Former Bill Losman understandably feels low

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, June 22, 2009  |  Comments( 26 )

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J.P. Losman has officially, finally, blessedly moved on from the Buffalo Bills. Probably. He may be going to the United Football League, a new association that will undoubtedly be a bailout candidate before the year’s end. Losman is allegedly off to the Las Vegas franchise, which hasn’t yet established details such as its nickname. The over/under on the number of games the club will ever play is 0.5; it’s a worthwhile bet to place in the team’s home state.

Instead of trying to win a job during camp in the big boy NFL, Losman has decided to show what he can do while facing guys like ex-Bills teammate Larry Tripplett. He’s now in an organization so disorganized that it hasn't even officially announced he’s one of its players. Joining a squad that can’t even assemble a press release is another curious decision from a passer who often unzipped his skull and removed his brain during his playtime as a Bill.

Of course, Losman hasn’t been with Buffalo since his contract expired after last season. They could have re-signed him. Or maybe not quite: They were more likely to bring back Tripplett than they were their non-franchise quarterback.

Remembering Losman’s wasted tenure burns like good scotch or bad coffee. Still, his stint was only almost entirely bad, not completely so. It’s easy to repress such memories, but he once made fans hopeful, even if it was only for a couple of weeks.

Losman’s accomplishments with the Bills might fit on a business card, but it would fill both sides. While it may be safe to finally conclude that the Tulane product is about the hundredth failure in the endless quest to replace Jim Kelly, he wasn’t quite a Bruce Mathison, either. Losman wasted potential and saw his potential wasted, leading to a forgettable half-decade for all involved.

That’s especially true considering the brief tease: For a handful of 2006’s plays, it looked as if eternally incompetent general manager Tom Donahoe had gotten both first-round picks correct during April 2004. The quarterback put up 19 touchdowns against only 14 interceptions through that season, leading to a marginally impressive 84.9 rating. At his best, he and aforementioned fellow first-rounder Lee Evans shared uncanny timing which allowed the quarterback to frequently hit the swift wideout in stride. Their enticing connection went together like Sam Adams and pizza.

But it of course didn’t last, as he regressed until benched during the next season. Losman didn’t aid his case by throwing maddeningly erratic passes that looked like they were aimed at the FieldTurf. It was part of his intermittent obliviousness to his position’s requirements. His struggles as a first-season starter in 2005 were understandable, while his 2007 woes were less so. While having another quarterback nipping at his heels each season didn’t help, he still blew ample chances on his own.

Worse, his limited action during last season wasn’t limited enough. Most notoriously, Losman heaved five interceptions compared to only a pair of touchdowns. Even worse, if that’s possible, is the fact that he gained a miserable 5.6 yards per attempt during 2008; basically, Losman dropping back was the equivalent of an above-average rush.

It was the final bit of evidence that the mutual best thing for team and quarterback is the latter leaving behind the former. His final inglorious plays as a Bill partially influenced his lamentable 75.6 career rating, not to mention that he’s thrown 34 interceptions against precisely one fewer touchdown. To be fair, Trent Edwards is barely currently better with 18 of each.

Flying coach didn’t help. Losman suffered the handicap of being a Bill in the 2000s, and while his play was often part of the problem, the California native joined a team that was already traveling down the road to ruin. Further, he didn’t complain after being designated the backup last summer. A whiny backup with a sense of entitlement regarding a job he lost could have single-handedly turned a disappointing season into a wretched one. But he didn’t make things worse when he sat, which is a weak but true compliment.

Now he has an involuntary chance to start over, although he should have started awhile ago. He turned 28 in March, which means the best time for him to begin being successful was about two years ago. Those who looked forward to ample touchdown connections between Losman and another ex-Bill, Jason Peters, an offensive tackle who caught Losman's first TD pass, will likely remain disappointed.

Hopefully, he’ll get more assistance in the future. If the Bills had managed to simultaneously amass a decent rusher, line, second receiver and offensive coordinator, Losman may have had a chance. But that remains an unknown hypothesis. Whether he ever offers more than glimpses of actualized talent remains to be seen.

Worst, he can’t even prove much in the UFL: If he fails, it’s time to start looking for a high school offensive coordinator position, and if he succeeds, it was only in the UFL. Sadly, the best he can do is play well enough to maybe get another shot at rejoining real football.

In a sports movie, this would be the moment where the protagonist considers returning to his drywall-installing job. Either way, Losman’s time with his first team is definitively over, as a bad situation for all is now part of the past. While that’s a relief, it’s also too bad.

He’s not at that contemptible level of recent Buffalo-based failures who have spent more time maintaining attitudes than working hard. Unlike the other post-Kelly failures, Losman is one fans might actually enjoy having a beer with in a tavern a decade down the road, if only to share wistful thoughts of what could have been. Barback Rob Johnson will jealously, grudgingly nod in agreement.
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CommentsComments: 26  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Os Davis		11:54 PM
06/22/2009
"Remembering Losman’s wasted tenure burns like good scotch or bad coffee." Yeah, the former if you're a Patriots fan, the ...
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No.2
Alex Guzman		05:29 AM
06/23/2009
"Unlike the other post-Kelly failures, Losman is one fans might actually enjoy having a beer with in a tavern a decade down the ...
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No.3
ddd		07:27 AM
06/23/2009
My thoughts on JP Losman in a timeline fashion: I never bought into the facade that was JP Losman. The guy was projected as a ...
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