2003Contenders

Yes, it is when that is what the uber-conservative gameplan calls for...

You are correct! And even the most delusional fans out there that had us going, say 13-3 this season, had Sunday's contest against the Colts chalked up as a loss. Yet, we almost pulled off the upset...

Exactly

Anyone able to zero-in on how well Preston did yesterday subbing for CV?

Landing a stud TE wouldn't hurt either...

Like it or not, I think that what you've seen the past 2 weeks is the Dick Jauron philosophy on offense. That is, the role of the QB is to primarily hand the ball off -- and not lose the game. I don't think it has anything to do necessarily with WHO the QB is... Given that he's completed a good percentage of his passes over the last 2 weeks and protected the football, contrary to popular fan opinion, I have a feeling that the coaches are actually pretty happy with what Loseman has done on the field.

I don't think the minimal number of pass plays called the last two weeks says one thing or the other about the coaching staff's opinion of Losman. DJ has never been a fan of airing the ball out. Just look back at his Chicago teams that had Jim Miller and Shane Matthews behind center. He's from the school of thought that you win by presenting a strong defense and running the football and only having to throw the ball on occasion. For all of those whining about the lack of production in the passing game, I think this is just part of the gameplan as designed by the current coaching staff. Boring football? Maybe. But it resulted in a win last week -- and a near-win this week against a team that was clearly better than us. Bottom line: I think the coaching staff is satisfied with what Losman's doing, as he is doing exactly what they are asking of him.

Could it be just a numbers game based on the depth chart? That is, he's designated as Nate's backup on the depth chart, while Thomas and Greer aren't backups perse but nickel and dime corners. If Nate were to get injured, is it possible that AY would start in his place?

Supporting cast aside, there is also a reason why Eli, Rivers, and Big Ben were all revered as top 10 draft picks (I know Big Ben went #11, but he was rated much higher), while JP was rated as a late first rounder. It had little to do with talent, as some scouts felt that JP was every bit as talented as the other 3 in terms of arm strength and especially mobility. However, while the others had all played in major programs and were center stage in Bowl games, Losman played for a program in Tulane that was far less sophisticated. The reality at the time that the Bills drafted him was that he was green and was going to take some time to develop, which didn't seem like a problem, since we had an established QB in Bledsoe. Like Drew or not -- the decision to simply cut him prior to last season, without even giving him a chance to compete for the job was a very foolish one. As unpolished as Losman was, he may have benefited more from sitting on the bench an extra year than dealing with all that was thrown at him. If we throw out last year entirely (given the ousted coaching staff) -- and just look at what he's done so far this year, it is quite consistent with what you've come to expect from a 1st year starter. In fact, his 1400+ passing yards through the first 8 games this year are right in line with the 2800-2900 passing yards that Bledsoe put up in each of his last two seasons here... With that said, if he does not show major improvement over the second half of the season, I think we have no choice but to look elesewhere next year. Given the much easier schedule (on paper) in the second half, I'd say that the odds are in his favor.

With all of that said... both the Jets and Titans did a decent job against Manning and the Colts. Anything is possible, especially if the Bills can protect that ball and FORCE some turnovers.

You know... I will say this about Nate. He always seems to play his best when matched up against a star receiver. One of his best days, for example, came last year when he pretty much shut down Steve Smith. The bigger question is: Will McGee be able to cover Reggie Wayne?

I know the point of your post was to take another slap at JP. However, you may have actually stumbled onto something here. For as bad as the OL looked in pass protection on Sunday, they looked exceptional in run blocking (save for a couple of 3rd and 1 non-conversions). In fact, the Packers couldn't stop the rushing attack in the 4th quarter, when they needed to. Indy's run defense is their achilles heal. I would personally like to see our gameplan consist of something like a 2-1 run to pass ratio on Sunday to keep the Colts' offense on the sidelines. In order for that to happen the offense will have to avoid the penalties, of course, to keep us out of 3rd and long situations. Additionally greater commitment to the running game should force the Colts to back off their pass rushing -- and may set things up for some play-action passes.

Given that Big Ben has been turning the ball over so regularly, I'm not sure. Remember, this is the team that lost to Oakland last week!

From what I saw, Pennington was only beaten cleanly once -- and that was early in the game. I believe the other 4 sacks came up the gut -- and at least 2 of them were on CV. Now, I'm not sure if the others were on CV, Fowler or Gandy. I will say that Gandy did a good job a couple of times (especially on the TD pass) in helping Peters with KGB. Of course, sacks don't tell the whole story, as there were numerous other times that the interior of the line caved, such as on the play that ended Willis' day. Again, don't know where to point the finger -- but clearly CV for one is a a liability.

