Losman is not a "Pressbot"

[ChicagoRic]

.....and nor is he a traditional "Jock".

 

What I've noticed is that he gives genuine answers to questions.........even if it means he ends up quoting Yoda. Call it marching to the beat of another drummer or whatever you'd like, the kid is a straight-up individual. For good or ill, he's an athletic geek.

 

Whether he makes it as the starter or not (and YES, I'm pulling for him) he's one of the most refreshingly human players to ever wear a Buffalo Bills uni.

 

Bottom line---he's kind of a weird dude, but he's come to accept that about himself and others need to as well. He may not be the most isotypical (yeah, I just invented that word) guy, but, given the chance and a bit of geek tolerance he can, and I hope WILL, get the job done.

 

Thoughts?

 

Yes. I'm a huge geek.

 

Eric C

[inkman]

Thoughts?

 

Yes.  I'm a huge geek.

 

Eric C

736658[/snapback]

 

Yes. You are a huge geek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. changing your avatar might help dissuade the masses

[generaLee83]

.....and nor is he a traditional "Jock".

 

What I've noticed is that he gives genuine answers to questions.........even if it means he ends up quoting Yoda.  Call it marching to the beat of another drummer or whatever you'd like, the kid is a straight-up individual.  For good or ill, he's an athletic geek.

 

Whether he makes it as the starter or not (and YES, I'm pulling for him) he's one of the most refreshingly human players to ever wear a Buffalo Bills uni. 

 

Bottom line---he's kind of a weird dude, but he's come to accept that about himself and others need to as well. He may not be the most isotypical (yeah, I just invented that word) guy, but, given the chance and a bit of geek tolerance he can, and I hope WILL, get the job done.

 

Thoughts?

 

Yes.  I'm a huge geek.

 

Eric C

736658[/snapback]

 

Losman certainly doesn't come across as your typical jock and from the interviews I've seen he doesn't seem to match up to the unsupported accusation of being cocky or arrogant.

 

I'll take someone who's a bit alternative over someone who runs their stupid mouth any day. So what if the guys an "odd fella", just so long as he's not seen wearing a dress or something someday I could care less.

[slothrop]

Yes.  You are a huge geek. 

p.s.  changing your avatar might help dissuade the masses

736669[/snapback]

 

TROGDOR THE BURNINATOR!

 

BURNING ALL THE PEASANTS!

[SDS]

Whether he makes it as the starter or not (and YES, I'm pulling for him) he's one of the most refreshingly human players to ever wear a Buffalo Bills uni. 

 

736658[/snapback]

 

Absolutely. I love hearing interviews with him when I make it back to Buffalo.

[inkman]

So was RJ...

[eball]

So was RJ...

736692[/snapback]

Huh? RJ was as milquetoast as they come. The two are not even remotely similar, aside from California roots and brown hair.

 

People who compare JP to RJ = RJ.

[Astrobot]

isotypical

 

He IS isotypical, in an ersatz-sheveled, but not kempt way.

[bschmoove]

It has always amazed me that day after day mics are stuck in the faces of so many players by reporters and for the most part players give the standard "Bull Durham" reply ... "Just trying to help the ball club."

 

I'd wager most of us on this board - the average joe - would probably end up coming off as arrogant or stupid a majority of the time if we were forced to give the amount of press J.P. or any pro player does.

 

J.P. does seem like he has more to say than the average QB. He is not going to give the standard "Bull Durham" reply. Some front offices would look at that as a problem however.

But part the reason he was drafted so high was because of his "swagger." I look at that trait as something that turns a good player into a great one.

 

I am not convinced the other players in the locker room - or even Marv - look at it the same way.

 

But hopefully we'll get a chance to talk about his play more often than we do about how he come off in the media.

[Pyrite Gal]

The trouble with being different is that listeners have a much harder characterizing you if you go off the the isotypical athlete script. If one hopes to be understood, then one has to either provide more information than the average person is willing to devote the time toward deciding which athlete to root for, or you have to be really focused on sending out the messages that let listeners know which script summarizes your personality.

 

In other words it really takes a lot of work to be both different and understood. I think JP comes or came off as arrogant to some folks because they do not percieve him being willing to send out the signals so that can people can choose how to characterize him.

 

Its his right to do what he wants, but ine cannot demand that you want the mass market to like you unless you are willing to do a lot of work to help the mass market understand you with the limited amount of time they can give to understanding an athlete and choosing a hero from the is form of entertainment.

 

Many folks (correctly in my judgement) feel it is arrogant to want/demand to be understood/liked if you are going to be different when you are already incredibly compensated for playing a boys game.. I think it is great when someone goes off script in a positive way, but the level of conmpensation they recieve from their decision to entertain the masses creates a duty on their part to communicate with the masses on the masses time schedule.

 

If they object to this, then they should not get involved in a deal where they are paid handsomely to entertain the masses.

[Matt in KC]

...

I think it is great when someone goes off script in a positive way, but the level of conmpensation they recieve from their decision to entertain the masses creates a duty on their part to communicate with the masses on the masses time schedule.

 

If they object to this, then they should not get involved in a deal where they are paid handsomely to entertain the masses.

736870[/snapback]

 

So, at a certain point these guys are paid enough (for playing a boys game) that they ought to say what the fans / media want to hear? Or, more exactly, (I think you're saying) how they want to hear it?

 

I think hearing a real person, weird parts and all, is much more entertaining. I can tune in any pregame show to hear the same old crap, but to see a realperson live the NFL and grow in it is a much richer experience.

[Pyrite Gal]

So, at a certain point these guys are paid enough (for playing a boys game) that they ought to say what the fans / media want to hear?  Or, more exactly, (I think you're saying) how they want to hear it?

 

I think hearing a real person, weird parts and all, is much more entertaining.  I can tune in any pregame show to hear the same old crap, but to see a realperson live the NFL and grow in it is a much richer experience.

736878[/snapback]

 

 

No, I am simply saying that they should either entertain the fans (which they have chosen and agreed to be compensated incredibly well to do) by EITHER:

 

1. Mouthing the party line and typical cliches even if they do not believe them which entertain the fans,

 

OR

 

2, Hold true to themselves but present a truer image of themselves in manner which meets the time allocation available from the fans who ultimately the bills.

 

Generally, I think one finds that the American market is educated enough and into pluralism enough that they are happy to find and root for a different drummer if that different drummer takes the time and is good enough at distilling a depiction of their different way of looking at the world into understandable presentations which are short enough for fans to digest given the requirements of dqualling children, demanding spouses, punching the clock of whateve demands time that they would love to spend but cannot on the diversion of being entertained by the NFL.

 

If JP chooses approach two and wants to project a more real sense of himself to the the fans whom he has agrred to be compensated handsomely by through their love and largess to the Bills, then he has taken on an obligation to present the complex different version of himself in a efficient manner.

 

He should either simply spout the usual cliches which entertain the fans he has agreed to be paid by, OR he should present this different and complex picture in a method which fits the time the fans who pay the bills can devote to this task.

 

To try this an fail is too bad, but acceptable to mamy forgiving Americans. To not even try to present this complex story eficiently but to still agree to accept enormous compensation is reasonably judged as arrogant.

[UConn James]

If one hopes to be understood, then one has to either provide more information than the average person is willing to devote the time toward deciding which athlete to root for, or you have to be really focused on sending out the messages that let listeners know which script summarizes your personality.

...

In other words it really takes a lot of work to be both different and understood.

736870[/snapback]

 

And in some people's case, no matter how much information they provide --- and, ohh, do they provide --- they're still unintelligible.

[IDBillzFan]

The trouble with being different is that listeners have a much harder characterizing you if you go off the the isotypical athlete script.

736870[/snapback]

Actually, I believe the REAL trouble with going off book is you will say something that sounds okay to you, but gets completely and utterly butchered by the minimum wage journalist looking to get their piece of crap article picked up by the AP.

 

JP is off book, and that's okay for now, but one day he's going to answer a question he should avoid and the next thing you know ESPN will be reporting that JP and his 49.6 quarterback rating thinks he's the best quarterback in the NFL today.

 

See McGahee. How many times does another moron, even on this board, have to sarcastically refer to him as "the self-proclaimed best back in the NFL."

 

It's such a crock of schit, but the morons seize it, accept it as truth, and actually regurgitate it as though THEY were the one who interviewed McGahee.

 

That's why you should never go off book, Charlie Brown. Because people are morons and a professional athlete should never let morons interpret their words.

[socalfan]

.......

 

That's why you should never go off book, Charlie Brown. .....

736898[/snapback]

 

I agree but for very different reason ... going off book shows a real lack of maturity. It indicates you have put yourself and your needs above others. By not sticking to the party line, JP forces us to try to figure out where he is coming from. Most adults understand the roles they play and they do their best to play them. For example, it wouldn't be good to sit down with a teenage son and smoke dope with them...doing so shows a lack of maturity. There are other ways to have a relationship with a teenage son...becoming one yourself is not the appropriate way....the kid can't figure out what it is your trying to do.

 

JP needs to mature and understand that there is an appropriate relationship to have with fans.

[jarthur31]

He IS isotypical, in an ersatz-sheveled, but not kempt way.

736863[/snapback]

 

LOL!

[Swift Sylvan]

.....and nor is he a traditional "Jock".

 

What I've noticed is that he gives genuine answers to questions.........even if it means he ends up quoting Yoda.  Call it marching to the beat of another drummer or whatever you'd like, the kid is a straight-up individual.  For good or ill, he's an athletic geek.

 

Whether he makes it as the starter or not (and YES, I'm pulling for him) he's one of the most refreshingly human players to ever wear a Buffalo Bills uni. 

 

Bottom line---he's kind of a weird dude, but he's come to accept that about himself and others need to as well. He may not be the most isotypical (yeah, I just invented that word) guy, but, given the chance and a bit of geek tolerance he can, and I hope WILL, get the job done.

 

Thoughts?

 

Yes.  I'm a huge geek.

 

Eric C

736658[/snapback]

 

 

At least it was a very honest post, besides being a geek isn't a bad thing.

[NEEDFREDJACKSONNOW]

I agree but for very different reason ... going off book shows a real lack of maturity.  It indicates you have put yourself and your needs above others.  By not sticking to the party line, JP forces us to try to figure out where he is coming from.  Most adults understand the roles they play and they do their best to play them.  For example, it wouldn't be good to sit down with a teenage son and smoke dope with them...doing so shows a lack of maturity.  There are other ways to have a relationship with a teenage son...becoming one yourself is not the appropriate way....the kid can't figure out what it is your trying to do.

 

JP needs to mature and understand that there is an appropriate relationship to have with fans.

736917[/snapback]

 

How is JP inappropriate with the fans?

[Pyrite Gal]

Actually, I believe the REAL trouble with going off book is you will say something that sounds okay to you, but gets completely and utterly butchered by the minimum wage journalist looking to get their piece of crap article picked up by the AP.

 

JP is off book, and that's okay for now, but one day he's going to answer a question he should avoid and the next thing you know ESPN will be reporting that JP and his 49.6 quarterback rating thinks he's the best quarterback in the NFL today.

 

See McGahee. How many times does another moron, even on this board, have to sarcastically refer to him as "the self-proclaimed best back in the NFL."

 

It's such a crock of schit, but the morons seize it, accept it as truth, and actually regurgitate it as though  THEY were the one who interviewed McGahee.

 

That's why you should never go off book, Charlie Brown. Because people are morons and a professional athlete should never let morons interpret their words.

736898[/snapback]

 

 

I liked this post as it showed how difficult it is to be a leader in a society likes ours which is committed to individualism and pluralism. I think it shows that it is quite difficult to be an effective leader of a football team which is working toward a goal realized or not realized each year and then the whole thing is subject to a redo with a somwhat shuffled deck of participants the next year,

 

In the NFL it is is made easier because at least there is an authority controlling entity of the ownership of each team. It still is a difficult thing to do successfully or well.

 

In the broader culture, our leaders are working in a system without any real controlling authority, rather than a redo, history simply marches on each year.

 

Good leadership in pro football means that for even the brief period of one year, the leader gets the team pulling together toward the shared goal on an SC win. I think TD failed because ultimately his goal was about him and not about the team as best as I can tell.

 

To some degree, I think this was him conciously or unconciously vowing never again to be fired by an HC he hired. I think he passed on going after two HCs, Fox and Lewis who proved to be much more successful in getting positive results for their teams and simply getting to the playoffs than TD's teams achieved under GW. TD akways seemed to be happy if GW failed as long as TD did not bear the blame and as long as he could defend himself if GW happened to go after him like Cowher did.

 

Ultimately despite TD proving to be very successful by most measures of running the Bills as a business operation, it was his lack of commitment to doing what was necessary to win right here and right now which cost him his job.

 

Perhaps TD may want to consider going into politics next. Though it is much more difficult to be a successful leader of a country rather than an NFL team, we see, to have set the standard of successful leadership as being OK to piss off 45% or so folks in your country as long as you get 50% + 1 of the electorate, amd over 60% of folks for your major policy initiative.

 

I doubt TD could be a success at being a leader at either activity but at least in national politics you can still "win" even if your leadership skills drive a huge wedge in your team's support.

[EndZoneCrew]

I like the fact that he cut his hair......personally.....I would like him even more if he looked like THIS!