Hey everybody - this is my first FanPost on SB Nation but hopefully it won't be my last! I like to look at my favorite teams from a more long-term perspective rather than focusing on weekly reactions. With that in mind, here are the three most important things I believe the Bills need to figure out about their players by the year's end - one way or another - in order to set themselves up for success in 2010 and beyond, whether Jauron stays or goes. This probably would have been more timely before the season started (d'oh) but better late than never! I'll be revisiting these points after week 4, 8, 12, and 16 to see how things are shaping up.

1. Is Trent Edwards a game-changing quarterback?

Probably the most obvious question, but also the most important for the team. Everyone already knows that this is as much a make-or-break year for Edwards as it is for Jauron. However, in order to stick around even if DJ is fired, Edwards has to prove that he can win us some games with his arm. Can he become a commanding quarterback that defensive coordinators have to worry about like Brady, Brees, or the Mannings, or will he be forever a Chad Pennington, Sage Rosenfels-type: a safe player, but someone who's never going to win a game singlehandedly by throwing for 350 yards with 3 TD's. Edwards needs to prove he's a game-changer, not just a game-manager, in order to be the future Super Bowl-winning quarterback we all want him to be.

"But wait," you say, "You don't need an All-Pro quarterback to win the Super Bowl, just look at Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer!" True, but those two had world-beating defenses to back them up, something which the Bills do not. Look at the names of all Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks since 1993, minus Johnson and Dilfer: Aikman (3), Young, Favre, Elway (2), Warner, Brady (3), Roethlisberger, and both Manning brothers. That's a list with three current Hall of Famers, three future HoF's, and two who are well on their way. You don't NEED a Pro Bowl QB to win it all, but it really helps.

2. Will the inexperienced offensive line prove that they're all starting-caliber players, and will they gel into an effective unit?

It's been a while since Bills fans have been comfortable with their offensive line. It seems like ever since the Mike Williams bust that our OL has always been solid, not spectacular at best, and sieve-like at worst. This becomes even more of an issue with the loss of Brad Butler for the season. Here's what our O-Linemen have going against them: with the addition of Jonathan Scott, the Bills now have four starters with minimal NFL game experience, and one career backup. The average age of the players on the O-Line is 24.8, with the next closest team being the Ravens at 25.8, according to Ultimate Fantasy Football Strategy. They have played together for only three weeks, having been shuffled around after the pre-season, and now have even less experience playing together with Scott playing for Butler. However, if they can overcome their inexperience this year and continue to build on their strong start, then we could be looking at a very solid line for the next 4-5 years, something Bills fans (and players) would be very happy with.

3. Who will emerge as our defensive play maker?

It's no secret that Bills fans sometimes get frustrated with our bend-but-don't-break defensive philosophy. It can really wear our defense out when they're unable to get off the field, as we've seen over the last few years, and it can be excruciating to watch at the end of games when the opposing team drives down the field with seemingly no resistance. While defenses can be very successful with this philosophy, it always seems like the most successful teams will have a play maker who will come up big in those situations, and this is something the Bills have not arguably had since the Super Bowl years. In order to be a top-ten defense, Buffalo needs players to step up and do the things that Polamalu, Lewis, and others do for their respective teams - make the big play when we need it most. Logical candidates for this position are: Donte Whitner, Jairus Byrd, Aaron Maybin, Paul Posluszny, and Leodis McKelvin - rookies or guys who have been solid, but have not yet reached their potential. We know what Schobel, McGee, and Mitchell will do for us, but which of these younger guys will step up and be the guy who takes responsibility for ending the opposing team's drive? Who will be the player who gets the big sack or takeaway not in the first quarter, but in the fourth? Buffalo's turnover margin per game in 2008 was -0.4, which ranked them in the bottom third of the league. That number must be in positive numbers, regardless of how the offense performs, in order to be a playoff team.

Like I said at the beginning, these are three things the Bills must find out by the end of the year no matter what our record ends up being in order to better attack the off-season. If we can get positive answers to all three of these questions sooner rather than later, then I believe the Bills could challenge for a playoff spot. However, if the answers looks more negative, then we can look forward to another rebuilding phase. I, for one, hope that we can keep playing with the same intensity as we have the past two weeks for the entire season. This is a very young team with a bright future, and we will hopefully have some concrete answers about some of their more pressing questions by the end of the season.