Two Bills Drive

‘The Bills have until Sunday to trim down to the 53-man roster limit. Tonight’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions could go a long way in deciding which players stay. Here is a look at some players fighting for jobs…’

‘In fact, if it were up to McMahon — the second-year quarterback and designated starter for the opener Sept. 8 — the regular season could start now.’

‘Quarterback Mike McMahon will start and play 2-4 series, depending on how many plays the offense runs, before turning the offense over to rookie Joey Harrington and No. 3 quarterback Ty Detmer.’

‘If anything, the loss to the Colts, which put the Bills at 0-3 in the "it doesn’t count" part, only points up what has sort of been forgotten in all the excitement of Drew Bledsoe. This is still a very, very, very young Bills team. Young players make mistakes, and mistakes lead to losses.’

‘I know this much: Bills brass Tom Donahoe and Tom Modrak will ultimately get all the pieces in place, and sooner rather than later.’

‘Prediction: Even though the Bills are tied with the San Diego Chargers for the toughest strength of schedule, the Bills should be better than last year’s 3-13 record.’

‘The Bills and their new quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, have regressed since playing relatively well in their first preseason game against Cincinnati. They didn’t look sharp in the second preseason game against Minnesota and looked even worse last week versus Indianapolis.’

‘Before the season starts, there could be more pickups along the D-line, but the Bills’ biggest problem was cured when they got Bledsoe.’

Rookie wide receiver and second round pick Josh Reed sat down with buffalobills.com for the Two Minute Drill. Read what he had to say about his teammates.

Sign up today for our weekly NFL pick ’em pool. Put your football knowledge to the test against your fellow Bills’ fans. Space is limited so sign-up today….

‘"It’s better to walk away one or two years early than to limp away one or two years late,’ " Ostroski said.’

‘How much longer Jackson and Fisher will remain teammates all depends. Maybe for another season, maybe for a scant few days.’

And I like Bledsoe’s weapons — Moulds, the rookie, Josh Reed, Jay Riemersma down the seam. Will the QB and the coordinator click? That’s the question. I think Gilbride is better working with established players than young ones. It’s not the offense I worry about with Buffalo, it’s that D-line.

‘He started 102 of 106 career games — 36 at right guard, 34 at center, 29 at right tackle and three at left guard.’

‘Bledsoe or no Bledsoe, the defense must dramatically improve for the Bills to have any shot at a playoff spot, and that’s too much to ask. The prediction: 6-10, and no playoffs for a third straight year.’