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ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Buffalo Bills want to trade quarterback Trent Edwards.

Schefter, citing an unnamed source, wrote the Bills have spoken to at least one other team about Edwards, who lost his starting job to Ryan Fitzpatrick after two games.

A trade would benefit all parties -- the club, the player and the fans.

The Bills have given Edwards several chances since they drafted him in the third round in 2007. It just hasn't worked out under the constraints the organization presents. Buffalo icon Jim Kelly publicly suggested last winter the Bills part ways with Edwards.

Edwards could use a change of scenery. He hasn't had much of an offensive line in Buffalo, and he has worked with myriad offensive coordinators in his four years.

Maybe the two weeks before the 2009 season opener sums up the chaotic working conditions best. The Bills fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert and replaced him with play-calling novice Alex Van Pelt 10 days before the season started. A few days later, the Bills cut their most experienced offensive lineman, tackle Langston Walker.

ESPN.com NFL Power Ranking (pre-camp): 31

PITTSFORD. N.Y. -- Of any preseason prediction I can make, the one I'm most confident in is that the Buffalo Bills will finish fourth in the AFC East.

That slot would be neither general manager Buddy Nix's nor head coach Chan Gailey's fault. The problems they inherited have set the course for 2010.

But they are setting a tone for the long-term future the players can respect.

Gailey is trying to establish a new culture with his first training camp. He wants people to use two adjectives that haven't been associated with the Bills for a long time: tough and disciplined.

"He's very particular about things and how he wants them done," Bills receiver Lee Evans said. "We haven't really had that for a while here, with the head man running the show. You understand what he's trying to get done."

Gailey has kept his players in full pads at St. John Fisher College. Previous coach Dick Jauron rarely had his players in complete gear at camp.

Gailey believes players should be in pads and tested both physically and mentally. He's in a discovery phase not only about what he'll be able to work with on Sunday afternoons, but also keepers who will help him build a long-term foundation.

"When you actually have those shoulder pads on, mouthpiece in, chinstrap buckled up and you have to get off a block to make a play," safety George Wilson said, "that really shows the true testament of a real football player.

"That's what our coaching staff needs, a new staff that's coming in to evaluate this entire team and be able to put the best 53 men together for this 2010 season. I like what we’re doing. It's going to make us a lot more physical, a lot tougher, a lot more mentally prepared, and I have a positive outlook about it."

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Can quarterback Trent Edwards capitalize on another opportunity? Bills fans seemed to be pulling for Brian Brohm to emerge as the favorite to win the starting quarterback job. A major reason is they haven't seen him truly fail yet -- unlike Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Yet, after several months working with his quarterbacks, Gailey liked Edwards best and installed him as the No. 1 quarterback to begin training camp. The battle remains open, but with Fitzpatrick and Brohm sharing reps with the backups and surrendering a few here and there to rookie Levi Brown, it's Edwards' job to lose. Based on Edwards' medical chart (combined with Hot Issue No. 2 below), there are no guarantees.

But Edwards has yet to get a fair shot to prove what he can do. He has experienced plenty of chaos since the Bills drafted him in the third round in 2007. Gailey is the first offensive-minded head coach Edwards has played under. Last year, offensive coordinator Turk Schonert got fired 10 days before the season, the Bills jettisoned both starting tackles (two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters and the most experienced member of the offensive line, Langston Walker) from the season before and endured a futile no-huddle experiment.

Gailey has run successful offenses everywhere he has been. This finally could be a legitimate chance for Edwards to show what he can do.

2. How will the Bills survive without proven offensive tackles? The Bills aren't known for their pass rush, but it was apparent in the early days of practice their offensive tackles were overmatched in pass protection. For their safety, quarterbacks wear red jerseys to remind oncoming defenders not to hit them. Good thing, or else the Bills might have needed to sign some replacements already.

While some front offices believe guards are fungible and tackles vital, the Bills have operated contradictorily in recent years. They've drafted guards within the first two rounds (Eric Wood and Andy Levitre) and paid big bucks for a free agent (Derrick Dockery) while declining to draft a tackle earlier than the fifth round since 2002.

Left tackle Demetrius Bell has been limited in 11-on-11 drills because he's recovering from knee surgery. He received his first snaps Sunday. His replacement, Jamon Meredith, has been overwhelmed at times. The other tackles likely to make the 53-man roster -- Cornell Green, Kirk Chambers and rookie Ed Wang -- have looked ordinary at best.

3. What will happen with vacillating pass-rusher Aaron Schobel? He spent the entire offseason at his home in Texas, perhaps playing possum. He didn’t return to the Bills' facility to collect his roster bonus or participate in offseason workouts. He told some media outlets he was all but retired.

Then, on the verge of camp, the two-time Pro Bowler with a $6 million base salary expressed a change of heart. Schobel might want to play after all. Or maybe he's posturing for a trade, threatening to show up a month before the regular season despite failing to attend so much as a chalk-board session on the team's transition from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4.

On Monday morning, the Bills provided a nebulous answer: In a news release, Nix announced the team is moving forward with plans that do not include Schobel.

Nix said: “Aaron has been contemplating retirement for the past seven months, but we are at the point where we are moving forward and have informed his agent of our plans.”

