Sportsguy's take on Losman

[ACor58]

"J.P. Losman is just bad enough to kill you in the first half of a game, just good enough to give you chance to come back in the second half, and just bad enough to snatch defeat from victory the moment you drop your guard. Sound familiar? Let's just change his name to Jake "The Snake" Losman and get it over with."

[BillsFanForever19]

Oh yeah, he sure seemed that way against the Texans and Jags

 

I do however have a problem with how long it takes for him to get things going in the beginning of the game. But he certainly doesn't lose it for us in the end.

 

Comparing him to Plummer this soon is unfair.

[stuckincincy]

"J.P. Losman is just bad enough to kill you in the first half of a game, just good enough to give you chance to come back in the second half, and just bad enough to snatch defeat from victory the moment you drop your guard. Sound familiar? Let's just change his name to Jake "The Snake" Losman and get it over with."

860527[/snapback]

 

"Sportsguy" just might be subconsciously projecting his own personal love life...

[5 Wide]

"J.P. Losman is just bad enough to kill you in the first half of a game, just good enough to give you chance to come back in the second half, and just bad enough to snatch defeat from victory the moment you drop your guard. Sound familiar? Let's just change his name to Jake "The Snake" Losman and get it over with."

860527[/snapback]

because it's too early to draw this conclusion

 

because it's just a dumb comparison

 

and

 

because I like beer and pirates

[ACor58]

Oh yeah, he sure seemed that way against the Texans and Jags 

860530[/snapback]

 

I think that was the point. For every Jags and Texans comeback there is the 1st half of the Chargers or the Lions game.

[bartshan-83]

"J.P. Losman is just bad enough to kill you in the first half of a game, just good enough to give you chance to come back in the second half, and just bad enough to snatch defeat from victory the moment you drop your guard. Sound familiar? Let's just change his name to Jake "The Snake" Losman and get it over with."

860527[/snapback]

I'd say that his up-and-down performance obviously makes a valid comparison. But that is where it ends. Losman has yet to "snatch defeat from victory" this season as far as I can tell. He hasn't gotten the job done at the end every time, but he has yet to drive down to the redzone and then make a crucial error.

 

In fact, if you look at his splits by quarter, it's apparent that he has fast starts, sh------- middles, and great endings. If he can keep his chin up for the 2nd and 3rd quarter, he will become a very solid QB.

 

1st Q: 67.1%, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 95.7 Rating (this is inflated by his ridiculous 1st quarter at Houston)

2nd Q: 59.7%, 1 TDs, 3 INTs, 61.9 Rating

3rd Q: 60.8%, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 70.5 Rating

4th Q: 64.1%, 5 TDs, I INTs, 95.5 Rating

 

Overall, yes, his 1st half is worse than his 2nd. But I'd say that what's more telling so far is that his 1st THREE quarters have been spotty and that he makes a mad rush at the end, but sometimes falls short.

 

So far I'd say he is 2 for 4 in terms of successfully beating a stretch of bad play with an all out surge late in the game.

[Dan]

I believe Jake was about 39(W) and 15(L) before being benched and had the Broncos in the playoffs the last 2 (or 3) years. Yeah, he sucks! I'd hate for JP to have numbers like that.

 

The problem is people always want the next best thing and often overlook what they have, and eventually Shanahan got sucked into it. Cutler may be good one day; but to think the Broncos will be in the playoffs this year or even next is overly optimistic.

[tennesseeboy]

I think I'll just wait until the season is over before I speculate on whether Losman is the answer or not. I've got to admit he does seem kind of on again off again, but he also seems to be getting better as the season progresses. Still too early to tell.

[Wraith]

I'd say that his up-and-down performance obviously makes a valid comparison.  But that is where it ends.  Losman has yet to "snatch defeat from victory" this season as far as I can tell.  He hasn't gotten the job done at the end every time, but he has yet to drive down to the redzone and then make a crucial error.

