Bills shoul not play Losman for a while if at all

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

I think it is pretty sad that some folks are arguing that we should rush to play Losman because Beldsoe sucks and quite frankly I will not be upset if he does not play at all this year.

 

1. Yes, Bledsoe sucks but this has nothing to do with deciding to play JP until JP is physically and mentally ready to play. Physically he is ahead of schedule and running and practicing, but from what the docs say he is at least a couple of weeks away from being ready for contact. Even when he is ready for physical contact, Losman has yet to show that mentally he is anything but a rookie QB who played behind a sub-standard line at Tulane which got him use to having to make great throws to play the college game, but left him a long way from having the mechanics and the predictability NFL receivers require for him to suceed at the Pro game.

 

2, The Bills have real world experience with the effects of rushing a QB along to play after they waited a year too late to draft and develop a replacement for Jim Kelly. Instead they over-reached to draft Todd Collins and then rushed him along before he was capable as Kelly was forced to retire by his play against Jax. Collins had a few positives but never beat the happy-feet he developed from being thrown in to play before his college problems were ironed out.

 

3. The idea that a 1st round drafted QB must play his first year or drafting him was a mistake is simply wrong. Vick sat except for a few mop-up jobs and learned the game and got his team to the playoffs his second year. Chad Pennington was drafted in the first round and sat and learned his first year and steered his team to the playoffs his second year. Carson Palmer was picked early last year and sat all season. The idea that a player drafted in the 1st round must play or he is some kind of bust is simply wrong.

 

4. Even worse there is a credible case to be made that some of the players chosen in the first and deemed tradable or cuttable busts were really rushed along found lacking and then Dilfer, Steve Young and Brett Farve went on to other teams where they won SBs.

 

5. Even worse even the best QBs who do start their first year contribute nothing to the teams W/L generally as they learn the game, Manning was 3-13 his first year and his major contributions to the team were not getting hurt (the only player to start all 16 games as a QB that year) and to have the team produce badly enouh under his leadership to get Edgerrin James. Troy Aikman won 2 SBs but was 0-11 as a rookie starter. One might argue that he might learn the game as a starter but arguing that he will be productive has little reality in the NFL.

 

6. QB is just a too high of an injury position in the NFL that you would use the position simply for practice. Vick and Pennington learned enough on the bench as rookies that they led their teams to the playoffs their second year without the benefit of having played as rookies. Even still both these players were removed from their teams by injuries their third years. Risking JP to win games is part of the game once he learns how to be a Pro, risking injury just to get him practice is not good for him or for they team and players have succeeded in helping their teams even when they sat as rookies.

 

7. What dies Losman need to become a good NFL QB. I'd love for him to be able to do it all and see him play. I hope he is perfect. However, few rookies are and I do not expect JP to be, In fact the deficits in his game which I believe he has to work on are probably done better from the booth at Sam Wyche's side learning NFL offenses and om tje sidelines rather than running the scout team practicing his mechanics under Wyche's eye.

 

If the Bills braintrust judge Losman to be so recovered from injury, so incontrol of the playbook, motivated by NFL instincts rather than by bad lessons learned running for his life at Tulane I say start him and bench Bledsoe as well.

 

However, I really really alot really sort of alo really doubt this will occur. Sitting Losman by far seems to be the best thing to do for his development. Fans may want him to play but it strikes me it will be to their benefit because they have given up on Bledsoe rather than for Losman's benefit.

 

I love JP athleticism and his leadership ability, but these are just the things that playing at nfl speeds will give him. Assuming that reality will reign I hope he sits except for a little mop-up duty late in the season.

 

I f someone wants to make the case that they are sure Losman will be far more productive than Manning or Aikman were as rookies or why he will not be able to pull off what Pennington did as a second year player who sat hs rokie year then I'm all eyes.

[Paco]

I never watched him at Tulane. I've only read, and there has been a lot of talk about what took place there. Was he running for his life all the time? Was it lack of an offensive line? Receivers? In the wrong conference?

[TigerJ]

Losman didn't have much of a team period around him at Tulane, and yes, he was running for his life much of the time. That he had decent stats is to his credit and no one else's. I'll trust the Bills at this point to make the right choice. What I think may happen is that after Losman has had a couple weeks to practice, the Bills may put him in during garbage time if Buffalo is in a game where they are either far ahead or behind with no chance to catch up. There will be no pressure. If the Bills are leading, he'll spend most of his time handing off. If they're losing the opposing team is likely to throw a prevent defense at him and concede the underneath stuff, which Losman will be instructed to take.

 

I would be a little surprised to see Buffalo start him this season, but I think Sam Wyche is one of the best in the business as a QB coach, and I think Buffalo will handle him very carefully. Losman, BTW, has it all over Todd Collins in terms of physical talent. It's not really fair to compare the two of them.