How Long Will Bills Safety Jarius Byrd Holdout Last?

The big question on the Jairus Byrd front - now that he and the Buffalo Bills have missed a deadline to sign a long-term contract extension this season - is whether or not he'll continue to miss team practices into training camp. Right now, the predominant theory is that agent Eugene Parker will indeed advise Byrd to skip training camp in an effort to leverage the Bills - who would clearly like Byrd in camp as soon as possible - into offering a one-year deal with a no-tag clause (or perhaps even just more money).

Tim Graham of The Buffalo News sums up the most popular guess as to how long Byrd might sit out. Long story short: this could look an awful lot like what Jason Peters did (on Parker's advice) in 2008, with the obvious difference being that Peters was under contract, while Byrd currently is not.

Buffalo Bills Should Start E.J. Maneul Over Kevin Kolb?

It's getting harder for NFL teams to sit rookie quarterbacks. It's also unreasonable for teams to expect the rookie QB results that last season's brilliant class yielded.

EJ Manuel, left, should step ahead of Kevin Kolb on the Bills depth chart. (AP Photo)

That's the biggest question the Bills face in training camp: whether it's in their best short-term interest to start first-round pick Manuel, or to sit him behind veteran newcomer Kevin Kolb.
MORE: Eagles' Vick | Cowboys' defense | Dolphins' Tannehill | Camp sites, dates

Bills camp preview | Jairus Byrd contract | Mario Williams' gaffe | Bills schedule
Manuel is an intriguing prospect because of his size, arm and athleticism. There's no doubt the raw Florida State product was taken so high because of the potential to put all that together and ride the wave of successful young athletic QBs.
In the best-case scenario, Manuel becomes a player in the mold of Colin Kaepernick. The San Francisco 49ers gave the Bills a good blueprint by spending a good season and a half grooming Kaepernick before letting him loose as the quarterback who took them to the Super Bowl.
There is a big difference: Kaepernick inherited a strong supporting cast. In addition to a powerful running game and an elite offensive line, he also benefited from a diverse, innovative passing attack.
The Bills hope new coach Doug Marrone will install such an offense to help them catch up with the NFL's better teams. But with a philosophical change, needed line adjustments and a remixed receiving corps it will be a while before a schematic transition can be successful.
Until some of those other parts are settled, the offense will revolve around running back C.J. Spiller, its best skill player and most dynamic threat. Any starting quarterback is will take his lumps when the ball isn't in Spiller's hands.
Kolb was acquired to be a serviceable veteran. What's kept him from being more is his lack of great feel for handling the pass rush and the inability to stay healthy. Because of those durability issues, there's a good chance even if Kolb is the initial starter, Manuel would be called to action.
Marrone would like to name a starter early in camp, and that's important if he's leaning toward Manuel to give his young passer valuable live-game opportunities in the preseason. The Bills should stop thinking about the remote possibilities they will contend for anything with Kolb and turn to rolling with the rookie now.
The key is being fair to Manuel, keeping him comfortable as a caretaker while at the same time helping him progress as a playmaker. There's no point grooming behind him Kolb, who contrary to what the veteran thinks, was a makeshift option.
The Bills, also unlike the 49ers, don't return a Super Bowl-caliber team, rather one that's chasing the playoffs. The faster the Bills can work to get Manuel up to speed, the better.

Buffalo Bills 2013 RB C.J. Spiller Statistical Preview

By Cory Wagner on July 16, 2013 [Updated: July 16, 2013]

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It seems as if every year about this time, hopes have reached their highest point of the season for the Buffalo Bills, and this season is no different.  Ever since the legendary Jim Kelly retired there have always been question marks at quarterback.  Names like Todd Collins, Rob Johnson, J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards, and Ryan Fitzpatrick never panned out.  The running back position is another story with the Bills, starting with Thurman Thomas, Travis Henry, Willis McGahee, Fred Jackson, and now the future star CJ Spiller.
Entering his 4th season out of Clemson, Spiller has shown sparkles of greatness since being the first running back taken in the 2010 draft (9th overall).  Up until the end of the 2012 season he played backup to an ellusive Fred Jackson.  But Spiller's game could open up even more this season with what should be an upgrade at the receiver position, and 16th overall draft pick EJ Manuel will get every opportunity to be the starting quarterback over veteran Kevin Kolb.  Manuel could be the next star dual threat quarterback...opening up the rushing game even further.
It’s no secret among the Fanstasy Football crowd that Spiller is primed to have a big year and in all likelihood will be a first round pick in every FF draft.  If he can stay healthy a lot of experts have him rated as the best running back in football this year.  On that note we decided to compare his 3 year statistics, in particular his 2012 season, to some of the current and past greats.

