Bills Quarterback Trent Edwards
11/28/07
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On Edwards comfort level and the kind of practice he had today
I thought it went all right. A couple things stick out in my mind that I need to work on and look at on the tape and fix by Sunday. But nothing we can't change. I like the game plan we have going into this weekend. I feel confident that we are going to go to the right places with the ball and convert on third downs and move the football to keep our defense off the field.
On feeling different about Edwards development since the last time he started
I'm a little more relaxed. When the plays are being called in the huddle it is a little bit easier for me. I don't have to put as much thought into it. I know where I'm going with the football in a lot of different coverages. Where as before, it wasn't that way. I had to listen closely. I had to say it to myself and then repeat the play to the guys in the huddle. That wasn't the way it was today.
On relating to the situation with Sean Taylor because of the situation with Kevin Everett
They're in a difficult position. I couldn't imagine what those guys in that locker room are going through right now. We're obviously thinking about him and thinking about his family. You think about the game of football and guys said it when Kevin (Everett) was injured, that it's just a game and there are things outside of football that are so much more important. Being a good person and taking care of your family. Those kinds of things. This kind of puts things back into perspective that we are just playing football here. It's difficult to play a game that you can be gone and not be able to play it anymore. I just turned on ESPN News and you can see it on the bottom line that he was 24 years old and that's the same age I am. I'm getting shivers just talking about it right now. He was born in 1983 and is the same age I am. I can't imagine going through what he went through.
On how the offense can score more points and be more effective
It's being consistent. The book I read most recently was Tony Dungy's book, "Quiet Strength." In it, Chuck Knoll said something along the lines of "great teams do the ordinary things better than anybody else." That is what our team needs to be doing. We have the makeup and we have the plays out there to be made. We just have to do the standard things on offense correctly for 60 minutes in order for us to win football games. I think that is what it comes down to. Just doing the ordinary things correct and being able to do that in a hostile environment on Sunday.
On describing the Redskin's defense
They're fast and physical. They're not blowing a lot of assignments and they're not giving up that big of plays. There have been a couple screens that have broken free and in the Dallas game there were a couple big plays, but they're pretty sound with assignments. I think they held the Buccaneers to no first downs in the second half and knocked out Jeff Garcia and put Bruce Gradkowski on his back a couple times. They're physical and well coached and we just have to be able to perform on Sunday.
On how the Redskins blitz
It differs a lot in the games I've been watching. Sometimes they'll go after the quarterback and sometimes they'll sit back in zone. We're preparing for both of those. I have to in my mind go through each of the plays in our playbook this week and make sure I know where I'm going with the ball versus pressure and know where I'm going when their in deep zone coverage. That's something that's on me this week and hopefully I can do that on Sunday.
On expecting a lot of blitzes because of a rookie quarterback starting on the road
If you look at the Jets game the first time we played them at home they didn't do much blitzing, but on the road they came after us a lot more. As a quarterback, you have to be able to handle that. That separates the good quarterbacks from the bad quarterbacks.
On getting the timing down with running backs as well as the wide receivers
The changes are real minor. They're not as big as leaps as you are going to have to make with the wide receivers. Like you said, Fred (Jackson) and Dwayne (Wright) and I were all in there in the preseason and I felt like we had some great chemistry there for the first four games of the season and hopefully we can get back into the rhythm of where we were then. It's not something that I think will take as long as getting back on the same page with Lee (Evans) and Roscoe (Parrish) or Josh (Reed).
On missing Marshawn Lynch for possibly a third week
As you guys know, Marshawn's a big part of the offense. Going into this season everything we installed in the preseason and during training camp a lot of it was geared towards our running back and Marshawn Lynch. When you lose a guy like that you're obviously going to take a step backwards from that. I'm really excited to see Fred Jackson play this Sunday. I think Fred can do some things with the football and I know Dwayne can step up and fill that role for us too.
On things that Edwards has to be better at this time as the starter
Just my eyes. Knowing where my primary is but knowing that I can't stare it down. Where young quarterback get into trouble is they're staring down their primary. You know the coverage and recognize the coverage and then you know where your primary is but you can't look at it. You've got to look everywhere else, but that place. That's something that I was doing a little bit too much of when I was playing and I'm hoping I'm not going to have to do that here on Sunday. I'm going to know where to go versus pressure and versus zone and not having to stare down that receiver.
On a lot being put on the quarterback
The way I look at it is each game is important, regardless. If we hadn't won a game all year I'm sure this coming game would be the most important and if we had won every game of the season this game would be very important to us. You can't take any game any lighter than any other. That's my approach. If you ask that question to someone else they might give you a better answer that I'd have but that's the way I look at it.
