J.P. Losman (1 Viewer)

[1rebmun]

J.P. Losman-QB-Bills Oct. 22 - 11:47 pm et

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the Bills will likely reconsider their quarterback situation during the Week 8 bye.

(http://www.rotoworld.com/default.aspx)

I missed hearing this on NFL network.

How do you think it will affect Buffalos wr's if he is replaced with Holcomb?

 

[mike11162]

I'm surprised he didn't get benched today. I know his backups aren't that good, either, but how many chances to suck does this guy get, just because the Bills overpaid to get an overrated QB out of a bad college program to begin with?

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I'm not sure why they didn't put Nall in at some point during the Bears game or again today. Would have liked to see what he could do.

Based on that, I think they stick with Losman a little longer.

 

[Kleck]

I didn't think he was that bad. Are they going to bench Evans too? He's the one that had a perfect strike go through his hands in the end zone.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I didn't think he was that bad. Are they going to bench Evans too? He's the one that had a perfect strike go through his hands in the end zone.

I'm pretty sure the CB knocked it out of his hands, otherwise it would have been a catch. I need to go back and watch that play again to be sure though.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

this was a column in today's Buffalo News (from before the Patriots game):

Clock is ticking on Losman's status

By LARRY FELSER

10/22/2006

Last Monday evening following his ghastly performance against Detroit, which followed his ghastly performance against Chicago, there had been more than enough doubt creeping into the Buffalo Bills' decision to plan their future with J.P. Losman as their quarterback.

Losman, who seemed to be making progress in his first month of the 2006 season, seems on a fast-track backslide.

Whatever progress there had been, it is being obscured by a maddening habit of holding the football too long and of failing to safely throw away his passes instead of taking sacks when accepting those sacks was the worst path he could follow. Worst of all may have been his failure to make the most of the meager opportunities his teammates were able to provide for him.

Then, by Tuesday morning when the creeping doubt might have subsided amid the preparations for the New England Patriots' visit here, came another sort of doubt. This concerned the decision of the Buffalo drafters to cast their lot with Losman instead of picking Matt Leinart, who had a spectacular career at the University of Southern California.

The Bills possessed the eighth selection in the 2006 draft. Leinart was available but they picked Ohio State safety Donte Whitner. Now Whitner, already starting, could develop into an all-pro, but quarterback is still the most important position in football. Arizona took Leinart with the 10th pick.

Monday night against the undefeated Chicago Bears, who had been playing so well there was talk of their chances for an unblemished season, Leinart was sensational. The Cardinals blew a 20-point lead, but Leinart still supervised a long drive that set up what should have been the winning field goal. Neil Rackers, a year ago the best kicker in the NFL, missed the 40-yarder.

Buffalo wasn't the only team unsure of Leinart at draft time. The consensus was that he didn't have a strong passing arm, especially if he had to play in northern weather conditions, and that he wasn't mobile enough. It may have been an exercise in groupthink.

After the Chicago game, winning coach Lovie Smith was asked his impression of Leinart. "He's a scholarship player," was Smith's way of saying Leinart was superb.

Losman's defenders might point out that he is playing behind a third-rate offensive line, that left tackle Mike Gandy made unheralded James Hall of Detroit the NFL's defensive player of the week with a 31/2-sack performance. But the working description of Arizona's offensive line is "inept," in fact worse than Buffalo's. Dennis Green, Arizona's head coach, fired his offensive coordinator Tuesday.

Leinart made up for those failings by getting rid of his passes quickly, by throwing the ball away when necessary, by earning the description "poised." Remember that the Cardinals rookie was starting just his second NFL game. In his previous start, against Kansas City, he played well in another losing effort. Remember, too, that Leinart held out for all but the last few days of training camp. Losman's disaster in Detroit was his 14th NFL start.

Today Gandy must contend with the Patriots' Richard Seymour, the best defensive lineman in the AFC. His mates are left end Ty Warren and nose tackle Vince Wilfork, two first-round selections who devour lesser mortals. In order to avoid having his head handed to him, Losman's decision-making must improve quickly.

After next week's bye, the halfway point in Buffalo's season will arrive. I suspect that the halfway point in Losman's season of inspection by the Bills' deep thinkers is already upon him. Coach **** Jauron and General Manager Marv Levy had nothing to do with putting Losman in a Bills' uniform in the first place. The trial period set by Jauron and Levy probably has a realistic finish line of a dozen games. If there are any more fiascos on the level of Detroit, the last four games would be used to determine whether Craig Nall, signed by the new bosses as a free agent, has any possibilities.

