The Red King Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 After reading a post on Polian that mentioned Edwards, I figured I could put up a non-draft related one as a change of pace. Trent Edwards started hot out of the gate, giving us hope for the first time in awhile. And then we played the Cards, and Trent was blasted into next week. The purpose of my post is to see if anyone holds my theory, that Trent never fully recovered from the concussion. That, had he never been concussed, he might well have been a star QB. I know, I know, I can feel your skeptisism. I shared it. But then I saw it. One specific game against Miami made me question. Edwards took a shot, and something seemed to click. He was sharper, more decisive. He led them to an impressive, efficient TD drive. A later hit and he was back to captain checkdown. But what really drove it home was far later that game. 3rd and long, and yet again he checked down and took off...even though it was obvious he wouldn't make it. He was run out of bounds 2-3 yards shy. Or...was about to be. He ran to the sideline and then just pulled up and stopped, not past the sideline but just before it. Even the defender seemed confused. He eased up, and just as he was about to make contact, Edwards finally stepped out. Once I saw that, I knew something was still wrong with Edwards. I went from being frustrated with him, to pitying him. And wondering, was the Edwards we saw him at his best, or were we watching a quarterback that never recovered from an early concussion? What do you all think? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBoots8 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 I’m not sure about that- he did absolutely get his bell rung that game... but a few weeks later he went 25-30 260+ yards and 1TD vs the Chargers. Maybe it was a fluke but he looked good through that game. Afterwords we collapsed in glorious Buffalo fashion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 He is probably my least favorite Bills player that I can remember. He was scared to play football. I’m not sure that he would have ever been more than okay but that would have been better than a lot of guys that we had. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFT Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 I don’t think there are too many sports analysts out there that wouldn’t admit to the drastic difference before and after the hit. He was never the same and still struggles with severe complications. A shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEpsYtown Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 His release was weird. He was great in preseason for Chan, wins the job, starts the first couple of games, then cut. It was strange. It was like if we decided to cut Tyrod after that Godawful saints game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Bills Fan Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Ya after that hit something changed in him. Even tho played good one more game. He seemed like afraid to get hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estelle Getty Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) When I saw that hit I felt he would never be the same and he wasn't. So I tend to agree with this. Although he didn't have the arm strength to be a big time NFL QB Edited March 20, 2018 by Estelle Getty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikeIGiveADarn Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Heard a rumor a WHILE back that his heart actually stopped in the locker room after that hit, but the doctor revived him. Could explain why he became gun-shy after the hit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuncha Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 That hit today would most likely draw a suspension and huge fine. Funny he completed the pass to James Hardy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweats Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Ah, ye ole Capt. Checkdown stories. What a doggone shame he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baskingridgebillsfan Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 he was never the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 The hit didn't help but honestly, he wasn't fantastic before the hit. His best game was 279 yards 1 TD 1 INT in that great comeback against an Oakland team that would go 6-10. I think he was a borderline starting caliber QB before the hit but he was never going to have a chance at being anything great in the league. That being said his career never was the same after the hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 He was not the same player after that hit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 the hit. the end. although I never felt he would of been nothing more then a back up. back up? no, I wont go there. I remember when he came in against the giants, losman injury? not even going to look it up but it may of even been a monday night game, came in with a spark and I thought, maybe? the hit. the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 8 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said: He is probably my least favorite Bills player that I can remember. He was scared to play football. I’m not sure that he would have ever been more than okay but that would have been better than a lot of guys that we had. The concussion was major - didn’t he also have an issue with a football related injury where he could’ve had major (life threatening?) side effects? I can’t blame him for being timid. thing was he was never THAT good of a qb for us. Decent, especially as a mid round pick. But even in that concussion season he only had one game over 65% before the hit, and hadn’t thrown for 2 tds in a game yet that season. Through 4 games he had 4 tds and 4 turnovers. The year prior he started 9 games and finished with 7 tds and 8 picks. 4 of those 7 tds in a single game. And overall sub-60% completions. People act like he was a hall of famer in the making but I think he was just a marginal talent that the league caught up to (sure maybe he was a bit more timid after the hit- but I think the downward trend would’ve come regardless) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Was at the game and he really got his bell rung and I was surprised he was playing so soon and played well in SD. So I do not think it was the injury per say but fear of future one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrober38 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Prior to the hit Trent had confidence and swagger. After that he was a totally different person so I have to think it affected him to some extent. Not sure he'd have made a good QB, but prior to the hit he took some chances and after that all he did was check down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloRush Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 I think it was more psychological than physical. Also, I don’t really think he was ever helped by coaching via a defensive minded HC