The initial reaction by many Western New Yorkers on Saturday was: "Huh?"
However some of us, including myself, completely understood and agreed that by drafting Lee Evans and J.P. Losman, the Bills addressed an area in which this offense has been lacking: raw athleticism at every offensive skill position - something they started to address by rolling the dice last year on the uber-athletic McGahee.
Bledsoe doesn't have it. Josh Reed doesn't have it. Bobby Shaw doesn't have it. Moulds has it, but not fully. When people talk about Moulds, they rave about his hands and his physicality. Price had it, but who cares, he is no longer a Bill.
I'm talking - track-star, in your face; I'll beat you off the ball and burn you with my feet - athleticism. And that is exactly what Evans and Losman bring to an offense that last year brought new meaning to the word stagnant - an offense that went seven games without scoring a freakin' touchdown.
We now have that wideout who can beat opponents with his legs to compliment Moulds who beats them with his hands and aggressiveness.
We also now have that athletic quarterback cut from the same mold as Jeff Garcia, Rich Gannon (in his prime), and Steve Young. Losman ran a 4.6 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, which was the fastest time of the top four quarterbacks (Manning, Rothelsberger, Rivers, and Losman) and about seven and a half seconds faster than Drew Bledsoe.
I have nothing against Drew, but the day of the drop-back pocket passer is gone. He'll make a great back up and an even better mentor.
The bottom line is quarterbacks need to move in the NFL, especially when defensive linemen are running in the 4.4 to 4.5 range, such as Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Jevon Kearse, and Terrell Suggs. And not only do they need to move, they need to have the ability to throw on the move, like McNabb, Vick, Favre, McNair, and Garcia.
Ron Jaworski, NFL quarterback, super bowl winner, ESPN football expert, and Lackawanna native, called Losman the best of the top four quarterbacks. The biggest knock against him was his cocky persona. And while cockiness can be the biggest catalyst for unproductiveness, I have faith in guys like Sam Wyche, Mike Mularkey and all the Bills veterans to dissipate his arrogance.
Now for those of you who wanted a pass rusher, was it not our defense that vied for league supremacy a year ago? Granted, our sack total over the last five years ranks right around 32, but our weaknesses on offense outweighed our weaknesses on defense.
Like I said, seven games without an offensive touchdown...Damn.
Let me see here - a couple sacks a game or a couple touchdowns a game - mmmm, yeah, I'm going to have to go ahead and say a couple TD's.
Have a good summer UB. Out.
