Were you with me in bashing DJ for benching Losman?

[thebug]

Still think JP should be the starter. Watching TE's bomb come up short on Evans last week had me seriously bummed.

 

Even if TE progresses rapidly I just don't think he is going to hold up in the NFL. JP may take half or more of the snaps this year. And won't ware gloves in Cleveland.

 

Sorry to be negative, but that is how I feel. Game 'managers' drive me nuts, because to win with one you must have an exceptional team in all other respects. I think TE is a recipe for 'almost, but no cigar', and a perfect starter/reflection of a mediocrity at head coach.

 

Show me I'm wrong Trent. And never were a pair of isotomers in snow again...ever...

 

 

Let me guess, you just got home because the short bus was stuck in line at the gas station, right?

[dave mcbride]

At the "healm"? You can't even narrow down the language.

Criticisms for spelling - the last refuge of the weak (and you're not weak, DC Tom).

[Buftex]

I won't say that I ever "gave up" on JP, and I am mindful, that, at some point, in 2008, he is going to be starting a game or two for the Bills. I hope, and expect, that he will play well, when that happens.

 

What made me begin to doubt JP, was seeing Trent Edwards play in his first three or four games. He (TE) wasn't spectacular, and he made some mistakes, but I never felt like the game was harder for him than one should expect of a rookie. Looking back, I always liked Losman, and always wanted him to do well, but I found myself making excuses for him, even to myself, way too often. I know people hate to hear this, but it was like the whole Rob Johnson thing all over again. "This looks great on paper, he has talent, this should work...but why isn't this working?" All of the sudden, the receivers are the worst in the leauge, the offensive line is the worst offensive line in team history, the coaches suck...other guys have dealt with all those issues, at the same time...good QB's make you look over the fact that your O-line is maybe not great, but, make you realize that they aren't as bad as some QB's make them look.

 

Early in JP's career as the Bills starter, I went to San Antonio to see him face the New Orleans Saints. It was one of the very worst QB performances I had ever witnessed by a Buffalo Bill. He was young, I kept telling myself...he'll come around...but in the back of my mind, I knew he was not going to be the franchise guy we were hoping for. Simple things seemed to come too hard to him, on the field. He talked a great game, but rarely displayed it...

 

Personally, I think JP can still be a decent NFL QB, in the right situation, like a lot of guys. I just don't see Buffalo as the right situation for him. He doesn't raise the level of his teammates long term...I had season tickets all through the 1980's and still get a woody, thinking about how exciting it was when Kelly took the field for the first time, regualar season, in 1986. You could feel the confidence the guy exuded throughout the stadium. You could see it in the players, the same guys who sucked so hard the previous couple years. Kelly was by no means perfect, but you could see it from day one, they guy was a real NFL QB. You looked forward to watching him, and the team, get better every week...rather than week in week out, hoping he wouldn't !@#$ up a game for us...I am not going to say that Trent Edwards is in the Kelly caliber, becuase they are so different as players. But I don't think TE is going to hold us back, and I do think he is going to surprise a lot of people. For now, that is such a relief.

 

Like most, the Jags game, last season, was the game where I stopped caring if JP ever started for us again. The emotion was removed from the equation that day. You get kind of attatched to the idea, as a fan, of certain guys leading your team for years to come. That is why we come back for our beating every autumn, we convince ourselves that we might finally be on to somehting. That dream, what was left of it at that point, was finally snuffed out completely!

[Steely Dan]

Personally I think they both suck.

 

Sorry but Edwards was not impressive yesterday. He should thank God for a defense that held Seattle in Check while he missed open receivers and gave Brian Moorman all the work he could handle.

 

Against a potent offense which will score against our defense, his inadequacies will be exposed.

 

As for JP, well what can I say, the dude has had his shot on numerous occasion and under performed.

 

Like the guy but its time to move on

 

I guess we were watching two different games look below.

 

Against the Seahawks, Trent Edwards completed 63% of his passes, averaging 7.2 yards per attempt, and achieving a QB rating of 95.8. He took only one sack, had zero interceptions, and threw a TD pass. Not bad for a guy who was a little rusty from a lack of preseason play, going up against a good Seattle defense.

