QB Edwards rewarding Bills for their confidence

by Brian Galliford on Sep 15, 2008 9:05 AM EDT in Opinion

Edwards making quick strides (buffalobills.com)

So this is what it looks like to have good, consistent quarterback play. How quickly we can forget as fans of the Buffalo Bills.

Second-year quarterback Trent Edwards made just his eleventh career start in yesterday's 20-16 Bills win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the 24-year-old signal caller looked like a seasoned vet - and his play reflected it. It's hard to overstate just how clutch Edwards' performance was on Sunday. This was the team's first road game of the season, and it came in a hostile environment with harsh (read: superbly hot) weather conditions against a tough, physical defense. The odds were stacked against the quarterback; he calmly defied them. His play has Bills fans everywhere - including yours truly, a fervent defender of J.P. Losman during the 2007 (my, crow is delicious) - excited about not only his potential, but now his production.

Edwards makes critical plays in W over Jags
It was Edwards' right arm that saved the day for Buffalo and vaulted them to their first 2-0 start since the 2003 season. Edwards completed 20 of 25 passes for 239 yards and a game-winning touchdown to rookie receiver James Hardy with four minutes left to play. He was efficient, he was smart with the ball, but perhaps most importantly, he was at his best when his team needed him to be - he orchestrated a 12-play opening touchdown drive to give the Bills a 7-0 lead early, and he won the game late in the fourth quarter. His quarterback rating on the day was an outstanding 119.8.

vs JAC / 9.14.08	Passing					Rushing
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Trent Edwards	20	25	80.0	239	1	1	-1	-1.0	0

Edwards has shown in his brief stint as the Bills' starting quarterback that he has what it takes to win games late. He did it last year in a come-from-behind victory against the Washington Redskins (whose defense at the time was orchestrated b Gregg Williams, whose Jaguars defense Edwards so easily carved up yesterday). He nearly did it with the season on the line in Cleveland in some of the worst weather conditions a quarterback could play in. He certainly did it yesterday.

Now Edwards, along with his team, is off to a fast start. The team is 2-0 (lifting Edwards' career record to 7-4 as a starter), and Edwards himself has amassed a 107.7 quarterback rating in two wins over 2007 playoff teams in Seattle and Jacksonville. He's completed 71 percent of his passes (39 completions in 55 attempts) for 454 yards and two scores. He's thrown no interceptions and turned the ball over only once. His 8.25 yards per pass attempt is an outstanding statistic indicative of how efficient he's become. He's been sacked just four times while proving that he's highly proficient at reading defenses and getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers.

Living up to his vote of confidence
Some fans and experts were critical of the Bills' decision to hand the reigns of the franchise over to Edwards after a solid yet highly unspectacular rookie season in which he was 5-4 as a starter, yet threw more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (7). Those fans who supported the decision - like the Bills - are being rewarded for their confidence in Edwards. He doesn't look like he's got less than a year of starting experience. He's smart with the football and can make big plays with his arm. In short, he's the perfect quarterback for a team led by Dick Jauron - and the team is showing it thus far.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, however, it's important to realize just how much growing up Edwards still has to do. There are still moments where he hangs onto the football for a touch too long, and that's been the case on nearly every sack he's taken this season. Perspective is great, so remember that he's only started eleven games. He's bound to see defensive looks he's never seen before in upcoming games, and he'll need to handle them as well as he's handled himself to date. His health is still a concern - we need to be knocking on wood every day that Edwards stays healthy, because he's been quite injury-prone at Stanford and missed some time last year with an injured wrist.

But it's OK to be excited. It's obvious that this quarterback has what it takes - namely, the smarts and moxie to handle difficult situations, and the arm to make plays - to play at a high level consistently. Buffalo made an unusual move when they gave Edwards the ultimate vote of confidence and named him their starting quarterback immediately following the 2007 season. But then again, Edwards is an unusual player - for the Bills, at least. He's a competent NFL quarterback, and he's got the potential to be much more than that.

