Trent's habit for staring down receivers

[The_Philster]

A lot of us have seen it. At MNF against the Cowboys, Trent was already looking at Lee Evans before the snap and watched him throughout his route all the way until DeMarcus Ware tipped it and Terence Newman picked it off. Luckily, the Cowboys threw it right back to us when Romo threw to DiGiorgio but it didn't erase the fact that a serious flaw in Trent's game was exposed. He has a 25-24 TD-INT ratio over his career and he's stared down receivers a lot over the course of his career. Drew Bledsoe got away with it with that rocket arm of his but Trent's arm, although good, is nowhere near Bledsoe's and it's been costly. It's a habit I've seen out of him frequently.

I thought with the new coaching staff this year, that issue was going to leave his game. At the Open Practice this year, instead of staying on the sidelines like most fans, I went to my own endzone seat to get a better view of where Trent was looking...and he was still at it...he was watching Roscoe throughout the pass routes and even before the snap when he threw to him. I couldn't see a whole lot of where he was looking at last Saturday's practice but when I got done working yesterday, I started focusing on Trent during team drills....made some very nice throws. That part wasn't surprising, though....he does have a decent arm with some good accuracy. The part that I didn't believe was that I saw him actually look off safeties...not staring down his receivers. For example, on a nice bomb to Lee where he ran a 9 route down the left sideline, Trent didn't look his way til just before he threw the ball...he was looking over to his right, drawing safety help away from Lee. Whether that play was a case of Lee actually being his last option instead of the primary receiver on that play, I don't know...but Trent was looking away from his intended receiver quite a bit yesterday...a lot more than I've seen from him in his previous 3 years. If he can keep that up when the bullets are flying in a real game, I think he could become a very good QB for us

[FluffHead]

I have a feeling he's going to be staring down defensive linemen more than his receivers

[ganesh]

Having a real QB coach who can focus on your fundamentals and get rid of your bad habits will always help. Steve Farichild was able to do that through Van Pelt for JP Losman in his only successful season.

[Malazan]

I am sorry to inform you that since you have yet to master the art of paragraphs I am unable to take your opinion on football seriously.

[B Rob]

I am sorry to inform you that since you have yet to master the art of paragraphs I am unable to take your opinion on football seriously.

 

Really dude.

 

The Philster is a very good poster over at the Billszone. I can read what the guy was saying. Sorry that his sentence structure was not up to snuff but I enjoyed the post.

 

This board seems to be eat up with poeple like yourself. Get your post total up and add nothing to the conversation.

 

Thanks for the post Philster and taking time out of your day to offer a good opinion on this board.

[Guest dog14787]

A lot of us have seen it. At MNF against the Cowboys, Trent was already looking at Lee Evans before the snap and watched him throughout his route all the way until DeMarcus Ware tipped it and Terence Newman picked it off. Luckily, the Cowboys threw it right back to us when Romo threw to DiGiorgio but it didn't erase the fact that a serious flaw in Trent's game was exposed. He has a 25-24 TD-INT ratio over his career and he's stared down receivers a lot over the course of his career. Drew Bledsoe got away with it with that rocket arm of his but Trent's arm, although good, is nowhere near Bledsoe's and it's been costly. It's a habit I've seen out of him frequently.

I thought with the new coaching staff this year, that issue was going to leave his game. At the Open Practice this year, instead of staying on the sidelines like most fans, I went to my own endzone seat to get a better view of where Trent was looking...and he was still at it...he was watching Roscoe throughout the pass routes and even before the snap when he threw to him. I couldn't see a whole lot of where he was looking at last Saturday's practice but when I got done working yesterday, I started focusing on Trent during team drills....made some very nice throws. That part wasn't surprising, though....he does have a decent arm with some good accuracy. The part that I didn't believe was that I saw him actually look off safeties...not staring down his receivers. For example, on a nice bomb to Lee where he ran a 9 route down the left sideline, Trent didn't look his way til just before he threw the ball...he was looking over to his right, drawing safety help away from Lee. Whether that play was a case of Lee actually being his last option instead of the primary receiver on that play, I don't know...but Trent was looking away from his intended receiver quite a bit yesterday...a lot more than I've seen from him in his previous 3 years. If he can keep that up when the bullets are flying in a real game, I think he could become a very good QB for us

 

 

Great observations, and thanks Philster for giving us some great insight, for those of us that don't get to see our team developing through practice first hand, we can take all of these great reports we've been getting in and get a pretty decent idea of how things are actually coming along.

