Brandon

It makes it a little tougher to stomach, but really, its no different than their last two seasons. In those years, they had similar winning streaks during the middle of the season, but poor starts killed their playoff chances. This is more or less the same thing. We just got the wins early this year and unlike past seasons, it raised people's hopes. In reality, this is just the same mediocre team that it has been for years and this team appears headed for its usual 6-8 win season.

Its the same old bullschitt every year. They don't have a passing game because they can't find a 2nd WR and won't try to find a receiving TE. They can't run the ball because they always leave one or two interior OL positions pathetically weak. Defensively, they don't have a pass rush because instead of drafting talent, they draft overachievers and 'high motor' guys. Its getting really old. Losing is one thing, but when you lose for the same reasons year after year after year after year, and management never gets a f***ing clue and tries something different, it starts to wear on you as a fan.

They should have early on, no question. But I don't expect much in the way of adjustment from this ultra-conservative, defensive minded coaching staff. They seem so scared of letting their offense play, a perfect example being that last drive, that I think they'd rather punt than play offense at all. Offense apparently is an afterthought and inconvenience to the Buffalo Bills front office and coaching staff.

Actually, yes, I believe him, because that's exactly what Cleveland was doing. They were dropping 7-8 players into coverage almost every play and this is one of the reasons that the Bills had so much success running the ball last night. Its also a part of the reason that Edwards had so much trouble finding receivers downfield. But as you say, it was not the entire problem. Edwards played very tentatively after those early interceptions and indeed, he looked scared. That was one of the worst QB performances I've ever seen in the NFL. I'm all for sticking with him the rest of the year to see if he can play out of it, but the Bills definitely need to bring in a quality competitor for Edwards next season.

That I would agree with. The way Trent Edwards played last night really reminded me of Todd Collins when he was in a Bills uniform. Like Collins, Edwards appeared afraid to attempt anything downfield and instead just dumped everything off to the RBs.

Its definitely not the biggest collapse ever. For instance, the 1993 Dolphins started 9-2 and their 1999 team 7-2. Both finished the year at 9-7. This Bills team is actually performing very similarly to the last couple of years, when they would lose for the first month of the season and then start winning. They had a 5-1 stretch in the middle of last year and a 5-2 stretch during the 2006 season. Both followed poor starts. This year, all that has happened is that the trend has reversed itself, and instead they've started strong and are now fading in the middle of the year. In all three cases, however, the end result looks the same: a 7-8 win season.

I don't disagree with you, and its not all Hardy's fault by a long shot, but the question is, who makes this offense better right now? If the coaches feel the answer is Steve Johnson, then he should be in the game.

I'd settle for reliable players at TE and WR, and a quality pass rusher. Offensively, their problem is the same as it has been for years. They have one receiver they can count on, and that's it. If/when Josh Reed returns, he'll help somewhat, but they still lack someone who presents a consistent threat over the middle. At least they make some attempts at improving at WR every now and then, but apparently they're too stupid to even attempt to find a halfway decent receiving TE, something they haven't had in at least a decade. BTW, when was the last time this team had a decent passing game? About a decade ago. Coincidence? Probably not. Its a lot easier to play pass defense when you can all but ignore the middle third of the field. Defense? A good rush end would solve most of their problems. Unfortunately, finding one is easier said than done. DE has become one of the hardest positions at which to find a playmaker, as most of the teams drafting that position in R1 have found out in recent years.

I don't really agree with that. He played at Stanford. Its not the first time he's ever been hit. I think it all goes back to Josh Reed. With Reed injured, he doesn't have a reliable 2nd receiver and he has no confidence in the other guys to make a play. He's also lost confidence in himself to make a play, at least judging from last night's game, which is an even bigger problem.

Agreed. I don't know why Hardy would be surprised that the Bills would try someone else for a while. Hardy is averaging less than one catch per game and it seems that, like Robert Royal, passes in his direction tend to have bad outcomes. Steve Johnson, meanwhile, had himself a pretty decent game last night. I'm not saying that they should give up on Hardy, but at this point, if Johnson or some other player is able to contribute more, then Hardy should hit the bench for a while.

I'd have to hang that one on Ko Simpson. If he hadn't overrun that play so badly, he might have had a chance to make that tackle.

Its hard for receivers to catch the ball when they're being double and triple covered and while their QB is playing like the 1997 version of Todd Collins.

