Carucci's Thoughts on JP...

[Tatonka]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9584086
"I'm having second thoughts about my opinion that Losman simply might not have what it takes to be an effective starter in the NFL. I'm not saying I have completely changed my mind or that I am even declaring Losman as the winner of the No. 1 spot. Visions of him making repeated poor decisions and melting down a year ago are still fresh in my mind. He still has to show me plenty in the preseason in order for me to be absolutely convinced that he can reach the promise that convinced the previous Bills regime to make him a first-round draft pick in 2004. But when you watch Losman in practice, there is something about his performance that offers encouragement that he is making some progress. It isn't just that a good number of his throws look sharp and crisp, and that he seems to be making the right decisions most of the time. It isn't just that he seems less quick to pull the ball down and run as he did in those many panicky moments he showed last summer and during the season. Losman just seems to be carrying himself more like a professional quarterback. When he performs well, he points out that he needs to do that practice after practice and game after game before it can be considered a trend. He's also showing -- dare I say it? -- a sense of leadership. Losman's biggest mistake to date was refusing to accept a leadership role. That isn't an option for a quarterback."

[YardRat]

Good news. Maybe he'll settle in after the first week of camp and the lightbulbs will start turning on.

[Night Train]

And Vic continues his damage control from predicting Nall would win the job, about 2-3 months back.

[RedEyE]

I'll accept that.

[THE END OF ALL DAYS]

Please God, Let this be the begining of the end of this QB controversy charade!

[mayotm]

This positive spin coming from a guy that has blasted JP in the past. This is good news.

[Patti120]

Please lord, keep it up JP!

[Dozerdog]

And Vic continues his damage control from predicting Nall would win the job, about 2-3 months back.I don't think it's damage control. He's got an easy out with that prediction with the injury.

[justasportsfan]

that's why people should give others the "benefit of a doubt". Too late, Carucci's is nothing but a bandwagon jumper.

[JoeMama]

Vic Carucci has been ultra-critical of JP Losman the past few years.

The fact that he'd backtrack & suggest he could've been wrong is a sign that Losman must be doing something right.

Some notes that stood out as major positives to me...

"I'm having second thoughts about my opinion that Losman simply might not have what it takes to be an effective starter in the NFL."

"But when you watch Losman in practice, there is something about his performance that offers encouragement that he is making some progress. It isn't just that a good number of his throws look sharp and crisp, and that he seems to be making the right decisions most of the time. It isn't just that he seems less quick to pull the ball down and run as he did in those many panicky moments he showed last summer and during the season. Losman just seems to be carrying himself more like a professional quarterback."

"He's also showing -- dare I say it? -- a sense of leadership."

[justasportsfan]

the difference between this years camp and last years is that JP could afford to just throw the ball out there last year without any concerns because no matter how bad his decisions were, the job was his.

This year, he has to fight for the job.

[Jeff1220]

Crowell. McGahee. Losman. Fairchild. That entire article is pretty encouraging!

[The last buffalo fan]

For people like us, the organization drafted him, and for people like us, the organization benched him too early. People like us knew, that he needed time to gel with the O, and learn from his mistakes, but we pushed the damn panic button too soon. Now, let the kid play the game, the staff make their work and lets support our beloved team. Let's go Bills, let's go Buffalo!!!!!!!!!

[YardRat]

For people like us, the organization drafted him, and for people like us, the organization benched him too early. People like us knew, that he needed time to gel with the O, and learn from his mistakes, but we pushed the damn panic button too soon. Now, let the kid play the game, the staff make their work and lets support our beloved team. Let's go Bills, let's go Buffalo!!!!!!!!!

For some of us, they started him too early. Can't get benched too early if you're not starting to begin with :D

[Michael82]

Great article! I will say that I have seen the same thing out of Losman. He looks like a leader out there and is doing a good job commanding in the huddle. He also is showing that he is learning about stepping up in the pocket. I've yet to see him run when he should stay in the pocket and try to throw it. I also think he's gotten better on his short passes too. Sometimes he does have bad days though. Let's hope that he can keep it up with the good days. :up:

[Drive 4 Five]

JPD!!! JPD!!! JPD!!! JPD!!!