The 2006 draft has another shoe to drop, namely Jay Cutler, the quarterback Denver made the 11th selection. Since the Broncos remain in contention with San Diego for first place in the AFC West despite having quarterback Jake Plummer playing like a mummy, it seems only a matter of time before coach Mike Shanahan goes to Cutler.

Cutler was impressive in preseason games. He is a potential further embarrassment for Losman and the Bills.

The Bills will get to that notorious "if" situation with Losman sooner or later. If he doesn't show major signs of improvement by the Chargers' game here Dec. 3, the brass will begin thinking about someone like Brady Quinn of Notre Dame, Troy Smith of Ohio State or Brian Brohm of Louisville in preparation for Draft Day 2007.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061022/1058394.asp

 

[Gargoylez]

All I am going to say is... if you think Losman is the problem then you don't follow the Bills very closely.

Losman RIGHT NOW is a serviceable QB, give him time, he can hit his target or get some stuff done with his legs. He has a beautiful long ball, not TOTALLY perfect yet but he can hit targets. With that being said...

The Offensive line is poor at best. The Receivers are marginal at best, EVANS is a good WR but after that its all 4-5th stringers. No real TE to speak of, a FB that can't catch, or block. McGahee is the only true lone bright spot and you can only do so much with no Offensive line.

The defense... oy vey. Its was 14-0 before I knew it... hard to do stuff when you are behind right from the get go...

They won't change Losman, because he is maybe the 4th problem on a laundry list of dissapointments. The secondary is horrible, look at that first, the offensive line is marginal, look at THAT next and then have some accountability to that defensive line which can t get pressure. THEN maybe look at Losman.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Nall Time, baby!

 

[3C's]

Who would replace him? Depth chart shows Holcomb as second. Some here are mentioning Nall.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Why would anybody advocate benching Losman? It's not like the Bills are competing for a playoff berth or anything. Let him play out the season, see if he improves, and then make a decision in the offseason having seen a full 16 games out of the guy.

I think all Bills fans are wishing Mularky had stuck with Losman all of last year instead of screwing around with Kelly Holcomb. We might have Leinhart under center right now had it not been for that silliness.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

All I am going to say is... if you think Losman is the problem then you don't follow the Bills very closely.Losman RIGHT NOW is a serviceable QB, give him time, he can hit his target or get some stuff done with his legs. He has a beautiful long ball, not TOTALLY perfect yet but he can hit targets. With that being said...The Offensive line is poor at best. The Receivers are marginal at best, EVANS is a good WR but after that its all 4-5th stringers. No real TE to speak of, a FB that can't catch, or block. McGahee is the only true lone bright spot and you can only do so much with no Offensive line.The defense... oy vey. Its was 14-0 before I knew it... hard to do stuff when you are behind right from the get go...They won't change Losman, because he is maybe the 4th problem on a laundry list of dissapointments. The secondary is horrible, look at that first, the offensive line is marginal, look at THAT next and then have some accountability to that defensive line which can t get pressure. THEN maybe look at Losman.

This team actually seems to be getting worse, not better. Coming into the season, I knew Losman would be a work in progress and would have some bad games. And I knew we didn't have an Andre Reed or Eric Moulds on the roster (though I think we at least have good depth at that position). But the offensive line has somehow managed to suck even worse than I thought it would. Our linebackers aren't playing as well as last year. And I expected CB to be a strength of our team, but they actually appear to be getting worse as well. I know a lot of this is related to the new defensive scheme, but sheesh. But hey, at least we're locked and loaded at safety. Maybe we can draft some more in April.

 

[ericttspikes]

I'm not sure there will be any uptick in scoring with a new QB. I should of know better to draft any Buffalo players with **** Jauron as head coach. His teams are where fantasy players go to die.

 

[Foosball God]

I hope they don't replace him before McNabb's bye week.

