Why did the Bills lose Monday night when they played well enough to beat the Patriots?  Because Leodis McKelvin didn’t play smart football, or he wasn’t told to play smart football.  The smart football play would be to either take a knee when you’re two yards deep in the end zone on a kickoff with a minute left and a 5 point lead.  The smart football play, if you chose to return the kick, is to go down the minute you get hit.  Instead, McKelvin decided to fight for an meaningless extra yard.  While he did that, the Patriots stood him up, pulled out the ball, recovered the fumble and won the game.  Its that simple.  If McKelvin goes down, the Bills likely win the game.  Or at least, make New England drive the field after a punt.  McKelvin should have been told to go down, or he should have known to do that. That’s the smart football play.  He didn’t make it, and the Bills lost.  Smart plays win football games.

Sean Ryan

Lost in all of the opening weekend NFL action, was a touchdown scored by a Western New Yorker. 

Buffalo’s Sean Ryan, a St. Joe’s grad, scored for the Kansas City Chiefs in their game against the Ravens.  The Chiefs are Ryan’s 5th NFL team, but he may have found a home.  He is listed as the team’s starting tight end.  Ryan has some familiarity with KC’s new coach, Todd Haley.  Ryan was in Dallas when Haley coached there. 

The Chiefs may have a long season, but it looks like Ryan is part of their future.

I keep waiting for the dust to settle, before blogging about the Buffalo Bills recent moves.

The problem is–the dust doesn’t settle.  The Bills kicked up more of it Monday, with the news that starting left tackle Langston Walker was cut.

It was another stunner, at least in terms of timing.  In that respect, it’s a lot like last Friday’s firing of  Turk Schonert. 

If you told me after last season that the Bills would replace Turk Schonert with Alex Van Pelt, and release Langston Walker, I could live with that.  But if you told me they’d make both moves just days before the season opener?   That’s a problem.

Replacing Walker with Demetrius Bell might work out for the Bills.  Bell has demonstrated flashes of talent in preseason and his combination of size and athleticism is rare at the NFL level.  But why not commit to Bell back in January or February, and get him all the reps?  Why trade away Jason Peters if you’re not sold on Walker as his replacement?

I can accept that the Bills were not happy with Walker’s preseason performance, and I can accept that salaries are a factor–they always are in professional sports.  But this is a move that needs to be made way in advance of preseason, let alone the regular season opener. 

I’m excited about putting the offense in the hands of Alex Van Pelt.  I think Van Pelt is an innovative thinker who is not afraid to take chances and has a healthy dose of self confidence about his offensive philosophy.  I also believe he has a good working relationship with Trent Edwards. 

But ideally, this move should have been made back in January or February.  Many in the Bills  organization, including the owner, expressed reservations about the Bills offensive struggles following the 2008 season.  Why not make the change then, put Van Pelt in place, and give him a fighting chance to develop a coherent offensive strategy for the team.

The upheaval at One Bills Drive in the past week can only foster a sense of uncertainty and doubt in the minds of Bills players, as they get set to start a  new season.  Their challenge, to open the season in Foxboro against a Patriots team favored by many to win the Super Bowl, has been made even greater by the recent moves.

I can’t wait to see how it plays out Monday night in New England.

Williamsville native Dan Gronkowski was cut by the Lions Saturday.  But he’s still staying in Detroit.  Sunday, the tight end was signed to the Lions practice squad.  Gronkowski was the team’s 7th round draft pick.  The Lions kept two veteran tight ends on the 53 man roster, along with rookie first round pick Brandon Pettigrew.  There were reports in the Motor City that the Jets had put a claim in on Gronkowski, but couldn’t add him because of other waiver moves.

It was mostly a tough weekend for WNY natives.  Clymer’s Jehuu Caulcrick was cut the the Jets, Amherst’s Mark Rubin was cut by the Rams, Cheektowaga’s Antwon Burton also by the Rams, and Albion’s Derek Kinder was let go earlier in the week by the Bears.

**UPDATE:  Caulcrick was signed to the Jets practice squad on Monday.

There are still some WNYers wearing NFL uniforms.  Corey Graham (Buffalo) is a Bears DB, Sean Ryan (Buffalo) is a Chiefs TE and Brett Kern(Grand Island) is the Broncos punter.

