RedEyE
11-05-2005, 07:46 PM
..that I never expected the Bills to make the playoffs this year anyway. I assumed from the way the offseason had been shaping that we would be developing a young offense, to include the OL with the young JP. That's the realist in me. I thought that Willis and the Defense would have made the season interesting (to say the least). Keeping games close and winning nearly half of the games this season. What I didn't expect is for the Bills D to flop, and the coaching staff to erratically flip on their decision to go with Holcomb or Losman. Had they any idea or doubts that they would prefer Losman to ride pine and study film one more year, they should have just done that from day one after pre season and training camp. They should have said that Holcomb proved better in camp and they wanted Losman to be his understudy this year.
Instead, this indecisiveness, or week to week BS does more harm than good. It's not allowing this team to gel. Especially the OL. The offensive lineman will have to adjust their game per the QBs game. A running game is a running game, but the different styles of Holcomb, and Losman, as well as the different types of plays the offense runs, will just cause confusion minimizing important developmental time. It takes a young line a couple of years to become successful (unless they just suck horribly).
Now, I knew that JP was going to have some hiccups along the way. I'm sure that most of us knew that. Us realists just knew that he wasn't going to Ben Rothlisberger the season and win 10+ games fresh out of the box. Seems to me that the problem that Mularkey is having is that JP is a little less farther along then what he first realized. It should have been addressed in camp, not on the playing field. So, if we call this a Mularkey mistake, shouldn't he get the bench too. Shouldn't a pseudo-coach come in and mentor young Mularkey until he's absolutely ready for game day?
Here is precisely where I think the Bills (more so Mularkey) went very, very wrong. Pulling JP in 2 out of 4 games, and benching him after the 4th isn't going to boost his confidence any. It's only going to intensify his "jitters", or whatever the hell it that is making him play poorly when he gets back on the field. The next time he steps on the field he is going to have an intense amount of pressure on himself and will focus on how he needs to get the job done rather than just playing the game. Some might think having left him in, we might not have beat the Dolphins and/or the Jets, this might be true, but he also might have won those games too. Here's a concept Mulareky never thought of. Winning games by helping JP correct his technique might have boosted the confidence of his team. JP could have left those "jitters" behind and moved onto the game he knows. As is, the offense might have experienced some growing pains with the kid, but winning games together would have welded this team into something more productive.
Now, I'm not exactly one for playing the game for the future, but at some point you have to take a step back before you can move forward. As the old cliche goes "You have to learn to crawl before you can walk". What good can be accomplished if JP is benched through the season? Even if he coems in for the last 3-4 games, the're just delaying develpoment. This of course now pushes into next season.
We all know that Losman has the physical ability to get things done. He has a very strong throwing arm, a cunning knack for feeling pressure on his blind side , and the speed to get himself out of trouble. His problem wasn't ability, it's more about fine tuning his technique. Imagine what might have occured had he stayed in. I know we can only speculate, but imagine what might have happened had Losman been at the helm when we beat the Dolphins and the Jets. Imagine what that would have done for this team. And even if he had lost those two games, so what? At least he had two more games of EXPERIENCE under his belt. Not to mention by the end of this season and short into next, that the front office, the coaching staff ,and the fans would all know whether or not Losman will ever be able to grasp the pro game of football.
Sitting him just prolongs the outcome. By some off miracle Losman comes out crushing defenses this time next year, we will still not know what kind of future the Bills have with this kid. Now had he lost every game this season, and was 0-8 the next, the words bust could pierce these lips. However, having only 4 games under his belt this season, one win, if the Bills do lose the first 8 games next season, the excuse of not enough play time will continue to linger.
This team's talent is underutilized and has lost its sense of direction.
Instead, this indecisiveness, or week to week BS does more harm than good. It's not allowing this team to gel. Especially the OL. The offensive lineman will have to adjust their game per the QBs game. A running game is a running game, but the different styles of Holcomb, and Losman, as well as the different types of plays the offense runs, will just cause confusion minimizing important developmental time. It takes a young line a couple of years to become successful (unless they just suck horribly).
Now, I knew that JP was going to have some hiccups along the way. I'm sure that most of us knew that. Us realists just knew that he wasn't going to Ben Rothlisberger the season and win 10+ games fresh out of the box. Seems to me that the problem that Mularkey is having is that JP is a little less farther along then what he first realized. It should have been addressed in camp, not on the playing field. So, if we call this a Mularkey mistake, shouldn't he get the bench too. Shouldn't a pseudo-coach come in and mentor young Mularkey until he's absolutely ready for game day?
Here is precisely where I think the Bills (more so Mularkey) went very, very wrong. Pulling JP in 2 out of 4 games, and benching him after the 4th isn't going to boost his confidence any. It's only going to intensify his "jitters", or whatever the hell it that is making him play poorly when he gets back on the field. The next time he steps on the field he is going to have an intense amount of pressure on himself and will focus on how he needs to get the job done rather than just playing the game. Some might think having left him in, we might not have beat the Dolphins and/or the Jets, this might be true, but he also might have won those games too. Here's a concept Mulareky never thought of. Winning games by helping JP correct his technique might have boosted the confidence of his team. JP could have left those "jitters" behind and moved onto the game he knows. As is, the offense might have experienced some growing pains with the kid, but winning games together would have welded this team into something more productive.
Now, I'm not exactly one for playing the game for the future, but at some point you have to take a step back before you can move forward. As the old cliche goes "You have to learn to crawl before you can walk". What good can be accomplished if JP is benched through the season? Even if he coems in for the last 3-4 games, the're just delaying develpoment. This of course now pushes into next season.
We all know that Losman has the physical ability to get things done. He has a very strong throwing arm, a cunning knack for feeling pressure on his blind side , and the speed to get himself out of trouble. His problem wasn't ability, it's more about fine tuning his technique. Imagine what might have occured had he stayed in. I know we can only speculate, but imagine what might have happened had Losman been at the helm when we beat the Dolphins and the Jets. Imagine what that would have done for this team. And even if he had lost those two games, so what? At least he had two more games of EXPERIENCE under his belt. Not to mention by the end of this season and short into next, that the front office, the coaching staff ,and the fans would all know whether or not Losman will ever be able to grasp the pro game of football.
Sitting him just prolongs the outcome. By some off miracle Losman comes out crushing defenses this time next year, we will still not know what kind of future the Bills have with this kid. Now had he lost every game this season, and was 0-8 the next, the words bust could pierce these lips. However, having only 4 games under his belt this season, one win, if the Bills do lose the first 8 games next season, the excuse of not enough play time will continue to linger.
This team's talent is underutilized and has lost its sense of direction.