So a Quarterback Walks Onto the Field....

Haven't yet commented about Edwards' release so I figure it's about time. Am I glad he was released from the team? YES, I am thrilled. He was dead weight and had very little left to offer this team. He had a fractured psyche, and though he said all the right things off the field, come game day he was useless; a real deer in the headlights. He had become the exclamation point at the end of the not-so-funny joke that is the Buffalo Bills. And now he's gone.

The timing couldn't have been worse at least from a PR standpoint. Kind of begs the question, "What the heck are the Bills doing?" Who knows? It's really called into question whether or not Gailey and Nix really know what is going on at One Bills Drive. However, keeping Trent around to continue to fail miserably would not have been good for this team from a performance standpoint. Fans know it's long been time to move on, and this gives us all a chance to see if Brohm has what it takes to make it in the NFL. Fitz is the starter for now but Gailey made it clear he intends to see how Brohm can develop leaving people to speculate the degree to which the Bills feel he could be the QB of the future.

As for signing Levi Brown back to the squad, no surprise there. I don't think he should have been cut in the first place but I believe the Bills rectified that error in ridding themselves of Trent and replacing him with Brown. In retrospect, it may have been a linebacker who would have been dropped in lieu of Brown and we've needed all the help we can get there, so with Poz's return this week there's no better a time to make the move than when you know you don't need to pick up another LB.

So Trent Edwards, the roller coaster of a quarterback he was is no longer a Bill and I say it's about time. I hope he's successful elsewhere but it was pretty clear he was going in reverse here in Buffalo. Fitz has put us in a position to make some offensive improvements and I'm looking forward to seeing where we go from there.

Thrilling Sho (no W)

What a game on Sunday huh? A game which was supposed to be a blowout loss on the road and was anything but (except for the loss thing). It was an exciting, back-and-forth kind of game which is the type of thing that we've missed dearly in Buffalo for far too long. Unfortunately, we came up short but the silver lining is the game was never out of reach. The Bills went down by two scores on a few occasions only to bounce back and bring the game back within reach, and the Buffalo offense showed the ability to put up points and compete.

Cynics will say that NE's defense is atrocious and that any team could do the same and that might be true, but the fact of the matter is that recent Bills teams haven't even been able to put up a fight even against the leagues worst teams (ie Cleveland). Bearing that in mind, you have to respect what the Bills were able to do offensively in Foxborough, despite the team who opposed them.

Defensively, the Bills couldn't have been much worse and that's the real lesson to take home from this game. We may be able to move the ball better with Fitz at the helm, but how do we fix a defense that lacks the personnel to be competitive? Our line is average, but our LB corps is Godawful and no help whatsoever in defending both the run and the pass. Poz should return vs. the Jets and should help as he is a great tackler and has a nose for making plays, but even so the secondary is in desperate need of some help. Perhaps the switch from zone to man this year is just going to take a little more time to set in for them but there are far too many plays where our safeties are out of position and our DBs are flat out beaten by receivers. This is especially disheartening for a team that has yet to record an interception a year after they had 28 (3 in the first two games of last year) and who has only one fumble recovery...unacceptable.

Bottom line, George Edwards needs to figure out 1)a way to put pressure on opposing offenses and force turnovers and 2) how to win the battle in the trenches and keep opposing RBs from putting up monster numbers (a problem inherited from the Dick Jauron Bills).

In the wake of the Pats game, we the Bills faithful have reason to be optimistic but can't help but demand more. Improvement is good, results are better and I don't think anyone will be completely satisfied in the strides we've taken this past weekend without a win against the Jets this coming weekend. Typically the Jets have struggled to beat the Bills, making costly errors and failing to show up offensively. If some of the defensive issues of the past few weeks can be remedied it's not unlikely that we can steal a win from NY. I just hope the Bills' signature 4th quarter INT/FUMBLE/STALLED DRIVE/MISSED FG isn't a factor in this one. And who knows, if we're lucky and can get a win at home vs. the Jets we have a nice matchup against the Jags the week thereafter and can maybe we go into the bye with a 2-3 record. Crazier things have happened. But hey, one game at a time.

By the way, how beastly was Beast Mode versus NE? Yeah, that's what I was gonna say,

THIS BEASTLY



Want to see him bruising some over-entitled defenders in green this Sunday. Catch the Bills fever, there is no cure.

If They Boo, Fitz?

Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde are sitting on the bench, both wearing jersey #5. I don't believe there are many Bills fans who stand in opposition to this move by Gailey and co. I myself am happy about it, not because I believe the Bills will now take the league by storm, in fact their mediocre performance to start the season may continue unchanged due to the myriad factors that go into how a quarterback performs which are out of his control (offensive line for example). However, whereas Trent has a distinct on and off the field persona which differ greatly from one another, Fitz is fairly predictable in his play, and though his level of play may still leave much to be desired you can at least game plan around a player who's strengths and weaknesses are consistent.

