let just say that the picture you selected for this article is literally how I will always remember JP in my mind when I think of his time with the Bills.

That aside, I’m a big Trent Edwards fan, I won’t apologize for it, and as soon as he came close to resembling a starter I was ready for anyone that wasn’t JP as well. But, I will reluctantly say this, sometimes I wonder how things could have been different if JP was given a chance to play with the kinds of weapons that Trent will next year. Trent will have Freddie, Marshawn, Lee, and Hardy. Now, am I saying that JP could do a better job than Trent, no. I believe Trent is a smarter QB and has what you look for in a long term QB, patience and poise (i’m not going to get into an argument with people who say his checking down every play and dumping is not poise or patience because it certainly is for a rookie who could have just been slinging interceptions and incompletes instead). I’m simply saying that maybe if JP had played with talent his value to other teams would have been perceived to be much higher. The kid definitely had his opportunities to prove himself many many times and he has no excuses but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get a train of bad breaks either.

It doesn’t really matter to me if JP is around or not in the locker room. The team is undergoing a youth movement and has already moved into the next era that doesn’t include JP. This is not the same team that he was the leader of. Whether or not he stays or goes, the team has already gotten on a new train and he didn’t have a ticket. Mentality wise, JP is already gone so it won’t affect the team one bit if he’s there physically.

(can a player really “demand” to be traded if they have no say in the decision?)

Sure, a player can demand a trade like a child can demand that mom buys them a candy bar everytime they go to the supermarket or a toy everytime they go to the mall. The only leverage those kids have is that they are less work when they are happy, and when they throw a fit it embarrases the mother. A player under contract (especially if the player is in the last year of the contract) has a similiar amount of leverage. They can threaten to not play or whine and pout and become just a hassle in general.

JP Losman has done nothing at all to lead me to believe that he will be a problem. JP has tried his hardest to be a good player and teammate since the moment the Bills took him. It’s too bad it never worked out.

I’m really surprised that Sullivan didn’t mention that Losman’s trade value is substantially lower than it would be if he had more than one season left on his contract. If JP had 3 years left at a reasonable price, a team probably would have been willing to give up a high 3rd round pick for him. But what is the point of trading for a QB in the last year of his contract? It is a double edged sword, if he can’t earn playing time for whatever reason (doesn’t pick up the system quick enough or gain chemistry with WRs quick enough, the team decides to go with the younger QB with more “potential” or decides to stick with the vet who “knows how to win games”) then he leaves after the season without giving you anything in return. If he earns playing time and perfroms poorly, he leaves and all the fans wonder what the team was thinking. If he earns playing time and does well, then you have to let him walk, angering fans, or give him some big contract that all QBs seem to get. Guys like Billy Volek (3 years 9 mil), Todd Collins (3 years 9 mil), Josh McCown (2 years 6.5 mil), Cleo Lemon (3 years 8.9 mil), Chris Redman (2 years 5 mil) and even Trent Green (3 years 8.9 mil) are getting WAY overpaid. Imagine what some team would have to give Losman if he came in for an injured starter and led a team to a .500 record. If a team traded for Losman and he completed almost 60% of his passes and threw more TDs than INTs a team would be stuck giving him a stupid contract like 4 years 14 mil or something similarly ridiculous.

This team needs a Frank Reich. Someone who knows their role and loved it. Reich knew that he had a snowballs chance in hell to be the starter in Buffalo, but came and practiced like he was. Reich was the QB of the greatest comeback in NFL history, but knew that when Kelly was healthy he was going back to the bench. He didn’t pout or cry that he should be given the opportunity to unseat the incumbent, he knew his role. He didn’t sit at the end of the bench during games. He looked for things the opposing teams defenses were doing so that he can give Kelly a heads up in case Jim wasn’t aware. Edwards need this type of player/coach to help him excel in the league. Is it Culpepper or Leftwich? I don’t know, but I do know that it isn’t Losman.

Losman may not be setting the NFL on fire, but he’s not as bad as you’re making him out to be. He’s actually a pretty good backup QB compared to other backup QB’s around the league. Don’t sell him short just because he didn’t work out here as a starter (apart from 2006). I still love the deep ball he throws, even though I don’t like other parts of his game.

The history of the NFL shows a lot of QB’s less talented than J.P. – give the guy the benefit of the doubt as a backup QB, I’m going to.

