starkeeper
07-28-2006, 11:48 PM
It's a question that no Bills fan can patiently wait to have answered. The reason is due partly to the fact that the Buffalo Bills have been searching for a bona fide starting quarterback that can man the position consistently year after year since 1997.
Whether Buffalo has such a man on their roster now is a major question mark, which is why the job of starting quarterback will have three men competing for it at St. John Fisher starting today.
Bills head coach Dick Jauron has made every effort to make it as even a three-man competition as possible through the spring and that will continue as the team begins training camp practices this weekend.
He has not provided a timetable on reaching a decision, nor has he even outlined what his first decision will be with respect to Kelly Holcomb, J.P. Losman and Craig Nall.
"We'd like to have an answer as soon as we possibly can, but I don't know when that will be," said Jauron. "We'd like to have one certainly step up and separate from the other two and make it clear and have those other two push so he gets better and better."
In a perfect world one of the three signal callers will make the decision for him with superior play, but it's hardly a given. Still the fact remains that Jauron and his team need one of these three men to distinctly rise above the other two in terms of performance and stake a firm claim to the job if there is to be any consistency to their offense.
Through the spring workouts Holcomb had the early edge when it came to executing the new offensive system installed by offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild. Entering his eleventh season, Holcomb's experience and knowledge of the game allowed him to grasp the new scheme quicker than Losman or Nall. That also allowed him to recognize all the defensive looks allowing him to make more effective pre-snap adjustments in the early going.
Nall appeared to struggle the most with the new scheme with the West Coast system the only pro offense he had ever run previously in the NFL. With the concepts of that system vastly different in a number of areas to Fairchild's scheme, Nall's learning curve was a bit steeper.
Losman was in between Holcomb and Nall. Early on he wasn't executing as effectively as Holcomb, but he wasn't struggling as much as Nall either. There were plays that looked efficient and sharp and plays that needed some work.
But Jauron apparently saw that in all three quarterbacks.
"They've all done well at times and at times they've looked bad as quarterbacks tend to do," said Jauron this past spring.
As the spring progressed Losman and Nall made up ground on Holcomb with respect to grasping and executing Fairchild's system. Losman made steady improvement, while Nall came on strong in the team's final minicamp. Holcomb's performance remained steady throughout the spring, but the early edge he had at the outset of the spring workouts no longer existed when the team wrapped up their formal offseason work.
Now that training camp has arrived the true evaluations can begin, which is why Jauron likely determined a long time ago that St. John Fisher was where he was going to find his quarterback. He also understands that it is going to be the main topic of conversation for the better part of the next three and a half weeks.
"We understand that it's a focal point and that everyone will want to know where that is," said Jauron. "We have three guys and we're hoping and believe that the three of them will compete and hopefully make each other better. We want them to keep pushing and pushing and you hope that one of them rises quicker and takes the job. It will be interesting to watch. We'll be watching and you'll be watching and we'll be talking about it I'm sure."
Some have speculated that Jauron's first decision will be to name a third quarterback and reduce the competition for the starting job to two candidates. But Buffalo's head coach won't commit to that.
"I don't know that that is necessarily true," he said. "I'd have to think about that. I suspect that it could be true, but it could work the other way too. Somebody could run away with the competition and clearly be the guy."
And while Jauron would like to have a number one quarterback in place sooner rather than later, he hasn't ruled out waiting until the end of training camp which was a scenario Holcomb was a part of in Cleveland when he competed with Tim Couch.
"I think all scenarios are possible because there's no way to tell how it's going to work out," said Jauron. "I would never say it's not possible. It wouldn't be in my best interest to say that and then have it not work out that way."
As far as the quarterbacks are concerned they know it's up to them now to prove they're the guy to lead Buffalo's offense on Sundays.
"It's about consistency," said Nall. "I know I can do it, it's just a matter of going out there and doing it on a daily basis. (The staff) has implemented their offense, we know what we're supposed to do, so it's up to us now to be prepared for that."
"All I'm thinking about right now is how good can I become to help this team progress," said Losman. "That's been my approach this year as opposed to last year when I was thinking, 'I got it, I got it, just let me show you guys.' I'm just trying to learn as much as I can as fast I can and get this thing rolling if they call my number."
"All you can do is be the best you can be whether you're in the film room or when you're on the practice field," said Holcomb. "Competition makes everybody better. I think it's going to be good for us and help us as a team collectively. Whenever the decision is made, obviously you want to be the guy, but they're going to put the guy on the field that gives us the best opportunity to win."
