What happened to Trent Edwards?

[Gugny]

I have to disagree with your 3, 4, and 5. A bad offensive line is a REAL reason for failure. IMO it is an OC's responsibility to adjust the offense to compensate for a bad line, and we NEVER did that. That's not the QB's job. There is only so much you can do when you're being asked to drop 7 steps (or put in shotgun) while your receivers run long routes, watching your interior line collapse into your lap, and knowing that half the time your LT is being beaten on the edge by a speed rusher. How do you expect a QB to "work around" poor gameplans by the coach? Seriously. What do you want TE to do? He has to trust that his coaches are putting together a gameplan that will exploit opposing defenses while taking advantage of our strengths and masking our weaknesses...but then, when the bullets are flying on gameday and NOTHING is working the way it was drawn up, what do you expect the QB to do? That leads to your fifth point. TE was given a shoddy offensive scheme that he was clearly never comfortable with, did not suit his strengths, and was easy for opposing defenses to defend. Then we're shocked when he is indecisive?

 

I'd like to see TE behind a good offensive line, with a sound offensive system drawn up by a competent offensive coordinator. Then let's see what happens.

I totally see your points, but still stand by mine. Your logic would state that every good QB in the NFL has a good line, good coaches and good gameplans all the time. I'm trying to be more realistic is stating that a good QB can overcome those things and make adjustments in order to be successful.

 

Peyton Manning probably runs 10% of the plays that are called in from the sidelines. How many audibles did you ever see Trent call? That's adjusting. That's "working around" a poor gameplan.

 

As far as your wanting to see TE behind a good offensive line, with a sound offensive system drawn up by a competent offensive coordinator ... how many QBs wouldn't be successful with all of those things? Rather than wanting to see that, I would have liked to have seen a proven QB under center the last 2 years and then seen how Buffalo would've done.

 

I'd bet the farm it would've resulted in better than (7-9) and (6-10).

 

The guy just isn't cut out to be an NFL QB.

[JPS]

He sucked from day one, never should have started for any team. The only reason he started was jaruon was his HC

Ahh...and then there's that insightful analysis...

[JPS]

Manning is arguably the best QB in NFL history. Better than Kelly. Better than Marino. You can' t hold TE up to that standard. I agree with your points about Manning, but he's an extremely rare and exceptional player.

[thebandit27]

My personal opinion? The same thing that happened to Losman: nothing.

 

The guy had a few basic skills, and those skills helped make him successful against the league's bottom-feeders, which included a 5-0 stint (I'm not counting the Arizona game for obvious reasons) at the beginning of 2008 against the 4-12 Seahawks, 6-10 Jaguars, 5-11 Raiders, 2-14 Rams, and 8-8 Chargers, who were 2-3 at the time and fired then-defensive-coordinator Ted Cottrell (who's defense ranked dead last in the NFL following the loss to Buffalo).

 

I don't really think anything happened to him per se, other than that the rest of the league exposed his short-comings: inability to read defenses, lack of a downfield passing game, propensity to check-down, etc.

 

Like another poster said, I'd be more receptive to the concussion theory if he didn't play his best game in a Bills' uniform two weeks later against SD (after the bye).

 

Offensive line play and coaching notwithstanding, the guy had plenty of chances to make plays this season, and just didn't get it done. I believe he just doesn't have it, just as I did with Losman before him.

 

It's too bad, because he seems like a good guy.

 

Just my 1 cent.

[ieatcrayonz]

when he was at his peak, he beat an awful seahawks team (4-12) at home,

When a fake FG broke the game open

 

a Jags team that at the time looked like a great win, but in the end that team was no good (5-11),

Good game, well two good drives at least.

 

then we squeaked one out against the raiders (5-11) at home,

On a good drive after he almost singlehandedly blew the game 14 times.

 

beat a god awful rams team (2-14).........

on an interception return by Greer

 

then he got his bell rung in Arizona, had the bye week, and came back to beat the Chargers at home, who eventually made the playoffs at 8-8 but were playing awful football at the time. That 5-1 start was fun and the team looked great, but my god the teams he beat were horrible.

[ieatcrayonz]

Could you please find another team to follow or at least a different Bills board?

I am a Bills fan unlike the person who is the topic of this thread.

[1billsfan]

I don't think Edwards has a real passion for the game of football, and if he ever did it has probably knocked out of him from his time spent at Stanford and Buffalo.

 

I think he's happiest on a golf course somewhere in 80 degree weather. It would be nice if he rededicated himself and spent this entire off season training like a mad man to prove all the doubters wrong. I somehow don't get the feeling that this is what he's doing.

