JMC

I do not hate Trent Edwards but I hate the way he plays quarterback and do not want to see him lead team any more. And up until today I was a Trent supporter. That last drive sealed the deal for me. Put the !@#$@#$ ball in the air. You're not going to get a TD if the ball never leaves your hand.

It baffles me. I wanted to disbelieve all the preseason predictions that we'd be the worst in the league. I had hopes of 7-9, 8-8, 9-7... faint hopes maybe, but still hopes. I had hopes that even if we lost, we'd see a somewhat different Bills team. But what I've seen in the first half is the exact same team I've seen for the last 8+ seasons. Their QB makes last-second plays as pressure comes, and scrambles just as it seems like we're about to take him down. Our QB seems like he can't complete a pass. Throws behind, has passes deflected, hangs onto the ball and takes critical sacks, and throws 3 yard routes on 3rd and 13. Their RBs break tackles and fight for first down yardage even when surrounded by blue jerseys. Our RBs get stuffed at the line of scrimmage more often than not, and get no gain. Their WRs are wide open in our supposedly top-notch secondary, and our WRs can't catch a cold or get separation. Their DL gets in our face on every play, gets their arms up and knocks down passes. Our DL can't seem to get pressure on the opposing QB without bringing an extra three guys. When they do get pressure, the QB seems to break containment and throw for a big play down field, or scrambles for yardage. I don't care what the score is at half time. We should be losing by three touchdowns, as poorly as we played. Even if we make adjustments and somehow manage to win the game, I see exactly the same team making the same mistakes. Maybe it's the pessimism of a decade of watching this stuff, that every mistake seems blown out of proportion, but I was so pumped up for this game, and it's only half time and I seriously feel like I can't watch another season filled with this sad excuse for football. Thirty years I've been a Bills fan, and for the last decade it seems like it doesn't matter who the coach is, who the coordinators are, or even who the players are. I didn't expect to tear up the league this year, but I expected to see some sign of improvement. Some glimmer of hope. This is the Dolphins for crying out loud, not the Patriots, not the Saints, not the Colts. Maybe the Dolphins run the table form here, shock everyone, and go 16-0, but right now I feel like we're making them look good.

Seriously? Jeff George was awesome, what an arm! Sign him up! I'm certain he's matured in a Favre-ian kind of way.

Your grandmother played football? How cool is that?

Personally, I see a pattern. We bring in a promising QB who does well for the first half a season, and over time they all morph into the exact same person. Bledsoe, Johnson, Losman, Edwards. Every one of them has ended up in the exact same spot: Holding on to the ball too long. Errant throws. Taking sacks in critical situations. Indecisiveness. We can say "Edwards sucks" just like we said "Losman sucks" like we said "Johnson sucks" like we said "Bledsoe is over the hill and sucks." The truth is, the Bills have withered and died since Bill Polian left. He continues to draft quality talent and stock his team properly with emphasis on the line of scrimmage first. I see people talking about drafting this QB or that QB. It doesn't matter. Put Tom Brady back there. Put Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre or anyone else you want, and in 8 games, after getting pounded and harassed (both on the field and off) they'll all end up in the exact same place. It's an organizational pattern and it doesn't appear likely to change. Every off season we get our hopes up. Every season we see Monday mornings turn into a cloud of despair and futility, dreaming of the day when we might have legitimate hope. But it's not going to come from any single player. Mitchell and Owens have both been to the Superbowl and agree we have the talent to do great things. Bringing in a new QB isn't going to change a thing other than give us someone else to revile. Turkish proverb, "The fish stinks from the head downward."

Critical penalties in critical situations. When he wasn't getting called for illegal formations, he did a solid job of protecting, but how many stupid penalties can our offense overcome? Take away the penalties and this game could never have been in doubt in the last two minutes.

It's rare you can blame a loss on one player and one play, but LEodis McKelvin is a complete dumbass. You want to run it out, fine, try for the big play, but you make contact, and you do down and let your offense run out the clock. Sickening, like so many other sickening games in the last decade.