Who that man is in what appears to be a virtual dead heat going into camp is anybody's guess.
Whether Buffalo has such a man on their roster now is a major question mark, which is why the job of starting quarterback will have three men competing for it at St. John Fisher starting today.
Bills head coach Dick Jauron has made every effort to make it as even a three-man competition as possible through the spring and that will continue as the team begins training camp practices this weekend.
He has not provided a timetable on reaching a decision, nor has he even outlined what his first decision will be with respect to Kelly Holcomb, J.P. Losman and Craig Nall.
"We'd like to have an answer as soon as we possibly can, but I don't know when that will be," said Jauron. "We'd like to have one certainly step up and separate from the other two and make it clear and have those other two push so he gets better and better."
In a perfect world one of the three signal callers will make the decision for him with superior play, but it's hardly a given. Still the fact remains that Jauron and his team need one of these three men to distinctly rise above the other two in terms of performance and stake a firm claim to the job if there is to be any consistency to their offense.
Through the spring workouts Holcomb had the early edge when it came to executing the new offensive system installed by offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild. Entering his eleventh season, Holcomb's experience and knowledge of the game allowed him to grasp the new scheme quicker than Losman or Nall. That also allowed him to recognize all the defensive looks allowing him to make more effective pre-snap adjustments in the early going.
Nall appeared to struggle the most with the new scheme with the West Coast system the only pro offense he had ever run previously in the NFL. With the concepts of that system vastly different in a number of areas to Fairchild's scheme, Nall's learning curve was a bit steeper.
Losman was in between Holcomb and Nall. Early on he wasn't executing as effectively as Holcomb, but he wasn't struggling as much as Nall either. There were plays that looked efficient and sharp and plays that needed some work.
But Jauron apparently saw that in all three quarterbacks.
"They've all done well at times and at times they've looked bad as quarterbacks tend to do," said Jauron this past spring.
As the spring progressed Losman and Nall made up ground on Holcomb with respect to grasping and executing Fairchild's system. Losman made steady improvement, while Nall came on strong in the team's final minicamp. Holcomb's performance remained steady throughout the spring, but the early edge he had at the outset of the spring workouts no longer existed when the team wrapped up their formal offseason work.
Now that training camp has arrived the true evaluations can begin, which is why Jauron likely determined a long time ago that St. John Fisher was where he was going to find his quarterback. He also understands that it is going to be the main topic of conversation for the better part of the next three and a half weeks.
"We understand that it's a focal point and that everyone will want to know where that is," said Jauron. "We have three guys and we're hoping and believe that the three of them will compete and hopefully make each other better. We want them to keep pushing and pushing and you hope that one of them rises quicker and takes the job. It will be interesting to watch. We'll be watching and you'll be watching and we'll be talking about it I'm sure."
Some have speculated that Jauron's first decision will be to name a third quarterback and reduce the competition for the starting job to two candidates. But Buffalo's head coach won't commit to that.
"I don't know that that is necessarily true," he said. "I'd have to think about that. I suspect that it could be true, but it could work the other way too. Somebody could run away with the competition and clearly be the guy."
And while Jauron would like to have a number one quarterback in place sooner rather than later, he hasn't ruled out waiting until the end of training camp which was a scenario Holcomb was a part of in Cleveland when he competed with Tim Couch.
"I think all scenarios are possible because there's no way to tell how it's going to work out," said Jauron. "I would never say it's not possible. It wouldn't be in my best interest to say that and then have it not work out that way."
As far as the quarterbacks are concerned they know it's up to them now to prove they're the guy to lead Buffalo's offense on Sundays.
"It's about consistency," said Nall. "I know I can do it, it's just a matter of going out there and doing it on a daily basis. (The staff) has implemented their offense, we know what we're supposed to do, so it's up to us now to be prepared for that."
"All I'm thinking about right now is how good can I become to help this team progress," said Losman. "That's been my approach this year as opposed to last year when I was thinking, 'I got it, I got it, just let me show you guys.' I'm just trying to learn as much as I can as fast I can and get this thing rolling if they call my number."
"All you can do is be the best you can be whether you're in the film room or when you're on the practice field," said Holcomb. "Competition makes everybody better. I think it's going to be good for us and help us as a team collectively. Whenever the decision is made, obviously you want to be the guy, but they're going to put the guy on the field that gives us the best opportunity to win."
Who that man is in what appears to be a virtual dead heat going into camp is anybody's guess.