Who could lose like this? Only Losman, Bills

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, December 15, 2008  |  Comments( 106 )

Buffalo Bills
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!
The worst call of the day resulted in the worst play of the season for the Buffalo Bills. Even though a victory Sunday over the New York Jets would have meant virtually nothing for playoff hopes, this was still the kind of soul-stomping defeat that made fans blue on the inside as they swore until blue on the outside. It would seem impossible for a team to astonishingly figure a way to lose under the particular circumstances, and it could only be possible given both the way this season has gone and the presence of a specific quarterback in the lineup, one who was entrusted to make something good happen and instead made an epic failure.

J.P. Losman apparently forgot that NFL defenses are permitted to rush at him and knock the ball away; he could have at least brushed up on the rules after his preseason demotion to backup gave him more free time, but nope. How many other chances does Losman want to prove he’s not going to find a way to blow it? Frustratingly, he seemed to be overcoming spells of inaccuracy and jittery play on his way to leading the Bills to a win despite being down at both the first half and third quarter’s end.

Before he literally fumbled away the game, the Tulane man could have been remembered for the previous drive, namely the one where he marched his side to a touchdown that put them up by three with five and a half minutes left. But no lead is safe when a human catastrophe factory like Losman is assigned a task more complicated than handing off the football.

To be fair, sticking the ball in his rusher’s gut is what obviously should have happened, even if Losman’s actions produced an outcome that was as impossibly miserable as possible. Who thought that calling a number other than 23 at that time was wise? Marshawn Lynch spent the day posting tremendous gains regardless of the situation, and he should have been given the ball despite the fact that everyone was expecting it.

It was second-and-5, and two more rushes would have at worst created a situation where the Jets got the ball back after a punt with a lone time out remaining; at best, there was no way Lynch was going to be prevented from getting 5 yards on two carries, even if the Jets’ defense was stacked three deep to stop him. Eleven in the box might not have limited him to 2.5 yards a try on this day.

Instead, cutesiness at the worst possible time led to Losman rolling out instead of Lynch rolling ahead, in turn leading to maddening ruin. A missed block by, of course, Jason Peters, who failed Mike Williams-style to even delay sacker/stripper Abram Elam, wasn’t quite helpful, either. The call itself combined with the unbelievably dreadful execution makes this the franchise’s worst play since 2004’s horrid attempted Drew Bledsoe bootleg against the New England Patriots. The faces change, but the bad ideas and worse actions stay the same.

It comes down to wondering who’s going to screw up any given week for the Bills. That’s not a fun question to ask or game to play, but it’s the reality for a team that steered its way straight into the black hole. The defense gave up three first-half touchdowns, and when the unit finally got around to clamping down its pals on offense gave up a touchdown themselves when all they had to do was bleed the clock.

Meanwhile, there’s no doubt that Gibran Hamdan should either start next week or back up a recuperated Trent Edwards; only quarterbacks who have a chance to be Bills in 2009 should get to play in the last two games of 2008. On top of the fact he deserves to show if he’s a candidate to be the second-stringer next year, Hamdan is also a better option than Losman right now. Hamdan may have only slightly more career NFL passing yards than franchises at seven to five, but he offers a comparatively big upside, specifically that he couldn’t ruin things in a worse manner than Losman has.

Losman’s final contribution to the Bills is a better draft pick come April, as his play Sunday reflected his play over five maddening seasons: He teased with occasional competency but ultimately made a few bad decisions along with one really, really, truly, tremendously, really bad one.

He can try to leave this game off his résumé, but, like posting a picture on one’s Facebook of oneself making out with a sorority girl while holding a bottle of Jose Cuervo and wearing only a bed sheet, it’s too late, as the image is already out there. Losman’s actions on that snap won’t precisely help him land a new gig; luckily, he’s not his current franchise’s problem for much longer. Can he really make things worse for this team and his career aspirations in the 120 minutes of game time he has left as a Bill? Unfortunately, it’s not a rhetorical question.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (106)

About Anthony Bialy

I'm just here to submit columns.
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report
CommentsComments: 106  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Kegman		10:03 AM
12/15/2008
A fool of a coach making a foolish decision to put the ball in the hands of a QB with the pocket awareness of a squirrel....a...
Avatar
No.2
ddd		10:26 AM
12/15/2008
Beast mode was in full effect. Special teams made plays. HOF QB Farve had a lousy game. Lindell's kick hit the upright and went...
Avatar
No.3
ba bye		10:38 AM
12/15/2008
WWJD? Hey, they made a game of it, and the Bills were already the laughingstocks of the league, so no harm done. Nice block on...
Team News  |  View All Bills Content
Manning to the Bills?
Why not? Now that the Colts have rid themselves of the Polian family,...
3 weeks, 1 day ago   |   Manning to the Bills? ( 258 )
Nix needs to fix the Bills p...
In 2010, Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey were banking on Aaron Schobel to tr...
3 weeks, 3 days ago   |   Nix needs to fix the Bills pass rushing problems ( 28 )
Stop the Revolving Door!
Wade Phillips, current Texans D- Coordinator - Playoffs. Mike Mularkey...
1 month, 1 week ago   |   Stop the Revolving Door! ( 191 )
Is a Bills Succession Plan g...
In the wake of talks from NFL experts stating that there are going to...
1 month, 1 week ago   |   Is a Bills Succession Plan going to take effect in 2012? ( 89 )
Bills 1st half results
Last year after 8 games, the Bills were a miserable 0-8. This year aft...
3 months ago   |   Bills 1st half results ( 625 )