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Re: There are still moments where he hangs onto the football for a touch too long,

At least one time this was a good thing though. End of the game, holding onto the ball and taking the sack instead of throwing it away and stopping the clock. Incredibly smart play and as much as I loved JP, he would have thrown that away.

by twoeightnine on Sep 15, 2008 9:38 AM EDT 0 recs

I don’t agree that he holds the ball to long. he knows when it’s time to get rid of the ball and he isn’t afraid to take hits to make a play. he steps up in the pocket and gets out of the pocket when needed.

by gatornation on Sep 15, 2008 10:56 AM EDT 0 recs

I’m not saying it’s a chronic problem for him at all – clearly it’s not. But it does happen occasionally. He held the ball too long on his sack against Seattle, and it happened at least once again yesterday. Definitely not a major issue, but it’s a loose end that would be nice to see him tie up.

by Brian Galliford on Sep 15, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

I would say every qb occasionally holds the ball too long. I think in Trent’s case it stems from a belief that a receiver will get open and not because he’s afraid to unload the ball.
The 2 examples you sighted are the only ones I can think of, but I believe the Seattle sack is when Lynch wiffed on a block attempt.

by gatornation on Sep 15, 2008 1:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

And his fumble yesterday was one of the plays Peters got beat like the tired dog he was.

by mavadjdj on Sep 15, 2008 5:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

So very excited

about Trent. It has been hard watching other teams play well while developing young players while the Bills flopped around with QB issues. I was a huge supporter of J.P. as well but he never showed any growth at the position. The same mistakes seemed to haunt him time and again. Trent has shown tremendous growth in less than a year of starts. I guess that’s why he went to Stanford.

I would like to see the Bills take more deep shots because Trent has shown some accuracy on deep passes but he gets the ball in playmaker’s hands on short passes and let’s them get the ball down the field so I can’t argue with that.

The one worry I have is the weather still. He struggled early in week 1 when the weather was bad and we remember his struggles last year towards the end of the season. If he is going to get us to the promised land he will have to learn to thrown in high winds, snow, and ice. But I have every confidence.

by RabidBuffalo on Sep 15, 2008 11:06 AM EDT 0 recs

Totally Agree

Totally agree with you, RabidBuffalo. The two areas Trent must improve on — 1. show the deep pass once in awhile, so the opponent’s safeties don’t crowd the line like it did this week; and 2. he needs to be a better bad weather QB (he’s been a California boy all his life, so last year was the first time he played in that weather).

by labill on Sep 15, 2008 11:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, well, Tom Brady hails from California too. Granted, he played at UM, but still – it’s not like Edwards’ birth place is the reason for his issues. I tend to attribute his slow start against Seattle to the fact that he played so little in the pre-season moreso than to a little rain.

by Brian Galliford on Sep 15, 2008 12:40 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'm a bit confused....

What exactly stipulates a “deep” pass vs. an intermediate pass? I guess I’m asking for a specific yardage, and I guess actual distance thrown vs. total yards gained on the play.

by MonStarr_716 on Sep 15, 2008 12:40 PM EDT up 0 recs

Asked myself that too

This is one for the experts among us. I’ve always considered deep to be 30+yds and intermediate 10-30 yds.

I think intermediate passes are the key because they soften things up enough that the defense is concerned about the 20-25 yd gain and therefore don’t crowd the line of scrimmage.

by Ono on Sep 15, 2008 1:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

quick stat

Lee is averaging 22.4 ypc so far. Out of 92 players w/ 5 or more catches this year, Evans ranks 3rd behind Chris Chambers and Greg Jennings respectively. Drop that to a minimum of 8 catches, Lee is second to only to Greg Jennings.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm….

Ball control vs the quick deep strike…..

by MonStarr_716 on Sep 16, 2008 12:45 AM EDT up 0 recs

these stats don't include the dalla filly game just played

by MonStarr_716 on Sep 16, 2008 12:46 AM EDT up 0 recs

Potential

If Trent didn’t get any better than he is now (highly unlikely) he would still be better than what we’ve had in a number of years. Add in the fact that he can get better, and we have reason to be optimistic.

by Hopefulcynic on Sep 15, 2008 11:40 AM EDT 0 recs

Finally....

