Live Blogging from Bills-Redskins preseason game

Final Score: Redskins 17, Bills 14

The Bills rarely look very good in the preseason, so I didn't come into this game with any pre-conceived notions that tonight would be different. But I would have liked to see the offense show some signs of being different than last year's model. Like he has in practice, quarterback Trent Edwards played a deliberate style of football. He forced one pass that should have been intercepted and he did gun an 18-yarder to Roscoe Parrish. But for the most part Edwards' passes were short and safe. The only time the ball went downfield was when J.P. Losman got into the game and let one fly to Roscoe Parrish. To be fair, it's hard for an offense to get into a rhythm when the main guys are out there for just a couple of series, and you can bet offensive guru Turk Schonert is holding some things back. So give it another game or two before you start to panic.

The defense doesn't get a free pass, but it didn't have two starters and most of the regulars were out of the game midway through the first quarter. But when they were in there agains the Redskin starters, the Redskins were better. Their top two quarterbacks, Jason Campbell and former Bill Todd Collins 15 of 21 for 148 yards, plus one touchdown (by Campbell) and one interception (by Collins). Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell isn't going to show his hand either, so perhaps a healthier "D" will have a better showing next Thursday against Pittsburgh.

Fourth Quarter

11:03 The Bills had a promising drive end in the red zone when rookie running back Xavier Omon fumbled at the 11-yard line. That's one fumble each for Omon and Dwayne Wright in their competition to be the third running back.

Third Quarter

Sorry for the delay. Actually there hasn't been much to write about since it's mostly third and fourth teamers on the field. The highlight of the second half was some guy in the stands wearing a Terrell Owens Dallas Cowboys jersey hearing if from the crowd.

Second Quarter

1:11: After a trip in the red zone failed to produce points, J.P. Losman delivered a 16-yard touchdown pass to rookie James Hardy. Losman added a two-point pass to Justin Jenkins to tie the game at 14-all. Hardy had a rough first half before his touchdown, but that's what happens to rookies in their first NFL game.

9:44: The Skins just motored down the field for a touchdown against the Bills' second-team defense, which put up very little resistance. It's could be a long night for Buffalo.

14:19: J.P. Losman has taken over at quarterback, and on third down he gets sacked. Looked like he held on to the ball too long, but what else is new?

First Quarter

CB Terrence McGee is on the sidelines in shorts. Word is he has a sore ankle. Ashton Youboty started in his place.

14:55: Who said special teams was a concern? A big hit by John DiGiorgio forces a fumble that the Bills turn into three points. The drive stalled after miscommunication between rookie James Hardy and Trent Edwards resulted in a third-down incompletion.

6:39: A three and out for the Bills. So far, the offense doesn't look much better than last season. But it's still early, so we'll delay our judgment for a while.

0:43: The Bills' attempt at a goal line stand comes up short as Clinton Portis scores. It looked like the Bills were going to hold the Skins there, but the Skins collasped left side of the Bills line.

LANDOVER -- Greetings from FedEx Field. Took a while to get started here because had to pay to get the internet (75 bucks!!!) turned on. I told the Bills I'll never complain about their wireless service again (as far as they know).

Anyway, we're still about 25 minutes from kickoff. The Bills just completed their warmups and returned to the locker room. As we reported earlier, safety Donte Whitner (ankle), linebacker Angelo Crowell (knee), receiver Josh Reed (lower back) and defensive end Copeland Bryan (hamstring) did not make the trip. They spent the day getting treatment for their injuries, but are now no doubt sitting in their living rooms with a cold --non-alcoholic-- beverage waiting for the game.

Being that we have a story to write, we will do our best to keep you updated on what's going on.

---Allen Wilson

Comments

[Adam W.]

For the last several years when the Bills' offense has played poorly in the preseason many have mentioned that the Bills' coaches did not want to reveal their plays. They elected to run a "vanilla" offense and thus their poor performance should be excused. I'm pretty tired of hearing those things. It's like when you're in elementary school and you beat someone in a game only to have them say, "Oh well, I wasn't really trying."