 

Myself personally, the trust that not only Trent Edwards, but also the other 3 QB's have in Chan Gailey and the offense he is installing is going to make all the difference in the world.

 

Getting back to staring down the WR, staring down the receiver has been a problem for Trent ,but in my opinion its partly to do with the pocket collapsing and TE being flushed out of the pocket constantly. When a QB gets flushed out of his normal routine, he switches over to instincts and has to improvise on the run. I'm not saying its always been the case, but in my opinion the more continuity/protection you get out of the O-line, the better a QB can function, go through reads, and look off safeties properly.

 

To know that Trent is past staring down the receivers as has been the problem in the past will take actual real game type pressure situations/pass rush in my opinion. It will also take an O-line show of improvement and proper scheming/play calling to set the table properly for a good evaluation.

 

With that being said, I do have every confidence in the world in Chan Gailey's ability to design a good offense and also in getting his personnel to execute a good offense which only equates to good things for Bills fans and on the Win/ loss column in my opinion.

 

Chan Gailey is the man...

[Meathead]

goodeyephil!

[Brand J]

TrINT - get the spelling of his name correct!

[Bob in STL]

A lot of us have seen it. At MNF against the Cowboys, Trent was already looking at Lee Evans before the snap and watched him throughout his route all the way until DeMarcus Ware tipped it and Terence Newman picked it off. Luckily, the Cowboys threw it right back to us when Romo threw to DiGiorgio but it didn't erase the fact that a serious flaw in Trent's game was exposed. He has a 25-24 TD-INT ratio over his career and he's stared down receivers a lot over the course of his career. Drew Bledsoe got away with it with that rocket arm of his but Trent's arm, although good, is nowhere near Bledsoe's and it's been costly. It's a habit I've seen out of him frequently.

I thought with the new coaching staff this year, that issue was going to leave his game. At the Open Practice this year, instead of staying on the sidelines like most fans, I went to my own endzone seat to get a better view of where Trent was looking...and he was still at it...he was watching Roscoe throughout the pass routes and even before the snap when he threw to him. I couldn't see a whole lot of where he was looking at last Saturday's practice but when I got done working yesterday, I started focusing on Trent during team drills....made some very nice throws. That part wasn't surprising, though....he does have a decent arm with some good accuracy. The part that I didn't believe was that I saw him actually look off safeties...not staring down his receivers. For example, on a nice bomb to Lee where he ran a 9 route down the left sideline, Trent didn't look his way til just before he threw the ball...he was looking over to his right, drawing safety help away from Lee. Whether that play was a case of Lee actually being his last option instead of the primary receiver on that play, I don't know...but Trent was looking away from his intended receiver quite a bit yesterday...a lot more than I've seen from him in his previous 3 years. If he can keep that up when the bullets are flying in a real game, I think he could become a very good QB for us

 

 

I agree. He has not had anything close to quality coaching or game planning. Just a rapid turnstile of bad coaching on the offense ever since Edwards has been here.

 

Maybe Chan can help him. I hope so.

[Hossage]

A lot of us have seen it.

 

Yeah Philster, looking off a safety and then throwing the ball can only be done by a qb who knows where his receiver will be, and isnt too worried about getting killed. He may have that luxury this year.

[Lurker]

Having a real QB coach who can focus on your fundamentals and get rid of your bad habits will always help. Steve Farichild was able to do that through Van Pelt for JP Losman in his only successful season.

Agreed.

 

There's enough tape of Trent's tendencies for this staff--a better offensive group than we've had in a while--to work on fixing that issue. If he keeps doing it in the exhibition games, I suspect he'll never overcome it...

