ProFootballCentral.com

In the land of the hot wings there is yet another quarterback controversy brewing at One Bills Drive. In 2000 the controversy was Rob Johnson versus Doug Flutie and now eight years later we are now looking at Trent Edwards versus JP Losman.

Losman, ranks seventh in team history with 31 career touchdowns as well as seventh in career passing yards with 5,627 yards and was the first Bills quarterback drafted in the first round since the Bills drafted Hall Of Famer Jim Kelly 14th overall in the 1983 draft. Losman in his rookie season suffered a broken left fibula in training camp, which delayed his development as a rookie. He eventually recovered and saw limited action in the 2004 NFL season, appearing briefly in three games and completing 3-of-5 passes for 32 yards and 1 interception while backing up Drew Bledsoe.

Following the Bills’ February 2005 release of Bledsoe, Losman was named the team’s starting quarterback by former head coach Mike Mularkey who now is the offensive coordinator in Atlanta, a team who is looking for a starting quarterback.

The Bills even tho they were satisfied with the progress that Losman as made, drafted Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards with the 92nd overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Edwards was considered by many to be the 3rd best available quarterback prospect in the draft (behind #1 overall Jamarcus Russell and #22 overall Brady Quinn), but waited until late in the 3rd round prior to the Bills selection. Public statements from the Bills coaching staff and management have reaffirmed Losman’s title as the Bills undisputed starting quarterback. But didn’t they think this would cause an issue with two very young quarterbacks on the same depth chart?

On September 23 Losman suffered a grade one sprain of his left knee in the first series of plays in a game against New England.[1] Losman was hit late after completing a four-yard pass to Marshawn Lynch by New England defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who was assessed a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty. Losman left the game.

Losman was out for the next two games and was available for the October 21 home game against the Baltimore Ravens, but Dick Jauron chose to give Edwards the nod, just for the week which caused a lot of players in the locker room to be divided. Edwards performance apparently impressed Jauron enough that on October 23 Trent Edwards was named the starting quarterback for the Bills[2], having won 2 of the 3 games he started. Reports surfaced, however, that many players on the team were against the decision including starting wide receiver Lee Evans who formed a great relationship with Evans on and off the field, especially since they both were drafted by the Bills in the first round of the 2004 draft.

In an October 28, 2007 game at the New York Jets, Edwards injured his wrist and was replaced by Losman. Losman led the Bills on two consecutive scoring drives, including one that ended with an 85-yard touchdown pass to WR Lee Evans. Starting the next game for injured Trent Edwards, Losman threw for almost 300 yards and one touchdown to lead the Buffalo Bills to a win.

At the end of the season Losman was upset about losing his job to Edwards and wanted to be traded, but said he would play out the season if necessary due to 2008 being the last year of his rookie contract.

Edwards, in 2007 made the most starts of any rookie quarterback in 2007 with nine and was also the first Bills rookie quarterback to post five victories as a rookie since 1973.He also made a great name for third round quarterbacks, setting a record for the most passing yards for a rookie with 1,630 yards since the draft began in 1967. He capped off the 2007 season with 151 completions on 269 attempts. The Stanford alum also three eight interceptions with only seven touchdowns and was sacked 12 times. Losman on the other hand played in a limited role but was sacked 14 times, had 111 completions on 175 attempts and threw for 1, 204 yards.

The big question remains, who should be the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills? My surprising pick would be JP Losman. Why you ask? Because the first few seasons with the Bills, Losman has been plagued with really bad offensive lineman, a sub par tight end and only 1 perennial receiver in Lee Evans. The Bills knew there offensive line needed a huge boost and last off season signed Derrick Dockery to a 7-year, $49 million contract with $18 million signing bonus and they also signed Langston Walker the same off-season. With only 1 season together the Bills bail on Losman due to a cheap shot injury by Vince Wilfork and put Edwards at the helm which caused a lot of locker room issues.

With Losman they have a good quarterback who was really coming into his own at the end of the 2006 season. For the season, Losman had a 62.5 completion percentage for the season, a record for Buffalo Bill quarterbacks in a full 16-game season. He was rated the 11th best passer in the NFL, with an 84.9 passer rating and a season later he is a backup for the Bills?

I would like to stress the fact that I am also a fan of Trent Edwards but I don’t see the progression factor that we finally saw in Losman in Edwards. A huge flaw with Edwards is the getting out of the pocket ability that this team so desperately needs, especially with defensive ends like Richard Seymour and Jason Taylor in this conference. Besides the last thing this team needs again is another quarterback controversy which not only tears a locker room in half but also the great fans.