 

For a rookie QB that's a great start. He has a lot of upside!!

 

'Nuff said

 

 

I still think if you said that to my face, I'd make sure you never made that mistake again. Keep flexing your e-penis, buddy.

 

Thank you. We don't get enough of that around here.

 

 

Funny, I gave up on him at the exact same time. He got himself another start due to Edwards' injury, and it came on the road against a great team in a game that would have been a HUGE boost to our playoff chances. This was the biggest game of his career: a good game and a win could have gotten him the job back for good. And I think he even said something during the week in admission that it was a big game for him personally. And he completely laid an egg. One of the worst games of his career. Thats when I said, "Thats it. Lets see what the other kid's got."

 

And you're saying that over the internet too is a lot different. Guys just get out the ruler and settle it for once and for all.

[Bmwolf21]

For a rookie QB that's a great start. He has a lot of upside!!

I just want to make sure everyone is using the same math - Trent is still a rookie?

[Steely Dan]

I just want to make sure everyone is using the same math - Trent is still a rookie?

 

I would say a player has to be in 16 games before the rookie tag is taken away, but it is an iffy thing.

[Bmwolf21]

I would say a player has to be in 16 games before the rookie tag is taken away, but it is an iffy thing.

You know this is going to open a sh!tstorm of Losman-Edwards stuff, right?

[bills7834]

I won't say that I ever "gave up" on JP, and I am mindful, that, at some point, in 2008, he is going to be starting a game or two for the Bills. I hope, and expect, that he will play well, when that happens.

 

What made me begin to doubt JP, was seeing Trent Edwards play in his first three or four games. He (TE) wasn't spectacular, and he made some mistakes, but I never felt like the game was harder for him than one should expect of a rookie. Looking back, I always liked Losman, and always wanted him to do well, but I found myself making excuses for him, even to myself, way too often. I know people hate to hear this, but it was like the whole Rob Johnson thing all over again. "This looks great on paper, he has talent, this should work...but why isn't this working?" All of the sudden, the receivers are the worst in the leauge, the offensive line is the worst offensive line in team history, the coaches suck...other guys have dealt with all those issues, at the same time...good QB's make you look over the fact that your O-line is maybe not great, but, make you realize that they aren't as bad as some QB's make them look.

 

Early in JP's career as the Bills starter, I went to San Antonio to see him face the New Orleans Saints. It was one of the very worst QB performances I had ever witnessed by a Buffalo Bill. He was young, I kept telling myself...he'll come around...but in the back of my mind, I knew he was not going to be the franchise guy we were hoping for. Simple things seemed to come too hard to him, on the field. He talked a great game, but rarely displayed it...

 

Personally, I think JP can still be a decent NFL QB, in the right situation, like a lot of guys. I just don't see Buffalo as the right situation for him. He doesn't raise the level of his teammates long term...I had season tickets all through the 1980's and still get a woody, thinking about how exciting it was when Kelly took the field for the first time, regualar season, in 1986. You could feel the confidence the guy exuded throughout the stadium. You could see it in the players, the same guys who sucked so hard the previous couple years. Kelly was by no means perfect, but you could see it from day one, they guy was a real NFL QB. You looked forward to watching him, and the team, get better every week...rather than week in week out, hoping he wouldn't !@#$ up a game for us...I am not going to say that Trent Edwards is in the Kelly caliber, becuase they are so different as players. But I don't think TE is going to hold us back, and I do think he is going to surprise a lot of people. For now, that is such a relief.

 

Like most, the Jags game, last season, was the game where I stopped caring if JP ever started for us again. The emotion was removed from the equation that day. You get kind of attatched to the idea, as a fan, of certain guys leading your team for years to come. That is why we come back for our beating every autumn, we convince ourselves that we might finally be on to somehting. That dream, what was left of it at that point, was finally snuffed out completely!

Great post. Probably because I agree with exactly what your saying. I remember walking out of the Jax game last year thinking JP will never be our starter again. Not unless of an injury of course. I was so high on him and I do hope he does well somewhere.

