Here are some observations I made while attending the Skins/Bills game yesterday evening:

Trent Edwards: Edwards didn't have a great game, I think everyone knows that, but his performance wasn't what concerned me most.  Iit was his lack of control/leadership of the offense.  The starting offense seemed lost.  Players out of position, confusion of assignments, pre-snap penalties.  As the starting QB it's Edwards’ responsibility to make sure players know their assignments and where they should be.  Edwards has to be the leader of that offense.  He didn’t look it last night. 

James Hardy: Very inconsistent first performance.  The TD grab is a perfect example of his potential, but he must know the offense and run much better routes.  The miscommunication with Trent was definitely his fault.  It looked as though Hardy was running a fade and Edwards was throwing a quick hitter.  The talent and skills are there, but he is still very raw.  Overall though, you have to be encouraged by what he brings to this offense.

Running game: As Brian noted on the front page, I definitely think the lack of a running game had to do with the O-Line and Peters' absence, rather then the backs.  Marshawn Lynch ran as hard as ever in his minimal amount of carries and Freddy Jackson is a legitimate back up.  Dwayne Wright and Xavier Omon didn’t show much, but that’s why they are number 3 and 4 on the depth chart.  Peters needs to get back though.  The right side of the O-Line was atrocious in run blocking (we’re in trouble if Kirk Chambers has to play any extended period of time).  I was very impressed with Langston Walker at LT; however, he's no Peters.

Pass protection: I was very pleased with the pass protection.  Walker did a good job filling in for Peters on the left side and overall the QBs had a lot of time to throw.  The only sack on Losman was result of a poor blitz pickup by the backs – not the O-Line.  Overall, very encouraging.

Defense Overall: Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about the defense.  Both Pro Bowl D-linemen (Aaron Schobel and Marcus Stroud) played a total of 4 or 5 plays.  Same with Terrence McGee.  Donte Whitner and Angelo Crowell didn’t even play.  That’s nearly half of the defense.  What we saw out there most of the game was last year’s defense – not the 2008 version that we are expecting big things from.  Make no mistake about it, these guys are the cogs that make the defense work; without them, the team is in trouble.  This leads me to my biggest concern about this team in general:  a total lack of depth. 

Team Depth:  It’s clear that if this team is going to break the 8-year long playoff drought, it’s going to be on the shoulders of their starters and new additions:  Stroud, Kawika Mitchell, Paul Posluszny, Lynch, Peters, and Hardy.  Any of these guys go down, and this team takes a huge step backwards.  Stroud is the cog that makes the defense run, Lynch is the game-changer the offense needs, and Peters makes a very average line very good.  If any of these guys go down with a long-term injury, it’s going to be a long season.  Guys like Chambers, John McCargo, John DiGiorgio, Keith Ellison and Josh Reed are not good enough to get this team to the playoffs.  Depth is a very big concern to me.  Lets hope that this team stays relatively health this year.

Other observations
- McKelvin was as good as advertised as a returner.  I like the idea of having both him and Parrish back there on punt returns. 

- They rotated the DBs throughout the game.  It was hard to see which ones were in at any given time, as they rotated almost every play.  I think this unit will be okay; however, it may take a while to figure out the best combination of players back there.

- Poz was very good at times and also a little slow at other times.  The TD run on 4th down was through the hole where he had gap responsibility.  He filled it, but a split second too late and didn’t have enough leverage to keep Portis out.  He looked like a player that has only played three regular season NFL games.  We have to remember that he is still very raw.

- Stroud didn’t play much, but he did come in on the third and short at the goal line and proceeded to cave the center of the line to stop the back for no gain and force a 4th down conversion.  Stroud looks like the real deal and I can’t wait to see him play on a more regular basis!

- JP Losman looked good.  Comfortable and good decision making.  Ron is right  – Dick has a style he likes, and JP doesn’t fit that style.  Edwards is the starting QB for Dick unless he gets injured (no matter what I believe or the fact that I want to rip my eyes out every time the offense “dinks” and “dunks” down the field).