Justice Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 All of us heard all of the stories. JPL studied and worked his tail off all offseason. He knew he was ready and had high expectations. I believed in him. This all stems from the first day of training camp practice. JP didn't play as well as he thought he would and IHMO he took that way too hard and now it's affecting his play. Why do I think his confidence is shook, you ask? MM told JP to keep his emotions in check earlier in camp and his eratic play in practices, the scrimmage and the first exhibition game are my evidence. One minute he stinks up the joint the next minute he looks like a baller. I was and still am, confident that JP will play well this season. But I have to admit, I don't trust him as much now, as I did before. Don't get me wrong. The guy isn't DOOMED. JPL can still overcome his mental issues with one great preseason performance. Like I said before, JPL is a highly emotional guy. He started of the scrimmage great and then one thing went wrong and he fell apart. He didn't look well in the beginning of the game and then he got hot. MM has his work cut out for himself with this kid. It's gonna be a roller-coaster type season. I hope you enjoy the show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Thank you Dr. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 You are entitled to your own opinion, of course, but I haven't seen a single thing that he has done in any game or practice footage or said in any interview that would suggest his convidence is shattered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndirish1978 Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 i could not possibly care less about this emotional yaya.He's a rookie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsGuyInMalta Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Well then it'll be pretty much the same as the last 2 and a half years then since Bledsoe always came off as having ZERO confidence when the going got tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 One minute he stinks up the joint the next minute he looks like a baller. Last week in his first "NFL start" he had to deal with about 3-4 dropped passes in a single half and overcome his teamamtes getting called for 12 penalties in just 30 minutes of football! But he didn't turn the ball over, moved the offense on a couple drives and still somehow he walked into the locker room on the road with a 17-3 lead after spending the entire half trying to dig out of other guys' holes. So when exactly did he stink up the joint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasper13 Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 One slow start in his first preseason game and he lost his confidence? If he did, the Bills offense is screwed. I don't think he lost anything at all as he played well in the 2nd quarter. He will only get more confidence and improve as he gets more game playing time. Calm down Dr. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
envirojeff Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 For Christ's sake, IT'S ONE PRESEASON GAME!!! Give the guy a break. I was confident after watching that first game. Have you forgotten that he's a rookie? Evaluate him AFTER the preseason. I know that you are getting all your ducks in a row to say IF he doesn't work out that he sucks and what a fool TD was for drafting him. Over the last couple of years this board has been getting more and more negative by the day. Be a fan, roll with the punches - as Bills fans we have, for the most part, been spoiled from all the success of the '90's and I know it's tough to struggle but don't convince yourself that it's all going to fall apart. Have faith Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Um I watched the Preseason game last night and i don't see anything wrong with his confidence and I don't think he had a slow start. He made good reads and was decisive in his throws. He threw Low and away to REed that was called incomplete but Josh Reed and JP both throught he caught it. The television crew didn't give a better look. In a regular season game MM might have threw the replay flag. The other pass was to Evans who got tripped up. the ball was there and if Evans didn't fall he could have possible went for 6 points. Penalties made him look bad not him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talonz Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 If JP looks like crap after 4-5 games into the regular season then keep firing these posts... Until then for CHRISSAKES STOP IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 I think many of the replies really overstate the problem you are siting. Is JP's confidence shattered? No. However, is his confidence shook (which you so say in your title)? Yeah, probably a little. However, I think this is a good thing in that I think one of JP's failings as a player we drafted was that he was a bit too cocky to be productive as a pro. Its tough. I think we all loved Jim Kelly's confidence so we like cocky players. However, I think that the best and most productive NFL players (and even Kelly at his peak) played within themselves and prospered by doing so. Losman as a player did great in college becaise he was a gunslinger. This approach probably served him well riunning for his life and improvising behind a porous Tulane line. Part of becoming a great pro is also having the ability to improvise, but only at right time. In general the team and JP will perform best if he emphasizes doing the same thing in the same way almost every single time and quite frankly if he is a little less reliant primarily upon himself and relies more on his teammates and helps them make winning plays rather than depends upon himself to make an extraordinary winning play every time, It may be Dr. Phil dimestore psychology but I think JP had his confidence appropriately shaken a number of times during his brief career. 1. MM simply threw him to the wolves and I think adjusted his attotude on purpose in the first NE game when he unexpectedly to virtually all threw him to mop-up this game when Matthews was all set to go in. JP relied on his own confidence in his athletic ability and had an INT and a fumble to show for it. He was upfront in saying afterwards he had a lot to learn and he was going to change his ways. 2. I think JP also screwed up and showed signs of lack of control when he came into his first appearance post NE debacle and got a delay of game call in his first huddle. The very good news is that though he still had not got it quite right in his second game, at least he merely took a TO he should not have had to call and avoided the penallty. Hr has improved each game in showing command of the huddle and though i would comfortably call his confidence that he could simply stroll on to the field shaken it was not shattered as he translated these failures into better performance. 