Trent Edwards v. Brian Brohm: Pre-Season Style

I will pretend these two guys are gladiators preparing for battle in the Coliseum. Loser gets fed to a lion. Winner gets fed grapes by a hot ancient Roman named Maria.

Can we just skip this competition altogether?

I understand the point your trying to make but there are also other factors to consider. For one those stats were pre-concussion for Edwards and I think we can all agree since getting rocked at Arizona he really hasn’t been the same QB. Also Brohm’s stats are from his days in Green Bay running a different offense with different players and a different coaching staff, Gailey may have a plan or scheme that actually fits Brohm’s style better who knows. I still think it’s a completely wide open competition and all this good news I’m hearing about Brohm from Gailey may translate to better pre-season stats and eventually winning the QB job.

Edwards will win the job due to the reasons highlighted by Brian. He has more experience and will have to do very poorly in camp and Pre-season to lose the job

Edwards is accurate in short to intermediate attempts. This will be sufficient in Gaileys 1st year here. With the speedy weapons that we have they will be used accordingly. In the beginning of Gailey’s tenure there was some speculation that we would go for Thigpen. Thigpen is similar to Edwards in that they are both smart/capable QB’s that will never become league leaders but with minimal mistakes can win games.

With that said, we will most likely be looking for a QB next draft.

I give. The facts you’ve stated above I think have finally convinced me. Everyone else including NFL.com seem to have Edwards penciled in as the starter, and since to date Nix & Gailey have gone the safe & predictable route (with the possible exception of drafting Spiller), I have no reason to think they will do otherwise here. I sit defeated and disappointed. My hopes hvae been dashed.

i said

barely good enough to be the backup QB right now

which means he is good enough for backup, and could potentially develop into better, and will, if Edwards is good enough to start this year, and in the future. Otherwise, the odds decrease for Brohm, as we will likely be looking for our “franchise” QB in next years draft, and Levi Brown and the new QB will be just as more likely to be the project QBs at that point.

a quarterback quartet envied by pretty much no one.

Brian, with all due respect, I think you’re underestimating what the Bills have on the roster right now – in terms of upside at the least.

The criticism on Edwards is warranted. There’s no doubt he had a horrible ‘09 season. But you can’t discount the injuries and lack of guidance and direction he received. You can’t discount the firing of the OC a week before the start of the season and the realease of the only experienced T on the roster shortly thereafter. You can’t discount that Fairchild’s scheme was dumb to begin with and then dumbed down even further.

Frankly, it was complete blind optimism to expect anything more than what we got, from Edwards or any QB we would have had on the roster. Payton Manning wouldn’t have run that offense much better under those circumstances.

Brohm is similarly a complete unknown outside of Green Bay’s system that is designed around Rodgers’ skillset. He was also a rookie and not every one of these guys comes into the league prepared for it all. If you look for improvement YOY, I think you’ll definitely find it if he’s given the chance. He just seems much more confident and he’s on an equal footing with his competition for the job scheme-wise.

Fitzpatrick is a consensus career back-up QB but you need one of those too… what’s the problem with having one that is comfortable fulfilling the role and can win you some games?

Brown is a complete long-shot high upside/low risk seventh round prospect. Not really much I have to say about that. He could sit on the PS and learn the game. Non-issue.

So… why so glum?

Besides injury concerns, I feel the biggest thing that held Edwards back was the abysmal coaching on the offensive side of the ball, and the inability of our defensive personnel to simulate 3-4 defenses in practice. The lack of preparation may have also contributed to Trent being in a position to receive said injuries. So, in my opinion, Trent Edwards is a shell of what he might have been by now due to Jauron and Co. Let’s hope we have more of Trent vs. KC than Trent vs. NE (Or Cleveland!!!!! in our future.

I seem to recall an article in SI online about scouts believe QB’s having played >27 games and a passing rating >62% more often than not will succeed in the pros.

2007 Draft
Trent Edwards: 33+ Starts, 58.9%

2008 Draft
Brian Brohm: 33 Starts, 65.8%

Joe Flacco 26 starts, 63.4%

Chad Henne: 47 Starts, 59.7%

If the SI article is to be believed, then Brohm has more “upside” than Edwards or Henne and is comparable to Flacco. So we have a diamond in the rough that has good touch, strong work ethic, a pocket presence and good decision maker.

It’s more of a passing game today. We need a great QB to be successful.

Assuming:

1. QB of the future is not on the roster.
2. Nix and Gailey are building a team, basically from the ground up.
3. It is important to have an over all plan, and that includes building a consistent style of play from year to year.

Might the coaching staff want to put in a guy who can best approximate the type of QB they want for the future?

I dunno. Maybe this is a pointless speculation, but have Nix/Gailey suggested at any point what their ideal QB would be? Would that offer any light on who might have an edge in the competition?

I’m kind of thinking whoever is chucking the ball this year is going to be training wheels for the rest of the team, particularly our young skill players on O.

