Don't count out Trent Edwards

[Mike in Syracuse]

If Gailey holds an open competition between the 3 QB's on the roster and decides that Trent is the most talented then I have no problem with him being named the starter. No one was bitching about how much "Trent sucks" when the Bills were 5-1.

 

For the first time in his career Trent has a head coach that has a !@#$ing clue how to run an offense. He also knows how do develop a quarterback. If he wins the job I'll hope and pray that he turns out to be great.

 

Lets not forget, Favre and Young were run out off teams because they "sucked".

[Guest dog14787]

Three Things About Trent That I Know To Be True

 

1. He lacks the balls to throw the football downfield.

2. He lacks the balls to throw into tight coverage.

3. He gets injured too often.

 

 

I hear this over and over and over again, why would TE have any fear of throwing a football down the field vs. getting slammed to the ground and twisted like a pretzel while trying to wait for the pass pattern to develop, good grief.

 

 

How about giving Trent Edwards enough time to throw the football down the field so he doesn't get injured!!!

[CountDorkula]

Balls? Really.....? Why don't we get Chuck Norris at QB. To have balls you need to know exactly what will happen on a play. To have balls without that is idiocy. Like most QB's with his experience he wasn't at that point yet.

 

As for injury, well when your a human pinata, in large part to outside circumstances, that does effect that. If things turn around, he won't get hit as often. He won't get injured as often. I'm surprised in many of these seasons how he lasted as long as he did college/pro.

 

I am OK with this!!!

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

Quarterback progression comes in so many forms. Some guys like Brady or Roth-burger might experience success right away and grow from then on. Other guys like Kerry Collins or Rich Gannon may take half a career for the light to turn on.

 

I researched the data and one of the most prevalent turn around years for the better QB’s has been year four. Dozens of recent players have experienced more INT’s then TD’s, low completion%, poor yards a completion….Then year four hits, the numbers turn around and progression is shown throughout the rest of the career. Clearly a QB can look like two different people during even normal career progressions.

 

Some things about Trent I think to be true

 

1. Trent is a smart person. He has a high degree of intelligence for an NFL QB

2. Trent has been hit a ton with Stanford and Buffalo

3. Trent has a very quick release

4. Trent chooses to check down at a very high percentage

6. Trent has shown he can be accurate

7. Trent has shown he can lead 4th quarter comebacks

7. Trent has not shown he's capable of generating a lot of points

8. Trent has had poor direction and coaching, if nothing else from lack of consistency

9. Trent has regressed

10. Trent gets Injured

 

Trent is a smart guy, he picked up the system quickly. He was a blank slate. Being hit a ton at Stanford he developed one of the quickest releases in football. In that situation, his senior year, Stanford took a NCAA worst 50 sacks. So he also understood the value of checking it down. As a smart player he came in the NFL with the not to lose mentality any Rookie QB should have. He seemed to know his role precisely. Our sack rates dropped dramatically when he replaced JP. He moved the chains with short accurate throws, and yes, plenty of check downs. He even gave us actual hope by making big time NFL throws against Washington and Jacksonville. As time passed people wondered, why can't we score??????

 

It's part of the maturation of most quarterbacks to have some early success. The hard part is adjusting once the defensive coordinators have adjusted to you. At one point Trent knew his role precisely, now his role must change to create more down field opportunities. These changes were to be facilitated by the same coaching staff vilified on this board. Regardless of coaching, history shows this part of the transition to be the most difficult for any QB. If he makes it past this stage, he's a sure fire NFL QB. Not easy as we all know. What transpired was a major regression.

 

Once decisive Trent now looked confused. He was confused before this year started, but after the changes he must have been brain mush. No confidence ensued, it created interceptions, accuracy problems, poor decisions. The line was horrid, + his confusion = higher sack rates. All this eventually leading him back to a disgusting combination or the previously mentioned problems and his safety blanket, the check down. He was then injured and now in most fans eyes is a lost cause.

 

I don't know how Trent will do, the odds are far stacked against any QB, for Bills QB's....well...

