Quarterback J.P. Losman leads the Buffalo offense from under center - Photo By Mike Goldman
Losman shows he’s a class act, attends Bills’ off-season workouts
Back in January, J.P. Losman’s agent Gary Wichard came out and said that Losman wished to be traded away from the Bills. It made sense after Losman lost his starting job to Trent Edwards.
What surprised me is that the four-year veteran is in Buffalo now for the optional off-season program. Many players would complain, skip the off-season routine and perhaps even hold out for a trade. Not Losman.
Losman has every right to be upset. He has had a rough stay with the Bills.
Buffalo drafted him out of Tulane in the first round of the 2004 draft as the eventual successor to Drew Bledsoe. In his first training camp, corner Troy Vincent collided with him, breaking the rookie’s leg and limiting his practice time.
In 2005, the team released Bledsoe and named Losman the starter. He started nine of the games with mediocre results; a 49.6 completion percentage, 1,340 yards, 8 TD’s and 8 INT’s. The other seven games went to Kelly Holcomb, because Mike Mularkey wouldn’t let Losman take his lumps in fear of losing his job.
Dick Jauron took over for Mularkey in 2006 and Losman had his best season. Through the first half of the year, the offense had the training wheels on and he didn’t do much. But in the second half, Losman exploded to have one of the best second half’s in the NFL. He finished the year with a 62.5 completion percentage, 3,051 yards, 19 TD’s and 14 INT’s.
It only seemed logical that Losman would take the next step in 2007. Instead, he was inconsistent and ineffective in moving the offense. Losman suffered a sprained knee in week three, giving way to Edwards. The veteran returned to the lineup in weeks eight through twelve, but didn’t play well enough to keep the job.
Throughout the 2007 season, Losman was never complaining to the media or showing any animosity towards Edwards. It was clear he wasn’t happy about playing, but he stayed ready should he need to play.
Losman also wore the captain’s badge last season, as his teammates saw him as one of the team’s leaders. Despite no longer being a starter, he remains a leader and that is evident by his presence at the off-season workouts.
The Bills may very well trade Losman before the start of the season. Anthony Hall at MVN’s Minnesota Vikings page speculates that Losman could be heading there. He’s probably worth a fourth-round draft pick at best.
I don’t really like Losman as a quarterback. I’ve tried to support him, but he’s too inconsistent for what the Bills need. He is a great guy as evidenced by his support for the Buffalo Lives organization. Hopefully, he ends up with a chance to play somewhere in the NFL.
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12 Responses to “Losman shows he’s a class act, attends Bills’ off-season workouts”
March 27th, 2008 at 9:15 am
ive been a losman fan and believer, however i think it makes sense for him to stay in buffalo. He should know as well as anyone that a second year quaterback isnt guaranteed anything. Edwards could flame out or get injured and then losman could start again. Stick it out JP your bandwagon isnt empty in Buffalo. For the bashers - theres been a lot wrong in Buffalo not just qb - for short oc was terrible no viable thrat besides evans, no viable dump off te. Not making excuses but i think peoples expectations need to be lowered slightly. so hes not tom brady who is? Id take him over any of the jets or dolphins qbs and some other teams in the league - especially as our back up!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:21 am
I agree with you Brian. The backup situation in Buffalo would be great for him. Edwards did have trouble staying healthy in Stanford and we have no idea if he’ll be good.
The question I have is if Buffalo wants to keep him. I know he’ll be a more than adequate backup who could win games if needed. But it could create some trouble in the preseason.
What if Losman outperforms Edwards. Would they let Losman get a chance against the other team’s first unit? Are they going to allow for a competition?
March 27th, 2008 at 9:54 am
This is a complex matter, and it really baffles me the polarization that exists when there are two equally valid arguments.
Losman is, and always has been a class act. He cares about the city, and has done what he can to improve it. He is a leader and you can tell he wants desperately to win. He was never given the benefit of a proper transition to a starting job, yet he never complained and always supported Edwards. He deserved better.
