MVN - Most Valuable Network

King Edwards…

Strikingly absent in this year’s Buffalo Bills season (not counting losses) is the divide that crippled the city last year – the dreaded Quarterback controversy.  Finally, the Bills have their man - Trent Edwards. 

Edwards has led the team to a 4-0 start while Lossman has led the league in growing one of the filthiest beards imaginable.  We all knew the team would be good this year – check that, we all knew the team had the potential to be good but few of us were actually certain that the team would deliver.  Fewer still could have predicted a 4-0 start.  While in my opinion a lot of this new found success can be attributed to some off-season acquisitions on the defense, we can’t dismiss Edward’s role.

                After week 2 ESPN put out a list of the top 5 young quarterbacks in the league.  (Below is a link to the article)  Obviously Edwards was absent but now that we’re moving into week 5, I’m wondering if maybe he should be on that list.  The five youngsters they listed as the up-and-coming superstars, the heir to Peyton and Brady’s mantle are: Eli, Romo, Big Ben, Rivers and Cutler.  Now I understand why Eli and Ben are on that list – they each own an impressive, pimp-sized Super Bowl ring.  And despite Romo’s tendency to “fumble” in big games, simply watching him play you can understand why he’s considered top tier material.  However, I’ll play devil’s advocate here and ask what exactly, besides impressive numbers, have Cutler and Rivers shown to be considered two of the top Quarterbacks in the league?  Cutler choked against Kansas City, the 29^th ranked defense in the league, throwing 2 picks and only 1 TD.  And Rivers is one of the streakiest players in the NFL.  (I know I’ll get lambasted for this comment, especially considering my acceptance of Eli as one of the top QB’s but hell, that’s the point of this blog, to get some discussion going!) 

                In my opinion, what makes a great quarterback is the ability to make plays when it is absolutely necessary.  And in that regard, Trent Edwards has shown that he not only can, but he will.  In the four games the Bills have played and won this season, Edwards has led the team down the field for 3 separate 4^th quarter game-winning drives.  This is what separates a good quarterback from a great one.  And this is why Tom Brady is not only in the top echelons of the greats, but arguably IS the best that’s ever played.  Yes, his numbers are solid, disgustingly so last year, but in my opinion it’s his ability under pressure that’s paramount.  And regardless if you hate the bastard, you can’t argue that he’s a slippery son of a bitch that makes plays when it’s necessary.   And before you try and say Brady is only as good as he is because of the tutelage of Belichick let me only mention the ass whooping Miami laid on that hoodie-wearing D-bag in Week 3.  On top of that, look at his record sans Brady – 42 wins, 58 losses.  That’s a 42% winning percentage, hardly as intimidating as his 82% win percentage with him.  The best thing that ever happened to Belichick was the night Brady’s parents got down and dirty and conceived that dimple-chinned phenom.

                Now I’m not comparing Edwards to Brady.  I’ve actually heard some people try and make that leap, but in my opinion, it is way too early for that.  If anything, I’ll go ahead and compare him to Big Ben during his rookie year.  He’s careful with the ball, makes few mistakes and makes plays when he has to.  He’s not going to blow up your fantasy league but he’ll continue winning as long as the defense stays healthy. 

                What’s your take on this list and should Edwards be on it?       

                  http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3594747

Holy Rams

Rather than offer an introduction, I think I’ll hop right in and discuss today’s game.  Introductions will follow some other time…

Watching the Bills in the first half, I was a little worried. Not counting the initial bomb to Evans, the offense was impotent: Edwards repeatedly airing it out to Hardy, only to have the pigskin slip through his hands, Lynch colliding with the Rams defensive line for little gain, a series of three and outs.  That wasn’t completely surprising though.  I’ve come to expect a sluggish Bills offense.

What was alarming is the way the Rams offense moved against the thus-far daunting Bills defense.  I understand that Steven Jackson is one of the better backs in the NFL and that he’s finally re-gaining some of his momentum, but I expected more from our D.  This did not look like the same defense that held the Raiders and the Jacksonville duo of Jones-Drew and Taylor to 98 yards, and Seattle to only 85 yards.  With all said and done, Jackson amassed 110 yards, including one TD and the rookie Wide Receiver Donnie Avery cashed in for a 37 yard TD.

