Bills notebook: Broken leg ends Wood's rookie season
Published: November 22, 2009, 8:14 pm
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Buffalo Bills' already crippled offensive line suffered a devastating blow Sunday as rookie right guard Eric Wood sustained a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in the fourth quarter of an 18-15 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Wood was taken to a Jacksonville hospital, where he had immediate season-ending surgery. It is not known when he will be able to travel back to Buffalo.
The second of the Bills' two first-round draft picks, Wood started all 10 games and has been team's most consistent lineman.
But consistency or continuity has been in short supply for the offensive line, which also lost left guard Seth McKinney to a torn meniscus in his left knee in the third quarter.
McKinney, who also was hurt earlier in the game, said he wasn't sure how serious the tear is or if surgery would be needed to repair it.
McKinney started his first game as a Bill because regular starting left guard Andy Levitre played left tackle in place of Demetrius Bell, who is out with a knee injury.
Once McKinney went down, Levitre moved back to left guard and Jonathan Scott came in to play left tackle. Kirk Chambers, who started at right tackle, slid inside to replace Wood and Jamon Meredith took over at right tackle.
"No matter how much you work out, injuries are going to happen," Scott said. "Unfortunately for us, we seem to get a lot of them at the same time. It's tough because the guys who went down are good guys, hard-working guys. We just have to persevere and try to get through this as best we can."
The Bills are down to only five healthy linemen unless Bell returns next week. No matter what the Bills do to address the situation, there will be more change up front. Christian Gaddis became the third offensive lineman on the practice squad last week, joining rookies Nick Hennessey and Andre Ramsey.
Look for them to use their eighth different offensive line combination next Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
"That's the second time this year we've been down to no backups in a game, and that's a rough situation to be in on the offensive line," center Geoff Hangartner said. "I feel bad for the guys who got hurt, but we still keep playing. There's no magic answers, no magic reinforcements coming in."
Running back Marshawn Lynch suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return. He was hurt during a run play that ended with his fumble.
While heading toward the team bus, Lynch said he won't know how serious the injury is until more tests are done today.
With or without Lynch, the Bills had another poor day running the ball. They finished with only 53 yards, 35 of which came from Fred Jackson. It was the fourth straight game and seventh overall that the Bills were held under 100 yards on the ground.
The Bills continue to hurt themselves with penalties. The offensive line was called for two more false starts (the team has 24 overall). The Bills also had two touchdowns called back on an illegal chop block by rookie tight end Shawn Nelson and an illegal hands to the face penalty against Scott.
"That is a killer," Fewell said of the penalties. "I don't know if I can chop any fingers off, but I'm going to chew some ears off."
Allen Wilson's postgame analysis
For the second straight week, safety Donte Whitner was not in the starting lineup as the Bills went with the combination of rookie Jairus Byrd and George Wilson for the fourth straight game.
However, Whitner played extensively because Byrd was limited with an injured groin. Byrd played mostly on passing downs, but his five-game streak with an interception was ended.
Wide receiver Roscoe Parrish's first appearance in five games did not go as he hoped. He didn't catch a pass and was tackled for a 5-yard loss on a reverse.
He also made a bad decision by fielding a punt and getting tackled at his 2-yard line. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Terrell Owens bailed out Parrish by connecting on a franchise-record 98-yard touchdown pass.
Defensive end Marcus Stroud's knee injury caused him to miss his first game since joining the Bills in 2008. He was sidelined for 12 games in his last two seasons with the Jaguars.
Also inactive due to injury were cornerbacks Terrence McGee (knee) and Ashton Youboty (ankle), left tackle Demetrius Bell and receiver James Hardy (groin). Receiver Steve Johnson and tight end Joe Klopfenstein were healthy scratches. Brian Brohm was the third quarterback. Klopfenstein and Brohm were signed last week.
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