I know you don't want to re-live it; I didn't much enjoy it myself.  But in my desperate search to find someone to blame, and thus loathe, in regards to Trent Edwards' concussion suffered in Sunday's loss, the following analysis proves that the blame may lie on the shoulders of an unsatisfactory player.  Rumblers, it's our first ever Paint Analysis - and if you like the glorious crappiness of this exercise, perhaps it could become a more regular feature...

The Situation
Buffalo ball, 3rd and 6, BUF 30, early first quarter

* Buffalo comes out in a three-wide set.  Edwards (5) is in the shotgun with Marshawn Lynch (23) to his left.
* Arizona counters with a dime look - three corners, three safeties.  Adrian Wilson (24) is lined up essentially in no-man's land; it's apparent that he's going to do as he pleases on this play.
* Hardy comes in motion, eventually settling to the right and slightly behind Robert Royal (84).  Simultaneously, Chike Okeafor (56) and Karlos Dansby (58) cheat up to the line of scrimmage, and Wilson comes up to, apparently, take Hardy in the slot.  Everything the Cardinals are doing to this point screams "blitz up the gut", including Wilson's actions.  The Cards appear to be playing man in the slots behind this blitz.  Appearances, as it turns out, can be deceiving.
* Other relevant notes: Eric Green (25) is lined up across Josh Reed (82) in the slot; Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (29) and Antrel Rolle (21) have Lee Evans (83) bracketed on the left side of the formation; Aaron Francisco (47) and Roderick Hood (26) are clearly in a zone shell behind Wilson.

The Snap

* Surprise!  Arizona's blitzing, but it's from the edges.  Dansby (58) and Okeafor (56) drop off into zone coverage, and Green (25) and Wilson (24) blitz off the edges.
* The actions of Arizona's defensive linemen make this play.  LaBoy (55) and Antonio Smith (94) rush on the interior, pinching the Bills' line into an even more tight-knit group.  It's compounded by the disguised interior blitz.  As a result, there's a pileup, and Langston Walker ends up assisting on Smith when he really didn't need to.  Wilson runs by unscathed.
* Marshawn (23) easily picks up Green, the other edge rusher.
* Reed (82) and Royal (84) are essentially decoys for the guy running the hot route, Hardy (81).  Reed draws coverage from the dropping Dansby.  Okeafor, meanwhile, is stuck in no-man's land between Hardy and Royal, who run an excellent route combination on the converted defensive end.  The problem, however, is two-fold: Hardy doesn't run it quick enough, and Wilson's untouched.
* Edwards reads the blitz and immediately knows Hardy is his guy.  Kid's sharp as a tack.  Here comes Wilson, however...

The Hit

* Trent starts drifting backwards, waiting for the Hardy/Royal route combination to develop.  He makes the throw quickly; the ball is out a split second before Hardy turns his head.  The problem is, Edwards has to hold the ball a touch longer than he'd like, and he ends up throwing the ball off his back foot.  He's essentially ripe for Wilson's picking.
* Edwards delivers the first down throw, but at an awful expense.  Wilson hits high to try to knock the ball out; Edwards is too quick on the draw, but Wilson hits under Trent's shoulder and drives his helmet - in a non-dirty fashion; it has more to do with momentum than anything - up into Edwards' chin.
* As the pair go down, the back of Edwards' helmet hits the turf first.  He's very clearly going to have a sore neck and a rung bell.  Wilson - mostly because of Edwards' drifting and his own explosiveness - drives through Edwards and lands on the quarterback with his full body weight.  If Wilson gets fined, it'll be because of this last detail - he wasn't playing dirty, as many Bills fans have unfairly claimed.

The Aftermath

Where should the blame lie?  It's spread out a bit; part of it is on a great blitz scheme by Clancy Pendergast, part of it is on Langston Walker for pinching in when he should have fanned out and tried to knock Wilson off course (though, admittedly, he wouldn't have had much time to do this), and part of it on Edwards for being a smart, gritty, loveable guy.