But the point is the Trent we've watched and puked over is nowhere near the Trent he actually is. Last year he was a beaten, confused QB, but he is still the same QB that many thought was the answer. This is clearly the year the numbers show as the breakthrough year for QB. It wouldn't shock me one bit to see Trent surprise a lot of people on this board.

 

 

good stuff. i was telling my son similar things the other day. trent has worked in a largely inefficient system for a long time.

 

if chan gailey is truly a developer of qb's, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. if he kicks him to the curb, so be it. if he decides he might the guy, let's get it on.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Considering my son bought an Edwards jersey last season, I hope Trent can turn it around but I'm not optimistic.

[DarthICE]

If Gailey holds an open competition between the 3 QB's on the roster and decides that Trent is the most talented then I have no problem with him being named the starter. No one was bitching about how much "Trent sucks" when the Bills were 5-1.

 

For the first time in his career Trent has a head coach that has a !@#$ing clue how to run an offense. He also knows how do develop a quarterback. If he wins the job I'll hope and pray that he turns out to be great.

 

Lets not forget, Favre and Young were run out off teams because they "sucked".

 

I did. The guy sucks. Dont' compare Trent the puss to Favre and young. Both had more fire, more leadership, willing to take more chances and flat threw the ball better than Trent. AND BOTH were less injured.

[bananathumb]

I - like most - thought Edwards was going to be the next franchise QB. But everything fizzled after that concussion in Arizona, evenn if he had a couple good games after that. I would really like to see him flourish under a new HC, but I'm afraid his confidence is beyond saving. Sad to say, too many Bills "fans" have turned on him for him to get a fair chance in this town. Best thing for him is to get traded or cut. I suspect he'll do better elsewhere. Hope I'm wrong.

 

Who we'll end up with is probably Fitzgerald, McNabb, Vick or Orton, unless Brohm suddenly blossoms.

[CardinalScotts]

Quarterback progression comes in so many forms. Some guys like Brady or Roth-burger might experience success right away and grow from then on. Other guys like Kerry Collins or Rich Gannon may take half a career for the light to turn on.

 

I researched the data and one of the most prevalent turn around years for the better QB’s has been year four. Dozens of recent players have experienced more INT’s then TD’s, low completion%, poor yards a completion….Then year four hits, the numbers turn around and progression is shown throughout the rest of the career. Clearly a QB can look like two different people during even normal career progressions.

 

Some things about Trent I think to be true

 

1. Trent is a smart person. He has a high degree of intelligence for an NFL QB

2. Trent has been hit a ton with Stanford and Buffalo

3. Trent has a very quick release

4. Trent chooses to check down at a very high percentage

6. Trent has shown he can be accurate

7. Trent has shown he can lead 4th quarter comebacks

7. Trent has not shown he's capable of generating a lot of points

8. Trent has had poor direction and coaching, if nothing else from lack of consistency

9. Trent has regressed

10. Trent gets Injured

 

Trent is a smart guy, he picked up the system quickly. He was a blank slate. Being hit a ton at Stanford he developed one of the quickest releases in football. In that situation, his senior year, Stanford took a NCAA worst 50 sacks. So he also understood the value of checking it down. As a smart player he came in the NFL with the not to lose mentality any Rookie QB should have. He seemed to know his role precisely. Our sack rates dropped dramatically when he replaced JP. He moved the chains with short accurate throws, and yes, plenty of check downs. He even gave us actual hope by making big time NFL throws against Washington and Jacksonville. As time passed people wondered, why can't we score??????

 

It's part of the maturation of most quarterbacks to have some early success. The hard part is adjusting once the defensive coordinators have adjusted to you. At one point Trent knew his role precisely, now his role must change to create more down field opportunities. These changes were to be facilitated by the same coaching staff vilified on this board. Regardless of coaching, history shows this part of the transition to be the most difficult for any QB. If he makes it past this stage, he's a sure fire NFL QB. Not easy as we all know. What transpired was a major regression.