Schobel can improve the defense with his talents, but the team is rebuilding and going through a defensive transformation he has demurred from. If they cut him, then they forfeit an asset. A trade appears to be the best option to me.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Wide receiver Steve Johnson was an afterthought when the Bills drafted him in the seventh round three years ago. But the front office was quietly confident he would be a player someday. After getting buried on a depth chart that no longer includes Terrell Owens and Josh Reed, Johnson might be ready to emerge. Johnson opened camp as the starting No. 2 receiver opposite Evans. That puts James Hardy on the spot. The Bills took him in the second round the same year they drafted Johnson.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Rookie running back C.J. Spiller, the ninth overall draft choice, still hasn't been signed. Reports indicate it might be a while before he's under contract. The players around him in the draft order have come to terms, but Spiller was the first running back off the board and was considered the most electric playmaker in the draft. His agent, Gary Wichard, certainly is hammering home that point every time he speaks to the Bills. While it's true running backs can afford to miss practice more than other positions because their role is so reactionary, Spiller is more than that. The Bills also consider him a receiver, and that makes practice time more precious for learning the nuances of Gailey's offense.

OBSERVATION DECK

• The atmosphere at St. John Fisher College has been lifeless. It hasn't mattered whether it's morning, afternoon, night, weekday or weekend. The few fans who have shown up are silent.
• Fitzpatrick has been plagued by interceptions through the first few days of camp. Bills defenders seem to have developed a strong read on where he's going to throw.
• Gailey has mandated knee braces at practice for the offensive linemen, whether they've had injuries or not. He has been doing that since he began working with O-line coach Joe D'Alessandris at Georgia Tech in 2002. The players can opt out of the knee braces for games if they don't like how they feel.
• The Bills' defensive backs have sensational hands. In every drill I watched, it was rare to see a ball hit the ground.
• Left cornerback Leodis McKelvin has demonstrated lapses in concentration. He seemed lost in a passing drill Saturday, getting beaten by Hardy for an easy touchdown. Secondary coach George Catavolos had trouble getting McKelvin's attention afterward for some instruction. Soon after, McKelvin was dropping punts in a return drill.
• Inside linebacker Kawika Mitchell told me the unit relies on free-agent acquisition Andra Davis' insight when it comes to 3-4 questions. That also goes for inside linebackers coach DeMontie Cross, who hasn't coached an NFL 3-4 before.
• Mitchell on the 3-4: "It gives you more freedom. It allows you to showcase your ability a lot more. It's going to be a lot more fun."
• Brian Moorman and Rian Lindell are one of the NFL's best punter-kicker combos. The Bills didn't bother to bring in any additional legs.
• Wood is a head knocker. His quick return from a shattered left leg and no-nonsense demeanor on the field will make him popular in Buffalo.
• After obstructed media views on the opening day, the Bills did a fine job of reorganizing their access areas to allow better viewing of 11-on-11 drills.
• Outside linebacker Aaron Maybin has a body shape that stands out the moment you see him. Maybin looks like a Wii character, with a tiny waist that flares upward toward his shoulder pads. He told me his waist is 36 inches, but in pads it seems like a 28.
• I focused on the tight ends at the blocking sled Friday morning. I saw why sophomore Shawn Nelson is viewed as more receiver than blocker. He looked considerably less powerful than the rest. While Derek Schouman, Jonathan Stupar and Michael Matthews jacked the sled, Nelson merely budged it. Nelson is listed at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds. Only Matthews is larger at 6-4 and 270.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- When Lee Evans left the Wisconsin Badgers six years ago, he expected to be well on his way to establishing himself as one of the NFL's elite receivers by now.

He was supposed to have made a few Pro Bowls, earned a couple All-Pro selections, burned defenders so frequently the Buffalo Bills couldn't help but field a playoff-caliber offense.

The Bills obviously agreed with that projection when they drafted him 13th overall in 2004 and four years later, awarded him a contract extension that made Evans one of the league's richest receivers.

Little has come to fruition. Evans has zero Pro Bowls, two 1,000-yard seasons and one season with more than 63 catches.

Evans is entering his seventh season. While he's respected around the league for his speed, hands and character, he still hasn't emerged as a star.

"Absolutely, I have something to prove," Evans told me after Wednesday's early practice to open Buffalo's mandatory minicamp. "The reality of it is, I haven't done anything yet."

Neither have the Bills. That's the primary reason Evans hasn't broken out.

Since he joined the Bills, they've failed to reach the playoffs. They've had one winning season, when he was a rookie. Their cumulative record with Evans on the roster is 41-55. They're on their fourth head coach and umpteenth offensive coordinator.

In Evans' six seasons, Buffalo's offense has ranked 25th, 28th, 30th, 30th, 25th and 30th.

Evans has had four starting quarterbacks -- Trent Edwards, J.P. Losman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm -- over the past two seasons and doesn't know who'll be throwing to him in 2010.

"Like Steve Smith with the Carolina Panthers and St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, Evans is right at the top of my list of guys who I would love to see on another team," Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson said. "I think he could be a monster and perennial Pro Bowler in a much better situation."

Evans won't say it, but regardless of how you choose to measure success -- winning games or personal statistics -- he essentially has squandered the first six years of his career. He turned 29 in March.

"Not being able to win or make it to the playoffs, you don't really get the recognition a lot of players get and that they deserve," Evans said. "That's the goal here. If we can win and make it to the postseason, recognition will come."

Evans posted one stat line commensurate with his talents. In 2006, with Losman taking downfield chances, Evans caught 82 passes for 1,292 yards and eight touchdowns.

