Thursday’s Matchup: Bills vs. Lions
The NFL’s regular season begins in only a few days. For all of the fans salivating at the thought of regular season action being tantalizingly close, they will have to wait for the final week of the preseason. Teams across the league are being forced to cut down their rosters to 53 active players by Saturday, August 31st. That means that NFL front offices will be watching the final preseason games rather intently, knowing that they have a limited time frame to decide the future of 22 players.
With the large amount of injuries this preseason, bench players will have more of a shot than ever to make their NFL respective teams. This will be well documented in the Bills, Lions game Thursday evening.
Here are two topics for you, the fan, to follow entering Thursday’s match-up between the Lions and Bills.
1. Buffalo’s QB Issue
Backup players can make a name for themselves in the preseason, especially the fourth preseason game, as it is commonplace for starters to never see a down. Thursday night’s game between the Bills and Lions may be a little different. The Bills are making NFL history after naming undrafted, third-string QB Jeff Tuel as their week one starter. Tuel will remain the starter as long as injured 1st and 2nd string QB’s, rookie EJ Manuel (bruised knee) and veteran Kevin Kolb (concussion), remain injured.
Tuel’s career highlights at Washington State University:
Due to the sudden lack of depth at the quarterback position, the Bills recently made some moves to fill the void. The Bills agreed to terms with free agent quarterback Matt Leinart, who spent last season as a backup with the Oakland Raiders, after primarily playing for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals, who selected Leinart 10th overall in the 2006 draft.
The Bills also acquired Thaddeus Lewis on Sunday, trading for him with the Detroit Lions. The 25-year-old has spent time as a backup with the St. Louis Rams and the Cleveland Browns after being undrafted out of Duke. The Bills acquired Lewis by trading linebacker Chris White for Lewis.
With the recent influx of quarterbacks for the Bills, Thursday’s game will be worth watching. Can the former Heisman trophy winner salvage his career from the ashes of disappointment and lackluster performances with the hurting Bills? Can both of the undrafted quarterbacks assume a winning mentality with a team who has the longest drought of reaching the playoffs in NFL history? The answers may or may not be answered on the field Thursday. However, it will be worth watching the men under center for the home team.
2. Harvard ‘Kickalicious’ Rugland
Following the retirement of 21-year veteran kicker Jason Hanson, the Lions decided to sign the Norwegian Youtube phenomenon Harvard ‘Kickalicious’ Rugland before the team began training camp. Check out the video that gave him an opportunity with an NFL team:
The Lions don’t have too much hype entering the end of the preseason in 2013. The signing and release of “Kickalicious” this past week might make one of the biggest sound waves throughout the NFL. After proving that he has the leg to kick for an NFL team, Kickalicious was not able to unseat the veteran David Akers and was released.
Kickalicious went 3 for 3 in the first two weeks of the preseason, including hitting a 50-yarder. Although he was released, the mere act of him earning a spot on the roster at the beginning of camp proves a shift in the NFL. The conventional NFL draft is still the premiere way of unearthing talent and building a franchise. Teams are becoming more and more likely to give undrafted players a chance, especially one that could create as much publicity as a man named Kickalicious.
Game Prediction:
The Bills enter the final week of the preseason in shambles. With two new signal callers under center and the loss of starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore up to eight weeks, the Bills will turn to their veterans to guide them against the Lions and into the first week of the season. The Lions enter their last preseason game in better shape than the Bills, at least health wise. Matthew Stafford has been inconsistent this preseason, and the Lions will go only as far as their no. 1 overall pick, franchise quarterback can lead them.
Tuel and the newly assembled quarterback group earns a home win after dismantling the Lions backups, 24-17.
