This is the first of 11 articles targeting all position situations for the Buffalo Bills entering the 2008 season. The first entry will deal with the quarterback position.
It has been a while since the Buffalo Bills had any security at the quarterback position.
Whether it's the recent controversy between JP Losman and Trent Edwards, or the previous battles pitting Losman vs Drew Bledsoe and Doug Flutie vs Rob Johnson, there hasn't been a solidified starter for more than one season at this position since the retiring of Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly.
However, it appears as if Dick Jauron has finally found his starter in No. 5 Trent Edwards.
The Bills had their opportunity to trade away the pesky J.P. Losman before and during the draft, but elected to follow the safe path and maintain him as a backup through the upcoming season. This was a wise move, as it has been apparent in the past few seasons that a team can not be successful with one quarterback unless that player has the staying power of a Favre or a Manning.
Should Edwards begin the season on a down side, or if he were to sustain an injury, it would once again fall on the shoulders of the unproven J.P. Losman. Ralph Wilson and the front office understand that this is a possibility, keeping Losman and practice squad quarterback Gibran Hamdan and signing undrafted talent Luke Drone.
But none of these players has shown that they have the ability to perform at a level necessary to play in the NFL.
Trent Edwards will start the season under center for the Bills.
It would be easy to say that it'll take a catastrophic breakdown on his part for him to lose the starting job, but that has been the notion for the past three seasons in Buffalo. In truth, a start worse than 2-2 would cause him to lose the job.
This is the year the Bills should establish themselves as an above average team, and losses this early in the season will be blamed on the quarterback position, whether deserved or not.
But I expect a very solid season from Edwards. He won't lose games, which makes him better than half the quarterbacks in the NFL today. To make this team playoff-caliber, though, he has to win.
comments (35) write a comment »
write a new comment
5 months ago
I laugh reading this because they treated Bledsoe so badly because Losman was THE answer to everything--and what a mistake they made--Drew was right when they let him go--he said Losman wasn't ready--they should have kept Bledsoe at least one more year because he and the team were on a roll--isn't it funny none of those guys in management are there any more--the ones who made Bledsoe the scapegoat
5 months ago
I'm not saying that Bledsoe was the perfect fit, but give him even the offensive line we have right now and I'm confident in saying he would have taken us to the playoffs. He got ripped on for being immobile. This is true, but he had a great football mind and when he had time to throw, he was fun to watch. People forget he had a Pro Bowl season his first year in Buffalo before disaster struck the O-line. I was a Flutie fan and they sent him packing for Rob Johnson, who was a dud. I was then a Bledsoe fan and they sent him packing as well for Losman. Now I firmly believe that Edwards is the best fit in the Bills' present scheme, so let's see how long it is before he's gone too.
5 months ago
Yeah Bledsoe had a cannon. It was awesome seeing him throw to Moulds and Price. I'm happy with Edwards though. Edwards has a Red zone threat now in James Hardy. There is not a corner in the NFL that can cover Hardy.Hardy should say "Dear AFC East, You are too little to cover me, I'm the Indiana giant catching all the T.D's"
5 months ago
J.P SEEMS TO HAVE THE ABILITY OF DAMON HUARD, JUST A LOT MORE MOBILITY. WHEN HUARD CAME OFF THE BENCH HE PERFORMED AT A HIGH LEVEL, BUT ONCE HE WAS HANDED THE KEYS TO THE CAR IT SEEMED AS IF THE PRESSURE OF BEING A STARTER WAS JUST TOO MUCH FOR HIM TO HANDLE. J.P WAS NEVER REALLY GIVEN THE SHOT HE DESERVED, BUT HE ALSO NEVER REALLY EARNED IT. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED RIGHT NOW J.P HAS PROVEN HIMSELF ABOUT AS MUCH AS JAY CUTLER HAS. BOTH HAVE PRETTY DEEP BALLS BOTH NEITHER HAVE REALLY LIVED UP TO THE FIRST ROUND HYPE. IT IS EARLY ON INTO THEIR CAREERS, SO IF THE HAVE THE "GIFT" (SEE PAYTON MANNING), THEY WILL STUDY TILL THEIR BLUE IN THE FACES AND LEARN TO READ DEFENSES AND PRODUCE. I AM UNDER THE ASSUMPTION AT THIS POINT, J.P IS A CAREER BACKUP.
from 5 months ago
I agree, J.P. has had some good games, but he is a career backup.
