Edwards checking it?

I was able to listen to WGR this morning with Jerry Sullivan, and the first topic was the play of Trent Edwards. The s#$t stirrers at WGR were talking about how we shouldn't be overly impressed with the play of Edwards, considering half his passes were completed to running backs in check down situations. Lets get this out of the way, preseason doesn't mean d#$k and you can't judge a team by their play during it. But I need to blog.

Three things that jumped out for the people bored by the check downs by Edwards. First off, you have to realize the Bills were missing one of their key weapons, Mr. Reality show. I don't have to get into what Owens will do for the offense when he is healthy. Secondly, Edwards did go down the field once, completing a 36-yard pass to Lee Evans on the first drive of the game. And 3rd and most importantly, great quarterbacks have made a living going for the underneath stuff. Tom Brady and Wes Welker have killed the competition when it comes to running the 8-10 yard inside pattern. Payton Manning has made a living using the check down in getting Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai involved. Not to mention, Edwards did average 8 yards a completion which is very high if you compare it to Drew Brees, who averaged 7 yards a completion in his record setting year.

Again, I hate running topics on preseason game analysis. I could give you a list of preseason game performances that didn't do diddly poo or surprised fans for the regular season. But overall, I was impressed by Edwards and I'm looking forward to seeing him with T.O. in game situations.

-joe-