With Fitz at the helm we can expect a few things that differ from Trent's play. Fitz has shown better decision making in the pocket. He is a more decisive passer who usually makes better reads than Edwards and is not afraid to pull the trigger (a bit J.P. Losman-esque but much better at sensing pocket pressure and holding onto the ball). Physically he is not as gifted as Edwards, but mentally he is leaps and bounds better than Trent in how he commands the offense. He may not possess Trent's signature accurate passing (note the sarcasm, my sister could pass to Jackson in the flat), but he at least will more often throw to the open receiver. I expect he'll have a relatively equal TD to INT ratio due to his sometimes errant throwing, but I feel more comfortable with Gailey choosing plays around a player who you know can or cannot much such and such a throw.

In conclusion, I think the move is a positive change for this offense.

Some people out in the sporting world have been arguing for Brohm to be thrown into the fire instead of Fitz. Not a bad argument either, what have we got to lose, he's a relative wild card who has gone largely untested and could surprise you. But I agree with Gailey sticking to his word and giving the ball to the next guy in line, the guy who he believes showed he deserved it in the preseason. I do believe that Brohm should be #2 to Fitz now that Edwards has lost his starting role and he as well should have the opportunity to play, so I don't like Gailey saying that Edwards will be the #2 option to Fitz, but come game time who knows?

Other notes. Props to Beast Mode for getting it done as good as anyone on the offensive side of the ball and for Gailey utilizing the running game. Gailey says he has a lot more playing time coming and I fully support that decision. Beat down the anemic defensive front of NE with a little does of Beast Mode. If only there was a passing game to complement him.

I hope Spiller is utilized a little more in the coming matchup vs. NE and not just as a 3rd down back. He was your first round pick, give him the opportunity to make some plays especially vs. a NE defensive front ravaged by injuries and supported by a LB corps that somewhat resembles our own...average. I don't want him to end up with the "bust" label à la Aaron Maybin.

Speaking of, I will not predict a score for this game though I think the Bills' chance of squeaking out a win is slim at best, but I will predict Aaron Maybin will get a sack this week. I have no basis for this other than foolish optimism.

Injuries? The Bills look good, the Pats not so much so. Their running game has taken a blow with the injury to Faulk and Mauroney's trade to Denver retrospectively could not have come at a worse time. The Bills have been acceptable at run defense and average at pass defense. All variables considered, Brady will likely be throwing A LOT and will really test if this secondary deserves to be in the top 5 in the league like last year. Sports talk radio here in Boston is riding Brady and Belichick pretty hard for their departures from the run first, tough defense teams of Belichick's early tenure so the pressure is high for them to show they can win games in the air and not blow 2nd half leads.

The Pats will come out guns-a-blazing and try to force Fitz to throw early and often. If the Bills defense can put on a clinic a win is possible, otherwise I just don't see us having the offensive wherewithal to get it done.

A lot has already happened in the NFL, TB and Miami are 2-0 and MINN is 0-2. Let's hope the Bills can give us WNYers something to celebrate out in Foxboro. Maybe if everyone in the 716 crosses their fingers for the whole game? Yeah, I've sunken to superstition. Regardless, GO BILLS!

It seems like I've seen this before

As a lifetime loyal Buffalo Bills fan I get the distinct feeling that so far the 2010 season looks a great deal like the last 10 seasons. There is no need to revisit the past, it is here with us now. If only I had invested the money I have spent on season tickets on something less painful. That being said, there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. I say this for two reasons. The first is the Bills' play in the second quarter of the Green Bay game. If you are like me you never saw it coming and then wondered where it went after half time. This team can play football but has no room for even the smallest errors (See second half INTs). The second reason is that Trent is headed for the bench. At least this coaching staff is willing to try to shake things up. Even Trent's parents can't argue with this move. Come to think of it maybe Trent was left in the game in hopes he would not "survive" to play against the Pats. According to local reports, the team is not opposed to this move. In fact last year the team was upset that Trent never took any responsibility for his poor play and subsequent benching. Wonder what will happen this year? Stay tuned Bills fans.

Don't Despair Yet...Give it a Week or Two

Been a while since I've had the time to comment on the Bills and far too much has happened so I'll give you my two on yesterday's incredibly forgettable home opener.

OK, secret's out, our offense sucks. That news is almost as surprising to me as Turk Schonert's play calling. The big surprise however was the lack of a run game or even an attempt at a run game. The offense ran 14 times for a combined 38 yards (excluding Trent's 2 scrambles for 12 yards). For those of you who haven't heard of numbers, that's an average of 2.7 yards per carry. So, I admit that the few run plays we ran were not productive.