5 months ago
Don't count out Luke Drone - Buffalo is soon to be impressed - very impressed!!!
5 months ago
I more than anyone was a big Losman fan. He said all the right things, he was a great individual in the community, and always handled himself with class. However, on the field he was always a wild card. Everytime he dropped back to pass I had to hold my breath. I didn't know if it was going to be a 30-yard sack, fumble, pick six, or an 80-yard bomb to Evans. When Edwards drops back I see move through his progressions and if I don't see pressure I know it's going to be checked down. Trent would have at least two more TD's if not for a pass interference on Roscoe and Lee having to slow down when bobbling a ball on a deep post. To look at the Jaguars of last year cutting a player to avoid controversy is like addition by subtraction. It helps Lee Evans finally move on and commit to developing a chemistry with Lee and the sooner it's done improves JP's chances with catching on somewhere else earlier enough to compete. And at the very least we owe Losman that.
5 months ago
I HOPE TRENT BREAKS HIS LEG FIRST PASS IN PRACTICE AND JP HAS TO TAKE OVER.HE WILL SOMEDAY BE A GREAT QB.IF THEY DONT TRAIN HIM THEN HOW WILL YOU LEARN.DOING IS LEARNING.WATCHING IS NOT.I BLAME JPS PROBLEM ON FARTCHILD.WORTHLESS.JP SHOULD BE PACKIN TOQB SCHOOL.NOW.HIS OFF TIME SHOULD BE SPENT ON READING DEFENSES(MINE SHOULD BI IN SPELLING SCHOOL).I TRULY BELIEVE WE HAVE A QB IN JP,HE JUST NEEDS TO BE TWEAKED.HE HAS NEVER HAD A OFFENCEIVE LINE LIKE THIS.HES NEVER HAD 2 WRS,HES NEVER HAD A HARDY.WE HAVE A LOADED GUN NOW.WE ARE READY TO MAKE A STATEMENT IN THE NFL.I SAY IF TRENT DOESNT WORK OUT.LET HIM SIT OUT THE WHOLE YEAR AND WATCH.SEE HOW HE LIKES IT.AND TO DICKEY BABY.IF YOU DONT PRODUCE THIS YEAR.SEEEE YA NO MORE CONSERVATIVE PLAYING.SISSIES MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE BUS.GOOOOO BILLLS ALWAYS.SINCE THE ROCK PILE IN DOWN TOWN BUFFALO
5 months ago
jp could never be the bills #1 caller. he does not read the D-fence as fast as trent does. he's not moble enough,at best he is a very very good back up to tren,look at all the calls or should i say lack of calls buffalo got for jp the best we got offered for him was a 4th roung pick.yes he has a bigger arm then trent but a cannon does no good if you cant light the wick lol and jp can not light the wick
5 months ago
JP IS GARBAGE
5 months ago
Wow you people are morons. First off, writer, who are you to decide Buffalo decided to keep JP? Some where in your mind do you think that maybe there was no offer on the table? This is why I don't like this site where anyone can right, because we get this type of trash. Buffalo made it CLEAR that JP would be traded for a QUALIFYING offer. Seeing as noone passed that offer, he won't be traded. Sure JP is a good backup, he isn't worth close to the money we are paying him. If you didn't know its never good to pay the backup QB more than the starter. Also i've been reading some comments and still alot of idiots. Scott says JP is not "mobile enough" to be a starting QB. Are you an idiot? Thats one of JP's only strong points. And Michael just stop trying to know what you are talking about. "Learning is watching?" Wouldn't we all agree that learning is doing? So in preschool you were that weird kid who watched the kids play with the blocks, while everyone else figured it out by doing it thereselves. But anyone hope you all have a nice day.
from 5 months ago
Okay then....Leave. Go ahead. We won't miss you and your "elitist" perspective.
Plus, let people express their opinions. People make mistakes. Nobody's perfect, not even you.
And if this is a trash website, why are you here? Isn't that guilt by association?
