A Peak Offseason Thread: Looking back at the JP Losman era

[BillsPride12]

Some of the recent posts on here(The JK v.s. Josh Allen thread, the most polarizing Bill etc) have me thinking back to when the Bills drafted JP Losman.  

It's funny to me because what we are getting from Josh Allen feels like what we were supposed to be getting from the JP Losman experience.  I have vivid memories of when Losman was drafted people making comparisons to Jim Kelly and Brett Favre.  He was supposed to have this certain swagger.  He was a 1st Round pick we traded up for.  Then it just never happened.

 

What were your honest thoughts when he was drafted?  Did you expect him to become a franchise QB?  Were you skeptical from the beginning?

 

I remember being intrigued by the draft pick and wanted to buy in so bad with all of the Kelly and Favre comparisons but for me it just never really matched up.  He seemed like a good guy but I never really saw that swagger and when he played it just seemed like he couldn't put it together.  He had a cannon for an arm(maybe the 2nd strongest arm in franchise history after Allen?) and was a pretty good athlete although he was nowhere near the running QB Allen is.  I also had heard through the Grapevine that he was someone who didn't eat, sleep and breath football.  Had a friend I trust who had a friend that was acquainted with Losman who said Losman would say "football is just his job"

When I heard that it made me question where the Kelly and Favre comparisons came from.  The other interesting bullet point to Losman is if the Bills don't pull the trigger on drafting him do we end up taking Aaron Rodgers the following year?  Talk about the franchise history being completely rewritten. 

[transient]

He was a panic pick when Pittsburgh scooped them on Roethlisberger and any talking him up in the moment was wishful thinking. 

[JPL7]

Losman was exactly who I wanted us to draft that year, for many of the reasons you explained. Hence my username.

 

JP couldn’t read the defenses very well. And given what you said, if it was just a job to him, well, perhaps that’s why he couldn’t read defenses. He was a bit thin/small (6’2 215) and would get ragdolled at times when sacked. He also played under Mike Mularkey and Dick Jauron. Not exactly powerhouse qb development coaches. 
 

I do recall being in attendance at the game versus the chiefs in 2005 when he came in for Kelly Holcomb and threw a beautiful touchdown to Lee Evans immediately after entering. I remember thinking “he’s our guy”. But, no dice! 
 

He was a bust unfortunately. Getting Rodgers the next year instead would have been phenomenal. But hindsight is 20/20. 

[Lafromboise]

That houston texans game in 06 I thought we finally had something. Those j.p to Lee evans deep connections were absolutely beautiful I will say. It would be nice if Josh had something like that.

[Big Turk]

Please let's not.

[BillsPride12]

8 minutes ago, JPL7 said:

Losman was exactly who I wanted us to draft that year, for many of the reasons you explained. Hence my username.

 

JP couldn’t read the defenses very well. And given what you said, if it was just a job to him, well, perhaps that’s why he couldn’t read defenses. He was a bit thin/small (6’2 215) and would get ragdolled at times when sacked. He also played under Mike Mularkey and Dick Jauron. Not exactly powerhouse qb development coaches. 
 

I do recall being in attendance at the game versus the chiefs in 2005 when he came in for Kelly Holcomb and threw a beautiful touchdown to Lee Evans immediately after entering. I remember thinking “he’s our guy”. But, no dice! 
 

He was a bust unfortunately. Getting Rodgers the next year instead would have been phenomenal. But hindsight is 20/20. 

Now that's a throwback of a username!  No bandwagon fan there

 

And yeah that JP Losman to Lee Evans connection was always pretty nasty.  They had a few beauties together! 

[Fan in Chicago]

29 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

What were your honest thoughts when he was drafted?  Did you expect him to become a franchise QB?  Were you skeptical from the beginning?

 

I remember being intrigued by the draft pick and wanted to buy in so bad with all of the Kelly and Favre comparisons but for me it just never really matched up. 

I was happy the Bills took a QB that high because we really needed to. I did not have any knowledge of him as a prospect but was supportive and hopeful. But much of his time was me trying to reconcile his terrible performances, his bad decisions and lack of field vision. Then this game happened and I still remember being incredibly depressed that night. The Patriots were rolling over us and our offense did absolutely nothing to show resistance. 

 

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/brady-moss-show-buries-bills-316826

That did it for my hopes for him as a savior. 

 

The coaches had realized it, when they picked Trent Edwards in the 2007 draft. 

The Losman and Edwards eras were bad. 

[Iiiiiiiiive Got a Feeeelin]

Had an inside source that Losman was spooked by playing under the lights.  in practice etc he was incredible but put a camera on him and he crumbled.  

Also, had a buddy who ended up sitting next to him on a plane randomly and all he had to say about him was he came across as incredibly dumb, for whatever thats worth

[pennstate10]

1 hour ago, transient said:

He was a panic pick when Pittsburgh scooped them on Roethlisberger and any talking him up in the moment was wishful thinking. 

Yeah, I remember that Pitt got the draft pick ahead of us based on, literally, a coin flip. 
 

Also, funny coincidence. Losman was a dead ringer for Adam Sandler.  And Josh Allen’s nickname as a kid was Bobby Boucher.

