Alright Bills fans, second half of the schedule is up and there are two difficult road games on tap. Let’s hope for the best and get to your latest round of questions from AskChris@bills.nfl.net and @ChrisBrownBills on Twitter.
1 - Dear Chris:
Do you think Chan will ever not only start CJ, but give him the majority of the carries? I love Fred but he is not the game breaker CJ is and I think if he was on a lot of other teams CJ is a 1800 to 2000 yard man an 12-15 touchdowns. I admire Chan’s loyalty but question its productivity? CJ is a game changing threat every time he touches the ball and keeping him on the bench half the time no longer makes a lot of sense. What do you think? Please let me know what you think, and what Chan might be thinking, if he is at all? Thanks!
Jim
CB: While I certainly believe C.J. is a game-changing back I think we all need to be fair to Fred Jackson and respect the fact that his knee was not right or close to 100 percent until Week 7 against Tennessee. We all saw the old Fred Jackson in that game, which was in stark contrast to what we saw the previous three games in his return from the LCL knee injury.
If anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt it’s Jackson. In case you forgot he was lighting the league on fire with numbers similar to what C.J. is doing thus far this season. Right now they’ve got a good balance developed between them. Fred averages 14 touches a game to Spiller’s 13. They combined for over 220 yards of offense against Tennessee, which was the first time that both of them were truly healthy.
I think Spiller can take it the distance on any play and I don’t mind seeing him get more of the work, but Fred’s talents cannot be ignored. Not to mention the fact that in this day in age in the league you do need two backs to get through a season. Week 1 when Fred went down in the first half and Week 3 when Spiller went down in the first half were reminders of that.
2 - Hey Chris,
Any chance that Matt Flynn will be available this season or next? And if he is would the Bills be interested?
CB: I think the Flynn contract could prompt them to move him, but the Seahawks need to find a trade partner that believes he’s a starter. His base salary does not fit for a backup because it goes up to $5.25M and then $6.25M. Unless he’s willing to take a pay cut to go elsewhere Seattle might be stuck with him.
And furthermore I don’t see the Bills being interested even if he were available. As Buddy Nix told us he wants a long term franchise quarterback for the future.
3 – Hey Chris,
Why didn’t Coach Gailey challenge the fumble call in the 4th qtr against the Titans? From the one replay that was shown, it looked like neither the ball or Gilmore were out of bounds. Since this was a critical time and play of the game I was wondering why it wasn’t challenged. Thank you for your time and consideration
Dan Stepanski
Dallas, PA
CB: We at Buffalobills.com wondered the same thing so we took a look at that play on tape and as the ball bounces near the sideline prior to Stephon Gilmore trying to bat it back in bounds, the nose of the ball is right on the line. It’s difficult to determine whether the nose of the ball is making contact with the sideline, but it’s extremely close.
Knowing that’s before Gilmore even tries to make a play on the ball it’s easier to forgive the absence of a challenge there. Gailey did address this play and said they were not given a good enough replay angle to see if the challenge was worth it. At that point in time preserving your timeouts in the game were becoming critical. Granted if a chance to get the ball back is in play you probably challenge it, but without conclusive video evidence you can understand them not throwing the red flag.
Furthermore the officials would’ve been looking at the same replay angle and likely would have let the play stand as a fumble out of bounds due to lack of conclusive evidence.
4 – Hi Chris,
I saw Chris Kelsay’s press conference regarding lack of effort, and having accountability. Watching the game, it appeared to me that the Bills’ defensive line was fine, and did have a push in the pocket. However, where I noticed a lack of effort was in the linebacking corp, and some in the defensive backfield. Now, I am a native Buffalonian, and have been in Central Florida for just over five years, and I am still a die hard Bills fan. In my opinion, the players are either not buying into the scheme, or the players themselves, be it veterans or rookies, are not holding each other accountable.
Coaches are important, but they can preach all day long, the players have to perform. The offense is fine, when Fitzpatrick does not throw bone head interceptions. I am just venting. I want the Bills to do well in the worst way. What is your analysis?
Tony, Ormond Beach, Fl
CB: I don’t think there’s any question that the defensive has underachieved. Head coach Chan Gailey did say that Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus both have to do better in particular. The linebackers in the Titans game did mess up some gap assignments, including the one that Chris Johnson took 83 to the end zone.
Here’s the good news, Kelsay in that same press conference said players that were not pulling their weight were going to be shaken down and held accountable. And in our 1-on-1 interview with Coach Gailey that will air tomorrow on Buffalobills.com, he told me his players have found a newfound respect for playing for the guy next to them.
“I think that they understand accountability to each other better at this point than maybe they ever have,” said Gailey. “We made that point of emphasis. I think they understand that better. Hopefully that does carry over to the games.”
Let’s hope it makes a difference on the field.
5 – Hey Chris!
Long time…any chance at letting Morrison suit up and help our struggling defense? Keep up the good work
Sean
CB: When Coach Gailey was asked about possible lineup changes and about Morrison specifically, he said that Morrison is probably going to be needed in the lineup before the season is over. However, it sounded like he was indicating that somebody in the linebacking corps over a 16-game season is likely to go down and at that point they’d plug in Morrison. So I don’t see the veteran taking somebody’s job right now.
