Fake-Fat Sunny Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Why not start him this week? The game is at home. The Rams have the #29 defense in the NFL. What is one more week of waiting going to do? Why would you wait until the Seattle game on the road? This week presents a perfect opportunity for him. At home against a crappy D, team needs a spark, fans need a spark. Why wait? 119893[/snapback] I say start him as well when he is ready to start. However, all the signs I see indicate he is not ready to start yet. 1. Is the leg up to a full game of NFL pounding? Maybe Dr. ICE and god know but I sure don't. My guess from how the Bills' docs and braintrust have handled situations like WM's rehab is that they tend to be pretty conservative and deliberate. How JP's leg recovers after his brief play Sunday will say alot (is there any swelling, is there any limitation in range of motion) but mostly will determine whether he sits most or all of the game apparently). 2. Has he consumed the NFL playbook, reading Ds properly, and effectively communicating those reads to the team? I dunno? I suspect the injury actually provided him with great benefits for focusing on his learning, but he has had little pracice and no gametime to work on the last two items. 3. How are his mechanics? This was a clear area that he needed to work on when drafted and this work is best done in the field house throwing hundreds of passes. Even with a broken wheel he should have been able to watch tape if good QB motion and his own problems, visiualize himself doing it properly and even at slow speeds go through the correct physical steps. However, did this happen and did it take? I hope he is good to go now or soon, but I simply doubt he is ready to start. While he MUST play to get good enough it is not the ONLY thing he needs to do to become a good QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I'll tell you why then bobblehead. Because the Pats know the Bills are passing and have their ears pinned back coming to kill our future qb, who is coming off an injury. You would like to get your future qb a positive first experience, and not mess with his confidence. If they felt he was ready to play then they should have started him instead of mopping up for Bledsoes mess. 119916[/snapback] I'm sorry, I just do not buy this. "Ears pinned back coming to kill our future qb, coming off an injury?" It was 29-6, late in the fourth quarter. It may be a cut-throat league, and it sure sounds tough on a message board, but I really doubt that was the feeling on the field. If any starters were left in the game, it was foolish. Remember, Teddy Bruschi almost blew his knee out late in that game, how would that have looked? Again, it was 29-6, late in the fourth quarter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_eyedog_* Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I guess you missed that jail break when Losman was running for his life and fumbled, oh and when he was running again and threw an interception. Do you think the Pats backups are not coming hard ? Thats why they win Superbowls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Why not start him this week? The game is at home. The Rams have the #29 defense in the NFL. What is one more week of waiting going to do? Why would you wait until the Seattle game on the road? This week presents a perfect opportunity for him. At home against a crappy D, team needs a spark, fans need a spark. Why wait? 119893[/snapback] Now that is a reasonable arguement, IMO. I thought a few weeks ago that this was the game that Losman would start, but recent success (before last Sunday) changed some things. I know people do not want to hear that we are not out of it yet, and that Losman is not ready, but sorry to say, both are true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I guess you missed that jail break when Losman was running for his life and fumbled, oh and when he was running again and threw an interception.Do you think the Pats backups are not coming hard ? Thats why they win Superbowls. 119959[/snapback] Again, "running for his life" sounds tough on a message board, but running up the gut after not finding a receiver is not "running for his life". He fumbled because he was holding the ball with one hand, extended out. Patriot backups playing hard are still backups. Still waiting for a good reason not to play him there, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet baboo Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I know people do not want to hear that we are not out of it yet, and that Losman is not ready, but sorry to say, both are true. 119960[/snapback] uh...how are we in it? mathematically we may be in it, but look at the product that steps out onto the field...we couldn't be further from the truth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 mathematically we may be in it, 120048[/snapback] Thank you. Look, I'm with you on this more than you think. We suck. But I really feel that in this league, you have to go into every game as if you have a chance to win and that you have a chance at the playoffs, and when you are out of contention, you still have to go in every game with