Oh yeah, nice article the other day in the New York Times. NOT.
from 5 months ago
I really just got hit with a "NOT" joke. Hope you're enjoying grammar school.
from 5 months ago
This is all in good fun. Don't take yourself or myself or anyone that seriously. Relax. Take a chill pill.
from 5 months ago
I hate websites where people who think they're better than everyone else make simple mistakes like spelling "write" as "right".
I wish that I was as smart when it came to football as Joe who thinks he's badass because he's carrying a solo cup in his picture, and that I could deduce that it's never good to pay your backup more than your starter...
If you're such a great writer and you hate this site then get off it and write for a paper or something where not "anyone can right."
from 5 months ago
Just wanted to point out how happy I am that you noticed my "solo" cup. I mean posting a picture with a drink in my hand is so "badass". But really I shouldn't be taking any credit for looking cool in a picture- not with you wearing such an awesome hat. If you have any other tips on how I can be as cool as you be sure to let me know. Maybe I can pretend I have an amazing vocabulary and correct everyones spelling? Will that make me as cool as you Collin?
5 months ago
How did the Bills' organization make it clear that a qualifying offer would lead to Losman leaving? The only news out of 1 Bills Drive was that they were in the market for a trade. The fact of the matter is, they stayed open-minded and were waiting for a decent offer worth taking to come along, but their word of mouth did not oblige them to accept any "qualifying offer" made them. They never made it public that they were going to trade him should any halfway decent offer come on the table. It was their decision to keep him as a backup as opposed to trading him for a lower round pick, but even a 5th round pick would have netted them a quarterback for a value.
You're veering from your original point. You say that they would only accept a "qualifying"offer by the standards the front office developed, but then you say he isn't worth the money he's being paid just to be a backup. Is this not hypocritical? If he isn't worth the money he's being paid to be the #2 man, the team would likely choose to trade him for any viable offer, even if it were a 5th round pick, which rumor had it they were being offered.
You want to play the "who are you" game? Let's. Who are you to assume that it wasn't their decision? You can combat opinion with opinion but don't pretend as if you're throwing a fact on the table. "Fact" is that we, being stuck in the God foresaken position of not knowing any of the deals offered the Front Office, do not know whether or not a viable draft pick was thrown out there for them to take. But I think we can all assume that an offer of some type was made for the quarterback who has shown that he can give a team the "big play," something that a team such as the 49ers would no doubt be interested in. Also, I'm not quite sure I understand where your hostility is coming from? If you disagree with something someone has said, wouldn't it be somewhat more proper to respond with a little dignity?
Perhaps Scott was insinuating that Losman's mind was not mobile enough? He was making a point, at that time, about Losman's inability to read the defense. Let's not assume we know everything and understand the intricacies of a comment not elaborated upon.
The "learning is watching" doctrine can be applied to many players in athletics. Look at Matt Hasselbeck. He backed up one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time for two full seasons and the following year played very solid as a semi-starter for the Seahawks. It was the same situation for Steve Young, who played under a Hall of Fame quarterback for four seasons before taking the reigns and playing at a spectacular level. But that's besides the point as Michael's comment wasn't that "learning is watching" at all. His statement actually agrees with what you said. Next time, read, don't skim, and if you want your word to be valued why don't you try demonstrating it without the grade-school putdowns.
from 5 months ago
Wow you have left me very confused. Did you really say in your first paragraph that, "They never made it public that they were going to trade him should any halfway decent offer come on the table." I am quite sure they did say they would trade him if the right offer came along, and I'm sure you know that also. But what really confuses me is where you are getting this "5th rounder" from. You honestly think a 5th round pick for JP would have held any value? Hell no. Buffalo was searching for around a 3rd round pick, and if the 49ers needed a "play maker" as much as you say they did a 3rd round pick would have been worth it. But wait NO San Fran has another 1st round QB flop in Alex Smith. They will go through exactly what the Bills went through with JP- Glimpses of a starting QB but nothing more. You even metioned that a 5th round pick would have "held value" for a JP trade. Come again? JP is a good backup I did not deny that. BUT you do not pay a backup 1st rounder type of money. That is why JP needs to be traded somewhere to restructure his contract. And where you try to cover for Scotts complete failure is just stupid. We both know he wasn't talking about the "mobility of his mind." And you talk about grade school "putdowns"? And sure watching is a form of learning however what did we draft JP for? Oh thats right we needed an immediate starter. He has had enough time to grow and if you really want to tell me that if we put JP on the bench he will get better then you really need to never write an article again. But you're right maybe watching Trent this year will teach JP he lost his job to a 3rd round rookie. One more thing - I can't believe you compared Steve Young to JP Losman - thats borderline insanity.
