Angelo

Crowell

It looks like Mario Haggan or Leon Joe will get the nod on the weak side, with Angelo Crowell staying at SAM. Ellison should be back at full strength soon.

He appears to be leading the battle, ahead of John DiGiorgio. Posz should be a 100+ tackle man if he claims the starting gig before the season, but probably won’t play on passing downs over Angelo Crowell or Keith Ellison.

“We think he’s a real nice fit for us,” Jauron says. “But he won’t be handed a job.” Poz should beat out John DiGiorgio for the gig, but may only be a two-down player with Keith Ellison and Angelo Crowell more adept in coverage.

Ellison is locked in on the weak side, and could easily approach 100 tackles this season. He’ll play on all downs with Angelo Crowell, which gives Ellison a better chance to make big plays in coverage than MLB Paul Posluszny.

Pozluzny’s injury will take eight weeks to recover from but coach Dick Jauron indicated he’ll be placed on I.R. DiGiorgio will have a ton of tackle chances as teams will slam Buffalo with the run. Angelo Crowell will presumably move to the weak side until Keith Ellison gets back. Mario Haggan will stand in on the strong side.

The Bills can ill afford to lose another linebacker. DiGiorgio had three tackles in the game before leaving. It’s uncertain who his backup is, although we suspect Angelo Crowell would move inside with Keith Ellison kicking to the strong side if DiGiorgio sits out in Week 10 against the Dolphins.

Its uncertain if either injury is serious, but they have plenty of time to rehab. While Crowell enjoyed a good season, Ellison’s production fell off dramatically. John DiGiorgio could challenge him to start next season.

Details on the setback aren’t known, but he’s been on the field for many of the team’s recent workouts. Because the knee is an ongoing issue, the Bucs are looking hard at Quincy Black and Geno Hayes at strongside linebacker.

Crowell has been on a “pitch count,” and coach Raheem Morris says, in his best Marc Jackson impression, “Any time you’re talking about a guy with a knee, you’re talking about a slow development.” Crowell is battling Quincy Black to start on the strong side. Crowell is still considered the favorite.

Crowell says the team has been cautious with his knee, but he’s missed just one practice and is prepared to compete with Quincy Black for the starting strong-side job.