Archives for August 29, 2006

‘Losman has the support of his teammates and team owner Ralph Wilson, who earlier in the day noted Losman’s improvement. "He’s got a great arm and he improved last week from the week before. And I hope he’ll continue his improvement," Wilson told The Associated Press.’

‘On seeing Spikes next to him on the field: It does feel good to have him back out there. Just from our comfort level, this is our fourth year playing together. We know what each other will do on each play.’

‘On whether he may have come closer to winning the job had his injury not occurred: I’d like to think so, yeah, because I wouldn’t be playing catch-up, I wouldn’t have my back against the wall most of the time. So I think it would be different, I can’t focus on that now… be the number two guy hopefully. If that doesn’t work, go back to the drawing board. Just keep plugging away, that’s all I can do.’

‘On winning the starting quarterback competition: It’s good for him to actually say it. I’ve been getting kind of comfortable here the last couple of weeks and confidence-building with the reps, increasing the reps, that type of thing, so you kind of knew where things were headed. It’s an exciting time, but it’s a time to really go to work now. We’re getting really, really close here to our first game, so we’ve just got to get things rolling.’

‘On what he thinks made J.P. the front-runner: It’s not one particular thing, I think each guy does each thing individually. J.P.’s very athletic, he can move around a lot. Of course with the new offensive coordinator and the new scheme I think he’s learned a lot. I think that helped him to try to get himself in the number one position.’

‘On the team being confident in JP: I’m not in the locker room, I’m in there occasionally, but I don’t share a lot of those conversations with them. By the way they act and react in the huddle, what I see, I think so. The more he performs well, the more confidence he will get.’

‘"Now I have to go prove it week in and week out to really get that trust," said Losman. "By week four or five they’re going to know that I’m their guy. It’s just going to take time and I’m just going to have to play the games. You constantly have to prove yourself to your teammates."’

‘Jauron did not name a second or third string quarterback, but did say Craig Nall should get more playing time than Kelly Holcomb against Detroit.’

‘The news did not come as a big surprise after Jauron named Losman the front-runner two weeks ago in training camp. Ever since, Losman has taken the majority of snaps in practice and started the past two preseason games. “It’s good for him to actually say it, but I’ve been getting kind of comfortable here the last couple of weeks,” Losman said. “It’s exciting times but it’s time to really go to work now.”‘

‘"All of you saw it coming and certainly all the quarterbacks saw it coming,” Jauron said today after practice at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘Head Coach Dick Jauron has officially announced J.P. Losman as the team’s starting QB.’

‘Rocca has an appointment to show off his booming kicking style to the Buffalo Bills and said arrangements were being put in place with a second NFL club. "Hopefully I can make a few contacts over there and go back and forth in the next three to four months and establish a base over there with a team," he said. Rocca is hopeful of becoming the third AFL player, after Darren Bennett and Ben Graham, to carve out an NFL career.’

‘”We didn’t know for sure when we were going to put him at center,” McNally said. “But we knew that before training camp was over he had to go back and play some center because obviously if he’s active in the game he’s got to be able to play center and guard. He’s got to be able to block and get better at those positions. But having a guy who does both is invaluable to us.”‘

‘The Bills have to cut 22 more players to reach the 53-man roster limit by 4 p.m. Saturday.’

‘”I take each play and think about what I have to do on that play, and then off the field I try to stay away from all distractions. I have a lot of good people around me. My parents, my grandparents, my high school coach (Ted Ginn Sr., father of Ohio State star Ted Ginn Jr.), coach (Jim) Tressel and the coaches at Ohio State that I keep in contact with. Some people, when they get to this level, they think everything is going so fast, but I don’t feel like that.”‘