[Orton's Arm]

I would say a player has to be in 16 games before the rookie tag is taken away, but it is an iffy thing.

I'd disagree with this. I think a quarterback can learn a lot by spending time in the film room, by taking mental reps, by practicing, and in training camp and the preseason. Look at Aaron Rogers in Green Bay. He's got, what, two games' worth of experience? He sure doesn't look like a rookie to me. He's obviously learned a lot during all those years of being Favre's backup. You could say the same thing about Carson Palmer. When he first showed up with the Bengals, he looked raw. They made him their third string QB. As the year went on, he got progressively better in practice. They made him their starter beginning with his second year, and he got off to a non-rookie-like start.

 

Trent isn't a rookie anymore. He should be evaluated in the same way you'd evaluate any other second year quarterback. I'm reasonably pleased with what I've seen of him so far this year, and I hope and expect he'll continue to improve as the year goes on.

[Albany,n.y.]

Still think JP should be the starter. Watching TE's bomb come up short on Evans last week had me seriously bummed.

 

Even if TE progresses rapidly I just don't think he is going to hold up in the NFL. JP may take half or more of the snaps this year. And won't ware gloves in Cleveland.

 

Sorry to be negative, but that is how I feel. Game 'managers' drive me nuts, because to win with one you must have an exceptional team in all other respects. I think TE is a recipe for 'almost, but no cigar', and a perfect starter/reflection of a mediocrity at head coach.

 

Show me I'm wrong Trent. And never were a pair of isotomers in snow again...ever...

If Trent drives you so crazy, don't watch. However, that means you'll be missing Super Bowl XLIII.

So a pass comes up short and you're seriously bummed? Please read today's article about the perfect passes that Trent threw & re-think your position. Trent puts his receivers in a position to catch the ball exactly where it's supposed to be thrown. Does he miss on some throws? Sure, even Jim Kelly missed on some throws & he's in the Hall of Fame. Guess what-Jim Kelly even had bad games-just think of some of those games in Pittsburgh & KC. There's no such thing as a perfect QB, but Trent Edwards is a HUGE upgrade over JP Losman.

 

It's really time for the JP fans to give it up.

 

Now to my answer to the original question. My definitive post on the subject got lost among the 2007-8 lost posts. Back in August of 2007, while JP was struggling in preseason & Trent was lighting it up, I wrote a post that was titled OK, I'll say it now. I wrote that "when the Bills play their next playoff game, Trent Edwards will be the starting QB" It didn't sit well with the JP fans, especially after he had played well enough in 3-4 games in 2006 to make them think he'd turned the corner & the light went on. All I saw was a dim bulb that flickered brightly once in a while and by the end of pre-season I couldn't wait until Trent replaced JP. I was fortunate to be there when JP went down in New England in game 3 and the Trent Edwards era began. The following week when the Jets gameplanned to stop the run & Trent came out throwing I knew my days as a depressed Bills fan would soon be coming to an end. The only way to describe it was I felt totally rejuvinated as a fan, knowing the Bills were now moving in a positive direction-something I never felt with JP starting.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

Back in August of 2007, while JP was struggling in preseason & Trent was lighting it up, I wrote a post that was titled OK, I'll say it now. I wrote that "when the Bills play their next playoff game, Trent Edwards will be the starting QB" It didn't sit well with the JP fans, especially after he had played well enough in 3-4 games in 2006 to make them think he'd turned the corner & the light went on. All I saw was a dim bulb that flickered brightly once in a while and by the end of pre-season I couldn't wait until Trent replaced JP.

Maybe you deserve some props, cause you caught on quicker than I did. I very easily may have been one of the Losman supporters drowning you out in that thread.

 

I'd still argue that the 2006 season was sufficient reason to think Losman was going somewhere in this league. I do not know what happened in between '06 and '07 with the guy...but if sometime in the future I see a young quarterback have a season similar to Losman '06, I'll still think it means that QB is going to be a good one.

[Albany,n.y.]