like Dick Jauron or a never-was OC like Turk Schonert. I do remember Trent’s debut versus New England. He looked great. Really thought we had something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Didn’t he get hit again a couple weeks later, in Cleveland (I think)? i remember after the second hit that I thought he should just stop playing for the sake of his own long term health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 minute ago, BuffaloRush said: I think it was more psychological than physical. Also, I don’t really think he was ever helped by coaching via a defensive minded HC like Dick Jauron or a never-was OC like Turk Schonert. I do remember Trent’s debut versus New England. He looked great. Really thought we had something He was 10-20 for 97 yards and an interception Even his 4 td game in his first year he was 11-23 for 165 yards he was objectively not good that year. If you extrapolate out his stats he would’ve been sub 3000 yards with like 12 tds and 14 ints with a robust 56% and 6.1 ypa for efficiency stats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdrought Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Watching clips on youtube brings back so many memories.... Josh Reed, Stevie Johnson, James Hardy. Seems like yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBob2232 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I remember ESPN talking about him as a potential league MVP that year....then the concussion...then squat. Sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DabillsDaBillsDaBills Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Did that hit ruin Trent Edwards career? No, No, No, No, and No. A lot of Bills fans cling to this idea, and it's demonstratively wrong. The best game of Edward's career (vs Chargers) came AFTER that concussion. Edwards was NEVER good and the 4-0 start to the 2008 season was born of lucky scheduling. The best record any of those 4 teams had at the end of the 2008 season was 5-11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton Fitzsimmons Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Sweats said: Ah, ye ole Capt. Checkdown stories. What a doggone shame he was. YE OLE once wrote a fantastic parody about Trent, entitled “Football Wizard.” Naturally it was set to the tune of Pinball Wizard. What could have been... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickelCity Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I've talked to Trent about that hit, and he mentions the Chargers game as proof that the hit didn't change him. I don't buy it, though I admit he's a nice guy and he talked up the Bills plenty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figster Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Bad Oline protection can have a cumulative effect on any QB both physically and mentally in my humble opinion. Fix the protection or ruin the QB ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobills1212 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I always wondered how the dude could go without owning a tv... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boca BIlls Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 He was never good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoTom Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I don't know how this myth of him ever being good has persisted for so long. Trent was never more than a backup. If Walsh hadn't mentioned his name to Marv, he probably wouldn't even have been a 3rd round pick. Trent played safe - before and after the hit. That's why Jauron liked him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hamburg Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I fully believe that his bell was rung...it happened just after I bought his Jersey..I could tell he was the answer we needed at QB. Then after the Nasty hit in Arizona..you could just tell he wouldn't be the same again...that hit was extremely hard and completely unnecessary.Kind of glad they protect the QB more than they did back then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4_kidd_4 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 We landed on the moon?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 His practice and camp highlight reels were incredible. On the field it never converted. The game move to fast for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starrymessenger Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Yeah that big Zona safety broke him. It was all AWs stupid fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 2 hours ago, Buffalo Bills Fan said: Ya after that hit something changed in him. Even tho played good one more game. He seemed like afraid to get hits. Ya, something changed ... DCs figured out how to defend him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 2 hours ago, MrEpsYtown said: His release was weird. He was great in preseason for Chan, wins the job, starts the first couple of games, then cut. It was strange. It was like if we decided to cut Tyrod after that Godawful saints game. We wouldn't have to trade up if we did that... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreddieJizzle22 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 (edited) Trent Edwards sucked before and after that hit. Edited March 21, 2018 by FreddieJizzle22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 16 minutes ago, SoTier said: Ya, something changed ... DCs figured out how to defend him. They defended him pretty well before too. They just really nailed it after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrizzReaper Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Yeah that hit definitely ended Edwards... Like others have said I don't think he was going to be great but he was a changed man after Aneas labeled him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
folz Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 This brings up a good point. It's so easy for us (myself included) to sit back watching the games and be frustrated with a player for shying away from a hit, or being skiddish in the pocket, or whatever. But most of us couldn't take the punishment that these guys do. I'm sure there are a lot of guys on here that played football at some level, but the NFL is a whole different world. These guys really are putting their bodies and minds on the line. I'm sure there are a number of guys who don't make it in the league simply because humans don't like to get hit. It can't be easy to see a Ray Lewis-type dude running full speed at you, intent on inflicting pain, and just stand there and take it. I can completely understand a guy becoming gun shy to where he plays himself out of the league. It takes a rare breed to do what those guys do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 He was finished at that moment of impact. Some have argued he had some great games later but it wasn’t worth the effort looking for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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