What happened to Trent Edwards?

[JPS]

It was reported that TE lost the locker room late in the season. To me, TE's disappearance is a combination of two things:

 

1) His mental state isn't one that rebounds from adversity. Not like a Brees, P. Manning, Rodgers, Favre, or the elite QB's in the game.

 

2) His HC was responsible for some of the dullest offenses in Bills history. That's not saying they were the worst, but three coordinators looked eerily similar when crunch time rolled around. I still don't know why TE remained loyal to DJ as his career was twisting downward in that backwards offense DJ's been running.

 

OBD will have a hard time selling Edwards as the starter in 2010 and they've already got an uphill climb after hiring Gailey.

 

He can only rebound with the proper O-line and coaching. Maybe this will be his first year of that. Of course, it may happen in another locale, but I think it's hard to judge he or Fitz based on '09 disaster. My buddies in Cincy insist that Fitz is the worst QB to ever play in Cincy...and that's saying something...

[johnnychemo]

I'd be more inclined to believe the concussion at AZ broke him if he didn't play so well against the Chargers his first game back. Maybe there was a setback after that game related to the concussion that wasn't reported or something, but to see him play well right after coming back from the injury then tank makes me think there was something else.

[drg2021]

Take away an experienced OC and a competent O-line, I wonder how many QBs would have maintained their confidence level. It's not a full on defense of Edwards, but I just wonder if we bail now...is it 1 year too early? I think he showed enough when we had an OC and a line to merit another look.

So if Trent does get his confidence back under Chan,what do you think will happen when a corner,safety,or linebacker comes scott free and wipes out Trent again.I do like Trent but i think the risk outweighs the reward longterm ,and unfortunately i do not see him as the answer.

[Pirate Angel]

He showed more promise than any prospect (or suspect) we've had in years, now it feels like going out on a limb to say he should get a shot at the job. I think the odds are way in favor of him being our opening day starter over anyone else in the poll.

Bad coaching, Bad system, Bad protection, Bad hits.

[Trader]

Like a beaten dog - went gun shy after taking lumps for too long. I think he could have been a good pro, but it's a long shot now. He needs a change of scenery and a good O-Line to get some confidence back...

 

 

He reminds me of a prize fighter who has taken a really bad beating. They are never the same afterwards.

[H2o]

He showed more promise than any prospect (or suspect) we've had in years, now it feels like going out on a limb to say he should get a shot at the job. I think the odds are way in favor of him being our opening day starter over anyone else in the poll.

Trent Edwards' promising future, meet Adrian Wilson.

[tonyjustbcuz]

He showed more promise than any prospect (or suspect) we've had in years, now it feels like going out on a limb to say he should get a shot at the job. I think the odds are way in favor of him being our opening day starter over anyone else in the poll.

 

 

I am more tired of T.Edwards than I was with Lossman ! I want T. Edwards somewhere else or another leaugue next year..anywhere but here...he has Jauron funk on the brain !!!!!!!! and that funk is the junk we need to discard! I know Fitzy isn't the answer as a starter but I found him more impressive than T. Edwards. Whatever poll your referring to make sure you put me down for anyone in the leaugue to be a starter as long as it's not T. Edwards ! He wore out his welcome ! I guess he could always go back and review the tape again with Jauron and get back to you on his assesment!

[Bart]

He showed more promise than any prospect (or suspect) we've had in years, now it feels like going out on a limb to say he should get a shot at the job. I think the odds are way in favor of him being our opening day starter over anyone else in the poll.

 

He is done. He had an average arm at best and could not gain the respect of his team mates. The new coaching staff was brought in to turn the franchise around and it can't be done by going back to the old losing ways or anyone that played a key roll in the losing process.

[Dr. Fong]

Concussion vs the Cardinals. That's his turning point. Not the same since.

 

PTR

 

 

/end thread

[reddogblitz]

I don't really think Trent went south or didn't' live up to his potential etc. He came in and went out as Captain Checkdown. I can remember the rave reviews of him in preseason 2007"going through his progressions" and hitting the short open guy to move the chains. That's pretty much what he did in 2007 and in the glory 5-1 run of 2008. Sure he threw some nice long balls on occasion but it was mostly checkdown stuff. Then, the league figured him out. Any doubt was removed in the Clowns game. Teams then doubled down on the short guys and he was finished.

