The Armchair View

Buffalo Bill's Football from the Comfortable Seats

Gettin' Ready for 2010!

So, I’ve been excitedly planning my annual pilgrimage to Buffalo for the home opener, just like I have every year since 2002 (except last year when my wife had twins, and I’ve heard mixed opinions about whether that’s a suitable excuse…) Every year, I head out with a bunch of friends for a weekend to sample the local cuisine at Duffs and Anchor Bar, enjoy some local gaming at Casino Niagara, and observe the local wildlife at the Sundowner. You know, your standard menu of opening weekend fun. Then we wake up early Sunday morning, hit the Wegman’s on the way to the stadium, and tailgate our way to the start of the game. Then, bleary-eyed, we stumble back to the airport to catch our planes home Sunday night.

The interesting this about this year’s trip – I’m not heading to Buffalo with my usual sense of delusional optimism. Typically, even when we’re told it’s a rebuilding year, we Bills fans assume we know our team better than most. We think we can see the green shoots of talent, and the glimmer of hope that we’re going to “surprise some people.” Not this year. This year, Bills fans are objectively depressed.

And with good reason. Trent Edwards is holding on to the #1 spot, but, by most accounts, he’s not looking phenomenal in practice, just competent. CJ Spiller has missed a bit of training camp already, and no one is sure why since parameters have been set for a few days now. The bulk of our starting offensive line and LB corps are sitting out of practice, including our starting LT. And no one quite knows what to think about Chan and Buddy yet. So pundits unanimously agree that we’re fourth in the AFC East, and it’s not even close.

In spite of the gloom and doom, there are some slivers of good news. I think we’re all relieved that practices seem to be tougher (i.e. in pads) than they were under Jauron. We’re starting to work Roscoe back into the offense in the slot, which is where he belonged all along. Troup appears to be a double-team nose tackle, and we haven’t had that for a while. And our secondary is still one of the best in the league.

So, what’s going to happen? I’ll reserve my judgment until the preseason starts. I’ll be glued to the TVs at Busby’s along with the rest of the crew to see if Edwards looks ok, if CJ is even on the field, who’s manning the lines, and to enjoy Brian Moorman’s punts. Who knows, if we beat the Redskins on the 13th, we may see a few smiles, pats on the back, and even some optimism heading into the season. Either way, I’ll be at the home opener screaming my head off! I’ve seen 3 wins and 4 losses in home openers since 2002, so the team is due to get back to even.

Previous columns from Danny Simon:

Getting our swagger back