JDG

One of? I really have to wonder if there is anyone who is worse at this point.... JDG

1) He missed a ton of camp, and the knock on him when he was drafted was that he was very athletic, but also very raw, and not yet ready for the NFL. 2) Jabari Greer and Kiwaukee Thomas are still better at this point. Moreover, with five corners on the roster, one of the corners is typically going to be on the inactive list on gamedays. Right now, Yobouty is the logical choice for that, which also doesn't let us insert hi into the game here and there for experience. JDG

I'd argue that there is a sliding scale of approach for a Head Coach. On one end is the "tailor your scheme and constantly adjust to whatever players the GM hands you" vs. "implement a winning scheme, and work towards teaching the players you have that scheme, and building around players who fit that scheme." You seems to argue that Jauron is too far to the latter end of that scale. I'm not sure that I agree - particularly on defense. The Cover 2 is only the most successful defensive scheme in the NFL right now. I have lot more confidence in implementing this scheme than I did in Gregg Williams ripping out the Wade Phillips scheme to install the "46 defense" that seemed like a relic from a byegone era, and which struck my own personal philosophy as being fundamentally unsound. At times this year, we have started as many as four rookies on defense, with a fifth in heavy rotation, and a sixth, now that we are approaching midseason, waiting in the wings for the rotation (Yobouty.) This is exactly the sort of situation where it makes perfect sense to take your lumps with learning the new scheme, rather than constantly trying to tinker and adjust based on what you have at a given moment. Indeed, by next year, there will almost certainly be further changes on the defense with Clements likely to walk, Fletcher and Spikes on the bubble, and the strong possibility that we might add another defensive end. Right now, it seems clear to me that McGee and Simpson are not working well together in the defensive scheme - but McGee has always been a raw, but unpolished athlete, and Simpson is a 4th round rookie. If there were ever a case to take your lumps with the implementation of a new scheme, it seems to me that this would be that sort of situation. JDG

You misread his post completely...

Except for the fact that I don't see how a guy who is not even on his own team's Wall of Fame should even be able to get a sniff for the NFL Hall of Fame.... THe Bills have noone to blame but themselves for the reason as to why Tasker hasn't been a serious Hall of Fame candidate yet.... JDG

He outkicked his coverage too much....

The criteria for nomination are very low - including having had at least one Pro Bowl appearance, among others. Thus, a couple years from now Doug Flutie will be on the Hall of Fame ballot.... JDG

Is your point that you have to go back to the 1970's to find a QB who's career started as badly as JP's and yet went on to greatness? ;-) Or more to the point - if JP Losman had produced the above numbers , would you, or anyone else, be sticking within him after the third year? the fourth year? the *fifth*????? I hope its self-evident that that was a completely different era, so I don't know what sort of point you are trying to make about JP Losman through this comparison at all.... JDG

And your evidence for this, is?

A classic example of how simple stats don't tell everything. Leinart was tremendous in his loss to Chicago, which is pretty much the best defense in football. I don't see how you can compare it to Losman's 83 yard, "just don't lose the game for us", day against Miami. I saw a bunch of Gradkowski's game against the Saints, and he just seemed to show much more poise than I see from Losman. And finally, what neither Leinart or Gradkowski have is a stretch of futility to approach Losman's debacle last year. We'll see if that comes in later weeks. Classic example of how simple stats - particularly long-term aggregate stats - and most especially the NFL's Byzantine QB rating formula - can cloud the picture. Anyone who compares how Palmer looked in his first 13 games vs. how Losman looked in his first 15 games as being "about the same" simply isn't watching the same game that I am.... JDG

Actually, I think that Peyton Manning showed plenty his rookie year to people who were able to watch him play (admittedly not everyone, since the Colts were 3-13.) JDG

Except that Drew Brees actually looked pretty good in his second year in the League, before regressing as a third year player. So at least you knew in that third year when Brees was stinking it up that he had at least shown something already - whereas JP Losman has yet to really show much of anything. JDG

There's a difference between expecting strong play and expecting competent play. JP Losman, after starting out incompetent is at this point still just straddling the line between competent and incompetent. In my estimation, he's just far enough on the competent side of the line to merit the start against the Packers, but only just so. Add Leinart and Gostkowski to that group as well - a group that also includes guys like Palmer, Brees, Leftwich, and Grossman as QB's who have all shown more in their first 15 starts than Losman has. Additionally, by the way, guys like Cade McNown, Akili Smith, and Heath Shuler were all essentially abandoned after about 15 starts. David Klingler only got a bit more than that as well. And that's even without mentioning Ryan Leaf and Jim Druckenmiller! Tommy Maddox was drafted in the first round and basically never given a shot at starting. The point is that we're not talking about an extradordinarily short hook for JP Losman, especially since Jauron has now indicated that he'll be coming back after the bye. Just because some teams have continued to trot out players like Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller, and Rick Mirer - doesn't prove that you have to play a guy for five seasons to figure out what you've got. O.k., maybe JP Losman will turn out to be Rich Gannon and in 2016 he'll be MVP of the National Football League. If Losman doesn't show us a bit more in the next couple weeks, though, that may be a chance that we'll have to take. JDG

Well, just about everyone here in the capital of the free world is calling for Jason Campbell..... so I don't think that's much evidence.... JDG

What did Drew Brees do the year before that? What had he shown in that year compared to what Losman has shown so far? JDG

No, I just think that he's a better pro than JP Losman. Which is really saying something about Losman..... JDG

I agree. Excellent post. JDG

For the record, I am absolutely against putting in Holcomb at QB after the bye week. But, I should point out that Kelly Holcomb rung up 33 points on the Pittsburgh Steelers *in Pittsburgh* and *in the playoffs.* Holcomb isn't the future at this point, but I think that people are a little too hard on him for what he was able to do in his prime..... JDG

Is this the same guy at the NFL Network who was the only man in the country to put Donte Whitner for the Bills in his mock draft? Or was that someone else? JDG

True. But some opinions are made up by people who regularly talk to Ralph Wilson, Marv Levy, and other members of the brain trust at OBD. That definitely applies to Felser, and I'm pretty sure that applies to Carucci as well..... JDG

Actually, you've been after me since Day 1, and you've looked pretty foolish while doing it.... If you care to read TSW Archives, you'll see that I've endorsed Losman as the starter all season. JDG

Actually, every time he has been benched he has come back and played better afterwards. JDG

Its not like the Bills could have drafted D'Brickashaw Ferguson, even if they had wanted to. And its not like we didn't have some serious issues on the defensive line and secondary either.... JDG

I'm sure people are going to roll their eyes at my answer, but I say no.... I have, on occasion, seen our offensive line pick up a blitz rather well. Yes, our offensive line is pretty bad, but Losman isn't running for his life on *every* play. Unfortunately, even when the blitz is picked up, I generally don't see Losman make a good read and a good throw. My general assessment of Losman is that he doesn't have good enough accuracy on his deep ball; he goes throught stretches with a profound lack of touch on his short ball; and that he generally does not scan the field well to find an open receiver. I don't think that these shortcomings would suddenly disappear behind a good offensive line. In fact, because Losman doesn't make his reads well, and because he hangs onto the ball too long, I think that he makes our bad offensive line look even worse than it really is. The Bills have a bad offensive line - but so do some other teams. Yet, Losman seems to be one of the most underwhelming QB's in the League. JDG P.S. And Peyton Manning is so good, that while he might not be breaking Dan Marino's records on this team, we would nevertheless be much better with him around - even with our bad offensive line....

While true, Wade also gave up on the team - which is just indefensible. Buffalo needs a coach who will be resilient and who will never give up until the fat lady sings, JDG