MarshawnIsDaMan
11-28-2007, 04:29 PM
http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html
<TABLE class=table_header style="MARGIN-TOP: 20px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom align=left colSpan=2>Edwards' lack of downfield risks hardly unusual
Posted by: Connor Byrne on November 28, 2007 12:12 AM
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px dashed; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i.realfootball365.com/gif/background-search.gif)" align=left><!--First Row-->» http://i.realfootball365.com/png/html-link.pngPermalink (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html) http://i.realfootball365.com/png/comments-article.pngComments (59) (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#comments) http://i.realfootball365.com/png/comments-email.pngEmail (http://www.realfootball365.com/refer/) http://i.realfootball365.com/png/comments-rss.pngRSS (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/teams/bills/rss.xml) http://i.realfootball365.com/png/comments-yahoo.pngMy Yahoo! (http://add.my.yahoo.com/content?.intl=us&url=http%3A//www.realfootball365.com/nfl/rss/bills.xml)
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- /Header --><!-- Article --><TABLE class=posted cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=5 width="100%" bgColor=#efefef border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><!-- Adsense --><TABLE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px" height=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--google_ad_client = "pub-6767491118272254";google_ad_width = 300;google_ad_height = 250;google_ad_format = "300x250_as";google_ad_type = "text";//2006-12-05: NFL - Buffalo Billsgoogle_ad_channel ="2628575208";google_color_border = "EFEFEF";google_color_bg = "EFEFEF";google_color_link = "044E8E";google_color_url = "008000";google_color_text = "000000";//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><IFRAME name=google_ads_frame marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-6767491118272254&dt=1196288736421&lmt=1196288736&format=300x250_as&output=html&correlator=1196288736421&channel=2628575208&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realfootball365.com%2Fnfl%2Farticles%2F20395.html&color_bg=EFEFEF&color_text=000000&color_link=044E8E&color_url=008000&color_border=EFEFEF&ad_type=text&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billsinsider.com%2F&cc=100&ga_vid=1443883090.1196288736&ga_sid=1196288736&ga_hid=2110706441&flash=9&u_h=800&u_w=1280&u_ah=770&u_aw=1280&u_cd=32&u_tz=-480&u_his=1&u_java=true" frameBorder=0 width=300 scrolling=no height=250 allowTransparency></IFRAME>
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<!--startscanning-->Although he failed as Buffalo's starting quarterback, evidenced by his recent demotion to second string, one thing that the Bills (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#)' J.P. Losman -- a 2004 first-round pick -- has been good at over the past few years is throwing downfield. The 26-year-old has a live arm, and that's enabled him to find wide receivers (mainly Lee Evans) deep since he took the field in his second season, '05.
While it's clear Losman's arm is more than adequate now, in 2005 that might not have been so obvious. During the first four starts of his career, in fact, Losman -- a former Tulane star -- threw for a meager 433 yards. In a Week 1 win, he threw for 189 yards, then 113, 75 and 75 over the next three games (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#), all of which resulted in losses.
The reason Losman's yardage amounts in those games were so low is largely because Buffalo's then-coaching staff didn't trust a first-time starter to throw the ball downfield much. That's not a knock on Losman by any means; the fact is, it's quite rare for young QBs to have the reins loosened to the point where they're airing it out ala Brett Favre. Instead, game (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#) plans are quite conservative until the signal-caller gets his feet wet (Ben Roethlisberger, for example). Of course, in Losman's case, neither staff he's played under as a Bill has believed in him enough to lengthen his leash.
Considering Losman started off so poorly in terms of aerial yardage accrued, it's somewhat of a head-scratcher why his successor in Buffalo, rookie Trent Edwards (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#), has drawn so much criticism for allegedly possessing a weak arm. During the first four starts of his career, all of which were back in September and October, Edwards threw for 613 yards (234-176-153-130). That's 180 more than Edwards' predecessor, and Losman was already a second-year player by the time the Bills began starting him.
Edwards -- who has excelled so far at finding targets for short and intermediate gains -- didn't have the benefit of sitting for a season and learning Buffalo's system, yet, during his first four starts, he threw for far more yards than Losman while completing a highly impressive 70 of 101 pass attempts. On the flip side, Losman threw 94 times during his initial four starts, yet he completed just 45 attempts (fewer than 50 percent).
The point isn't necessarily to compare Edwards to Losman; after all, neither is remotely similar to one another. Instead, the primary objective is to clear up the widespread falsehood that Edwards' arm -- which was complimented by one scouting report after the next before last April's draft -- is below par. Just because the third-rounder from Stanford hasn't really thrown downfield yet doesn't mean he can't. It just points to a coaching staff that calls games close to the vest and wants to avoid making mistakes. Again, that's what staffs do when they have young passers who are trying to deal with the intimidating speed of the game and outsmart sophisticated defenses that are far better and more advanced than the ones they faced in college.
While it would be interesting to see how Edwards fares over the next five weeks while consistently taking risks downfield, opportunities will likely be few and far between. If the 23-year-old impresses during the next handful of games, however, look for the Bills to stick with Edwards next season and have far more trust in him when it comes to airing it out. And if he isn't able to complete long attempts, it would then be fair to criticize Edwards' arm strength; right now, it's simply premature.