Not to mention the fact that its a lot easier to run on a shotgun draw when the D isn't expecting it than on a typical running down out of a run oriented formation. That's nothing against Jackson, he's a great 3rd down back, but Lynch's struggles are as much the fault of the weak interior OL as it is his.

Its not the worst idea. Apart from Evans, he's probably better at it than the WRs and TEs currently on the field for this team. That's not to say that he's particularly good at it, mind you, but that the other guys are just that bad.

Its not just Duke Preston. Its also the lack of a decent 2nd receiving threat. It shouldn't be surprising that Edwards' struggles have coincided with the injury to Josh Reed. They now have no TE and no capable 2nd WR. If a defense can take away Evans, this offense is toast. Its nothing new, either. The Bills have been suffering from this problem for years, but the front office has little interest in correcting it. Back to back 30th place finishes offensively, and the Bills solution was to slap a bandaid on the offense with a 2nd round pick.

How many interceptions has Edwards thrown that were directed toward either Hardy or Robert Royal? Most of them, I'd bet.

It isn't all the fault of the OL, though that has been a contributor. The biggest reason, I believe, is the loss of Josh Reed. Edwards' struggles began when Reed got hurt. Reed isn't great by any stretch, but he gives them a reliable weapon opposite Lee Evans. Without him in there, they're down to one reliable receiving threat and as good as Evans is, defenses can still take him out of the game with double coverage. None of the rest are good enough to pick up the slack. Parrish isn't half bad, but Royal makes at least one bad play for every good one and James Hardy is nowhere to be found. Their struggles should surprise no one. The Bills have finished 25th or worse five straight years in total yardage, including back to back 30th place finishes the last two seasons. What did they do this offseason to improve? They slapped a bandaid on the problem with a 2nd round WR and ignored their problems at TE and along the OL. Now, predictably, its coming back to bite them in the ass. After a fast start, defenses are exploiting the same weaknesses in the Bills offense that have existed for years. The Bills need to significantly improve the middle of their OL this offseason, find a quality TE, add some depth at both and decide whether they want to add another young WR to push Hardy and Reed for the #2 role. In any event, this offense needs to improve significantly or else this team probably won't break out of the 6-8 win range of the last couple of years.

He's playing like a typical rookie DE. Look at Derrick Harvey in Jacksonville. Half of this board was touting him as the greatest thing since Bruce Smith prior to the draft. Eight games into the season, he has zero sacks and just six tackles. Vernon Gholston hasn't done much, either, nor have most of the rookie DEs picked ahead of Ellis, for that matter. The only reason that they have any numbers to show for this season is that they have more playing time than Ellis does. Chris Ellis may not be very good, mind you, but DE is one of the hardest positions to draft in terms of finding an impact player, especially one that can make a difference early.

I'd pass. There's really no reason for Green Bay to get rid of him right now unless he were absolutely awful.

Troy Aikman 's career high was 23 TD passes in one season. That was the only time in his entire career that he ever broke the 20 TD mark. His 2nd highest total was 19. Obviously, I'd rather see Edwards throwing 30 TD passes per season, but the point is, its not everything.

Neither. They may not be winless, but I think Kansas City is the worst team in the league.

I had DirecTV for the last 9 years until I recently moved. I'm stuck with city cable this season. I wouldn't mind it so bad if there was a little variety, but I get to see the Titans and Cowboys EVERY DAMNED WEEK.

The defense, without question. They gave up touchdowns on the Cards' first three drives, and while yes, that first drive wasn't entirely their fault, the next two (14 plays, 80 yds; 12 plays, 78 yards) can be blamed on no one else. The Cards scored on 7 of their first 8 possessions of the game. They allowed 28 first downs, all but three in the first 40 minutes or so of the game, I believe. Losman? Yeah, he stunk up the 4th quarter (when they were already down 34-17; thanks D), but he also led them to scores on three of the Bills first four possessions with him at QB and 17 points, which is more than they averaged per game last season. No, it seems rather obvious where the blame lies. The defense choked.

You're right, it should not have been close. The Bills actually beat them pretty badly in every way except the scoreboard. They led in total yards 378-247 (and 84 of that latter number was on one play), 25-10 in first downs and had nearly a 10 minute time of possession advantage. The three Bills turnovers were the equalizer and nearly cost them a victory. Otherwise, this probably would've been a blowout.

You're probably right about that. There's no doubt that those who dislike her will twist it to their advantage, as they're already doing.