[thewildrabbit]

He had a good running attack and two talented wideouts and still couldnt make it work. Yes the line was poor and then got worse (actually Fitz in the one who felt this part)...he's a sack waiting to happen. Like I have said his career isn't just over in Buffalo he'll be out of the league

 

If you were to read some of the articles written by some of the local sports writers you would have read the one about the Bills running backs getting hit at the line and making most of the yardage on their own "after" that initial first hit.

 

The reason Fred Jackson took over the starting RB job is because he is more elusive and able to break tackles and elude that first tackler. OTOH Marshawn Lynch is like a freight train and needs a hole, which this years O line couldn't give him.

 

To state that the Bills had a good running attack and two talented receivers means nothing if the men coaching them are morons. You could have all the talent in the world on the field and it means nothing if you don't have a proper game plan and scheme.

 

When RW stated the Bills lacked "talent" at the end of the 08 season, the area lacking the talent was the coaching on the sidelines.

[reddogblitz]

Like another poster said, I'd be more receptive to the concussion theory if he didn't play his best game in a Bills' uniform two weeks later against SD (after the bye).

He also had a very nice game against KC last year and Tampa Bay this year. His first game of the season against NE was pretty good until the last drive.

 

I think he just doens't have the attention span for a full NFL off season and regular season. He comes out at the beginning of the year and looks good. After a few game he fizzles out. Even does the same thing in games. Comes out hot as a pistol only to fizzle out in he 2nd half.

 

He does football because he's good at it. His game of choice is golf.

 

We'll see what he does this off season. With a new coach and a new start, I'd expect a motivated QB to stay in town and work out and do film work etc with new coach to earn his way back into the starting line up. I bet Fitz does.

[DaGimp]

he blossomed into a woman

[Red Squirrel]

I'd like to see TE behind a good offensive line, with a sound offensive system drawn up by a competent offensive coordinator. Then let's see what happens.

 

The question I'd have to ask you, and the dozens of other people who keep at it with this line of reasoning, is this: if he can't win games, can't score points, can't gain first downs with a bad line, then why do you think he'd be better with a good line than Fitzpatrick would be? Wouldn't a good line help Fitz?

 

I'll try it this way: If Fitz + bad o-line > Edwards + bad o-line, then

Fitz + improved o-line > Edwards + improved o-line

 

I'm all for exploring other options...McNabb being the best one that's perceived as possible. But going back to Edwards....this is not justifiable.

 

One other point: LeFevour was passed like he was standing still by not only Tony Pike but also Jarrett Brown (who no one talks about here) during Senior Bowl week. He was better than Tebow, but that isn't saying much. Not saying he can't develop, or that he isn't worth a late draft pick, just that LeFevour fever at this point is pretty silly.

[nostyle126]

I totally see your points, but still stand by mine. Your logic would state that every good QB in the NFL has a good line, good coaches and good gameplans all the time. I'm trying to be more realistic is stating that a good QB can overcome those things and make adjustments in order to be successful.

 

Peyton Manning probably runs 10% of the plays that are called in from the sidelines. How many audibles did you ever see Trent call? That's adjusting. That's "working around" a poor gameplan.

 

As far as your wanting to see TE behind a good offensive line, with a sound offensive system drawn up by a competent offensive coordinator ... how many QBs wouldn't be successful with all of those things? Rather than wanting to see that, I would have liked to have seen a proven QB under center the last 2 years and then seen how Buffalo would've done.

 

I'd bet the farm it would've resulted in better than (7-9) and (6-10).

 

The guy just isn't cut out to be an NFL QB.

As someone else said, you're describing what an ALL-TIME GREAT quarterback can do in a bad situation, but even above average QBs need some help from their supporting cast. Manning is considered in a league of his own for his audibling...you can't expect Trent to perform at that level. It's just not realistic. Nor should it be all on him to make a bad offense work. We need to give our QB (whether it's Trent, Ryan, Brian, or some guy we don't have on the roster yet) a better chance to succeed than we have in the past.

[Gugny]

As someone else said, you're describing what an ALL-TIME GREAT quarterback can do in a bad situation, but even above average QBs need some help from their supporting cast. Manning is considered in a league of his own for his audibling...you can't expect Trent to perform at that level. It's just not realistic. Nor should it be all on him to make a bad offense work. We need to give our QB (whether it's Trent, Ryan, Brian, or some guy we don't have on the roster yet) a better chance to succeed than we have in the past.

I agree with you. I don't expect Trent, or any other QB in the league, to audible like Manning does, or perform at that level. What I'm saying is .. Trent NEVER called audibles. He never changed any plays. And he never improvised. The offense had weapons. Receivers got open. Trent's first option was always the running back. He never looked downfield. Other, average, QBs make those plays happen at least a few times/game. Trent consistently never made those plays. I don't expect Buffalo to have a QB as good as Manning under center anytime in the near future. But what I do expect is someone a little better than Ryan Leaf. And Trent isn't a heck of a lot better. It's beyond the line and the coaching. It's him. He had a lot of time to prove otherwise.