Will Wilson get suspended?  Almost certainly not.  Will he get fined?  If he does, it won't be for a large amount, and it shouldn't be; it won't be for a dirty hit, either.  If Wilson has to pay up, it'll be because he landed on Edwards with all of his weight.  My guess?  Wilson won't get fined, either, and he probably shouldn't.  He was just playing football.

The good news: Edwards is reportedly doing well - or, rather, about as well as can be expected at this point.  With the bye week upon us, Edwards has plenty of time to shake off the cobwebs, get plenty of sleep, take a little vacation and get ready for San Diego.  It's far too early to speculate on his availability for that game, but to this point, signs are far more encouraging than they are discouraging.  Get well soon, Trent.

Hey Rumblers,

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will be NO film sessions tomorrow, as we usually do on Tuesdays.  Like the Bills, I'm going to be taking advantage of the bye week.

It wasn't for a lack of trying.  I watched four plays.  You might guess at which play I shut off the DVR and called it a night.  (Get well soon, Trent.)

The film sessions will definitely be coming this week, but since it's the bye week, I'm going to try to spread them out a bit more and generalize on some more things that we've seen in the first five games.  We've got time to break things down a bit more in-depth than usual, so I'm going to take advantage of the break.

But not tonight.  I was eating my dinner when I watched Trent get hit again, and I must say I rather lost my appetite.  I can't put myself through re-watching this game... not yet.

I'll have a couple of posts up for y'all to discuss tomorrow as usual, but no film reviews.  Please don't blame me. :)

I know.  You're all still mad, distraught and a bit nervous after the Buffalo Bills got blown out in Arizona yesterday.  I get that.  We'll talk more about that game tomorrow in our usual film sessions.  If you're looking to vent, there are plenty of other places on this blog alone to do just that.

But can we please get a little perspective here?  The Bills are 4-1, remain in sole possession of first place in the AFC East, and are still on track to end their eight-year playoff drought.  Yeah, the team has some weaknesses that have been exposed of late - but the Bills aren't the only team with that issue by a long shot.  Take a look around you before you freak out - the Bills are very much alive and well.

Remainder of the schedule
Let's delete any notion that the remainder of Buffalo's schedule is "easy" - it's not.  But it is easier than the schedules that a lot of our AFC foes face, to be certain.  Games like Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium is a tough place to play), Cleveland and San Francisco are probably the safest bets in terms of wins.  But the ascent of teams like the Dolphins and Broncos, and the presence of the Patriots and that Favre guy, means nothing is certain.

Yet there aren't any games remaining on Buffalo's schedule that the team can't win.  Without looking at the team itself - we'll do that momentarily - the Bills' playoff chances are still incredibly legitimate, as are their chances at a division crown.  They must win their home games, and they must stay near .500 on the road - both are achievable goals.  In a worst-case scenario (assuming the health of the players), 7-1 at home, 3-5 on the road, and 10-6 overall seems likely.  In a diluted AFC pool, that's a playoff team.  I still believe that, at full strength, the Bills are better than 10-6.  So don't jump ship yet.

Health of Edwards is paramount
We're all well aware of some of the shortcomings that the Bills have displayed - the quickest three off the top of my head are slow starts, poor offensive line play and the lack of a consistent pass rush.  The personnel is there to fix these problems; the Bills have two weeks to place their emphasis on improving in these areas - and it's obvious that they need to do just that.

Fundamentally, however, the Bills are still strong in areas that good football teams need to be strong in.  Their offensive play-calling has been (mostly) excellent.  They're still very adept at stopping the run.  Their special teams, while lacking in big plays since Week 1 with Roscoe Parrish injured, haven't been making mistakes.  They're still the most well-balanced team in the division, and their weak areas can be improved upon.  It's going to come down to coaching, and there's reason to have faith in this coaching staff.

None of it will matter, however, unless Trent Edwards is healthy.  The Bills became a different team yesterday when Edwards left the game after three plays with a concussion - they looked like a team that had just lost its leader, and they played like it.  Edwards' loss hurt on more levels than just the playing field - he's quite clearly the heart and soul of this Bills team.  The Bills need to find a way to keep him healthy; when Edwards is on the field, Buffalo can beat any team in this league.  From what Dick Jauron said after yesterday's loss, Edwards wasn't feeling great, but his outlook looks promising for the Chargers game.