In recent Bills history, how many times have we had to suffer poor/mediocre QB play when the game is on the line? Although I had some angst before and during the 4th quarter touchdown drive, this was a very different team led by a very different Bills QB. On that drive, the two clutch 3rd down throws were reminiscent of some of the young talented QB’s the Bills faced last year. It’s nice to have one of these guys on our side for a change. This is now undeniably Trent’s team and it will be fun to see where he takes it. He will face adversity, but seems to have the right attitude to deal with it without getting rattled. If he has a healthy year then Bills fans can realistically dream of seeing their team play in the post season. As Hopefulcynic points out, he should get even better as the season progresses. I hope this isn’t mitigated by teams exploiting his weaknesses or tenancies.

One observation… Remember all of the hand holding JP got from supposed QB guru Sam Wyche? He even was tutored on speaking to the press. I didn’t hear much about Trent getting this type of help, yet he handles himself in front of the media like a 12 year vet. I’ll wager it’s the same in the huddle.

by NJBill on Sep 15, 2008 12:28 PM EDT 0 recs

Gotta love Trent thus far

I love QB’s that perform in the 4th Q. That’s why Eli Manning has become such a good QB, no matter how he plays earlier in the game, he steps it up in the 4th Q. I see Edwards in the same way, and he really does a great job of controlling the O when he needs to most.

I’m still quite a bit cautious about him and our O. I’m still worried if we fall 2 scores back in a game, or if we are forced to throw it down the field more often. I still want to see more passes over the middle and a bit further downfield, however, it’s hard to argue with 12 yards a completion and only 5 incompletions. Trent’s take his chances when they are there and does a good job taking what is given to him. I’d like to see more Roscoe and Evans underneath because of that. I want to see those guys catch it in some space and try to get upfield (see Freddie yesterday). I’m very happy that Trent does such a great job getting multiple guys involved. That may be Schonert’s doing, but Trent still has to get the job done and thus far he has. Even the short passing game can keep teams off guard by incorporating a number of different players in the routes and with looks.

We have some favorable matchups coming up. I’m very, very concerned about our running game and it looks pretty awful thus far this year. I’m really struggling to figure out why that is too. We have a big, quick, athletic and talented OL, but we still struggle to open holes and pick up chunks of yards on the ground. I know Fowler struggles, but it’s not just him. Anybody seeing something I’m not? Hopefully, we can get that run game going in the next few weeks, as Trent continues his progression. We’ll be facing an excellent CB in Asomugha next week, and a guy that we should pick on all day long in Hall. I hope we can take advantage of that….

by Kurupt on Sep 15, 2008 1:18 PM EDT 0 recs

On Trent

Yes—it is a tad early after only what, 12 NFL starts—but there are things I see, and I know OBD sees in Trent that bode incredibly well in the future. First—Trent has qualities and abilities that are unteachable. You have them or you do not. See that little bity side-step to the left before he unloaded to Lee yesterday.? Do you see the pocket poise? Do you see the very smart, quick way he goes through progressions? Critically—do you see the accuracy?? And MOST importantly—do you see the sheer way he has the ability to simply process information and make a good decision with a strong, accurate throw? These are things that cannot be tought even by the best coaches. I do not throw bouquets around casually, nor am I about to induct Trent into Canton—-but I have to tell you, in all honesty, he reminds me of an early version of another AFC East QB not blessed with the strongest arm in the world. Yeah—THAT one. And like Brady, Trent is deadly serious about his job. He came in and put on weight in the off-season. He went down and threw for three days with Lee.

I have of late been developing a theory of why so darned many top-rated College QBs never make it in the NFL. All of us can name 20-25 “boy-wonders” right off the top of our heads who failed miserably. I’ve kind of concluded that all of them—from Alex Smith to Akili Smith, were so good for so long—going all the way back to their Pop Warner days—that they never learned from the slightest bit of adversity—having never encountered any.

