None of the four quarterbacks the Bills put on the field Saturday against the Bears have been anywhere near the Pro Bowl, yet they still put together an aggregate passer rating of 95.1 in the preseason opener.

An insufficient pass rush from the front four was largely to blame for Chicago's 30th-ranked pass defense in 2008, but Buffalo starter Trent Edwards was sacked twice in about a quarter – the first by Corey Graham on a nickel blitz, the second by Alex Brown after great coverage downfield. However, Edwards still completed all 10 of his attempts through the air, while his three backups combined for an alarming 19-of-24 effort thanks to little pressure up front and sloppy coverage in the secondary.

The Bears clearly missed Charles Tillman and Zack Bowman at corner, each of whom sat out because of injury. Danieal Manning was also out of action with a hamstring problem, which forced Graham to take over for Manning at nickel back and Trumaine McBride into the starting lineup opposite Nathan Vasher – McBride actually held his own, but Vasher got abused.

At safety, with Manning in street clothes, Kevin Payne moved from strong safety to free safety so sixth-round draft pick Al Afalava could play the in-the-box position. Afalava's name was called early and often and he registered five tackles, but the lack of a pure free safety meant he and Payne were at a disadvantage trying to cover speedier and shifier receivers.

Yes, the pass rush needs a shot in the arm if this defense is going to be monstrous once again in 2009, but a few more sacks won't make much of a difference if none of the corners or safeties can cover anybody.