5 months ago
joe. I wrote an article about J.P in the past and you were a complete asshole about it as well. Respect other peoples opinions on things and stop calling them morons. They view something differently than you. get over it. I would love to just see what J.P could do with more than 1 legit target. never got to see it though. evans was the only legit guy to throw to.
from 5 months ago
Gabe are you seriously still crying over that? Ironic how you tell me to "get over it."
5 months ago
Trent Edwards is the man. Played against the man in high school, and HE CAN READ DEFENSES!!! If you have seen JP play, he just throws up prayers. Umm...did you guys see some of his touchdowns this past season. Lee Evans had to make some ridiculous catches just to make him look good. Ex: JP throwing into double coverage against the Jets I believe it was, and Evans somehow makes a fantastic catch that was thrown up as a prayer. For you JP Loserman supporters out there, he probably is at best a backup. He cannot read a defense at all, and I would never want him as my general on the field. GO TRENT EDWARDS!!! He is the man, just wait when you see him play a full season. Obviously Marv Levy really liked him, and Steve Young was raving about this guy ever since he went to Stanford. GO BILLS, or GO Home
from 5 months ago
All so true
from 5 months ago
So you're basically saying since you played him in high school you now he's good enough for the NFL? How about that beautiful interception he threw against Dallas in the 4th quarter, when a FG would have given us an 11 point lead and would have sealed that game. Yeah, that was real smart. Marv Levy really liked him...ok, well Marv Levy wasn't a very good GM. He was a good coach in a completely different time period, like Joe Gibbs...Everyone needs to end their obsession with the "great" Marv Levy. Yeah sure he went to 4 Super Bowls...but nobody cares about the losers except for the losers. Maybe if he had won on 1 of those 4 tries I'd have a little more respect.
5 months ago
I am surprised that the Bills didn't make more of an active effort to trade Losman this offseason. Certainly a team with QB issues would have traded them a draft pick for him. Then again, having a somewhat competent backup might be a good idea, since it seems Edwards seems kind of injury-prone (going back to college).
5 months ago
I don't believe I've ever read anywhere on buffalobills.com or in The Buffalo News about the Bills openly stating that a worthwhile offer would lead to his trading, but more implied it by contacting other teams about a potential trade. Reports came out that they were offering him on the trading block but they never released a statement or mentioned in an interview that he was "officially" up for grabs.
The following quarterbacks were taken in the 5th round or later in this year's draft- John David Booty, Dennis Dixon, Josh Johnson, Erik Ainge, Colt Brennan, Andre' Woodson, Matt Flynn, and Alex Brink. I've never heard of Woodson, Flynn or Brink, but I think we've all heard of Booty, Dixon, Johnson, Ainge and Brennan. If we Bills fans truly believe that JP Losman will never be a success in the NFL, isn't it relatively reasonable to trade him away for a 5th-round pick, with which we could have taken one of 5 legitimate quarterbacks? Now, we obviously can't assume that any of these guys will be successful, and I know Dixon is coming off of a bad injury, but if we've already reached the point where Losman is never going to succeed, wouldn't it be wise to trade him and his contract away for a 5th-round contract with a quarterback to come in and be the backup and maybe prove to be an excellent NFL QB? I agree that a typical 5th round pick is not worth a former 1st-rounder, but in this situation with as many good college quarterbacks as there were available late in the draft, I have to argue that it would have been a wiser decision to let Losman go for a 5th rounder. A solid backup at a backup price is the worst they could have done.
I'm not trying to cover for Scott, but I didn't want you to assume what he was getting at either. He left his comment undiscussed. It is pretty obvious that you're right in assuming what he meant, but since he left it open as he did we can't leave ourselves out there on a ledge unless we know for sure what he's talking about.
from 5 months ago
Carl whats more official then being put on the trading block? If it wasn't official he wouldn't have been on it wouldn't you agree? But I can understand your point on the 5th rounder. Maybe getting some value out of JP while we can is a good idea however drafting a rookie to backup a 2nd year player isn't the best of ideas. Even though Losman failed at being a starter here he is still considered a veteran and he is probaly considered valuable to the depth of an injury prone starting QB.
