Trent Edwards, I think we all believe, is the starting quarterback in Buffalo. The possibility of J.P. Losman somehow snaking Edwards' has seemed pretty far fetched up until now. However, with Edwards down because of injury, J.P. impressed some people -- against the Colts on Sunday.

J.P. Losman was efficient in replacing Trent Edwards (bruised knee). Losman finished 13-of-19 for 108 yards before hurting the thumb on his throwing hand while making a handoff on Omon's 1-yard TD run. Coach Dick Jauron said Losman's injury was nothing serious.

It was exactly the kind of performance the Bills wanted to see.

"He did a terrific job," Jauron said. "He handled the information, we got in and out. It was a noisy game, and it could have been noisier but we got off to that good start."

Muy interesante. I certainly don't think Losman is going to steal the job from Edwards while he's injured, but a strong preseason performance could certainly do a lot to tighten up the leash on Trent, especially when you think about the playoff aspirations that Buffalo has to have this year.

J.P. Losman has looked pretty good this preseason. Maybe it's because it's taking him five years to finally put it all together, maybe it's the fact that he's primarily facing second-team defenses, or maybe he's feeling less pressure because he's currently serving as Trent Edwards' backup.

Whatever, the Bills' former first-round pick hasn't been half bad. But his new role as understudy -- even though it looks like J.P. will start this weekend against the Colts because of an Edwards injury -- doesn't have him all that jazzed.

Losman has admitted that he's not happy about the situation he's in and even expressed a desire to be traded before the draft in April. The Bills declined because, as Tuesday's Edwards incident illuminated, NFL teams need to have two fully functioning quarterbacks, preferably with experience, and at the very least Losman gives Buffalo a backup who has plenty of playing time in the league.

And after not speaking with the media throughout training camp, Losman got all Chatty Cathy earlier this week, adding:

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: The J.P Losman era has come to its logical conclusion. Which is to say, he probably won't be around after this season. Trent Edwards, the team's 2007 third-round pick is now the starter, and if the Bills are to have any chance to improve on last year's 7-9 record, it will lie largely with him. Heat Index: 5

Running backs: Marshawn Lynch had a relatively quiet offseason until he accidentally ran over a pedestrian and bonked out before the cops showed up. The case has been settled, and he won't miss any time, which is great news for a Bills offense that can't afford to lose one of its best players. I suspect the hit-and-run victim might feel differently, however. Fred Jackson is more than capable behind Lynch. Heat Index: 8

The Buffalo Bills' best offensive player isn't running back Marshawn Lynch or wide receiver Lee Evans. It's left tackle Jason Peters. So any chance the Bills have of ending their eight-year playoff drought is going to be seriously hindered if the Bills can't get Peters on the field.

But as the Bills open training camp, Peters won't be on the field. He's unhappy and holding out, and Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon said he doesn't see a break in negotiations any time soon:

"To be very honest with you, it's really been a road map of silence to date," Brandon said regarding dialogue over Peters' situation.

"He hasn't been here to date," Brandon said, "and it's difficult to have discussions with someone who's not here and has elected to not participate in what we're trying to do."

Peters was an undrafted free agent in 2004, and by 2005 he was a solid starter. The Bills recognized that they had an absolute bargain on their hands, so in 2006 they gave him a raise.

But that raise still isn't enough for Peters, who is one of the best linemen in the league and wants to be paid like it. The Bills say they gave him a raise once and don't plan to give him another any time soon. They're planning to fine him $15,116 a day until he shows up. Peters has indicated that the fine will be awfully big by the time he gets there.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
Beast Modes.Sorry, that's just all I think about when I start analyzing the Buffalo Bills. I can't help it. My mancrush on Marshawn Lynch just runs too deep. I actually loved the Bills as a sleeper team last year and think the same thing in 2008. Trent Edwards and Lynch are an up and coming young duo and Lee Evans obviously has gobs of talent, even if it comes on sporadically. However, this team is young, which means growing pains in real and fantasy football.

Breakout
I'm classifying Beast Mode as this year's breakout on this squad. Yes, he had 1,000 yards last year, but when doesn't a back break 1k these days? I think he's going to flirt with 1,500 this season and will end up catching substantially more balls out of the backfield than last year. If you check his game logs, he didn't really start to come on strong until Edwards took over, but he was a model of consistency when he was on the field. If he stays healthy for the whole season, you can pencil in 1,700 total yards.

