Losman, first-team ‘O’ need to get in gear for Buffalo

By Connor Byrne  |   Friday, August 24, 2007  |  Comments( 54 )

Buffalo Bills
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All across the world, fans of the National Football League often dismiss the preseason as meaningless. Sure, players end up hurt in these exhibition games, but the contests are also valuable tools for certain guys to develop and become more acquainted to the systems they're in. On top of that, it's nice for players to knock some rust off against real competition.

For the Buffalo Bills' first-team offense, Friday's game against the Tennessee Titans will be an important one. In parts of two games this August, the unit hasn't even found the end zone, mustering only three points.

Quarterback J.P. Losman, entering his crucial fourth season (which some consider a make-or-break campaign), hasn't done much thus far; throughout camp and the two preseason contests, he's made some poor decisions, thrown some awful passes and has been anxious in the pocket.

The offensive line, meanwhile, is simply a work in progress right now.

Tonight, the parts of the Bills' offense that haven't been working well will get a chance to repair certain problems. Generally, the third preseason game is the one where first-stringers get the most playing time. Last year, for instance, on Aug. 26, Losman attempted a whopping-by-preseason-standards 22 passes in a loss to Cleveland, and then-starting running back Willis McGahee accrued 11 carries. Obviously, then, Week 3 of the exhibition schedule is the one that most closely resembles a regular-season game.

The most important thing for Losman tonight is to demonstrate why he was considered an up-and-coming signal caller late last season, when he led the Bills to a 5-4 finish. The 26-year-old is an elite deep-ball thrower, but he still struggles on short patterns and often locks in on No. 1 receiver Lee Evans too much.

As mentioned above, Losman's yet to lead Buffalo's starting offense on a touchdown drive in two halves of play, against New Orleans and Atlanta. In fairness, though, some of that was the fault of left tackle Jason Peters, who killed a drive last week with a 10-yard holding penalty, and center Duke Preston, whose high snap in Falcon territory resulted in a 21-yard loss.

Speaking of Preston, he'll be back in the lineup as the starter instead of Melvin Fowler. Frankly, that's a good decision by Bills coach Dick Jauron and O-line guru Jim McNally. Preston did have a false start and the bad snap versus Atlanta, but he also has far more upside than Fowler, the mediocre-at-best No. 1 from last year. Preston, a 2005 fourth-round pick, flashed some bright spots in the run-blocking department, helping pave up-the-middle holes for impressive rookie running back Marshawn Lynch to plow through. The 25-year-old needs to work on his snapping ability, of course, and his pass blocking.

Jauron has stated this week that the Bills' first-unit offense could play into the second half this evening, so it will definitely be interesting to see how the group of 11 fares against a Titan defense that is far from strong. If Losman & Co. play well, at least Buffalo's fans can feel a little bit better about the 'O'. Although early, it hasn't given the team's loyalists much to be thrilled with.

Another subpar outing from Losman, however, will almost certainly lead to even more clamoring for third-round rookie QB Trent Edwards, whose play this summer has been excellent. It's no wonder the late, great Bill Walsh called Bills General Manager Marv Levy after the draft to compliment Buffalo on the selection of Edwards, whose true ability was masked over the last three years by a terrible supporting cast at Stanford.

As usual, the pressure is on for the gunslinging Losman, a 2004 first-round choice who has battled one doubt after another since his career at Tulane.

Meaningless preseason game? Think again.

E-mail: cbyrne@realfootball365.com
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CommentsComments: 54  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Michael Sluder		04:47 AM
08/24/2007
Conner this article for the most part is retarded. You write, "Quarterback J.P. Losman, entering his crucial fourth season (which...
No.2
Antoine C. Teh Garbage Plate King!		05:05 AM
08/24/2007
Sluder, you do realize nearly everything Chris Brown writes is pro Bills cheerleading garbage right? As someone that has been to...
No.3
Rich		08:57 AM
08/24/2007
Wow - yet another Byrne "mailed in" article about how JP Losman really is an awful quarterback. Preston better than Fowler, huh?...
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