Buffalo Bills: It's About Time We Hit Rock Bottom

As we hit the beginning of Week 10, the NFL is still wide open, but there are definitely some guarantees regarding several teams. The top of the standings are full of big-time quarterback-led teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

It is evident that these teams are poised for potential runs to become Super Bowl champs, while the Buffalo Bills are sitting by themselves in the perennial basement of the NFL at 0-8. It's hard to say it, but this is exactly what the Bills need. They've reached a point in their existence where their next move is the most crucial move when it comes to deciding the fate of football in Western New York.

Everyone who follows the NFL knows that long gone are the Buffalo glory days of the triple threat of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed. Instead of big-time players at each position, we have dealt with the likes of Kelly Holcomb, Travis Henry and Peerless Price.

It would seem that the quality of play and lack of talent of the aforementioned players would be enough to warrant a top five draft pick, but unfortunately this has not been the case. Buffalonians and other Bills fans have had to deal with the inevitable 6-10 and 7-9 seasons in recent years.

The Bills have found themselves owning one of the top five Picks in the NFL Draft just once over the past decade. With the fourth overall draft pick, the Bills chose Mike Williams, consensus First-team All-American right tackle, out of The University of Texas. Mike Williams showed some promising signs as a rookie, but soon earned the bust label. The fact that Mike Williams never lived up to the hype in Buffalo leads directly to the reason the Bills have been so futile throughout the entire decade: The NFL Draft.

The purpose behind the NFL draft is to allow the worst teams in the league to become better by owning a higher draft selection. While many teams have succeeded at this task, the Bills have done the exact opposite. The majority of teams are able to draft impact players that truly make a difference on any given Sunday, but the Bills never seem to pick "that guy."

Some players that the Bills hoped could be that guy have not panned out the way they would have liked. Actually, the majority of their draft picks have made little or no positive impact out on the football field. When the Bills draft players like Erik Flowers, John McCargo, Aaron Maybin, Donte Whitner and J.P. Losman in the first round, they make a recipe for disaster.

Hindsight is 20-20 of course, but it's obvious that none of these players have or ever will amount to anything not only on the Bills, but the entire National Football League. But in their own dysfunctional kind of way, they have made the Bills the lovable losers they are today, and for that I must thank them. If it wasn't for their complete and utter lack of skill and determination, the Bills would not be first in line for the 2011 NFL Draft.

For the first time since the Bills' 3-13 season in 2001, they have finally hit rock bottom. But they are hitting it in style with some of the most entertaining football Bills fans have seen in years. Ryan Fitzpatrick has sparked this offense with his gutsy, never give-up attitude. The thing that amazes me most about Fitz is that he willingly runs down field in order to make an attempt at a block and refuses to back down from anyone.

But in all reality, Fitzpatrick is not the answer. He cannot offer what the Bills need, and what the Bills need is a savior. There is only one man for the job, and that is Stanford's redshirt sophomore phenom, Andrew Luck. If Luck declares for the NFL Draft, he will most certainly be the No. 1 overall selection of 2011, and if the Bills continue their losing way, Buffalo can welcome Mr. Luck as their messiah with open arms. I know I will.