5 months ago
Clicked post before I finished and apparently bleacherreport has never heard of an edit button on comments lol.
I brought up the gradeschool putdowns because your first comment was extremely hostile and I really didn't understand where it was coming from. I love negative feedback on my articles because it helps me more than everybody saying, "Wow what an awesome article keep doing what you're doing," because at 17 I'm pretty sure I can assume that my writing is nowhere near "awesome." But it's hard to accept criticism when you mix in those "idiot" and "moron" terms.
JP did need time to grow, and quite honestly the biggest reason, in my opinion, that he did fail and will always be viewed as a failure is because of the "giveth and taketh away" situation he was put in by Mularkey. He played half of a season that he should have never seen playing time in or never should have ridden the bench. Kelly Holcomb was never an answer and the coach shouldn't have pulled a young player for an aging veteran, even if he does play well against the Bengals.
I agree with you that Losman will never be successful, but I don't think it's entirely his fault. He is beyond the point of repair now, at least in Buffalo. I think he could, if he wanted, be a Charlie Batch type. A career backup who can step in whenever needed and give his team a legit chance to win. But it's a matter of whether or not his ego will allow himself to ride the bench.
I wasn't really comparing him as a player to Young, but more the situation in which he was placed. Say Drew Bledsoe was never run out of town and Losman sat on the bench for his first three years. We don't know how it would have turned out, but I don't think it could have been much worse than what actually happened with Losman.
from 5 months ago
Bledsoe was fun to watch but I believe it was his time to go. JP has all of the physical attributes to make it but his mind isn't right. If you could put Trent Edwards brain into JP's head he would be a monster of a QB.
5 months ago
When was there ever a controversy between Bledsoe and Losman? Do you mean Losman and Holcomb? Have you watched this team? We've never had a solidified starter for more than one year? Bledsoe started every game for 3 seasons...And Losman hasn't proven he has the ability to play at the level necessary in the NFL? His only full season he threw 18 TDs and was the 8th highest rated passer in the league. The problem is once he had a bad game they'd pull the plug on him...If you want to start Edwards fine, but it absolutely isn't smart to keep Losman around if Edwards is your guy. That will just tempt them to throw Losman in if Edwards struggles at first. This team fails to realize that young QBs need to be seasoned before they win. They draft guys and expect instant results. Look at Eli, it took him a few years of struggles, but then he won the Super Bowl. Have you even watched this team Carl? These are pretty basic observations...
5 months ago
Look at Ben Roethlisberger, who was taken in the same draft. I'm pretty sure it didn't take him a few years to win himself a championship.
No, I don't mean Losman and Holcomb. I'm referring to JP Losman's rookie campaign. It was Bledsoe's third season in Buffalo and the second in which fans were beginning to grow weary of him. Fans were calling on JP before the season ended, and the controversy translated to Losman v. Holcomb in the following season, but fans were raising the question of Bledsoe vs. the unproven rookie long before the '04 season finished.
Bledsoe played one good season. After that, he played horribly and lost more games than he won. Therefore, we may assume that for one year, we had a solidified starter, but for the following two seasons, he played inconsistently and fans were waiting for his successor before the end of each season.
Plenty of people have brought up that season in defense of JP Losman. I'm actually glad you brought it up. Let's take a deeper look at that season, shall we?
Losman, in 2006, had seven games in which he threw for over 200 yards and three games in which he threw for over 250 yards. He had two 3-touchdown games, both games in which he threw for over 200 yards. However, those 7 games came against teams that were a combined 52-60, and his three 250-yard performances came against teams with a combined .500 record. His 3-touchdown games came against the Texans and Dolphins, who both finished the season 6-10. The team was 3-4 in the 7 games he threw for 200 yards or more, and 1-2 when he threw for 250 yards.
He threw 19 touchdowns and 14 picks, hardly a ratio worth recognition. His yards per attempt was 7.1, again not exactly worth recognition around the league, especially when you factor in that he was tied for 4th in plays greater than 40 yards, which means when he wasn't making the big play he couldn't lead a drive. He actually was 11th in QB rating. Despite being 11th in both of these categories, he was only 18th in yardage.