 

[GroveDiesel]

All I am going to say is... if you think Losman is the problem then you don't follow the Bills very closely.Losman RIGHT NOW is a serviceable QB, give him time, he can hit his target or get some stuff done with his legs. He has a beautiful long ball, not TOTALLY perfect yet but he can hit targets. With that being said...The Offensive line is poor at best. The Receivers are marginal at best, EVANS is a good WR but after that its all 4-5th stringers. No real TE to speak of, a FB that can't catch, or block. McGahee is the only true lone bright spot and you can only do so much with no Offensive line.The defense... oy vey. Its was 14-0 before I knew it... hard to do stuff when you are behind right from the get go...They won't change Losman, because he is maybe the 4th problem on a laundry list of dissapointments. The secondary is horrible, look at that first, the offensive line is marginal, look at THAT next and then have some accountability to that defensive line which can t get pressure. THEN maybe look at Losman.

This team actually seems to be getting worse, not better. Coming into the season, I knew Losman would be a work in progress and would have some bad games. And I knew we didn't have an Andre Reed or Eric Moulds on the roster (though I think we at least have good depth at that position). But the offensive line has somehow managed to suck even worse than I thought it would. Our linebackers aren't playing as well as last year. And I expected CB to be a strength of our team, but they actually appear to be getting worse as well. I know a lot of this is related to the new defensive scheme, but sheesh. But hey, at least we're locked and loaded at safety. Maybe we can draft some more in April.

The O-line has been atrocious yet again. I have an idea, how about this next offseason the Bills pay average money to a bunch of castoffs and backups and pretend that the O-line is upgraded. In the meantime we can go spend tons of money on a #4 WR like Josh Reed and a ton of money on a blocking TE like Robert Royal. Because we all know that a blocking TE is the same thing as a great offensive lineman, right?Losman definitely needs to start throwing the ball away instead of taking some of those sacks, but it's not really like those are a bunch of coverage sacks. Those are straight up linemen getting beaten badly sacks.And how about all of the penalties/mistakes on 3rd down?3-4-BUF37 (5:59) J.Losman pass short left to L.Evans to 50 for 13 yards (T.Bruschi). Caught at 50.PENALTY on BUF-P.Price, Illegal Shift, 5 yards, enforced at BUF 37 - No Play.3-9-BUF32 (5:23) (Shotgun)PENALTY on BUF-J.Losman, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at BUF 32 - No Play.3-6-NE17 (2:59) (Shotgun) J.Losman FUMBLES (Aborted) at NE 17, and recovers at NE 17. J.Losman to NE 22 for -5 yards (R.Colvin).3-8-NE23 (2:00) J.Losman pass short left intended for L.Evans INTERCEPTED by A.Samuel at NE 13. A.Samuel pushed ob at NE 18 for 5 yards (L.Evans). Receiver and coverage along sideline.3-4-BUF32 (6:14) (Shotgun)PENALTY on BUF-M.Fowler, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at BUF 32 - No Play.The bottom line is that Losman has to stop turning the ball over. His game wouldn't really be that bad if he wasn't always fumbling the ball and throwing badly timed INTs. I could even live with the sacks if they weren't accompanied by fumbles so often. He has fumbled the ball EIGHT times in just 7 games. That's not acceptable at all. I might even be able to swallow the 6 INTS if he had fumbled just once or twice. But 14 turnovers in 7 games will kill your team every single time. If he doesn't start protecting the ball better, then I DO want him out of Buffalo. The talent is there (he's on pace to throw for over 3,000 yards) but turnovers=losses.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

The bottom line is that Losman has to stop turning the ball over. His game wouldn't really be that bad if he wasn't always fumbling the ball and throwing badly timed INTs. I could even live with the sacks if they weren't accompanied by fumbles so often.

You could replace the word "Losman" with "Johnson" or "Bledsoe" and it would still work.

 

[T Man]

Why would anybody advocate benching Losman? It's not like the Bills are competing for a playoff berth or anything. Let him play out the season, see if he improves, and then make a decision in the offseason having seen a full 16 games out of the guy. I think all Bills fans are wishing Mularky had stuck with Losman all of last year instead of screwing around with Kelly Holcomb. We might have Leinhart under center right now had it not been for that silliness.

Buffalo is going nowhere fast. They are starting a lot of rookies and a lot of young players. It makes no sense to pull Losman now unless the decision is to part with him. If that is the case, then why put in Holcomb. He isn't your QB of the future either. The answer would be Nall. See what you have in him as well. I think the team should stick with Losman, however. Get him all the playing time. He isn't great, but the O-line is putrid. The WRs and TEs are nothing to write home about either. ITs not as if he has great talent on O to work with. As for LEinart, he too is playing behind a bad o-line (but heck the Bills tried hard to get two of the Cardinals O- lineman the last two years so the Bills line must really stink). ANd Leinart gets to throw to Fitzgerald, Boldin and even Bryant Johnson (who would start for the Bills) and the TEs are better too.The only reason to dump Losman now and play Holcomb is to try and get a few wins. But everyone knows Holcomb isn't the answer. A few wins (5-11 or 6-10) with Holcomb may make placate the masses and buy the coaching staff and the front office additional time, but it does nothing for the future of the team.PS: The Defense is still weak. They are playing the youngsters to see who can play.