[Astrojanitor]

He also had a very nice game against KC last year and Tampa Bay this year. His first game of the season against NE was pretty good until the last drive.

 

I think he just doens't have the attention span for a full NFL off season and regular season. He comes out at the beginning of the year and looks good. After a few game he fizzles out. Even does the same thing in games. Comes out hot as a pistol only to fizzle out in he 2nd half.

 

He does football because he's good at it. His game of choice is golf.

 

We'll see what he does this off season. With a new coach and a new start, I'd expect a motivated QB to stay in town and work out and do film work etc with new coach to earn his way back into the starting line up. I bet Fitz does.

 

I'm inclined to agree with you. Fitz, I think, is a little underrated. He has an insane amount of faults, but when he's on he's on. I'm not advocating Fitz starting next year, but I can guarantee he's going to work for the job. He comes across as a driven guy who wants the job whereas Trent is probably happiest with his Dakota anning movies.

 

The O-Line obviously needs to be fixed. But just look at the difference between Trent and Fitz playing behind the line. Fitz had a lot less sacks and a lot more plays. Logic says a fixed O-Line means Fitz would still outplay Trent. Logic also says he lost that locker room for a reason. I'm sure there's an aspect to this story we don't know.

[nostyle126]

I agree with you. I don't expect Trent, or any other QB in the league, to audible like Manning does, or perform at that level. What I'm saying is .. Trent NEVER called audibles. He never changed any plays. And he never improvised. The offense had weapons. Receivers got open. Trent's first option was always the running back. He never looked downfield. Other, average, QBs make those plays happen at least a few times/game. Trent consistently never made those plays. I don't expect Buffalo to have a QB as good as Manning under center anytime in the near future. But what I do expect is someone a little better than Ryan Leaf. And Trent isn't a heck of a lot better. It's beyond the line and the coaching. It's him. He had a lot of time to prove otherwise.

I agree and disagree. I understand where you're coming from, but IMO it still comes back to the way he has been coached. For most of the early part of his career jauron stressed mistake free football, even if it means checking the ball down time after time after time AFTER TIME. Trent did as he was told.

 

Then we all started putting pressure on Jauron for how bad our offense is, so Jauron seemed to change a bit and you almost get this feeling he went to Trent and said "open things up a bit"...well that's easier said than done when you've been told time and again to be overly cautious. jauron was desperate though. Trent felt that pressure to force the ball downfield and he couldn't do it. He couldn't just suddenly adapt to 'forcing' the ball downfield in an offense that he wasn't comfortable with.

 

I know this comes across as making excuses for Trent, and trust me, I'm fed up with Trent too...but I'm just not quite at the point of completely giving up on him. I think Trent can be coached back from the oblivion, with the right coach. Is Chan Gailey that guy? We shall see.

 

Either way, arm strength is still a concern.

[JOHNNYFAIRPLAY]

Coaches can talk to these players until they're blue in the face, but themselves only they can blame for on the field performance. J.P. Losman could throw a beautiful deep ball, but he had a hard time hitting intermediate throws and checkdowns. Coaching's fault? I think not. Was he put too early by Mularky into a pressure situation? Yes, but that by no means determined the outcome of his career. If you can't play with a viable backup on the sidelines without worrying about your own starting spot, there is no coaching in the world that can help that. You can't coach guys out of insecurity. Trent Edwards doesn't trust himself enough to throw the ball leading a WR into the opening on the field. They can't throw the ball for him. There were numerous games where WR's would be coming into openings, but instead he would choose to check down with a 3 yard pass. He would try to wait until a guy was sitting down in an opening, but by then it would be too late. He got crushed one time and it ended him it seems. Getting hit is a part of football and he seems to be afraid of getting hit. He too, mentally, cannot pull it together for whatever reason. Continue to blame everything on this "horrible" organization if you want Negative Nancy, but the truth is these guys held their own fate in their hands and squandered their own opportunities.

 

Totally agree on some points, but disagree on onthers.

 

Both had an opportunity in the NFL, and both blew it. My comment is that the most biggest determining factor, in my opinion, is the organization and the lack of coaching and developing talent. Most if not all guys coming out of college are completely raw, they need to learn the pro game. Almost every other orvganization does they're job in teaching and developing. The constant coaching and personel changes in Buffalo simply do not allow for that.

 

Again, ask yourself this, you're a top ranked prospect knowing you have a window of about 7-10 years to make enough money (body taking punishment) to retire as a professional football player....your going to leave your future in the hands of, arguably, the worst run oraganization in the NFL?

 

If your answer is yes, then I hope you have a goverment job where you can tell exactly how much money you will make to include retirement, and know exactly how many days/hours you have until retirement...because you're not capable of making an educated decision on your own future, which ultimately leaves tax payers responsible for you in the future.