3. Likewise the word is JP was taking advantage of his wearing the QB practice tutu which did not allow him to be hit to bail out of passes in practice and simply run for a score. Vincent gave him an unfortunate lesson by giving him a shove which fractured a bone (I actually think his development probably profited by being forced to the sideline to study and watch). My sense of how this has effected his play that actually one of my complaints about his game right now is that I wish he would run more instead of trying to force the pass. In the scrimmage against GB there was a play he seemingly could have walked into the endzone, but instead he overthrew a pass to a covered receiver. Likewise in this exhibition game there were times where I think JP is looking to pass first instead of run when his past confidence in himself seem to be part of him looking to run whenever the pass was even marginally covered. The bottomline for me is that is JPs confidence shattered as some falsely depict this thread as saying? No! Is JPs confidence shaken? Yes, but he needed to have his confidence shaken and taken down a coiple of notches in order for him to become the vet QB we need and deserve. The best QBs in m mind are no nonsnese when nonsense is not called for, but one of the best Montana stories I heard was how in the final seconds on a game, the players came into the huddle afraid that they would not be able to do the job in crunch time of the most important game of their lives. They came into the huddle and looked to Montana for leadership. He looked right back and asked whether anybody could see a man sitting in the endzone in the 6th row. He wondered if that guy was John Candy and remarked that he loved Candy's movies. The players looked at each other and by that time Montana was back to business and called a play. The 9ers players remarked that Montana was so matter of fact about things rather than intense they all relaxed and just did their jobs. They won the game. I love Kelly's intensity but I think the best performance from JP will come from him lightening up a bit and having a good balance between confidence in himself and confidence in his teammates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 All of us heard all of the stories. JPL studied and worked his tail off all offseason. He knew he was ready and had high expectations. I believed in him. This all stems from the first day of training camp practice. JP didn't play as well as he thought he would and IHMO he took that way too hard and now it's affecting his play. Why do I think his confidence is shook, you ask? MM told JP to keep his emotions in check earlier in camp and his eratic play in practices, the scrimmage and the first exhibition game are my evidence. One minute he stinks up the joint the next minute he looks like a baller. I was and still am, confident that JP will play well this season. But I have to admit, I don't trust him as much now, as I did before. Don't get me wrong. The guy isn't DOOMED. JPL can still overcome his mental issues with one great preseason performance. Like I said before, JPL is a highly emotional guy. He started of the scrimmage great and then one thing went wrong and he fell apart. He didn't look well in the beginning of the game and then he got hot. MM has his work cut out for himself with this kid. It's gonna be a roller-coaster type season. I hope you enjoy the show! 409222[/snapback] You think a guy who's life and football reputation has been described as cocky and overconfident was shaken on one day of training camp? I certainly hope your next thread isn't about how TO is being a dick because someone on the highway cut him off and yelled at him, and now his feelings are hurt so he's taking it out on Andy Reid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 All and all, I have been happy with JP's play at this point. All things considered, I really didn't expect anything more. This is really my first chance to see him play, as I never saw one of his Tulane games, and last year he barely played. I thought he looked a little "jittery" in the Packers scrimmage, a little less so in the Colts game. He said in an interview that "the ball was coming off of his hand wrong". Since I never heard any scouting reports indicating he had any problems with his mechanics, I think he is simply feeling a little too much pressure (internally) and this bug will work itself out as he becomes more comfortable. It looked to me, like he was sort of rushing some of his throws. Again, I think that is just nerves. He is making the right decisions, just not executing as smoothly as he needs to. I think it will all come in time. I don't think he will be the second coming of Brett Favre, Jim Kelly or John Elway. I do however, think he will be fine. I don't see a guy with shattered confidence at all...just my two cents! He just needs a little time to grow into the job...they say he is a fast learner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 This is the part that I dont understand.....maybe someone can explain it to me..... The bills staff is trying so hard to calm JPL down and keep his emotions in check...... Isn't this exactly WHY we were all so excited to have a cocky young player that would get into someones grill if they kept screwing up....? Isn't this what we wanted? Lets get away from calm, collected, and saying the right things...... Jonathan Paul Losman......JUST BE YOURSELF lets stir some @$#$ up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risin Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 This is the part that I dont understand.....maybe someone can explain it to me..... The bills staff is trying so hard to calm JPL down and keep his emotions in check...... Isn't this exactly WHY we were all so excited to have a cocky young player that would get into someones grill if they kept screwing up....? Isn't this what we wanted? Lets get away from calm, collected, and saying the right things...... Jonathan Paul Losman......JUST BE YOURSELF lets stir some @$#$ up 409333[/snapback] Exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 I just watched the scrimmage late last night....honestly, comparing what I saw to what some of you had described beforehand, I was pretty pleased with his performance. I agree with kota....JP looked decisive in the pocket, and with the exception of that short ball to Moulds where he had way too much on it, I thought he looked pretty sharp. The second to last drive in the first half ended and you could tell JP was pissed off that they didn't score. I'd much rather he be pissed off than indifferent or complacent. I tell you what, he already looks better than friggin Kyle Boller! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted August 17, 2005 Author Share Posted August 17, 2005 I think many of the replies really overstate the problem you are siting. Is JP's confidence shattered? No. However, is his confidence shook (which you so say in your title)? Yeah, probably a little. However, I think this is a good thing in that I think one of JP's failings as a player we drafted was that he was a bit too cocky to be productive as a pro. Its tough. I think we all loved Jim Kelly's confidence so we like cocky players. However, I think that the best and most productive NFL players (and even Kelly at his peak) played within themselves and prospered by doing so. Losman as a player did great in college becaise he was a gunslinger. This approach probably served him well riunning for his life and improvising behind a porous Tulane line. Part of becoming a great pro is also having the ability to improvise, but only at right time. In general the team and JP will perform best if he emphasizes doing the same thing in the same way almost every single time and quite frankly if he is a little less reliant primarily upon himself and relies more on his teammates and helps them make winning plays rather than depends upon himself to make an extraordinary winning play every time, It may be Dr. Phil dimestore psychology but I think JP had his confidence appropriately shaken a number of times during his brief career. 1. MM simply threw him to the wolves and I think adjusted his attotude on purpose in the first NE game when he unexpectedly to virtually all threw him to mop-up this game when Matthews was all set to go in. JP relied on his own confidence in his athletic ability and had an INT and a fumble to show for it. He was upfront in saying afterwards he had a lot to learn and he was going to change his ways. 2. I think JP also screwed up and showed signs of lack of control when he came into his first appearance post NE debacle and got a delay of game call in his first huddle. The very good news is that though he still had not got it quite right in his second game, at least he merely took a TO he should not have had to call and avoided the penallty. Hr has improved each game in showing command of the huddle and though i would comfortably call his confidence that he could simply stroll on to the field shaken it was not shattered as he translated these failures into better performance. 3. Likewise the word is JP was taking advantage of his wearing the QB practice tutu which did not allow him to be hit to bail out of passes in practice and simply run for a score. Vincent gave him an unfortunate lesson by giving him a shove which fractured a bone (I actually think his development probably profited by being forced to the sideline to study and watch). My sense of how this has effected his play that actually one of my complaints about his game right now is that I wish he would run more instead of trying to force the pass. In the scrimmage against GB there was a play he seemingly could have walked into the endzone, but instead he overthrew a pass to a covered receiver. Likewise in this exhibition game there were times where I think JP is looking to pass first instead of run when his past confidence in himself seem to be part of him looking to run whenever the pass was even marginally covered. The bottomline for me is that is JPs confidence shattered as some falsely depict this thread as saying? No! Is JPs confidence shaken? Yes, but he needed to have his confidence shaken and taken down a coiple of notches in order for him to become the vet QB we need and deserve. The best QBs in m mind are no nonsnese when nonsense is not called for, but one of the best Montana stories I heard was how in the final seconds on a game, the players came into the huddle afraid that they would not be able to do the job in crunch time of the most important game of their lives. They came into the huddle and looked to Montana for leadership. He looked right back and asked whether anybody could see a man sitting in the endzone in the 6th row. He wondered if that guy was John Candy and remarked that he loved Candy's movies. The players looked at each other and by that time Montana was back to business and called a play. The 9ers players remarked that Montana was so matter of fact about things rather than intense they all relaxed and just did their jobs. They won the game. I love Kelly's intensity but I think the best performance from JP will come from him lightening up a bit and having a good balance between confidence in himself and confidence in his teammates. 409298[/snapback] I agree. BTW. Thanks for pointing out the fact that I said SHAKEN, Not Shattered . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 God Bless JP. I think he will change the world and drop a few f-bombs along the way for good measure. I agree he is under pressure...but the life story is well chronicled...he has faced challenges at every step and hasn't cracked yet. He may be shaken a bit a various points during the season including now--but its very unlikely that he will ever be shattered...he's traveled too many miles of bad road in his life to be shattered by a game he loves to play.... I am looking forward to watching him learn...you know the mistakes will be aggressive ones--this will be a fun year --fun like a rollercoaster... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted August 17, 2005 Author Share Posted August 17, 2005 God Bless JP. I think he will change the world and drop a few f-bombs along the way for good measure. I agree he is under pressure...but the life story is well chronicled...he has faced challenges at every step and hasn't cracked yet. He may be shaken a bit a various points during the season including now--but its very unlikely that he will ever be shattered...he's traveled too many miles of bad road in his life to be shattered by a game he loves to play.... I am looking forward to watching him learn...you know the mistakes will be aggressive ones--this will be a fun year --fun like a rollercoaster... 409440[/snapback] There goes that shattered word again. Where the hell did that come from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 There goes that shattered word again. Where the hell did that come from? 409443[/snapback] How about shaken not stirred...someone else in the thread mentioned shattered... The only thing that will probably shatter is the paper thin positive image some folks have of JP the first time he !@#$s up in a regular season game.... What do: Jim Kelly Steve Young Joe Montana Bart Starr Peyton Manning Tom Brady John Elway Troy Aikman All have in common....they have all !@#$ed up and cost their teams games.... even in their primes..its the nature of the position--high risk/high potential for !@#$ up/high potential for adulation. The only way to evaluate JP's status as star or pretender is over time.....two seasons as a starter is a fair timeframe to me--others may have a much shorter or longer timeframes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts