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After ten games this season, the Bills and JP Losman are right on target to have the kind of more competitive, improved, 5-7 win rebuilding season that some of us predicted that they would have before the season started.
It's easy sometimes, in the euphoria of a sweet win or the agony of a distressing loss, to keep an eye on the big picture. But, if you look at the Bills' season thus far, it has gone pretty much as expected and hoped--even with all of the ups and downs.
As a team, the Bills have lost a couple of games that they perhaps could have been expected to win--against the Lions and Jets--and won a couple that they might have been expected to lose--against the Vikings and Miami--prior to the season. They have also been embarrassed a couple of times--by the Bears and Pats--in games against superior opponents that showed just how far this team has to go before it will be a serious title contender. And, as frustrating and, in spots, ugly as those losses were, they have also had a couple of very close, competitive games against two of the better teams in the AFC--the Pats in the season opener and the Colts--that they ended up losing. All of which were things that could or should have been expected of a young, rebuilding team.
For all of their ups and downs, for all of the maddeningly frustrating things that the team and its coaches have done, one thing that must be said of this team is that they have played hard and, for the most part, been competitive--even when they have not played well or consistently. And, while there are still plenty of weaknesses and holes in this team that definitely require improvement, there have also been areas of improvement and positive signs that bode well for the future.
As far as JP Losman is concerned, his season has gone pretty much as expected, too. He's had some games where he has "stunk the joint out" as badly as he did in his worst games last season and he's had some games where he has looked tremendous. He's had some games where the coaches just wanted him to "manage" the game, some where the coaches definitely kept him "under wraps" in an effort to keep him from losing the game, and a couple of games where the coaches have let him "air it out". And, through it all, he has been maddeningly inconsistent: good in one game, bad in the next; good in one quarter, bad in the next two; etc. In short, he has been just what one should reasonably expect from a young QB on a rebuilding team in his first full year as a starting QB in the NFL. However, as frustrating and inconsistent as his play has been at times, JP has been a lot better overall than he was last season, despite the fact that there have been times when he has had that same "deer-in-the-headlights" look and game that he had last year.
Has JP Losman improved enough to show that he can play at the level expected from a winning QB in the NFL on a consistent basis? That's hard to say at this point, especially given where he was starting from when this coaching staff was hired and the obvious, glaring weakness of the Bills' offensive line. Still, despite all of the bad things that he has done thus far this season, he has shown considerable improvement over his play last season. Will he continue to improve? And, will that be enough for the Bills to consider him their future at the QB position? IMHO that remains to be seen. But the fact remains that Losman has shown improvement to this point in the season.
And, isn't this what most Bills fans said that they were expecting and hoping for from Losman and the Bills as a team this season?
The Bills have 6 games remaining in their season. The next two figure to be pretty tough. However, the Jaguars have not played as well on the road as they have at home this season and they will be coming in on a short week off of a big, emotional home win against the Giants. It's a game that sets up as one of those games that the Bills may be able to "steal" from a team that they are not generally going to be expected to beat.
Then, the Bills have three "winnable" games against Miami at home and the Jets and Titans on the road before they close against a tough Baltimore team that may be playing for a bye or home-field advantage in the playoffs. Road wins are tough to get in the NFL, even against weak teams, but the Bills have a realistic shot at winning two of those three games.
Going by the formula that young, rebuilding teams will lose some games that they should win and "steal" a game or two that they would be expected to lose, it is easy to see the Bills, now 4-6, winning 2-3 of their remaining 6 games. Which would mean that the Bills would finish right where some of us expected with 5-7 wins on the season--not a bad achievement for a team that will have started no fewer than 5 rookies at various times this season and played several games without its starting RB.
Try to keep that in mind if you see the Bills struggling to stay competitive in some of their remaining games, playing poorly, being maddeningly inconsistent, etc. and you are about to pull your hair out and scream with frustration during one of these remaining games. Try to recognize that it is all a part of what a rebuilding team goes through and what this Bills team can be expected to do at times during the course of a season like this one. Ultimately, if the Bills are going to build the core of a team that can compete for a title, they are going to have to go through the kinds of ups and downs that they have been going through thus far this season and show that they can learn from the experience. And, only time will tell if the players, coaches and organization will.