The bottom line
Bad things happen on occasion in the NFL.  Those bad things snowballed into one afternoon for the Bills - they lost their starting quarterback, their free safety, and ran into a tough Cardinals team coming off of an embarrassing loss.  The Buffalo Bills you watched yesterday aren't the same team that you'll see for the rest of the season.  Yes, their play was awful, and it deserves to be criticized.  Just don't expect to see those Bills as often as we see the Bills that showed up in the first four games.

Man up.  Tough losses happen in this league, and we need to take it on the chin as a fan base.  These Bills aren't fickle, and we shouldn't be either.  They're going to respond - and while we anxiously wait for them to do so, understand that they're still in a great position to have a highly successful 2008 season.

Edwards injured on third play of game (Associated Press)

To quote Anchorman: "Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast."  J.P. Losman couldn't retaliate with a trident.  Not-so-obscure pop culture references aside, the Buffalo Bills can no longer count themselves amongst the NFL's unbeaten teams.

Trent Edwards suffered a concussion on the third play of the game, and an abysmal defensive effort by the Bills led to a 41-17 loss in the desert to the Arizona Cardinals.

Buffalo is 4-1 heading into the bye week, and the health of Edwards will be the main topic of interest over the next two weeks.  Edwards was injured on a hit by Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson (pictured to the right); he was on the turf for a number of moments, walked off of the field with assistance, was carted to the locker room and did not return.  I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about Edwards in the coming days.

Defense can't stop Warner
It was a poor defensive effort, however, that was the main culprit in Buffalo's first loss of the season.  Cardinals QB Kurt Warner enjoyed one of the better performances of his career, completing 33 of 42 passes for 250 yards and two scores in a dominant offensive outing for Arizona.  The Cards didn't make too many big plays through the air, but they didn't have to; Arizona held the ball for over 36 minutes in this one and wore down Buffalo's defense from the start.  Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower combined for 3 rushing scores.

Coming into this game, Buffalo's defense led the league by a wide margin in third down defense, holding opponents to around a 20% conversion rate.  The Cardinals weren't listening; they converted 9 of 15 third-down opportunities (60%) to control the ball, and the Bills couldn't make a play defensively to counter their dominance.  It was quite out of character for this Bills defense; rest assured we'll be looking for reasons why in some more in-depth film reviews this week.

Losman keeps things interesting... for a while
J.P. Losman replaced Edwards early in the first quarter and kept things interesting for a time.  Trailing 14-0, Losman found Lee Evans wide open for an 87-yard touchdown to cut the lead in half; he later scored on a quarterback draw in the first half to cut the lead to 21-14, which Arizona extended by halftime.

Losman's stat line looks OK (15 completions in 21 attempts, 220 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 101.2 QB rating), but it doesn't tell the whole story.  He didn't get much help from his defense, to be certain, but Losman took 5 sacks, lost two fumbles and threw an interception, killing any faint hopes of another fourth-quarter comeback attempt.  Losman doesn't deserve blame for the loss by any stretch of the imagination, but his errors certainly didn't help the cause.

Falling behind early, the Bills never had a chance to establish the offensive balance that was so crucial to their success on the day.  Marshawn Lynch finished with 55 yards on 13 carries, Fred Jackson carried once for five yards, and the Bills had their worst offensive performance of the season.  That was bound to happen, however, with Edwards out of the lineup and the defense performing so poorly.

Game Balls
None.  There are no awards in a losing effort.  We can only hope that these young Bills use this effort as motivation to continue to get better.  The Bills simply ran into a buzz saw in Arizona; the Cardinals are a very good football team (clearly the best team in the NFC West) with a huge home-field advantage, and the Bills were missing their leader.  Take this loss with a grain of salt; it's unfortunate, but it's also very clearly not the end of the world.

Oh, and Mr. Edwards?  Get well soon.

Open Thread Roll Call
Thanks to the 40 folks who stopped by to share in today's misery.  WABillsFan paced the day with 161 comments.  The roll call...

