Utah John

The number of playoff berths the Bills can win this weekend: zero. The number of games the Bills can win this weekend: one. First things first, and one game at a time.

I have to give Byrd the benefit of the doubt. He could still be restricted in running from his PF for all we know. More importantly he missed training camp with a new set of coaches. He excelled in past years because he understood where he could take chances in the schemes. This year he looks like he's locked into just doing his job. He's a talented guy and when the coaches can work with him to exploit his talents I think he'll excel with Pettine too. For years the Bills have drafted DBs and let them go when they were getting really good. You could pick a better starting defensive backfield from around the league of ex-Bills than the guys they kept. Who wouldn't want Jabari Greer back? Even Donte won't-tackle Whitner was better than any of our other safeties except Byrd. Nate Clements, Winfield, Leonhard a few years ago...all were better than the people we kept. Don't make the same mistake with Byrd. Build around him and Stephon Gilmore. Or, let Byrd go now, and Gilmore a couple of years from now, and keep on starting over with new guys you hope are close to as good as the guys who left. That's not how champions are built.

Dierdorf demonstrated how a very good player can make the HOF by becoming a sports announcer and getting his name recognized, when better players are forgotten. He earns his living by talking, a lot, and getting people to pay attention. Saying annoying or even stupid things helps him accomplish his goals.

RG III was medically cleared to play at the end of last season. He aggravated and worsened an existing injury, and might never be the same player he was a year ago. Why don't you ask Shanahan and the Redskins fans if they with they'd waited to be sure he was OK before putting him back in. The Bills have an outside shot at the second wildcard slot. So do half the teams in the AFC. I would love for them to make the playoffs after all these years, but let's face it, they'll get killed if they get far enough to play Denver. Making the playoffs this year would feel great but have nothing to do with the real goal, winning the Super Bowl. I would be fine with Manuel sitting till after the bye week.

If I remember right, Gary Andersen didn't want to play for the Bills so he tanked his training camp and got cut. It's always been a sore spot that we had such a good kicker and it worked out badly. Warfield, Eller -- a couple of really good ones we lost to the NFL. But we beat out the NFL for Billy Shaw, still one of the all-time best Bills. What's really depressing to me is to look at the last five years of drafts. A few players that start for the Bills but couldn't be backups elsewhere, and a lot of current shoe salesmen. If you want to know how to miss the playoffs since the last millenium, draft like that. This year the blind squirrel did well.

The Bills defense always seems to be the cure for whatever ails an opponent's rushing game. And I don't get that. We've got two guys at DT that should be beasts against the run, and a tacking machine at MLB, but every game there are at least 3 or 4 gashes. Tackling seems to be a big part of it, and also even when our guy stands up the runner it seems like there's a wave of blockers pushing the pile for another 3 yards.

SB wins are an important factor but not the only factor. The most important factors for me are not measurable by considerations that depend on the others on the team or the coaches. To me, it's looking at who's the best student of the game -- who prepares most effectively to attack and defeat the opponent -- who shows leadership and poise under pressure -- who could make all the throws -- who handled the ball most effectively. To me, the top three all-time are Peyton Manning, Montana, and Brady, even though I think Brady has a better arm than Montana did. SB wins can be over-weighted. To say Eli Manning is better than those three, or Troy Aikman, or Drew Brees, is just not realistic. They're all excellent but just not in the same class.

Spiller can be an explosive talent, but he's hardly been able to get in gear over the first four games. I don't know what's wrong, but when he doesn't have his wheels he's pretty ordinary. He doesn't have his wheels at the moment due to an ankle injury. Jackson is one of my favorite Bills of all time (and I'm a fan since I can remember, about 1962) due to his determination and ability to get extra yards. For every run that Spiller breaks, Jackson has three tough runs that get key first downs. I don't hate Spiller, far from it, but we should look at what the guy is doing this year and not imagine he's doing magic tricks like he did last year. When both are fully healthy, I like the mix that's been going on. When Spiller is a step slow, he shouldn't be on the field because he can't even get back to the line of scrimmage. When Jackson is a step slow, he still finds a way to get yards.

No offensive scheme in the world can work if the offensive line can't block. This year it's clear the cheapskate Bills will never spring for an adequate fill-in to replace Levitre (who wanted too much money). But without a replacement for Levitre, the LG situation alone will prevent a winning record, no matter how good the skill position players are, and the defense will wear out fast every game if the offense can't sustain drives. I just have to ask what the front office was thinking, not addressing such an obvious problem. Spiller will take a hole and make exciting plays. Jackson gets yards without a hole. If Spiller had Jackson's heart, and strength, he'd be the best back in the league. As it is, running behind Colin Brown, Spiller is helpless. It's best to start Jackson.