dmq
If I'm so pretty, why am I available?
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Is J.P. experiencing growing pains, or is he Lost-man?
OK, don’t shoot. I’m coming out with my keyboard up. And while you’re at it, pass the crow. Cooked, raw … I don’t care, I’ll eat it—regrettably, but I’ll eat it.
And while I’m munching on my embarrassment, I will continue to try to rationalize how in the name of Vince Lombardi could J.P. Losman play so poorly for the Buffalo Bills and Drew Bledsoe play so well for the Dallas Cowboys.
If you’ll recall, I was gloating after Losman’s solid, if not spectacular, performance in the Bills’ opener, a 22-7 win over the Houston Texans. Well, this week, I feel like the sucker who just bought a “Rolex” watch for $30 from a guy on the street wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and covered in tattoos.
I confess: It certainly looks as though I’ve been had. Last summer, watching the Bills’ training camp at St. John Fisher College, I was fooled. I judged the book by the cover. I was convinced Losman had the right stuff to become a solid quarterback in the NFL.
From all reports, he spent the winter studying everything but the phone book at One Bills Drive. He didn’t brag or pop off or strut or do any of that other stuff fake confidence is made of. He made no predictions. This summer he handled himself at camp like a calm, cool, collected gunfighter whose demeanor said, “I’m ready and if you don’t believe it, hide and watch.”
Losman reminded me of Jim Kelly when he showed up in Buffalo in 1986. He was a young gun whose time had come. I even told my obnoxious cousin in Louisiana, Billy Bob, that he didn’t know a stud from a dud when he called to ask me which of the three stooges decided to drop Bledsoe and promote Losman.
Now, mind you, my opinion of J.P. wasn’t based on how he performed in practice, where hitting the quarterback will get a player in more trouble than robbing a bank. Rob Johnson—the king of football flops—looked like an all-pro when he stood back there looking downfield, fully aware that his body was off-limits. When the bell rang, though, he was lost.
Now, after three horrendous performances, all losses, J.P. Losman looks more J.P. Lost-man. Coach Mike Mularkey started Kelly Holcomb last week and the Bills beat Miami, 20-14, but Mularkey won’t say if Holcomb will start Sunday against the Jets. He might as well announce that he hasn’t decided whether the players will wear helmets or not.
Well, for what it’s worth—and right now that isn’t much—I’m not giving up on Losman yet. What he has to overcome now, though, will be more difficult than what he faced in the off-season. He has to believe in himself again (assuming he ever did), relax and play. If he’s a legitimate basket case, though, it’s a lot like being behind 28-0 with five minutes to play. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, down in Big D, they’re salivating over the “Big D” Buffalo could no longer stomach. Bledsoe is 3-2 as the Cowboys’ starter and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as exclaiming, “We got us a quarterback, we got us a quarterback!”
Sure seems that way. Bledsoe has completed 98 of 159 passes (61.6 percent) and thrown 10 touchdown passes with only three interceptions. And, he has been sacked only 10 times so far. His quarterback rating is 102, third best in the AFC. If Bledsoe keeps this up, President Bush may nominate him for the Supreme Court.
To refresh your memory, Bledsoe threw 43 interceptions in his three seasons with the Bills and was sacked an amazing 140 times. There were many times when he appeared to have no idea where or when to throw the ball. He had the mobility of a car with four flat tires, lost fumble after fumble and became the second most unpopular thing in Western New York, right behind $3-a-gallon gasoline.
So what has changed? Well, this falls right in there with “It’s warm in July and cold in January.” The Cowboys are giving Bledsoe time to stand back there and find somebody open instead of subjecting him to a human rockslide every other down.
Look, the guy can throw the ball, it’s as simple as that—but not with 1,000 pounds of angry flesh growling and grabbing at him. And Cowboys coach Bill Parcells has done whatever necessary to take the pressure off Bledsoe, even to the point of putting wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson in the backfield as a blocker.
Bledsoe’s turnaround this season tells me that last season the Bills couldn’t figure out how to get the most out of a 6-5, 240-pound quarterback with cement blocks for feet and a cannon for an arm.
Coaches and offensive coordinators all around the NFL are all trying to figure out how to get the most out of their personnel. Sometimes, you have to get creative and help a young quarterback work through the growing pains. Buffalo is faced with that right now with Losman. He’ll be back in the starting lineup sooner rather than later. How well the Bills handle it may well determine his future with the team—and get me off the crow diet.
Rick Woodson’s column appears each week in the Rochester Business Journal’s print edition at www.rbjdaily.com. Listen to his weekly program, “The Golf Tee,” at 9 a.m. Sunday on WHTK-AM 1280.
