Buffalo Bills’ Hopes Hinge On J.P. Losman’s Development

One interesting aspect of the upcoming NFL season will be to see if Buffalo Bills’ quarterback J.P. Losman will develop well or regress further. Last year, former head coach Mike Mularkey anointed Losman the starter going into camp. This didn’t sit well with many Bills veterans as they thought it would have been better to engage Losman in a normal QB battle so he could earn the right to start.

Losman started the first four games of the 2005 season, but was replaced twice during that time period. Finally he was replaced by Kelly Holcomb and struggled through the type of season most young quarterbacks must endure when learning the pro game.

This year, Losman is hoping his new coaches will coach him to a better performance and better end result.

“I’ve always been coached hard in high school and college with two very, very tough coaches to play for and it taught me a lot,” he said. “Last year I really didn’t get coached as hard as I normally did. It was kind of cool at first, but I don’t know. They’re coaching me hard right now and it seems like it’s working so let’s keep it up.”

During the last few weeks of off-season workouts, insiders say J.P. Losman has been throwing with confidence and accuracy. If he can continue this into training camp and the pre-season, he may have a chance to develop into the player the Buffalo Bills thought they were getting when they originally drafted him in 2004.

Losman says that even though he’s learning a new offense brought in by new head coach Dick Jauron’s staff, he feels he’s better prepared this year for success. “Last year was just an exciting time for me being my first time as a starter in the league,” he said. “It was something I had always dreamed of and waited for. My attitude last year was I was trying to prove to everybody how good I was and how bad I wanted to win and prove to everyone that we were a good football team.”

It sounds like Losman is ready to perform well and early indications seem to support that. We all know that regular season game situations are entirely different than off-season workout programs, but he seems to be in the right place mentally to improve his play. In three or four months, we’ll all be able to see how it plays out for Losman and the Bills.