Reasonable people can argue about whether George W. Bush has been a successful president, but from a Bills’ perspective, the answer is clear: the team has missed the playoffs every year of GWB’s presidency. I’m not blaming him, per se, but he did find time to get involved in baseball’s steroids scandal. Couldn’t he have helped out the Bills a bit?

The last time the Bills made the playoffs, I’m guessing that a lot of you were teenagers. Others, like our NYCBBB co-founders, were freshly scrubbed and still optimistic (well, maybe not Soreco). And Marv Levy…he was already pushing 80.

Given this combination of facts, it’s easy to question just why the Bills turned to someone of Marv’s “considerable maturity” to turn around the Bills’ situation. Did it really make sense for the Bills to ask Levy to learn a new job in his ninth decade?

I’m an unapologetic Marv fan, so it’s probably no surprise that I believe it was a good move. It wasn’t fair to expect Marv to hang on for a decade. But, in two years, he drafted some decent guys (it appears), and helped clean up the mess left behind by Donahoe. It’s easy to feel good about the Bills again, and for that I give him great credit.

Now, the Bills are in the market for a new GM and a new offensive coordinator (Mike Martz, anyone? Doubtful.) I believe the GM spot will be hard to fill with a proven winner. These days, the glamour coaches and executives tend to flock to glamour teams and, especially, to warm weather sites. Whose prospects are better, the Bills or the Fish? Yet, can you imagine Parcells taking the Bills job?

If I’m right, which happens every so often if only by luck, it means the Bills will need to identify an emerging executive talent. Someone who can take charge of this team and create something that’s been missing for far too long: a winning mindset, personality and expectation. I hope they find him…fast.

That’s the present and future. What about the past? What kind of season was it?

To me, it was like a pretty good slice of meat between two moldy pieces of bread. The first three and last three games stunk (the first game almost tragically so). The middle of the season, admittedly against some weak competition much of the time, was quite entertaining – especially given the Bills’ ability to compete despite an overwhelming number of injuries.

I’m also gratified that for the first time in what seems like ages, I’m not forced to choose our punter as the team’s MVP – although the field goal kicker would be a good choice given the team’s aversion to the end zone.

It’s tempting to go with Marshawn, but in the end I’d choose Jason Peters as my MVP. He really emerged, helped open up the left side running lanes all year long, and proved his worth when he couldn’t play!

Beyond all that, I thought it was a really fun year at CJ’s and McFadden’s, not that I was able to venture to McFadden’s all that often with a three-year-old in tow. But, I got glowing reports from the front lines.

See you at the draft, everyone.

I didn’t see the game after the first quarter…did I miss anything?

Just joking, unfortunately. And unfortunately, I’m finding myself in the odd position of almost hoping global warming is imminent: how else to ensure that our rookie QB and his heat-loving receivers don’t have to play in inclement weather? Everyone, break out your aerosol cans and spray away! We need blistering sunshine.

Buffalo Bills that can’t play in bad weather? Oh, the indignity….

Trent Edwards had some of the rookie meltdown we all knew would come at some point – albeit in a Super Bowl-type circumstance in which he was pulling out the stops to get the Bills back in the game. But his receivers did him absolutely no favors. I think these guys were putting butter on their fingers instead of stick ’em. And YOU, Lee Evans…you played in Wisconsin, for goodness sake. At least I can understand former Hurricane Roscoe Parrish.

Two games against decent teams don’t tell the whole story. But for now, it appears that: 1) our offense, running backs aside, don’t like the cold wet stuff, and 2) our run defense falls apart when circumstances dictate the other team to run it up the gut.

A quick comment about the others guys. I have no animosity against the Giants, their quasi-New York status and Super Bowl history notwithstanding. But, they reek – reek – of a team that loses in the first round of the playoffs unless they catch a break. That Coughlin could (with a straight face) go for it on fourth down, down by four points…I just didn’t get it. They’re lucky that didn’t cost them the game on a day like this one.

On a positive note, how cool was it that Kevin Everett showed up? The key, it appears, is to have him address the team before every quarter, since the first quarter seemed to get our boys revved up.

