Column as I see 'em:

Should Trent Edwards call his own plays in the Bills' no-huddle offense? The fans

seem to think so. As of Saturday afternoon, there had been nearly 800 reponses to that

question on my blog,

Eleven percent were against the idea and 12 percent preferred to dump the offensive

coordinator, Turk Schonert. Only three percent said the Bills should trash the no-huddle

entirely.

Why not let Edwards call the plays? Jim Kelly did it. If the coaches have enough faith in

Edwards to run an exotic attack, they might as well go all the way. If Edwards has more

freedom to run the show, he won't have to worry about getting plays in on time and having to

burn timeouts, as the Bills did all too often a year ago.

It has been years since an offensive coordinator distinguished himself in this town. The

last one who left his mark was Ted Marchibroda, who felt secure enough in his job to turn his

QB loose. I'll take the current staff more seriously when they do the same.

Let me get this straight: Mike Grier walked away from the Sabres in the summer of

2006, after a trip to the conference finals, because he didn't think the team was headed in

the right direction. Now, after three years in San Jose, Grier re-signs with the Sabres after

they missed the playoffs two seasons in a row?

What exactly have the Sabres done to convince Grier they're headed in the right direction

all of a sudden? Sounds like a man in desperate need of a job to me.

I don't want

to overreact, but I'm getting a little concerned about Terrell Owens' toe. Owens hasn't

practiced fully since hurting the toe Aug. 9. He worked out Monday but couldn't stand without

discomfort. A toe injury is no small thing for a wideout, who has to make sharp cuts with all

of his body weight on the sore digit.

Toe injuries have sidelined NFL players and even ended careers. Owens suffered a turf toe

injury when he was 26. He's now 35, an age where every nagging injury is a big concern. If

T.O.'s toe doesn't improve soon, you have to wonder if it'll be a lingering issue during the

season.

I wouldn't be so quick to hand a second straight National League Cy Young Award to

the Giants' Tim Lincecum. The Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, who won the Cy in 2005, is making a

strong case for himself. Prior to Saturday night, Carpenter was 13-3 with a 2.27 ERA.

Since the end of June, Carpenter was 8-0 and had pitched at least six innings in nine

straight starts. It's no coincidence that St. Louis has pulled away in the NL Central during

that time. Cy Young? Carpenter might be the MVP.

Nice of Jeff Wilpon to show up in Buffalo and affirm the Mets' commitment to its top

minor league affiliate. Wilpon, the chief operating officer, made the same gesture in

Binghamton later in the week, showing up at the Mets' Double-A affiliate for the first time.

But the Mets need to provide more than lip service. They need to provide quality baseball

players who can sustain the Bisons' winning tradition. The Mets have a year left on their

agreement with the Bisons. They're on thin ice — much like their general manager, Omar

Minaya.

There's a lot of justifiable talk about Derek Jeter for MVP. I'm partial to Mark

Teixeira, who has provided a potent bat in the middle of the Yankees' order and a Gold Glove

presence at first base, an underrated defensive position.

Perhaps most vital of all, the balance of power shifted in the AL East when Teixeira signed

as a free agent with the Yanks instead of rival Boston.

Here's another reason to worry about the Bills' young and restructured offensive

line: The NFL has instructed its officials to be more vigilant about holding this season. The

league broke down video of last year's games and identified 177 missed holding calls. Mike

Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, says offensive holding calls will rise

this year.

Byron Leftwich is making a strong run at the No. 1 quarterback job in Tampa Bay. So

Leftwich might start here against the Bills in the home opener Sept. 20. I know it's a bad

memory, but Leftwich started for Jacksonville in the Bills' home opener five years ago, and

beat them on a last-second TD pass to Ernest Wilford.

Maxim Afingonev was in Toronto on Saturday to watch his girlfriend, Elena

Dementieva, defeat Serena Williams in the Rogers Cup semifinals. Hockeywise, it's been quiet

for Max, who's still on the free agent market. Afinogenov's flaws are well-documented, but

you'd think some NHL team would be willing to gamble on his talent.

NFL coaches obsess about injuries in preseason games, and yet the Vikings sent Brett

Favre out against a live K.C. defense after two and a half days of practice? Unbelievable.

Whenever the Yankees run it up on the Red Sox, I remind myself that the Yanks won

Game Three of the 2004 AL Championship Series, 19-8.

When I'm asked for my assessment of the Bills' offensive line, my stock reply is:

Langston Walker is the best player on it.

My question about the Patrick Kane incident is, why didn't the cops whistle him or

his cousin for being the third man in?

News of the fight between the Raiders coaches brings back fond memories of the Tom

Bresnahan-Nick Nicolau dust-up in the Bills' coaching offices 20 years ago.

I'm not saying he's Abraham Lincoln or anything, but I found Michael Vick a lot more

believable on "60 Minutes" than Roger Clemens.

I'm OK with checking South African sprinter Caster Semenya to make sure she's a

woman. But while they're at it, track officials should check Usain Bolt to confirm that he's

actually human.

Word is, Aaron Maybin's deal was on the table for a week. Then what took him so

long?

Start the regular season already!