Playoff-hopeful Bills' fate rests on Edwards' arm

Edwards made nine starts, throwing for 1,630 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. He completed 56.1 percent of his passes and had a passer rating of 70.4. Those aren't great numbers, but for a rookie they weren't bad. They wouldn't appear to be numbers that would make him the starter without a camp battle with Losman, but the Bills believe Edwards is their long-term guy.

"To make the decisions we've made about him, to insert him as our one, it's a big step for us and for him," Bills coach Dick Jauron said at the league meetings in early April. "We've put a lot of faith in this young guy. He's a very bright guy. I think he's a quick learner. He can take another step forward. He has a good feel for the game. He has a sense for what he wants to have happen on the field."

Picked in the third round out of Stanford, Edwards was the sixth quarterback taken in 2007 draft. Injuries hurt his draft status and led many scouts to wonder if he could stay on the field an entire season. It didn't help his reputation when he missed time with a wrist injury last season.

Even so, he was the best of the rookie passers. He went 5-4 as a starter and the other five quarterbacks taken ahead of him -- a group that includes first-round picks JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn -- made a combined five starts and threw a combined five touchdown passes. Miami's John Beck made four of those starts.

The Bills thought Edwards would spend 2007 learning as a backup to Losman. But when Losman hurt his knee in a loss to the Patriots in Week 3, Edwards came off the bench. He started the next week against the New York Jets, completing 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. The job was his until he suffered the wrist injury the next time the Bills played the Jets in the Week 8.

"I wasn't sure I would get to start as a rookie," Edwards said. "You just want to see the field. You prepare like you're the starter, but you don't really know if it would happen. Until you get out there, you can't understand what it's really like. The speed of the game is so different than in college. A corner can get beat on a double move and he has the speed to recover up here."

Edwards returned to start the Bills' final four games. The job is now his heading into this season.

During the offseason, the Bills lost offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild, who left to become head coach at Colorado State, and promoted Turk Schonert from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. Schonert will use more quick throws, which should be playing to Edwards' strength. He will also be more aggressive, which is something fans ripped Fairchild for not being.

"I think our system will really feed into his skill sets," Jauron said. "I think he'll thrive in it. It's developed with him in mind to some degree. He just has to be who he is."

Edwards is excited about the changes. He will also have more freedom at the line of scrimmage.

"We're doing some interesting things that will play out on Sundays," Edwards said.

And they are?

"I can't tell you that," he said.

Then he joked when I asked why not and he said, "What do you want me to do, draw it up for you and fax it to you?"

He was kidding. I think.

"He's had a confident way about him that's not cocky," Jauron said. "He's not a guy who's overbearing, but he takes control. He has a real strong demeanor in the huddle. I think the guys respond to that. He's shown he can win as a rookie in the NFL, which isn't an easy thing to do. Now we need to see where it goes."

If he goes where the Bills hope -- and think -- he will, they could be back in the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Even more important, they could have their first legitimate starting quarterback since Kelly.

I thought Losman might be that guy, but I was wrong. Edwards is next up in the parade of passers that have run through Buffalo, including a guy named Flutie and Rob Johnson, who they traded a first-round pick to get.

The Bills' fans loved Kelly. They still do. Until somebody can take his place for the long term, that love will remain intense, almost like a man still pining away for his schoolboy crush.

Edwards is from California, so he wasn't up on the Bills fans' respect and admiration for Kelly. He was a Joe Montana guy, after all.

One year into his career, he's catching on.

"I love the fans," Edwards said. "They're so loyal and supportive. I'll go back to my hometown in California and not as many people will recognize me as they do here. It's like a fishbowl here."

He's now the biggest fish in that bowl. Judging by the way he talks, he is more bull shark than guppy, which is exactly the way you want it with a young quarterback.