the best chance to win. I don't think Losman is that chance yet, and I don't think the coaches think so, either. But that day is coming soon enough. I think Losman going in when he did tells us that that day is coming sooner than we think. And I absolutely think that Mularkey was trying to tell Losman that, and that he has to be ready. What Mularkey said about starting Bledsoe this week? I'd rather hear that than the grandstanding of people like Herm Edwards, the over-emotional sap of Vermiel, the animosity and sarcasm of Parcells, I can go on and on. Mularkey said that Drew is the starter, and that Losman is not ready, yet. I'm sorry, but I have no problem with Mularkey telling us that Losman is not ready yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet baboo Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 "Playoffs! Playoffs?" - Jim Mora I dunno...I kinda like Mora's speech...though it was probably because it wasn't my team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 "Playoffs! Playoffs?" - Jim Mora I dunno...I kinda like Mora's speech...though it was probably because it wasn't my team 120104[/snapback] Well, Mora was different altogether. Everything I said about coaches in press conferences goes out the window with Jim Mora. I miss that guy after games. But then again, didn't he get canned for the "playoffs" tirade? "We Sucked! Absolutely Sucked!, We Absolutely Definately Sucked!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 If JP isn't ready to play as some suggest then why the F was he put in Sunday, in the worst possible situation? 119700[/snapback] This was EXACTLY my point in another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Coach_Tuesday Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 This was EXACTLY my point in another thread. 120120[/snapback] Because it wasn't "the worst possible situation" - he was not being asked to win the game or play against first-teamers. He was just asked to run around and make some plays. There is a difference - just like there is a difference between asking him to come in and get this team to the playoffs (which would require him going undefeated) and bringing him in once the team is mathematically eliminated, which would put far less pressure on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 Because it wasn't "the worst possible situation" - he was not being asked to win the game or play against first-teamers. He was just asked to run around and make some plays. There is a difference - just like there is a difference between asking him to come in and get this team to the playoffs (which would require him going undefeated) and bringing him in once the team is mathematically eliminated, which would put far less pressure on him. 120134[/snapback] You are right. The worst possible situation will be when Bledsoe lines up under center this Sunday and gets booed - with most fans expecting/hoping Losman to be ready since he made a token appearance in "garbage time" Sunday night. Mathematics aside, I think anyone who actually believes the Bills will make the playoffs this year is a true dreamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted November 16, 2004 Share Posted November 16, 2004 I'm sorry, but some of you are just being ridiculous. There is no one, NO ONE, the coaches, GM and owner included, who still think Drew Bledsoe "has it." I guarantee you, people, THEY KNOW. Donahoe knows. Mularkey knows. Those two knew last year, because they (1) drafted his replacement in the first round, and (2) demanded he take a pay cut. Now, it's not their fault that a fluke injury set back JP's timetable, but those are the cards we've been dealt - it happens. Had Troy Vincent's sole contribution to our season not been to f' up our prize rookie (fitting, btw, given our D's over-agressiveness, lack of discipline and control - simply, their stupidity), I'm all but certain JP would have started the second half of the Ravens game and every other game since. HOWEVER, at this point, there is nothing worse that MM could do than panic and put JP into a situation in which he's not ready, and which the odds of him failing are significant. If you look back at the history of rookie QBs, the number one source of their long-term failure has been situations where they were put in before they were ready. It's killer - it can wreck their confidence and derail their entire career. Who knows at what point Bledsoe "jumped the shark" and developed happy feet - it may have happened in New England, it may have been last year's game in Miami - but God forbid that happen to Losman at this stage in his career. Look, the season is over. Losman will start the last 3-4 games, guaranteed, and it likely won't be pretty to watch. There is NO POINT, after one week of practice and 4 plays, for this coaching staff to annoint him the Savior of the Season, which would almost guarantee his failure. No point. You people need to understand that - I want to win now as much as any of you, but the long-term health of this franchise suggests some patience. 119605[/snapback] We do have a backup QB..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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