His biggest problem in the NFL was figuring out what to do when he wasn't throwing the ball beyond 25 yards. He could not lead a drive gaining 5-6 yards per play, as seen by the greats like Peyton Manning. This is what I was referring to when I said he failed to perform at an ability you must perform at to be successful in the NFL.
He had multiple bad games in '06. He never lost the reigns in that entire season, and yet led them to a 6-10 season. He had firm run support from McGahee and still couldn't find the tight end over the middle of the field with the linebackers committing to the run on run downs. He could have easily managed his way into a full-time job, but couldn't resist telling Evans in the huddle to go deep.
Why isn't it smart to keep Losman around if Edwards is the Bills' guy? Especially with Losman's injury last season, it proved a very smart move drafting Edwards in the 3rd round when he did go down. If Edwards is the guy, and Jauron has said that he is, then Edwards will perform well for them. If he doesn't perform well, then he isn't their guy, and they should pull him for Losman. The bottom line is, as Jauron has said over and over again, this team is based on merit. If you play well, you play. If you play poorly, you don't have forever to prove yourself. Losman won the starting job in training camp and lost it because of injury, but he wasn't going to play much longer anyways. Losman was only good against teams with poor secondaries that couldn't keep up with Evans. When the team stayed close against the good teams, it wasn't because of his quarterbacking, it was because of takeaways. He averaged 180 ypg in the 5 games they lost by 3 or fewer points, with 5 touchdowns and 5 picks. That's hardly the kind of performance you need out of a quarterback when you actually need him to perform.
Young quarterbacks most certainly do not NEED to be seasoned before they win. Ben Roethlisberger took the Steelers to the playoffs in his first season, and to a Super Bowl victory in his second. Peyton Manning threw 26 touchdowns in his rookie season, and threw for 4135 yds and 26 touchdowns again in his sophomore campaign in which he led the Colts to a 13-3 record.
I'll also bring Steve Young up again. His first four seasons were spent on the bench. He saw his first action after Montana got injured, but he only played 11 games in his first actual season. He also missed multiple games to injury in his second season before playing his first full season as a 7-year veteran and was elected to the Pro Bowl in his first complete season, following it up with an MVP season and a Super Bowl Championship.
You can tell immediately if a player has "it" in the NFL. Losman didn't have "it." Trent Edwards showed that he can manage games last season, despite rookie mistakes that can be attested to nerves. His Monday Night interception was a huge mistake, but we can't assume that Lindell would have even made the field goal, and we can't assume that Dallas wouldn't have come back and won anyways. If I'm not mistaken, and I might be because I'm getting tired of typing and don't feel like looking it up, the Bills' defense came away with a turnover themselves on the very next possession after Edwards' interception and the Bills decided to come out and run three times even though there was ample time left on the clock for a Cowboy comeback. There's no greater act of distrust than giving your quarterback the ball with 7-8 minutes left and only a one-score lead and telling him to hand it off three times to "only" give the opposing qb 5 minutes to manufacture a comeback drive.
5 months ago
So would you have said Eli Manning had "it" two years ago? How about in November this year when he threw 4 picks and blew the game against Minnesota? Should they have pulled the plug on him because he had a bad game?
Sticking with your QB works far better than flip-flopping, which stunts the development of both QBs in question. Now I don't expect JP to be Peyton Manning, who's one of the best QBs ever...but you can't expect him to have the same results as Roethlisberger or Steve Young who played on loaded teams.
5 months ago
Also, I understand if you don't support Losman, that's fine. Personally, I just want them to pick one guy and stick with him. I would prefer Losman, but if Edwards is their choice then for Christ's sake leave him in and let him go through the ups and downs of a young QB. But you praise Manning for his rookie season when he threw 26 TDs but criticize Losman's TD-INT ratio...Manning also threw 28 INTs that year, and 15 the next. So yes, even one of the greats struggled his rookie season. Losman has played one full season and 2 punctuated ones. I don't think he got the chance he deserved, because he played well enough in that full season with no weapons (Mcgahee rushed for under 1,000 yards, and Lee Evans was his only receiver) and no offensive line.
