2003Contenders

True -- but leadership works in different ways for different people. Some QBs can just give a WR a certain look -- and that goes even further than hollering. Also, when a receiver drops a pass -- if he really cares -- he's probably so mad at himself already that yelling at him is more like throwing salt on the wound than motivating him. One's leadership style is uniquely tied to one's own personality. Kelly had a fiery personality, so the yelling translated well for him. That may or may not work for Losman. Just because that style of leadership doesn't work for JP doesn't mean that he can't be a leader.

It's funny... I can remember so many of the Flutie Flakes back in 1999, when the team would pull out a 13-10 victory with the little man struggling all day only to turn on that "Flutie Magic" in the 4th quarter to pull out a victory. Funny that Losman doesn't get the same reaction based on yesterday's result.

Uh, actually coaches from both the last regime as well as this one have commented about the time and effort that Losman puts in. I don't question the amount of studying and hard work that JP is doing. Rather, I wonder how well he is absorbing the information -- and how quickly he is processing it on Sunday afternoons.

He and the coaches also need to take better advantage of his uncanny ability to draw defenders off-sides. It seems like he's done that with a hard count at least once in every game. That's a free play! Why not take a chance throwing the ball downfield -- even if it's into double coverage? It seems like every time he does this, the team is content with the 5-yard penalty -- and just hands it off to Willis...

It's silly to fall into the trap of believing that the team -- or JP in particular -- has really regressed. While it's true that the Bills have an 0-3 record over the last three games, it's foolish to look past WHO those games were played against and the circumstances surrounding each game. That is, 2 of those 3 games were against teams that have a legit shot at the Super Bowl. After the 2-2 start, we ran into a buzz saw in Chicago. Probably even the most optimistic of us saw that coming. Two weeks ago against New England, there was some false optimism about the Pats because we had played them so well in their house to start the season. The truth of the matter is that we caught them on an off-day in Week 1 and at a time before their new offense started to gel. Clearly, they are now one of the elite teams in the NFL. Sandwiched between those games was the Detroit game. While it is true that Detroit is 1-6, they have actually been in a position to win every one of their games aside from their own collapse against Chicago. The week we played against them, they were exceptionally motivated, especially given that the Tigers had just made it to the World Series. Still, if Gandy had had an even adequate day, we probably would have won that game. Also, since when has winning a road game -- even against an "inferior" opponent -- ever been something to expect from this team? Certainly not over the last 5-6 yars. No, for me it isn't those last 3 games we lost that continue to irk me. Rather, it is the fact that we let a vulnerable Pats team off the hook in Week 1 -- and found a way to lose to Jets after outplaying them. In reality, we should have been 4-0 going into this tough 3-game stretch. Of course, I imagine the regression cries would have been even more pronounced if we had gone 4-0 followed by 0-3! With all of that said, if the Bills are going to PROgress, then they must beat a team like the Packers this week at home.

What does scare me is that the Packers' OL is improving. Favre was mostly untouched yesterday, and the Packers had two different backs that topped the 100-yard mark. If the Bills can shut down their running game, I'm not sure that we have much to fear in the way of Favre picking us apart, given that 3 of his 4 top receivers will be sidelined -- and that 4th receiver (Driver) got banged up a bit yesterday too.

Romo looked very impressive last night, but I'll wait on my assessment of him until I've seen more. I seem to recall a young QB down in Jacksonville back in 1997 who had one really good game -- even led his team to a comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens...

Not sure what the infatuation is with Schaub. This guy has Scott Mitchell written all over him...

The funny thing about Bradshaw is that in his early years the team was very close to giving up on him. However, the Rooneys remembered how much bad luck the Steelers had had in the past when giving up on QBs too early: Johnny Unitas, Lynn Dawson, and Jack Kemp had all originally been drafted by Pittsburgh -- and the team subsequently cut all three of them. Of course, all three went onto do great things with other clubs. It was this realization that forced them to be patient with Bradshaw. The rest is history...

The knock on him in Washington was that he was unreliable. On one play he'd make a sensational catch -- and on the next, he'd drop a pass that hit him right in the chest. Hence, he found himself more as a blocker than a receiver.

After the Jets game -- and watching Leinart (rather than JP) toss those light throws into the wind -- we'd be saying that the front office should have never bothered with this noodle-armed QB. That's exactly why they had Cutler rated as their #1 QB on the draft board. Thus, Leinart was NEVER an option, even if the front office entertained the notion of drafting a QB at all.

