Buffalo Bills Release New Throwback Uniforms For AFL Anniversary

Old is new again in Buffalo. 

In honor of the 50^th anniversary of the American Football League, the Buffalo Bills (one of the original members of the AFL) released a new away version of their popular throwback jersey.

According to BuffaloBills.com the new uniforms will be worn in three games:

• Aug. 9 – Hall of Fame game vs. Tennessee
• Sept. 14 – Opener at New England
• Nov. 15 – at Tennessee

The blue throwback jerseys will be worn on:

• Nov. 29 vs. Miami

Buffalo is one of eight original teams in the American Football League. The Boston Patriots (New England Patriots), Dallas Texans (Kansas City Chiefs), Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), Los Angeles Chargers (San Diego Chargers), New York Titans (New York Jets), and Oakland Raiders will all sport throwback jerseys this season. They jerseys will largely be used only when playing against one of the original AFL franchises.

 

Buffalo Bills: Marketing Geniuses of the NFL

It’s sometimes incredible to think about what not making the playoffs for almost a decade can do for a franchise. 

Bills fans are faced with a strange dilemma year in and year out.  Each year the organization builds up hope and each year the team disappoints.  Over the last 10 years the Bills have found just about every imaginable way to disappoint their fans from the Music City Mistake and the Monday Night Football losses against Dallas and Cleveland, to letting good quarterbacks go or by hiring unproven coordinators as head coaches. 

Each offseason rolls around and every season ticket holder is left with the question as to whether or not to renew their tickets. As a fan the only way to really have your voice heard about the poor product on the field is to do so with your wallet. If a fan wants to prove something to the organization they don’t renew their tickets, they don’t buy merchandise and they don’t watch games. That’s the only conceivable way to make a statement.

This is where Bills fans are in a strange paradox. A Bills fan’s greatest fear of late has been the threat of losing their team to a city like Toronto. Owner Ralph Wilson Jr. complains about how the Buffalo market can’t compete with that of Dallas and other larger cities. So if the fans were to take a stand and not pay up, what happens to the franchise?

Last season the Bills sold 56,011 season tickets, good for second best in club history. Last season the fans actually had legitimate things to be excited about.  They had a young intelligent quarterback entering his first season as the full time starter. They finally drafted a tall WR opposite Lee Evans and had an official pro-bowl left tackle. They traded for Marcus Stroud to strengthen the interior of their defensive line, and young players like Ashton Youboty and Paul Posluszny looked to become promising starters. 

The excitement was understandable.

Last season the Bills started out at 5-1, so everything the club promoted and fans believed seemed justified.  Then they fell apart and ended up 7-9 again. In a surprising move the Bills still signed head coach Dick Jauron to a contract extension despite his unpopularity among fans and the teams decomposition following their impressive start.

Since that meltdown, the Bills lost their left tackle, and swung Langston Walker over from the right spot. They drafted rookie offensive linemen to switch to the guard position. They drafted a one year starter from Penn State in hopes of curing their anemic pass rush. 

Their players also got into trouble into the offseason. Marshawn Lynch was arrested for possession of a gun and marijuana.  Ko Simpson was arrested for hindering a police investing and tried to use his not-so-big-time name to get him out of trouble. Donte Whitner was arrested in a brawl outside of a night club in Cleveland and lastly Corey McIntyre was arrested in an exposure case. Not all of these players were charged with their respective allegations, but in all it sure didn’t the Bills as a franchise look very classy.

And still with all that being said, somehow, all of the pieces fell into place for Buffalo in respect to their marketing for the upcoming season.

This is why this offseason so frustrating. Despite last season’s collapse, the questionable moves and legal woes, the club is still selling just as many season tickets than ever, currently around the 54,000 mark. 

The signing of Terrell Owens is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing Buffalo’s marketing genius. For now, T.O. is all fans apparently need to believe that Buffalo has a whole new, relevant team. Now we are going to get to see the catchphrase posted everywhere, “T.O. to T.O.” when the Bills try to promote their disappointing visits to Toronto.

T.O. also brings great career totals, the publicity of two television shows, and swarms of media now in attendance at Bills practices. While he does bring so many different elements to the Bills from his play to his character, he is basically being used to hide all of the other problems the Bills have.

Besides the signing of T.O. comes the 50th anniversary of the American Football League. What timing! As if selling thousands of T.O. jerseys practically overnight wasn’t enough for revenue, comes the release of the new throwback jerseys in honor of the anniversary celebration.  And to top all that off, T.O. now has his own cereal.

Then there is the fact that Ralph Wilson Jr. and Bruce Smith are getting inducted into the Pro- Football Hall of Fame in ten days.  The Buffalo Bills will be a major focus of that week’s festivities having two inductees entering this year along with the team being asked to participate in the annual Hall of Fame Game. So many things to market!

It’s hard not to be impressed with how the Bills still find ways to get fans overly excited about the approaching season.  When you talk about simply the team we see from week to week, sure, there is always the possibility of something big happening. We’ve seen moments of greatness from the majority of this roster over the last three seasons, but it’s not enough.

The Buffalo Bills franchise has done a spectacular job at making money when they really shouldn’t be. They have made all the right moves.  Let’s hope they can do the same on the field for once this decade. 

 

Buffalo Bills: Steve Johnson Injured

Training camp can be such a tease sometimes. In the past it has been from players who performed well in the preseason, but couldn’t translate that into success during the regular season.  In recent years it’s been a rash of injuries that has plagued the squad.

