A Raider fan described Losman as "Stabler-like"

[G. Host]

I work a lot of long days and I look for things to talk with fellow shift workers.

Many people try to find the parallel with Farve and I do not see it except on Losman's and Farve's bad days. A Raider fan I was talking to at work said from what he has seen Losman is "Stabler-like". I remember Ken Stabler, mostly because he relieved Daryle Lamonica, but I was not as big football fan at that time since I could only see them om TV.

Yeah both are long ballers, both are often unkempt, haggardly looking, both were injured early in career and had questionable starts where they looked like they did not belong on the field but otherwise I do not see a lot of similarities yet.

For especially the old school football watchers do you agree?

[Night Train]

So Losman is throwing with the wrong arm ?

They are as different as night and day. Stabler had a beer gut and a pack of Lucky Strikes in his locker. Losman is in fantastic shape and has a far stronger arm than Stabler ever had.

Just because both miss a day of shaving doesn't make them twins.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Back then when you have stubbles and messy hair you're a bum.

Nowadays when you have stubbles and messy hair you're in a boy band.

[Luisito23]

Hahaha!!!......





GO BILLS!!!!!

[ParanoidAndroid]

The Stabler comparison comes from those commercials with those dudes talking fantasy football. "J.P. Losman is the reincarnation of Kenny Stabler."
So, it must be true. /sarcasm off

[Mudflap1]

So Losman is a woman abuser?

Jon

[PECKERWOOD]

Losman reminds me a bit of Fran Tarkenton, their playing styles are similar. They use their feet not to gain yards but to buy more time for recievers to get open.

[G. Host]

Stabler was invited to 5 probowls so was not as bad some are claiming but Losman hasn't been to one so I did not want to make that comparision.

[Mr. Cynical]

favre

[PECKERWOOD]

favre

That's a big compliment, I thought you didn't like Losman?

[SABURZFAN]

losman being stabler-like is not even close.

[PECKERWOOD]

losman being stabler-like is not even close.

Let me guess, he is more like yourself? Magic cardboard riding beach bum?

[SABURZFAN]

Let me guess, he is more like yourself? Magic cardboard riding beach bum?


and once again,you guessed wrong. :rolleyes:

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I work a lot of long days and I look for things to talk with fellow shift workers.

Many people try to find the parallel with Farve and I do not see it except on Losman's and Farve's bad days. A Raider fan I was talking to at work said from what he has seen Losman is "Stabler-like". I remember Ken Stabler, mostly because he relieved Daryle Lamonica, but I was not as big football fan at that time since I could only see them om TV.

Yeah both are long ballers, both are often unkempt, haggardly looking, both were injured early in career and had questionable starts where they looked like they did not belong on the field but otherwise I do not see a lot of similarities yet.

For especially the old school football watchers do you agree?

I definitely would not consider Losman to be "Stabler-like". For severa; reasons:

Even though he was primarily a running QB in college, Stabler, unlike Losman, was extremely well-coached at that level and came into the NFL with a much greater understanding of defenses and what he was being asked to do, etc. and a superior level of awareness of where he was and where his teammates were on any given play. They didn't call him "The Snake" for no reason--it was because he was often able to find a receiver to throw to at the last second before getting hit, just as much as it was because he was able to feel the rush and escape it or just elude a defender using his legs. Additionally, Stabler was extremely accurate and adept at throwing the short pass--deadly--and made full use of two of the best short area receivers to ever play the game, F.Bilentnikoff and TE D.Casper, as well as his RBs. Casper was a load--not as fast or as agile as some of the other TEs of that era, but he always seemed to get open, had absolutely great hands, and knew how to run to daylight after catching the ball.

While Losman played in more of a passing offense in college, JP did not have a "Bear" Bryant coaching him at Tulane and the teams that he played on at that level were nowhere near the caliber of the Alabama teams Stabler played on. The same can be said of the quality of coaching and teams that was awaiting Losman when he entered the NFL--A.Davis and J.Madden may be jokes to some people now, but their coaching and the teams they had in Oakland at that time were a whole lot better than what Mularkey and the Bills were when JP arrived in Buffalo. JP doesn't appear to be stupid or lacking in work-ethic, but he had a lot to learn about reading defenses and his own mechanics when he first came to the Bills. And, while he is starting to show that he is "getting it", he's way behind where Stabler was at a similar stage. Also, while Losman has a much stronger arm than Stabler, he has not been nearly as accurate in the short passing game. Some of this is due to the faults in his footwork that are only now beginning to be corrected, some of it is due to his lack of experience in/understanding of the short passing game, and some of it is due to the fact that he doesn't have the same caliber of short-to-medium range receivers that Stabler had (as good as L.Evans is turning out to be, no one will claim that the Bills have a HOF-caliber TE or possession receiver!). And, as good a runner as Losman is--and I will grant you that he is a lot faster and a better straight-ahead runner than Stabler--he is not as elusive--at least not yet--as Stabler was or able to consistently find the open man under pressure. At times is seem that Losman doesn't always feel the rush and step away from it the way someone who is such a good runner should.

