The Buffalo Bills success in the 2008 season will depend on a number of factors. The first is, will Trent Edwards become the quarterback that the Bills organization hopes he can be? It seems that Trent has been doing everything he can to try and grow into the starting quarterback position for the team. He has been working out to increase his weight and muscle mass, learning and practicing the plays that will be used, and spending time watching film to prepare for what he will see on a week by week basis from the league’s defenses. One would have to believe that Edwards will still need to develop more if this team is to be a legitimate playoff contender and not another also ran. His statistics from last year, according to NFL.com, show that Edwards connected on 151 passes on 269 attempts for a completion percentage of 56.1% and also threw for 7 TD’s in his time on the field. A further view shows that he also threw 8 interceptions, 199 yards per game and had a 70.4 passer rating. While this is alright for a rookie quarterback, a playoff quarterback needs to throw more like 25 touchdowns, keep interceptions to under 1 per game, average over 7 yards per completion, average over 220 yards per game., and have a QB rating of over 80%. Should Trent be able to do this, Buffalo’s quarterbacking situation will have improved enough to possibly make the playoffs.
Another factor is how J.P. Losman will do if needed. The Bills seem to want to keep Losman around in case something should happen to Edwards. This is not a bad desire as Buffalo has no other quarterback who could step up and play if needed. Obviously, the Bills might use another later draft pick on a quarterback in order to make J.P. expendable after this season or they might do so in next year’s draft. Whatever you think of Losman, at least he has some starting experience and a familiarity with the Buffalo offense. Until an adequate replacement is found, Losman will not be replaced.
In addition to the quarterbacking needing to perform better this season, Buffalo also needs another wide receiver to complement Lee Evans, preferably a large one, with good hands who can be a possession type of receiver. Evans is good but cannot spread the field all alone. While Roscoe Parrish does have speed, he doesn’t have the size needed to provide Edwards with a Randy Moss type of target to make it easier on him in critical yardage situations. A pass catching tight end would also help in the draft.
