Nelson: Geno's the guy and we're moving forward

BY NICK ST. DENIS

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is the Week 1 starter, barring injury or any catastrophic situation.

Head coach Rex Ryan isn't willing to admit it yet, but his players have moved on from that charade. At least wide receiver David Nelson has.

"When the coaches say, 'First-group offense,' we know who's walking in the huddle," Nelson said Tuesday, via ESPN New York. "It's not something that needs to be said.

Rex: 'We've expected bigger things from Hill'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Stephen Hill was gaining steam at the beginning of the season. He caught fewer passes as each of the New York Jets' first three games commenced, but his yardage in each game went up, and he broke through in Week 3 with 108 yards and a touchdown.

Since then, he's been virtually invisible.

The second-year wideout has hauled in just 10 catches for 107 yards and no scores since Week 3. Jets coach Rex Ryan admitted Monday that Hill isn't where Gang Green expected him to be midway through his sophomore season.

Nelson prepping for 'more than just another game'

BY NICK ST. DENIS

David Nelson found out through Twitter in February that the Buffalo Bills weren't going to tender him. The fourth-year receiver claims he wasn't given an explanation, though it's assumed his season-ending injury in 2012 had something to do with it.

That's all in the past now. Nelson, now a New York Jet, will get an opportunity to prove his worth against his former team when Gang Green travels west Sunday.

This is definitely more than just another game for me,” Nelson said Monday, via The NY Daily News. “That’s kind of been my motivation for the past seven, eight, nine months since that happened.

Geno likely to go primetime without top two WRs

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Last year, Mark Sanchez went into a midseason Monday night game against the Houston Texans without Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill.

This year, Geno Smith will get the same treatment.

Holmes is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring ailment, according to Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. Hill, meanwhile, is not expected to be recovered from a concussion by the time the Jets travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons Monday.

Not everyone thinks Levitre is Bills' biggest loss

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Andy Levitre's departure is widely considered to be the Buffalo Bills' biggest loss this offseason, but wide doesn't cover everyone.

Bills beat reporter Tim Graham of the Buffalo News sat down with Dolphins.com's The Finsiders recently to talk all things Buffalo, giving his insight on the team's offseason moves and the brand new coaching staff. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

Graham was asked who he thought was the Bills' most significant departure during the free agency period, and his answer may surprise some.

Nelson convinced knee injury sealed fate with Bills

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Buffalo Bills are in major transition, and they didn't feel receiver David Nelson fit into their plans.

Nelson doesn't think it's because of the system.

The three-year wideout is coming off a knee injury he acquired in Week 1 of the Bills' 2012 campaign that saw him miss the entire season. Buffalo opted not to tender the impending free agent, which he was informed of at the end of February. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

David Nelson leaves Bills, but will he leave division?

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

The Buffalo Bills opted to not tender a contact to rehabbing Florida product David Nelson as a restricted free agent Sunday, the second such move this offseason by general manager Buddy Nix and the team.

Nelson's departure makes the Bills' next roster move an intriguing one, but where Nelson winds up could be the most intriguing part of all. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

The Bills not biting at Nelson was a bit of a surprise considering his moderate salary and potentially huge upside this season, just a few reasons why Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston thinks he may not go far.

Bills in no hurry to seal deal with WR David Nelson

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

The Buffalo Bills have scheduled meetings with two of their top free agents this weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine in order to get deals done before free agency begins in March.

Well, maybe make that two and a half. General manager Buddy Nix confirmed Saturday that the team, in addition to communicating with the camps of Andy Levitre and Jairus Byrd, has also contacted the agent of restricted free agent David Nelson, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury.

Working out a new contract for Nelson, however, doesn’t seem to be very high up on Nix’s to-do list. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

Jones’s departure puts pressure on Nelson’s return

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Now that the Buffalo Bills have made wide receiver Donald Jones’s departure certain, the team can now look toward the more uncertain: the health and progress of wide receiver David Nelson.

Before tearing a ligament in his knee in Week 1, Nelson was a solid target for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2011, amassing more than 650 yards on 61 catches. He made his living primarily in the slot, an area the Bills’ struggled with in 2012. (photo: Matt Britt, Flickr)

With Jones now out of the picture, Buffalo will look to Nelson to bring stability back to the role so they can shift their focus on the perimeter passing game.

Bills' WR corps readjusting for year without Nelson

DAN BEGNOCHE

The Buffalo Bills' receiving squad has been shaken up a bit since the loss of David Nelson on Sunday. Donald Jones and Stevie Johnson are up for the challenge.

Nelson tore a ligament in his right knee early in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets before finding himself on injured reserve and incapacitated for the remainder of the season.

No. 2 receiver Donald Jones will likely take over in the slot position, a job he had become accustomed to in training camp.

“I can do everything that they ask of a slot receiver to do whether that is block or being down in the end blocking a linebacker,” Jones said Wednesday, according to the team's media site. “Anything they want from screens to any type of routes in the field I can do it all. Whatever they ask me to do I’ll do it and I’ll be good at it.”

As the Bills' No. 1 receiver, Johnson is feeling the pressure to perform as well, especially after being held to only 55 yards against the Jets, 30 of those coming from his touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter against a backup cornerback.

Easley the odd man out in Bills' receiving corps?

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Buffalo Bills had somewhat of a training camp battle for the team's No. 2 receiver spot on the depth chart.

But the real competition was about staying on the roster.

Stevie Johnson is the Bills' clear-cut No. 1 wideout, but rookie T.J. Graham and returners Donald Jones, David Nelson, Derek Hagan and Marcus Easley were jockeying for position in the Bills' oft-used three and four-receiver sets.

As the Bills finished up their training camp session at St. John Fisher College, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick discussed chemistry developed with his wideouts.

He left out a name (actually a few), which was likely unintentional but very telling at where Buffalo's receiver situation is at.

“Right away David Nelson started out strong and then didn’t practice much, but he’s a guy that I know I can rely on,” Fitzpatrick said, according to BuffaloBills.com. “I think my relationship with Derek Hagan and Donald Jones has really grown in terms of getting comfortable with those guys.

"Making sure we’re on the same page in how they run their routes. So we’ve made a lot of progress in that regard through training camp and I think it’s just going to get better.”

With No. 1 set, Bills' WR corps will settle into place

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Every wide receiving corps needs a No. 1. The Bills took care of that Monday with the re-signing of Stevie Johnson. Now, Buffalo will look to fill the gaps around Johnson to round out its air attack for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Buffalo currently has a slew of receivers on its roster, a mix of young and old, and what the team will look like in terms of a starting squad remains to be seen.

The Bills saw a number of young players step up throughout last season as they struggled through injuries, and it will be interesting to see who is still around after free agency and the draft have passed. Here's a few names you will most likely see come training camp and beyond:

Bills receiver Nelson well-versed in Tebow talk

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Questions surrounding Tim Tebow and his matchup with the Buffalo Bills this weekend don't seem to faze Buffalo receiver David Nelson. Maybe that's because he's heard it all before.

Nelson is well-versed in all things Tebow, having been on the receiving end of Tebow's tosses for three years as a Florida Gator. And Nelson will be the first to tell you Tebow is not like other quarterbacks.