Since reading about Hardy’s slow development last season I turned my attention to someone who looked more promising considering he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 draft.

Like the general Buffalo Bills fan, I enjoy a great underdog story as much as anyone.  That’s why Fred Jackson is so appealing to fans along with players like Kyle Williams, George Wilson or even past players like Jason Peters and Jabari Greer.

I was very excited for training camp to start because I enjoy the stories that develop and the sleepers that could emerge.  While second year wideout Steve Johnson might not be considered a sleeper, I was looking forward to his further development throughout camp.

The preseason offers a great amount of playing time to young developing prospects like Johnson, who like Fred Jackson did two years ago, could make some preseason games worth watching.

I anticipated Johnson having a monster of a preseason, showing his worth and even magnifying the possibility of him starting opposite Lee Evans next season should Terrell Owens not resign with the team. I expected his preseason success to then translate on to the field during the regular season, unlike the first few season of Greer’s career in Buffalo.  Johnson has already shown that he can play. However, he just needs some more exposure.

Johnson possesses many of the attributes that fellow receivers T.O. and James Hardy have.  Johnson has a large frame, which helps to box out opposing defenders, and he possesses the height advantage that Buffalo had been missing on their squad.  He has great hands and does a wonderful job getting separation off of defenders, much like teammate Josh Reed.

At the very least I saw him getting involved more often on some three and four wide receiver sets, which could possibly result in splitting some time with Josh Reed to help keep him healthy throughout the season.

In true Buffalo Bills tradition (of recent years) and only three days in, training camp has already begun its slew of injuries with Steve Johnson being the latest victim.

Head coach Dick Jauron said that Johnson had some rib cartilage damage and is out indefinitely.  

I’m hoping that the term “indefinitely” doesn’t keep him out of too many preseason games. A broken rib generally takes about six to eight weeks to heal, while a costochondral separation (or tearing of the cartilage from the bones) usually take three to four weeks.

His rib x-rays were reported as negative, so hopefully Johnson won’t be out for more than a few weeks.  I despise when young players miss valuable practice time, especially when the team is loaded with WR talent, meaning that the possibility looms of at least one of them not making the roster.

With any luck Steve Johnson will make a speedy recovery and put my aggravations and worries to rest.

The Most Important Rookie Missing from the Buffalo Bills Training Camp

The Buffalo Bills have many questions to answer before the season opener against New England.  Most of the focus has been on the lack of a pass rush and the retooling of the offensive line for the second time in three years.

I can see the importance of getting rookies Eric Wood and Andy Levitre time to work their way into starting roles on the offensive line. I can even understand the need to get a first round talent in Aaron Maybin on to the field as soon as possible.  Fortunately, these three rookies have been in attendance for most of this spring’s minicamps.

I don’t believe that Aaron Maybin has a chance to begin the season as a starter. Instead he will act instead as situational rusher on passing downs, thus him missing some practice time over contract discrepancies doesn’t seem to hurt very much. 

While I eventually expect Wood and Levitre to be exceptional starting linemen, I don’t initially see them playing any better than veterans Seth McKinney and Kirk Chambers, so I really don’t feel like the team would be losing any great production without them in the lineup at this particularly moment.

The one rookie that that needs to be in camp is college ball-hawk Jairus Byrd.

Byrd comes from the University of Oregon where he put up 17 interceptions in three seasons.  He has quick lateral speed, can leap well vertically, and is a great open field tackler. 

As evident from his high interception total, Byrd has great anticipation, soft hands and breaks up many passes too.  He is said to be highly intelligent and studies the game well. All of these attributes will help him make the transition from cornerback to free safety and easy one.

Byrd seemingly makes the perfect candidate to start over all rookies this season, with one obstacle standing in his way: He hasn’t been able to participate as much as the other rookies.

According to Pac-10 rules, their drafted players aren’t allowed to participate in offseason programs until their exam schedule is complete.  These rules left Byrd with much catching up to do compared to his teammates.  He has an even greater challenge in that all of the plays and terminology may be unfamiliar to him because he is an inexperienced rookie.

Byrd not being at camp is the most concerning problem involving rookie signings right now because aside from the possibility of starting, he has the biggest chances of all the team’s rookies to make the most significant impact this season. 

The Bills are in desperate need of help at the free safety position.  While I am excited to see what Donte Whitner can do at the spot, I still prefer him at strong safety.

Byrd has the skill set capable of instantly making a difference on the defensive side of the ball, being the take-away artist that the Bills have lacked at the position for ages. 

Buffalo’s defense tied a franchise low at 10 interceptions in 2008, and I feel without new blood at the position you can expect much of the same even if the pass rush happens to improve this year.

While I have faith that Whitner will do just fine at free safety, I don’t necessarily expect him to make the plays that Byrd can possibly make.  Whitner is a stout tackler and does handle coverage well, but has never been considered an interception machine, even in his days at Ohio State where he recorded only three career interceptions.

In contrast Byrd offers the big-play equivalent at free safety as to what the young Leodis McKelvin offers at the cornerback position.  Byrd recorded as many interceptions in just 2008 as Whinter’s entire collegiate and professional careers combined.

If Buffalo wants to see a significant increase in their turnovers this coming season then it is imperative that they sign Jairus Byrd to a contract right way so that he doesn’t lose any more time than he has already lost.

Game-changers can’t change the game if they aren’t on the field.

Luckily, Everette Brown (the pick after Byrd) just signed his four year rookie contract which should certainly help set up some parameters to speed up the negotiating process for the Bills and their talented draft pick.

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