 

Once decisive Trent now looked confused. He was confused before this year started, but after the changes he must have been brain mush. No confidence ensued, it created interceptions, accuracy problems, poor decisions. The line was horrid, + his confusion = higher sack rates. All this eventually leading him back to a disgusting combination or the previously mentioned problems and his safety blanket, the check down. He was then injured and now in most fans eyes is a lost cause.

 

I don't know how Trent will do, the odds are far stacked against any QB, for Bills QB's....well...

But the point is the Trent we've watched and puked over is nowhere near the Trent he actually is. Last year he was a beaten, confused QB, but he is still the same QB that many thought was the answer. This is clearly the year the numbers show as the breakthrough year for QB. It wouldn't shock me one bit to see Trent surprise a lot of people on this board.

I'm counting him out 2 5 10 YOUR OUT !

[Sisyphean Bills]

I did. The guy sucks. Dont' compare Trent the puss to Favre and young. Both had more fire, more leadership, willing to take more chances and flat threw the ball better than Trent. AND BOTH were less injured.

Not to mention that neither Favre nor Young was ever "run off" a team. They were both traded from teams because they had value.

 

Edwards problem is he has about as much leadership as a piece of bellybutton lint.

[Gugny]

If Gailey holds an open competition between the 3 QB's on the roster and decides that Trent is the most talented then I have no problem with him being named the starter. No one was bitching about how much "Trent sucks" when the Bills were 5-1.

 

For the first time in his career Trent has a head coach that has a !@#$ing clue how to run an offense. He also knows how do develop a quarterback. If he wins the job I'll hope and pray that he turns out to be great.

 

Lets not forget, Favre and Young were run out off teams because they "sucked".

I think Trent is physically able, just not mentally. I just hope Chan sticks to his word and knows who our starter will be prior to the draft. I read that Holmgren never likes to have open competition for QB, and that there won't be one in Cleveland. And he's got 2 possible starters there. It's not like Trent only had a few games to show what he's got. Chan has more than enough tape to review and assess. My guess is that no one on the roster today is the answer. If they can't get a FA, ready to start, QB prior to the draft, next season will be either Trent or Fitz for a year while Jimmy Clausen holds a clipboard.

 

Congrats on the Orange taking over #1, too.

[DarthICE]

Not to mention that neither Favre nor Young was ever "run off" a team. They were both traded from teams because they had value.

 

Edwards problem is he has about as much leadership as a piece of bellybutton lint.

 

The guy is not a leader. The thing that had me questioning the guy was an article I read where he said right after getting drafted he wasn't going to play that long. I can't remember the article but it really torqued me. This guy is not a leader, he has flat said he isn't a Bills fan. He is just collecting a paycheck while he can.

 

If Edwards had been drafted by anyone else, he NEVER would have seen the field. He is a backup at best, he is NOT a starter in this league.

[Mike in Syracuse]

I did. The guy sucks. Dont' compare Trent the puss to Favre and young. Both had more fire, more leadership, willing to take more chances and flat threw the ball better than Trent. AND BOTH were less injured.

 

Were you saying this when he was 5-1 last year? The fact of the matter is there was something in the guy that allowed him to lead the team to a 5-1 record.

 

If he starts 5-1 this year would you still hold the opinion that he "sucks"?

[Thurman#1]

I researched the data and one of the most prevalent turn around years for the better QB’s has been year four. Dozens of recent players have experienced more INT’s then TD’s, low completion%, poor yards a completion….Then year four hits, the numbers turn around and progression is shown throughout the rest of the career. Clearly a QB can look like two different people during even normal career progressions.

 

 

You researched the data? Excellent. Great. So, let's see it. Can't wait to see the list of dozens of recent players.

 

 

 

It wouldn't shock me one bit to see Trent surprise a lot of people on this board.

 

 

It wouldn't shock me one bit either.

 

Having said that, his success could easily be read as a guy expanding as far as he is capable. Either way of looking at it could be right. But I do agree that the situation and very possibly the playbook itself could have been very bad.

 

Still, there is no question whatsoever that he has made many many decisions to check down on plays where guys were open downfield. There is a major question whether he can ever get past that.