 

In fact, if you look at his splits by quarter, it's apparent that he has fast starts, sh------- middles, and great endings.  If he can keep his chin up for the 2nd and 3rd quarter, he will become a very solid QB.

 

1st Q: 67.1%, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 95.7 Rating (this is inflated by his ridiculous 1st quarter at Houston)

2nd Q: 59.7%, 1 TDs, 3 INTs, 61.9 Rating

3rd Q: 60.8%, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 70.5 Rating

4th Q: 64.1%, 5 TDs, I INTs, 95.5 Rating

 

Overall, yes, his 1st half is worse than his 2nd.  But I'd say that what's more telling so far is that his 1st THREE quarters have been spotty and that he makes a mad rush at the end, but sometimes falls short.

 

So far I'd say he is 2 for 4 in terms of successfully beating a stretch of bad play with an all out surge late in the game.

860548[/snapback]

 

The first quarter of the Houston game is not overly inflating his splits for the first quarter all year. He has been pretty consistenly rated in the mid-90s in the 1st and 4th quarter and in the 70s range in the 2nd and 3rd quarter all year. Starting and finishing strong and playing crappy in the middle does seem to be Losman's hallmark at the moment.

 

I can think of worse modes of operation to have, but I would be very interested in finding out why Losman is so much worse in the middle of games. I suspect it is because the passing game, either by design (from Fairchild) or just in practice (Losman), get's very conservative in the middle of games. I've seen the gunslinger-like play from Losman in the beginning of many games and at the end of many games, but the Minnesota game is the only one that stands out in my mind where Losman was consistently good for the entire game.

 

This is definitely an area of improvement for Losman.

[Ozymandius]

I can think of worse modes of operation to have, but I would be very interested in finding out why Losman is so much worse in the middle of games.

860575[/snapback]

I think it's just coincidence and won't last.

[ACor58]

I have been very critical of JP, but the Jags and Texans game did give me some hope that he might be turning the corner.

 

Then there was the 1st half of the Chargers game, where he should have thrown 4-5 picks had the Chargers not dropped them. Same old JP. Then he had a good second half, hope again.

 

I don't want to start a huge argument with the JP lovers and haters, but thus far in his career, the comparison is valid.

[stuckincincy]

 

I can think of worse modes of operation to have, but I would be very interested in finding out why Losman is so much worse in the middle of games. I suspect it is because the passing game, either by design (from Fairchild) or just in practice (Losman), get's very conservative in the middle of games.

 

 

860575[/snapback]

 

When a game is close, offensive coordinators are cowards. When there is a ten-point difference, they are overarching idiots.

 

The preference of defensive coordinators is to abandon a successful defense scheme in the 4th quarter or OT and allow the other team an easy way to tie or beat them. See also the Pat's 3 SB wins...

[Tasker]

Now that we can't compare him to RJ (he is durable, has guts, has won some last second games, and statistically blows away RJ), we have to look for a new comparison?

 

Let's just let him be Losman and hope when all is said and done people will compare other young quarterbacks to JP and mean it as a compliment. I'm enjoying the fact that we aren't talking about Brady Quinn anymore both because of JP's play and because of our record (again JP's play).

[bartshan-83]

The first quarter of the Houston game is not overly inflating his splits for the first quarter all year. He has been pretty consistenly rated in the mid-90s in the 1st and 4th quarter and in the 70s range in the 2nd and 3rd quarter all year. Starting and finishing strong and playing crappy in the middle does seem to be Losman's hallmark at the moment.

860575[/snapback]

I disagree...to a point. That 1st quarter had a huge impact. If you take away his stats there:

 

8-8 209 2TDs

 

You are left with 41-65 511 1 TD 3 INTs 73.3 Rating.

 

Now obviously it isn't fair to take those numbers away. My point about the inflation was really due to the way that quarter hiked his yds./attempt, which is 25% of the QB rating formula.

