JDG

I have to give credit to JP Losman on today's game. I've been waiting for him to have his first career 300+ yard day, and did not expect that it would come on a blustery day in Orchard Park. Unfortunately, I've said for a while now that JP Losman's decision-making worried me - most especially after our gameplan against Miami where decision-making was taken out of his hand - and sadly, today did nothing to alleviate that concern. 1) Buffalo's first four drives all pushed deep into Jets territory - yet we came out of those four drives with only 7 points. That's a strong leading indicator of how to lose a football game. Our fifth drive goes into the red zone and only gets three points. You only get so many chances. While those failures aren't all solely JP Losman's fault, most teams need their QB to make their other players better. The breakdowns in Jets territory shows that JP isn't there yet. 2) One of those failures was a JP Losman fumble - the first of turnovers on the day. A three turnover day happens to all young QB"s though, and again is a sign of just not being good enough.... yet. 3) The interception is an all time-horrible interception. Everyone will focus on the wounded-duck nature of the pass, but how about the decision to throw the ball in the first place? Lee Evans was clearly double-covered. Indeed, it seemed that on most of the shots we tried taking downfield, JP Losman was launching the ball into double-coverage, including an earlier ill-advised pass to Lee Evans, and the play where Peerless Price may have saved an interception by making offensive pass interference. 4) JP Losman twice failed to complete a sideline-out to Josh Reed on fourth down. The first one may have been Reed's fault, but the last one, with the game on the line, was terrible. We also saw the ugly return of JP Losman's pass in the dirt, as well as two horribly-thrown dumpoffs to McGahee on the final drive. On many occasions, JP Losman seemed to buy plenty of time for himself by running around behind the line of scrimmage, but it seemed that these runs produced few big plays. Was there really noone open? Or was Losman just not seeing them? Plus, for whatever reason, JP Losman only decided to run with the ball once - he seems to have a lot of work today on when to use his legs and when to wait for things to develop. 5) Again, there were many reasons to be impressed by JP Losman's passing today. I'd still like that 57% completion percentage to be higher, so that can be added to the things to work on. At the end of the day, JP Losman did some impressive things - like that overthrown bomb to Lee Evans into the wind, but still can't really point to a "complete game" on his resume. He did some good things, but isn't quite good enough for us to win with just yet. JDG

What exactly is Pennington's tease? You say that you cannot win with Pennington, but it seems to me that he has won more games than he has lost as a starter, and is 2-2 in the playoffs, including winning on the road in San Diego, and taking the Steelers to overtime in Pittsburgh (a game their kicker lost for them). JDG

While the Jets occasionally got pressure with some blitzes, it seemed to me that Willis McGahee had some great holes to run through, and that for the most part JP Losman had plenty of time to throw. JDG

Pennington's lack of talent explains why he was drafted with a higher pick than JP Losman, right? JDG

Well, the guy has had double-digit sacks in every year he has played 16 games, and he has been on pace for more than that in the two years he got hurt. I don't think the old saw of "Edwards was too conservative" holds water on that count - especially since the goal is to use Abraham to win games, not to use Abraham to rack up stats.... JDG

Didn't you guys have a player by the name of John Abraham not so long ago? I seem to remember Abraham and Ellis really lighting things up for a while. I don't think we outmatch you by that much, if at all. If we could take our running game and your passing game, we might have a complete offense. Plus, you guys have the second-best special teams coach in the League, and still have a few pretty good players on defense, even with Abraham gone. Your secondary admittedly looks weak, but we'll see if Losman can take advantage. This game scares me a lot too - its the sort of division home game that we absolutely have to have if we're going to have a shot this year. JDG

Cedric Houston is probably more likely to not be on the roster by the end of the season than starting by the end of the season. JDG

