Cutting T.O.

It's not just this hat that makes him look like a dickhead . . .

With another Bills season going down the drain, it would be nice if the team made some kind of dramatic move to indicate that they know things aren’t working and they want to make a break with the past.  Firing Dick Jauron would do it, but he’d have to be paid the balance of his contract, so we know that won’t be happening.  Cutting Terrell Owens would be a good substitute.

Think about it — why do we need a luxury item like T.O. when the most basic elements of the team aren’t working?  Depending on how you want to look at it, Owens was signed either to open up the offense as a complement to Lee Evans or to help sell tickets.  Well, the tickets have been sold, and Owens has dropped more touchdown passes than hes caught.  Add in the sideline histrionics, showing up his quarterback and the fact that he won’t be a Bill next year anyway, and it’s hard to see why shouldn’t just eat the rest of his contract and send him on his way.

Of course, it looks like the Bills are making a different dramatic move and benching Trent Edwards.  This is a real mistake.  Edwards isn’t a franchise quarterback, but then only 1/3 or so of NFL franchises have one of those.  The rest try and make do with what they have, and Edwards is perfectly make-doable for a team with as many fundamental flaws as the Bills.  Edwards played 3 good quarters on Sunday, while our line play on both sides of the ball was bad from start to finish.  Edwards can serve as a perfectly good caretaker while the team rebuilds its offensive and defensive lines — you know, the core of a football team — and it’s foolish to dump him with no better option in the wings.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is manifestly awful, and I’d hate to see some hotshot quarterback drafted only to take the kind of beating that comes from playing behind Brad Butler or Demetrius Bell.

It’s time to abandon the notion that a change at the skill positions — whether signing T.O. or benching Trent Edwards — can get the Bills over the 7-9 hump, and commit to rebuilding the core of the team.a