Cash

Exactly. They don't want to run up the score on us, so they're throwing to prevent more touchdowns.

Should we start punting on first down?

I for one am shocked that our inside linebackers coach-turned first time defensive coordinator isn't an elite DC.

I guess week 1 was just an aberration. Our defense stinks, but happened to play their best game against Miami.

Also keep in mind that with Andra Davis out, Torbor has moved from OLB to ILB. That means they need another body at OLB.

He means you, for not taking the time to read the board and realize that there's already a thread for this news.

Fair points, but the bottom line is that while it is likely that Brohm will amount to nothing, it's still uncertain, because he's only played 1 game, and he didn't even know the playbook yet in that game. Also keep in mind that Brohm wasn't a street free agent when the Bills signed him, he was on the Packers' practice squad, and credible journalists have written that the Packers did match the Bills' contract offer to try to retain Brohm. Only in recent years have teams started the move of only keeping 2 QBs on the roster, with the 3rd-stringer on the practice squad. Traditionally, a pick as high as Brohm would never have been cut, and would still be on the Packers. If he's improved his play since then (which sometimes happens with young QBs), he could theoretically have won the backup job from Matt Flynn. It's not crazy. Yes, Brohm did clear waivers twice, and that can't be discounted -- it's a bad sign. But there's still no proof that he stinks, and all the evidence for him stinking is circumstantial. So there's still uncertainty, and where there's uncertainty, there's also hope.

Bummer. I really liked Veek.

The problem with this line of reasoning is that if the Bills thought there was any realistic chance of Kelsay flaming out, they wouldn't be giving him an extension right now. If fact, if they weren't specifically happy with his play in the new defense so far, they wouldn't give him an extension right now. I disagree with the notion that the Bills can just cut bait with Kelsay at any time and only lose the guaranteed money. The fact that this extension came so early shows that the Bills really like Kelsay, and consider him part of the rebuilding process, not a stopgap until they can get someone better. That's my take on it, anyway.

Wrong. There is no salary cap, but the Bills have a finite budget. Every dollar spent on Kelsay is a dollar that can not be spent elsewhere. Furthermore, he's being paid big-time starter money, which probably means that the team feels he's a good starter, and won't look to replace him via either free agency or the draft. I would much rather see Chris Ellis or even Antonio Coleman play OLB than Kelsay, because they're young and have some upside. Ellis has looked better than Kelsay so far this year. And then consider that Ellis and Coleman combined probably make about a third of what Kelsay makes, maybe less. Is Kelsay three times as good as Chris Ellis? He's being paid like it. Is he twice as good as Reggie Torbor? Again, that's how he's being paid.

This sucks. I would very much like to like Aaron Maybin. He seems like a nice kid, he always says the right things, by all accounts he has a tremendous work ethic, but he's just not any good at all. Which would be fine if he was a 5th-round pick making near the league minimum, but he was #11 overall and makes about $5mil a year. It's not his fault that he was brutally overdrafted, and he seems to be trying his best to live up to his salary. But seeing him out there getting destroyed play after play is just demoralizing. And then the excessive celebrations. I would actually like his enthusiasm if he ever did anything productive - I like the fact that he gets just as pumped when a teammate makes a great play as when he makes a tackle (which is the closest he's come to making a great play). If he ever becomes a good player, I will definitely like the guy, but I don't really see that happening.

2010 is already a capless year. Not sure what you think is approaching, but it's not a capless year.

Chris Ellis and Reggie Torbor are both better at Kelsay's position. But that's not really the point. I challenge you: Find another 3-4 OLB who is comparably good, who makes $6mil a year. Anywhere in the NFL. I don't know if you'll find one or not, but if you do, my guess is that it'll be a 1st-round bust on his rookie deal, not a 31-year-old veteran receiving a new contract extension. The Bills have a limited budget, just like every team. They can't afford to pay out significant portions of it to bad players. And beyond the fiscal concerns, there's also the message it sends. By extending Kelsay and keeping him as one of the highest-paid players on the team, the Bills aren't saying "he's not that good, but he's the best of a bad bunch, so we'll keep him around for now." They're saying, "this is one of the cornerstones of our defense, and for us to get back to the playoffs, he has to be a big part of it." That's just terrible.

I had been harping on drafting Bryant McKinnie for months before the draft, and I wasn't the only one. McKinnie was generally considered the #1 O-line prospect that year, and a natural LT. Williams was the consensus #2 prospect, and it was widely believed that he would be able to transition from playing RT in college to LT in the pros. That was wrong, of course, but even without the benefit of hindsight, it was a questionable pick. The plan was to play Williams at RT for a few years until he could make the move to LT. Even at the time, a bunch of people questioned the wisdom of spending the #4 overall pick on a right tackle, even if you expect him to eventually play left tackle.