I'd disagree with this. I think a quarterback can learn a lot by spending time in the film room, by taking mental reps, by practicing, and in training camp and the preseason. Look at Aaron Rogers in Green Bay. He's got, what, two games' worth of experience? He sure doesn't look like a rookie to me. He's obviously learned a lot during all those years of being Favre's backup. You could say the same thing about Carson Palmer. When he first showed up with the Bengals, he looked raw. They made him their third string QB. As the year went on, he got progressively better in practice. They made him their starter beginning with his second year, and he got off to a non-rookie-like start.

 

Trent isn't a rookie anymore. He should be evaluated in the same way you'd evaluate any other second year quarterback. I'm reasonably pleased with what I've seen of him so far this year, and I hope and expect he'll continue to improve as the year goes on.

The following recent players, some you have mentioned, were successful by or in their 2nd season in the league-no matter what they did as rookies:

Mike Vick (although we all know what derailed his career)

Carson Palmer

Jay Cutler

Brett Favre

Peyton Manning

Eli Manning (even though the myths say otherwise, he led the Giants to the playoffs & was good enough to be entrenched as the Giants' starter)

Tom Brady-won Super Bowl

Donavan McNabb

Ben Roethlisberger-won Super Bowl

 

The following QBs "needed more time" after their sophomore seasons & never were the answer to the team that drafted them

Kyle Boller

JP Losman

Rex Grossman

Joey Harrington

David Carr

Alex Smith

Patrick Ramsey

 

The following QBs, who were supposed to be the QBs of the future are heading in the same direction as the needs more time group, and most likely will be busts:

Matt Leinart

Drew Stanton (still has time to progress this season before it's too late, but he's still far down on the Lions depth chart)

Brody Croyle

John Beck

Tarvaris Jackson (starting, but for how long?)

Kellen Clemens

Jason Campbell (starting, but for how long?)

 

Vince Young may be joining this group very soon.

 

The only current QBs who struggled by the end of, or after their 2nd season in the league after being given the chance to be their teams' starter and righted themselves are Drew Brees & Kerry Collins. Todd Collins, after 10 years of pine riding may soon join these 2.

The rest of the league's starting QBs may have bounced around a little, or sat for years behind an established starter before being given their chance, but once they were given an opportunity to start, the seized the opportunity & never regressed.

 

Expecting a QB who has already had a shot at being a starter and failed to "get it" after his 2nd year in the league is a pipe dream. By the end of his 2nd year, you know one way or the other. That's why I'm amazed by the fans who still think JP will become an established starter when he leaves Buffalo. The odds are very much against it. In today's (salary cap era) NFL if you're a high QB pick you either fast track it to the starter's job or you're gone. Other recent flops who didn't show enough by the end of year 2 & ended up on the scrap heap (although some are still in the league as backups) include: Cade McNown, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, assorted Dallas baseball players (Henson, Carter, Hutchinson), Chris Simms, Chris Redman, Tim Couch, Jim Druckenmiller, Tony Banks, and of course the guy a lot of us thought just needed more time after he'd been in the league over 5 friggin' years ROB JOHNSON. It's actually the failure of Rob Johnson that got me onto the research above and why I'm quite convinced that JP will never be a quality starter in the NFL. The data supports my position.

[alg]

Let me guess, you just got home because the short bus was stuck in line at the gas station, right?

Thanks for reminding me why I rarely post anymore. Getting talked down-to by rude, intellectually crippled children.

[JohninMinn.]

The following recent players, some you have mentioned, were successful by or in their 2nd season in the league-no matter what they did as rookies:

Mike Vick (although we all know what derailed his career)

Carson Palmer

Jay Cutler

Brett Favre

Peyton Manning

Eli Manning (even though the myths say otherwise, he led the Giants to the playoffs & was good enough to be entrenched as the Giants' starter)

Tom Brady-won Super Bowl

Donavan McNabb

Ben Roethlisberger-won Super Bowl

 

The following QBs "needed more time" after their sophomore seasons & never were the answer to the team that drafted them

Kyle Boller

JP Losman

Rex Grossman

Joey Harrington

David Carr

Alex Smith

Patrick Ramsey

 

The following QBs, who were supposed to be the QBs of the future are heading in the same direction as the needs more time group, and most likely will be busts:

Matt Leinart

Drew Stanton (still has time to progress this season before it's too late, but he's still far down on the Lions depth chart)

Brody Croyle

John Beck

Tarvaris Jackson (starting, but for how long?)