Over the last two seasons, Brohm has not shown us any upside whatsoever. In Green Bay, he had one of the best offensive coaching staff in the league today on his side, and they thought he was third stringer material, and evidently cut him from their active roster. Does that really sound like a QB with major potential? I don’t think so. And to make matters worse, in 9 NFL games (8 preseason, 1 regular season), Brohm has scored 0 TDs to 6 INTs, and in roughly 130 attempts, he’s only completed 2 passes for over 20 yards.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying he can’t change or is a bad QB, but the Bills don’t owe him anything. They are paying him less money than Doug Flutie, and at the end of this season, his contract expires. At least with Edwards and Fitzpatrick we have seen something positive. Not a lot, but something.

Everything you said about Brohm is true. Bret Farve was considered a washout when traded to GB, so what changed? I think that in this day and age, teams are less patient with young players then before. Case in point; JP Losman who is rumored to be pushing hard to start in Seattle. I think most QBs’ need three years as a back-up before they are ready to lead a team. Even QB’s who are starters from day one take three years to really turn it on. Marino took the league by storm his first year, but once defenses figured him out his impact was less and less each year. He rebounded his fourth year, but he never had the same level of success. i suspect Sanchez will have a similar experience. Fitzpatrick is very intelligent but not a long ball threat. I see this as a competition between Edwards and Brohm, with the coaches looking to see which will weather the competition and win the job outright. If Brohm (with less experience) is able to pressure Edwards, that shows the coaches he has more potential growth. Conversely, (IMHO) Edwards should be reaching his comfort zone as a three year pro and show more ability than the others.

That we as a fan base are expecting to much, look, we dont need Trent or Ryan or Brin to come in here and throw 30 TD’s we need a guy that can manage a game get us some first downs with his legs or arm and not turn the ball over we need a guy that can put up 200 yds a game with the occasional 300 yd game, we need a guy that look of safeties and find the open man we dont need a tom brady or a Peyton Maznning god would it be nice b ut its not neccessary, of all the qbs that made the playoffs last year how many were elite,Drew, Tom, Peyton, Rivers,Favre how many were above average Romo,McNabb,Rodgers, how many were average Flacco, Palmer, Warner and below average Sanchez so i mean elite qbs are very rare and very hard to find we just need a palmer or a warner and we will be fine.

Either Edwards or Brohm it really doesn’t matter to me in the end. I lean toward Brohm slightly more simply cus I have yet to see what he can do but if Edwards wins the job I’m behind him 100%. Edwards has shown flashes of what he can do in a weak system to put it nicely but some more consistency would be nice out of him. Brohm I don’t feel has gotten a fair shake to truly prove himself. I don’t buy the argument that hes a bust simply because he wound up on Green Bays practice squad. Was he drafted a bit high? Perhaps at least by a team that didn’t really need a QB in the 2nd round. Come to find out he needed more work then what they expected so they stashed him on the PS so he had some time to develop. Now if a team that needed a QB drafts him and builds around him and gives him the time to grow into the NFL he might have fared a bit better.

because it is looking like the Angels season is quickly going down the drain.

I’m still surprised to see so many believers in Edwards’ potential. I realize he’s not had much in the way of coordinators or an offensive line, but Trent Edwards is simply not the future of this franchise. Last year was the “prove it to me” year. While he looked okay on opening night, that was the only real bright spot for the season. He’s never been able to beat teams better than .500. He’s never been able throw to wide outs, no matter how talented. He can’t throw on the slant. And while I think there’s very strong evidence to suggest he’s not been the same since the concussion in AZ, he wasn’t that great beforehand.

Anyone who thinks Trent is the best bet for 9-7 this year had better look at his track record and then look at our schedule this year. That projects to 4-12, maybe 6-10.

I hope we’ll be competitive against the many tough teams we play, and I’m confident that Chan will get the best out of him, but the QB for 2011 and thereafter is not on the roster, folks.

Let’s not forget that a healthy Trent Edwards rightfully held a clip board as soon as Perry Fewell took over. The incumbent is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Trent Edwards is in the “also-ran” category. Hopefully, Fitzpatrick has more of a shot at winning this job then you are giving him credit for. Hopefully, Edwards has more of an uphill climb by the same token.

Brian -

You made espn insider for this article. Congrats, i think!

Brian Galliford of Bills blog Buffalo Rumblings offers a similar take, owing to Edwards’ superior numbers in past preseasons, and the fact Bills coach Chan Gailey will be basing his choice largely on what happens this preseason.

Until the O-line (and especially our two tackles) get shored up, no matter who’s back there is in for a long day. Wood HAS to be healthy and stay that way and we can’t afford any major injuries up front which is next to impossible to avoid during a long season. In my IMHO we’ll go 5-11 or 6-10 this year no matter who’s playing QB which is probably just good enough to keep us out of the top slots for drafting a top QB next year. I have no idea how he’ll pan out, but can’t wait to see what Levi does against NFL competition. The competition will all come down to who WANTS it more and who is willing to mentally bust through their own walls and grab the job by the throat. I like Edwards skills the most but to me he’s never had the fire in the eyes that you need.