Well, as they say in Buffalo talk shows, "The Time Of Willis McGahee Draws Near...."
Cue Triumphant Music.
Since there seems to be so many opinions on Losman I'll give you the party line.
Sam Wyche:
On quarterback J.P. Losman:
J.P. is a guy that we ranked right there in the bulk of guys including the top three people. I wouldn't say we said he was the best in the draft but he was right there with them. Some times when you put them in lists like that, they are not equidistant from each other. They are very tight in terms of our feelings towards him and the other picks. He was a guy that we said going into the draft, if we end up with him we have a good player. The thinking was from Mike Mularkey that if we don't draft one this year we're going to have to go get one next year. We can't go on and on restocking here. Why this year rather than wait until next year and have a raw rookie that has another year to wait before he's ready to go before he's ready to go to play. We'll give him that playing time, spend that next year's draft now and get the advantage of the playing time between now and next year. He's not coming in to take the opener. He's got a very comfortable transition period here.
On Losman's skills:
He's an athlete. He's got quick feet. He makes quick judgments and gets out of that pocket when he needs to. He played on a team, I wouldn't say they weren't a good football team, but they did break down occasionally and was forced to scramble around. I went down to the work out with J.P. and Eli Manning was there. J.P. has a stronger arm. If he just works the pace of the ball, he's got more arm that way. He is a very confident kid. There is an obnoxious ****y that you don't want to be around, this is not J.P. There is also a confidence ****y that draws you in and that you rally around.
On Losman's mechanics:
How I feel about mechanics is this, you have a guy that throws off his right foot and his left foot in the air and he's good, don't screw him up. Let him throw it the way he wants to. When I was playing ball, I roomed with Sunny Jurgensen. Sunny would practice the off balance throw and behind the back. Sometimes you can't set yourself. He sets a lot. They pulled a lot of pictures out but it's not the normal.
He's smart he's got football poise. My definition of that is in the 3.5 seconds that you give a quarterback from the time he takes the exchange, he's got to make a decision and unload it. He's got to not only know where everybody on the field is, he's got to know his opponent and where their strength and weakness is to throw. He's quick. He's got excellent recall where that alternate receiver is which is important.
On Losman being ****y:
I compare him to Boomer. When we drafted Boomer Esiason, he was like this kid. He came in and he wasn't saying that he was going to be anything. He just says when I get my chance I'm going to be ready to show you what I got. That's where this kid is. Boomer was that way too. That's not ****y to me.
On picking a quarterback this year:
There's always pressure but you take your best shot. You make a decision. The worst thing you can do is to say lets wait until something else happens and pretty soon you find out that you waited until late. Make a decision on a guy, you're not going to be right every time, make your decision and go. I think that's what Mike Mularkey did. I'm relaying his thinking of why wait until next year to spend a first round pick which you might not be able to get anybody any way. If we have a good year we'll be picking to late to do it. Lets spend that now and spend the year with this guy that we like as well as anybody we think we'll be seeing in a year. Let him play behind Drew for a year and then next year he's going to be a year into it, rather than a raw rookie.
On Losman's technique:
I didn't agree with ESPN. He's got good foot work. He's got the protection. He sets, releases the ball. He's got great movement to his left. When he is throwing the ball to the left a quarterback has to move his left hip. I tell quarterbacks don't every throw under me, throw the ball to the left. Don't ever throw the ball to the right. You always throw the ball straight ahead to the left or right side of the field. You have to set yourself to do it. Your accuracy comes back into play. He is excellent when he goes to his left he opens up and it's like the line of scrimmage. Technique wise, I'm out of a job if there is not something to improve and something to work on. Being able to throw without the technique is another plus, it's not a negative.
On Buffalo weather:
It's beautiful here at the early part of the year. You will be playing on the road. You can name a lot of cities that have the same weather situation. Even the cities in the south may end of playing a couple of times a year in extreme weather conditions. It's just part of the game.
On rankings:
When you rank teams sometimes you'll have a team that's ranked 17 and they're four yards per game average away from the team that's ranked number ten. The rankings aren't as important as how well you are doing. Are you winning the offensive side of the ball game?
On importance of a quarterback:
The quarterbacks got the ball in his hand on every snap. He takes the ball and gives it to this guy or he throws it to somebody. He's got to be good. He's the key offensive figure on the field. You have to have a good one. You're not going to win enough games unless you have a good one.
On breaking down J.P. compared to the other QB drafts:
He's quicker and niftier in the pocket getting out. He's a scrappy kind of a guy. He makes a decision and goes with it. He has as strong an arm as the other three guys. In terms of the decision making, he's going to be able to do anything we ask. This kid is right there with Boomer.
On what to expect from J.P:
You don't want to build a picture of this guy as the new sheriff in town. It's not it at all. You will find that you will be attracted to his confidence. That's different than being the negative connotation to being ****y that some guys get. Sometimes you get it repeated enough that you keep looking for the prophecy to be fulfilled. He's not going to be anything but hard working, blue collar. He will be in that offensive line room listening to what they have to say. Our other quarterbacks already do that so he's going to fit right in to where we are.
