Archives for August 2004

‘”It was an accident,” Mularkey said. “Troy isn’t going to try and hurt anybody, and J.P., he loosened up at the end (of the play), and you can’t do that.”‘

‘”We’re going to put the best guys out there, period,” Mularkey said. “There’s nothing that says a starter is relieved of duty because he’s playing first, second and third down. Fourth down is no different.”‘

‘”I was running and keeping him from going out of bounds and he was cutting back and our shoulder pads just barely grazed on his cutback,” Vincent said. “At the same time he planted, I think our shoulder pads met.”‘

‘The Bills ranked 31st in punt returns last year and were inconsistent on kickoff returns. Antonio Brown, who held those duties most of 2003, could lose both jobs. WR Josh Reed opened the preseason as the No. 1 kickoff returner, and Terrence McGee had 85- and 34-yard kick returns in the second preseason game. CB Nate Clements has the inside track on handling punts, though the team would prefer not to use a starter there.’

‘The injury occurred with 25 minutes to go in the afternoon workout. Losman was hit by veteran cornerback Troy Vincent. The rookie out of Tulane was carted off the field, and was later seen being helped from a wheelchair into a car.’

‘Losman was slated to back up starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe this season. Travis Brown will likely move into the No. 2 position behind Bledsoe while Losman is recovering. The Bills will probably bring in another quarterback to either compete with Brown or to occupy the No. 3 role.’

‘The rookie was finishing a run during a two-minute drill when the hit occured. Trainers attended to him before Losman was carted off.’

‘Vincent told WGR that the collision between he and Losman was purely accidental and that he would never do anything intentionally to harm a teammate.’

‘Rookie quarterback J.P. Losman has suffered a broken leg and will be out indefinitely. Such injuries typically require a recovery time of 8-12 weeks.’

‘During the play, Losman ran around end only to be hit with a hard shoulder from veteran Troy Vincent. Losman had to be helped to his feet, but clearly was in pain. Vincent said after practice that the hit was not intentional.’

First-round draft choice J.P. Losman, the heir apparent to Drew Bledsoe’s starting job with the Buffalo Bills, will likely miss at least the first half of his rookie season, after the quarterback suffered a fractured left fibula during a Tuesday practice session.

‘Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback J.P. Losman was taken off the field Tuesday afternoon with an apparent lower left leg injury.’

For now, he’s only getting third-team mop-up work behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backup Travis Brown. But the Bills rookie has already given us a glimpse of why he’s the quarterback of the future in Buffalo. Losman is 9-of-11 for 78 yards and has a 96.2 passer rating, and he has handled the offense with an impressive command and poise. But what the Bills really believe sets him apart from this year’s other first-round quarterbacks is his feet. Losman has gained 80 yards on seven scrambles, and he has made plays to keep drives alive. In his five drives, the Bills have scored three field goals, missed on another field goal attempt and fumbled the ball away once.

"It’s not official, but I’m not going to push him to play if there’s any pain at all," Mularkey said. "I’d maybe have a different answer if we were in the regular season. But I’m not going to push that right now. It’s just to get him back full strength."

‘Mularkey said some of the players may have been trying too hard to impress the coaching staff. “They’re trying to play hard,” he said. “It was just the timing of it. If there’s a gray area (as to if it’s a penalty), they just have to pull back.”‘