I actually see many FAs wanting to come here. 1. Jauron has a reputation as a player's coach and operates a relatively light off-season regiment. 2. Look at how the front office OVERPAID for the likes of Tripplett, Davis, Bowen, Price, as well as some of our own. Marv is likely to be viewed as a sugar daddy...

He also whiffed badly on the long Maroney return.

This could be a big week for McGee -- as you know Brady will be trying to pick on him as often as possible.

True. Showing some commitment to the run wouldn't hurt either.

Fairchild needs to go with those quick 3-step drops ALL game long, rather than for just a single series as he did against Detroit.

Bingo!

All of this is moot anyway, as Marv has repeatedly said that Cuter was the QB that the Bills had ranked #1.

I think most on here feel the way that I do -- that is, the kid has done some good things and plenty of bad things as well. He's a work in progress -- and we really do not know yet -- and probably won't for awhile anyway -- whether he really is the long term solution or not. I find this JP debate on the board to be kinda funny. There are some folks on here that "picked a side" long ago, and allow all sense of reasoning to blind them to their view-point, which was not arrived at rationally in the first place. That is to say that for whatever reason some of the folks on here made a bold and foundless assessment that "JP sucks" before having ever seen him play a down. Now, regardless of what he does, your single-minded determination to be "right" at all costs leads you to either root against him -- or assign credit elsewhere when he plays well. Of course, there are plenty on the flip-side who apparantly want to defend every mistake he makes. The bottom line is that we as Bills fans should all hope and pray that he does come around and continue to progress. Why would we want to have to invest another high draft pick or scarce free agent dollars on another QB, when we so badly need to improve the OL and DL? I've seen enough to tell me that the kid has the talent to succeed. (How many QBs around the league could have made the play he did on the Parrish TD on Sunday?) But, I also know that he looked pretty bad for most of the game: partly because of poor protection, partly because his receivers weren't coming open -- and partly because he just flat out didn't help himself either. What we need to see out of him is a defining moment. That would be a situation (like Kelly against Miami back in the late 80s or Flutie against the Jags in 98) where he puts the team on his shoulders and helps will them to an improbable victory. Maybe this is the week that that happens...

... when THEY have had extra time to prepare for us. Let's go back chronologically... 1. The season opener for 2006. Obviously, the Pats had all preseason to prepare -- and the Bills darn near beat them in their own house. 2. In 2005, coming off their bye in the "Bruski Game", we also darn near beat them in their house. 3. In 2004, in Orchard Park, coming off their bye (as well as ours), we were in the position to tie the game with less than 2:00 to go, when Bledsoe fumbled on a 4th down play that the Pats ran back for a TD. 4. In the 2003 season opener, we squashed them in Orchard Park. Again, they had all preseason to prepare. All other contests against them since 2003 have been blowout losses. Maybe this is just coincidence, but I find it funny that there seems to be this doom and gloom notion about the genius Belichick having an extra week to prepare for us, when the facts show that the Patriots have not been nearly as dominant when having that extra week to prepare. Grasping at straws I know, but I'll take any positive vibes we can get for this up coming game!

Last night on WHAM, Marv said the following about the trade: 1. The Bucs contacted the Bills about a possible trade -- not the other way around. 2. The Bucs were requesting a first rounder. 3. The Bills were not willing to part with anything higher than a 3rd rounder -- and they were a bit weary of even giving up that much. 4. Marv and the coaches like Booger -- but have concerns about his age, contract -- and the perception that he takes too many plays off. 5. He felt that the Colts overpaid -- but understood that they HAD to overpay to get him. He suggested that if the Bills were in the same situation as the Colts, he too may have been willing to overpay.

You can listen to it on line here: http://www.wham1180.com/main.html Marv also just said that he was in discussions with the Bucs about Booger, but the Bucs wanted a 1st round pick, and the Bills did not feel that he merited more than a 3rd rounder given his age, contract and the observation that he likes to take plays off.

All that I can say is that when I saw that the Bills had traded up into the late first round, I thought for sure they were taking Justice there.

And you know JP will NEVER be a consistent NFL QB how? If you didn't notice Sunday, the best drive that the Bills had all day was the one in which JP was taking 3 step drops. That calls for quick decision making, no? Also, there is one thing that I do know -- having watched Matt Leinart plenty -- there is NO WAY that Leinart ever completes that 44 yard TD pass to Roscoe on the fly as Losman did on Sunday.

I too think it was a catch -- but too close to overturn. Of course, it would have been nice if the officials had called it an INT in the first place, then the Lions could have challenged it. Even if they had received the home-cooked reversal, at least we wouldn't have been charged that timeout, which came back to haunt us. Oh well...