Hockey fans, check out Connor Byrne's new project, NHL 365 (http://nhl365.blogspot.com/).
RealFootball365.com: Your place for the Internet's best commentary on the Buffalo Bills.
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<TABLE class=table_header style="MARGIN-TOP: 20px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom align=left colSpan=2>Edwards' lack of downfield risks hardly unusual
Posted by: Connor Byrne on November 28, 2007 12:12 AM
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- /Header --><!-- Article --><TABLE class=posted cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=5 width="100%" bgColor=#efefef border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><!-- Adsense --><TABLE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 6px" height=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--google_ad_client = "pub-6767491118272254";google_ad_width = 300;google_ad_height = 250;google_ad_format = "300x250_as";google_ad_type = "text";//2006-12-05: NFL - Buffalo Billsgoogle_ad_channel ="2628575208";google_color_border = "EFEFEF";google_color_bg = "EFEFEF";google_color_link = "044E8E";google_color_url = "008000";google_color_text = "000000";//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><IFRAME name=google_ads_frame marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-6767491118272254&dt=1196288736421&lmt=1196288736&format=300x250_as&output=html&correlator=1196288736421&channel=2628575208&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realfootball365.com%2Fnfl%2Farticles%2F20395.html&color_bg=EFEFEF&color_text=000000&color_link=044E8E&color_url=008000&color_border=EFEFEF&ad_type=text&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billsinsider.com%2F&cc=100&ga_vid=1443883090.1196288736&ga_sid=1196288736&ga_hid=2110706441&flash=9&u_h=800&u_w=1280&u_ah=770&u_aw=1280&u_cd=32&u_tz=-480&u_his=1&u_java=true" frameBorder=0 width=300 scrolling=no height=250 allowTransparency></IFRAME>
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<!--startscanning-->Although he failed as Buffalo's starting quarterback, evidenced by his recent demotion to second string, one thing that the Bills (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#)' J.P. Losman -- a 2004 first-round pick -- has been good at over the past few years is throwing downfield. The 26-year-old has a live arm, and that's enabled him to find wide receivers (mainly Lee Evans) deep since he took the field in his second season, '05.
While it's clear Losman's arm is more than adequate now, in 2005 that might not have been so obvious. During the first four starts of his career, in fact, Losman -- a former Tulane star -- threw for a meager 433 yards. In a Week 1 win, he threw for 189 yards, then 113, 75 and 75 over the next three games (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#), all of which resulted in losses.
The reason Losman's yardage amounts in those games were so low is largely because Buffalo's then-coaching staff didn't trust a first-time starter to throw the ball downfield much. That's not a knock on Losman by any means; the fact is, it's quite rare for young QBs to have the reins loosened to the point where they're airing it out ala Brett Favre. Instead, game (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#) plans are quite conservative until the signal-caller gets his feet wet (Ben Roethlisberger, for example). Of course, in Losman's case, neither staff he's played under as a Bill has believed in him enough to lengthen his leash.
Considering Losman started off so poorly in terms of aerial yardage accrued, it's somewhat of a head-scratcher why his successor in Buffalo, rookie Trent Edwards (http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/20395.html#), has drawn so much criticism for allegedly possessing a weak arm. During the first four starts of his career, all of which were back in September and October, Edwards threw for 613 yards (234-176-153-130). That's 180 more than Edwards' predecessor, and Losman was already a second-year player by the time the Bills began starting him.
Edwards -- who has excelled so far at finding targets for short and intermediate gains -- didn't have the benefit of sitting for a season and learning Buffalo's system, yet, during his first four starts, he threw for far more yards than Losman while completing a highly impressive 70 of 101 pass attempts. On the flip side, Losman threw 94 times during his initial four starts, yet he completed just 45 attempts (fewer than 50 percent).
The point isn't necessarily to compare Edwards to Losman; after all, neither is remotely similar to one another. Instead, the primary objective is to clear up the widespread falsehood that Edwards' arm -- which was complimented by one scouting report after the next before last April's draft -- is below par. Just because the third-rounder from Stanford hasn't really thrown downfield yet doesn't mean he can't. It just points to a coaching staff that calls games close to the vest and wants to avoid making mistakes. Again, that's what staffs do when they have young passers who are trying to deal with the intimidating speed of the game and outsmart sophisticated defenses that are far better and more advanced than the ones they faced in college.
While it would be interesting to see how Edwards fares over the next five weeks while consistently taking risks downfield, opportunities will likely be few and far between. If the 23-year-old impresses during the next handful of games, however, look for the Bills to stick with Edwards next season and have far more trust in him when it comes to airing it out. And if he isn't able to complete long attempts, it would then be fair to criticize Edwards' arm strength; right now, it's simply premature.
Hockey fans, check out Connor Byrne's new project, NHL 365 (http://nhl365.blogspot.com/).
RealFootball365.com: Your place for the Internet's best commentary on the Buffalo Bills.
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