Trent Edwards

[The Juice Is Loose]

Looking through the boards, we're all hurtin' for material so I figure I'll put out my two cents on Trent Edwards since I rarely seem to talk about him.

Although I fully realize they tend to not show anything of him in practice other than his good plays, I get the feeling that he's been sharp. I never really saw JP do anything worth a darn in practice.

Through his first two years, he's got a winning record in his starts and has started most of his games. Through it all I only feel he's had 2-4 "bad games" and he's countered that with 2-4 "great games' with a bunch of average games in between.

I feel if he improves as much from year 2 to 3 as he did from year 1 to 2, then we are in for a good season. I'm sorry, but a good quarterback can be a good quarterback behind a shakey line. Not only that, but we have players that were highly touted, that we drafted. If New England had drafted Wood, we'd all be giving ROY titles and griping about not drafting him.

Sorry I got off topic. My point is, with our running the game the way it SHOULD be. (Rhodes is really good. Marshawn is really good, and of course we all love Fred), this team could be dangerous. Imagine having Fred and Lynch on the field at the same time, with TO and Lee Evans. I think any quarterback can relax knowing that whoever they check it down to has the ability to take it to the house.

Once a team gets beat with a "check down" play, the defense will get desperate. The pass rush will subside because they'll be off balance trying to diagnose the play. Its human nature.

I think our team is going to have good games and bad games. But I think that Trent is a smart enough guy to know that whether the ball goes 10, 20, 30 yards in the air, there is a chance for a big play. That's something we havent had really. Sorry but Willis, Reed, Price, those guys that they have been playing with just weren't real threats.

I think Trent is going to have a great year. I say he'll start 13-14 games. And have a top 5 in the AFC type season. Behind probably Peyton, Brady, Reothlisburger and I think Palmer is going to have a good year.

[syracuse76]

Re: Trent Edwards

good read except the part about reed. i think reed is a big threat...he is mr go to on 3rd down. he made alot of clutch catches on 3rd and longs that got us that extra possession. in the end it didnt matter half the time cuse the game ended on a loss. but that guy has good hands and does alot of dirty work running across the middle. im expecting big things out of trent this year. he has alot of tools at his disposal now. this season is in his hands weather it be for better or worse.

[HHURRICANE]

Re: Trent Edwards

Josh Reed not being on the field was the exact reason Edwards struggled last year.

I think a good QB behind a bad line eventually turns into David Carr everytime.

You can not make good throws when you are constantly getting less than 4 seconds to throw the ball.

[ddaryl]

Re: Trent Edwards

I have a lot of faith in Trent, even though he struggled last year, I still saw a QB who can manage a game. It really came down to lack of receiving threats. Evans was doubled all year long, Josh was a great outlet but can't do it alone. Hardy just did not have a stellar rookie season, Roscoe just has trouble getting off the line quick enough and running crisp routes, and Stevie Johnson just wasn't given enough oppotunity to turn into a late year phenom. I also thought Fine deserved much more playing time towards the end of last year, and feel he will be an upgrade to royal this year.

With T.O. and Evans trent should be able to move the ball downfiled more often. Trent will still dink and dunk, and that is perfectly fine. It keeps the O on the field and lets our D rest, but we'll see a higher YPC for sure this year.

It will come down to the OL... hopefully at worse we are equal to what we had last year early this year, with our OL getting better as the year moves on

Throw in the no huddle attack and getting Fast Freddie / Action Jackson the ball more often as a receiver and I have great hopes that our O will produce some exciting times for us this year.

[The Juice Is Loose]

Re: Trent Edwards

I wasn't saying that I don't love Josh Reed, cuz I do. But lets be real he's had 1 td in the last 2-3 seasons. I'd hardly call him a "threat". What I was referring to is a guy who a defense is going to have to game plan for, because if they get the ball in their hands they are a threat to take it all the way (IE TO, Lee, Lynch, Rhodes, Jackson, Roscoe and Johnson)

[syracuse76]

Re: Trent Edwards

I wasn't saying that I don't love Josh Reed, cuz I do. But lets be real he's had 1 td in the last 2-3 seasons. I'd hardly call him a "threat". What I was referring to is a guy who a defense is going to have to game plan for, because if they get the ball in their hands they are a threat to take it all the way (IE TO, Lee, Lynch, Rhodes, Jackson, Roscoe and Johnson)

ya but you have to kind of plan for reed ya know. his catches are the catches that have lead to touchdowns. 3rd and 8 ...on the opponents 40 1st down by reed gives us that extra 3 possesions (assuming jauron doesnt go for it on 4th, which cmon when does that happen), i know what you are saying but he is a very important role on this team that i think they do have to plan for. no he doesnt have TOs speed or flash, or evans speed, but he is clutch that when he is on the gridiron, you have to watch out for especially on the 3rd downs.