Kellen Clemens

Jason Campbell (starting, but for how long?)

 

Vince Young may be joining this group very soon.

 

The only current QBs who struggled by the end of, or after their 2nd season in the league after being given the chance to be their teams' starter and righted themselves are Drew Brees & Kerry Collins. Todd Collins, after 10 years of pine riding may soon join these 2.

The rest of the league's starting QBs may have bounced around a little, or sat for years behind an established starter before being given their chance, but once they were given an opportunity to start, the seized the opportunity & never regressed.

 

Expecting a QB who has already had a shot at being a starter and failed to "get it" after his 2nd year in the league is a pipe dream. By the end of his 2nd year, you know one way or the other. That's why I'm amazed by the fans who still think JP will become an established starter when he leaves Buffalo. The odds are very much against it. In today's (salary cap era) NFL if you're a high QB pick you either fast track it to the starter's job or you're gone. Other recent flops who didn't show enough by the end of year 2 & ended up on the scrap heap (although some are still in the league as backups) include: Cade McNown, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, assorted Dallas baseball players (Henson, Carter, Hutchinson), Chris Simms, Chris Redman, Tim Couch, Jim Druckenmiller, Tony Banks, and of course the guy a lot of us thought just needed more time after he'd been in the league over 5 friggin' years ROB JOHNSON. It's actually the failure of Rob Johnson that got me onto the research above and why I'm quite convinced that JP will never be a quality starter in the NFL. The data supports my position.

Excellent job researching, however I too think JP was mishandled and does not fit the 2 year make or break formula. His showing in the last preseason game with scrubs on both sides of the ball gave me a glimpse into his potential to join the elite. In any event I'm pretty sure Trent will go down with an injury at some point and we'll all find out that indeed.... there are two #1's on this team.

[Flbillsfan#1]

Thanks for reminding me why I rarely post anymore. Getting talked down-to by rude, intellectually crippled children.

Keep posting, don't let the bug BUG you. He picked the perfect user name for himself. Every community has an Ahole or two.

[generaLee83]

I will always feel that Losman's career was hindered by the coaches/GM's and owner of the Buffalo Bills.

 

Edwards is the better QB IMO but Losman certainly could have become a reliable starter in this league had he not been pulled in every direction.

[Albany,n.y.]

I will always feel that Losman's career was hindered by the coaches/GM's and owner of the Buffalo Bills.

 

Edwards is the better QB IMO but Losman certainly could have become a reliable starter in this league had he not been pulled in every direction.

Losman's career is virtually Rob Johnson revisited. I guess it will take JP getting waived by his next team to convince you. That's ok, from the data you do have a 5-10% chance of being right. My thinking is more along the lines that it wasn't the management that failed JP. It's more JP was failing the management and they were always looking to find a better replacement.

1) JP's 2nd season-I was with you all at the time. I hated Mularkey for putting his job security over the team and felt that to put in Holcomb, to win 1 or 2 more meaningless games was hurting JP and the team. Looking back on the situation, I now see what Mularkey & his staff were doing. They saw enough of Losman to believe he wasn't good enough & yanked him before the vets exploded the locker room. They felt they couldn't win with JP and went with a bandaid-Kelly Holcomb. That couldn't stop the bleeding (losses), but they felt it was futile to have JP in there.

2) JP's 3rd season-It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the same staff that was there in 2005 was still in place-the ones who didn't trust JP with the starter's job. Fortunately, we will never know. So Marv & Jauron come in & what is one of their 1st moves-signing Craig Nall to compete for the starter's job. Now we know by now Nall is not starting material and by 2006 neither is Kelly Holcomb. So JP wins the starter's job by default. He plays well in about 3-7 games (depending on your view, but 7 is about the limit) and the fans thought JP was entrenched and would be the Bills' QB for the next decade. Now the guys who see the players every day in practice, gameday & subsequent film study show more by their actions than their words. When all the so called experts expect the Bills to fill an obvious need such as D back with pick 92 of the 2007 draft, the Bills surprise them all by picking a QB. This is the same group that signed Nall in a subtle attempt to replace JP the previous year.