 

I think the coaches wanted him to throw down field more. Plays were designed for it. Receivers were downfield and open and he simply wouldn't throw it to him After Dick was fired, Perry said, enough is enough. He'll never learn. And he was relegated to the pine and 3rd string. And that's where he is now. Probably where he'll stay because I don't think he has the fire in his belly to be a NFL compentitor like a Drew Brees or Tony Romo or Jim Kelly or Doug Flutie. JMO.

[sharper802]

Can you remember one play where Drew Brees threw downfield while winning the SB? He checked down multiple times or maybe they were designed throws to the RB. Manning was intercepted on a check down from a blitz and he is probably one of the three best QB's in histroy. The difference is Brees was throwing short passes to WR's a lot. Trent just threw to slow ass white TE's. Is it Trent's fault or AVP's fault there was no counter to covering the underneath throws? Were guys truly open downfield? Was Trent already sacked when these guy were supposedly open?

 

Trent will be the starter day one. Fitz is wildly inaccurate. Brohm who the hell knows. Would I still take Clausen if he is there - yes. My hunch is he will not and they take a LB - almost have too if they are really switching to a 3-4.

[Big Turk]

The difference is Brees was throwing short passes to WR's a lot. Trent just threw to slow ass white TE's.

 

Why Shawn Nelson wasn't involved in the offense more last year is beyond me...

[reddogblitz]

Can you remember one play where Drew Brees threw downfield while winning the SB?

Third play of the game on 3rd and 2 or something. It was incomplete and they had to punt. I also remember several 10 - 15 yards throws downfield to WRs. You don't have to throw a lot of bombs, but you do have to throw a few even if incomplete and mid range passes to WRs. Otherwise the defense just crowds the LOS as we've seen teams do to Trent.

Were guys truly open downfield? Was Trent already sacked when these guy were supposedly open?

Yes. I went to 4 games that Trent played in and can say without a doubt as have many others on here who have gone to games that guys were open downfield but just plain not thrown to. Can't tell on TV, but you sure can at the game.

Trent will be the starter day one.

Gosh I hope not.

[MRW]

I don't really think Trent went south or didn't' live up to his potential etc. He came in and went out as Captain Checkdown. I can remember the rave reviews of him in preseason 2007"going through his progressions" and hitting the short open guy to move the chains. That's pretty much what he did in 2007 and in the glory 5-1 run of 2008. Sure he threw some nice long balls on occasion but it was mostly checkdown stuff. Then, the league figured him out. Any doubt was removed in the Clowns game. Teams then doubled down on the short guys and he was finished.

 

I think the coaches wanted him to throw down field more. Plays were designed for it. Receivers were downfield and open and he simply wouldn't throw it to him After Dick was fired, Perry said, enough is enough. He'll never learn. And he was relegated to the pine and 3rd string. And that's where he is now. Probably where he'll stay because I don't think he has the fire in his belly to be a NFL compentitor like a Drew Brees or Tony Romo or Jim Kelly or Doug Flutie. JMO.

Good post. Trent Edwards is the exact same QB today he was 3 years ago. I don't think we need to look for some kind of post-concussion symptoms that disappear against San Diego only to come back with a vengeance. I think Bills fans were blinded to Edwards' faults by the fact that he was the anti-Losman, but just because a guy has a different set of bad tendencies than Losman doesn't mean he'll ever be a good QB.

 

Edwards really seems to me like a guy who will go somewhere as a 2nd or 3rd stringer and be perfectly content. And, y'know, good for him. But I really think he's shown us everything he's got and ever had, and it's not starting caliber.

[8-8 Forever?]

At times during the 2008 season Edwards made me think we finally had our solution at QB. Then he folded like a tent when it got cold and refused to throw downfield this season with two quality WR's in TO and Evans. Would an improved O-line be a major difference in his career? I don't know but hope so. We are so desperate for a good QB.