The past three seasons, however, Evans' numbers have been limited. It's not the best situation for a deep threat when his quarterback is known as Captain Checkdown, the nickname bestowed on Edwards last year.

"He has to rely on downfield plays to really make a huge impact," Williamson said. "Buffalo's opponents know they can't protect and that their signal caller was, well, bashful about letting it fly deep. That eliminates the most threatening aspect of Evans' game, which is criminal."

Evans is a respected player in the locker room and among Bills fans. But he's just sort of there -- a vague protagonist. On a team with so many problems, there's no reason to worry about Evans.

Since the Bills hired head coach Chan Gailey in January, he has been asked almost every imaginable question. Yet in a search of Gailey's many transcripts, Evans' name doesn't appear once, peculiar for a team's most talented offensive player.

Evans was supposed to have his breakout campaign last year, but is coming off what he called the most frustrating season of his life.

"How do you explain last year?" he chuckled, repeating the question asked. "I can probably write a book about last year."

The Bills brought in future Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens. Part of the reasoning was Owens' presence would stop defenses from doubling up on Evans for the first time since Eric Moulds left the Bills. That was Evans' sophomore season.

Evans and Owens each had one of their worst seasons. Evans caught a career-low 44 passes for a career-low 612 yards and seven touchdowns.

Evans blames a series of problems outside the players' control. The organization mishandled two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles. Ten days before the season opener, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert and replaced him with novice Alex Van Pelt. Then they released their most experienced offensive lineman, Langston Walker, who had been moved from right tackle to left tackle.

Evans said it "started with the Peters thing," but called Walker's release the biggest stunner of them all. As Evans relived everything that went wrong even before the team was decimated by injuries and finally axed head coach Dick Jauron in November, an incredulous look came over his face.

"There was a lot of turmoil amongst coaches, amongst coaches and players, amongst scheme," Evans said. "We were fighting an uphill battle against ourselves, really. That's what really made it tough, especially early on.

"The bottom line is, I don't think everybody had bought in to what we were trying to do. That makes it tough. When you have that coupled with a ton of injuries, that's what you get."

Evans didn't elaborate, but he said Schonert's firing "wasn't as big of a shock" as Walker's release.

"But it still takes its toll," Evans said. "This is the guy who had been calling the plays here all last year, all through camp, all through the preseason. Now you've got another guy coming in who has coached a while but has never been a coordinator on this level. Now you have to figure out what he wants to accomplish.

"Now it's 'Who are we?' It was tough."

Nobody would blame Evans for running out of patience with the Bills. He has given some prime years to a dysfunctional organization. The Bills have paid him well, but so would another team that has a better chance of winning.

As the Bills are experiencing with two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Schobel, perpetual losing is tough to endure. Schobel is leaning toward retiring at 32 and with serious money on the table rather than return to the Bills.

Evans still has three years left on his contract, but another year without any signs of progress might cause him and the Bills to part ways.

"Chan has us excited," Evans said. "If you lose optimism and trust, you probably won't play well on Sundays. There's always a belief that we're going to win. That's what can carry you through tough times.

"This year, just looking at it on paper, I don't expect it to be anything like last year. It has to be better. It has to be."

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Yeah, Demetrius Bell felt the pressure. He had no choice.

It engulfed him when he emerged from the tunnel at Ralph Wilson Stadium, and even more when he was in another team's stadium. The boos were so loud he could feel their percussion, both home and away. He knew the coaches pacing the sideline and his teammates in the huddle were especially counting on him.

"It's everything you can think," Bell said. "It's millions watching at home. It's this Pro Bowler across from you, the player next to you, the preparation that goes into the week."

Six days before last season began, the focus was abruptly on Bell. The Buffalo Bills handed him the second most important job on the field despite the fact he hadn't played an NFL down.

He became a left tackle in the NFL, the quarterback's blindside protector. The team's success could hinge on his every flinch. One false movement and the man he's paid to shield lies in a crumpled heap.

"It's goose bumps," Bell said. "Know what you're getting yourself into. It's probably the greatest experience I ever had in my life, but it can get nasty out there."

Did it ever get nasty. Bell had a brutal season. He became the symbol of Buffalo's overwhelmed offensive line and remains a question mark headed into 2010.

Bell has been unable to participate in this week's voluntary team workouts. He's still recovering from surgery on his right knee. But unless the Bills trade for a veteran, say, Jared Gaither of the Baltimore Ravens or Jammal Brown of the New Orleans Saints, the left tackle job appears to be Bell's to lose.

The Bills didn't take a tackle the first two days of this year's draft and haven't selected one earlier than the fifth round since Mike Williams in 2002.

"I would say I'm still in the driver's seat," Bell said Tuesday after watching the Bills practice from the sideline. "I don't think I've reached a quarter up the ladder. I'd say I'm just now scratching the surface.

"I'm not saying that I know everything about football, but I'm learning."

You have to wonder what the Bills were thinking when they shoved Bell into the starting lineup last year at a position so important it ranks behind only quarterback and defensive end in top-end salaries.

Bell didn't play organized football at any level until August 2005 at Northwestern (La.) State. The Bills took a seventh-round flyer on him in 2008 but allowed him to dress for only one game as a rookie.

"Man, when I first entered the league, I didn't know diddly-squat," Bell said.

Yet he was thrust into the starting lineup last September with zero NFL game experience and at an intensely controversial time for the Bills.

