After Being Routed By Redskins, Bills In Deeper Trouble

I waited for the "new look" Buffalo Bills with great anticipation Friday night with the preseason opener against the Washington Redskins.

That anticipation turned into desperation as the Bills were trounced by Donovan McNabb and the Redskins 42-17.

Sure, it was just an exhibition game but with Buffalo running backs Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch going down with injuries, the Bills offense took two serious blows.

Jackson suffered a broken hand and is out through the remainder of the preseason, and probably longer, and Lynch suffered an ankle injury and expected to miss significant time, maybe into the regular season.

If the Bills were going to use a "three-headed" monster with Jackson, Lynch and rookie C.J. Spiller, that plan has been wiped out for a while. I don't think Buffalo was able to use the trio the way they wanted to, even if they had intended to Friday night, because Jackson went down first followed by Lynch.

If they all happen to make it to the regular season opener, how will they play with very little practice?

I also learned that quarterback Trent Edwards hasn't changed much. Granted, the Buffalo offensiveline was missing three starters, but Edwards is still the same. Dump passes...Captain Checkdown at his finest.

Ryan Fitzpatrick seemed to have a better grasp of the game and was able to generate 14 points. He didn't have the "deer-in-headlight" look to him.

I wonder how Tim Tebow would look like right now in a Buffalo uniform, or Brady Quinn, or Jimmy Clausen. OR ANYONE ELSE!!!!

Washington's DeAngelo Hall's 33-yard pickoff of Edwards' pass in the second quarter shouldn't have happened. Edwards scrambled and tried to force a pass to Lee Evans instead of just throwing it out of bounds. It's a rookie mistake.

Another area of concern was the secondary. McNabb, in his first game as a Redskin, looked good and picked apart the much-hyped Buffalo defensive backfield.

While McNabb is a top-flight quarterback, Washington Rex Grossman looked like Superman against the Buffalo defense.  He had time to throw and completed passes with ease.

The Bills' secondary my look good because they are practicing against Buffalo's quarterbacks.

Buffalo linebacker 2009 top pick Aaron Maybin was once again invisible and his roughing the passer penalty enabled the Redskins to keep a drive alive and it turned into a touchdown.

It's time for the Bills to drop him. He's a first-round bust. Let's release him and give another player a chance. Cut your losses now. Buffalo is starting fresh in 2010 so get rid of the dead weight now.

But as far as the future goes, my optimism for the Bills took a severe hit. The loss of Jackson and Lynch is HUGE, Trent Edwards is the same and the secondary is over-rated.

Buffalo has three weeks to turn this mess around. Realistically, it may take at least three years.