All the throwing things around in the world isn't going to matter when your opponent has a better product on the field.

Sure, he could have been worse. He could have turned the ball over 4 times like his hall of fame counterpart did yesterday. Also, remember this: The Bills led all game long up until the 4th quarter. Once the Packers tied it up, JP came through with a clutch TD pass.

True -- but leadership works in different ways for different people. Some QBs can just give a WR a certain look -- and that goes even further than hollering. Also, when a receiver drops a pass -- if he really cares -- he's probably so mad at himself already that yelling at him is more like throwing salt on the wound than motivating him. One's leadership style is uniquely tied to one's own personality. Kelly had a fiery personality, so the yelling translated well for him. That may or may not work for Losman. Just because that style of leadership doesn't work for JP doesn't mean that he can't be a leader.

It's funny... I can remember so many of the Flutie Flakes back in 1999, when the team would pull out a 13-10 victory with the little man struggling all day only to turn on that "Flutie Magic" in the 4th quarter to pull out a victory. Funny that Losman doesn't get the same reaction based on yesterday's result.

Uh, actually coaches from both the last regime as well as this one have commented about the time and effort that Losman puts in. I don't question the amount of studying and hard work that JP is doing. Rather, I wonder how well he is absorbing the information -- and how quickly he is processing it on Sunday afternoons.

He and the coaches also need to take better advantage of his uncanny ability to draw defenders off-sides. It seems like he's done that with a hard count at least once in every game. That's a free play! Why not take a chance throwing the ball downfield -- even if it's into double coverage? It seems like every time he does this, the team is content with the 5-yard penalty -- and just hands it off to Willis...

It's silly to fall into the trap of believing that the team -- or JP in particular -- has really regressed. While it's true that the Bills have an 0-3 record over the last three games, it's foolish to look past WHO those games were played against and the circumstances surrounding each game. That is, 2 of those 3 games were against teams that have a legit shot at the Super Bowl. After the 2-2 start, we ran into a buzz saw in Chicago. Probably even the most optimistic of us saw that coming. Two weeks ago against New England, there was some false optimism about the Pats because we had played them so well in their house to start the season. The truth of the matter is that we caught them on an off-day in Week 1 and at a time before their new offense started to gel. Clearly, they are now one of the elite teams in the NFL. Sandwiched between those games was the Detroit game. While it is true that Detroit is 1-6, they have actually been in a position to win every one of their games aside from their own collapse against Chicago. The week we played against them, they were exceptionally motivated, especially given that the Tigers had just made it to the World Series. Still, if Gandy had had an even adequate day, we probably would have won that game. Also, since when has winning a road game -- even against an "inferior" opponent -- ever been something to expect from this team? Certainly not over the last 5-6 yars. No, for me it isn't those last 3 games we lost that continue to irk me. Rather, it is the fact that we let a vulnerable Pats team off the hook in Week 1 -- and found a way to lose to Jets after outplaying them. In reality, we should have been 4-0 going into this tough 3-game stretch. Of course, I imagine the regression cries would have been even more pronounced if we had gone 4-0 followed by 0-3! With all of that said, if the Bills are going to PROgress, then they must beat a team like the Packers this week at home.

What does scare me is that the Packers' OL is improving. Favre was mostly untouched yesterday, and the Packers had two different backs that topped the 100-yard mark. If the Bills can shut down their running game, I'm not sure that we have much to fear in the way of Favre picking us apart, given that 3 of his 4 top receivers will be sidelined -- and that 4th receiver (Driver) got banged up a bit yesterday too.

Romo looked very impressive last night, but I'll wait on my assessment of him until I've seen more. I seem to recall a young QB down in Jacksonville back in 1997 who had one really good game -- even led his team to a comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens...

Not sure what the infatuation is with Schaub. This guy has Scott Mitchell written all over him...

The funny thing about Bradshaw is that in his early years the team was very close to giving up on him. However, the Rooneys remembered how much bad luck the Steelers had had in the past when giving up on QBs too early: Johnny Unitas, Lynn Dawson, and Jack Kemp had all originally been drafted by Pittsburgh -- and the team subsequently cut all three of them. Of course, all three went onto do great things with other clubs. It was this realization that forced them to be patient with Bradshaw. The rest is history...