Ross Tucker on a prior QB situation

[Peter]

I was listening to Sirius NFL radio this morning as I normally do on the way to work. As some of you know, Ross Tucker works for them now and does a great job.

 

This morning, they interviewed Amani Toomer and were discussing the pc responses to the media (with Toomer, it was about what was said about Shockey then as opposed to now that Toomer is retired).

 

Tucker talked about the Bills releasing Drew Bledsoe to go with JP Losman. He said that he thought it was an absolutely crazy move and the entire offensive line felt the same way. They wanted the Bills to keep DB.

[xsoldier54]

I was listening to Sirius NFL radio this morning as I normally do on the way to work. As some of you know, Ross Tucker works for them now and does a great job.

 

This morning, they interviewed Amani Toomer and were discussing the pc responses to the media (with Toomer, it was about what was said about Shockey then as opposed to now that Toomer is retired).

 

Tucker talked about the Bills releasing Drew Bledsoe to go with JP Losman. He said that he thought it was an absolutely crazy move and the entire offensive line felt the same way. They wanted the Bills to keep DB.

And your point? Bledsoe was a bust in Dallas and he was clearly finished as a QB. The fact that Losman didn't pan out doesn't change that. Bledsoe was not the answer at that point. Players very often question management decisions and most of the time they are proven wrong. It was time to give Losman his shot.

[Peter]

And your point? Bledsoe was a bust in Dallas and he was clearly finished as a QB. The fact that Losman didn't pan out doesn't change that. Bledsoe was not the answer at that point. Players very often question management decisions and most of the time they are proven wrong. It was time to give Losman his shot.

 

 

My point was that Tucker and the offensive line thought it was crazy to cut Bledsoe and go with Losman. I thought that the post was pretty clear about that.

[K-9]

And your point? Bledsoe was a bust in Dallas and he was clearly finished as a QB. The fact that Losman didn't pan out doesn't change that. Bledsoe was not the answer at that point. Players very often question management decisions and most of the time they are proven wrong. It was time to give Losman his shot.

 

I think Tucker sheds some interesting light on the subject and underscores what wasn't a very well-kept locker room secret at the time. The decision to start JP by cutting Bledsoe and just handing him the job caused HUGE dissension on that team. Tucker confirms it. Not a good thing to have your OLine not believe in you.

 

I also don't know why it was time to give JP a shot. Based on what? His erratic spot duty in his rookie year of 2004? It was time to start JP in only one man's eyes: TD. And he screwed the pooch. JP was nowhere near ready to take the reigns in '05. And the veteran players on that team knew it.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Rubes]

And your point? Bledsoe was a bust in Dallas and he was clearly finished as a QB. The fact that Losman didn't pan out doesn't change that. Bledsoe was not the answer at that point. Players very often question management decisions and most of the time they are proven wrong. It was time to give Losman his shot.

 

He doesn't have an agenda, dude. Just reporting what was said.

[tombstone56]

bledsoe was average qb at best ,,he got ben coates the most catches by a TE because he was always checking down,,

[eSJayDee]

I think a more important issue is whether that thought (that it was a crazy move) was attributable to allegiance to Bledsoe (&/or an overly elevated opinion of his ability at that time - ie he proved in Dallas he wasn't the player he previously was) or lack of confidence in Losman's abilities &/or a general dislike of him.

[DrDawkinstein]

if the line wanted to keep DB, then they should have protected him better. towards the end, DB was a total liability out there because teams knew he was a statue and they could sack him every play.

 

the most blatant example of this was against Dallas, where Parcells himself called a Defense with only ONE defensive back and rushed 10. they sacked Dead-slow every time before he could even get out of his drop. shoulda rushed 11.

[dave mcbride]

And your point? Bledsoe was a bust in Dallas and he was clearly finished as a QB. The fact that Losman didn't pan out doesn't change that. Bledsoe was not the answer at that point. Players very often question management decisions and most of the time they are proven wrong. It was time to give Losman his shot.

Actually, his first year in Dallas was pretty solid - far, far better than Losman.

 

I remain confident that the decision to dump Bledsoe was Wilson's, not anyone else's.

[GG]

And your point? Bledsoe was a bust in Dallas and he was clearly finished as a QB. The fact that Losman didn't pan out doesn't change that. Bledsoe was not the answer at that point. Players very often question management decisions and most of the time they are proven wrong. It was time to give Losman his shot.