But, like I said, if Edwards is the guy then stick with him, give him experience, and go from there. I apologize for the first comment if it was rude...
5 months ago
Some of the game's greatest quarterbacks have had terrible games and thrown game-ending interceptions. But at least they had the confidence to try and win the game. Brett Favre holds two very significant records; the career touchdown mark and the career interception mark. This just demonstrates that late in the 4th quarter, Brett Favre wanted the ball in his hands with a chance to win.
Eli showed in his second season, a season in which he started every game after replacing the injury-prone Kurt Warner, that he had that immeasurable "it." This was ignored, however, because it was overshadowed with the harsh criticisms of New York fans, as well as being clouded by altered views of Tom Coughlin. Word was just starting to float around the NFL that he was a nasty-tempered coach, and coaches with such a strong personality tend to split a locker room. This division of interests tends to make players and fans forget about individual performers.
In that second season, Eli threw 24 touchdowns to 17 interceptions with 3762 yards en route to leading the Giants to the playoffs after an abysmal season the year before. His qb rating was 75.9. Before the Week 5 Bye week, Manning was 66/123 with an average of 246 ypg and 9 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. This was in the first four games of his first full season.
In Brett Favre's first full season, he threw for 19 touchdowns and 24 interceptions with 3308 yards and a qb rating of 72.2.
I agree that a team should stick with their quarterback, should that quarterback show that he wants to be their man. But if he looks scared in the pocket late in a tight game, and plays as if he'd rather not have the ball with the game on the line, the team has to make the decision in the best interest of themselves. With a team like the Bills, who haven't made the playoffs in so long, sometimes a coach has to tell the fans that he's committed to winning right NOW, as opposed to planning to win in the future. Letting a quarterback stay the starter despite repeated poor performances is essentially saying, "I don't care what happens this season, as long as my quarterback is learning and preparing for a better future."
Look at Arizona. They cycled two quarterbacks beautifully at the start of last season before Leinart got hurt. They had the gameplan of playing Leinart in one half and Warner in the next to make the opponents have to prepare for two different styles of quarterbacking, which means they only had time to prep half as much per qb. If Leinart didn't go down, there's a very real possibility that they could have made the playoffs purely because of a 2-qb system, a truly unique method in today's NFL. But they made it work while they had both healthy.
I think, in the end with Losman, he just never looked confident sitting back and throwing the short passes that a qb has to make to win games. You see the fantastic clips of a Montana leading a 10-play scoring drive in the final 2 minutes of a Super Bowl and you realize that Losman rarely ever led those kinds of drives. It was more like 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 45 yard pass leading to a FG, 3-and-out, 65 yard touchdown, interception. He relied too much on the deep ball and never really learned that to win games you have to be able to manage them also.
Maybe that's something he would have learned if he was left in there, but you have to understand the position the Front Office is in right now. Fans were starting to lose faith in the team because of their recent futility.
But from a fan's perspective, I do agree with you that Losman was not given his fair shot in Buffalo. I never thought Kelly Holcomb, an aging veteran whose only impressive games came against the Bengals, (look at his '02, '04 and '05 seasons to see which games stand out,) should have been given an opportunity to play over Losman. I did, however, understand the position the coaches and management were placed in because of the fans' dying interests.
A note of optimism, though: For the first time since I was old enough to understand the game, which was during Jim Kelly's final season as a Bill, my father is optimistic about the upcoming season. Every year until now, he's stuck with the, "They were supposed to be good and make a playoff run last year," argument, and he's always been right. But maybe his intuition will match that of other Bills fans who have, over the past 9 years, lost interest in a team they could no longer relate to.
5 months ago
And don't worry about your first comment, everybody gets hostile when it comes to their sports teams. I get more annoyed than anyone when people around Buffalo put down the Bills, because it's a team of heart in my opinion, and a young team at that with a bright future, though whether that future is in Buffalo or Toronto I still don't know..
5 months ago
This is the first time in a long time I've felt better about the Bills than about the Sabres...QB is the only position I'm really worried about. If Edwards takes us to the playoffs, then I couldn't really care less what happens to Losman. I just have a bad feeling that we're going to have a good team and quarterback will be our downfall. I'm willing to give Edwards his fair try though before I write him off...
write a new comment