KANSAS CITY -- When it comes to statistics, defensive players can get a little, well, defensive. This is generally true when the numbers aren't flattering. They never stepped on a scale that didn't lie about their weight.

If the Bills' defense gives up a staggering amount of yardage on the ground, someone will always tell you it wouldn't look so bad if you subtracted a couple of 50-yard runs. London Fletcher was great at rationalizing a bad performance. So was Gregg Williams during his fling as coach.

So it was no surprise to hear this pronouncement from defensive lineman Marcus Stroud, when he was asked if he was tired of hearing about the Bills' defensive stats.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if they score 1,500 points," Stroud said. "As long as we get W's at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. The stats and all that, that's for you guys. They give you something to do."

They do keep us busy. If you really want to scare the trick or treaters tonight, pin a copy of the Bills' defensive numbers on the front porch, right above the candy.

They're giving up 33 points a game. It projects to 528 for the season, just five off the NFL record of 533 by the '81 Colts. They're last in the NFL against the run, giving up 174.5 yards a game. They're 30th on third downs, 30th in average per pass attempt, last in interceptions, 28th in total defense.

The most relevant stat, as Stroud suggests, is wins and losses. And the Bills are 0-6 largely because the defense can't stop anybody. It looks bad, especially for George Edwards, who coordinates this mess.

"You're not happy with the performance when you give up that kind of yardage, or when you give up that number of points," Edwards said. "So we've definitely got to make improvement, no doubt about it."

The Bills have been bad against the run before. A year ago, they were last. They gave up nearly 200 yards a game in their division. But they were second in the league against the pass. They gave up 14 touchdown passes. They've already given up 14 this year.

Opposing teams feel they can exploit the Bills on the ground and through the air. Tight ends have seven TD catches. A year after intercepting 28 passes, they have one this year, by a linebacker. What happened?

"I think it's a combination of a lot of different things," Edwards said. "Every circumstance is different, as far as from week to week. The biggest thing is having different people in different situations, that kind of thing. I think familiarity with what we're doing schematically is a big part of it."

All right, so they switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4. They put people in unfamiliar situations. They turned an average defensive end, Chris Kelsay, into a bad outside linebacker. They made Stroud, a fading tackle, into a declining end. They've had some injuries, as Edwards made sure to point out.

But no one expected it to be this bad. When Chan Gailey took over, he said the defense was ahead of the offense. That was hardly news in Buffalo, where the offense had been bad for close to a decade. The defense wasn't very good, but it had a way of minimizing the damage on the scoreboard.

Granted, Edwards didn't inherit the '74 Steelers. But he was supposed to be an expert in coaching the 3-4. It was a disaster. Gailey said Edwards would put players in position to succeed. Instead, they were set up to fail.

Edwards can't tackle people. But if Gailey can bring out the best in Ryan Fitzpatrick, Roscoe Parrish and Stevie Johnson, why can't the defensive coordinator get similar results out of marginal defenders? How could a secondary that was the strength of the team forget how to play?

The NFL is a results-driven league. Coaches are paid to make a difference. If the defense is on a record bad pace, the coordinator isn't doing his job. Edwards has been a coach for 20 years, 12 in the NFL. This is his second crack as a coordinator. He did it for Steve Spurrier in Washington in 2003, with dubious results.

"We all have responsibility for that," said Gailey. "Turnovers have a responsibility in that. Field position has a responsibility. Everything is responsible in that. It's not just one area. It's easy to pick at that and point at that. But it's wrong. Teams win and lose as teams. Statistically, you look at Washington's defense; they're not very high, but they're winning games."

There we go again, rationalizing the numbers. Heaven forbid we should rip a defense that's allowed 34 points in five straight games. It makes you nostalgic for Perry Fewell, whose defenses gave up big yardage but played tough in the red zone. (Fewell now runs the Giants' D, which is ranked second in the NFL).

There's been talk among the Bills' defensive players about thinking too much on the field. Edwards agreed. He said players need to reach the point where they're reacting instead of thinking.

Ultimately, that falls on the coach. If the defensive players are frozen in analysis, maybe it's time Edwards turns them loose more. That's what we were promised when he came aboard. Donte Whitner exulted in the opportunity to freelance and make big plays. The only big plays being made are by opposing offenses.

Why not blitz more? Send people from unexpected places. Do something different. If the players are thinking too much, have more of an attacking mentality. The stats say what you're doing isn't working. What do you have to lose?

Because if this keeps up, it might end up costing somebody his job.

jsullivan@buffnews.comnull