 

The two are mutually exclusive. Dumping Bledsoe was a characteristic Wilson move after the Pitt game where DB was outplayed by Pierre. But even if the owner was justified in making that move, there was absolutely no reason to hand the job to Losman without competition. It looked odd back then, and it looks even worse in hindsight, since we all know what the players knew at the time - Losman was nowhere ready to play in the NFL yet.

[Mike in Syracuse]

Perhaps Tucker should have done a better job blocking and keeping his QB upright then. If I remember correctly Tucker was part of an offense line that gave up the most sacks in the league that year.

[Green Lightning]

Perhaps Tucker should have done a better job blocking and keeping his QB upright then. If I remember correctly Tucker was part of an offense line that gave up the most sacks in the league that year.

 

 

Beat me to it. Ditto.

[JohnC]

The two are mutually exclusive. Dumping Bledsoe was a characteristic Wilson move after the Pitt game where DB was outplayed by Pierre. But even if the owner was justified in making that move, there was absolutely no reason to hand the job to Losman without competition. It looked odd back then, and it looks even worse in hindsight, since we all know what the players knew at the time - Losman was nowhere ready to play in the NFL yet.

 

What is really sad and pathetic about this franchise is that the Bills haven't had sustained quality qb and OL play since the Kelly era. Not only is that an absurdity, it is an embarrassment. There are a variety of ways an organization can procure a franchise qb: through the draft, free agency and trade. With all those avenues the Bills still have miserably failed to resolve that positional need.

 

How does an organization not piece together a decent line through the draft, free agency and trades in almost a generation? When you have an owner who is a buffoon and he presides over a dysfunctional organizational you shouldn't be surprised with the outcome.

 

With respect to Ross Tucker's take on the Bledsoe/Losman issue it isn't surprising that a veteran lineman should favor the veteran qb over the younger qb. A point that Tucker left out over the qb situation is that Bledsoe was not the type of person who could be the backup and genuinely be supportive of the new starting qb. That wasn't in his makeup, so he had to go. Donahoe bringing in the most immobile qb in the league when the OL was one of the worst lines in the league was football malfeasance.

[Beerball]

Actually, his first year in Dallas was pretty solid - far, far better than Losman.

 

I remain confident that the decision to dump Bledsoe was Wilson's, not anyone else's.

It was definitely Wade Phillips decision.

[The Senator]

It was definitely Wade Phillips decision.

While he was defensive coordinator in Atlanta?

 

(You're joking I'm sure, but IMO it was Donahoe trying to emulate Belicheat's* brilliant decision to unload the aging Bledsoe and his huge contract and go with the young but as-yet unproven Tom Brady* - too bad Belicheat's* got more football smarts in his toenail clippings than Donahoe could have ever dreamed of having, and that we're still paying for Whitey's ignorant arrogance)

[NewHampshireBillsFan]

The point is that everyone in the world now knows what Drew Bledsoe and the Bills OL knew at the time, that JP is not an NFL caliber QB. Bledsoe said he did not want to be a backup, especially to JP. Unfortunately, the Bills coaches, GM, etc. did not understand that and we wasted quite a bit of time learning the hard way that JP was not the answer. Personally, I think it was a Donahoe decision to announce without competition that it was JP's job to be the Bills starter. Donahoe had to prove his draft of JP in the first round was justified.

[JohnC]

While he was defensive coordinator in Atlanta?

 

(You're joking I'm sure, but IMO it was Donahoe trying to emulate Belicheat's* brilliant decision to unload Bledsoe's huge contract and go with the young but as-yet unproven Tom Brady* - too bad Belicheat's* got more football smarts in his toenail clippings than Donahoe could have ever hoped dreamed of having, and that we're still paying for Whitey's ignorant arrogance)

 

After the trade with the Pats to get Bledsoe I'm confident that Donahoe knows the meaning of the word: FLEECED. The main issue I have with Donahoe is not his insufferable arrogance but his destructive incompetence. Donahoe made a lot of questionable moves, but letting Pat Williams go was another one of his many damaging personnel moves. The Donahoe era was five years of foolishness. Then bringing in the clueless but congenial Levy to follow Donahoe was stupifying.

[Beerball]

While he was defensive coordinator in Atlanta?

 

(You're joking I'm sure, but IMO it was Donahoe trying to emulate Belicheat's* brilliant decision to unload the aging Bledsoe and his huge contract and go with the young but as-yet unproven Tom Brady* - too bad Belicheat's* got more football smarts in his toenail clippings than Donahoe could have ever dreamed of having, and that we're still paying for Whitey's ignorant arrogance)

I keed