For some reason, it seems that some members of the media are starting to notice our offense a bit more. Hmm... perhaps they're noticing the potential to put up solid numbers on a consistent basis? Or perhaps our defense is so young and inexperienced (read: boring to big media) that our offense is the logical talking point. Regardless of motive, here are four offense-related articles circling the Web this morning:
Pete Prisco sounds off on Mr. Losman, who he claims is an "evolving star" at the QB position. That's pretty high praise, and for the first time in a while we're not hearing about Losman's supposed shortcomings. It's one of the better articles I've read in a while.
This is an important point - Losman is more comfortable, more focused and has some consistency in terms of the weapons available to him from the skill positions. As we mention a lot here, his new O-Line doesn't hurt either. Anthony Bialy compares Losman to some all-time greats in his most recent article at RealFootball365.com; this article is a very interesting read. Did you know Losman's first full-year QB rating exceeded that of both John Elway and Peyton Manning? That obviously doesn't mean too much, but it's interesting nonetheless.
I recently ran some stats in a little debate at Big Cat Country comparing Losman's first-half performance to his second-half performance in 2006. The numbers are pretty telling...
First 8 games
130/212 (61.3%), 1,415 yds (6.67 YPA), 7 TD, 6 INT, 8 fumbles (5 lost), sacked 26 times, 80.2 QB rating, 70-58 opponent record
Last 8 games
138/217 (63.6%), 1,636 yds (7.54 YPA), 12 TD, 8 INT, 5 fumbles (2 lost), sacked 21 times, 89.6 QB rating, 77-51 opponent record
These stats amaze me. As our opponents got tougher, Losman's stats got much better. The team went 3-5 in the first half of the season; 4-4 in the second. It really shows the growth of both Losman as a quarterback as well as the team's growth overall. This is why people are excited about Losman's and the team's potential; it's nice to see some people are starting to recognize it at this point in the off-season.
RNews has a story about the offensive line, specifically the "massive" additions made there this off-season. The question posed in the article is "is bigger better?". At this point, yes - the additions have boosted confidence for now, and as soon as the big men gel our offense should really click into gear.
The Buffalo News talks wideouts this morning. The story's author, Mark Gaughan, cites the Bills' receiving corps (consisting of Lee Evans, Peerless Price, Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish) as the smallest in the league. The article also mentions that offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild doesn't much care - he prefers wideouts who can separate, regardless of their size. I agree - we have a couple of possession-type threats in Robert Royal and Josh Reed (Peerless Price can do this as well, as Losman4starter mentioned in his diary yesterday), and the wideouts we currently have are versatile and deep. This, also, is a good read.