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The injury to Wood is devastating, but it seems like we go through this every year. Are there NFL stats available for number of games lost due to injury? We always seem to have more injuries than most teams, but it would be interesting to see the data. In terms of starters, the Bills have lost Wood, Merriman, Williams and Parrish for the year. Easley is out but I am not sure whether he would have started or how much he would have played. Kelsay, Bell, Hairston, McGee, and A. Williams have missed signifant time. Seems like a lot of missed time to me.

McKelvin has played poorly over a number of years. I thought Florence played pretty well last year, but you are right that he has not played well this year.

1. I think the Bills defense up the middle is adequate or better, but the play of the ends, the outside linebackers and corners has been awful. I am not sure if Carrington can become a quality starter and Edwards is non-existent. Neither the ends nor the outside linebackers can put any pressure on the QB. Clearly, upgrades are needed. The defense is worse than it was under Jauron. 2. Our corner play has been terrible due to a combination of no pass rush and poor play. I am tired of McKelvin getting burned and failing to make plays. He has not developed and he is officially a bust, which is particularly painful since he was drafted in the top third of the first round. 3. I agree that Donald Jones does not seem to be a starting caliber WR. At least Chan and the other coaches on offense seem to be developing our talent (i.e., Jackson, Johnson, Nelson, Levitre, Wood, Urbik and Chandler). All have improved under Gailey. 4. I remember that Nix stated before the season began that he was concerned about our depth. But it should not be an excuse to recognize something and then do nothing about it. 5. Not impressed with Nix's drafting so far. The 2010 draft is shaping up to be a disaster. Spiller and Troup are on the cusp of being busts and we will see about Carrington. Dareus was a no brainer of a pick this year, but we need to see how Sheppard and Williams develop going forward. 6. I do not understand the Brad Smith signing. He is not playing and the Bills have limited resources. Why did they sign him? Did they understand the new kick-off rules would result in him having less of an impact on special teams? 7. Our strong start on offense really masked a lot of the weaknesses on this team. We still need to add a significant number of quality players to be a playoff team.

I understand that our defense has injuries, but other than being opportunistic at times, they can never get off the field. Considering the resources that have been devoted to the defense (drafting Dareus, Sheppard and Williams this past year, signing Barnett and Morrison, re-signing Florence), their play has been terrible. A good part of the blame must go to to the defensive coordinator and the defensive game plan. Our defense has made Sanchez and Romo look like all world QBs. Changes need to be made.

Some thoughts below: 1. The first two games were great because we won, but they also were extremely fun to watch. Our offense has been dreadful for years, and to have an effective offense after all these years is a joy. Chan deserves tremendous credit for this (so far). 2. Not sure what all of you have experienced over the years, but I generally have found that there are few fans of other teams that really hate the Bills. In fact, some have been fairly sympathetic about the play of the Bills over the last number of years. Some of my friends who are fans of other teams have been very complimentary of the Bills this year (and they actually seem to mean it). 3. I know it is early, but I can't help but think that a successful season would be a positive for keeping the Bills in Buffalo. I have been worried that attendance would finally collapse if the Bills continued to play poorly. I think that a good and popular Bills team will be tougher team to move from Buffalo than a team that is suffering declining attendance and overall popularity. A successful season also would be helpful for the Toronto arrangement, and the possibility of extending the agreement, which is an important source of funds for the Bills now. 4. I have enjoyed the increased coverage of the Bills in the media. It feels like the Bills are relevant again. 5. Our improved play is even more impressive given the lack of contribution from our first four picks in the 2010 draft. Spiller made some plays last Sunday, but he needs to continue to step it up. 6. Not to state the obvious, but we need an improved pass rush if the team is going to be successful this year. We need Merriman to get some pressure. 7. I have been impressed with the play of Byrd. His tackling has been strong. 8. I think the Dolphins and the Jets are beatable. I am not convinced that Sanchez is a strong QB and I think the Jets o-line is weaker than in prior years. In addition, the running backs for the Jets have been ineffective. 9. Dareus will be a great player for the Bills for years.

What is the argument here about? The guy is negative about the Bills, and we have known that for years. Generally, his criticisms have been aligned with the poor play of the Bills. The only way to end this negativity is for the Bills to have a winning season. Until this happens, it is fair game to be critical of a team and organization that has not made the playoffs in 11 years.

Sorry, but when has Pears been "solid throughout"? Of course he deserves a chance to show that he can play at a high level and I hope that he does, but I have my doubts that he will.

I am shocked that we are going into the season with this group of starters and back-ups. Our tackles are probably two of the worst in the NFL, although I think Pears would be a good back-up at both LT and RT. There are always injuries, and I cannot understand why the Bills did not bring in a veteran player or two for depth, particularly since it does not seem that we have a number of promising young players on the o-line who would be negatively impacted.

Stepping back and looking at the big picture, I think I understand the following from NGU and Mr. Wawrow: 1. The organization is dysfunctional and it starts at the top. 2. We are years away from making the playoffs and even our owner does not believe we are close (and this is the reason he is not spending more freely on free agents). 3. No one knows if there is a plan to sell the team to a local group if RW passes. Not good.

If the starters on defense can stay healthy (particularly Merriman, Williams and Dareus), our defense should improve from last year. Great point about replacing veteran players who are cut or leave for free agency with draft picks instead of using draft picks to build. This has resulted in uneven results and little or no depth.