Plus, we need to always play with the wind at our backs. That helps, too.

I’m making this a quick column, in honor of the Christmas holiday this week. I hope everyone’s week is great, and that no one gets stopped by bad weather. As the Bills could tell you, that’s no fun.

Hope to see everyone one last time in 2007 at Calico Jack’s or McFadden’s for game 16 — .500 or bust!

The Dolphins won. Cutesy-pie child star Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant (don’t look at me).

You can’t count on anything anymore.

But, unfortunately, you can. You can count on the Bills not making the playoffs again this year.

This year feels a little different to me, though. We’ve all heard it before, but finally, the Bills might be reaching a turning point for the better.

For one, the team isn’t wretched, even though its victories are mainly against less-than-stellar opposition (so far). Special teams remain strong. The defense is young and aggressive (albeit with a few holes). We have stud running backs. We might finally – finally – have a QB in place. We’ll be ridding ourselves of an offensive coordinator I never liked. We have a decent amount of cap money and a steady hand at head coach. All eight home games sold out this year, unlike the 2006 season.

Perhaps above all, we have guys who overcame a tremendous amount of adversity together. I really believe that counts for something, even in a league where guys don’t always get to play together for too long. A lot of these guys should be around the Bills for a while.

It might sound odd for me to be so upbeat after a shutout loss. Clearly, Edwards and some of the other warm-weather boys need to learn how to play in the snow and cold. But, the truth is, the Bills aren’t really a playoff-type team yet. And it isn’t like the Browns lit them up for 30.

I’m also upbeat because Jim Kelly is publicly indicating he knows something we don’t – that there’s a plan in place to keep the Bills where they belong, in Western New York.

Finally, I was really happy to see the huge crowd at Calico Jack’s for the Browns game. I know McFadden’s was nuts, as always.

I know the Giants game might cause a lot of you to watch the game at home (or even at the Stadium, if you’re traveling to WNY for Christmas). Let’s all get together one more time for the Eagles game…and look forward to a brighter 2008.

Overheard conversation in the McFadden’s Men’s Room this past weekend, by NYCBBB stalwart Ron:

“Dude, I am in the greatest bar in the world! I am in New York City…..everyone here is rooting for Buffalo!!……Dude, they’re all cheering like The Bills won The Super Bowl!!!”

Damn straight. Tell all your friends about McFadden’s and CJs. And watch out for those Men’s Room conversations…you never know who’s listening.

Beating the Dolphins remains one of a Bills’ fans sweetest pleasures. Helping them go 0-13 (and counting?) is even sweeter. I only wish Jimmy Johnson, Brian Cox or the “Marks Brothers” were still around to make it sweeter still.

Obligatory Matt Soreco reference (since the Bills seem to win when I mention him): The NYCBBB co-founder wandered over to our table last week to declare just how great it was to see the Bills cake walk to a victory for a change. Moments later, the Fish scored an effortless touchdown on two plays. Matt has learned to stay true to his usually negative perspective.

Rather than discuss the Fish game, let’s look ahead a bit.

How fortunate are the Bills that they play Cleveland this week? I’m not convinced the Bills are a viable playoff team, but the sheer fact it’s even a reasonable discussion entering week 15 is nothing short of remarkable. Cleveland stands in the Bills’ way: if we can win this week, then who knows? It’ll be a tall order for the Bills to win this game. The Browns are playing well, and playing at home.

Remember when the Bills held “Cleveland Days” at the stadium, hoping to lure Browns fans who’d been stung by Art Modell’s move to Baltimore? I wonder if any of those old Browns fans actually became Bills fans? If so, I wonder if they’re conflicted this week?

Let’s move on to a few items you may have missed – one unpleasant, the other decidedly not.

Unpleasant first, to get it out of the way: Lee Evans was named to Sports Illustrated columnist Don Banks’ All-Disappointment Team” for 2007. Banks believes that despite the QB merry-go-round, a stronger receiver wouldn’t have suffered. Personally, while I agree he’s statistically disappointing, I won’t be surprised if this season proves to be an aberration. A different game plan (coming soon – bye bye, Steve Fairchild), a steady QB situation (I hope) and maybe another experienced receiver (I also hope) could make a world of difference. The dude’s still fast, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. I know there’s more to receiving than speed, but it’s a huge asset.