Not surprisingly, Posey ended up with Gregg Williams in Washington... JDG

Let me go on the record in this way: 1) I cannot manage any conceivable single-game performance by JP Losman that would cause me to argue that he should be benched. Losman is the 2006 Bills starting QB, he won that title fair and square in training camp by proving himself to be the best QB on the roster, and I don't see how he can lose that title in one game. 2) I have deliberately avoided making statements like "JP Losman will never be a productive NFL QB." I am very hopeful that Losman will someday be a great NFL QB. My point about JP Losman is that last year he was *unusually* bad, worse than almost all, if not all, cases of "struggling first-time starting QB" that people care to name. In fact, in Weeks 2 through 4 last year, JP Losman was so unusually bad that it would have been football malpractice to not bench him - Losman's draft status and potential and all. I think Mularkey was a horrible Bills coach, but that was absolutely the right decision - and much of the grief in the JP Losman debate comes from people who still refuse to recognize that simple point... that after four starts, JP Losman had no business seeing playing time in the National Football League. Yes, JP Losman has improved - but he set the baseline for improvement in those four games at a lower level than for any QB I can ever recall. 3) Given how badly JP Losman performed as a second-year QB last year, he doesn't get much benefit of the doubt from me in evaluating his prospects for future performance. By my take, JP Losman has improved from "off-the-charts bad" to merely being "bad." So, when people talk about JP Losman playing "good" or "solid", I take objection, and point out that in my evaluation he is playing "bad." Sure, its better than last year, but it is still bad. I think that when we spent a 1st, a 2nd, and a 5th on Losman we expected him to maybe be bad in his first or even his second year, but that by his third year he might at least be "mediocre", if not *good*. I don't think we spent a 1st, a 2nd, and a 5th on Losman to get a third-year QB whom we would have to manage our gameplans around to be ultra-conservative and avoid almost any possibility of mistake. Indeed, if we get to the end of this season and we are still winning games with Losman attempting few, if any, mid-range passes and Losman regularly passing for less than 100 yards in a game, then I think we will have a serious question to answer about where and how we look for QB help in the offseason. Kudos to Jauron & Co. for coaching the game the way it needed to be played, and to Losman for staying within the limitations of the gameplan set for him. But I refuse to call a performance "solid", when that same performance at the end of this year will have us thinking about whether we need to find Losman's eventual performance. JDG

On the other hand, I don't know that we can possible hit on all our draft picks.... We've already got Whitner, Simpson, Williams, and Ellison looking pretty good so far. If McCargo and Yobouty also pan out, and those four rookies keep up the good work, it would be one of the best draft classes ever.... JDG

Actually, I agree that JP Losman is much better this season so far.... which speaks volumes about just how bad he was last season... The one statement that I disagree with above is that the Bills are better because of JP Losman. In terms of why we are better this year, I would put better coaching as #1 and #2, followed by improved play from the O-Line and McGahee, and improved play from the defense, particularly the addition of five faster and younger (save Triplett) defenders on that side of the ball. JP Losman would come in as the #5 reason by my count. JDG

Something had to inspire the Titans to bring in Kerry Collins without the benefit of training camp...... and I can't believe its because Volek looked so good and they were saving him for the trade.... JDG

Houston may yet give them a run for Brady Quinn....

There's truth to that... but it wasn't my idea to compare the two in the first place! JDG

O.k. Losman's first 10 games vs. Hasselbeck's first 10 games: Sub-50% completion games: Losman - 4 Hasselbeck - 2 (albeit two more at 50% exactly) Sub-100 yard games: Losman - 3 Hasselbeck - 1 200+ yard passing games: Losman - 1 Hasselbeck - 3 If you want to bring up Hasselbeck as an example of a QB who was bad in his first 10 starts, then you are presumably also suggesting that Losman has been worse than bad..... which has been my point. We'll see how Losman does over the next two weeks playing at home. If we can beat the Jets this Sunday, we'll be 2-1 in the division, which will feel very, very, good...... JDG

Of course, BR was a rookie. JP Losman is a third-year player "Who is Chad Pennington?" I'll take NFL QB's in the first 10 starts for $400, Alex.... ;-) JDG

