The Buffalo Bills have liked quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick since he came out of Harvard

University in 2005.

It's likely they will get a better indication of whether their initial instincts were

correct Sunday when the Bills visit the Carolina Panthers.

Fitzpatrick is expected to start in place of Trent Edwards, who suffered a concussion

against the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Bills have not officially ruled Edwards out. But he is still recovering from a blow to

the head and stayed home Wednesday.

Fitzpatrick rallied the Bills from a 10-point deficit against the Jets to a 16-13 overtime

victory.

It was a badly needed triumph after three straight ugly defeats and creates some optimism

for this week's game.

Fitzpatrick is a fifth-year veteran who the Bills signed as a free agent in March from

Cincinnati.

"He's got a big arm," said Bills offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, asked to list

Fitzpatrick's strengths. "That's one of the things in stretching the field that is more

comfortable to him. Protection issues are something that he's really strong in, as far as

determining who's coming and getting protections suggested to get that taken care of. I think

those are some of his strong points. His ability to run is something that we like.

"He did a great job for us, coming into a bad situation, and getting us a win last week. I

know that he's excited to go. Obviously we're going to miss Trent, but he'll put in great work

this week and get us ready to go down and try to get a win."

The Bills are following the same type of protocol regarding Edwards' concussion as they

followed last season. After Edwards' concussion at Arizona last October, he passed medical

testing nine days later and returned to practice on the 10th day after the injury. The Bills

had a bye after the injury, so Edwards didn't miss a game.

All players take a critical thinking test in the offseason. It includes numbers, math,

memorization, and analyzing shapes and sizes. After a player gets a concussion, he is given

the test again. His results are compared with his baseline score from the offseason.

Jauron said after practice he had not spoken to Edwards since Sunday.

"He wasn't in the building today, and that's kind of part of the protocol as I understand

it, and we'll track it day to day," Jauron said after practice.

Asked if he has spoken to Edwards, Jauron said: "I have not, and that's part of the

protocol, too. He doesn't take calls, he doesn't return calls, he doesn't text. There's all

kinds of things involved."

Regarding Fitzpatrick, Jauron said: "I like Ryan. I like him because he can throw it and

direct it and hopefully get us another win."

Fitzpatrick was a seventh-round draft choice of St. Louis in 2005 and had the good fortune

of working with offensive coach Mike Martz as a rookie. He was traded to the Bengals just

before the start of the 2007 season and served as Carson Palmer's backup.

When Palmer went down with an injury last season, Fitzpatrick started 12 games. He

completed 59 percent of his passes and had eight touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

The Bengals improved as the season wore on, going 4-3-1 the last eight games.

"Last year was great for me because I got to step in and start 12 games," Fitzpatrick said.

"There comes a point in this league where you can't really learn much watching film and

throwing scout team balls and all that. It's getting out there.

"I felt really comfortable out there on Sunday, and even today in practice, now knowing how

to be a pro and how to prepare and work when you are the starter. I felt good."

Fitzpatrick did not light it up versus the Jets. He was 10 of 25 for 116 yards. But he did

direct the Bills on three scoring drives.

He said working in practice as the starter Wednesday would help him get a better feel for

receivers Lee Evans and Terrell Owens.

"With Lee and Terrell especially, I really haven't thrown them the ball at all up until

Sunday's game, just because Trent would always take the reps with them and rightfully so,"

Fitzpatrick said. "So just getting timing with those guys, getting comfortable, them knowing

how I throw the ball and me knowing where they're going to be — it'll help me out a

lot."