Now, the more pleasant item:

SI also reported on teams’ 2008 salary cap situation, including how many players are already under contract on each team.

The Bills, believe it or not, have the fourth largest available cap space in the league entering 2008, and already have 49 players signed (more than anyone except for Atlanta). We all know it’s hard to attract free agents to Buffalo (the fools), but this should provide us with a leg up. Combine that with, perhaps, a steady starting QB and the return of Paul Posluszny and Ko Simpson next year, and maybe things are looking up.

Amazingly, the most important person on this team might be Marv Levy, who’ll gauge the available talent.

“Trent Edwards deserves to be this team’s quarterback,” Bruce Caulfield said – kind of growled, actually – immediately after the heart-stopping win over Washington. “Put that in your column!”

Here it is, Bruce. I sanitized your language a bit. Family column, etc.

For those of you who don’t know, Bruce is the owner of the wonderful Tracks Raw Bar & Grill at Penn Station – and, more important as it relates to this column, a Bills Backers fixture. In fact, Bruce is one of the few who were around when I started going to Name This Joint in 1991.

I happen to agree with Bruce – as well as NYCBBB co-founder Matt Soreco, who between his call on Edwards and ability to impregnate his wife had him fairly strutting around Calico Jack’s after the Skins game (to be truthful, he was just standing there. But, whatever. It gives me a chance to mention his name in this column again, and we won the last time I did that.)

Let’s not go crazy…Trent won’t make anyone forget Tom Brady anytime soon. He has played five games, more or less, and didn’t lead the team to a touchdown today.

But…while I’m not forgetting Brady…am I remembering Doug Flutie?

Again, let’s not go crazy. Trent’s game is nothing like Flutie’s. After a handful of games, I can’t even be positive what Trent’s game is. But, he’s showing an early knack for keeping us in games without doing anything spectacular. The stats aren’t necessarily glossy. But, the wins are nice, and he did complete the big-gainer to Josh Reed that set up the game winning field goal.

More important in the overall scheme of things, I believe Trent is demonstrating far more pocket presence, poise and intelligence than JP Losman typically does. He’s a rookie, and I have no doubt he will do something before the season is out that makes me say, “huh?” But, I really think he’s less erratic than JP.

And how about that Fred Jackson?! Marshawn’s the man, but now we don’t have to rush him back if today’s an indicator.

Also, a tip of the cap to Rian Lindell, who really won the game for us today. I think he would have hit the second 51-yarder, had he needed to. Thanks to Coach Gibbs, he didn’t need to.

Finally, a comment on coverage of this game.

I’m writing this on Sunday night, early. I have no idea how the nature of ESPN’s reporting might change by tomorrow or even later tonight. But, for now, I’m shocked by the degree to which they sanitized the coverage of this game.

Look, I know that Bills/Skins isn’t the second-coming of the Packers/Cowboys from last week. But, it was an exciting game in its own right, even before the tragic Sean Taylor story is taken into consideration. Yet, ESPN is essentially reporting it as a game in which the Bills won on a last-second field goal – without any of the context, including (especially) Gibbs’ gaffe. I even heard them reference that the Skins “clearly didn’t have their heads in the game.”

What? I thought the Skins were revved up all day. How about giving the Bills some credit for winning the game?! It wasn’t handed to them at all.

When they showed Gibbs’ press conference, Gibbs manned up to his error as I knew he would, and said that he believes he cost them the game. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that, but the point is that, based on ESPN’s coverage, the vast majority of viewers had no idea what Gibbs meant. And the ESPN folks didn’t refer back to it after Gibbs’ press conference.

Were they “protecting” Gibbs in the aftermath of Taylor’s death? Were they just sloppy? I don’t know. But, it was bad reporting. For me, it almost harkens back to the inane commentary of the “Teddy Bruschi Returns” game a couple of years ago.

