FanHouse JP Losman

A week ago, the Patriots had four quarterbacks on their roster -- Tom Brady found himself backed by Kevin O'Connell, Andrew Walter and rookie Brian Hoyer.

But then the Patriots cut ties with O'Connell and did the same with Walter on Friday -- leaving just Brady and Hoyer on the current depth chart. One need look no further than the 2008 Patriots season to know that a reliable backup quarterback is needed in the NFL. And no offense to Hoyer, who was 18 for 25 in the Patriots' final preseason game while taking every snap, but it's doubtful New England would feel too confident turning to him should the unthinkable happen to Brady again.

Right after J.P. Losman fumbled away a Bills win with just over two minutes left in a game they were winning 27-24, FanHouser Shane Bacon emailed to remind that a cardinal rule of quarterbacking was to throw the ball away when you've got nothing.

It was a sound point. Losman was scrambling when Abram Elam hit him from behind, causing a fumble that Shaun Ellis returned for a touchdown, but there was another rule that loomed large. Somewhere in the big book of coaching rules, it states that one shall not let J.P. Losman try to win a game unless there's absolutely no other hope.

Dick Jauron will likely have plenty of time to review that rule when the Bills fire him in a couple of weeks. His team finally showed up to play, no small thing given their recent efforts, on Sunday, but Jauron removed all hope of a win by calling for a pass. It was second-and-five, the two minute warning would follow the play and the Jets had just two timeouts. And the Bills had run for 187 yards to that point in the game!

To his credit, Jauron took full responsibility after the game.


It's nice to hear that honesty. We'll see if it's enough to quiet the swirling rumors about the status of his job.

If the early speculation is true -- that Tom Brady has a torn ACL -- the Patriots' Super Bowl aspirations, and maybe even Bill Belichick's evil genius label, are in the Thomas H. Crapper.

Brady didn't take a snap during the preseason because of a foot injury, and it took less than a quarter before he hobbled back to the locker room for the rest of the day, and maybe longer. Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard hit Brady just as he released the ball, but there was no flag for a low hit. Probably because Pats running back Sammy Morris was pushing him in the back.




That didn't make any difference to Randy Moss, who took issue with Pollard's tackle. But he doesn't want to get into it.

"I don't really want to get into it, but me personally, I think it was dirty," he said.

"Like I said, I didn't really see anything; I was running down the field. When I came back in [and watched it], it looked dirty to me. I've never been a dirty player. I honestly don't even know how to play dirty. I just play the game. Any time you see something like that, that looks foul, it looks dirty, it opens your eyes. So, me personally, it looked dirty."

To recap: Moss doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't even know how to play dirty, but the hit looked dirty to him. Duly noted.

Pollard defended the play as undirty.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
Beast Modes. Sorry, that's just all I think about when I start analyzing the Buffalo Bills. I can't help it. My mancrush on Marshawn Lynch just runs too deep. I actually loved the Bills as a sleeper team last year and think the same thing in 2008. Trent Edwards and Lynch are an up-and-coming young duo and Lee Evans obviously has gobs of talent, even if it comes on sporadically. However, this team is young, which means growing pains in real and fantasy football.

Breakout
I'm classifying 'Beast Mode' Lynch as this year's breakout on this squad. Yes, he had 1,000 yards last year, but when doesn't a back break 1k these days? I think he's going to flirt with 1,500 this season and will end up catching substantially more balls out of the backfield than last year. If you check his game logs, he didn't really start to come on strong until Edwards took over, but he was a model of consistency when he was on the field. If he stays healthy for the whole season, you can pencil in 1,700 total yards.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
Beast Modes.Sorry, that's just all I think about when I start analyzing the Buffalo Bills. I can't help it. My mancrush on Marshawn Lynch just runs too deep. I actually loved the Bills as a sleeper team last year and think the same thing in 2008. Trent Edwards and Lynch are an up and coming young duo and Lee Evans obviously has gobs of talent, even if it comes on sporadically. However, this team is young, which means growing pains in real and fantasy football.

Breakout
I'm classifying Beast Mode as this year's breakout on this squad. Yes, he had 1,000 yards last year, but when doesn't a back break 1k these days? I think he's going to flirt with 1,500 this season and will end up catching substantially more balls out of the backfield than last year. If you check his game logs, he didn't really start to come on strong until Edwards took over, but he was a model of consistency when he was on the field. If he stays healthy for the whole season, you can pencil in 1,700 total yards.

Here's what we know: the Falcons need a quarterback, and it would surprise no one if they drafted one with the third-overall pick later this month.

In yesterday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Steve Wyche writes that new head coach Mike Smith hints at drafting "big, strong guys," which obviously means he's seen FanHouse's mock draft. Of course, the conversation inevitably turns to Matt Ryan, potential franchise savior, when talking about potential Falcons selections:

Smith, [GM Thomas] Dimitroff and team owner Arthur Blank said Boston College's Matt Ryan, who many people project as a top-5 pick, is a candidate for the Falcons' first pick, but so are players at other positions. The Falcons currently have three second-round picks to use on a quarterback if they choose to bypass Ryan in the first round.