He not only replaced two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, who had forced his way out via trade, but also Langston Walker, their most experienced offensive lineman. Walker was the assumed left tackle when Peters left, but the Bills cut Walker a week before the season opener.

Bell was the NFL's most penalized player before a knee injury in Week 10 ended his season. He also missed a game because of a groin problem. He missed eight games yet still finished the season ranked 12th with 10 penalties committed.

ProFootballFocus.com broke down film to analyze the best pass blockers last year, and Bell ranked dead last among all offensive lineman. ProFootballFocus.com charged Bell with five sacks, seven QB hits and 18 pressures on only 248 pass-blocking snaps.

Circumstances, however, make all performances relative.

"I thought he did a really good job," Bills center Geoff Hangartner said. "It's a tough position to play and all the chaos made it even tougher. You're protecting your quarterback's blindside 99 percent of the time against guys like Julius Peppers.

"The thing that he's lacking right now is experience. The guy works hard at it and when he figures it out and gets some craftiness about him, he has a chance to be a heck of a good left tackle."

Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson has long been a critic of the Bills' decision to play Bell last year. But Williamson sees upside.

"True starting left tackles don't grow on trees, but Bell is interesting," Williamson said. "He was very raw coming out of college, having mostly played basketball in his life. But he moves well, as basketball players do.

"If he has gotten much better fundamentally and with his overall strength, then there might be something there to mold. Players with less talent have been adequate starting left tackles, but it isn't an easy position to play."

Bell admitted fear was his greatest motivator last year. That's common among even the toughest professional athletes, but they don't always like to discuss it out of well, fear, outsiders will consider them weak-minded.

"You can say you're not scared," Bell said, "but I'm telling you. ... I think that makes me play to the best of my ability. It's a gut check. It really is a gut check.

"Don't get beat. That's the No. 1 mentality. Don't let the quarterback get hit."

Added Hangartner: "If you take a poll of any locker room, the biggest motivator is going to be the fear of failure. I honestly believe that's what drives most great athletes."

Bell said he doesn't ever want that fear to subside.

He wants to keep feeling the pressure because it's what makes an NFL player feel alive, especially when he's the one entrusted to protect the quarterback.

"No matter how many snaps you take, there's going to be goose bumps," Bell said.

The Buffalo Bills have higher standards than VH-1.

Despite abysmal ratings, the cable network renewed "The T.O. Show" for a second season in 2010.

The Bills weren't so inspired. Their reality show simply wasn't compelling enough to bring Owens back. A whirlwind affair is over after one year.

Saturday night the Bills publicly disassociated themselves with Owens, receiver Josh Reed and defensive end Ryan Denney. In a news release, Bills general manager Buddy Nix said the team would not offer them contracts and allow them to become unrestricted free agents Friday.

You won't find any outrage in Buffalo that Owens won't be wearing a Bills uniform this year. Bills fans didn't come to loathe him at all, but somehow a polarizing figure came to town and engendered shoulder shrugs and vague feelings of meh.

Before it reached that level of apathy, the one-year relationship was a marketing success.

Owens and the Bills used each other. They were a perfect fit, a team desperate to capture their disenfranchised fans' imaginations and a character in need of an image makeover.

Owens came to Buffalo because it was the only place that would take him, and he knew he needed to seize the opportunity to cleanse himself, to show the rest of the NFL he could be in a locker room without detonating its chemistry.

He's a future Hall of Famer who should've generated more attention than he did when the Dallas Cowboys cut him. Perhaps that was a wake-up call. He couldn't afford to depart Buffalo with another quarterback controversy similar to the ones he left behind in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas.

His mission: Show up, play football, be a good soldier and hope the football community notices he served his time with good behavior.

The Bills, meanwhile, needed something -- anything -- to stimulate their followers. The fans were disgusted with how 2008 ended. They started the season 5-1, then collapsed, failing to reach the playoffs a ninth straight season. Head coach Dick Jauron not only was retained, but the club insulted anyone paying attention by refusing to acknowledge what was known, that they'd given him a contract extension before the implosion.

So intense was the furor in Buffalo that some wondered if Bills owner Ralph Wilson would get booed during his induction speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Owens was identified as the solution. He sold tickets. He sold jerseys. The mere fact the Bills would make such an organizationally deviant acquisition put fans in a euphoric state.

Owens arrived with the type of fanfare Buffalo will look back upon with at least a little embarrassment.

He touched down at Buffalo Niagara International Airport to find cheerleaders, chanters and other assorted zealots certain he was the savior. One fan dressed up as a popcorn box, a reference to his showstopper promise to "Get your popcorn ready."

The moment was staged for his VH-1 show, but the feelings expressed were genuine. Bills fans were smitten, drunk in love with a personality who might make their team relevant again. The next day, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown presented him with a key to the city, an honor Wilson has never received.

Pageantry pretty much was all Owens brought to Buffalo, and the front office acted as though that's what it was most interested in anyway.

Whatever daring the Bills showed in signing Owens was offset by their inept evaluation of personnel. They traded Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert 10 days before the regular-season opener and released right tackle Langston Walker and running back Dominic Rhodes.

After the season began, they scrapped the no-huddle offense they'd spent the entire offseason installing, fired Jauron and revoked Trent Edwards' job as starting quarterback.

Not even counting the new Bills regime, Owens played under two head coaches and two offensive coordinators and with three starting quarterbacks -- in the span of nine months.