:rockout:

[bledslow]

BLAH BLAH BLAH -i read similar crap like this last year,once the real games start,he will turn into that special animal we all know and love,the deer.


holcomb=wildcard appearance and maybe a win.


losman=FOLLIES

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Two things about this article struck me as being significant:

1.) It is a very rare thing for a respected national sports commentator/analyst to ever admit to the possibility that he may have been wrong about something that he has taken a position on. By admittedly backtracking on his assessment of JP Losman, Carrucci is doing something in this article--and doing it in a way--that you don't often see. To me that is significant because it says that he was impressed enough by what he saw of Losman during his visit to the Bills TC that he was willing to publicly revise his opinion of JP, which probably was not an easy thing for him to do. Even with the reservations that he stated in the article, the fact that someone who has been quite critical of Losman was impressed enough by what he just saw of JP to publicly backtrack on his previous position can only be seen as a positive for JP, the Bills, and those of us Bills fans who hope that he will be able to justify the investment that the Bills made in him with his play on the field and his leadership of the team off of it.

2.) In stating, "....He still has to show me plenty in the preseason in order for me to be absolutely convinced that he can reach the promise that convinced the previous Bills regime to make him a first-round draft pick in 2004....", it seems to me that Carrucci is stating precisely the reason that Levy, Jauron and the Bills' coaching staff are intent on continuing the QB competition that they are conducting despite all of the gnashing of teeth by the fans and in the media. No matter how good JP looks in practice or in scrimmages with his teammates, they need to see how he will look against real opposition from another team before they can be comfortable handing him the reins of the team. And, it is going to be up to him to show them in a couple of preseason games that he actually has the ability to reach the potential that Carrucci mentions--in short, that he is not a practice field warrior only, but can do it when it counts. If they were intent on handing the job to Holcomb, they would not have to wait that long simply because they already have a room full of video showing how Holcomb will play in the regular season. They want JP to show that he can be better than Holcomb under fire...and do it consistently. If he can't play better than Holcomb against hostile opposition, then they, like Carrucci, are going to have serious doubts about Losman's ability to be the team's QB of the future and have a difficult time selling JP as the team's best QB to his teammates. We fans can argue about the wisdom of taking this approach all we want and the media can criticize the Bills for taking so long to pick a starting QB until the cows come home, but IMHO that's obviously not going to change the approach that the Bills are going to take with this position: like Carrucci, they want to see what JP can do in the preseason and, then and only then, are they going to make their final decision on who will start the season at QB for the Bills.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the positive tone of Carrucci's article. I know that he has always been rather positive in writing about the Bills, but, given the way the rest of the media have been so critical of the team, I did not expect him to be as upbeat as he was.

[justasportsfan]

JUst like Fairchild made Henry better, I think he can make JP better. Sam Wyche pretty much drilled JP in the classroom, don't think he was able to get JP to apply that on the field.

[ICE74129]

JUst like Fairchild made Henry better, I think he can make JP better. Sam Wyche pretty much drilled JP in the classroom, don't think he was able to get JP to apply that on the field.

Mikey said the other day that JP only got 30-40% of the snaps with the first string. I don't care who you are, that doesn't allow you enough reps to get better. Its shows DJ has a one sided QB 'Competition' going on.

It also sounds to me he is inheriting MM's lack of backbone and starting to listen to his veterans instead of being a strong HC. Now I will say I MIGHT be wrong, but so far the facts are piling up in my favor on this issue.

[Billsrock4life]

good news indeed

[EDS]

I really liked what he had to say about Crowell. I expect big things from him this year.

[bigbub2352]

I think this article is shocking, as u all know i follow Vic and right about his interveiws all the time, for him to praise JP a little bit is unbelievable, he is always talking ****, and saying JP doesnt have it then he has a few good practices, then i change my opinion, I told u guys he was not making much sense before, now he sees a little potential and he is trying to get back on the Bills good side, very interesting

[Jeff1220]

Mikey said the other day that JP only got 30-40% of the snaps with the first string. I don't care who you are, that doesn't allow you enough reps to get better. Its shows DJ has a one sided QB 'Competition' going on.

It also sounds to me he is inheriting MM's lack of backbone and starting to listen to his veterans instead of being a strong HC. Now I will say I MIGHT be wrong, but so far the facts are piling up in my favor on this issue.

One sided? The last time I checked my math, there are 3 QBs in the competition, which would give each 33.3333>% in a perfect world of even competition, so 30-40% is just where it should be for JP, KH, and CN to have a fair competition.

[Jeff1220]

holcomb=wildcard appearance and maybe a win.



You are sooo on crack!