I mean this in all honesty -- I've waited until after the game to type up my thoughts because a listener, Meredith, emailed me after last week and said the new "write as the game goes" philosophy wasn't working for her. She said it was because she was still learning the game, and my columns helped her last year.

See, one person can make a difference. Now go register to vote for someone you care about, and email: nick@wgr550.com after you read this.

Now, about the win...

-- I want to start with Fred Jackson. Credit Turk Schonert for calling his number on several short passes, or credit Trent Edwards for checking down to him, but the Bills don't win this football game without Jackson.

He was shifty, followed his blockers well, and really brought a tougher-running Roscoe Parrish ability to the open field. I love, love, love Marshawn Lynch, but even his style in the open field is more manageable than Jackson. With Lynch, you have to hang on for the ride and look out for the stiff arm. With Jackson, man, that guy is slick.

-- Trent Edwards had a solid, NFL quarterback day, another step in the right direction for the young quarterback. Just five incompletions go into his 20-25 for 239 yards and a score performance. The biggest thing to take away from his performance isn't even the completion to James Hardy for the game-winning score (For the record, most of the work was on Mr. Hardy's side). No, Edwards best moment was the 37-yard completion to Lee Evans, the only connection on the day over 16-yards that wasn't to Jackson.

Edwards showed incredible poise and presence in the pocket (alliteration, suckers), and threw a perfect ball to Evans, who crossed the entire field during his route. It was a moment where you know you're watching a good quarterback, something we've seen very little in the past few years.

-- What can I say about "All-World" tackle Jason Peters, who was flat-out embarassed by Quentin Groves on a sack that turned the ball over to Reggie Hayward and the Jaguars. I'm not going to fool around with terms like "game shape," but the Peters we know is quick enough to get off the block on that play, and take care of his man. I'd bet more practice would help.

-- We've gone all offense so far, which is a little bit of a shame, because there's a lot good and bad to talk about with the defense. For one, David Garrard is apparently covered in butter, or something slippery that isn't delicious, because the hungry big men on the line for the Bills had some issues tackling the Jacksonville quarterback.

Outside of that, the Bills did everything they were supposed to against a beat-up Jaguars offensive line. It didn't always look so hot in the game, but Jacksonville's ho-hum 3.6 yards-per-carry was much lower on actual running plays. Garrard averaged 5.3 per play, so credit the Bills defense to holding running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor to 66 yards on 21 carries, or Pi-per-carry (that.s 3.14, friends).

-- With all due respect to Devin Hester, when does Roscoe Parrish get his love in the media? I'm thinking a commercial with a bunch of dogs chasing him around a town park or something.

-- At some point this week, I'll have an article on Ashton Youboty, who's been a massive surprise at corner. Youboty got a terribly slow start with the Bills after his mother passed away, and he had to head home to take care of his family, but he seems to be back on track after an exemplary preseason, and a solid couple of games to start the regular season. Sure, he appears to weigh 11 pounds soaking wet, but 9 tackles and a sack through two games is solid for someone I thought was as sure as cut.

-- I don't even blink when Rian Lindell lines up to kick a field goal. What a change from a couple years ago.

-- Hardy's game-winning touchdown catch was the stuff of perfection. Now, there are some folks who will tell you it was "no question" a touchdown, but what they should say is that there's no way they could've reversed it. He lands with what appears to be both feet in-bounds, but the white tape on the front of his shoes makes it nearly impossible to flip the call. What an athletic grab, and good to see that Edwards has the guts to chuck that ball up for grabs.

-- I can't say enough about the coaching, even if it can be just classified as "well-above average." It's nice to see a team not throw up on itself.


Stat line I enjoyed:
--Edwards, 20-25, 239 yards, 1 TD, 3 sacks
This was almost exactly his 17-14 win over the Jets last year, but better, because he didn't throw the crucial interception. Look at that game (22-28, 234 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, two sacks). Plus, 6-of-11 on third down is a vast improvement on last week.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
--Four penalties for 40 yards.
Might not seem like a lot, but they came at some inopportune times (As if penalties come at opportune times. Nice, Nick. Pure genius).

Game ball:
-- Jackson, 7 catches, 83 yards; 6 carries, 17 yards.
He was the x-factor in my book, the variable that the Jaguars didn't look prepared for. Bonus points for Lynch continued to run behind a line that has some issues pushing the defense (which is a huge concern if you're already thinking playoffs. Lynch is a good enough runner. Not sure about his line).

Lastly...
I'll take it, even if the tackling was a little infuriating, and most of the game was underwhelming. Let's face it, Edwards style is a little bit of the station-to-station baseball of American football. I'll take it, but I feel like you'll know the Bills played their game when you're smiling with a win, and without angina.

Next week:
Oakland's defense, as well as Darren McFadden, will be a much bigger test than many think, but look for Buffalo to take care of business at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Let's call it... Buffalo 23, Oakland 14. Two big runs for McFadden, and a bunch of field goals for Lindell.

There you go, Meredith. Hope that was better!

Think I'm wrong? I'm used to it. Let's type about it: nick@wgr550.com