The Bills sold out every home game with his help. And while Owens showed flashes with little teammate support, he rarely made enough of an impact on the field.

He posted his lowest receptions-per-game average since his rookie campaign with San Francisco in 1996. He finished with 55 catches for 829 yards and five touchdowns.

The theory was that if Owens didn't have a big year, his presence would allow underrated receiver Lee Evans to excel on the other side of the field. Evans had 44 catches for 612 yards (both career-lows) and seven touchdowns. Evans' career average entering last season was 6.4 touchdowns.

In Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, Owens' receptions streak ended at 185 games. It seemed like an appropriate time for Owens to lash out against the Bills, new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt or Edwards, who'd become known locally as Captain Checkdown.

But Owens admirably held himself together and set a media tone for the rest of the season. He was disappointingly uninteresting, but he kept his nose clean. He was adamant about remaining as bland and politically correct as possible. It was part of his cleansing, after all.

Owens' employment options will be limited. He'll turn 37 before the next season is over.

But the way he carried himself in Buffalo and the excuses he'll have at the ready -- thanks to Buffalo's dysfunction and hindrances outside his control such as a slew of injuries on the offensive line -- might give him more possibilities if he's willing to play for a discount.

From the Bills' standpoint, they extracted all they could from Owens' aura. Besides, they cleared the way for younger receivers.

James Hardy, a second-round draft choice in 2008, has only three receptions. He missed almost all of last season while coming back from a knee injury, but he's ready to go. The Bills think highly of Steve Johnson, a seventh-round pick who has been lost in the shuffle.

For Owens, it's time to move on.

The Bills got what they wanted. So did he.

The only ones left unfulfilled were the fans, their excitement turned to yawns.

Getting fired might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to Sean Kugler.

The Buffalo Bills essentially dismissed their entire coaching staff two weeks ago, and that included Kugler, the offensive line coach who had to laugh to keep from crying amid a tragicomical series of events throughout the season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Kugler to be their offensive line coach. Kugler goes from a mess of a franchise that hasn't gone to the playoffs in a decade to one of the NFL's classiest organizations one year removed from a Super Bowl victory.

"There's absolutely no question that he's the best football coach I've ever been around," Boise State head coach Chris Petersen told me last month. Kugler was Boise State's assistant head coach in 2006, when it was the NCAA's lone undefeated Division I-A team.

"He's unbelievable, and I think the work that he's doing right now speaks louder than anything else he's ever done."

The Bills' offensive-line woes weren't Kugler's fault. They traded his best player, Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, and didn't replace him. They cut his most experienced lineman, tackle Langston Walker, a week before the season began. His opening-night lineup had a combined 56 NFL starts among them.

Injuries hit Buffalo hard. By Week 6, Kugler's lineup shared 47 NFL starts. At the end of the year, six offensive linemen were on injured reserve. Five of them started at least one game. Only center Geoff Hangartner started all 16 games at his position.

Kugler, a Buffalo-area native, was hired by Dick Jauron. Buffalo fired Jauron in mid-November.

"This has been extreme," Kugler told me a week before Christmas. "I tell these guys, 'You're going to look back on it one year and laugh. That's all you can do. You just can't sit there and dwell on it. You have to keep grinding.' "

ESPN.com's John Clayton hands out his team grades for the AFC East.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The past few months, Boise State coach Chris Petersen has been on the phone with Sean Kugler frequently, much more than with other former assistants.

The pace gets too hectic for chitchat once training camp begins in July, morphs into the preseason and hurtles headlong into four months of incessant tension.

Yet Kugler, the Buffalo Bills offensive line coach, and Petersen keep finding the time to check in. The conversations are a necessary catharsis.

Every call, it seems, Kugler has another horror to share.

"A couple times," Petersen said, "I'm like, 'You've got to be making this up.' All the guys that he's lost ... It seems one thing just leads to another."

What has transpired on the Bills' beleaguered offensive line has been symbolic of the team's woebegone season. As receiver Terrell Owens has repeatedly pointed out, the line's problems are the reason the offense hasn't been what everyone hoped.

Buffalo's football operations department left the line woefully inexperienced at the start of the year, and it deteriorated from there. It's the NFL's most-penalized unit. One of the five has started all 13 games at his position. Four who've started are on injured reserve. Kugler has patched together seven different starting combinations and could assemble an eighth Sunday against the New England Patriots in Ralph Wilson Stadium.

On top of that, the Bills fired the man who brought Kugler back to the NFL. In mid-November, the club dismissed Dick Jauron, a man Kugler had become close with while assistants with the Detroit Lions.

"This has been extreme," Kugler said, mustering a slight, weary smile. "I tell these guys, 'You're going to look back on it one year and laugh. That's all you can do. You just can't sit there and dwell on it. You have to keep grinding.' "

Center Geoff Hangartner doesn't see the humor.

"I'm not laughing right now," said Hangartner, who signed with the Bills as a free agent in the offseason. "It's not funny. It might be a little while before you can kind of see the comedy in what's going on.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody."

Hangartner is the only member of the offensive line who can put the season in proper context. He's the one who has been in the same spot every game. The rest is a collection of rookies, reserves, street free agents and, with Wednesday's acquisition of Richie Incognito, a waiver-wire pickup.

"I walked into the training room one day," Hangartner said, "and there were four offensive linemen, lying on the tables all next to each other. All starters at some point in the season.

"For lack of a better phrase 'Holy [expletive]! Look at that right there! That's a starting offensive line, just lying on a table!' I feel like a survivor. Crazy."

