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(WECK 1230) — Some thoughts from press row as the Bills hosted my pick for the AFC title, the Cincinnati Bengals.

– Clifford “C.J.” Spiller is faster than most mere mortals, and overcame horrible blocking on his first few runs to electrify the crowd at One Bills Drive. Twelve carries for 52 yards would be even nicer if he didn’t start off carrying thrice for negative-16. If you haven’t heard our “Spiller” song, check it here.

– Special teams could be a major cause of concern come Week One if we’ve seen any semblance of Bruce DeHaven’s first unit. The kickoff units in general have been brutalized by all three opponents, and I have to wonder whether Chan Gailey’s early talk of allowing special teams-only players was just lip service. Over the past few seasons, Bobby April has been allowed to keep players for their ST service alone. Justin Jenkins, John Wendling, Jim Leonhard and Sam Aiken are gone.

– Gailey called a gem of a drive to get the Bills in the end zone on drive No. 2, but don’t get me wrong — playcalling isn’t anything unless your team executes. Trent Edwards completed some nice tight passes, especially his first nod to David Nelson. The long throw last week was nice, but no one’s going to call him Captain Checkdown if he rips apart defenses with a bunch of 8-12-yard connections. You don’t need to go Uncle Rico and throw a football over the mountains, but being accurate on intermediate routes will help. A completion to Roscoe Parrish despite shooting him eye-lasers was a successful mistake that shouldn’t be overlooked.

– That same touchdown drive started with an 11-yard loss to Spiller, who almost saw Rey Maualuga take the handoff from Trent Edwards thanks to Cornell Green’s remarkable nothingness.

– Not a terribly inspiring first series for the defense, as Carson Palmer was fairly methodical in his offense, his only incompletion coming on a play negated by defensive holding. The Bengals ran each of their runs to the right side at Marcus Stroud and Chris Kelsay.

– Conversely, Spiller had problems on each of his first two runs, which were to the left and outside. On the third play of the three-and-out, the heat came from blind side, when Green was exploited for a sack by pass rushing linebacker Michael Johnson.

Green has been downright awful. In one of those “imagine that” situations, a guy who wasn’t re-signed by an awful Raiders offensive line looks brutal. At the 8:33 mark of the second quarter, with the Bills having two touchdown drives under their belt, no one in my press row could recall a successful play run to Green’s side. Green is the likeliest starter on the field to be a healthy pull by Week Four. Well, at least he’s never gotten in trouble with the law for choke-slamming… Oh.

– Terrell Owens was booed after his first catch of the game, and then the cheers were nearly regular season-style when Leodis McKelvin nearly picked off the next pass intended for No. 81. You’d like someone drafted where McKelvin was to be a starter on your team entering his third season, but I’m not sure the Bills expected Drayton Florence to play anywhere near the level he was at in San Diego after a miserable campaign in Jacksonville. Buffalo has an A-corner in Terrence McGee and two solid Bs.

– I’m starting to see the promise two coaching staffs in Buffalo have identified in Demetrius Bell. The kid can run block and has very good speed for his size. Of course, he’ll have to get over the “Holding, No. 77″ disease that plagued him on so many passing downs during his rookie campaign, as well as a few injuries.

– Owens was good for the Bengals, as he was for most of last year. Lots of folks would excuse Owens last year with the “Look who he has at quarterback” reasoning, and I tended to side with those fans. Today at least, Owens vindicated people in his camp.

– Scary moment when Brandon Ghee injured himself hitting Bills running back Chad Simpson. The Bengals cornerback went helmet-to-helmet with Simpson in the third quarter, requiring an ambulance to enter the field. Fortunately, Ghee came around and walked without having to use a stretcher or the ambo.

Ghee has no one to blame but himself, or the coaches who haven’t convinced the aggressive player not to lead with his head. Just a few plays earlier, he belted Fitzpatrick on the back with a head-first hit, causing my neighbor in the press box, Vic Carucci, to remark that Ghee should see a fine. Now, Ghee is simply lucky he embodies the homonymn.

– James Hardy made a nifty catch up the sideline for 30 yards but dropped a pass as well. Hardy seemed to run his routes well and was open, but clearly he doesn’t have the confidence of his quarterbacks.

– Another wide-out, Naaman Roosevelt, certainly helped his cause again. The UB product will have a massive game on Thursday night while his alma mater kicks off their 2010 campaign back home in Buffalo.

Stat line I enjoyed:
Bills quarterbacks, 19-of-27, 230 yards, 2 TDs

– In terms of quarterbacks… trust in Chan. I believe he’ll do the best he can with what he’s been given, and perhaps he’s knocked some gumption back into No. 5. Ryan Fitzpatrick was a pretty inventive signal caller as well.

Stat line I didn’t enjoy:
Bills third down offense, 3-of-10
– Now 7-for-33 this preseason. For the third-straight week, this part of the game was no good.

Game balls:
Spiller and Edwards

Lastly…
It’s the preseason

Next Saturday:
A short work week could mean a lot of Brian Brohm and Levi Brown against the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. The Immediate Reactions column will be super late (read: Friday), but you like me should DVR the game and go check out UB’s opener. Jerry Davis and the Bulls host Rhode Island at 7 p.m. EST.

More to come: nickonweck@gmail.com