3) JP's 4th season-From the 1st exhibition game & reports in practice, there are signs that not only has JP not moved forward, but he is playing more like the bad JP, not the good JP of the previous year's 3-7 games. In the 1st exhibition game, JP & the starting O are expected to play a few plays & get out of there. Unfortunately, JP & the O play so poorly that they are kept in a lot longer than planned. It cost the team an opportunity to get all QBs in the game. Do you remember how PO'd Nall was when he didn't play? As the preseason goes on, JP still is not showing much. Meanwhile Trent Edwards starts to light it up against the 2nd & 3rd stringers. By the end of pre-season, Trent has shown the most of the QBs & Nall is released. If there had been an open competition, Trent Edwards would have been the opening day starter, not JP Losman. Now the 1st 2 games JP flat out sucks, there's no other way to put it. Now JP gets injured & in his 1st start Trent edwards leads the Bills to victory. Now by the time JP is ready, the team has already found a guy the trust more. Once again, I go back to the fact they are the ones who see these guys 24/7. We all know how the rest of the story turns out.

So, looking back-was JP handled poorly? Maybe, but the guys who see these guys 24/7 have been looking for something better for virtually JP's entire career, that should tell all the fans something. No matter how bad you think Mularkey and his staff were, they still now more about football & talent evaluation than just about everyone who is a member of this board. When Marv & Dick came in they too did just about everything they could to find JP's replacement. Once again-they know more than we do. Is this messing with someone, or is it more watching a guy & concluding he's just not good enough. Now JP has had his moments and does have 30 starts, so having him around as a 2nd stringer, in a league where decent backups are few & far between, does make some sense.

Let's get to the final part-the ridiculous notion that JP was benched for financial reasons & Ralph is just being cheap. Did JP lose money by losing the starting job? I'm not so sure he did. 1st of all, the Bills don't think JP is a multi-million dollar talent. They view him in his proper place-a veteran backup who has started 30 games with limited success. Now if JP had played enough games for his salary to be higher than it is, it wouldn't mean he'd be getting it. If JP had played enough to earn the extra $ for 2008, I'm 99.9% sure that the Bills would have cut him, before they paid him starter's $ to be the backup. Also, Ralph & the team know darn well that whoever the starter is this year, a big year means a major contract extension for next season. So it really doesn't matter who the starter is from a financial standpoint. If Trent succeeds, which I fully expect, he's going to be paid about $7 million next year. Otherwise the Bills will be paying big $ to a 1st round rookie or a veteran acquired by trade or as a free agent. It was NEVER about Ralph pulling strings to save $.

[thebug]

Keep posting, don't let the bug BUG you. He picked the perfect user name for himself. Every community has an Ahole or two.

 

 

Nice to see all you JP butt sniffers are still sticking together.

[generaLee83]

Losman's career is virtually Rob Johnson revisited. I guess it will take JP getting waived by his next team to convince you. That's ok, from the data you do have a 5-10% chance of being right. My thinking is more along the lines that it wasn't the management that failed JP. It's more JP was failing the management and they were always looking to find a better replacement.

1) JP's 2nd season-I was with you all at the time. I hated Mularkey for putting his job security over the team and felt that to put in Holcomb, to win 1 or 2 more meaningless games was hurting JP and the team. Looking back on the situation, I now see what Mularkey & his staff were doing. They saw enough of Losman to believe he wasn't good enough & yanked him before the vets exploded the locker room. They felt they couldn't win with JP and went with a bandaid-Kelly Holcomb. That couldn't stop the bleeding (losses), but they felt it was futile to have JP in there.

2) JP's 3rd season-It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the same staff that was there in 2005 was still in place-the ones who didn't trust JP with the starter's job. Fortunately, we will never know. So Marv & Jauron come in & what is one of their 1st moves-signing Craig Nall to compete for the starter's job. Now we know by now Nall is not starting material and by 2006 neither is Kelly Holcomb. So JP wins the starter's job by default. He plays well in about 3-7 games (depending on your view, but 7 is about the limit) and the fans thought JP was entrenched and would be the Bills' QB for the next decade. Now the guys who see the players every day in practice, gameday & subsequent film study show more by their actions than their words. When all the so called experts expect the Bills to fill an obvious need such as D back with pick 92 of the 2007 draft, the Bills surprise them all by picking a QB. This is the same group that signed Nall in a subtle attempt to replace JP the previous year.