That the Bills have won five games, including two of their past four games, is amazing given their offensive line's travails. A unit that committed eight false starts in Week 5 actually has curtailed its penalties while chaos has intensified.

Kugler must get some credit for that.

"I've never even heard of anything like this," Hangartner said. "Koogs has done a good job of keeping us together."

The Bills traded away two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters and failed to replace him. They went into camp with not a single lineman in the same spot as he was in last year. They moved veteran right tackle Langston Walker from right tackle to left tackle, and then cut him days before the season began.

Kugler opened the season with a combined 56 NFL starts across his line. Then the injuries, one after another, started coming. By Week 6, their starting lineup was down to 47 starts among them.

"It's hard enough when you have to lose one guy," Petersen said. "You lose all those guys and their backups, it makes you feel like 'This isn't fair.' It's hard enough to win games when you've got all your troops in line.

"I know Sean's frustrated. Those are hard things to go through in terms of your professional career, not only what's happened on the line, but with Coach Jauron, who he loves and respects so much. ... I just think it says it all about him as a coach and a person to fight as hard as he's been fighting. They're still winning games."

Kugler was a tackle at Texas-El Paso during some bleak years. In a 1988 USA Today article, with the Miners at an astonishing 8-1, Kugler recalled how humiliating it'd been in El Paso.

"You used to go into a restaurant and people would ask you if you played football,'' Kugler told USA Today. "You'd say, 'Naaah. I'm a construction worker.' "

He can't get away with that in Western New York now.

"No," Kugler said Wednesday at the Bills' field house. "I'm a fireman now."

The ability to laugh, Petersen said, is what's keeping Kugler sane.

Kugler spent one season as the assistant head coach at Boise State, and it was a ripsnorter. The Broncos were the lone undefeated Division I-A team in 2006. They finished 13-0 with a victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, one of the most scintillating finishes in college football history. Despite being BCS outsiders, the Broncos finished No. 5 in the country.

Boise State was building something special, but when Jauron called, Kugler couldn't refuse the offer.

The reason Kugler can't pass himself off as a construction worker or fireman around these parts is because he's from here. A native of nearby Lockport, N.Y., he grew up a passionate Bills fan. His grandmother's house was close enough to the stadium that he could park there and walk to the games. His wife is from the area. His two sons play at Orchard Park High.

That has made the season more trying for Kugler. He left a rising Boise State program to come home and achieve greatness alongside a treasured colleague. Nothing resembling that has occurred.

"It stings even more when you lose," Kugler said. "You understand the mentality of the people around here and how much it means to them when the Bills win. So you want to win."

Whether Kugler sticks around next year is uncertain. The Bills haven't made a permanent hire to replace Jauron. The next head coach might bring an offensive coordinator with him or simply want to clean house of an organization that hasn't reached the playoffs in a decade.

Whatever transpires, Kugler will look back on the season and laugh -- if only to keep from crying.

"I'm proud of those guys," Kugler said. "It's been difficult. You feel bad because as an offensive line you want to do more for the team. I know those guys are giving everything they've got. As a coach, I can't ask for more."

There was one specific problem that doomed Dick Jauron with the Buffalo Bills.

It wasn't installing the no-huddle offense. It wasn't signing Terrell Owens. It wasn't firing the offensive coordinator 10 days before the regular-season opener. It wasn't Leodis McKelvin's fumble or Roscoe Parrish's bobble.

What sunk Jauron and led to his dismissal Tuesday can be directly attributed to the Bills' organizational approach at offensive tackle. Jauron certainly had a voice in how they handled it, but vice president of pro personnel John Guy had input and chief operating officer Russ Brandon signed off on it.

Fitting that Jauron was fired the same week "The Blind Side," a major motion picture about the life of Baltimore Ravens rookie tackle Michael Oher, will hit theaters.

The movie is based on the book by Michael Lewis, author of "Moneyball." Oher was the central character in Lewis' book, but the real subject of "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" was about how left tackle had evolved into the second most important position in football.

The problem in Buffalo is that they don't have a tackle. Or they've had too many. Either way, it has been a disaster.

What follows is a timeline of how the Bills went from having a respectable pair of tackles to the most abominable group in the NFL.

April 17: Unable or unwilling to negotiate a contract extension, the Bills trade two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles for draft picks.

April 25 and 26: Bills decline to select a tackle in the 2009 draft.

April 26: I asked Jauron what the Bills intend to do at tackle.

"We went into the draft having discussed that after the trade of Jason, saying 'Do we feel like we have to have a tackle?' And I think we all agreed ... we're not going to stray far from our grades just to take a tackle," Jauron said.

"We felt like we have guys that can play there. So there's no sense in passing up a guy we think is significantly better at another position just to feel like we've plugged a number in. We weren't going to do that."

Shortly after the draft: Jauron informs right tackle Langston Walker they are moving him to left tackle and right guard Brad Butler they are switching him to right tackle.

May 14: Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson observes "Buffalo might have the worst offensive tackles in the NFL."

Aug. 28: A team source tells me Demetrius Bell, despite a back injury, has overtaken Walker as the Bills' left tackle of choice. Bell is entering his second year and hasn't played in an NFL game.

Sept. 5: Bills cut tackle Kirk Chambers, who started four games in 2008.

Sept. 8: Bills cut Walker, re-sign Chambers. Jauron is asked if he overestimated Walker's ability.