[Philagape]

Re: Trent Edwards

Based on the totality of his play in the first two years of his career, I believe the horrendous stretch he had in the middle of 08 was abnormal for him. Whether it was concussion-related (which could include a recurrence), or inexperience, or initial difficulty with a 3-4 defense, I'm confident that he can overcome it, because his chief asset is his intelligence. He can learn well. This was evident in his rookie season, when he showed field maturity and vision beyond his experience.
He is a cautious QB, and when you combine that with having only one legit receiving threat, that will result in a lot of short passing. We know it's not because of his arm; that's just silly. He's proven he can make all the throws, and while he doesn't have the bullet zip of a Cutler, he has decent downfield accuracy, which is way more important. He's the best intermediate passer we've had in a while; that's the best range to be good at.
Of course, having less than two full years in the NFL, he has room to grow in all these areas. He needs to learn to beat a 3-4. And he has to stay healthy. With so much turnover on the line, he needs to be more aware of when a guy is about to pound him -- or less sacrificial of his body to make plays.
He may never be an all-pro or put up sick numbers, but to have a winning record on this team is rather remarkable.

[Oldbillsfan]

Re: Trent Edwards

What about the play calling? The rookie OC? They couldn't come up with anything against the 3-4 after several games. Why blame it all on the QB?

[Philagape]

Re: Trent Edwards

What about the play calling? The rookie OC? They couldn't come up with anything against the 3-4 after several games. Why blame it all on the QB?

During that stretch, he just sucked. Too many passes were way off and ill-advised. He did not read the 3-4 well, and his confidence was visibly shaken. That's another thing he needs to do better, respond to adversity.

[SABURZFAN]

Re: Trent Edwards

the jury is still out on Edwards during games with horrible weather.

[yordad]

Re: Trent Edwards

If Trent and the line are even "average", this offense could be exciting.

[yordad]

Re: Trent Edwards

I will say Edwards seems more internally motivated then I originally thought he was going to be. That means a lot.

[TigerJ]

Re: Trent Edwards

Based on the totality of his play in the first two years of his career, I believe the horrendous stretch he had in the middle of 08 was abnormal for him. Whether it was concussion-related (which could include a recurrence), or inexperience, or initial difficulty with a 3-4 defense, I'm confident that he can overcome it, because his chief asset is his intelligence. He can learn well. This was evident in his rookie season, when he showed field maturity and vision beyond his experience.
He is a cautious QB, and when you combine that with having only one legit receiving threat, that will result in a lot of short passing. We know it's not because of his arm; that's just silly. He's proven he can make all the throws, and while he doesn't have the bullet zip of a Cutler, he has decent downfield accuracy, which is way more important. He's the best intermediate passer we've had in a while; that's the best range to be good at.
Of course, having less than two full years in the NFL, he has room to grow in all these areas. He needs to learn to beat a 3-4. And he has to stay healthy. With so much turnover on the line, he needs to be more aware of when a guy is about to pound him -- or less sacrificial of his body to make plays.
He may never be an all-pro or put up sick numbers, but to have a winning record on this team is rather remarkable.

I think that a contributing reason for Trent's poor stretch last season was that opposing DC's started focussing on ways to take Trent out of his comfort zone. If you see a QB has certain things he relies on, you can make him uncomfortable by taking those things away. As Edwards matures and strengthens more areas of his game, he'll have fewer weaknesses to exploit. Of course staying healthy and having solid blocking will help there too.

[JD]

Re: Trent Edwards

Edwards will lead us to the big dance within the next 5 years.

[SeatownBillsFan21]

Re: Trent Edwards

Josh Reed not being on the field was the exact reason Edwards struggled last year.

I think a good QB behind a bad line eventually turns into David Carr everytime.

You can not make good throws when you are constantly getting less than 4 seconds to throw the ball.

Very well said with no OL he has no chance to be a top 10 QB in the AFC let alone the NFL.