 

[T Man]

All I am going to say is... if you think Losman is the problem then you don't follow the Bills very closely.Losman RIGHT NOW is a serviceable QB, give him time, he can hit his target or get some stuff done with his legs. He has a beautiful long ball, not TOTALLY perfect yet but he can hit targets. With that being said...The Offensive line is poor at best. The Receivers are marginal at best, EVANS is a good WR but after that its all 4-5th stringers. No real TE to speak of, a FB that can't catch, or block. McGahee is the only true lone bright spot and you can only do so much with no Offensive line.The defense... oy vey. Its was 14-0 before I knew it... hard to do stuff when you are behind right from the get go...They won't change Losman, because he is maybe the 4th problem on a laundry list of dissapointments. The secondary is horrible, look at that first, the offensive line is marginal, look at THAT next and then have some accountability to that defensive line which can t get pressure. THEN maybe look at Losman.

This team actually seems to be getting worse, not better. Coming into the season, I knew Losman would be a work in progress and would have some bad games. And I knew we didn't have an Andre Reed or Eric Moulds on the roster (though I think we at least have good depth at that position). But the offensive line has somehow managed to suck even worse than I thought it would. Our linebackers aren't playing as well as last year. And I expected CB to be a strength of our team, but they actually appear to be getting worse as well. I know a lot of this is related to the new defensive scheme, but sheesh. But hey, at least we're locked and loaded at safety. Maybe we can draft some more in April.

Another I think the CBs and LBs are having a harder time due to the scheme and the young DL. Also, with the young safeties, there is less help for the CBs. My guess was Jauron decided just to see who could play. Not that he was tanking the year, but that he knew the Bills were not playoff material. Time to see what young kids could play. Hence the treatment of Clements - who I think is gone next year - and Vincent. Take the lumps and get the experience.

 

[Mister CIA]

Here is the 16 game projection of Losman's three games against the Chicago and New England D:

2517 yards, 5 TDs and 21 INTs (45 of 75 for 60% completed)

Against all other defenses (four game sample):

3360 yards, 20 TDs, 8 INTs (77 of 122 for 63.1% completed)

I'm not one to read too much into these kind of projections, nor have I actually watched any Buffalo games this season, but, based soley on these numbers, it seems like a no-brainer for the Bills to ride out the season with Losman at the helm and get the best read possible on him.

I would not expect to see an improvement on these numbers from Nall or Holcombe.

 

[FF Maestro]

I didn't think he was that bad. Are they going to bench Evans too? He's the one that had a perfect strike go through his hands in the end zone.

I'm pretty sure the CB knocked it out of his hands, otherwise it would have been a catch. I need to go back and watch that play again to be sure though.

Asante Samuel had perfect coverage on the play and knocked the ball out with his left arm. It was a good throw by Losman but better coverage by Samuel. It definately wasn't Evans fault. Samuel had him blanketed the whole game. Losman didn't have a lot of time to throw and when he did, he seemed to lock in on one receiver and televise his passes.

 

[OldMilwaukee]

Loseman is very close......no way he gets pulled.

The tuition is being paid, the end will justify the means.

 

[GoL]

Here is the 16 game projection of Losman's three games against the Chicago and New England D:

2517 yards, 5 TDs and 21 INTs (45 of 75 for 60% completed)

Against all other defenses (four game sample):

3360 yards, 20 TDs, 8 INTs (77 of 122 for 63.1% completed)

I'm not one to read too much into these kind of projections, nor have I actually watched any Buffalo games this season, but, based soley on these numbers, it seems like a no-brainer for the Bills to ride out the season with Losman at the helm and get the best read possible on him.

I would not expect to see an improvement on these numbers from Nall or Holcombe.

Losman has one of the easier fantasy schedules down the stretch. He is a good buy low candidate NEXT week.

Of course if he gets benched during the bye (which will have to happen early this week) then you can disregard that recommendation.