"Probably," Jauron replies. "We clearly felt we could move him in, and he'd do the job. He just wasn't playing up to our expectations. So we felt like it was time to make that move."

Sept. 14: Bills start the season with Bell at left tackle and Butler at right tackle. Their entire opening-night offensive line has 47 career starts among them.

Sept. 20: Butler suffers a season-ending knee injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sept. 22: Rather than pursue veteran help such as Jon Runyan or Damion McIntosh, the Bills pluck rookie tackle Jamon Meredith off Green Bay Packers' practice squad.

Sept. 27: Jonathan Scott starts for Butler at right tackle against the New Orleans Saints. It's Scott's seventh career start in four seasons. ... Bell suffers a groin injury.

Oct. 4: Chambers, inactive the two previous games, starts at right tackle against the Miami Dolphins and gives up 2.5 sacks to first-year outside linebacker Cameron Wake. ... Scott starts at left tackle for Bell.

Oct. 18: Meredith makes his first NFL start at right tackle against the New York Jets.

Nov. 1: Meredith suffers a knee injury against the Houston Texans.

Nov. 15: Bell suffers a right knee injury against the Tennessee Titans. Rookie guard Andy Levitre finishes the game at left tackle.

Nov. 16: Through Week 10, Bell is the NFL's most penalized player regardless of position.

Nov. 17: Bills fire Jauron, name defensive coordinator Perry Fewell interim head coach.

The Buffalo Bills finally have fired Dick Jauron.

The only surprising aspect of the decision is that it happened now. Those who follow the team closely assumed that if the Bills hadn't fired Jauron by now that he would last the rest of the season.

“I am announcing today that I am relieving Dick Jauron from his duties as our head coach, effective immediately," Bills owner Ralph Wilson said in a statement released by the club. "I have tremendous respect for Dick and thank him for all of his efforts during these past four years. While this was a very difficult decision, I felt that it is one that needed to be made at this time for the best interest of our team. We will now focus on moving forward and preparing for our game this week in Jacksonville.”

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell is expected to take over as interim coach. Fewell's defense has been pedestrian at best. It ranks 26th in total defense and dead last in run defense.

The Bills have bumbled their way to a 3-6 record, last place in the AFC East. They will miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season.

The move came one day after Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel called the Bills' situation "embarrassing. I mean, we’re technically, mathematically still in [the playoff race], I guess, but it's like what ... are we doing here?

"That’s about all I can say without saying what I want to say."

The Bills went 7-9 in each of their previous three seasons under Jauron.

Jauron and the front office have committed a series of missteps. They fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert 10 days before their season opener. Terrell Owens is on his way to having the least productive season of his career, making his addition little more than a publicity stunt.

They're no closer to knowing who their quarterback is. Trent Edwards appeared to be the clear-cut starter but may have lost the job to Ryan Fitzpatrick.

They misjudged their talent on the offensive line, thinking they were fine at tackle after trading two-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters and moving veteran Langston Walker from the right to the left. Walker didn't make the 53-man roster.

Buffalo signed Jauron to a three-year contract extension after a hot 5-1 start last year. The Bills won only two of their final 10 games and didn’t make the playoffs.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Each week, I outline all the illegal activity that takes place on the field with the AFC East penalty tracker.

I go through all the game books and record who did what and how many yards it cost him, then we produce a chart to illustrate how well each team minds its manners compared to the rest of the division.

Bell

For weeks, we've known that Buffalo Bills left tackle Demetrius Bell had been flagged more than any other AFC East player. This afternoon, I learned he's been whistled more than anybody in the league.

ESPN Stats & Information tells me Bell's eight flags are unsurpassed.

And Bell missed one of Buffalo's games because of a groin injury.

He has committed at least one penalty in every game he has played. He'll have a reason to be jumpy again Sunday, when the second-year pro faces the blitz-happy New York Jets at the Meadowlands.

Dallas Cowboys tackle Flozell Adams has committed seven penalties. Cincinnati Bengals guard Andrew Whitworth, Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer and Oakland Raiders tackle Cornell Green have committed six penalties apiece.

The Bills were confident in Bell, as evidenced by their decision to trade two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters and cut two-year starter Langston Walker.

Officials have flagged Bell four times for false starts, twice for holding and twice for illegal formation. The penalties have led to only 25 yards in losses. Two calls were declined, and another was for zero yards because the Bills were on their 1-yard line.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Injuries forced the Buffalo Bills to execute three roster moves that make them younger and underscore a rebuilding effort.

Rather than sign some veteran help to replace injured right tackle Brad Butler, the Bills cherry-picked rookie Jamon Meredith off the Green Bay Packers' practice squad.

The Bills worked out veteran right tackle Jon Runyan before their season opener. Their starter the previous two seasons, Langston Walker, hasn't found work since they cut him three weeks ago. Eight-year starter Damion McIntosh, who didn't make the Kansas City Chiefs' final roster, also is available.

Meredith, despite being a fifth-round draft choice, wasn't good enough to make a very thin roster. The Packers selected him with the 162nd overall pick acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots along with the 26th overall pick for the Packers' 41st, 73rd and 83rd picks.

Meredith mostly played tackle at South Carolina but finished as a guard. Half of his 38 collegiate starts were at left tackle. He also started eight games at left guard his senior season.

The Bills also placed starting tight end Derek Schouman on injured reserve, rendering his season over.

