ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – Practice is over, but Trent Edwards
remains hard at work under a noon sun baking the grass field next
to the Buffalo Bills complex.

Taking snaps from a member of the team’s equipment staff, the
quarterback is working with Terrell Owens and Lee Evans in a
continuing effort to become comfortable with his two main receivers
as they run every route in the playbook – outs, ins, hooks and
crosses. Occasionally, the three review a play in a conversation
punctuated with sweeping arm movements and fingers pointing to
places on the field, and ending with heads nodding in
agreement.

It is only early June, three months before the start of the
season, and yet there is no time to waste, particularly for
Edwards.

He is preparing to enter his second season as the Bills starter
– third, including Edwards’ rookie year when he won the job
midseason – while being asked to master a new offense that includes
the prolific and sometimes volatile Owens, and an added no-huddle
dimension in which the quarterback calls plays at the line.

Then there’s the added pressure of knowing that this may be the
make-or-break year for Edwards to show he can be the bona fide
starter playoff-starved Bills fans have been waiting for since Jim
Kelly retired 13 years ago.

As if Edwards needs reminding of what’s at stake.

“If you want to classify it like that, then I’m completely OK
with that,” Edwards said. “But I thought last year was a
make-or-break year. We showed some glimpses, and I think we’ll show
more this year.

“I’m excited for it. I’m going to embrace it. And I’m hoping for
a big year. And I think that’s what we’re doing right now,
preparing for a big year.”

The “glimpses” Edwards referred to have been evident.

He was 7-5 last season and has a 12-10 career record in games in
which he played more than a half, including six games in which he
engineered comebacks when the Bills trailed or were tied at the
start of the fourth quarter. Edwards has completed more than 61
percent of his passes, with 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

The questions are about his consistency. After helping the Bills
to a 5-1 start last season, Edwards endured a terrible four-game
skid in which he threw eight interceptions, lost two fumbles and
surrendered a safety, contributing to a collapse in which Buffalo
lost eight of its last 10 games.

Durability also has been a concern going back to his days at
Stanford, when he was in and out the lineup with an assortment of
injuries. With Buffalo, Edwards missed two-plus games last season
with a groin injury. Shortly after getting the starting job as a
rookie, he missed four starts after spraining his right wrist.

The Bills coaching staff maintains its trust in Edwards, who
they view as still in the developmental stage of his career.

“I think we need to remember that Trent is a young quarterback.
He is learning,” coach Dick Jauron said. “I have a lot of faith in
him and I believe rightly so, because he’s performed.”

Offensive coordinator Turk Schonert said the pressure is not
solely on Edwards, but on the entire offense.

“You just can’t throw it on him, like, ‘It’s his third year, oh,
he’s got to,'” Schonert said. “I mean, it’s not a make-or-break
year for him. We’ve got to get it done as a team. … It’s all of
us.”

Schonert has spent the offseason devising new schemes – three-
and sometimes four-receiver sets and no-huddle attacks – to take
advantage of Owens’ arrival and spur an offense that’s finished
25th or worst in the NFL over the past six seasons.

Left tackle Langston Walker is impressed by how quickly Edwards’
has learned the offense, and making adjustments even before the
offensive linemen can see them.

“He’s a smart guy. I know I trust him. I know the rest of the
offensive staff trusts him,” Walker said. “He’s putting guys in
positions to allow himself and the team to make plays.”

Evidence of Edwards’ keen focus is apparent when he’s asked what
might be his biggest test this season. His answer doesn’t involve
learning the offense, playing with Owens or his durability.

“I just want to be consistent for 17 straight weeks and lead
this team into January and February,” Edwards said. “I think that’s
really everyone’s goal here. We need to make sure we’re doing
everything we can, and all of those other questions will take care
of themselves.”