1. McKelvin has not developed into a quality corner. He was targeted during the preseason, and seemed to get beat a number of times. If the rush defense improves in the regular season, it will put more pressure on our secondary (more pass plays) and any shortcomings will be magnified and exposed. 2. I am excited to see Merriman, Barnett, Williams and Dareus play together. 3. I hope it is not the case, but I am expecting that McGee will get cut tomorrow. Williams may have potential, but he is raw. Corner's play has been disappointing and I am not sure he would make another team's roster. The Bills are creating another hole if they release McGee, and potentially hurting team morale (again). If they thought that McGee could not perform at a high level, why didn't they try to sign another free agent corner? 4. I understand releasing older players if there are younger players ready to step in and contribute at a high level. Unfortunately, the Bills cut players without adequate replacements, creating holes and depth problems. Hoping that a young player will develop if you start him is not a strategy for success. 5. I am also expecting Hangartner to be cut. I think he would be a decent, experienced back-up at center and guard for a very thin and inexperienced offensive line. 6. Our 2010 draft picks really need to step up. At this point, I have no idea whether Spiller, Troupe and Carrington will develop into quality players.

John, There have been some rumors recently (so far unsubstantiated) that there is something going on with the ownership situation for the Bills which could be very positive. Have you heard anything about this? Thank you.

Things are bad now, but it will be worse when the Bills cut one or all of Hangartner, Moorman and McGee before the start of the regular season.

In a series of depressing developments, this is possibly the most depressing. If true, not giving the GM and the coach the ability or the authority to improve this team or keep players is horrible. I am always amused at the "we are doomed" posts, but maybe this is where we are.

The o-line is a disaster and everyone knew it. I really cannot understand why it has not addressed. Seems that McKelvin is not developing, and he should have by now. Not impressed with Spiller. Freddie still looks better.

I really like what we are seeing so far with Dareus. I think he has the potential to be a great player. Way too early to make judgments about this overall draft. Williams seems to have potential, but I have heard little about the other players drafted. Want to see what Sheppard can do when healthy. I a bit concerned about last year's draft. Spiller was disappointing last year and if he does not end up starting at RB by next year, then his selection at that pick was not warranted. Troupe needs to step up, but I know that he has a broken hand, which is a big problem in the near term. Easley needs more game time so that we can get a better sense of his abilities.

I wonder if Hangartner will be cut.

This rebuilding process, if successful, will take a long time because they are not particlarly active in free agency and there are a lot of holes to fill (some of them created recently). In the last year, the Bills have waived, traded or not re-signed Whitner (high first), McCargo (first), Evans (first), Lynch (first), Maybin (high first), Hardy (second), Poz (second), Chris Ellis (third), Youboty (third) and Edwards (third). Early picks are typically the nucleus for a successful team. In this regard, the Bills have failed miserably, andy they are paying for it now.

I don't understand why fixing the defense and the o-line are mutually exclusive. In the last two years, many teams have found starting caliber offensive linemem in the draft, including in later rounds. If the Bills are going to rely primarily on the draft to rebuild this team, then Nix et al. need to hit on most picks to have success. For the o-line, last year's draft brought us Wang, who seems overmatched, even as a back-up. I have heard nothing about Hairston during training camp so far. Selecting one offensive lineman in the draft for each of the last two years is not going to turnaround the o-line (both in terms of depth and starters).

Not sure how a team can go into a season with such a significant weakness (the o-line) and expect to have any real success. It should have been addressed through the draft and free agency. To wait another year until the Bills begin to address the o-line is ridiculous. Even if they draft players next year for the o-line, they may not contribute immediately and I doubt the Bills will spend big money to bring in quality starters in free agency (plus few will likely be available). Does this mean that the earliest we could have a decent o-line is 2013 (assuming we draft well)?

Fair point, and that is why I noted the poor blocking of the o-line.

1. In the first quarter, the play calling for our first team offense was creative and generally effective. Gailey will make good use of Smith in the "wildcat." this year. I am impressed with Gailey as a coach/play caller on offense. 2. Stevie looked great, but our other wide receivers did not make any plays, other than a couple of catches by Roosevelt. Easley was disappointing overall (including on kick returns), but he has had very little time practicing and no time playing in games due to his injuries since being drafted. Davis played poorly. I do not buy into all of the "we have a ton of talent at wide receiver" stuff, but Jones, Roosevelt, Easley and Nelson are only second year players and all of them will need time to develop (if at all). It is unrealistic to expect otherwise. Evans will be missed. 3. Maybin was easily handled by Chicago's second team offense. I think he was taken out of the game pretty quickly. 4. Dareus was active and looked great. Very encouraging for a rookie player, even a player picked third overall. 5. I thought the right side of the first team offensive line did not play well. Our second team offensive line was terrible, particularly Wrotto and Howard. 6. The Bills have no depth. During the game, I noted that the Bears picked up a bunch of free agents this year for depth. Some of these guys (i.e., Okoye and Barber) played well. Nix is stubborn about his own players (i.e., Davis) and we will suffer the consequences this year. 7. I was never a big supporter of Whitner, but I am wondering if he will be missed in the rush defense. I know that the defense was horrible last year, but I noticed that Wilson was easily taken out of some running plays last night. 8. I think Williams has potential, but he was beaten badly on a pass play where, as a result, he had to interfere with the receiver. He made a nice interception later in the game. He seems a bit raw, and I hope the Bills do not cut McGee in another cost cutting move because they think Williams can step in now. 9. Carrington played well against the second team offense for the Bears. Earlier in the game, he seemed to be handled by the first team offense for the Bears. 10. Merriman was awesome. Nothing more to add to that. 11. Johnny White received a bunch of playing time and did not standout or make plays. Maybe it was the poor blocking of the second team offensive line. 12. Chandler is big. If he stays as upright as did when running with the ball last night after catching the ball, he is going to get killed.

He started playing well after Chicago put in their second team. Before that, he did not do anything.

Our best year by far was 2005.

This team is in a perpetual state of decline. There is something seriously wrong here.