Ron From NM, RabidBuffalo, NYTXFAN, StuckInNJ, Cinga, Calvert, twoeightnine, silverstreak3k, big john, tlowe52, GhostDogg47, fletcherjd, jdol1568, NJBillsfan, TheSharp, illeagle12, WABillsfan, Zumone, Tony_O, Hassanali181, Crizal, the Skycap, Memphisbillsfan, dontuan, mjt1586, chaosthepitbull, Kurupt, keuka121, BeastMode, jj24, SebastianPruiti, Dyl, Joe P., CB #37, geno227, BearsNecessity, BillsNorth, grego32, Hopefulcynic

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)

New half, new thread.  The Buffalo Bills trail the Arizona Cardinals 24-14 at halftime.  Please use this thread for all of your second-half and post-game thoughts on this matchup.

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
4:15 PM EDT, University of Phoenix Stadium
Key Matchups :: Keys to Victory :: Revenge of the Birds
Video Preview :: Shutting down the Cardinals
BUF Injury Report :: ARI Injury Report
Bills Inactives -WR Roscoe Parrish, CB Terrence McGee, RB Xavier Omon, FB Corey McIntyre, OT Demetrius Bell, TE Derek Fine, DE Chris Ellis

This is a day all about momentum, Bills fans.  The Buffalo Bills, as I'm sure you're well aware, have opened up their 2008 regular season schedule with four straight wins - something they haven't done since 1992.  Following today's game, the Bills will take their bye week.  That means that a loss in today's game would, for two weeks, kill most - if not all - of the momentum that the team has built up through the first quarter of the season.

Momentum is, in reality, the most influential force on wins and losses in the NFL.  The Bills have momentum, to be sure, but their test today is far from easy, as they take on the high-scoring Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Cards always play tough football.  A loss wouldn't be the end of the world for Buffalo, clearly - but it would spell the end of their momentum.

Preserve momentum.  That's what the Bills need to do today, and the only way that's accomplished is by winning their third consecutive road game against a very tough opponent.  It's not going to be easy, but it can certainly be done.  This is Buffalo's stiffest test to date, and I can't wait to see how they'll respond.  Join me in today's Open Thread as we cheer the Bills on and hope that they can preserve their momentum.  GO BILLS!

Can Peters rebound from 3 sloppy starts? (buffalobills.com)

The Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals are set to square off this coming Sunday as the Bills look to extend their record to 5-0 for the first time since 1991.  The Cardinals, meanwhile, will look to end a two-game skid in their first home game since a Week 2 trouncing of Miami.

Several key matchups will hold huge importance in this game.  We're glad to be joined once again by cgolden of Revenge of the Birds, SB Nation's Cardinals blog, as the two of us break down four key matchups for the Bills/Cardinals tilt.  On to the matchups...

Bills WR Lee Evans vs Cardinals CB Roderick Hood
cgolden - Lee Evans is a tough match-up for any cornerback because of his big play ability and Roderick Hood will certainly have his hands full on Sunday. Evans is having a great year, averaging over 23 yards per catch, so Hood will have to bring his A-game to keep Evans from getting deep. Evans is not only a legitimate down the field threat, he's also shifty enough to turn every short pass into a huge play. Roderick Hood is a good tackler but the Cardinals don't play much press coverage, which could leave Evans open for some quick, short passes. Hood is the Cardinals' best corner by far but he's not anything spectacular so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cardinals keep a safety over the top. Much of the Cardinals defensive game plan will depend on Adrian Wilson's avaliability on Sunday, but either way, Hood will need to some help to contain Evans.  Advantage: Bills

Yours Truly - Evans is off to a fast start.  He'll never be a guy who catches a large volume of passes, but he definitely makes his catches count (see his 23.7 YPC average through four games).  When Evans is at his best, he's making a play or two early in the game, letting other receivers keep the offense efficient in the middle quarters, and putting the final dagger in a win late in the fourth quarter.  He lulls defenses to sleep in this manner.  There isn't a corner in the league who can cover Evans for an entire game (when he's got competent quarterback play), so I fully expect Evans to make a big play or two in this one.  Advantage: Bills