It's easy sometimes, in the euphoria of a sweet win or the agony of a distressing loss, to keep an eye on the big picture. But, if you look at the Bills' season thus far, it has gone pretty much as expected and hoped--even with all of the ups and downs.
As a team, the Bills have lost a couple of games that they perhaps could have been expected to win--against the Lions and Jets--and won a couple that they might have been expected to lose--against the Vikings and Miami--prior to the season. They have also been embarrassed a couple of times--by the Bears and Pats--in games against superior opponents that showed just how far this team has to go before it will be a serious title contender. And, as frustrating and, in spots, ugly as those losses were, they have also had a couple of very close, competitive games against two of the better teams in the AFC--the Pats in the season opener and the Colts--that they ended up losing. All of which were things that could or should have been expected of a young, rebuilding team.
For all of their ups and downs, for all of the maddeningly frustrating things that the team and its coaches have done, one thing that must be said of this team is that they have played hard and, for the most part, been competitive--even when they have not played well or consistently. And, while there are still plenty of weaknesses and holes in this team that definitely require improvement, there have also been areas of improvement and positive signs that bode well for the future.
As far as JP Losman is concerned, his season has gone pretty much as expected, too. He's had some games where he has "stunk the joint out" as badly as he did in his worst games last season and he's had some games where he has looked tremendous. He's had some games where the coaches just wanted him to "manage" the game, some where the coaches definitely kept him "under wraps" in an effort to keep him from losing the game, and a couple of games where the coaches have let him "air it out". And, through it all, he has been maddeningly inconsistent: good in one game, bad in the next; good in one quarter, bad in the next two; etc. In short, he has been just what one should reasonably expect from a young QB on a rebuilding team in his first full year as a starting QB in the NFL. However, as frustrating and inconsistent as his play has been at times, JP has been a lot better overall than he was last season, despite the fact that there have been times when he has had that same "deer-in-the-headlights" look and game that he had last year.
Has JP Losman improved enough to show that he can play at the level expected from a winning QB in the NFL on a consistent basis? That's hard to say at this point, especially given where he was starting from when this coaching staff was hired and the obvious, glaring weakness of the Bills' offensive line. Still, despite all of the bad things that he has done thus far this season, he has shown considerable improvement over his play last season. Will he continue to improve? And, will that be enough for the Bills to consider him their future at the QB position? IMHO that remains to be seen. But the fact remains that Losman has shown improvement to this point in the season.
And, isn't this what most Bills fans said that they were expecting and hoping for from Losman and the Bills as a team this season?
The Bills have 6 games remaining in their season. The next two figure to be pretty tough. However, the Jaguars have not played as well on the road as they have at home this season and they will be coming in on a short week off of a big, emotional home win against the Giants. It's a game that sets up as one of those games that the Bills may be able to "steal" from a team that they are not generally going to be expected to beat.
Then, the Bills have three "winnable" games against Miami at home and the Jets and Titans on the road before they close against a tough Baltimore team that may be playing for a bye or home-field advantage in the playoffs. Road wins are tough to get in the NFL, even against weak teams, but the Bills have a realistic shot at winning two of those three games.
Going by the formula that young, rebuilding teams will lose some games that they should win and "steal" a game or two that they would be expected to lose, it is easy to see the Bills, now 4-6, winning 2-3 of their remaining 6 games. Which would mean that the Bills would finish right where some of us expected with 5-7 wins on the season--not a bad achievement for a team that will have started no fewer than 5 rookies at various times this season and played several games without its starting RB.
Try to keep that in mind if you see the Bills struggling to stay competitive in some of their remaining games, playing poorly, being maddeningly inconsistent, etc. and you are about to pull your hair out and scream with frustration during one of these remaining games. Try to recognize that it is all a part of what a rebuilding team goes through and what this Bills team can be expected to do at times during the course of a season like this one. Ultimately, if the Bills are going to build the core of a team that can compete for a title, they are going to have to go through the kinds of ups and downs that they have been going through thus far this season and show that they can learn from the experience. And, only time will tell if the players, coaches and organization will.
"Expect rejection, but expect more to overcome it." 
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