 

Still waiting to see the DOZENS of QBs from your research who made the big jump in their fourth year. I'll throw in two myself ... Eli Manning and Brees, but you claimed dozens, and I want to see them.

[Thurman#1]

Yes really.

Balls.

 

He is a prototypical BACKUP QB. Smart player. Keep it close to the vest, Kelly Holcomb Mk II. He was being pressured by the coaches to throw the ball downfield more, not be more trentative. He will catch on somewhere, like maybe a backup for the Detroit Lions.

 

He has less charisma and leadership skills than the average NFL punter.

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick, no great shakes, played with more urgency behind the same crappy line. His stats were about the same, but any unbiased observer could see that Fitz had more presence.

 

I'm sure Trent will improve, but he is not the answer. Maybe in 5 years he will be the next Brad Johnson, but even that would be a stretch.

 

 

 

Presence doesn't matter unless it produces results, which are reflected in stats. This "Fitz had more presence" is the same kind of nonsense we heard about Trent and Losman, "Trent has POISE, and anyone who can't see it knows nothing about football." That kind of crap was ALL OVER THESE BOARDS, and you know who you are.

 

Stats are a hundred times more important, not to mention predictive, than poise or presence or balls, which are purely subjective judgments.

 

Three QBs played in the same system with similarly crappy results. That pretty clearly indicates that the system isn't working. It also indicates that we had better get another QB in pronto, but yeah, Trent and Brohm could still see a light go on.

[Throwback Bills]

Drew Brees was written off as washed up for the Chargers, that's why they drafted Rivers. I know Trent Edwards is no Drew Brees, but how do you know. Drew was given the second chance.

[Guest dog14787]

I remember reading somewhere that TE was sitting on the bench partly because the coaching staff believed it would be the wisest thing to do for TE from a mental aspect, let him sit and heal both physically and mentally. I believe it was AVP that made the observation and comment, but I'm going by memory. If true, I commend the Coaching staff for doing the right thing for a change when it comes to a QB's development.

 

So lets keep doing the right thing by allowing TE the chance to succeed under better management/protection...

[Endless Ike]

The only issue I have is the injury one...Those injuries definitely start adding up.

 

If he can't avoid them, he's going to wind up a cripple by 30

[VADC Bills]

Drew Brees was written off as washed up for the Chargers, that's why they drafted Rivers. I know Trent Edwards is no Drew Brees, but how do you know. Drew was given the second chance.

Drew was great in his last season with SD. When Drew left we all knew he was going to win.

 

TE doesn't play very well against the elements...he is not a bad weather guy but he would make a solid back up.

[Coach Tuesday]

Very good post and I too am interested in what becomes of Trent's career because of the glimpses we've seen over the years. Not sure if he'll put it together at all, and if he does, whether it will be here. But unlike Losman (who had that deer-in-a-headlights problem under center), Trent's problems do seem coachable, i.e., pushing the ball downfield more. What I question with Trent is whether he loves the game. I know that's an esoteric point but it's just a gut feeling I have - I don't really get the sense that he enjoys playing football for a living. He doesn't seem to have that competitive fire that Brees and Rivers have. Maybe it got knocked out of him after years of getting hit, I don't know. But something just seems to be lacking.

 

EDIT: sort of an unrelated point, but does anyone else think that Fitz will be an OC someday? Just another gut feeling.

[bfw1234]

I did. The guy sucks. Dont' compare Trent the puss to Favre and young. Both had more fire, more leadership, willing to take more chances and flat threw the ball better than Trent. AND BOTH were less injured.

 

Darthice is right - Trent doesn't have the physical tools that Farve or Young possessed. He is a decent possession-type QB. I liked him too when he was a rookie b/c he was so anti-thetical to JP. But he is what he is; he is calm, poised (unlike Losman) but that's about it. I lost all confidence in him and so did the recievers. Team wont win with a qb who runs a pass attack through Jonathan Stupar and the rbs.

 

I expect him to be released and picked up by another team where he will serve as a back up