Plus, UB grads Jamey Richard (Colts) and Trevor Scott (Raiders) are both earning NFL paychecks.

While Bills fans burn about the awful preseason performance of the offense, the same anger and disappointment does not exist in the Bills locker room.  Doing interviews on Monday, it struck me how little stock the players put in what happens during the preseason.  Most said they weren’t worried, and maintained their confidence in the offensive plan.  Now some, especially Lee Evans, talked about their disappointment in the performance against the Steelers.  Lee said it left a “salty taste” in his mouth.  But he pointed out, as did others like Fred Jackson, the reasons why it  happened.  Specifically, they say no real game plannning contributes mightily to the on-field struggles.  That’would never happen in the regular season.  Trent Edwards pointed out that Monday was the first day the scout team gave the offense some looks at the upcoming opponent, although in this case it was New England.  Some pointed to the fact that the coaches were trying out new plays and formations, and using new players in new roles.

The players have a point.  Those are all factors that contribute to success.  So it’s to be expected that there will be some effect on the field.  But none of those factors explain missed assignments, bad throws, drops, missed blocks, and turnovers…all things we’ve seen in the first four games.

So while Bills fans have a right to be angry and disappointed…it should be tempered with the fact that it is the preseason.

Let me say right at the outset–I don’t know how good the Buffalo Bills are going to be this season.  I honestly don’t know how much better they are than a year ago, when they won seven games.

But I know this–I do not base my evaluation on the Bills on their preseason performances so far.  Not the mildly impressive showing against the Bears two weeks ago.  Not the abysmal showing at Green Bay last Saturday.

The chicken littles are convinced the sky is falling on One Bills Drive, because the Bills laid an egg at Lambeau Field.  They are ready to give up on Edwards, fire the head coach now, and scrap the no-huddle offense.  Or maybe Edwards should call his own plays in the no-huddle.  Or maybe the Bills should switch to a 3-4 defense.  Or maybe…maybe…

Maybe everyone should relax.  These games do not count.  The fact that the starting offense has yet to find the end zone in its’ first four quarters of play (over three preseason games) is something to be concerned with.  But it does not mean all is lost.

I go back to what former Bills LB London Fletcher told me once about preseason games.  “They don’t count, but they matter.”  I think it’s the best assesment of NFL preseason football I’ve ever heard.

What matters is that Trent Edwards is still working through his issues, still finding the fine line between being careful with the football — avoiding turnovers, and fitting the ball into tight spots downfield.  It’s what separates great NFL quarterbacks from mediocre ones.  I’m not sure Edwards is great, but I think he’s better than mediocre.  And I’m OK with giving him a couple of more preseason games to find his comfort level.

What matters is that the Bills have not established a strong running game yet in three preseason games.  Neither the starters nor the backups have shown they can run the ball consistently.

What matters is that the newly constituted offensive line has much more work to do to become a cohesive, effective unit.  The rookie guards are undergoing a baptism by fire this preseason.  It can only make them better when the games count.

What ALSO matters, is that the Bills are working through the real business of preseason–finding the right 53-players to put on the roster.

I submit that TE Shawn Nelson, TE Jonathan Stupar, LB Nick Harris, RB Xavier Omon, CB Ellis Lankster and DE Chris Ellis have opened some eyes on the coaching staff with their play in preseason games.  I want to see more of them.  I also want to see DE Aaron Maybin and FS Jairus Byrd in the final two preseason games, to see what kind of contributions they might be able to make.

Watching an NFL roster take shape in preseason, is a lot like the old saw about watching sausage being made—you don’t want to do it–you’ll lose your taste for sausage.  Unfortunately, preseason football is all we have for a couple of more weeks.  There are times when it’s not for the faint of heart.

The Bills have a lot more work to do to be ready for September 14th.  They have three weeks left to do it.  It’s foolish to make sweeping decisions about quarterbacks, coaches, or other key players based on preseason performances so far.

The Buffalo Bills are in the final days of their Rochester training camp, and they’re four weeks away from the season opener.  And there’s still no sign of first round draft pick Aaron Maybin.