This was the first Mort quote I've seen that didn't come off as having an axe to grind for firing his buddy Donahoe. Most national pundits wouldn't entertain the notion that Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey are the right football people to drag a team out of the cellar. But Mort suggests that if they're left to their own devices, the team will be fine. And there's not a whole lot of vitriol directed at Ralph. There's no disputing the sentence about Polian & Butler, and that can't be swept under the rug. And even Mort's pro-Donahoe comment seems to recognize that Donahoe was doing a bad job by the end, even if Mort doesn't come out and say it. There's a big difference between saying "there were a lot of good things Donahoe... could have continued doing if he had been left alone," versus saying "there were a lot of good things Donahoe... could have continued doing if he hadn't been fired." Between this and some of the recent Overdorf stuff that's appeared in the Buffalo News (cutting Troy Vincent without the coaches knowing, for example), I wonder if Kelsay's extension was a Ralph and/or Overdorf move, and maybe Nix/Gailey had nothing to do with it. I also don't know which is worse: having an incompetent GM, or having a competent GM whose decisions are overruled by his incompetent bosses.

Blame the FO for not cutting Trent sooner, fine. Very defensible. But you can't blame them for cutting him now. The only 2 teams to put in a waiver claim were the next 2 teams on our schedule. There was no trade market for him, and zero support in either the locker room (I think) or the fanbase. Mike Lombardi praised the Cardinals for cutting bait with Leinart when they did, but took a couple of shots at the Bills for essentially the same move. Didn't care for that, although I generally like Lombardi's analysis. Anyway, getting back to the point of this thread, it's stunning to see the difference in every aspect of the passing game when Fitz comes in for Trent. People had been saying Steve Johnson couldn't start for a CFL team, but he looked like a legitimate player on Sunday. The O-line didn't look great, but showed that they at least do provide some time, and usually provide a pocket to step into and throwing (or running) lanes that a QB can use to make plays. Granted, this was all against a bad to very bad defense, so maybe we're being too optimistic. But we've got some quality defenses left on the schedule, and playing those should really expose who can play and who can't.

He played LT for most of the game against us, Ace.

Fair point re: strength of opposing D. But even though QB isn't everything, it is the single most important thing. I predict that the 2 Trent games will be our 2 worst offensive games in terms of first downs, yards per play, and total yards. Maybe not points, though. Fitz will move the ball, but will certainly throw his share of picks as well. Plus, our WRs are so unused to having the ball in their hands that they're bound to fumble a few just out of surprise.

You think so? I doubt it. Honestly, once we take it as a given that no potential starter would be brought in at QB, I think the QB "competition" came down to simple coaching arrogance. Coaches who come from one side of the ball tend to think that they can coach up guys who basically stink. Gailey was able to talk himself into believing that Edwards' problems were 1) all mental, 2) caused by his previous coaches, and 3) fixable by Gailey. I think at least (2) and (3) were wrong, and maybe (1) as well. I was never impressed by Edwards' non-checkdown accuracy, but it was so rare he actually threw over the middle that it's hard to judge accurately.

Because we have experienced football men on the job, and they know better than us who the best QB is. Unfortunately, all game tapes from 2009 were destroyed before they took the jobs, so they went with the guy who threw a better ball in practice.

I noticed Dwan Edwards get pushed back about 4-5 yards on several runs yesterday. And Kelsay looks so bad on most plays that I would be embarrassed for him, if not for that report of a possible contract extension. I haven't done a lot of keying on individual defenders this year, though, so I'm as in the dark as anyone. Any of you hardcore fans who re-watch games care to weigh in?

It's concerning that after trotting out one of the worst offenses in team history, the only personnel moves of significance were to let TO go and sign Cornell Green.

Either that, or the O-line that gave Trent "literally no time to throw" magically turned into an elite unit overnight. Except that Fitzpatrick was still pressured a ton, but he has some concept of how to step up in the pocket and either scramble for positive yardage or make a throw downfield.

I was thinking about this some more on the way to work this morning, and it came down to this: If Kelsay is given a contract extension to continue his role in this defense, our team's management either is wildly incompetent or likes losing. There's just no in-between.

The sad thing is, I had to click on the thread to figure out whom you were referring to. Could've been Maybin, Cornell Green, maybe Kelsay... Also, this whole "Maybin needs to get better against the run" thing is a joke. He needs to get better at playing football. He's in there on basically every passing down. How many sacks does he have? How many pressures? How many QB hits? Yes, he's bad against the run, but he's also bad at rushing the passer.