[sllib olaffub]

I've got to imagine that Edwards has been told, or that it's been implied, that this is perhaps his last chance to have a real chance at starting in the league. Certainly, if he messes it up this year we'll be drafting a guy next. Probably he'd have to have a remarkable year to avoid drafting a guy next year. So, factor in the coaching and help that's available, the motivation, we will see Edwards best football this year one way or the other.

[Guest dog14787]

I've got to imagine that Edwards has been told, or that it's been implied, that this is perhaps his last chance to have a real chance at starting in the league. Certainly, if he messes it up this year we'll be drafting a guy next. Probably he'd have to have a remarkable year to avoid drafting a guy next year. So, factor in the coaching and help that's available, the motivation, we will see Edwards best football this year one way or the other.

 

I'm willing to bet Gailey has indeed sat TE down and given Trent Edwards a very stern talking to in private. All Edwards has to do is watch the steady development/improvement from Brohm to know If TE doesn't start producing on offense then someone else namely Brian Brohm, will.

[The_Philster]

Really dude.

 

The Philster is a very good poster over at the Billszone. I can read what the guy was saying. Sorry that his sentence structure was not up to snuff but I enjoyed the post.

 

This board seems to be eat up with poeple like yourself. Get your post total up and add nothing to the conversation.

 

Thanks for the post Philster and taking time out of your day to offer a good opinion on this board.

Thanks, although I haven't been on the Zone in years.

Regarding the topic, this issue of Trent's is the only thing that really holds him back, IMO. Whether fixing this problem will make him eventually become a great QB is anyone's guess but if it truly is gone from his game, the QB position might not be a major weakness for the Bills for the next few years.

[Beerball]

A lot of us have seen it.

I don't remember him having this problem, maybe because he's been so quick to dump off.

 

I would hope that he's able to get his presnap read and have a good idea where he's going to go with the ball. He isn't going to have a ton of time to survey the field.

[ConradDobler]

I am sorry to inform you that since you have yet to master the art of paragraphs I am unable to take your opinion on football seriously.

 

Really dude.

 

The Philster is a very good poster over at the Billszone. I can read what the guy was saying. Sorry that his sentence structure was not up to snuff but I enjoyed the post.

 

This board seems to be eat up with poeple like yourself. Get your post total up and add nothing to the conversation.

 

Thanks for the post Philster and taking time out of your day to offer a good opinion on this board.

 

B Rob, you have to realize Jeremy has been sent over here from Entercom (Specifically WGR 550) to piss in our collective cornflakes. Look up his history of negative, sarcastic one or two line posts. He is just a pathetic corporate troll.

[transient]

A lot of us have seen it. At MNF against the Cowboys, Trent was already looking at Lee Evans before the snap and watched him throughout his route all the way until DeMarcus Ware tipped it and Terence Newman picked it off. Luckily, the Cowboys threw it right back to us when Romo threw to DiGiorgio but it didn't erase the fact that a serious flaw in Trent's game was exposed. He has a 25-24 TD-INT ratio over his career and he's stared down receivers a lot over the course of his career. Drew Bledsoe got away with it with that rocket arm of his but Trent's arm, although good, is nowhere near Bledsoe's and it's been costly. It's a habit I've seen out of him frequently.

I thought with the new coaching staff this year, that issue was going to leave his game. At the Open Practice this year, instead of staying on the sidelines like most fans, I went to my own endzone seat to get a better view of where Trent was looking...and he was still at it...he was watching Roscoe throughout the pass routes and even before the snap when he threw to him. I couldn't see a whole lot of where he was looking at last Saturday's practice but when I got done working yesterday, I started focusing on Trent during team drills....made some very nice throws. That part wasn't surprising, though....he does have a decent arm with some good accuracy. The part that I didn't believe was that I saw him actually look off safeties...not staring down his receivers. For example, on a nice bomb to Lee where he ran a 9 route down the left sideline, Trent didn't look his way til just before he threw the ball...he was looking over to his right, drawing safety help away from Lee. Whether that play was a case of Lee actually being his last option instead of the primary receiver on that play, I don't know...but Trent was looking away from his intended receiver quite a bit yesterday...a lot more than I've seen from him in his previous 3 years. If he can keep that up when the bullets are flying in a real game, I think he could become a very good QB for us