[yungmack]

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.

 

 

Do you remember Bledsoe beginning so well, then came the second half of that Raider game and he was never the same again and went into decline...

 

BUT...

 

We had Losman who looked really good so he became the starter. Showed a lot of promise. Then he went into decline...

 

BUT ...

 

We had Edwards who looked really good so he became the starter. Showed a lot of promise. Then he went into decline...

 

Anybody besides me think that the coaches for the last decade might have more than a little bit to do with three QBs in a row going from promising to confused bums?

[Gugny]

I agree and disagree. I understand where you're coming from, but IMO it still comes back to the way he has been coached. For most of the early part of his career jauron stressed mistake free football, even if it means checking the ball down time after time after time AFTER TIME. Trent did as he was told.

 

Then we all started putting pressure on Jauron for how bad our offense is, so Jauron seemed to change a bit and you almost get this feeling he went to Trent and said "open things up a bit"...well that's easier said than done when you've been told time and again to be overly cautious. jauron was desperate though. Trent felt that pressure to force the ball downfield and he couldn't do it. He couldn't just suddenly adapt to 'forcing' the ball downfield in an offense that he wasn't comfortable with.

 

I know this comes across as making excuses for Trent, and trust me, I'm fed up with Trent too...but I'm just not quite at the point of completely giving up on him. I think Trent can be coached back from the oblivion, with the right coach. Is Chan Gailey that guy? We shall see.

 

Either way, arm strength is still a concern.

Believe me, I hated to finally reach the point of giving up on him. I had high hopes. I thought he had a lot of upside. Whether or not Trent is the victim of poor coaching, I just don't think the Bills (as an organization) can afford to gamble on this kid for another year. Just for argument's sake, let's say they address the line needs and the play calling, and they let Trent start the year as "the guy" - thereby passing on signing a proven veteran. He's one mediocre hit away from being on IR. This is what I mean when I say there are just too many cons associated with him. They can address everything around him, but they can't address his lack of durability and fear of taking another hard hit. I totally agree that he had everything stacked against him from day one. I guess my point is that he didn't even come close to finding any way to overcome any of it.

[nostyle126]

Believe me, I hated to finally reach the point of giving up on him. I had high hopes. I thought he had a lot of upside. Whether or not Trent is the victim of poor coaching, I just don't think the Bills (as an organization) can afford to gamble on this kid for another year. Just for argument's sake, let's say they address the line needs and the play calling, and they let Trent start the year as "the guy" - thereby passing on signing a proven veteran. He's one mediocre hit away from being on IR. This is what I mean when I say there are just too many cons associated with him. They can address everything around him, but they can't address his lack of durability and fear of taking another hard hit. I totally agree that he had everything stacked against him from day one. I guess my point is that he didn't even come close to finding any way to overcome any of it.

If the choice is between Trent and a proven veteran, I'll take the proven veteran. If the choice is between Trent and anyone else on the roster (or drafted), I'd probably lean in favor of Trent (although Brohm intrigues me). So again I more or less agree with you.

[H2o]

Totally agree on some points, but disagree on onthers.

 

Both had an opportunity in the NFL, and both blew it. My comment is that the most biggest determining factor, in my opinion, is the organization and the lack of coaching and developing talent. Most if not all guys coming out of college are completely raw, they need to learn the pro game. Almost every other orvganization does they're job in teaching and developing. The constant coaching and personel changes in Buffalo simply do not allow for that.

 

Again, ask yourself this, you're a top ranked prospect knowing you have a window of about 7-10 years to make enough money (body taking punishment) to retire as a professional football player....your going to leave your future in the hands of, arguably, the worst run oraganization in the NFL?

 

If your answer is yes, then I hope you have a goverment job where you can tell exactly how much money you will make to include retirement, and know exactly how many days/hours you have until retirement...because you're not capable of making an educated decision on your own future, which ultimately leaves tax payers responsible for you in the future.

Everything that I stated is true. I'm not going to repeat it all over again. All of us have seen what's taken place with our QB's here. Do I believe that coaching plays an important role in a QB's developement? Yes. Have we had the greatest coaches? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. We could have had a number of coaches, but these guys still have to put it together on the field mentally, read the defense themselves, and get an accurate pass off to give our other players a chance. I don't see Trent or JP doing that. Trent did early last year and JP did in '06. Van Pelt had a hand in both of those situations. Hopefully Gailey can provide more tutiledge for the QB's and get this ship headed in the right direction. In the end, it will still be up to them to put it all together on the field. About the money situation? Schobel, Kelsay, Stroud, Lynch, McKelvin, McGee, Maybin, and Evans (just to name a few) along with countless others to come through this organization SHOULD all be set for life with the money they've made here. I say should because you all know how people act when they get money, some just can't keep their wallet shut.