There are three reasons to believe Trent Edwards has a good chance of keeping the Bills' starting quarterback job for the rest of the season.One is that the Bills' coaching staff has a tremendous amount of trust in his skills and intelligence. Steve Fairchild, Buffalo's offensive coordinator, demonstrated as much by using a spread formation for about half of the Bills' Week 4 victory against the New York Jets during which Edwards made his first NFL start. Edwards deftly ran the offense, patiently finding open receivers and keeping mistakes to a minimum. He showed superb poise, command and accuracy.
But the defining moment of Fairchild’s faith in the rookie came late in the fourth quarter when coach Dick Jauron pulled off the field goal unit on fourth-and-goal from the Jets 1 and sent in Edwards to run the play-fake, rollout pass that he calmly executed in connecting with Michael Gaines for the winning touchdown.
Reason Two: Team owner Ralph Wilson has loved Edwards since the Bills made him their third-round draft pick from Stanford, and became even more enamored with him during minicamp, training camp and the preseason. Now, Wilson is even more convinced that the Bills might have finally hit on the top-notch replacement they have been seeking since Jim Kelly's retirement 10 years ago.
Reason Three: J.P. Losman's knee injury, which opened the door for Edwards in Week 3, could take longer than the originally projected two weeks to heal. However, by the time Losman is healthy enough to play, Edwards could very well have permanently taken the job he once owned.
But the defining moment of Fairchild’s faith in the rookie came late in the fourth quarter when coach Dick Jauron pulled off the field goal unit on fourth-and-goal from the Jets 1 and sent in Edwards to run the play-fake, rollout pass that he calmly executed in connecting with Michael Gaines for the winning touchdown.
Reason Two: Team owner Ralph Wilson has loved Edwards since the Bills made him their third-round draft pick from Stanford, and became even more enamored with him during minicamp, training camp and the preseason. Now, Wilson is even more convinced that the Bills might have finally hit on the top-notch replacement they have been seeking since Jim Kelly's retirement 10 years ago.
Reason Three: J.P. Losman's knee injury, which opened the door for Edwards in Week 3, could take longer than the originally projected two weeks to heal. However, by the time Losman is healthy enough to play, Edwards could very well have permanently taken the job he once owned.
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