That does not mean that I do not think that JP Losman can become a winning QB, especially for the Buffalo Bills, or that he won't be able to develop some of the skills that Stabler had. It is just that, IMHO, at this stage of their careers Stabler was a lot more saavy, slicker and more elusive than Losman. As he continues to learn and gains experience and the Bills put better players around him, I think that Losman has a chance to become a very good NFL QB. But, I think that his style is quite different from Stabler's.

I would also not compare Losman to Fran Tarkenton, either.

Like JP's Bills, Tarkenton played on some god-awful Vikings teams early on in his career, but he, also, like Stabler, came into the NFL, from Georgia, an SEC team, with a much sounder understanding of the game and the less sophisticated defenses of the time than Losman. Tarkenton was also, perhaps, the most elusive QB to ever play the game (I didn't see B.Layne) along with M.Vick. For those of you who saw D.McNabb's incredible 13 second scramble a couple of years ago on TV, let me simply say that, especially during his first stint with Minnesota, that was the kind of thing that Tarkenton was known for doing regularly. Losman can throw the kind of deep ball that Tarkenton could throw--in fact I think JP has a little stronger arm--but JP simply hasn't shown me that kind of elusiveness in the pocket or the kind of awareness of the rush that Tarkenton had. And, Tarkenton was just so good at finding an open receiver after running the defense ragged when he scrambled. JP is more the kind of a guy who will use his speed to take off upfield to pick up some yardage, even though he is starting to show that he can use his feet to buy time to find an open receiver.

The guy that I would compare Losman to, at this stage, is B.Favre.

I know that Favre is an icon who has accomplished a lot in the NFL and Losman is still showing whether he belongs in the NFL, but there are some similarities. While I would take the So.Miss. coaching staff that has produced several NFL players over the Tulane coaching staff that Losman had, Favre, like Losman, came into the NFL without the advantage of being in a top-tier college program with a great coaching staff and facing top opposition every week. And, it also took Favre awhile to develop as a NFL QB as well--not as long as it has taken Losman, even if you discount JP's first year when he missed so much time with a broken leg--and Favre had the advantage of being coached by one of the widely-acknowledged QB guru's of the modern era in Mike Holmgren when he went to Green Bay (one can only wonder if anyone would even remember Favre's name now if he had stayed with Atlanta with the coaching staffs and teams that they had!).

Like Favre (and, admittedly, Tarkenton), Losman has the kind of strong arm that a QB needs to have to play in a cold-weather city where the winds and elements can make throwing the deep ball difficult at times during almost every season. Losman, like Favre, throws a beautiful deep ball. Also like Favre, Losman is a gambler who believes in the strength of his arm so much that he will try to fit the ball through a tiny window (or one that isn't really there) to his receivers when he really shouldn't. And, like Favre, Losman will sometimes hold onto the ball too long as he tries to make a play, using his feet to keep the play alive rather than throwing the ball away or running for whatever yardage the defense will give him. Like the young Favre, JP will also sometimes take a bigger hit to get a bit more yardage than he should. And, one must remember that, early on, Favre didn't throw the greatest short passes and dump-offs, either--he quickly learned how to do that and got very good at it with the coaching he got.

Stylistically and career-wise, I see a lot of Favre in Losman, including the penchant to make ill-advised throws in an attempt to make a play at times. Having missed most of his rookie season and not had the best of coaching until Fairchild, Schonert and Van Pelt arrived at OBD, however, I see Losman being a couple of years behind Favre on the learning curve. Now, I don't know if Losman will ever become the QB, leader or winner that Favre did, but I do think that, if he keeps learning and developing, JP has a chance to become a very similar kind of player and the kind of QB that the Bills need to be successful: I remember seeing JP just barely overthrow L.Evans on a deep ball into the teeth of the wind against the Jets at home last season, 40+ yards downfield--a pass that most of the QBs in the NFL would not have even attempted in the face of that wind because it would have knocked their ball down or blown it back towards the line of scrimmage--that kind of arm strength and talent is something that you just can't teach (but you can refine) and that JP, like Favre, has.

