In a somewhat shocking move, the Buffalo Bills released Trent Edwards today. This is perhaps one of the least productive moves in the history of the NFL. The Bills have been at the bottom of the AFC East for a long time now, being constantly lost in the depths of a division that includes the New England Patriots, the New York Jets, and the Miami Dolphins. Now, even when the Jets and the Dolphins were nothing to talk about, the Patriots were doing things like winning Super Bowls and going 16-0. But despite that, the Dolphins managed to go from 1-15 in 2007 to 11-5 in 2008 while becoming the Division Champs. So, clearly, it is possible to turn around in that or any division.
But the Bills have had years and years to try to contend, and have not succeeded at all. The closest they came was a few years back, when they had a pretty respectable defense (some may even argue that it isn't that bad nowadays either). But their offense has not been great despite high draft picks and a handful of more-than-capable running backs and above average receivers. Their line was never as bad as, say, the Pittsburgh Steelers', and they won two Super Bowls. The truth is that in the NFL today, you need a good quarterback to really contend. Lets look at the last five Champion QBs:
1. Drew Brees (XLIV)
2. Ben Roethlisberger (XL and XLIII)
3. Eli Manning (XLII)
4. Peyton Manning (XLI)
5. and of course, Tom Brady (XXXVI, XXXVII, and XXXIX)
And now the Super Bowl-losing teams' QBs:
1. Peyton Manning (XLIV)
2. Kurt Warner (XLIII)
3. Tom Brady (XLII)
4. Rex Grossman (XLI)
5. Matt Hasselbeck (XL)
Of those eight QBs (Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both won and lost), you could make a case for at least five of them to become Hall of Famers. Rex Grossman was the only real fluke, but he played a very good season, hence reiterating the point that you need a good QB to win in this league. So, what do the Bills do? They refuse to draft a real QB. They've been trying Trent Edwards for a few years, but they were obviously fed up with him last year when they ceded his starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick. This offseason, instead of getting a good QB in the first round, they spend a pick on C.J. Spiller. Yes, he was a great running back in college, but they already have a very capable duo in Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. So they spent the offseason with a "quarterback controversy," allowing both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards to do their best to try and win the job. They said they were set with Trent Edwards.
Then before just the third game of the season, they benched Edwards for Fitzpatrick. After Fitzpatrick had a very respectable performance against the Patriots, they decided to stick with him as the starter. That was a very good decision for the team and its fans. But clearly Fitzpatrick is not the long-term solution. If he had been, they wouldn't have given the job to Edwards again after he was outplayed by Fitzpatrick last season. But instead of keeping Edwards around, they decided to cut him. Not trade, despite the fact that teams like Jacksonville and Arizona are in need of an experienced backup, but simply cut. He was set to make less than 2 million this season; now they will pay him that to not be on the team. How does that help in any way? What happens if Fitzpatrick begins to play poorly? What was the purpose of getting nothing out of Trent Edwards for the rest of the season, despite paying him money while he's not on the roster? These are all very legitimate questions that probably have very poor answers.
The Bills are in bad shape. They will most likely finish as one of the worst teams in the league, and yet again at the bottom of their division. They would be wise to realize that they have been making mistakes for years, and to make a play for a new QB soon, whether it be this season or during the offseason. If they could land a seasoned veteran that will help the team out (either through a trade or free agency) that may be an annual solution, but they need to find a young guy that they can put their trust in for years to come, and they need to do it quickly.
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