No, I’m not suggesting an anti-Bills conspiracy. I’m sure they do all kinds of things I don’t like involving other teams; I’m just more aware of Bills-related coverage.

Anyway, the main takeaway today is that the Bills are, against logical odds, 6-6. If they can beat the Fish next week – and, please, don’t let them lose to the Fish – they will be above .500 after game 13. Who would have thought?

What should we make of JP Losman?

Some of you would probably say, “A speed bump” – a minor distraction on route to a more desirable destination. Others, being more literal minded, would simply mean you want to run over him with a car.

But, I’m not asking what we should make out of him. I’m asking what should we make of him? Is he still full of potential…or are those who think that simply “full of it?” Is he developing, or regressing? Is he our best hope, or simply the latest in a long line of post-Kelly disappointments?

I can’t answer whether or not JP is our best hope, but we can explore his career to date from a specific perspective suggested by NYCBBB co-founder, Matt Soreco. To paraphrase Matt:

“Who has Losman ever beaten? Does he ever beat anyone that is any good, or does he keep beating the Texans?”

Well, JP has in fact defeated the Texans – twice. The only team he has defeated more often is the Fish (a point in his favor, as far as I’m concerned).

With acknowledgement to Matt for coming up with this idea, let’s explore each of JP’s career victories in terms of the season-ending won/loss records of the teams he beat. In the case of his 2007 victories, we’ll note the opponent’s record entering the game.

2007
Bengals (2-5)
Fish (0-8)

2006
Fish – twice (6-10)
Vikings (6-10)
Packers (8-8)
Houston (6-10)
Jax (8-8)
Jets (10-6)

2005
Houston (2-14)
KC (10-6)

So, what does this tell us?

Well, stats can mean pretty much anything you want them to mean. But, I really don’t have a horse in the race in the sense that I’m not strongly pro- or anti-JP From my pretty-much unbiased point of view…I believe the statement implied by Matt Soreco’s question – that JP doesn’t beat good teams – is pretty much true. He did beat a hot Jets team near the end of 2006, and a good KC team in 2005. And the Packers and Jacksonville teams he beat in 2006 weren’t bad.

All in all, though, his victories have come against bad teams, with a combined won/loss record of 64-95. Certainly, not all of his losses came against the likes of the Patriots.

I mentioned two paragraphs ago that statistics can mean anything you want them to mean. The counter-argument, of sorts, would be to say: “Of course JP hasn’t beaten many good teams. The Bills have generally been a poor team. Teams that are poor don’t typically beat teams that are good. That’s what makes them poor to begin with. Plus, it’s not fair to put the onus on the QB alone.”

Fair enough. But, no matter how you slice it…JP has not proven himself to be a consistently strong and winning QB, and he hasn’t helped the Bills take their collective game to a higher level. I like JP (doesn’t everyone?), but the Jacksonville game this past week provided ample evidence of a struggling QB making ill-conceived decisions and a variety of mental (rather than physical) errors. In that way, he appears to be like his Giants counterpart – and fellow draft pick – Eli Manning.

I’d love to run this past a professional statistician or researcher, but the ones I know don’t care about football. Does anyone out there have a more learned perspective on these stats?

For now, it comes down to this: Is benching JP the right move?

I say yes, with more conviction than I felt a few weeks ago. We have an opportunity to learn more about Trent Edwards, and little reason not to pursue that opportunity. Given JP’s multiple failures to improve his game, I believe it’s the right move. True, the Bills’ mixed success isn’t entirely JP’s fault. But, nothing we’ve seen indicates any likelihood his performance will improve meaningfully, or that he’ll raise the entire team’s performance.

On a final note in this record-breaking long column, a word about Redskins safety, and father of a one-year old, Sean Taylor. It’s remarkable that tragedy has touched the Bills twice this year, both directly with Kevin Everett, and now indirectly through the death of a star player on next Sunday’s opponent. Former Bills and current Skins Gregg Williams and Pierson Prioleau are clearly and understandably distraught. This should be quite an emotional game at the outset, and the Bills, perhaps as much as any team, have at least a sense of how the Redskins feel this week.

