Considering this is still only preseason and according to a lot of the posts and replys that were talked about after the Green Bay game, most fans shouldn't be too concerned because this is only the preseason.

However, considering that this IS preseason and most of the fans optimism for the coming season has already been squashed, is it time to hit the panic button or throw blame around on this team or organization? 

It is tough not to get too worked up as a fan, but when you look around the league and see other teams that are suppose to be good, play good.  And then you see teams that were bad, start playing better and/or make the changes necessary to turn their team around and make them competitive.  Finally, you see the Bills still make the same mistakes and lack any execution or confidence to make plays or make changes that need to be made.  There are few teams is this category (Detroit, St. Louis, Cincy, etc.) and the Bills are there and have been there for quite some time. 

Having patience, waiting for the younger player to mature, hoping the veterans can still make plays, having little or no significant injuries, and possibly a coach that can call the right play at the right time or have a game plan that can help our players succeed is what we are experiencing as fans. 

So should we hit the panic button, have more patience, throw blame around now, stop caring and rooting for the team? 

I think all signs so far this preseason show that it is time to hit the panic button.  Very little if anything is there to be excited about with this team right now.  Who believes the Bills really have a chance to do any better in Foxboro on 9/14, that what they showed in any of the presseason games so far this year?  We are riding our hopes and this offense on TO's Toe right now.  This is a guy who was brought here to be marketing ploy to sell jerseys and tickets and produce some on the field.  If we think that we are going to be a 300 yard passing team and 400 yards of offense with 100 plus rushing yards because he is in the game, we must be kidding ourselves right now. 

Want the Blame game:

Here's my list:

1) Turk Schonert - He is very predictable and out team struggles to put any pressure on defenses.

2) Dick Jauron - Likeable guy by everyone who is not a fan of the Buffalo Bills.  FO, players, league insiders, everyone seems to love the guy, why he can't be a winning coach here is inexcusable. 

3) Trent Edwards - There is no excuse for his poor play.  He needs to put the team and offense on his back and make our offense successful.  The Cleveland game last year messed with his mental psyche and he obviously hasn't recovered in game situations.  Until the guy starts to makes plays we will be calling for another QB.  (Maybe Josh Johnson in TB????)

4) Front Office - They sell tickets but make little money.  They have to do brand the Bills in Toronto now.  Seems like we haven't had anyone passionate about the actual performance on the field or any true football people driving this organization in a long long time (probably since John Butler left). 

5) Ralph Wilson - He's at the top, but hard to put anymore blame on a guy who is 91 and hasn't made very many good decisions for quite sometime.  I think more blame is on the people below him, but all signs eventually point to the top. 

Have more patience:

Yes we are 0-0 in the regular season so should we really be this hard on the players or organization at this time of the year.  Everything would change if this team can some how pull out a victory in New England on week 1.  Until we prove that we can beat them (hasn't happened since 2003), we haven't improved at all. 

http://www.buffalobills.com/media-lounge/videos/bills-roundup-tuesday-night-highlights/4cd2487d-9148-4399-848f-5dcc982f3450

In the Chris Brown Tuesday Night Roundup Video at the end of the clip, Chris mentions Leodis and there is a brief clip of him in practice.  What was strange about the video is the red undershirt or whatever you want to call it that he was wearing that was hanging out the bottom of jersey. 

Anybody care to guess?

Anyway, not that that is really post worthy, but it is early in training camp and I thought it might make for some interesting conversation. 

While practically everyone in Bills nation is still scratching their noggins about why the Bills continued to pick DB's in the later rounds of the draft when we already have top players at the position and what seems to be like quality depth, I have a very good opinion of what is happening here... 

Yes, most of us either believe that DJ is in love with the position because he played the position once and figures that you can never have enough of them.  OR many of us believe we are just wasting the picks on players that will never make the team.  OR (like Brian G.) the Bills were using those picks on "Best Player Available" at the time and not based on position of greatest need.

Here is what I think that I am not sure if anyone has considered yet that in fact could be quite ingenious on the part of the Bills...

First, where have the Bills been the strongest at for the better part of the last 4-5 seasons...  Special Teams.  Who is our Assistant Head Coach and recently voted best special teams coach in the league... Bobby April.  When it comes down to final roster cuts each year, the people that make the team are the ones that make the biggest difference on special teams.  Finally, what rule change was enacted this year that make BA really worried about the coming season... no more wedge in kick-offs. 

SO, we drafted a bunch of "speedy tacklers" who can get up the field and make plays on special teams.  In the past, you needed a few bigger "wedge busters" to go in and sacrifice their bodies to open up the holes for the outside guys to come in and make the tackle.  Now that rule is gone, my guess is that special teams will look like a bunch of smaller speedy guys flying around to make plays.  (Remember we recently extended Justin Jenkins contract as an RFA).  Sure if a few of these guys develop into impact players on defense that would be good too or have to play because of injury or something...  However, I think April had a key influence on the draft board this year and we'll see if it pays off before any other team catches on... 

It's risky because you have to rely on UFA's to fill other spots for positions of need on your roster but might be worth it, particularly when we have to "win now"

I know we are trying to move past the Jason Peters trade, but I couldn't resist comparing how each of the FO's handled these disgruntled player issues since they happened almost simultaneously.  I know that Peters didn't say anything last year which caused a lot of the challenge for Buffalo last season.  However, a bold statement like this one really is telling how they are running their organization.

Link

Eagles respond to Brown’s trade request

 

By PFW staff

April 20, 2009

 

Eagles CB Sheldon Brown has gone public with his desire to be traded, and his team is not happy about it.

 

Brown announced his unhappiness with the lack of a new contract. He signed an extension in 2004 that went through the ’12 season — his current deal — and says he wishes to be traded if a new deal isn’t signed.

 

The Eagles feel Brown not only mishandled the situation but that he is being paid fairly. The team issued a statement Monday:

 

 

“It’s very unfortunate and counterproductive that Sheldon has chosen to go public with his feelings about his situation. After thorough evaluation by himself and discussions with his family and agents, he chose to accept an extension of his rookie contract early that provided his family financial security for the rest of his life. It removed any concerns about health or performance that all other players in his draft class had to worry about. He has four years remaining on that contract and, after taking the signing bonus and his first two years of salary into account, we feel that Sheldon is being paid fairly. Focusing only on a player’s salary for a given year is not a valid analysis.

 

“There have been league MVPs, Super Bowl champion quarterbacks, and perennial Pro Bowlers who have been in a similar situation. All of their teams have required them to wait until their contract expired or there was only one year remaining before any adjustment took place. It is only in the most extraordinary, in fact, less than a handful of circumstances in the last ten years that any players two new years into a contract with three years left have been adjusted. We don’t think this qualifies as an extraordinary circumstance.

 

“Sheldon’s comments under the circumstances actually serve to devalue him in a trade if we were willing to consider it, which we are not.”

Since there has been so much animosity floating on BR and other blogs about the Jason Peters situation, I wanted to see what everyone thought about their most disliked Bills players in recent history.  Personally I don't think it is fair to do this pool without doing one that gives the most like player, etc.  However this might be a little therapeutic for some and telling for others how the Peters situation mounts up against some other player shortfalls in recent history.