Big play by Bills’ Evans meant more than big yardage

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, November 26, 2008  |  Comments( 33 )

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Trent Edwards’ longest, best throw Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs covered half the field and wholeheartedly eased recent doubts regarding his present performance and future possibilities. The Buffalo Bills’ quarterback finally risked a sore throwing arm and the fear of directing a pass into uncharted waters Sunday, as he reversed his recent downward trend of tending to throw mostly to runners. One receiver teammate’s return helped, while another who was around the entire time returned to proper glory with Edwards’ help.

His 51-yard bomb to Lee Evans with about three minutes remaining in the first half was his best throw of the afternoon, with every other one tied for second. It was a bigger throw than the yardage indicated, as the risky play showed that Edwards was finally willing to get back on the horse and defy the invisible force field that has recently kept him from throwing past the line of scrimmage.

Notably, the straight-A play began with a B-plus throw, as the pass was a little long, but that’s fine: Evans snagged it with no worries, as his quarterback remembered that the fantastic receiver can make a play on almost any decently heaved ball. There were other bright aspects to it, too: It was a play-action pass, a maneuver the Bills allegedly never perform, and it came on first down, shocking Kansas City’s secondary at a point where the home team was only down by three.

Buffalo managed a field goal at the end of the drive, and the thrower and catcher each deserved credit for about a point. The other four plays on the drive covered 2 total yards, and the single exceptional reception helped finally start the rout.

While Evans finally got back to getting used after an agonizing one-game absence, Josh Reed returned in a more literal fashion to the particular delight of Edwards, who looked like the sort of lost soul that gets sucked up by a cult in the wideout’s absence. The receiver managed a very Reedesque 50 yards on five receptions, and also finally did something which has never been a personal specialty: score.

Regardless of the fact that the LSU product now has a mere nine touchdowns in his seventh season, the fact is the way he found a pasture-sized portion of empty land in the end zone is a reminder that he’s capable of feats other than run blocking and nabbing 10 yards a pop, even if the more part comes less frequently than hoped.

As for Reed’s foremost positional mate, it’s of course a relief for this team to get back to having its best receiver be treated that way. Evans’ 110 yards on five grabs don’t make up for the way he was shut out in Week 11 against Cleveland, but it is an indication that his quarterback recognizes that getting the ball to the Wisconsin product is less about stroking an ego and more about making sure the offense can move more than like 3 yards per play.

It’s good for the passer, too. The Stanford man isn’t known for his burly arm strength, but he has shown that his throws can cover decent yardage if given the time. His problem has been having enough confidence to aim long: It’s easy to lean underneath in lieu of daring to stretch the field, but that risk is both necessary and, as seen Sunday, entirely rewarding upon payoff.

The dream of seeing every prominent receiver catch a pass in a single game will remain a fantasy for at least another week, as Roscoe Parrish and James Hardy were both held off the stat sheets. But despite those omissions, Edwards importantly did manage to get his favorite targets involved, whether measured by quantity or quality.
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CommentsComments: 33  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Kegman		09:53 AM
11/26/2008
I hope the Bills open up a 50 gal. drum of whupass on the 49ers, defy conventional, conservative play calling by going long ball...
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No.2
ddd		10:32 AM
11/26/2008
To all posters to RF365, have a wonderful thanksgiving. It's the people that make things great, and for the past 2+ years you...
No.3
Greg S		11:02 AM
11/26/2008
Have a good holidays guys. Let's hope that the Bills keep our hopes alive another win (and some unusual losses by the Jets,...
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