 

Thanks for the info. IMO we too often forget that Edwards is still a young QB. Not only do you need time to go through your progressions and have confidence that you're not going to get smeared, but I think many younger QBs need time to adjust and break that bad habit. As you alluded to, competent coaching should help. I think many young QBs enter the league telegraphing their throws. For all we know, based on TE's comments about this being the first time in his NFL career that a coach called plays to set up the defense, DJ told him to stare at his receivers (I kid... I think).

[Buftex]

I do agree, staring down receivers has been a problem for Trent, as it was for Losman. I think, as some have pointed out, that was partly a result of the bad line play. If you recall, when Trent first took over in 2007, he had some intangibles that made him really stand out. One of those, it seemed, was reading defenses, and, field awareness. Unfortunately, that disappeared from his game, as the desperate level of the Bills line play became more evident. All of those good things Trent did, started to fade away. Part line play, and part poor coaching, IMO.

 

I haven't been to any practices, only see the video reports on BB.com. I do fear that the Bills still haven't done enough to address the line...I just hope I am wrong. I still think Edwards can be a good quarterback.

[Chilly]

I do agree, staring down receivers has been a problem for Trent, as it was for Losman. I think, as some have pointed out, that was partly a result of the bad line play. If you recall, when Trent first took over in 2007, he had some intangibles that made him really stand out. One of those, it seemed, was reading defenses, and, field awareness. Unfortunately, that disappeared from his game, as the desperate level of the Bills line play became more evident. All of those good things Trent did, started to fade away. Part line play, and part poor coaching, IMO.

 

I haven't been to any practices, only see the video reports on BB.com. I do fear that the Bills still haven't done enough to address the line...I just hope I am wrong. I still think Edwards can be a good quarterback.

 

Did they do anything at all to address the line? lol

[Dan]

I do agree, staring down receivers has been a problem for Trent, as it was for Losman. I think, as some have pointed out, that was partly a result of the bad line play. If you recall, when Trent first took over in 2007, he had some intangibles that made him really stand out. One of those, it seemed, was reading defenses, and, field awareness. Unfortunately, that disappeared from his game, as the desperate level of the Bills line play became more evident. All of those good things Trent did, started to fade away. Part line play, and part poor coaching, IMO.

 

I haven't been to any practices, only see the video reports on BB.com. I do fear that the Bills still haven't done enough to address the line...I just hope I am wrong. I still think Edwards can be a good quarterback.

See, I've never seen that from Trent. To me, reading defenses means you make the right presnap read, and then get your pass out within 2-3 seconds. Trent's reading of defenses is all postsnap and it seems to take him 4-5 seconds to get a pass out. That's been his biggest problem - standing back there going through reads when he doesn't have that much time.

 

Watch any decent QB, you'll see the majority of their passes - even the long throws - leave their hand within a second of dropping back. Watch Trent, he drops back and begins making reads. A couple of seconds later he makes a throw (usually to the dump off). Those few seconds are what separate the good QBs from the bad ones.

 

What I've been watching for from my limited view of practice in the bb.com videos is, is Trent dropping back and throwing? Or is he dropping back, looking, then throwing? To me, he's still doing a lot more of the later. Also, if you watch, many of the nice throws have been after someone would have sacked or at least gotten a hand on him. Bottom line, it's still taking too long to get the pass out - as I see it. Maybe Mike or some of the other guys that have gone to camp can comment further. ??

 

That's why I've said in the past (and gotten ridiculed for it - perhaps rightly so) that they should simplify the offense and give Trent no more than 2 options on any pass play. It's like he's gotten it drilled into his head that he has to look at all 4 possible receiving target, first. Then go back to the best option. And, by then, our line has gotten him killed.