Bills DT Marcus Stroud vs Cardinals C Lyle Sendlein and RG Deuce Lutui
cgolden - Lyle Sendlien got his first taste of a big, powerful defensive tackle last week when Kris Jenkins abused him a couple of times, and things won't get any easier when Marcus Stroud comes to town.  Stroud benefited from playing on a great defensive line in Jacksonville and he's got some pretty good defensive line mates in Buffalo as well with Aaron Schobel, Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay. Stroud, like Jenkins, is strong enough to bull rush nearly any center or guard but also has the quickness and agility to be a decent pass rusher. Sendlien is a young guy who's still coming into his own and Lutui has been performing just well enough not to be benched. They'll have to double team Stroud most of the day but I still wouldn't be surprised to see him blow up a running play in the backfield and be in Warner's face a couple of times on Sunday.  Advantage: Bills

Yours Truly - Stroud's importance to this defense can't be measured just by his stats alone.  You have to take into account what Stroud has done for Kyle Williams as well; Buffalo's starting defensive tackles have combined for 28 tackles and 3 sacks in the team's first four games.  Stroud's a force against the run, and he's proven over and over this season that he can routinely beat the double team.  He's been impossible to block.  I don't expect Arizona to establish much of a run game on Sunday, but it would be nice to see Stroud collapse the pocket a handful of times around Kurt Warner, who is a fabulous rhythm passer.  Advantage: Bills

Cardinals OLB Travis LaBoy vs Bills OT Jason Peters
cgolden - This should be a strength on strength match-up and should be worth the price of admission. Oddly enough, these two guys have probably faced off before considering that LaBoy spent his first four seasons in Tennessee. LaBoy is the Cardinals best pass rusher and if Clancy Pendergast decides to be aggressive this week, he should be able to apply some pressure.  Jason Peters is the Bills' best offensive lineman and is one of the better left tackles in the league.  Since LaBoy will at times focus too much on rushing the passer, Peters should be able to handle him in the running game.  In passing situations, though, it'll be much more interesting.  LaBoy is a natural pass rusher and has the ability to get around almost any tackle in the league. He may not register a sack but I'd be surprised if he wasn't able to apply some pressure to Edwards a couple of times.  Advantage: Push

Yours Truly - Peters has been off his game since deciding to return from a prolonged pre-season holdout.  As such, he's only got about a month's worth of football under his belt this year, and with a new offensive coordinator and line coach, he's had some difficulty adjusting to what Buffalo does offensively.  He's been very streaky - looking awful at times and dominant at others - and he's currently dealing with an ankle sprain as well, hindering his footwork.  I fully expect LaBoy, who is very sudden in his pass-rushing, to make some plays on Sunday.  But Peters will have help, and he's still very adept at neutralizing the speed rush.  Advantage: Push

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs Bills CB Jabari Greer
cgolden - Larry Fitzgerald has had a great year through four games and he's on pace for over 1,600 yards. His size and ability to snatch the ball out of the air at its highest point are second to none.  He'll have a four inch height and 40 pound weight advantage over Greer, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them test Greer early and often. Whatever the Cardinals' game plan ends up being, Greer shouldn't be underestimated though.  He's a slightly undersized corner back (5'11", 180) who is coming into his own and he plays much bigger than his stature would suggest. He's pretty good about getting his hands on a pass or two during a game and he sealed the Bills' victory over the Rams with a 33-yard pick six.  Overall, Greer's a solid corner but he'll need help because Fitzgerald is a special reciever.  Advantage: Cardinals

Yours Truly - Buffalo employs a Cover 2 shell on pass downs, so it's a virtual certainty that the Bills will have two guys on Fitzgerald at all times.  That number could balloon to 3 on occasion if Anquan Boldin doesn't play as expected.  Greer will get the Fitzgerald assignment most often, and I actually think that his aggressiveness and surprising reach match up better with Fitzgerald than most people believe.  But Fitzgerald is undeniable; he'll get his touches.  The Bills will be lucky if they can hold him to one score.  Advantage: Cardinals

***

Not much of a debate here.  We'd love to hear your thoughts on these matchups and on this exercise in the comments section.