 

A swiss cheese O Line and crappy running game will kill all but the best QBs careers. IMO, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he is ruined. Call it the "David Carr" effect. Too bad, really, guy never had a shot with this bad an organization. But hey, he played in the NFL. Not many guys get to do that. Matt Hasselbeck is a another example. Once the Seattle running game disappeared, he was done.

[thewildrabbit]

He showed more promise than any prospect (or suspect) we've had in years, now it feels like going out on a limb to say he should get a shot at the job. I think the odds are way in favor of him being our opening day starter over anyone else in the poll.

Like others have posted Trent has been beaten up and concussed and played behind some shoddy O lines. He was developed into an old system he didn't play in at college, with old playbooks and had inferior OC's and head coach.

 

The scheme, the system, the play calls, the line, the entire offense has been horrid for ten years. This is the reason the front office / RW went to an offensive minded HC to rebuild the team.

 

Trent Edwards is clearly not even close to having the ability of Drew Brees or Joe Montana at this point in his career, although he does share traits with both those two, he is a very accurate passer. Knowing this the team needs to spend premium draft picks on the O line.

Find a great blocking tight end and fullback, and make sure they can provide great protection for the QB. Build an offense that doesn't need a Joe Montana at QB, a great running game can make even a marginal QB look good.

[SoulMan]

Bad coaching, Bad system, Bad protection, Bad hits.

 

This is it.

[Red]

I don't know that anything would be different if it hadn't happened, but he was never the same after that concussion. Before that he seemed to making decent progress and was slinging the ball around. After, he became captain checkdown.

 

I agree with this.

 

We scrapped Losman because he was way too erratic and turnover prone. That was a positive, but I also don't believe that Edwards was coached by someone who knew what they were doing and was thrown into the fire too soon.

 

"Oh well, too bad so sad", some may say. "That's the modern NFL".

 

Ok. I don't disagree with that. But if you can put yourself into a position to train and groom an eventual franchise QB, why wouldn't you?

 

Edwards has played behind a hideous offensive line and how many offensive coordinators in the past few seasons? Getting knocked out of that AZ game certainly did not advance his career.

 

I say get a veteran in here, capable of leading, winning now, and bringing some consistency to the QB position like Jeff Garcia. Then I would say get a capable #2 guy who has demonstrated being able to carry the load if need be, but also being younger and may even eventually step into the #1 role like Thigpen (who looked good playing under Gailey in KC), or even Gradkowski in Oakland.

 

I would probably draft a solid QB at #2 this year like Tony Pike.

 

Then I would have both Brohm and Edwards duel it out in camps this year to determine who stays and who goes.

 

This would give Edwards a chance to start over, as he, Brohm, and Pike could all be trained and groomed under Cortez while Garcia and Thigpen lead.

 

Edwards still has 1 year left on his deal. I'd atleast give him this offseason and training camp to see if he can start over and get his confidence back.

 

And Nix will also need to be hard at work getting some starting tackles in here as well.

[billsfreak]

I think what happened to Edwards was, for the past 3 seasons, he has had on average, the worst offensive line in the NFL. He for the most part hasn't had time to wait for a play to develop, been running for his life and as result has had to check down on the majority of the plays to a running back or tight end. He has had to do that for so long, that now he is automatically in checkdown mode, and for the fear of his life with no blocking has little confidence left. Trent has the mental physical tools, but until he can get a QB coach and an offensive coordinator that can restore confidence and until they get a sufficient offensive line, Edwards will never live up to his ability.

[Red]

I think what happened to Edwards was, for the past 3 seasons, he has had on average, the worst offensive line in the NFL. He for the most part hasn't had time to wait for a play to develop, been running for his life and as result has had to check down on the majority of the plays to a running back or tight end. He has had to do that for so long, that now he is automatically in checkdown mode, and for the fear of his life with no blocking has little confidence left. Trent has the mental physical tools, but until he can get a QB coach and an offensive coordinator that can restore confidence and until they get a sufficient offensive line, Edwards will never live up to his ability.

 

What about now, Billsfreak?

 

I would say that Cortez as QB coach and Gailey as offensive coordinator/ head coach will prove positive.

 

Providing Nix gets some offensive tackles in Buffalo.