And frankly, I still think he can be a good player in this league. Lets just all see what happens during the preseason and then leave it at that. I think Edwards is good, and I think JP has struggled to get his game on track. Why is just speculation, but as Brian said, JP will be the back up barring injury, and unless he comes in early in the year and brings us to the playoffs, he’ll be gone.

I’m not a Losman fan-really. I think he has a lot of talent, is team player, and real good guy and everything, but all excuses aside (and JP has some valid ones in his star-crossed career), what I want most out of a QB in terms of attributes is points. JP Losman-led teams failed to consistently put up points and by the Jacksonville game last year, I was ready to turn the page on Losman (and still am). On the other hand, here’s what I like about Trent Edwards: he’s 24. Other than his youth, I have never been more annoyed by QB play in Buffalo than what I watched out of Trent Edwards last season. He led the team to touchdowns in only 4 games out of 9 as a starter. He was lauded for his game management skills, yet the 4th quarter interceptions he threw against Dallas and Baltimore were beyond stupid- almost Aaron Brooks-esque- making the ambiguous “management” praise he received just as pointless as the Ralph Wilson Stadium scoreboard in the home team column under Dick Jauron. In short, Trent Edwards had a horrible season. Can he get better? Yes; he’s only 24. But Buffalo should not have handed Edwards the most important job on the team before training camp based on his 4-games-with-Tds-out-of-9 performance last season. Jauron should have brought in a QB to compete with Edwards for the starting job in 2008. Can that QB be Losman? Not at all. The Bills organization has benched Losman four times already in his career. Turning back to Losman at this point makes no sense at all- for all itensive purposes, the Bills have told Losman he’s not good enough to play in the NFL and right or wrong, it’s asking too much for a player to respond positively to the type of grading that the Bills issued Losman on his report card four times- even for a game or two. Here’s why this issue is important and why Brian shouldn’t tred around eggshells whenever the QB position is brought up: Buffalo is set up to have a winning record and make the playoffs next season aside from the 2007 version of Trent Edwards running the offense in 2008. If Edwards takes a leap next season towards top 16 or so NFL QBs, I fully expect the Bills to finish 9-7 or above next season. So why potentially throw that away by gambling on Trent Edwards? If Edwards was made to compete for his job, and he did indeed, make the leap he needs to be effective, he’d win the job anyway. If he’s still the scrub that we saw in 2007, Jauron would have another option so that 2008 is not a wasted opportunity just for the sake of Trent Edwards and his ambiguous potential that may or may not be anything more than a desperate franchise’s imagination. What this team needed was competition for Trent Edwards and that’s exactly what JP Losman isn’t at this juncture of his career in Buffalo. For that reason alone, JP Losman makes for a terrible option as the Bills second option at QB in 2008.

Jerry Sullivan would write a column spinning his own birth as a bad decision.
Negative pot-stirer at best. Not worth a thimble of ink.

this thread really did turn into JP vs TE. Im gonna say one last thing: I see repeatedly that fans keep saying these conversations turn into “bashing JP”. How are they not “bashing TE” threads as well? Stop feeling sorry for JP, he may not deserve to be bashed but he’s finished. Instead we should look to the future and be talking about the TE potential which is vast. Jeesh guys, the kid is a rookie and he keeps getting his stats compared to a veteran of the system like JP. The quesion isn’t if JP is so bad and his stats are better what does it say about Trent. The question should be what does it say that JP is so underdeveloped he can even BE compared to Trent. If JP had been anything but a bust then this conversation couldn’t happen. The fact that it does says volumes about JP and TE, but not in JPs favor. Be excited about TE potential rather than throwing out the stats of a kid who played his first year with one of the hardest schedules in the league, twice against the undefeated Pats, and with injuries all over the place. This conversation is worthless because TE is the QB, we’re close to the playoffs, and we should start thinking that if we’re going there Trent will take us and stop being so darn negative. He was a THIRD rounder!! That means he wasn’t supposed to be NFL ready out of the gate, he’ll get better!

Ugh. I give up. Last quarterback thread ever. I give you guys props for treating each other respectfully, at the very least. This DID turn into JP vs TE, but it didn’t have the message board feel. I’m proud. But no more quarterback threads until something changes. :)