Consistent mediocrity

Well, at least Dick Jauron made a decision, right? The word came down from One Bills Drive on Tuesday, and it was made clear on Wednesday: Trent Edwards is the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback.

If you talk to anyone about Edwards, there's one word that will absolutely be included in that conversation: poise. Edwards has shown tremendous poise in the pocket for a rookie. He makes quick decisions and moves the chains by making safe passes. Most importantly, he keeps his defense off the field, giving them time to rest.

But when he does make a mistake, he usually ends up getting sacked or he throws an interception. I'm willing to bet many of those errors are due to growing pains. Edwards is efficient. That's probably the best way to describe him. Well, that and poised. Before you go off on how you don't want a Chad Pennington on your team, a quarterback with no arm who only throws quick dump passes, here's the thing: Edwards is already better than Pennington. And he can only get better, right?

The problem with J.P. Losman is that he's never been given a fair shot in the National Football League. Teammate Troy Vincent broke Losman's leg in training camp during his rookie year. He was gifted the starting job in the 2005 season but ended up splitting time with Kelly "I've-Never-Been-Good-Enough-To-Be-A-Starting-Quarterback-Anywhere" Holcomb.

Last season he won the job out of camp, beating Holcomb and Craig "The Franchise" Nall. He eventually found his groove later in the season, making us all think that he might actually turn into something. I mean, we traded up to get the guy in the first round in 2004. He couldn't be a complete bust, right?

So we came into the 2007 season full of optimism. We expected the offense to be very good and the defense to bog us down. But the team struggled out of the gate - Losman especially - and injuries mounted. So when Losman himself was bitten by the injury bug, it was easy to anoint Edwards. The rest of the season looked bleak so we might as well look to the future now.

And then Edwards beat the Jets. Suddenly we were believers again. I was ready for the Trent Edwards era. The offense looked competent with him under center and made the team watchable again. His numbers weren't bad, either, completing 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards. He even threw a touchdown pass to a tight end! No one had done that since Jay Riemersma was the Bills tight end. So we saw a lot of things we liked.

Then that stupid, crazy Monday night game. And wouldn't you believe that it was actually the defense that kept us in the game? They picked off Dallas quarterback Tony Romo five times and forced him to fumble the ball once as well. And we still lost. Edwards completed 74 percent of his passes in another efficient outing, but a red zone interception in the fourth quarter ended the Bills hopes of walking away with at least three points and a two-score lead.

With the team coming off of the bye week, there was actually a quarterback controversy. Losman was getting healthier and Jauron waited until the Wednesday after that open Sunday to make the decision. Rather, owner Ralph Wilson waited until that Wednesday to make the decision.

Ralph is looking to save a buck, and by making Edwards the starter, it ensures that they can get rid of Losman at season's end. Then they won't have to sign him to an extension and Wilson won't have to sign the check. Things really get simplified when the owner of the team you cheer for is a stingy and stubborn old man.

It's not fair that Losman has lost his job to injury. Really, it's not. But that's life in the NFL. Losman has never really gotten a fair shake - look at his track record. I'm sure Losman will stick around in the league for a few more years. Maybe he will get a chance to start for another team. Maybe. Even Rob Johnson had a tryout with the Giants last season. And good old Todd Collins is still around.

So is going with Trent Edwards the right decision? Only time will tell, but it's nice that a decision was made. In a season of so much confusion and indecisiveness, it's nice to at least have a quarterback. I would have been fine with Losman at quarterback, too, the more I think about it. Just as long as they made a decision and stuck with one guy, I'd be fine with it.

But should we have to settle for all of this?

It starts at the top. While we all love Marv Levy, he's never been a general manager before. He's still as sharp as a steak knife, but he's 82 years old. He's no long-term answer at that position. And it's assistant Tom Modrak who handles contracts and salaries anyway, so who's really running the show?

Jauron has a career coaching record of 45-62. He's only won 42 percent of his games. The only thing he's only really been good at is being consistently mediocre. But he's Marv's guy. Remember, Ralph wanted former Packers coach Mike Sherman. Jauron comes cheap and this season it's no wonder why.

He may be a great motivator, just look at how that defense is playing. But when the game's on the line, is he the best guy to call the plays? And let's not get into the whole "doesn't show emotion on the sidelines" thing. I mean sometimes he makes Art Shell look like Robin Williams.

It looks like we're going to have to live through this mediocrity for at least a few more years. Well, at least until Ralph dies and the team moves to Toronto. Whichever comes first.