Bills vs Packers – Day after Reaction
9/20/2010 | Posted by
Devin
As I said in my picks late last week, the game at Green Bay was going to be a massacre. And man, saying it was a massacre is putting it nicely.
The Bills went into halftime and found themselves only down 13-7, but honestly, they were never in the game. The Packers got the game to start out and promptly marched down the field for an opening field goal. This game reminded me of one of those games I play on Xbox; meaning I know I'm gonna win so I just relax and it ends up taking longer to put away the other team. At one point it looked like Green Bay wasn't even trying. Although to be fair, the Bills have looked like that for two straight weeks.
The Good: The Bills running game looked decent. It was even better if you consider the fact that without a competent passing game, teams can stack up against the run, and yet the Bills still had mild success.
They finished with 124 total, with 64 coming from Marshawn Lynch. One has to assume the Bills were showcasing him a bit. It's become evident through two games that the crowded backfield is a problem, not a blessing. In the first week it was Lynch who suffered with minimal opportunities and this week it was Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Even if they can only get a 3rd or 4th round pick for him, they need to pull the trigger sooner rather than later.
If the Bills are actually serious about keeping all three backs for the season, they need to figure out a way to get them all significant playing time. There is no way Spiller should see such limited action during a game. I would actually endorse the wildcat at this point if it got all three backs on to the field at the same time. Plus, the wildcat would get Edwards off the field. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
The Bad: Along those lines, the Bills should also explore the possibility of trading Lee Evans. For one, Evans has been surrounded by garbage for his entire tenure in Buffalo. He deserves more from the franchise and they should grant him his. The Bills are clearly playing a throwaway season so there really is no point in keeping Evans as their start #1 receiver. There are teams out there, like Minnesota, that are in desperate need of a big play receiver. If the Bills are rebuilding, go all out and stock pile as many draft picks as possible. Through two games, Evans has been targeted seven times with four receptions. This includes yesterday's double zero outing.
The Bills offense is actually so anemic that during their first possession, I was with a group of friends at my house watching the game and we tried to guess what the play was going to be. I ended up being right when I said "a sack."
During Week One I would've argued that Edwards really didn't have time to get set before he had someone in his face. Yesterday, it looked totally different to me. There were several times where he got sacked and he could've gotten rid of the ball. Instead, he hung on to it for far too long, mostly because he's afraid to take any chances down the field.
Of course, thanks to Mitchell I'm still subjected to Whitner's garbage tweets. He quickly blocked me last year when I kindly reminded him of his career interception total, and the total that Jairus Byrd had at the current time.
But enough about Whitner and his nonsense, this section is dedicated to Captain Checkdown.
Trent Edwards couldn't play any worse if he wore a blindfold and threw the ball left handed. I'm so disgusted with him right now that the mere sight of him on the sidelines pisses me off. I can't even believe for a second that I thought he was going to evolve into the Bills' franchise QB. There is no way you can ever convince me that he is better right now that J.P. Losman ever was. At the very least, Losman wasn't afraid to throw the ball further than three yards. Edwards is a joke.
It seems to me that for every Edwards hater, there is at least one person claiming that "he hasn't had a chance yet" or "he has no offensive line." Blah blah blah. This is Edwards fourth season in the NFL now and besides a 4-0 start against four mediocre teams in 2008, he has done nothing to show he should be starting in this league. Nothing.
So far in 34 career games, he has 25 touchdowns, 27 interceptions and a 76.8 QB rating for his career. At what point are people ready to pull the cord? In a similar amount of time (43 games), Losman had 33 touchdowns, 34 interceptions and a 75.6 QB rating. Yet somehow everybody was cool with cutting Losman (not saying they are wrong) but they want to hang on to Edwards to give him a chance?
I also find it worthwhile to point out that during that 4-0 start, he had to come back during three of those games because he played pretty average for the first two or three quarters. Only one of those wins was a complete domination and this biggest highlight of that game was a Roscoe Parrish punt return and Brian Moorman tossing a touchdown on a fake field goal. Neither play involved Edwards being on the field.
I would be estatic if the Bills announced they were starting Ryan Fitzpatrick next Sunday. At least with Fitz, the Bills will have a QB who isn't afraid to throw the ball. Granted half of those passes might nosedive into the ground, but it can't be any worse than what Edwards is doing on the field right now. But no, keep starting Edwards because he gives Buffalo "the best chance to win."
Awful.
The Uglier: The fact that I actually wrote that the Bills might win seven games. I'm not even sure they can muster one win right now, let alone seven. Jacksonville? Maybe. If Jacksonville forgets to show up. Kansas City? No way. The Chiefs are a much improved team so far, though still far from the playoffs. Detroit? Nope. Jahvid Best is going to have a career day. The Browns game is honestly the only one I see them winning, and I'm being nice with that assessment. The Browns are also 0-2, but both games have been relatively close. The Browns have also defeating the Bills for the last three years straight, so even when the Bills were better, the Browns still handled them.
The Ugliest – If the Bills are tanking the season for Jake Locker, they might not need to try so hard. If Locker has a few more games like he did this past Saturday (4 for 20, 71 yards, one TD, 2 INT), he'll fall quite a bit in the draft. Of course, with a few more Saturdays like this past one, and Jake Locker will be definite Buffalo Bills material.
(Ed. Note: After writing this article, it was announced by Chan Gailey that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the starter this Sunday at New England. Yay)
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