Archives for September 2010

‘Fortunately for New England, the Tom Brady-led offense could not be stopped. If the Bills’ defense had put up any resistance, the Patriots’ winning streak in the series would not have reached 14 games.’

‘There was something lacking in Edwards — a genuine belief in his ability to make the courageous throw in the face of failure. To be a franchise quarterback, you need to have a certain swagger, an unfailing, if sometimes unwarranted, faith in your ability to rise to the big moment. Jim Kelly had that quality in spades.’

‘In a competition with Fitzpatrick it took Chan Gailey and Friends five months to pick Edwards as their starter. Three weeks later they decide he’s not even good enough to be on the team. Go figure.’

‘Edwards looked awful in his two starts this season, although not really any worse than he had for the previous season and a half. A new head coach, a new staff and some new personnel around him didn’t change a thing about the quarterback dubbed locally as Captain Checkdown. And it apparently took quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick leading a 30-point output during a loss to New England on Sunday to conclude that Edwards was more a cause of the Bills’ problems than a symptom.’

“Edwards played scared for the better part of two years, and maybe it’s the power of rampant suggestion, but I’m finally in the same camp as those who suggested his concussion at the hands of Adrian Wilson is what sent him to Insecure Island. To be frank, the once-blossoming quarterback seemed nervous in many situations, an observation only reinforced by his scampering out of bounds on 4th down with nothing to lose, a play that will turn out to be his last in a Bills uniform.”

‘”After spending time with a guy and being in the room with him you never want to see a teammate or a friend get cut, but at the same time it’s a step up for me and an opportunity for me,” said Brohm. “I’ve just got to keep preparing and stay ready if I’m called upon to go in the game.”‘

‘"I can see where people would look at that and wonder what’s going on," stated the Bills’ head coach. "But as I said, I feel like it’s close. It was close going in. I felt like that as we looked at and evaluated everything that we had seen up to this point, that that was the direction for the future for our football team. It wasn’t an easy one, I can promise you that. But that’s where we felt like we needed to go."’

‘Coach Chan Gailey was scheduled to discuss the move later Monday.’

‘If he was on Broadway, we’d say Edwards was great in rehearsal but he froze when the curtain went up for real.’

‘Trent started the 2009 season but soon gave way to “Captain Checkdown”. Edwards led the team to a 1-4 start and got credit for a win against the Jets week six after he was knocked out in the second quarter with a concussion. He missed the next two games and returned to his starting role in week nine against the Titans. They lost that game 41-17 and Ryan Fitzpatrick finished out the year as starter.’

‘Edwards started the first two games of the 2010 season for the 0-3 Bills. He completed just 29-of-52 passes for 241 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in losses to Miami and Green Bay before being benched.’

‘Edwards’ release marks a sudden and decisive reversal for a player who had earned Gailey’s confidence by beating out Fitzpatrick and Brohm in an offseason-long competition to reclaim the starting job. Gailey had been so impressed by Edwards that he noted how he saw “a light at the end of the tunnel” in praising the player three weeks ago.’

‘At this point Edwards’ roster spot remains vacant. It’s anticipated that Gailey will address whether or not the team will move forward with just two quarterbacks in Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm or add a third signal caller to their roster.’

‘”It felt great to get it. We had seen all week how they were going to play us and my job is to just read my keys and use my speed and I knew I was going to have to make somebody miss and most likely would have to beat the kicker. My guys did a great job of covering them up and they did exactly what we saw on film.”‘

‘"It’s disappointing, big time. The offense did everything they could today, and we dropped the ball, there’s no other way to look at it. We dropped the ball. We didn’t do it."’