Butler, who are fighting for the spot opened by the injury to starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Both Heath and Butler struggled against the Lions receiving core, who didn’t feature Pro-Bowl receiver Calvin Johnson. Head coach Doug Marrone is aware of the lack of depth the Bills have at corner. “I think we’ve got to do a better job in press. Again, we’ve got to be up there and contend more of those passes.”
Marrone is also well aware of the difficult cuts that need to be made at the corner back position. “We wanted to look at both of those players (Butler and Heath), to make a decision on where both of them are at…and now we have a lot of film on those guys,” Marrone added.
Both of these positional battles will be determined sometime between now and 6pm Saturday.
On a side note, one of the more exciting players of the Bills preseason, Marquise Goodwin, was injured during the second quarter on a deep pass from Leinart. The pass was thrown a step too far for Goodwin, causing him to layout for the incomplete pass. He was poked in the eye in the process and did not return for the remainder of the game. When he is healthy, Goodwin is a dangerous threat in the passing and return game, as evidenced by his 107 yard kick return against the Colts in the first week of the preseason.
After the game, Marrone said that Goodwin had sustained just a “little scratch” around his eye. Left Guard Doug Legursky was carted off the field with an apparent knee injury. Before team doctors officially looked at Legursky’s knee, Marrone said “Doug doesn’t look good. Without it being evaluated, I’m thinking that it’s probably (a) major (injury).”
Marcus Easley was also injured against the Lions but he was able to walk off the field and eventually he continued playing. He was able to score on a 79 yard touchdown pass from Thaddeus Lewis halfway through the fourth quarter. It was late in the game, but the Bills showed some chemistry on that drive.
Do the players think they did enough to earn a coveted roster spot? “When you evaluate yourself and you’re a competitor, you will never think you’ve done enough,” Crezdon Butler claimed following the loss Thursday.