National NFL reporters speculated last week that Maybin was days away from signing.  But that’s not the sense I get from top level Bills decision makers.  Privately, they say they are disappointed in the delay in bringing Maybin into camp, and they’re not happy with the slow response to their proposals from Maybin’s agent.

One source told me that Maybin’s negotiators waited almost three weeks before they responded at all to a Bills contract offer.  That response just came back last week, and obviously there’s still some work to be done.

Maybin sits behind 49ers draft pick Michael Crabtree and that’s obviously why Maybin’s negotiations have stalled.  But there are more than enough comparable first round contracts now for Maybin to know what the market is.  He’s about one week away from damaging his chances of being a contributor in his rookie year. 

It’s time for Maybin to get to practice.  Waiting and hoping for Michael Crabtree’s contract to inflate his value is a pointless exercise now.  His agent is doing him a disservice by keeping him out much longer.  And at the very least, he can keep the lines of communicaton open.

By now we know that Michael Vick is a Philadelphia Eagle, and that he’s been in Philadelphia since Tuesday morning, working out details of his contract.  So much for all the Vick sightings and internet rumor mongering about the controversial NFL quarterback coming to Buffalo.

But I can’t help but wonder if football fans, sports fans, citizens will some day realize the distinction between reporting and passing along gossip.  There is a difference.  There’s also a difference between sources, and people who pass along information.

When I hear or read internet denizens talk about sources, I want to know who those sources are.  Are they people in position to know?  Are they decision makers, or those close to the principals involved in a particular story?  Or by sources, do these bloggers and talk show experts mean other internet bloggers, or other media members.  There’s a big difference.

I understand we are in a new world of information dissemination, and I welcome the new technology.  I acknowledge that those of us in the world of sports media have to adjust our practices and be prepared to report as quickly as we can to changing stories and different angles of stories.  We have to adapt, and we do every day.

But what we don’t want to do, is change the principles of good reporting.  We have to check and re-check leads, verify information, and wait until we’re sure we’re right before we report things.  That’s journalism.  If it means a blogger gets the information first once in a while, so be it.

The Michael Vick rumors of the last few days were brought to you by the same people who brought you the despicable Ralph Wilson rumors of a few months ago. 

In the end, media consumers have to figure out whom they trust.  Do you trust someone with a computer who reads everybody else with a computer and an opinion?  Can you wait a little while until bona fide trained journalists get the story right?  Do you feel burned, or at least a little silly, when you buy into unfounded rumors about Vick coming to the Bills, or Ralph Wilson’s passing?   Do you really have time to waste on such unfounded rumors and reacting to those rumors?

It’s up to you to decide where to get your information from.  If you prefer unsubstantiated internet reports and gossip reported on talk radio—knock yourself out.

There are more reports, now from NFL.com, that the Bills are interested in Michael Vick.  That goes along with all the Vick airport sightings by everybody’s uncle, brother, best friend and neighbor.  Everything is possible, but I just don’t see him coming here and I think the reasoning behind the reports is wrong.

Most of the national reports list the Bills for one main reason:  Well, they were willing to sign Terrell Owens.  That’s a major stretch if you ask me.  Yes, Owens brings a marquee value to the team, despite all of his perceived issues.  But none of those issues have ever been legal in nature.  That’s the difference between T.O. and Vick.  If the Bills are interested, I don’t believe it would have anything to do with Owens, or some perceived attitude among the front office that any renegade is welcome.

The NFL.com report said the Bills are “sniffing around about backup quarterbacks.”  If you’ve seen Ryan Fitzpatrick you know why.  But again, its a stretch to link that to Vick.  They may be sniffing, but that likely smells like Brian Griese.  A veteran backup who could relive Edwards and win a few games would be a nice addition.

So don’t get too worked up over what the national media or your neighbor’s friend who works at the airport says.  I just don’t see Michael Vick in a Bills uniform.  He doesn’t strike me as the reliable backup/mentor type for Edwards, and I think that’s what the Bills may be looking for.

Early highlight of the Hall of Fame ceremony is Bills fans chanting “Free Marshawn” when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was introduced.  Only Bills fans would be smart enough to have that ready at just the right time. We all laughed in the sports office when we figured out what they were chanting.  Way to go Bills fans.