Wing Man

You've got to wonder at this point if Trent Edwards' confidence has been permanently crippled at the hands of Dick Jauron and company. Here was a young man, highly touted by Bill Walsh out of college, who was wasted in the care of Jauron and a rolodex of offensive coordinator malcontents. It was the scar of the Levy era that brought about such inept coaching abetted by Wilson who was unwilling to pay for even obviously bad front office and coaching talent. Who knows how many legitimate college players were sacrificed on the altar of inevitable disaster. Maybe Gailey can resurrect him. I hope so for his sake. He didn't deserve to be drafted by a Bills organization that was painstakingly contructed to destroy pro careers. If he can't come back from the undead in the pocket, there's Fitz and Brohm or a 2011 draft choice we haven't met yet. Still, you have to feel sorry for anyone who's had the misfortune of such anemic pro development as was available from the Buffalo Bills these last years.

Eminently frustrating.

New England 12-4 (it's hard to keep a cheating team down) NY Jets 10-6 (probable wild card) Miami 8-8 Buffalo 6-10 The Bills have too many pieces missing and a new defense to master. The offensive line is still a work in progress but I expect them to play better under Gailey. If Jauron were still here, I'd be talking 1-15. I expect fewer lapses, but we still lack real playmakers especially at WR making an already weak passing game stagnant. Spiller should be a breath of fresh air who makes unbelievable plays if SOMEONE blocks for him. Nice to have DeHaven back. If we finish this season at 6-10 again, I still feel like we'll have a better team with a much greater future on balance. 2011 appears much brighter. By then we should get a 5 lb. bag of potatoes for Lynch and everyone will think we got the better end of the deal.

I'd normally be excited about a review that put the Bills LB core at 9th in the league, but in this case, they are vastly overrated by this columnist. I would love to believe that this new 3-4 setup combined with an effective coaching staff will turn the corner for the LB core. Reality and past history tell me that teams who make the switch from 4-3 to 3-4 struggle like hell the first two or three years. This isn't new news for anyone at all. In light of that and the fact that we are still short quality personnel at key positions, my expectations for the LBs is lower than most. Between Maybin and Kawika Mitchell, who, IMHO, most of last season looked as though he was disinterested and may be closer to the end of his career, they appear as though they may have another difficult year stopping the run. Frankly, it could be a brutal year. I intensely hope I'm wrong about this.

Maybin was raised in the 3-4 at Penn State and was a natural and effective LB there. He was placed on the DL during the Skeletor regime for reasons that defy everything. He is moving back to his natural position and could be a surprisingly good player in 2010. He'd better be because he is facing a 17 week or less audition. If he fails, no matter how fair or unfair, he won't be in NFL football in 2011.

Yes. LT or WR.

+1

Even with the correction to the statistics, we were a sorry 4th quarter team in 2009. It shouldn't be a stretch to have more than one game where we were trailing after 3 that we win. Those games happen even to championship teams, but more times than not, they win. Jauron was a horrible play caller and nearly everything he tried to do was predictable and ineffective (singing to the choir). Nix and Gailey have put together a very respectable coaching team. Will they all work out? Probably not. At least were not dealing with the loser position and assistant coaches we've had. Some of them have been great. Others should be thrown in prison for impersonating a coach, and not very well. I remain cautiously optimistic that we can have a moderately disappointing year. I feel much better about our chances in 2011 after Nix and Gailey have had the opportunity to shed more old players that don't have what it takes to win.

Based on his career performance, the unknown substance must be formaldehyde.

Bring the marshmellows.

Upside, n., a bald faced lie about an NFL player that has been discovered to be a bust before he ever plays a regular season down.

Since Levi Brown will likely end up on the development team, Fitz is a logical choice for third string, unless the Bills elect to trade or pick up another quarterback from free agency. Fitz couldn't prove himself in Cincinnati or Buffalo and he's not a rookie quarterback with a lot of upside. He becomes an emergency option at best and a last resort if the football gods are displeased with Edwards and Brohm. Either way, you've got to believe that QB is going to be a priority for the 2011 draft, even if he holds a clipboard for all of '11.

If the Toronto experiment has proven anything, it's that the Bills are not moving to Toronto. The fans there are about as enthusiastic about NFL football as Pittsburgh Pirates fans. I could get a good night's sleep at one of those games.

I have no objections to Brohm being the starter Week 1. We've all seen and detailed the weaknesses of Assbackwards and Ditz. They've both gone a long way in proving that they aren't NFL material. BuffaloBills.com is reporting that the QB competition is close. I can't believe this is the case and that the coaches don't already have a starter selected, if only in their inner circle conversations. I'm thrilled if they are all working on their mechanics, but I'd sooner see Levi Brown starting over Edwards or Fitzgerald. I know that Gailey is known for being a "miracle worker" when it comes to washed up QBs, but these clowns are ready for semi-pro or maybe Seattle will take a flyer on them.

Sorry to disagree, but moving to an 18 game schedule is the dumbest idea I've heard. Players are constantly playing hurt and two extra weeks of play just make the situation worse. This is a pure money play. If anything, we need to reduce the number of games by cutting 2 weeks of the preseason. The preseason is a farce. From a union standpoint, you run the risk of shortening player careers by making them more prone to career ending injuries. The NFLPA should shoot this dog. I wonder if they have the good sense to do it.

If Edwards is the favorite to start, and Brohm is seriously being groomed, Fitz is standing with no chairs left.

Hardy goes on the DL this year from infection due to splinters, IMHO.

Don't we have any outgoing flights?

While I believe that Gailey will be a huge improvement, this argument can be applied to any head coaching change. There have been plenty of players that have been cut under these circumstances that have indeed been surprises. It's rarely who you keep as opposed to who you get to replace them.

Cut him. He's dead weight. Let some other team be impressed with his non-effort.

Does anyone have a link for the ESPN response to the Bills drafting Spiller?

Propaganda. Lynch is all but gone.

Bills should go LT in round 2. There is still some decent talent out there that would fall to 41. It would give Spiller some more blockers to create openings. We could draft a RT in round 6. Then turn around and pick up a NT, QB, or OLB round 3.

I don't hate the man. I see quite a bit of potential in him, probably more than most. I just wouldn't spend a 1st on him.

If we select Spiller at 9 as is now somewhat expected, we could trade back into the late first round for McCoy or Tebow, or make a blockbuster trade for a high draft pick to take Clausen. That would be a super-aggressive move and if we did it, we'd have to give a 1st and another in 2011. We need to some picks around to fill our LT and 3-4 holes.