Offensive line remains a question mark going into the season and, as with most teams, that position will define how successful the Bills are in 2005.

The biggest question mark remains at left tackle where Mike Gandy replaces reliable Jonas Jennings, who departed in free agency. It falls to Gandy to protect the blindside of quarterback J.P. Losman, who replaces departed Drew Bledsoe with the expectation his 4.6 speed in the 40 will right the wrongs of the slow-footed Bledsoe.

With the weight of the Bills' playoff hopes on his untested shoulders, Losman has yet to be tested under fire, but the belief in Buffalo remains that he will make more plays and fewer crucial errors than Bledsoe did a year ago. However, he has to come out of the blocks fast and solid play by the line will be imperative if he's to accomplish that. Losman has thrown for a total of 32 yards in the NFL at this point, which doesn't mean he isn't the answer but only serves to point out no one yet knows whether he is.

After starting 0-4 last season, the Bills understand they have to avoid the kind of dreadful offensive performances early in the year that stymied their defensive efforts, which were among the best in the league. That defense returns 10 starters from a group that was No. 2 in the league a year ago and should be just as stout this season.

With a special teams unit that is considered among the league's elite as well, Losman and the offense are obviously the key to the season. If they play efficiently, the Bills are in the hunt. If they exceed that, they could be the AFC East's darkhorse surprise because once the offense got somewhat straightened out (and more conservative) last season, Buffalo finished with a 9-3 rush. Their fans expect that to continue even though they will be led offensively by a quarterback who has yet to take a snap under real fire in the NFL. The play of Gandy and new left guard Bennie Anderson early in the season will go a long way in determining how well Losman plays, because the Bills' plan is to treat him in much the same fashion as the Steelers did rookie Ben Roethlisberger a year ago, which is to not ask him to win the game but rather to put a minimal management load on him and hope he can handle that load.

For that to work, the Bills must effectively run the ball, which means Gandy, Anderson and the rest of the line have to be in mid-season form from opening day to give Willis McGahee running room.

HOT SEAT: J.P. Losman. Bledsoe started every game at quarterback his three seasons in Buffalo but went 23-25 overall, including a deadly 3-9 against AFC East rivals New England and the Jets. The belief in Buffalo is that it was Bledsoe's lack of mobility and mental errors under pressure that led them to fail to reach the playoffs last year despite having the No. 2-ranked defense and No. 1-rated special teams in the league. Now all that pressure falls on Losman, who is cocky and has the mobility Bledsoe lacked. He has yet to lead an NFL team onto the field in a game that counts, but he went through most of the pre-season without throwing an interception, which is a start. How he reacts to the pressure of not only having to win but also having to control himself will be keys to the Bills' season because if he comes through their defense will make them competitive.

OVERHEARD: The Bills are fixated on improvement in the red zone, where they were 29th in the league. Buffalo scored touchdowns on only 45.2 percent of their opportunities inside the 20 in 2004 and all too often turned the ball over with costly errors in the passing game. Bledsoe threw 11 of his 28 interceptions in the red zone the past two years so the Bills have worked diligently to change that both schematically and by demanding Losman concentrate on being more careful with the ball in those situations.

OUTLOOK: Defensively, the Bills suffered a big loss in the departure of defensive tackle Pat Williams but have settled on young Ron Edwards as his replacement. Edwards and Sam Adams have to be stout in the middle because the rest of the defense is so solid that if they hold up as well the Bills won't need to ask much of Losman to win. So the question remains the same as the start of the summer: Can J.P. Losman produce enough points, with the aid of running back Willis McGahee, who rushed for 1,128 yards and 13 scores in his first season as a starter, to avoid that disastrous 0-4 start?

PREDICTION: Second.

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