Buffalo Bills strong safety Donte Whitner has one of the brightest futures of any NFL player. He's already started 29 games in his career, and he's only 22 years old. I like him a lot.

So that's why, while I'd consider this type of statement to be over the top coming from some players, I kind of like it from Whitner:

When asked if he expects the Bills to make the playoffs, Whitner makes it clear how serious he is. "Do I expect us to make the playoffs?" he says. "I'm guaranteeing it.

That's what Whitner said to Clifton Brown of The Sporting News in a story that portrays Whitner as one of the league's smartest and hardest-working young players, not to mention as a mentor to Bills rookie Leodis McKelvin, who is only a month younger than Whitner but is much less experienced.

I don't know if I'm ready to buy into Whitner's guarantee, but I do know that I like his confidence. It sure seems like a long time ago that people were criticizing the Bills for drafting him.

Via PFT.

Many Canadians believe that the NFL's plans to play regular-season games in Canada -- and possibly move a team there permanently -- are a threat to the Canadian Football League's very existence. In response, the CFL has launched an ad campaign reminding Canadians, "This is our league":

The commercial itself is cool, but I really don't understand why so many Canadian football fans are freaking out, to the point where elected officials are trying to pass laws to keep the NFL out. Is the CFL really so weak that putting one NFL team in Canada would put the entire league out of business?

Via Sports by Brooks.

It took a month, but we've finally gotten to the bottom of the nowhere-close-to-murder mystery involving Bills running back Marshawn Lynch, his SUV, and some poor, unsuspecting lass who got runned over.

Last week, Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark announced that Lynch had agreed to a deal but neglected to go into detail. Now we know: Lynch will lose his driving privileges after his SUV accidentally struck a Canadian woman.

"I didn't know my car had hit anyone or anything," Lynch mumbled to reporters Friday afternoon before heading into traffic court to plead guilty to a violation. "So I continued on my way home. I apologize to Ms. [Kimberly] Shpeley for any injuries she suffered."

And with that -- along with a $100 fine -- the case is closed. Presumably, Lynch made his way to traffic court, paid the fine, turned over his license, and had somebody drive him home.

Because the wounds suffered by the woman weren't considered to be of the "serious physical injury" variety, Lynch avoided criminal charges. Instead, he plead guilty to a single count of failure to exercise due care to avoid striking a pedestrian, which is just a traffic violation.

On a completely random, local-celebrity note: the News notes that as he left the courthouse, "a woman on the street recognized Lynch and began to shout: 'Touchdown! Touchdown!'"

I'm guessing that doesn't happen to everyone.

Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark announced today that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch has agreed to a deal that will resolve the investigation of his hit-and-run accident.

"This whole agreement is predicated on the fact that he was driving the car," Clark said. "Has he said that officially? The answer is no. But obviously, the reason we were here in these negotiations is all predicated on the fact that he was driving the vehicle."

Presumably, this means Lynch will plead guilty to some traffic offense related to leaving the scene of an accident, but Clark wouldn't get specific during his bizarre press conference, in which he got angry at reporters when they asked him what the agreement entailed. Clark did say there was one other person in the SUV when Lynch hit a pedestrian, but he would not say whether that passenger was a Buffalo Bills player.

Over at CBS Sportsline, they are engaged in one of those silly off season NFL contests to drive more page hits their way. Fans are to vote for the "Most Fierce NFL Mascot."

Billy Buffalo recently beat the Texans Toro but will be facing a bye in the next round because of voting irregularities in the matchup between Raider Fans and Jaxson De Ville:

"This is not because [Billy Buffalo] scared off the competition, but because Jaxson De Ville and the Raiders fans were involved in conduct detrimental to the integrity of the Mascot Competition.

So, Billy will be allowed to spend this week signing autographs, playing with kids and eating Buffalo wings. He'll face off against either Poe [Ravens] or T.D [Dolphins]."

I guess in the Roger Goodell era of getting tough on bad conduct, integrity is crucial, even in stupid mascot competitions. Apparently, both teams' fans used various macros and whatnot to do automatic voting for their mascots. Do you find it surprising that Raider and Jaguar fans would cheat at this? Or is this not really cheating but rather just the proper enthusiasm that good fanbases show?

Personally, I think you can take judicial notice that Raider Fans are much scarier than a big goofy Jaguar who resembles Chester Cheetah. (See YouTube above). Though admittedly, Cheetos-stained fingers are quite the menace and should be avoided at all costs.