Developing J.P. Losman

Several NFL experts - including ESPN's Ron Jaworski, who is the most prominent of the lot - have already come forward to make the claim that they believe the 2007 Buffalo Bills will be the "surprise" team of the upcoming season. Those claims are a testament to the respect that is felt league-wide for GM Marv Levy, head coach Dick Jauron and his coaching staff.

While these statements are nice to hear, they are also very risky. Buffalo has an extraordinarily difficult schedule to play through next season. They also remain one of the league's youngest teams, and are likely to see some overhaul at several key positions, including offensive line, linebacker and cornerback. Factor in the Willis McGahee situation, and there are a lot of question marks that could prevent the Bills from achieving that "surprise" status next year.

Nothing is more important to success next year, however, than the continued development of still-green quarterback J.P. Losman (above, right).

2006 Progression
Few will deny that Losman turned his career around in '06, winning a QB competition in training camp and performing well enough to easily nail down the starting job in 2007. Losman finished his first full year of starting with 3,051 yards on a 62.5% completion rate, while throwing 19 touchdowns as compared to 14 interceptions. His 84.9 rating blew away the 64.9 he posted in a half-season's worth of work in 2005. From a statistical standpoint, Losman improved by leaps and bounds.

One other area of improvement for Losman was in confidence. That includes the confidence he has in his own abilities; as the season progressed he became more comfortable in different situations and started to rely more on his teammates. It also includes the confidence that others have in him. Jauron is fully convinced that Losman can be an upper-tier starter in this league. His teammates believe that Losman can lead them deep into the playoffs, and will be able to do so year in and year out in the future. He has established himself as the future of the franchise.

But he's not there yet.

Building Around the Centerpiece
I have already been a big proponent of building an offense around Losman. It is clear that this is in Levy's plans. Many people have already developed theories about how best to maximize Losman's talents and build a flexible, dependable offense. I myself have written posts about skill position depth, the running back situation and the offensive line. These are just my ideas on how to best build around Losman.

(Side note: ESPN's Len Pasquarelli has hopped on the "Galliford Bandwagon" - he wrote an article about the oncoming prevalence of the two-back system in the NFL. You can view the article here. My Bills version of that article is linked above, and appears here as well.)

The point here, however, is that providing Losman with more offensive depth will only increase his confidence heading into OTAs this spring. The team could look to add any of the following: a receiving RB, a receiving TE, a complement to Lee Evans, or even a fullback that is more versatile than Daimon Shelton. Levy will also look to bolster the offensive line, which again bodes well for Losman. It is going to be an exciting off-season for our quarterback; knowing that he won't have to look over his shoulder, he can concentrate on building repoire with his new offensive teammates and moving forward in the offense.

Consistency the Key
As bright as Losman's future is, more progress needs to be made in 2007. Losman must find a way to perform on a much more consistent basis. Entering his second season in Steve Fairchild's offense, the team will likely look to add more wrinkles to the basic system that was implemented last year. That will complicate Losman finding consistency, but will really help the offense as a whole. He will need to consistently make plays, keep his team in games and continue to build knowledge of his offensive system.

Losman must also limit his mistakes. Even though he only threw 14 picks (which, of course, should be lowered in '07), Losman made a lot of boneheaded plays that came back to cost his team (taking a safety in Week One at New England comes to mind). There were also several instances where Losman lost fumbles after holding the ball too long in the pocket. The best quarterbacks in the league do not put their teams in compromising positions. Losman must learn to avoid these situations. Experience will help in that department.

Finally, Losman must continue to rely on his teammates. The youngster had his best games when he was involving players such as Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish and Robert Royal in the passing game. Not everything can revolve around Lee Evans, and there were still points where Losman would lock on to his top target. If Losman can consistently involve all of his weapons game in and game out, he will undoubtedly continue his progression in the NFL.