Like Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards, ESPN’s Ron Jaworski is getting much more to do in his second year on the big stage.

With ESPN taking the advice of focus groups and dropping celebrity visits and sideline reporters from Monday Night Football, Jaws is doing more talking these days than Sarah Palin.

“The role clearly has changed,” said Jaworski, who returns home for Monday’s Bills game with Cleveland. “The content is much more football oriented.

“I don’t know if anyone puts a stop watch to it,” added Jaworski of the additional time to talk football with play-by- play man Mike Tirico and commentator Tony Kornheiser. “I think the dialogue is much better. I have all my TV toys and have fun with it. We cover the X’s and O’s about as well as you can cover it. I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin.”

He’s had to talk more almost out of necessity to keep Kornheiser in check. Last Monday, Kornheiser prematurely suggested Arizona had a win against San Francisco, only to see the 49ers get three chances to win near the goal line in the final seconds with play-calling that Jaworski criticized.

It made you wonder if Kornheiser had forgotten about how the Bills’ snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a last-minute, 25-24 collapse against Dallas on MNF here last season.

“That’s Tony as his [sports] columnist,” said Jaworski of Kornheiser’s declaration. “I think he tries to test to see if I was paying attention.”

This Monday’s game in Ralph Wilson Stadium will have a difficult time topping the Cowboys game — which was the first MNF game here in 13 years.

“It is just as exciting,” said the pride of Lackawanna. “It is always special to come to Buffalo.”

He has been keeping track of his undefeated Steelers, who play Bath in the Far West regionals today. “I’ll probably give them a plug on the air,” said Jaworski.

It seems like years ago the Bills also were undefeated at 4-0. What happened?

“Confidence is really the key to this game,” said Jaworski, “because the talent level in this league is so equitable.”

He sees things on film that dispute the Bills’ claim that their confidence is unshaken, saying that they didn’t look like a confident team in New England.

“Are there holes in this football team? Absolutely. But it is a good football team. If they play with a belief in themselves, I think they are a playoff team,” he said.

Among the biggest holes he sees are at receiver without Josh Reed, pass protection in the offensive line, and in the pass rush without end Aaron Schobel.

He doesn’t expect much from rookie receivers like James Hardy and said Hardy “looks a little bit lost running routes” like many rookies. “You give them straight line routes and clean releases, they’re fine. Defenses in the NFL don’t allow that. The key is adjustments once the ball is snapped. He seems to be struggling in that area,” he added.

Jaworski also said Edwards hasn’t been as decisive, has been under pressure and is holding the ball too much.

“Most explosive plays come off the play-action passing game,” said Jaworski. “You have to get someone out of position. When you’re not running the football well, teams are not susceptible to play-action.”

Jaworski suffered 32 concussions in his career. “Only twice was I knocked out though,” he said deadpan. He was affected by the first one because he landed in the hospital for two days. He played the following week in a win when it was still in the back of his mind. However, he said he hasn’t seen any evidence of an effect on Edwards.

“I can’t get into his head, but I haven’t noticed him on tape backing down,” said Jaworski.

Schobel’s absence “is killing them,” said Jaworski. “You have to have the edge pass rusher. The edge guy makes the quarterback flinch, he makes them move. There’s the quick pressure. That’s the key to the NFL. . . . It is about pressure, it is about making a move. As I talk to coaches, they say, ‘We track sacks, but just as important are the hurries.’ ”

The start of the Bills-New England last Sunday wasn’t on Channel 4’s HD channel on Time Warner because of a technical problem between Channel 4 and CBS. The game was on Channel 4’s analog station at the start.