3) JP's 4th season-From the 1st exhibition game & reports in practice, there are signs that not only has JP not moved forward, but he is playing more like the bad JP, not the good JP of the previous year's 3-7 games. In the 1st exhibition game, JP & the starting O are expected to play a few plays & get out of there. Unfortunately, JP & the O play so poorly that they are kept in a lot longer than planned. It cost the team an opportunity to get all QBs in the game. Do you remember how PO'd Nall was when he didn't play? As the preseason goes on, JP still is not showing much. Meanwhile Trent Edwards starts to light it up against the 2nd & 3rd stringers. By the end of pre-season, Trent has shown the most of the QBs & Nall is released. If there had been an open competition, Trent Edwards would have been the opening day starter, not JP Losman. Now the 1st 2 games JP flat out sucks, there's no other way to put it. Now JP gets injured & in his 1st start Trent edwards leads the Bills to victory. Now by the time JP is ready, the team has already found a guy the trust more. Once again, I go back to the fact they are the ones who see these guys 24/7. We all know how the rest of the story turns out.

So, looking back-was JP handled poorly? Maybe, but the guys who see these guys 24/7 have been looking for something better for virtually JP's entire career, that should tell all the fans something. No matter how bad you think Mularkey and his staff were, they still now more about football & talent evaluation than just about everyone who is a member of this board. When Marv & Dick came in they too did just about everything they could to find JP's replacement. Once again-they know more than we do. Is this messing with someone, or is it more watching a guy & concluding he's just not good enough. Now JP has had his moments and does have 30 starts, so having him around as a 2nd stringer, in a league where decent backups are few & far between, does make some sense.

Let's get to the final part-the ridiculous notion that JP was benched for financial reasons & Ralph is just being cheap. Did JP lose money by losing the starting job? I'm not so sure he did. 1st of all, the Bills don't think JP is a multi-million dollar talent. They view him in his proper place-a veteran backup who has started 30 games with limited success. Now if JP had played enough games for his salary to be higher than it is, it wouldn't mean he'd be getting it. If JP had played enough to earn the extra $ for 2008, I'm 99.9% sure that the Bills would have cut him, before they paid him starter's $ to be the backup. Also, Ralph & the team know darn well that whoever the starter is this year, a big year means a major contract extension for next season. So it really doesn't matter who the starter is from a financial standpoint. If Trent succeeds, which I fully expect, he's going to be paid about $7 million next year. Otherwise the Bills will be paying big $ to a 1st round rookie or a veteran acquired by trade or as a free agent. It was NEVER about Ralph pulling strings to save $.

 

Good response and well taken but you don't have to convince me that JP is a bust here in Buffalo, "Edwards is the better QB" as I typed in my second sentence.

 

IF JP leaves Buffalo (I kind of wonder if he won't think long and hard about staying as a backup given that there was no reported interest in him at all this offseason) and ends up in a good system he has a chance to become a starter.

[Sisyphean Bills]

The announcers in the Seattle game touched on the Edwards/Losman thing briefly. They made the comment that the Bills "like them both. Edwards does some things really well and Losman does some things really well. They just feel Edwards has a slight edge at the moment. But, they are really happy to have Losman as well."

 

Personally, I think that was a straight from the horse's mouth comment. The Bills coaches do not think Losman sucks; they think that Edwards just has a bit of an edge. Neither one of them is Peyton Manning (yet) and neither one of them is Henry Burris.

 

I don't see Losman being in Buffalo after this year. People that think it is possible for a player to snap his fingers and unlearn bad habits and poor coaching instantly are wholly unrealistic. It really is not that surprising that Losman and Edwards are at similar points in their development. I'll cheer for both of them, thank you very much, to continue to develop into good NFL QBs.