One of the fundamental differences between the Losman-optimists and the Losman-pessimists is that the Losman optimists cite Losman's experience in terms of games started. The Losman-pessimists cite Losman's experience in terms of his years of experience, and the three training camps (one and a half as a starter) under his belt. We're going to just keep yelling at each other if we don't bridge that fundamental difference - or at least a compromise interpretion at some place in between the two positions. Any analysis of NFL QB history would show that there is a huge difference between starting a 10th game as a rookie QB and starting a 10th game as a more-experienced QB. Thus, I do not find it convincing when I hear arguments from Losman-optimists that begin with "Losman has only 10 career starts" as if it was the 10th game of his rookie season. I think there is a higher standard for QB's that start their 10th game as NFL vets (ala Carson Palmer, Chad Pennington, etc.) vs. those that start their 10th game as a rookie. JDG

Because if you say one negative word about JP Losman around here, whatever other nuance you might say is tossed out the window and you are immediately branded a Losman-hater and an ignoramus. JDG

Because on Roethlisberger's worst day above, he passed for 57% more yards than Losman did yesterday. Fifty-Seven Percent! O.k., that is just one day - a day on which the Bills had the lead the whole day, and the Bills were playing conservative. But the criticism also comes in because the measely 83 yards passing brings back memories of one of the most disastrous three-game QB performances in Buffalo Bills history, turned in by JP Losman in Weeks 2 through 4 last year. Once you've produced in the NFL, or at the very least, demonstrated yourself to be an effective game manager in the NFL, you earn a little extra benefit of the doubt for your performances. On the other hand, when you have a track record of being an absolute disaster at QB, you get a little more skepticism and scrutiny focused on your performances. JDG

So, is a 2nd Rounder that turns into a valuable contributor a better or worse pick than a 2nd Rounder who had the potential to be an every-day starter, but never panned out? Say, for example, a Darius Watts? JDG

I knew Dante Hall, Dante Hall was a good friend of mine, and Roscoe Parrish is no Dante Hall..... *yet* If Roscoe Parrish is a Top 3 punt returner for this year and next year, the pick will be worth it in my book. He isn't quite there yet - but you could certainly see the potential this week. JDG

No. I just think that as a third-year played in whom we invested a 1st and 2nd round pick, we shouldn't have to manage the game around him like we have Damon Huard at QB. Time will tell if this was just a situational thing this week on the road in Miami, or a longer-term lack of confidence in Losman by the coaches. JDG

Sorry, I thought you were referring to bombs - not the mid-range down-the-field stuff. My mistake. As you know, my theory is that the coaches intentionally did not want Losman attempting those kinds of throws. Hence the switch from a conservative gameplan to an ultra-conservative gameplan - which did, in the end, win the game for us. JDG

John: I'm totally excited about beating Miami (one of the two most important games of the season.) I predicted 9-7 for the Bills this year, with a possible shot at the playoffs if we could "steal" one of our two opening road division games. Well, we've now done that (and should have stolen both!) Here's the thing with your Losman conundrum. If Losman is playing the gunslinger, and not playing well, and we lose - he's naturally going to be criticized. What concerned me about the Miami game is that by my observations of the game, the coaches made a mid-game adjustment to take the game out of Losman's hands as much as possible. After the first couple series, they tried to call as many pass plays as possible did not require Losman to make decisions - swings, screens, quick slants, and the occasional bomb. Great coaching move (it won us the game), and kudos to Losman for not messing that up (but you'd have to be really bad to mess that up, eh?) You'll just have to forgive me for not getting *excited* about it. Let me put it this way - Losman's performance thus far in 2006 has been compared to Trent Dilfer's for the 2000 Ravens. Its an interesting point. But really, did we invest a 1st, a 2nd, and a 5th round pick into JP Losman to get Trent Dilfer circa 2000? My thinking is that we invested those picks in Losman in order to put the game into the hands of the guy, not to be taking the game out of his hands. If we wanted to do that, we could have signed Damon Huard (18 of 23 for 133 yards - albeit with 2 fumbles, one lost, in a tough road game in Denver against a very good defense) and saved some serious draft picks. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'd like to believe that it is possible to be: a) excited as heck about beating Miami on the road, and b) concerned that Losman doesn't appear to be where we would want him to be at this stage of his development, given his contract, his draft status, and our other options at QB all at the same time. JDG

If only we could know! The Bills actually attempted at least two deep pass plays in the Miami game. I don't know how many times you think teams are supposed to throw the deep ball, but given the way that game went, two seems like plenty. We aren't the St. Louis Rams. JDG