I hesitate to say this, but there is another QB from "back in the day", also from a small school in Louisiana, that JP also reminds me a bit of: Terry Bradshaw.

Now, before people start screaming, let me just say that I am very much aware of the fact that the talent level that the Bills have and have had since JP came into the NFL is nowhere near what the Steelers had, especially on defense, when they were reeling off all of those titles, so, as with Favre, one should not compare what Bradshaw accomplished with those teams with what Losman has done with the Bills. When I say that there is a comparison between Losman and Bradshaw, I am talking about at comparable stages in their careers. A lot of people forget that the Steelers were horrid before Bradshaw arrived and in his early years with the team: they had a reputation as a team that couldn't beat you in the game, so they would beat you up during it. And, Bradshaw's first couple of years he was terrible. He was so bad at reading defenses and made so many bad decisions with the ball that he got a reputation for being too stupid to be a NFL QB--a reputation he has since parlayed into more than a few dollars since retiring!

Even with Chuck Noll coaching him, it took Bradshaw more than a couple of years to harness his arm and develop as a QB. Like Losman, Bradshaw was fast and could run and had a lot of courage when scrambling downfield (there was a famous picture of him nearly being decapitated by a defender early on in his career). And, he had a big problem with turning the ball over--often at inopportune times. But, gradually, with experience and as the Steelers added quality players around him on offense--particularly on the offensive line--Bradshaw got better and better. When the Steelers added F.Harris and Frenchy ***ua (they also had another HB who was also very good whose name escapes me), their running game took off, which really helped Bradshaw--as did the fact that both were really good pass receivers--and Bradshaw really blossomed. Even at that, however, it was the Steelers' defense, not Bradshaw and the offense, that was the star in many of their games during their championship era: a lot of folks have no doubt seen the fabulous catch that L.Swann made in that one SB, but, if you think about it, Swann would never have had to make such an acrobatic grab if Bradshaw had thrown the ball where it should have been thrown--but for Swann, it would have been a bad, overthrown pass!

I'm sure that you can see from this that there are more than a couple of similarities between Losman and Bradshaw, as well as with Favre. While I don't think that the Bills have--or, in the age of free agency, can ever have--the kind of supporting cast around Losman that Bradshaw ultimately ended up having in Pittsburgh, I do think that Losman may be a little bit ahead of Bradshaw, in his development as a QB, at the same stage in their careers. Only time will tell if Losman will continue to develop to the point where he can become the kind of winner that Bradshaw and Favre became as their careers progressed. I think that this will be a telling season for JP in terms of how much he will continue to develop. And, I also think that what the Bills do, in terms of the quality of supporting cast that they are able to assemble around him, will play a large role in the progress of Losman's career and his ability to produce the kinds of championships that Favre and Bradshaw were able to produce as their careers unfolded.

But, that's just my take on things. Others may well disagree.

[duhbilz]

The "Snake" was a helluva QB, I could think of worse things to be compared to.

[Meathead]

holy crap ltbf

im sending you an advance and expect the next three chapters by friday

[Meathead]

i say losman is flutie-with-five-more-inches-like

thats a big compliment and hes got some more work to do to fully fit into those shoes

of course there was his scrambling, his accuracy on the run, and his top notch creativity, which losman has already

but the mature flutie was an absolute master at running the huddle and managing the game. there was nobody better at being a field general and losman has a ways to go to get there. but jp was improving rapidly in that area and by the end of the season he was much more poised and in command than ever before so i expect time will continue to bring him more of that

its too bad we got flutie right at the end of his prime cuz he had lost some arm strength and had difficulty stretching the field. but he was still a damn good qb who was a ton of fun to watch and i expect losman will bring some of that as he adds more experience to his god given talents

[Cleve]

Back then when you have stubbles and messy hair you're a bum.

Nowadays when you have stubbles and messy hair you're in a boy band.


The stubbles are probably a good thing. When a guy has long-hair like a girl it's hard to know if you should kiss him like a girl or shake his hand like a man.