Four wins in five games. And it should be five in a row (I promise that’s the last time I’ll look back in anger at that game…until next time).

Not bad.

A lot of people are getting credit: Marshawn Lynch finally broke a big run, and exceeded 100 yards. JP Losman’s “comeback” is on stride for now. Lee Evans has returned from semi-retirement. The defense is gelling nicely on all fronts.

But there’s one guy I don’t hear much about.

Dick Jauron.

Coaches, as is often said, get too much credit and too much blame – except for offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild, who can’t possibly get too much blame. Certainly, Jauron has gotten his fair share of criticism. But, you know what? When an NFL team wins four out of five games in the midst of an onslaught of injuries (one of them tragic) and a heartbreaking loss for the ages, then the head coach must be doing something right. He deserves some credit.

Tough games lie ahead, but to this point, Jauron has really pulled the team together impressively in an almost Levyesque manner. He doesn’t turn red in the face. He doesn’t resort to give-them-hell pep talks, as far as I can tell. But, in his own candid and confident way, he has prevented this team from falling apart when many of us thought we were already on the draft clock. Sports Illustrated’s Peter King recently wrote that the Bills are doing more with less than any team in the NFL. That’s high praise. So is this comment, also from Peter King, which I actually inserted AFTER writing my original column because I just came across it:

“Coach of the year, to me, is no contest right now. For the Bills to be 4-4 after their defense has been shredded by injury (and it wasn’t a great defense to begin with) and to come back after the most devastating loss of the 2007 season (the debacle against Dallas) tells me one thing about the common-sense, flat-line Dick Jauron: If I owned a team, I’d want him to coach it.”

But, can we keep it going against the Fish? Talk about a trap game, with the unexpected Sunday nighter against the undefeated Pats the following week.

I believe the Fish will win at least one game this year. If the Bills are on their game, it won’t be against Buffalo. But, if the Bills look ahead…a divisional game is always trouble.

As for the Pats – it’ll be nice for the entire nation to be rooting for Buffalo, because I’m sure pretty much everyone outside of New England will be doing just that. Even Don Shula will be rooting for the Bills that night.

Just some random thoughts this week, as we celebrate a season sweep against the Jets…

• Thirty years ago (before many of you were alive, I know), the Bills beat the Falcons 3-0. I’ve always considered that the most boring Bills victory I’ve ever seen – although a Bills victory can never truly bore me. This game against the Jets was rivaling that one for me until JP’s remarkable completion to Lee Evans late in the fourth quarter. Incredible.
• How often do you see four different QBs in a single game (five, if you count that weird play where the Jets’ Brad Smith lined up at QB)? This might represent the official changing of the quarterback guard in the swamps of New Jersey. Of course, as we’ve seen, Clemens could also get hurt on the first play next week, and it could once again be the Pennington Era (Error?)
• All’s well that ends well, but were you as aggravated as I was when the Bills called a deep handoff on third and a foot in the fourth quarter, with the game hanging in the balance? What’s the point of having linesmen averaging 600 pounds apiece?
• Now what do the Bills do at QB, assuming Trent is healthy? To me, by proclaiming Edwards as the starter, you can’t replace him because JP has a nice fourth quarter. That said, who do you believe gives the Bills a better chance of beating the Bengals – Trent or JP? It’s hard not to say JP. But, maybe Trent will be Flutie-like; not do much except win. I could live with that. Realistically, though, he’s got to show he can lead this team to more than three points.
• Man, the Jets fans are really giving up, aren’t they? There seemed to be no heat during this game, and once the Bills led by 10, the stadium emptied. I mean, didn’t these people get the memo about the Bills finding unprecedented ways to lose? The Jets need to start Clemens if for no other reason than give their fans a reason to come back. And they need to replace Fireman Ed, or whatever his name is. Someone needs to tell them to yell…
• The Bills defense is really impressing me. The cool thing is that next year, it’ll be infused with all of the returning guys who got injured this year.
• Moving on…the Bills’ recent success aside, has any team ever had such a significant divisional lead at this point of the season as the Pats do? That should be some game against the Colts. It’s hard to imagine a defending champion, at 7-0 and playing at home, being an underdog.
• Also, anyone who thinks Joe Gibbs has “lost it” clearly isn’t paying attention. After all, he said that the Redskins deserved to be the biggest underdog of all time against the Pats. People ranted and raved…but he was right!
• The Fish are now losing in multiple countries. Maybe the league will let them play the Bills in Canada next year, so they can go for the trifecta. By the way, I stand by my belief that their future QB is Michael Vick (unless Al Davis grabs him first).
• Speaking of Canada…how does everyone feel about the prospect of Toronto games? Personally, I like the idea, although I imagine I’m in the minority. The Bills need to think regionally in order to survive, and Toronto’s not much further away than the Meadowlands is for lots of New Yorkers. The whole psychology of playing in a different country – and a different city with a “real” identity – is probably the sticking point for lots of people. Secaucus, New Jersey doesn’t represent a real threat in the minds of most New York City sports fans.
• Who else is looking forward to Terrence McGee versus Chad Johnson (assuming those two line up against each other)? Should be fun.
• I hate playing coulda/shoulda/woulda, but can you fathom how close this Bills team is to being 5-2? As it is, at 3-4 – I don’t care who they’re beating – they’re a team opponents cannot take for granted. A few weeks into the season, it looked like we were already on the draft clock…

