Let’s start with the positives this week against the Jets.
On defense, it looks like Donte Whitner and Paul Posluszny have a good chance to be back on the field. On offense, it looks like the no huddle offense might be no more. These are a few major steps towards making the Bills start to look like a legitimate NFL team again. Too bad it won’t be enough.
Trent Edwards was asked if his team needs to play with more of a sense of urgency this week. His answer was very telling. He said no. He feels that the good teams, the one’s that win all the time, don’t need to play with any more urgency week to week. Newsflash Trent. You are not on a good team. Your team does not win week after week. Your team’s effort against Miami and Cleveland was well below acceptable. I see no reason to believe that this week the Bills will all of a sudden find the fire that has been lacking.
The Bills will be running into an angry Jets team, coming off back to back tough losses. Their head coach Rex Ryan is the anti Dick Jauron. He’s emotional. He talks a little trash. He actually encourages his team, to do so. He also seems to know how to try to push the buttons on his team to get them to play with some fire. If you listened to Ryan after the last minute loss to the Dolphins, you know he will be barking at his team all week to make up for what they did in Miami.
Watch Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez Sunday. While he will make some mistake, you will probably come from the game feeling like this kid has more confidence in his ability in 5 NFL starts than Edwards does in his 3 years with the Bills. You will see a defense that does not sit back and let the opponent dictate the tempo of a game, but one that actually attacks and forces the issue. And you will see a head coach that appears, on the sidelines, to be engaged in the process and aware of the circumstances of the game.
I refuse to pick the Bills to win games in the AFC East until they prove me wrong. I refuse to pick them to win any game on the road until they prove they can travel away from the Ralph and win. Heck, right now, after what I saw Sunday against the Browns, I refuse to pick the Bills to win until they prove otherwise.
Prediction
Jets 27
Bills 6
Mike’s Season record (3-2) it’s sad that I can’t even pick the Bills to win a home game against a horrible Browns team. But that is what this franchise has fallen to in 2009. Maybe we will all be stunned Sunday at the Meadowlands. I am not holding my breath.
