Edwards Tries to Scrape Off Rust
Veteran quarterback Trent Edwards had a tough re-entry to OTAs last week after not playing in the NFL last season. He feels more comfortable now, but is definitely the team's fourth-string QB.
Edwards Tries to Scrape Off Rust
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Trent Edwards did a lot of watching Thursday during Eagles OTAs on a perfect morning at NovaCare.
He watched Michael Vick. He watched Mike Kafka. He watched Nick Foles, during the 7-on-7 and full-team passing drills. Edwards, who is trying to learn the Eagles' offense, got no more than a couple of reps.
"That's been explained to me, what the situation is. I completely understand. I understand that I still need to get those reps, from the side, from behind, and making sure I'm picking up as much as I can as fast as I can," Edwards said. "I think you can still compete. There's other drills out there, there's other ways ... you can compete in the weight room, you can compete in the drills before and after practice. That's kind of the way it is right now, so that's all I have to go off of."
Edwards, 28, was signed by the Birds back in February because when they let go of Vince Young they were without an experienced backup, and Edwards has started 33 NFL games with Buffalo and Jacksonville. There was a time, not that long ago, when he was an up-and-coming young QB. But Edwards didn't play in the NFL last season after being cut by the Raiders in training camp, and even though he's been working at NovaCare since he signed, rust was evident when full-team OTAs began last week. Edwards constantly threw behind receivers. With Mike Kafka gaining arm strength in the offseason and Nick Foles showing a solid arm as a third-round rookie, it seems pretty clear that Edwards is No. 4 here right now.
It also seems fair to wonder if he will be able to do anythjng to change that, expecially since he isn't really getting reps.
"There's times where it's like I understand where I'm going with the ball and my footwork feels good, and the very next rep, that's not the case," Edwards said. "I don't know when that timetable [to settle in] is. I wish I had an answer. I do feel like the mechanics here are enforced, which they should be, at the quarterback position, they're enforced here way more than what I've been through before. So I'm doing a lot of trying to tweak some things with throwing the ball and getting my footwork right. I feel like I've made some progress, but I still have a long way to go."
Edwards, 6-4, 230, who emphasized how happy he is to be here and have an opportunity to learn under Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg, said he has always been coached to make himself taller in the pocket, but here, he is working on bending his knees more, "taking a big first step, big hitches, which are all kind of new to me, but something I think is going to help me in the long run."
Edwards recalled that last week, even having a helmet on again felt strange.
"Jerseys, going from period to period, hearing the air horn ... I've done it before, obviously, for a long period of time, but to have that break -- your wind, you're definitely not in football shape, and your legs aren't there ... but it's coming around. I'm making progress. I'm happy to be here.'
It's easy to wonder if the beating Edwards took in Buffalo affects his play today.
"That's part of the nature of the position," Edwards said. "You will get knocked down. You will get hit hard, and you've got to get back up and face it, deliver on the next play. Now if that happens regularly, there are some guys that can do it and some guys that can't ... In terms of taking a hit, stepping up, making a throw the next play, I still feel like I can do that, regardless of what I've been through in the past."
Buy 2012 Philadelphia Eagles game tickets 
Jeff Garcia on line 1.— P Even- Andy Reid still has Koy Detmer's phone number on speed dial.— SteveS11
- You know an athlete's in trouble when he says he's happy to be here.— Rhomicronbeta
- sorry......camp fodder at best....— nuggett
- i mean, i too would be happy if someone were paying me to get in shape. i think he's being gracious and saying the right things, talking about the future and being willing to try new things. he'll make the team if a QB gets hurt, and I'd be fine with that.— ogplaya
- I think the Eagles are good at making QBs look as good as they can look (see Detmers, Young, Feeley, Kolb, even McNabb). I'd bet they're trying to get the very most out of Foles, Kafka, and Edwards to trade for draft picks. QBs are always in demand. Just wait until teams start losing QBs in camps or preseason to injury.— T
- Sorry, gotta disagree. In my opinion, Reid's a QB killer.
What coach calls 50 passes when his QB is playing on a broken ankle, sports hernia or a plethora of other injuries?
Who throws 50 passes regardless of down/distance, ability to pass protect, lack of talent at receiver position, and even regardless of how well the run game is working?
What coach calls deep pass after deep pass despite the same reasons cited above?
Reid, our QB guru, couldn't teach McNabb to throw with touch, nor could he prevent McNabb from throwing gofer balls.
Reid brought Kevin Kolb along slowly, but to this very day, Kolb's played only 10 games in 5 years. Worse yet, he's now threatened to be permanently replaced by John Skelton (which makes it even more difficult to understand why Reid gave up his 1st round pick and chose Kolb).
In Kolb's very best game as an Eagle (against Atlanta), Reid called 52 running plays and only 40 passes. He called 34 runs before the 4th quarter began and 19 in the 4th, playing with a big lead.
Vick briefly set the world on fire, then quickly flamed out, reverting to his old form after taking the beating of his life.
Along the way, neither Doug Pedersen, A.J. Feeley, Jeff Blake, Mike McMahon, Jeff Garcia, etc., threatened to win a Superbowl. Whatever success they enjoyed, it was attributable to Reid calling more runs.
When the Eagles’s defense was hammering Tom Brady last season, Belichick called a 13-play scoring drive which resulted in a TD. Eleven of those plays were runs. By calling those plays, Belichick slowed the Eagles’ pass rush and Brady went on to enjoy a career day. If that were Reid, he’d just continue to call slow developing, deep pass plays.
Why was Reid ever considered a quarterback guru?
Fact is, Reid's the Bobby Hoying of coaches. He's fooled a lot of people, but in reality, he's a fraud. - My bad - Stats are incorrect regarding Kolb's best game. 38 runs, 29 passes. )The memory isn't what it used to be.)
Reid confounded Atlanta's defense with excellent play calling - inside/outside runs, short/intermediate passing. DeSean Jackson scored on a 41-yard end-around to begin the route.
Unfortunately, Reid calls that type of game only when his starting QB is unavailable. - Paging Mr. Farve...— jhaigs
- In 12 seasons prior to this one, Reid only has three winning seasons against playoff teams. Here is a list of Reid's record against playoff teams by each year:
1999 (3-6), 2000 (1-3), 2001 (1-3), 2002 (3-3), 2003 (3-2), 2004 (2-2), 2005 (0-6), 2006 (3-3), 2007 (2-7), 2008 (4-2), 2009 (0-4).
Let's take this one step further.
A lot of Reid's critics point out how bad the NFC has been during his stay in Philadelphia. It's hard to judge the strength of one conference against another and there is no definitive way to determine who boasts the better half of the league.
What happens though if we look at Reid's performance against AFC playoff teams?
Things get even worse for Reid, as his regular-season record against AFC playoff teams drops to 2-14.
The most shocking part of Reid's futile record is the fact he didn't beat an AFC playoff team until 2008. Below is a list of his record against such teams during the regular season:
1999 (0-3), 2000 (0-1), 2001 (0-1), 2002 (0-2), 2003 (0-1), 2004 (0-1), 2005 (0-1), 2006 (0-1), 2007 (0-1), 2008 (1-1), 2009 (0-1), 2010 (1-0). - The biggest danger to a failed season....no solid backup QB.— greenflyer
- Actually the biggest danger is no solid starting QB.— Sidewinder7
- If he plays 1 down during the season...they're dead.— Mortimer G Fingenfinderstein III
- Yes, it's going to be expecially tough for him not getting reps.— andyd
- jhaigs...don't even think it.— tpizza
