In a matter of hours, Buffalo Bills strong side linebacker Angelo Crowell went from being listed as a starter — to finding his place on the injury report and out for the season opener against Seattle because of knee surgery — to being placed on injured reserve and having his season end before it got started. I checked the Bills injury report this morning and Angelo was not on it, so these developments occurred sometime this afternoon.

Angelo is arguably the Bills best linebacker. He led the team with 126 tackles last season. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come. The Bills were decimated with injuries in 2007. But they waited until the first game of the season before the carnage began. This comes as a complete shock to the entire organization and one wonders why he waited until three days before the season began to have this surgery. Keith Ellison will take his place and the team has experience with this kind of situation, so they should be able to recover. But there’s no question — Angelo Crowell will not be easily replaced.

Source: BuffaloBills.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Season Over for Angelo Crowell

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

The Buffalo Bills added a Super Bowl XLII champion to their roster today. Former N.Y. Giants LB Kawika Mitchell signed a five-year, $17.5 million deal ($3.5 guaranteed) with the Bills today. This is a great move for Buffalo. Kawika really came into his own as a linebacker in the Giants aggressive, attacking scheme this past season. He started all 16 games and had 87 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception, which he ironically returned for a touchdown against the Bills in the second to last game of the ‘07 season. He’ll most likely join Angelo Crowell and Paul Posluszny in the starting lineup for Buffalo. John DiGiorgio, who started much of last season at LB because of injuries, and Keith Ellison should also play key roles, but look for the Bills to add more depth.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Buffalo Bills Sign Linebacker Kawika Mitchell

With four games left in the 2007 regular season and a record of 6-6, the Buffalo Bills knew that each remaining game was, in a sense, a playoff game. And even though 0-12 Miami was in town, the Bills also knew there was no looking past the winless Dolphins. I spoke with starting weakside linebacker Keith Ellison from the locker room after a convincing 38-17 victory kept Buffalo one game behind Cleveland for the final AFC Wild Card spot.

Shownotes: David Kindervater (host), Keith Ellison (NFL player guest)

• 0:26 – Lots of fun in the win over Miami (snow, sellout crowd, big plays)
• 0:42 – Each game from here on out is a playoff-type game
• 1:00 – Coach Jauron gets his 50th win with the victory today
• 1:08 – Bills are in the middle of the AFC Wild Card playoff race
• 1:22 – There was no overlooking Miami
• 1:56 – The grind of a long NFL season is more fun when you’re winning
• 2:24 – Only one day to enjoy this victory, then prep for Cleveland

Sponsor: ColdGear ArmourFleece Big Logo Hood
Links: BuffaloBills.com, NFL.com

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Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

BPR Home Team Edition Keith Ellison