If the Bills' offense comes out and sucks for the rest of the preseason, it's probably just because they suck, not because they're somehow holding back.

[Jason]

It's a PRESEASON game. Let's not decry the offense as "too vanilla" during a game when every offensive and defensive coordinator is trying out his Steve Fairchild playbook! The wins and losses in the preseason simply do not matter. It would have been nice to have Edwards out there longer, considering he's only in his second year, but how about you all wait until the games count for something before you start declaring the season a failure???

[chas]

trent pennington,one year older,but, still sucks.i still say losman is still the better qb.not by a lot, but he can throw the ball more than 10 yds.i am still waiting to see/understand what the thrill is over chad edwards.unknown qb comes into league game, no book on him,the sheep bills fans,told by reporters and such, that he's got something, he is good.teams did not have much in the first few games to defend against this short arm, so, of course he looked average.the bills fan as usual was force-fed b.s. about him and team(reference point, look at years;1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,etc...)you get the idea.this team has strong potential(lol),every year,every team has that.oops, i let the cat out of the bag.our major and quite possibly only drawback to real success is having a qb who can't throw and a qb who can't avoid getting sacked.mark my words, in 3,4 years when the trent pennington experiment has proven itself as a hoax and failure, a todd collins might look good.some good things happened in that game last night. jills look great, colors on broadcast.hype us some morenews and radio jerks, sell us another load of crap about this team. go chad edwards!!!

[J.A.K.e]

Losman held onto the ball too long? Well then i guess you can say that about every sack. Personally, I thought a QB was supposed to trust that his blocking TE will at least TOUCH the rushing defender, but what do I know.

[J.A.K.e]

Losman held onto the ball too long? Well then i guess you can say that about every sack. Personally, I thought a QB was supposed to trust that his blocking TE will at least TOUCH the rushing defender, but what do I know.

[J.A.K.e]

Losman held onto the ball too long? Well then i guess you can say that about every sack. Personally, I thought a QB was supposed to trust that his blocking TE will at least TOUCH the rushing defender, but what do I know.

[Don H]

The Bills lost their first preseason game to a good Washington team (playing their second game) by 3 points and already this season is proclaimed a disaster by the unfaithful.

[george]

Jauron & Edwards will be history after the 4th game (Rams).....

[Jim]

Good thing they kept the Turkey to keep the offense consistent.
They're a lock to be the 3rd worst offense in the league again this year.
Let's hear it for the Turkey and consistencey, another great promotion by the front office!

[Ricky]

Vince who? Oh anohter Longhorn bust in the making. Who wouldn't want that soon-to-be hurt running quarterback and his 21 TD passes and 30 interceptions in two seasons? Ah, I just love that texas cool aid.

[Texas Kid]

What did I tell ya! Another ho-hum Bills game and a loss. If you're counting on this guy Edwards as your big savior, your in for a long year. You could have tried for Vince Young from Texas in your draft a few years ago, but now lokk at your QB situation. Now everybody's talking about JP Losman....yeech!

[Chester]

It's only the first game, but Edwards looked horrible.

[Offense]

I thought they got a field goal on that trip to the red zone?

[Offense]

Looking at the QB stats from the first quarter to the second quarter - I am not sold on Edwards - but I am not watching the game - am I wrong?

[David S.]

Sorry to sound so critical but the first team offense and defense looked pathetic. I know it's only the first preseason game but I'm already seeing the same problems we had last year- bad offense in the red zone (all over the field for that matter) and terrible 3rd down defense. Offense (Edwards especially) really looked out of sync and just plain flat. Run defense looked pretty suspect too (although Stroud barely played and Whitner and Crowell were out so I'm willing to give the entire D a pass). Bottom line- first preseason game and I'm already starting to worry about the upcoming season.

[Offense]

Wow - did not convert a turnover. 1 for 5 - impressive

[David S.]

Offense looked pretty dull in the first series after recovering a fumble at the WSH 30. FG is just not going to get it done from there. I thought the red zone woes would be resolved with James Hardy- apparently there is still a lot of work to be done.

[Chester]

So, like, what's going on?