One reason for that could be the fact that Buffalo ran over 3/4 of it's plays out of the shotgun. Seemed like with the O line set up to run block in a passing formation as much as they were, the Miami defense was able to cut through blockers with ease and make it into the backfield often before the ball was even in the hands of the runner. Newsflash, our offensive line is not set up to pass block very well (as evidenced by the 3 sacks we allowed and numerous times Trent was flushed out of the pocket) and run blocking from a pass blocking stance did not seem to work for our porous line. Certainly this also contributed to the lack of a passing game as well as Trent rarely ever had time to sit back and throw. I'm not trying to excuse those plays where he obviously had time and made bad throws, but there were more than a few were he was not afforded the time to make an accurate read.

Heading into next week vs. Green Bay I'm looking for the offensive line to (hopefully) jell a little bit more and for Gailey to wake up and smell the run game. That is the strength of our offense if he so chooses to use it and with a defense poised to defend the run, the passing game can be much more effective.

Defensively the Bills looked sharp. It was a relief to see the secondary completely take the passing game away after a quarter and a half and to see our front seven able to get to the QB a few times and to adjust to the run game and even put a stop to it. That's something I haven't seen in a while: a Bills team that can stop a potent rushing attack like Miami's.

The injury to Poz certainly hurts us as we will face some pretty tough opponents these next 3 weeks. It's exacerbated tough with Kawika sitting out another long season. Ellison did pretty well of the bench last year but he won't be able to fill the shoes of someone like Poz. I'm crossing my fingers that the defense continues to play hard and be as dominant as they were this week in the coming weeks. The only real relief we have is that Grant has been ruled out of next week's game so we'll be going up against a 2nd-stringer at RB.

Historically, and I'm specifically referencing last year's loss to the Texans, it didn't matter the runner, the defense wasn't there to stop them. This year it's too early to tell, but we have reason to believe that Buffalo has figured out that running backs typically carry the ball towards them with the intent of getting past them (it's a tough concept to grasp, but against Miami they looked like they understood that it was not good to allow that to happen; Miami's dynamic running backs were held to less than 4 yards per attempt).

As I read today, Buffalo's offense vows to improve next week versus Green Bay, and that shouldn't be hard. With the showing against Miami they could double their production and still not be very good. I'm hoping that Gailey's gameplan works more from under center where Trent is comfortable and where we can get the ball to the ball-carriers faster giving them the opportunity to make our offensive line look good. Play-action can also then be a much more viable option with Trent under center and could hopefully open up the passing game like we saw in the preseason.

By no means do I predict a win versus Green Bay, but if we can at least play like a team and make noticeable improvements at the very least on the offensive side of the ball, then I can be happy. This loss to Miami could easily have been a win, and that actually says a lot about this team; it could just as easily have been a blowout in the first quarter. I want to see Gailey take what happened on the field and, unlike recent coaches, make some improvements.

Wrapping up the Preseason

So it's a little late to comment on last weeks game against the Bengals, and where I'm at it wasn't televised until after my cable was turned off as I'm in the midst of moving, but from what I saw/heard I can give my two cents.

1st cent: The offense did great, especially when compared to Bills offenses of the past several years.

2nd cent: The defense still needs some serious work, however still was able to come up with a few homerun plays here and there.

I probably won't be able to catch this last preseason game either but here are a few things to look for:

1) Brian Brohm: He didn't have much of a chance to see the field last week as Fitz was in for the majority of the game after Edwards was out. Maybe that means the coaches are leaning towards Fitz as our #2 back but in any case, this game will be the last for Brohm to audition for the number 2 QB spot. He'll see a lot of action and will need to really prove that he deserves to be on the team more than Fitz cause it's one or the other that'll be cut before the opener.

2) BEAST MODE: He's back, in pog form. Look for him to test that ankle which is apparently in good shape. We'll probably see the playbook changed a little bit with more 2-back looks this week and Lynch will probably have more carries than Spiller. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lynch in with the second unit only because he's missed the preseason up until this game.

3) Aaron Maybin: Had a great showing last week, hopefully he can keep it up this week and earn some more playing time. He has yet to start with the first unit.

4) Lankster and McKelvin: Both of these guys need to do some serious work to be starters on opening day, Lankster more to keep a roster spot as he is not going to start regardless. McKelvin could lose his starting position to the ironically named Corner if he has another lackluster showing this week.

5) Defensive secondary as a whole: The unit needs to come through big if they don't want all of their opponents thinking they can just whip the ball up and down the field and score point in bunches like that. So far they haven't proven anyone who might think that way wrong and they need to do something about it fast.

6) Special Teams: Not even sure if we have one of those. I want to see Detroit average less than 30 yards per kick return and have none that go further than 35 yards in order to feel better about where this unit is at.

I'm sure there will be more to look for, like the bubble players (Joique Bell/Chad Simpson/Any wide receiver lower on the depth chart than Chad Jackson), but I'm willing to just wait and see how everyone does this Thursday before prognosticating about any of that. 'Til then, Go Bills, I want to see Stafford eating turf alright Maybin? Thanks in advance.