It would be hard to blame Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman if his head has been spinning for most of his first three seasons in the league.
He was forced to learn three different offenses, playing under two different coordinators, which meant learning new plays and wordy terminology every spring and summer.
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| With little fanfare, J.P. Losman's 2006 QB rating was barely south of Tom Brady. (Getty Images) |
Losman finally has some stability. He's in the same offense for the second consecutive year -- and Steve Fairchild is back to lead it as coordinator. For any quarterback, changing systems is tough. For a young passer, the degree of difficulty is multiplied by 10.
As Losman walked from the practice field last week following one of the Bills' organized team activity days, he sounded like a comfortable veteran who seemed eager to show what he can do now that he isn't delving into a new playbook again.
"You can go out and practice with confidence," Losman said. "It's not learning all the things all over again. It's the same stuff. That makes a big difference. It's a natural maturation process when you know what you're going to be doing. I'm much more comfortable with what they want from me."
After the Bills started 2-5 last year, many wondered if Losman could be the long-term answer. In his third season, Losman had done little to convince the Bills or their fans that he was the next Jim Kelly.
But Losman and the Bills got hot. They finished 7-9, at one point going 4-2 with close losses to the Indianapolis Colts on the road and at home to the San Diego Chargers.
In mid-December, when they were 7-7, the Bills were actually talking playoffs. And Losman was convincing some, not all, mind you, that he just might be the franchise passer for the long term.
His right wing became a lot like the others in this town: spicy hot.
Starting all 16 games, Losman completed 62.5 percent of his passes, threw for 3,051 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His passer rating of 84.9 was 20 points better than the rating he had in 2005, his first as a starter.
That passer rating was also 11th best in the NFL, ahead of Eli Manning of the New York Giants, Mike Vick of the Atlanta Falcons, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He was only three points behind Tom Brady in the passer ratings.
Losman was at his best in December victories over Miami and the Jets, two division rivals. Against the Jets on the road, he completed 10 of 15 passes with two touchdown passes for a passer rating of 140.8. He came back the next week to throw three touchdown passes against Miami with a passer rating of 142.5.
