Confidence Is Key for Trent Edwards Heading into Stretch

It's been a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for Trent Edwards, looking like a Pro-Bowler in September and a dumbfounded second-year quarterback for most of October and November. 

And I'll admit, after looking at Matt Ryan play his rookie season, it's hard not to look at Edwards—who has more experience (albeit not much more)—and question his talent.  But that's a convenient comparison for the naysayers at the moment. 

Why not compare him instead to JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, or John Beck, all of whom were selected much higher than Edwards in the '07 draft and none of which have produced anything close to what Edwards has on the field?  Things don't look so bleak then, do they?

But, in the NFL, it's what have you done for me lately, and while recent returns have been disappointing to say the least, ask yourself how you would view Edwards if those stretches in September and October/November were reversed.

This past Sunday, Edwards' performance—admittedly against a team that the Bills had no right to lose to—was a microcosm of Edwards' season to date: both awful and spectacular.  But more importantly, it ENDED spectacularly and that's what really counts.

So what is the catalyst that transforms this Jekyll to Hyde and vice-versa?  I think it can be summed up in one word, but it's certainly NOT simple: Confidence.

I wrote last week that Bills offensive coordinator Turk Schonert had to improve his playcalling, and that's exactly what we got.  But more specifically, it was a gameplan that Edwards, in his own words, felt more comfortable with because it was "simplified" and it clearly helped Edwards get into a rhythm, particularly in the second half.

If Schonert can serve up more gameplans that Edwards feels confident he can execute, I believe we'll see much more Jekyll and much less Hyde.