That being said, it was blatantly obvious that Losman has severe shortcomings playing the position. Despite his talent and desire, his decision making was abysmal at times. A few flashes of brilliance weren’t enough to overcome this. The Jacksonville game was where I jumped off the wagon, and it turned out to be the last game he started. I’ve seen enough, despite his improper transition, he should have been better at this point in his career.
All that being said, I think he can be a decent backup for us- as long as the locker room is clear on who the starter is. I would much rather have JP than Gus or Dilfer or Todd Collins. I think Losman is a class act and won’t undermine Edwards similar to the whole Flutie/Johnson debacle.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Great analysis Kuch! As nice a guy as Losman is, he can’t hack it as our starting quarterback if we want to win games. If we want to turn back to the throw deep to Lee Evans offense, I suppose he’s our guy, but otherwise Edwards is the better decision maker. Good decisions lead to long drives, which lead to points.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:09 am
The first thing I would like to say is Eli anyone!!!!!!
With all that Losman been through he deserves at least one more chance. I would like it to be with the Bills but it will not happen…. So trade him!
March 27th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Before the 2007 season I thought Losman was better than Eli. My how things have changed.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am
As much as I like Losman, everyone is getting a little carried away with the pity party. He had a whole season to get his feet wet and then sunk when his oppurtunity came last year. He was given plenty of oppurtunities. How many other kids would love to have the shot he had? plenty. I’m no expert on quarterbacks but and from the first snap under center that Trent took he just seems to have a presence that all the great QB’s have, not that he’s great yet but he shows the potential. I’ve been watching the Bills since 1960 and other than a few select QB’s we havn’t really had a kid come in with the “it” that we hear associated with the position. Most of us don’t get 4 years when were hired to see if we can get the job done, enough said on the Losman hire! Time to move forward.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I don’t think buffalo would trade Losman unless they find another veteran to fill his role. I like Losman as an individual but he just can’t hack as a starter. It seems like he looks for the big play, every play. Strong arms aren’t everything and that became evident with Losman. He reminds of Kyle Boller, a career backup. He had two full years to grasp the offense and he just couldn’t cut it. Then Edwards as a rookie comes in shows better presence and recognition skills, and leads the same team losman couldn’t to a winning record when he was under helm. The bills organization would be foolish to aloow the qb countreversy to carry over into this season. Let Edwards take his shot and see what happens, I’m expecting good things from the young qb this season.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
So if Losman nothing but a second stringer trade him. Get what you can and get someone in the in the mold of a Kelly Holcomb.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I think Kuch sums it up well, I like Losman a lot and I’m not caught up in the love fest of Edwards, I think he benefited from winning games where the credit for the win should have went to the defense. Plus those teams weren’t all that great. His “great decision making skills” were nothing but dump offs but overall he proved to be inconsistent at best!
We have yet to see him put up points and finish a big or close game. The Giants game was the perfect summation of who he is and will be as a qb. After a while the d cordinator picks up on your gameplan and exploitits it. Edwards had no answer second half of the giants game. So I look forward to the next season, I would had preferred we brought in a qb and traded JP, hopefully in the right system he can play and show the derelicts in Bflo. what he is made of.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:56 am
I was a big supporter of J P especially after the strong finish 2 seasons ago. But let’s face it, last year he stunk. He played with a “deer in the headlights” approach. He never looked comfortable under center, but how much of that should be put on the shoulders of the gratefully departed Steve Fairchild?
To that point, to blame Edwards and say “he” had no answers in the Giants game is preposterous. Put the blame where it lies, with Steve Fairchild and his awful, and very predictable play calling. Edwards only ran what he was told to and I doubt he had much lattitude to change the plays at the line of scrimmage, as is usually the case with most rookie QBs.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:20 am
Thanks for proving my point, it’s ok to accept Edwards b/c of the terrible play calling and lack of audibles but we can leave JP out to dry for the same reasons? It makes no sense, the guy given a fair chance to play with out the owner and staff begging for his benching would be good, just like he displayed the previous year. Did we all forget that? Can we have a OC that can put a system together that would compliment the QB? I’m hard on Edwards b/c I truly dont see a hall of fame qb that all you guys come on here and try to paint him to be. So what Walsh liked him, who cares the kid is not durable and has no idea what it takes to be a winner in this game. His college team was horrible!
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