And kicker Mike Hollis is a nice addition, but he won't get the chance to decide games for the Bills unless the rest of the team can keep them close. Hollis is also coming off a weak season in which he went 8-11 from under 40 yards and hit nothing from further than 48.

Of course, I'm ignoring the offseason move that really has everyone talking -- the trade for Drew Bledsoe. I don't know when the myth got so much larger than the man, but Bledsoe is not John Unitas coming to save the franchise.

Did you know that Bledsoe's career passer rating (75.9) is actually ten points lower than that of the man he replaces, Rob Johnson (85.7)? He's never had a passer rating over 90.0 in a season or been an Associated Press All-Pro. And he's getting worse.

Over the last three years, Bledsoe's quarterback rating is 76.4, lower than those of Jeff Blake, Chris Chandler, and Steve Beuerlein -- three guys who will be backups next season. His yards-per-attempt (6.8) and touchdown percentage (3.3) over the same period are atrocious, and his interception percentage (3.2) is worse than that of Kerry Collins.

And unlike Doug Flutie (who tops Bledsoe in yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, and quarterback rating since the end of the 1998 season), Bledsoe isn't quick on his feet -- he's one of only three quarterbacks to be sacked more than 100 times in the last three seasons, despite missing most of last year.

Doesn't anyone remember that Bledsoe wasn't even the starter for his own team last year? The Patriots didn't trade him because they think he's better than Tom Brady. Even in Bledsoe's celebrated playoff performance last season, he did only what was necessary: 10-for-21 passing, 102 yards, 1 touchdown. The touchdown is what's important, of course, but a 47.6 completion percentage and under 5-yards per attempt are not numbers to get excited about. Because Bledsoe's touchdown pass helped win the game, many of us forgot that he didn't really play all that well.

You can't even make the argument that Bledsoe saves his best stuff for the really big games. In Super Bowl XXXI, Bledsoe became one of only four quarterbacks to throw four interceptions in a Super Bowl game, putting up a ghastly 46.6 passer rating. All this isn't to say that Bledsoe is a bad quarterback, but he's certainly overrated.

For career statistics, he trails Jeff George in completion percentage, yards-per-attempt, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, and passer rating. This isn't Steve Young we're talking about here - it's Jeff George, for goodness' sake. Bledsoe also trails Rob Johnson in each of those categories.

Furthermore, all the hype surrounding Bledsoe seems to have made people forget that Buffalo is still relying on Travis Henry and Shawn Bryson to carry the ball. Last year, they combined for 1070 yards with 6 touchdowns and 3.65 yards per carry. These two are not the second coming of Thurman Thomas; they aren't even the one-two punch of Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne in New York (combined 1555 yards, 4.5 avg, 16 TD).

The Bills also need to shore up an ugly defense that ranked 29th in the league last year in points allowed, en route to Buffalo's 3-13 finish. The Bills have signed three defensive players this offseason, but they lost five to retirement and free agency, including team leaders Phil Hansen, an 11-year starter, and previously-mentioned Cowart.

Buffalo has several young players who could boost the defense, but it's a long way up from 29th, and an offense relying on Bledsoe and Henry will need all the help it can get. The Bills will win more than three games this season, but I don't think they'll be a factor in the playoff race.

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