Schouman is Buffalo's leading receiver after running back Fred Jackson. Schouman made nine catches for 103 yards in the first two games.

The Bills promoted Johnathan Stupar from their practice squad. In the preseason, he led the NFL with 19 receptions for 184 yards and a touchdown. But the Bills elected to keep Schouman, Derek Fine and fourth-round draft pick Shawn Nelson.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

The Buffalo Bills' offensive line, so impressive through the first two games despite their inexperience, suffered a devastating blow during Sunday's victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bills have announced right tackle Brad Butler will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury.

The Bills went into the season with paltry 56 career starts among their five starting offensive linemen. Butler had 29 of them.

Maybe it's the Jason Peters Curse.

Butler moved from right guard to right tackle as part of the Bills' massive offseason O-line overhaul triggered by the trade that sent two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles. Langston Walker, last year's right tackle and the team's most experienced lineman at the time, was moved to left tackle.

But the Bills cut Walker a week before the season began, making Butler the most experienced offensive lineman. Now the greybeard is center Geoff Hangartner, who is up to 29 career starts after two games with Buffalo.

Three Buffalo offensive linemen -- left tackle Demetrius Bell, guards Eric Wood and Andy Levitre -- made their NFL debuts on opening night.

Jonathan Scott, who made six NFL starts for the Detroit Lions in 2006 and 2007, replaced Butler for the rest of Sunday's game.

If they don't sign any outside help (they tried out veteran right tackle Jon Runyan on Sept. 11), the Bills will have a combined 51 starts on their line heading into their Week 3 matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Jim Kelly neither professed his support nor disapproval of his old team's decisions to fire its offensive coordinator and left tackle within 10 days of the season opener.

When I asked the greatest quarterback in Buffalo Bills history about the moves, he merely shrugged his shoulders and said that it couldn't get any worse.

"Put it this way: What do we have to lose?" Kelly said at ESPN's Chalk Talk luncheon to preview Monday night's opener between the Bills and New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium. "We haven't made the playoffs the last I don't know how many years. Of course, this coaching staff has had back to back-to-back 7-9 seasons.

"They went out and got T.O. They got a couple other guys. They got a young offensive line. What do they have to lose? Let's just go with it."

It has been nine years, Jim, since the Bills made the postseason.

Ten days ago, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, who was Buffalo's backup quarterback in Kelly's final two seasons.

"It's hard when you have only a few days of preparation and the reins are thrown over to you within one week before a 'Monday Night Football' game, an opener, away, in New England," Kelly said. "That makes it more difficult. A little pressure on Alex tonight."

But Kelly expressed confidence in his old understudy and fellow Western Pennsylvania native.

"I know what type of football mind he has," Kelly said of Van Pelt. "I know what he can do. Just like anybody, you wish you had more time in training camp to be able to implement some of the things you know you can do. But I'm sure Alex is going to throw some of this wrinkles in there."

Bills head coach Dick Jauron axed Schonert the morning after quarterback Trent Edwards and the first-team offense -- despite an extra game, no less -- concluded the preseason with zero touchdowns and one field goal on 16 possessions.

Kelly offered Van Pelt some advice as they rode to the airport together before flying into New England.

"What I told him is 'Put yourself in Trent's shoes. What would you do if you were out there?' because I trust his football mind," Kelly said.

"Hopefully, Alex will get this thing turned around. Look across the board. They have some weapons with Lee Evans and [Terrell Owens] and Roscoe Parrish, who can run with it once he gets it. The backfield's not too bad."

Buffalo's biggest question mark is its green front five. Less than a week ago, the Bills released Langston Walker, their most experienced offensive lineman. They will start two rookies and a second-year pro with NFL experience against the Patriots.

The Bills' projected O-line starters have 56 career starts among them, the fewest in an opening-day lineup since the 2002 New York Giants. The Patriots' starting line has 372 NFL starts.

"But I've watched them practice, and they've got some attitudes," Kelly said. "That's the type of attitude of an offensive lineman I want on my football team. The experience isn't quite there. It might take a little time, and they don't have it right now.

"It's buckle the chinstraps, put the cleats in the ground and let's play a little 'Monday Night Football.' "

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- This was supposed to be Trent Edwards' big no-excuses season.

He purportedly had all the materials he would need. Three years into his NFL career, we were going to find out whether he deserved to be considered the Buffalo Bills' quarterback of the future.

	George Gojkovich/Getty Images
	Trent Edwards has a lot to adjust to this season: a new left tackle, new offensive coordinator and new offensive scheme to run.

That was the sentiment a month ago, maybe even a couple weeks ago.

Not anymore.

Edwards heads into 2009 with less support than he's ever had. If Edwards were to fall flat on his facemask this year, we still wouldn't know with any reasonable degree of certainty what he's capable of and whether he should be the man in 2010.

Within 10 days of the season opener, the Bills have made decisions that dim Edwards' chances of success.

Edwards, to his credit, isn't looking for excuses. It sounds like he still believes the Bills' offense depends mainly on him.

"I think that the position I am in -- with two years under my belt, with a lot of say in the way this offense goes -- a lot of the reason this offense is going to be where it needs to be is because of me," Edwards said. "I think that's a great opportunity for me."

About the only way we will discover anything new about Edwards is if he puts the team on his back and leads them to the playoffs.

Anything less can be justified by the circumstances the Bills' front office and coaching staff created.

(Read full post)