Given Atlanta's various needs, perhaps finding a quarterback in Round 2 would make the most sense. Or, as Wyche suggests, the Falcons could still try to work a trade: "A quarterback is on the way, too, Smith said.

While the draft seems the easiest and ideal means, especially with the emphasis of building that way, Smith did not rule out a trade for a veteran (Buffalo's J.P. Losman?)."

I'll just assume Wyche was kidding because the Falcons already have Joey Harrington on the roster. Why would they trade for him again? I mean, is Losman more likely to win a game than either Harrington or Chris Redman? If the answer is, "um, hell no", then why even waste a draft pick?

The probability this happens is likely negative, but then I remember Arthur Blank still owns the team. So who knows.

Well, this has to be a load off J.P. Losman's mind: he's still valued by the team that traded up into the first round to draft him four years ago, the Buffalo Bills. Even though, you know, he lost his job to rookie Trent Edwards last season and has yet to win it back.

Quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt is pumped about keeping Losman in Buffalo:

"I'm excited to have him," Van Pelt told Buffalobills.com. "I've always liked J.P.. Physically he's one of the most gifted guys I've been around. He just does some great things athletically with his arm and legs."

Huh. No mention of J.P.'s brain being on par with his arms and legs. I wonder if that has everything to do with his current position on the depth chart. Luckily, Van Pelt, who is very familiar with what it means to be an NFL backup, understands Losman's frustration. "I know he wants to go somewhere where he feels like he could be the starter. But we love him and we'd love to have him."

Yeah, J.P., how about you take one for the team here. Sure, you're young, and maybe you could turn your career around somewhere else, but if you leave, who's going to serve as Edwards' backup? I think this either qualifies as damning with faint praise or the soft bigotry of low expectations. And just so there's no confusion, Chris Brown of Buffalobills.com ends with this: "And right now the Bills likely feel they could do a lot worse than Losman."

Yep, definitely one or the other.

We're 24 hours into an NFL without Brett Favre -- and roughly a quarter of the way through the wall-to-wall-to-wall coverage of the former Packers quarterback -- but part of coping is moving on. Or something.

For Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers now tops of the depth chart and barring a Favre un-retirement announcement -- and let's be honest, nobody would be surprised at this point -- it should stay that way. But with Rodgers now the starter, what does that mean for the Packers playoff chances for next season?

According to two NFL personnel types, Green Bay is in good shape.

The NFC personnel man said he'd take Rodgers over other young quarterbacks such as Cleveland's Derek Anderson, San Francisco's Alex Smith, Arizona's Matt Leinart, Minnesota's Tarvaris Jackson, Buffalo's Trent Edwards and J.P. Losman, the New York Jets' Kellen Clemens, Miami's John Beck and Chicago's Rex Grossman.

The scout said he'd take Denver's Jay Cutler and Tennessee's Vince Young over Rodgers. "He's probably a top-20 guy," the personnel man said. "Why would they be worried about Rodgers? When he's healthy, he's performed in excellent fashion. The problem is he hasn't played to say he's the guy."

For someone who isn't a dirty player, Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork sure does get fined a lot. For the fourth time this season, he'll be writing the NFL a check, this time for a 15-yard facemask during last week's AFC Championship game.

Wilfork was engaged with a blocker before reaching out and tackling Chargers running back Michael Turner by his face. The going rate for such an infraction if $5,000.

"It's bad because you go out there and you get a penalty and the first thing you say is, 'Am I going to get fined?' " said Wilfork. "It's ridiculous. Anything you do that's a penalty, it's a fine. I don't think the game should be like that, but the NFL makes the rules and we have to abide by them. We have to do a better job of abiding by them."

To be fair, entire games are played without players hearing from the league office. So when Wilfork says "anything you do that's a penalty, it's a fine," well, only when you cheapshot a quarterback, or hit a player extremely late, or try to "Three Stooges" a guy. Oh, and rip a player's facemask off; that'll get you fined too.

During the 2004 draft, the Bills traded back into the first round to take Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman. That might've been the highlight of Losman's career in Buffalo. He's battled injuries, inconsistent play, and this year, being benched. And now, with a year left on his rookie deal, he's had enough.

Losman's agent, Gary Wichard, told The Associated Press on Friday that his client would prefer to be traded, but added Losman would play out the final year of his contract if necessary. Wichard said he has not yet spoken to the Bills because the team is seeking a new general manager after Marv Levy stepped down earlier this week.

Well, there's always a market for quarterbacks in the NFL; it's just a matter of finding the right fit. Is Losman any worse than the four-man carousel going on in San Francisco, or the Kyle Boller/Troy Smith duo in Baltimore? Would Losman be an improvement over Tarvaris Jackson/Brooks Bollinger? Maybe. The real question, though, is if Losman's an decided upgrade? That I'm not so sure about. It's doesn't make any sense to trade for a guy who'll just throw 15 interceptions a year instead of 17.

If nothing works out this off-season, there's absolutely know no way Losman re-signs with the team after 2008: "That ship has sailed, my friend," Wichard said. "Hopefully, they do something this year. And if not, we'll just walk away after next year."

Losman's future might be as a backup, but in the NFL, where more than 60 different quarterbacks started games this season, depth-chart status can change in a hurry. First things first: Losman has to get out of Buffalo.