Let’s disregard Jackson for a minute and look at the Ram’s passing game.  In a stunner, Bulger was sat and Trent Green was resurrected to the starting position.  Personally, I thought Green was forced into retirement from a series of severe concussions so when I heard he was starting, I wasn’t worried.  But after watching him move the ball, I’ll admit I expected the worse.  I mean, what would be more deflating than losing to the unarguably worst team in the NFL?

But after halftime, the Bills emerged a different team.  Freddie Jackson ignited the game with his scurrying TD, a goddamn knife slicing through blue and gold jerseys.  Then Green, surely suffering from a bout of dizziness, threw directly to Greer who sauntered in for a score.  It was all over from there, the Bills a run-away Escalade running over the Rams defense with a series of bruising runs by Lynch and deep connections between Edwards and Evans.

4-0.  It sounds good to say. Especially with the Broncos falling to the Chiefs, the Raiders giving the Charges a hell of a time and Jacksonville claiming an Overtime victory.

That’s if for now - I’ll re-work this a bit later but an ice-cold beer and an intense NFC match-up is calling me away.  Who knows, maybe I’ll head downtown to witness some of the post-game celebrations that are surely exploding on Chippewa.  I’ll just make sure to look both ways before I cross the street….

To say I assumed the worst - that their history of perpetually letting their fans down and losing to a supposed - is a stretch.  But I was worried.

Well, it has been fun…

Hey Guys,

Unfortunately, I will be stepping down as the writer for the Bills and Sabres pages here at MVN.com. It’s been a lot of fun writing and interacting with you readers over the past few years, but it’s time for me to move on. I’ve officially graduated from Northeastern University and have accepted a full-time position with Messenger Post Newspapers.

I really appreciate those of you who have taken the time to read my thoughts on the Bills and Sabres over the years. I will continue to be a Bills and Sabres fan of course, but I just won’t be writing about them for now.

Thanks again,
Dan Goldman

Easterbrook tears into ex-Bills GM Donahoe

While watching draft coverage on ESPN this weekend, I cringed when Chris Mortensen found a way to bring up former Bills GM Tom Donahoe.

I believe it was after the Patriots took quarterback Kevin O’Connell. Mort said that he talked to Donahoe before the draft and the worst decision maker in NFL history had the QB in his top three. At that point, I decided O’Connell would accomplish little in this league.

The Bills receive a lot of flak on ESPN and the NFL Network for being out of the playoffs since 1999. Yet few people point to the reason for this. So, I was pleased to read that ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook pointed this out in his Tuesday Morning Quarterback: 2008 Draft Review.

Here is the relevent excerpt:

The Bills are still reeling from the final two years of bumbling former president and general manager Tom Donahoe; his 2004 and 2005 drafts produced just one player expected to start in 2008: receiver Lee Evans. Donahoe was also the genius who let Pat Williams go, though Bills owner Ralph Wilson strongly wished to re-sign the Ticonderoga-class defensive tackle. Donahoe told Wilson that Williams was washed up; since being shown the door at Buffalo, Williams has been voted to two Pro Bowls. Note that after being shown the door himself in 2006, Donahoe has not worked in football.

Bottom line for a web of Bills trades over the past year: Buffalo surrendered the complaining Willis McGahee and the fading Takeo Spikes for Trent Edwards, Marcus Stroud and a late draft choice. That’s the kind of sharp management decision making the Bills lacked under Donahoe. But note, Buffalo has not made the playoffs since abandoning red, white and American flag blue — not to put too fine a point on it, but the single most successful color scheme in world history — for its current hideous livery based on a hue TMQ calls Rusting Russian Dreadnaught Aft Bulkhead Cyanic. Plus the new Bills road uniforms look like toddlers’ pajamas. Please Bills, simply return to your handsome old unis. No questions will be asked.

Thank you Mr. Easterbrook. I know Mort and his NFL Live colleagues would never point out this fact. Mort is too busy kissing Donahoe’s behind to get “inside information.” If the Bills had the Chiefs draft this year, Mort would’ve ripped it.

On the plus side, Mike Mayock from the NFL Net and ESPN’s Todd McShay have both been praising the 2008 Bills draft.