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| | Luc Leclerc/US Presswire |
| | For the first time in 10 months, Bills backup quarterback J.P. Losman spoke to reporters Tuesday night. |
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham
It took an injury to starting QB Trent Edwards to cajole him, but for the first time in 10 months Buffalo Bills backup J.P. Losman spoke to reporters Tuesday night.
Bills coach Dick Jauron said Edwards suffered a minor quadriceps contusion from a backfield collision with RB Marshawn Lynch during Tuesday night's practice at St. John Fisher College.
Losman took the rest of the first-team reps and decided to answer some questions before leaving the field. Since Losman hasn't spoken since he lost his job to Edwards (for the second and final time) in November, I thought it would be appropriate to share the complete transcript of the group interview.
On stepping in when Edwards went down:
Losman: You just have to be ready, and through this whole situation I have just been forcing myself to kind of get ready. It can be tough at times. But like tonight it can happen for just a couple plays, and I have to be ready and keep forcing myself. I ask my teammates to keep helping me with that, keep fighting through every day, and you just have to be ready. There is a lot on the line every game, and if it is three games this year or whatever, I want to come through for my teammates.
On this being what a backup must be prepared for:
Losman: It was definitely unexpected. It comes at a point in practice when you have studied the plays that you have for that day, and then you get thrown in with some plays that you weren't going to run that particular day. All of a sudden your mind has to concentrate on that and focus on that. It's a little bit different from a game. In a game there are set plays that are ready to go. [It comes down to] just being ready.
On how difficult it is to stay motivated:
Losman: It is very difficult to get motivated, but with the help of friends, family and my agent we just keep pressing on. You have to keep looking at that light and keep saying 'Something could happen,' and you have to be ready for it. Looking at the overall picture, the career of a player, this is just one year, and there is a long way to go, and that is the picture you have to look at. You have to constantly push yourself to get better for not just this season but for years to come because you plan on doing this for a couple years.
On being comfortable with the offense:
Losman: Of course, the main thing there is that I feel very comfortable with [offensive coordinator] Turk [Schonert] and [quarterbacks coach] Alex [Van Pelt]. I like going to work with those guys each and every day. We have agreed in the past over many things. They just weren't at a position to make those things come true. Even though the situation has changed I am still working with those guys and that makes coming to work much easier.
On his relationship with Edwards:
Losman: Trent is great. No situation has changed there as far as a friendship, regardless. It's not his fault, and the situation is the way it is. You have to look yourself in the mirror and realize why a situation is the way it is, and then you move on and try to figure out why it is the way it is. Like I said, it's not his doing by any means. It's not his fault. For me to be upset at him is childish. We have a team here, and we are all grown men, and you have to handle the situation the way it is and like the grown men we are. I am pulling for him. I help him out as much as I can and vice versa. When I ask him a question things are answered pretty quick.
On what he thinks of Schonert's offense:
Losman: I definitely love what he is doing with the offense and the true test will come when the game is there and things are going. ... When the game is going on he is always thinking what I was thinking when I was in there. I was like 'Why don't we do this,' or 'I think we should do that.' He was always on the same page in game situations. So I do expect him to be that way now. I know the pressure is going to build on him a little bit, but he has been handling it extremely well. I think he is focused and more importantly I think he is very confident, and he knows exactly what he wants to get accomplished.
On being upset with anybody:
Losman: Teammates, I love them. Like I said right, now is not the time to be thinking about anything like that. I had a chance to digest everything that happened in that situation in the offseason, and right now I am strictly ready for something like today.
Graham joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Miami Dolphins for the Palm Beach Post. He previously spent eight years at the Buffalo News, where he was an award-winning NHL and boxing writer. The Baldwin-Wallace College grad also has worked for the Las Vegas Sun and Boston Herald.
