Buffalo Bills Video Dynasty (Madden)

Sept. 4, 2012

Bryan Hurst's hands were clenched together as he sat in the Buffalo Bills boardroom. His eyes were closed and he looked deep in thought. If you didn't know any better you would have thought he was praying.

"We're going to keep Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen and have them both backup Fitzgerald," Bills owner Ralph Wilson had just announced.

It was incredulous.

Wilson and Hurst were discussing the Bills final six cuts to get the roster to the league maximum 53 players. But there was no discussion. Wilson was simply going to tell Hurst the six players named and that was it.

But never did Hurst think Wilson would keep all three quarterbacks. There simply wasn't enough depth at other positions to find six cuts.

What was the likelihood of a third string quarterback ever getting on the field? Not very likely. Hurst knew that if a quarterback got hurt and was going to miss the next game, a quarterback could be picked up off the waiver wire. There was no point having two quarterbacks holding a clipboard on the sidelines every game.

"We're going to cut Chris White-"

"What?" interrupted Hurst. He clenched his hands tighter together. It was all he could do from pounding them on the table.

"Don't worry. He's young. He's only 23. You can't treat every player cut like he's your son," said Wilson.

"He's also a 23-year old, 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker who is going to be pretty damn good. And you know we're weak at linebacker," said Hurst.



"He may be good in five years. Today he's not good," said Wilson sternly. "We don't have time to wait. I want results now not tomorrow. I don't have time for tomorrow."

Hurst wondered if the bones in his fingers would crack if he held his hands together any tighter. He lowered his hands below the table where they couldn't be seen. He realized they were trembling. He needed a drink.

"I'm just worried about our depth, Mr. Wilson," Hurst said.

"I'd keep 60 players if I could. But we can't. That's the reality," said Wilson. He seemed oblivious to Hurst's rising anger.

Hurst wondered if Wilson noticed that his hands were trembling uncontrollably now below the table.  This had happened to him once before when he stopped drinking cold turkey for five days.

Wilson coughed and cleared his throat. Either he was oblivious to Hurst's shaking or he didn't care.

"Also cut are Searcy, Eddins, Asper, Miller and Young," Wilson said. "Deliver the news to them right away. It will relieve some of the anxiety for the remaining 53. Bryan, you're sweating."

"It's just always a difficult thing to tell young men they haven't made the team. You're right. I do consider every player like a son," Hurst scrambled to give Wilson a plausible explanation.

Telling players their dreams were dead was the last thing he wanted to do. This wasn't the time to quit drinking. Maybe he did need help. But right now he eda shot to stop the trembling, to get on with the business at hand.

Doesn't exactly overwhelm you, does it? Not a single offensive player rated in the 90s.

I didn't realize how bad the secondary was until I made this chart. Not a single cornerback rated more than 78.

Here's our schedule. It will be important to get off to a good start.

Week One: Buffalo at NY Jets