So you're bummed that the Bills didn't draft a LT or a QB in the first few rounds.  Maybe you're thinking about giving up on this team, taking your kids out of school and moving to Montana.  Well, who could blame you?  The Bills have almost zero chance of winning the Super Bowl this year - Vegas has them set firmly at 100 to 1 - and the prospect of them winning even five games seems optimistic at best.

That, and you've always thought Montana was just plain cool.

Well, I probably can't convince you otherwise.  And since they don't start playing the games until September, I'll save the energy until at least August - you know, when they at least start hitting in pads again.

But what I can do for now is plant a seed.  I believe the character Red from Shawshank Redemption said that hope is dangerous thing, but I'm going to plant it anyway.

Fellow Rumblers, I give you the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

The 2000 Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants 31-7 to win Super Bowl XXXV with none other than journeyman Trent Dilfer under center. But their season didn't even start with this shining star at QB.  No, they started the season with the prolific Tony Banks under center.

Anyone who watched that team play knows it was all about the defense Marvin Lewis put together.  They allowed only 165 points throughout the season (just about 10 pts a game), and managed to make the playoffs as a wildcard with a 12-4 record.

There's no doubt I'm talking about one of the best defenses to ever play in the NFL - Ray Lewis and Peter Boulware were in their prime and Sam Adams and Tony Siragusa were dominant run-stoppers in the middle.  But as great as their defense was that year, their offense was equally bad.

How bad was their offense?  Well, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens managed to play five consecutive games without scoring an offensive touchdown.  Five games.  Zero touchdowns.  That's about as bad as it gets folks, and much worse than we should expect from the 2010 Buffalo Bills.

Will the Buffalo Bills defense be capable of holding opposing teams to 10 points a game?  Doubtful.  In fact, highly unlikely.  100-1?  Maybe.  But do they have to be that good if the Bills offense in 2010 isn't nearly that bad?  What if the Bills offense is mediocre and their defense is only very good?

At any rate, with the tough hand the Bills have been dealt in 2010, it's sure shaping up to be a tough season.  I don't doubt that.  But I will still be looking at each game, individually, as a game that we can win.  If our defense is good enough...  If we've done enough on that side of the ball... and if the Bills can finally take advantage of late season weather games - as we failed to do during the entire Dick Jauron regime because the Bills were ill-designed to play in their own backyards - we might just be able to squeak out a few 2000 Ravens type of victories.  Maybe, dare I say it, even make the playoffs as a wildcard.

Go Bills.