As I struggle to come to terms with the Bills’ latest toying with my sanity, the following analogy comes to mind. My apologies to female readers who don’t identify.

The latest Bills/Cowboys game – and rooting for the Bills in general – is kind of like being in high school and somehow, miraculously, making some headway with the hottest cheerleader in school. You’ve got her in your backseat, you’re about to close the deal…and then she unexpectedly leaps out of the car, says “I can’t do this,” and the next thing you know, she’s making out with the rival high school’s quarterback. Leaving you stunned, mad and rejected – with your friends alternately feeling sorry for you and making fun of you.

That is the lot of the Bills fan. We root for a team that finds more creative ways to leave us jilted in the backseat asking, “What just happened? I thought I was finally about to reach the big time!” – than Travis Henry and Willis McGahee combined have illegitimate kids (note to Marshawn Lynch: .

We suffer in ways most sports fans never have, nor ever would, deal with. We’re not so much like Sysiphus, who was condemned to push a heavy boulder up a hill…we’re more like Indiana Jones trying to get the heck out of the way of the massive, rolling rock about to crush him. Indiana kept coming back for more, and so do we.

Don’t get me wrong, I far prefer winning to losing, but it’s for these very reasons that I take considerable pride in being a loyal Bills fan. It’s easy to be a Cowboys fan. A Yankees fan. They win all the time, and their fans treat it as an entitlement. And when they lose…many of their fans either smugly reference past successes or jump off the bandwagon until the next fortuitous time. Not the Bills fan. Bills fans are like the characters in Jaws comparing their scars – who has been cut worse? Sure, the scars hurt when you first get them; but later on, they make for great war stories.

The Bills have their bandwagon fans, too (although being a bandwagon Bills fan is kind of like being a bandwagon supporter of Dennis Kucinich…the wait might be a long time). But, overall, we stick with this team through bad and, in theory, good. Why we continue to fill two bars in Manhattan should be the subject of some psychologist’s doctorate.

All of this leads me to a final point that’s meant for the native Western New Yorkers reading this, rather than the loyal Bills fans from the New York City tri-state area. As loyal as we are (repeat after me, if you must)…The fortunes of our football team have nothing to do with the relative worth of where we come from or the people that live there. We all know that, of course. But, despite what we say out loud, there’s a piece of most of us that makes this all personal, and makes us defensive when people tweak us not only about the Bills, but about Western New York.

The Bills lost a really tough game on Monday, in an almost unspeakable manner. We were all upset. I still am – more so than any game since the Tennessee playoff game. But, Western New York, for all of its beauty as well as its challenges, remains the same. No better, no worse.

Well, maybe a little better…its football fans are even more battle-tested in ways most fans could never imagine or handle.

See you at the Ravens game!