OK, don’t shoot. I’m coming out with my keyboard up. And while you’re at it, pass the crow. Cooked, raw … I don’t care, I’ll eat it—regrettably, but I’ll eat it.
And while I’m munching on my embarrassment, I will continue to try to rationalize how in the name of Vince Lombardi could J.P. Losman play so poorly for the Buffalo Bills and Drew Bledsoe play so well for the Dallas Cowboys.
If you’ll recall, I was gloating after Losman’s solid, if not spectacular, performance in the Bills’ opener, a 22-7 win over the Houston Texans. Well, this week, I feel like the sucker who just bought a “Rolex” watch for $30 from a guy on the street wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and covered in tattoos.
I confess: It certainly looks as though I’ve been had. Last summer, watching the Bills’ training camp at St. John Fisher College, I was fooled. I judged the book by the cover. I was convinced Losman had the right stuff to become a solid quarterback in the NFL.
From all reports, he spent the winter studying everything but the phone book at One Bills Drive. He didn’t brag or pop off or strut or do any of that other stuff fake confidence is made of. He made no predictions. This summer he handled himself at camp like a calm, cool, collected gunfighter whose demeanor said, “I’m ready and if you don’t believe it, hide and watch.”
Losman reminded me of Jim Kelly when he showed up in Buffalo in 1986. He was a young gun whose time had come. I even told my obnoxious cousin in Louisiana, Billy Bob, that he didn’t know a stud from a dud when he called to ask me which of the three stooges decided to drop Bledsoe and promote Losman.
Now, mind you, my opinion of J.P. wasn’t based on how he performed in practice, where hitting the quarterback will get a player in more trouble than robbing a bank. Rob Johnson—the king of football flops—looked like an all-pro when he stood back there looking downfield, fully aware that his body was off-limits. When the bell rang, though, he was lost.
Now, after three horrendous performances, all losses, J.P. Losman looks more J.P. Lost-man. Coach Mike Mularkey started Kelly Holcomb last week and the Bills beat Miami, 20-14, but Mularkey won’t say if Holcomb will start Sunday against the Jets. He might as well announce that he hasn’t decided whether the players will wear helmets or not.
Well, for what it’s worth—and right now that isn’t much—I’m not giving up on Losman yet. What he has to overcome now, though, will be more difficult than what he faced in the off-season. He has to believe in himself again (assuming he ever did), relax and play. If he’s a legitimate basket case, though, it’s a lot like being behind 28-0 with five minutes to play. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, down in Big D, they’re salivating over the “Big D” Buffalo could no longer stomach. Bledsoe is 3-2 as the Cowboys’ starter and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as exclaiming, “We got us a quarterback, we got us a quarterback!”
Sure seems that way. Bledsoe has completed 98 of 159 passes (61.6 percent) and thrown 10 touchdown passes with only three interceptions. And, he has been sacked only 10 times so far. His quarterback rating is 102, third best in the AFC. If Bledsoe keeps this up, President Bush may nominate him for the Supreme Court.
To refresh your memory, Bledsoe threw 43 interceptions in his three seasons with the Bills and was sacked an amazing 140 times. There were many times when he appeared to have no idea where or when to throw the ball. He had the mobility of a car with four flat tires, lost fumble after fumble and became the second most unpopular thing in Western New York, right behind $3-a-gallon gasoline.
So what has changed? Well, this falls right in there with “It’s warm in July and cold in January.” The Cowboys are giving Bledsoe time to stand back there and find somebody open instead of subjecting him to a human rockslide every other down.
Look, the guy can throw the ball, it’s as simple as that—but not with 1,000 pounds of angry flesh growling and grabbing at him. And Cowboys coach Bill Parcells has done whatever necessary to take the pressure off Bledsoe, even to the point of putting wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson in the backfield as a blocker.
Bledsoe’s turnaround this season tells me that last season the Bills couldn’t figure out how to get the most out of a 6-5, 240-pound quarterback with cement blocks for feet and a cannon for an arm.
Coaches and offensive coordinators all around the NFL are all trying to figure out how to get the most out of their personnel. Sometimes, you have to get creative and help a young quarterback work through the growing pains. Buffalo is faced with that right now with Losman. He’ll be back in the starting lineup sooner rather than later. How well the Bills handle it may well determine his future with the team—and get me off the crow diet.
Rick Woodson’s column appears each week in the Rochester Business Journal’s print edition at www.rbjdaily.com. Listen to his weekly program, “The Golf Tee,” at 9 a.m. Sunday on WHTK-AM 1280.