 

Averaging 26 yds per throw is really what made his rating climb. If you give him the same numbers, but give him 63 yds instead of 209 (which is his yds/attempt without that 1st quarter) this his overall 1st quarter rating is 87.4 instead of 95.7. Which is still significantly higher than quarter 2 and 3.

 

It wasn't the fact that he completed all of his passes and threw 2 TDs, it was that those 2 TDs were 83 yarders.

 

 

But really, none of this means much...the fact is that he did throw them and they count so he gets full credit.

[Dan]

I have been very critical of JP, but the Jags and Texans game did give me some hope that he might be turning the corner.

860601[/snapback]

I would argue that what we saw there were the flashes of good QB play that we all wanted to see. It doesn't mean that JP is destined to be great, but it does show that he has potential.

 

Then there was the 1st half of the Chargers game, where he should have thrown 4-5 picks had the Chargers not dropped them. Same old JP.  Then he had a good second half, hope again.

860601[/snapback]

I would argue that what we saw there were the bad plays of young QB, that we can expect from time to time. I;d even argue that even the most gifted and seasoned QB's sometime have bad quarters or even whole games. It doens't mean they suck, it just means that had a bad day. It happens to every QB that has ever played.

 

Like before, I don't think it means JP is gonna suck; it just shows that he's going to have ups and downs like every other QB.

 

I would also argue that it looked to me that the cold weather was affecting JP. We all wanted cold and snow to make it harder on SD. What we may have seen was, in part, due to a former CA boy playing a little rough in one some of his first cold weather action.

 

 

In the end, I think we have to look at JPs play as a whole and ask ourselves (actually, I assume the coaches will do this): Are JP's good plays/days outweighing his bad plays/days? Has he shown progression over the course of the season? And ultimately, has he shown enough ability to be considered the starter next season?

 

In my opinion, he has and should be the starter. However, I suspect many here (and perhaps for the coaches as well) the jury is still out and they'll wait until the season is over to answer those questions. And that's ok, too; I can live with it (as long as the ultimate decision of the coaches agrees with my personal assesment).

[Rubes]

Good thing the defense being unable to stop anyone in the first half has nothing to do with us falling behind.

[keepthefaith]

I think that was the point. For every Jags and Texans comeback there is the 1st half of the Chargers or the Lions game.

860545[/snapback]

 

Yes, that shows excellent progress from last year when he would have entirely bad games. I'll settle for 1 good half per game this year and good complete games next year.

[Gary M]

I have been very critical of JP, but the Jags and Texans game did give me some hope that he might be turning the corner.

 

Then there was the 1st half of the Chargers game, where he should have thrown 4-5 picks had the Chargers not dropped them. Same old JP.  Then he had a good second half, hope again.

 

I don't want to start a huge argument with the JP lovers and haters, but thus far in his career, the comparison is valid.

860601[/snapback]

 

Rivers had some INTS dropped in that game too, two that I know of for sure.

 

I think the wind was a problem.

 

San Diego didn't throw as much when they were facing the wind. But with LT they didn't have to.

[BuffOrange]

I believe Jake was about 39(W) and 15(L) before being benched and had the Broncos in the playoffs the last 2 (or 3) years.  Yeah, he sucks!  I'd hate for JP to have numbers like that.

 

The problem is people always want the next best thing and often overlook what they have, and eventually Shanahan got sucked into it.  Cutler may be good one day; but to think the Broncos will be in the playoffs this year or even next is overly optimistic.

860555[/snapback]

 

That may be true, but I still think it was a good move. I hate to bring up Dallas because Romo is of course a big anomaly, but there are similarities in that you can't win a SB with Bledsoe/Plummer.

I doubt that a grizzled top-notch coach like Shannahan succumbed to outside pressure or whatever.

[BuffOrange]

Now that we can't compare him to RJ (he is durable, has guts, has won some last second games, and statistically blows away RJ), we have to look for a new comparison?

860610[/snapback]

 

Well 1 for 4 - JP is more durable. Guts/stats/won games late comparisons aren't valid.