[Urban Achievers]

I wish for the life of me I could find a song a guy created himself and posted to the interweb. I just remember the lyrics “touchdown tossin with JP Losman.”

 

A true internet sensation. 

Edited May 31 by Urban Achievers

[KHAN]

You spelled "error" wrong.

[The Frankish Reich]

Come on, you guys have to admit that you had a moment - maybe a game, maybe a half, maybe just one long connection to Lee Evans - where you thought "we may really finally have our QB in Losman." I'll admit that I did. I also had that same moment or two with Trent Edwards. And with Ryan Fitzpatrick. And with EJ Manuel (that one Cleveland game I think where he got hurt after a long run?). And with Kyle Orton. And with Tyrod. Hope springs eternal when you are in QB hell.

 

And never, ever, ever with Nathan Peterman. Not even in preseason.

[MJS]

He had the physical tools, but not the mind or the drive to be successful. There are countless guys like that, unfortunately, and often it is hard to tell until they come into the NFL and show it.

[Augie]

Is he still wandering the streets of Buffalo picking up trash? I’m sure he had the sanitation workers behind him! 

 

Nice thought, but…..what we really needed was a QB. 

[BillsPride12]

1 hour ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Come on, you guys have to admit that you had a moment - maybe a game, maybe a half, maybe just one long connection to Lee Evans - where you thought "we may really finally have our QB in Losman." I'll admit that I did. I also had that same moment or two with Trent Edwards. And with Ryan Fitzpatrick. And with EJ Manuel (that one Cleveland game I think where he got hurt after a long run?). And with Kyle Orton. And with Tyrod. Hope springs eternal when you are in QB hell.

 

And never, ever, ever with Nathan Peterman. Not even in preseason.

For me I did have that early hope with JP that he could be our guy.  It was a fleeting moment that didn't last too long and I think it actually scarred me for a long time because I never again had that feeling with Trent, Fitz, EJ, Orton or even Tyrod.  When Josh came along it was the first time since Losman that I had a glimmer of hope we may have finally found a franchise QB.  With Josh his physical and athletic attributes were just so strong it was hard not to feel a little optimistic.  It's fantastic that it finally worked out this time. 

[Another Fan]

Since the early 90s this very well might have been the era of Buffalo Bills football I followed the least.  

[HamptonBillsfan]

4 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

Some of the recent posts on here(The JK v.s. Josh Allen thread, the most polarizing Bill etc) have me thinking back to when the Bills drafted JP Losman.  

It's funny to me because what we are getting from Josh Allen feels like what we were supposed to be getting from the JP Losman experience.  I have vivid memories of when Losman was drafted people making comparisons to Jim Kelly and Brett Favre.  He was supposed to have this certain swagger.  He was a 1st Round pick we traded up for.  Then it just never happened.

 

What were your honest thoughts when he was drafted?  Did you expect him to become a franchise QB?  Were you skeptical from the beginning?

 

I remember being intrigued by the draft pick and wanted to buy in so bad with all of the Kelly and Favre comparisons but for me it just never really matched up.  He seemed like a good guy but I never really saw that swagger and when he played it just seemed like he couldn't put it together.  He had a cannon for an arm(maybe the 2nd strongest arm in franchise history after Allen?) and was a pretty good athlete although he was nowhere near the running QB Allen is.  I also had heard through the Grapevine that he was someone who didn't eat, sleep and breath football.  Had a friend I trust who had a friend that was acquainted with Losman who said Losman would say "football is just his job"

When I heard that it made me question where the Kelly and Favre comparisons came from.  The other interesting bullet point to Losman is if the Bills don't pull the trigger on drafting him do we end up taking Aaron Rodgers the following year?  Talk about the franchise history being completely rewritten. 

What the reality was that JP Losman was a poor selection by a front office that couldn’t make a good personnel decisions on offensive players for 15 years. Not only was Losman bad, and a brash head case, but there was clueless offensive coaching that couldn’t improve his play.

[Albany,n.y.]

I don't buy the lack of love of the game.  He could have moved on from football after his playing days but instead went into college coaching and is the current QB coach of the Washington Huskies.  

[The Frankish Reich]

9 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

I don't buy the lack of love of the game.  He could have moved on from football after his playing days but instead went into college coaching and is the current QB coach of the Washington Huskies.  

He's a curious case for sure. 

I mean, he wasn't good, but he wasn't that bad. I mean, he went 7-9 in 2006, then got only 9 more starts in the rest of his career. Other worse QBs carved out longer careers. Obviously coaches just didn't like him or think that he was suited for the long-term backup/occasional starter role.

Trent Edwards (yeah, everyone will mention that hit) seemed to fit the guy who just didn't love the game. EJ Manuel too. They were the anti-Ryan Fitzpatricks.

EDIT: Just remembered a really good comment from the last time this topic came around, quoting from this Athletic article.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2537042/2021/04/23/ex-bills-qb-j-p-losman-didnt-let-his-disappointing-nfl-career-define-him-instead-he-found-his-calling-at-clemson/

[Zona]

I was happy we drafted him. I bought his jersey. And he was very meh. 

 

I was disappointed. Then and now...