Brandon

They haven't. This is what the Bills are. Ok, maybe its a little worse than usual, but the Bills have been a bottom feeder for years on offense. They did next to nothing on that side of the ball in the offseason and, as shocking as it seems, we're now seeing the payoff and it looks pretty damn familiar. To the Bills front office: good work this past offseason, guys.

They're just playing the same way that they have for the last several seasons. Folks, the Bills have been 25th or worse in total yardage for each of the past five years prior to this season, including 30th in each of DICK's two years here. This is not a surprise, nor are they regressing. This is what they are.

No. Unfortunately.

They waited too late. I've reconsidered. He's not even worth that.

I know. The point was that I wouldn't trade for him, period.

You're probably right.

No...in fact, hell no. OK, perhaps if the Titans are willing to trade him for a few rolls of tape and a couple of footballs, I might listen, but nothing more.

I wonder if Coles could possibly be any more selfish? Probably not. What an !@#$.

I probably wouldn't. Its nothing against Tebow, I like him, but one of the Bills' biggest mistakes with their young QBs has been that they don't stick with them when they struggle. I'd rather give Edwards another season, adding a middle round pick or a decent veteran FA as insurance in case he can't play out of it. I'd rather the Bills use this draft to concentrate on their lines and on finding a quality TE.

Its that as well, but the reason that the Bills' schemes suck is because they don't have the personnel to do much else and more importantly, actually have the opposing defense respect it. Opposing defenses are not afraid of the Bills' other receivers and can concentrate on Evans. They know that the rest cannot consistently burn them. You can run Robert Royal underneath all day, for instance, but nobody really cares. He may catch 4 passes for 40 yards, but odds are, he'll either fumble one of them or somehow cause an interception. Defenses can gamble that he's not really going to hurt them, and 9 times out of 10, its a good gamble. I'm not defending the coaching staff at all. Its an indictment of both the front office and the coaching staff that they do not bring in the players that they need to run a credible passing attack.

Its lack of talent. The Bills have rarely given their QBs a full compliment of weapons since Kelly was here and it has shown on the field. The lack of a good receiving TE, in particular, has been a killer and has limited the Bills ability to threaten the middle third of the opposing defense. As a result, the Bills passing game is easily defended. Opposing defenses can concentrate on taking away the outside receivers and just take their chances defending the middle of the field, because the Bills can't consistently hurt you with the TE or a possession receiver over the middle.

That they do. Then again, the fans will pretty much believe anything if you know how to market it. If there's one thing I can credit Flutie for doing well, it was market himself. That's the only thing, mind you, but he was very good at it.

And that the fans would buy it.

Its been rather obvious for years that its not the QBs. The Bills have tried to half-ass their way to success offensively for the last decade plus. When was the last time they had a good C? A good TE? When was the last time there wasn't at least one gaping hole on the OL? How often have they had a quality 2nd receiver? When was the last time they brought in an offensive coordinator that they didn't dig up from under a rock somewhere? How often have many of these problems overlapped in that same timeframe? The results are no surprise. You could put Joe Montana on this offense and he'd be run out of town within two seasons. Until they commit to improving their offense and not just adding a token draft pick or signing someone else's castoffs in an attempt to convince the fans that they're actually trying, this team will never be any good.

I'd have no argument with it whatsoever. The Bills have needed a good TE for what, more than a decade now? Maybe if their passing game could actually threaten the middle third of the field it would be halfway decent.

7-9. Different year, same crap. I wish I could say that I was disappointed, but I did not expect any better prior to the start of the season. In fact, I thought they'd be a little worse. Until the Bills realize that they can't win with a 25th place or worse offense every year, they're never going to do any better than this.

Why bother? He'll just get run out of town like the other 10 or so QBs they've had since Kelly retired. They'd be much better off using that pick to either build up their OL or to add a decent TE for once.

The biggest problem with the defense is the same problem that its had for the last several seasons: its under too much pressure to pick up the slack of an inept offense. They need a pass rusher or two, obviously, but otherwise, the defense is actually pretty decent.

In that last game, he reminded me of Todd Collins back in '97. Too scared to throw anything to the WRs, Collins would check down to the Rbs on almost every play, much as Edwards did Monday night.

It would have been a difficult catch and its one that he didn't make. It happens. Yes, he's a first rounder, but that was the big knock on him coming out of college. He can't catch. The Bills knew it when they picked him, so if they want to blame someone when he drops an INT, they should point the finger at themselves for not drafting a CB with better hands.

That's certainly true. I'm not defending Edwards except to say that there was a very significant difference in the level of experience and achievement between the two at these respective points in their careers.

In fairness to Trent Edwards, Jim Kelly was also 31 years old, in his 6th year in the league and was coming off of a Pro Bowl season AND a Super Bowl appearance. Kelly was a veteran, established QB at the peak of a Hall of Fame career. Edwards is 6 years younger than Kelly was and made only his 19th NFL start last night. Edwards deserves plenty of blame for last night and the last few weeks, but this is not a fair comparison at all.

The head coach is ultimately responsible for wins and losses. In Dick's case, he's been here three years. He's had three offseasons to acquire quality talent and if they don't have it, then its both management's fault and HIS.

Absolutely. Its a huge part of the reason that Edwards is struggling. Besides Evans, he's the only reliable receiving threat they have and with Reed out, defenses can concentrate fully on Lee. As a result, the passing game falls apart. Its the same problem that has plagued this offense for years and why they needed to do more at both WR and especially TE this past offseason.

There's no point in playing Losman now. He'd be the Bills starting QB for at most 6 more games. After that, they're right back at square one. They may as well use the rest of the season to evaluate Edwards and determine just how much of a problem they have or if he can play his way out of it.