I love that Trent had more than his fair share of it at Stanford. That he got hammered again and again and always got up. That’s one thing that people forget about Brady—he had to fight tooth and nails to get any PT at Michigan.

I guess you can tell I like the kid. Yup—A lot. Yes—there will be games that he will struggle. Just like Brady has. But I see glimpses—-just glimpses at the moment and by NO means a sure thing—that he could be something very special. I worry about his durability—but not much else.

Geronimo

by Geronimo on Sep 15, 2008 2:57 PM EDT up 1 recs

Agree with your analysis of Edwards

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: he’s a keeper. He’s a perfect fit for the offensive scheme Schonert has installed (which happens to be QB-friendly), and his biggest asset is his decision-making skills under fire. He’ll only get better with more experience.

I really liked seeing the way he threw that long pass to Evans (good location and touch, looked liked one of JP’s long balls) – that’s one sure way to get opponents to stop stacking the box on Buffalo.

Get the Bills back to the big game!

by Blitz on Sep 15, 2008 3:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

I was just telling my buddy...

That Trent Edwards reminded me of Tom Brady and was going home to look at Brady’s rookie stats and compare them to Trent’s. He thought I was nuts (because he’s a 49ers fan), but they both have that calming effect on a team and shows do much poise in the pocket. That TD toss to Hardy was excellent because he was looking elsewhere before he came back to Hardy. Edwards could quite possibly become the greatest 3rd rd. draft pick in Bills history at the rate he’s going.

by the Skycap on Sep 15, 2008 3:54 PM EDT up 0 recs

I’ve kind of concluded that all of them—from Alex Smith to Akili Smith, were so good for so long—going all the way back to their Pop Warner days—that they never learned from the slightest bit of adversity—having never encountered any.

That’s the issue Vince Young is having. Some of these guys have never faced failure in the football lives, so when they face it for the first time in the NFL, they just crumble.

by Kurupt on Sep 15, 2008 5:32 PM EDT up 0 recs

A good example of what you are talking about is Peyton Manning. He never won the big game in college and had some tough losses, but I think he turned into a pretty good pro.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Sep 15, 2008 5:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

geronimo

i have goose bumps…. good post. Adversity is a huge factor that isn’t looked at often. Combo that with a kid who has talent, the tools and the work ethic to get better everyday and you have a starting, successful NFL QB. I mean all the top QB’ s are so serious about their job. Trent is the same way. I love it

MARVelous

by MARVelous on Sep 15, 2008 8:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

Defense

WOW, our D stepped up huge on Sunday. 100+deg. on the field, and they were out there almost the whole third qtr. They made the plays when they had to, and really dug deep in the 4th to close it out. Trent had a great drive late in the 4th qtr, and boy does it help having a WR over 6’ tall in the red zone! These two games are the difference between 7-9 and 10-6 in the standings. This week was the late Offense execution, and the D taking a desperate home teams best shot, and hanging tough. Last week I felt the 2 FG’s at the end of the first half changed the game. Previous Bills teams just didn’t do those little things to win games. Great first 2 games. Can’t wait till next week!

by bad karma on Sep 15, 2008 2:13 PM EDT 0 recs

My man-crush for Edwards is off the charts........

Im not scared to admit…….knew it a long time ago…….

http://bills.sportsbloggingnetwork.com/

by norcaliangelsfan on Sep 15, 2008 3:29 PM EDT 0 recs

Moving into Trent's Corner....

Even though I felt JP Losman was not given a far chance in keeping his starting job, I have gained alot of repect for Trent Edwards in the last two games. Nowhere where did this respect grow more was the winning drive. It has been sometime since a Bills Quarterback seemed as comfortable as he did that late in the game. I think it also helps that Trent has confidence in all his teammates especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Keep it Up Trent we, finally have a leader behind center.

TOP SHELF WERE MOMMA HIDES THE COOKIES.

LALALALALALFONTAINE!!!!!

MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY BRAD MAY....

RICK JENNERETT

by I Am BG Bobb on Sep 16, 2008 1:53 PM EDT 0 recs