It's way too early to say that CJ Spiller is in Adrian Peterson company, but with over 200 attempts there was no one better on a per carry basis than these two (except for Robert Griffin III).
Let's take it a step further and look at the most elite rushing seasons on a per attempt basis since 1990:

Top 5 Yards per Carry since 1990 (min. 200 rush attempts)

Rank	Player	Team	Season	Rushing Attempts	Rushing Yards Per Attempt
1	Jamaal Charles	KC	2010	230	6.38
2	Barry Sanders	Det	1997	335	6.13
3	Adrian Peterson	Min	2012	348	6.03
4	C.J. Spiller	Buf	2012	207	6.01
5	Barry Sanders	Det	1994	331	5.69

That is some elite company to say the least. What is equally as impressive to Spiller's rushing numbers is his threat in the receiving game.  Below are the top Yards after the Catch on a per reception basis since the 1990 season.

Top 10 Runningback YAC per Reception (min. 30 catches)

Rank	Player	Team	Season	Receptions	Avg YAC per Rec
1	Lorenzo White	Hou	1992	57	13.1
2	Fred Jackson	Buf	2011	39	12.8
3	Darren Sproles	SD	2009	45	12.5
4	Craig Heyward	Atl	1994	32	12.3
5	C.J. Spiller	Buf	2012	43	12.1
6	Priest Holmes	KC	2001	62	12.1
7	Arian Foster	Hou	2011	53	12.1
8	Darren McFadden	Oak	2010	47	11.9
9	Felix Jones	Dal	2010	48	11.8
10	Craig Heyward	Atl	1995	37	11.6

At the end of the day, it's a long season and staying healthy at the runningback position is nearly impossible in the current NFL.  But no matter how the Bills' season shakes down, most of us can all agree to expect big things from CJ Spiller in 2013.

Buffalo Bills 2013 Training Camp Preview

REPORT DATES: July 22 (rookies), July 27 (veterans)
SITE: St. John Fisher College, Pittsford, NY
CAMP CONFIDENTIAL: With Ryan Fitzpatrick now in Tennessee, new Bills coach Doug Marrone's first order of business is finding a long term answer at quarterback because newcomer Kevin Kolb isn't the answer. In the end, all the Ryan Nassib talk prior to the draft was just that but Marrone had a signal- caller in mind -- Florida State's E.J. Manuel, a very raw prospect, who will be asked to hit the ground running after being selected No. 16 overall. Buffalo was able to prop up the weapons around the QB position by drafting receivers Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin in an effort to find a complement to Stevie Johnson. Woods, a USC product, was probably the best route-runner available and a player who has been in a pro-style offense for years. On the other side of the ball, Mario Williams needs to step it up and become a dominant player again while rookie linebacker Kiko Alonso, a pretty instinctive guy, will be

Buffalo Bills Project Starting Line-Up

Pro Football Focus came out with what they think the Buffalo Bills will have as their starting line-up come the start of the season.  They did not really take any major leaps on their analysis of where the Bills will be come early September. In fact, after looking at it they really played it safe.
We will start with the Offense and make our own selections and compare to PFF.  PFF said that the Bills would be in a 3 WR set and this would be their key package.  I can agree with that.  They have Kolb and Spiller in the backfield.  I agree with 50% of that.  I believe that E.J. Manuel will be accompanying Spiller in the backfield at the start of the season.

Looking at the WR, I agree with who PFF put their starters on the field, I am not completely sure I agree with where they put them.  Johnson, Woods, and Graham are the three.  They have Woods and Graham on the outside with Johnson in the slot.  I would move either Woods or Graham to the slot and move Johnson outside.  I believe that Graham or Woods have equal ability to play the slot at this point.
On the line, starting from LT to TE, PFF put Cordy Glenn, Legursky, Wood, Urbik, Hairston, and Chandler.  With limited knowledge and view on some of the o-line and most of them being on the younger side with limited experience, this is a safe play and I would agree with them as to the starting line.
Moving onto the defense.  PFF has the Bills playing a nickel as their key defense for most the year.  I don’t agree with this.  I believe that at this point the Bills are the weakest at the CB spot.  A 4-3 defense is going to be their bread and butter package at the start of the season.

PFF put Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, Marcel Dareus, and Mark Anderson as the starting line-up.  I agree with three of the four.  Mark Anderson is the only one that I am on the fence with.  Alan Branch and the rookie, Izaan Cross, I think might be competing for the job.  I believe that Cross will be a standout in camp and will start him over Anderson here.
At LB, PFF put Kiko Alonso and Nigel Bradham as the two that would start.  I like Alonso starting, but am not sure about Bradham.  Manny Lawson will be one of the OLBs as well Alonso.  Jerry Hughes will make an impact with his new team and take the MLB spot to go with the 4-3 defense they will play.

Finishing out the Defense and starting line-ups, the CBs and Safeties.  PFF is playing them in a nickel and has McKelvin, Rogers, and Gilmore as the starting CBs.  I am removing 1 CB and I believe that McKelvin is the best at this point to take the #2 spot opposite Gilmore.  At safety, PFF is playing Byrd and Searcy.  Really?!  Byrd yes, if he signs.  Look for Aaron Williams to take the other Safety spot.  If Byrd is not signed then it will be Williams and Searcy at Safety.
Where do you stand with your line-ups?