Transcripts of reporters' conference calls with Buffalo's Dick Jauron and J.P. Losman on Wednesday afternoon:
HEAD COACH DICK JAURON
On who will start at QB for the Bills on Sunday against the Jets…
Today, Trent [Edwards] did not participate in practice. We will see how the week plays out. J.P. [Losman] got all the snaps today in practice. Actually, he didn't get all of them. Gibran [Hamdan] took a few in the course of the practice. That is where we are right now.
On how Losman performed against the Dolphins last week…
J.P. made some plays in the course of the game, but clearly we didn't make enough plays to win a football game. On the offensive side of the ball, we've been really struggling to score points. Two weeks in a row we've only put up three points on the board. We've all got to get better there and I've got to do a much better job of getting them ready to play.
On what has been the biggest problem on offense…
It hasn't been one particular thing other than not getting the ball in the end zone consistently but any number of errors. Everybody seems to make them. I certainly include myself in there in terms of preparation and decision-making.
On if his offensive line is playing better than the first time these teams met…
That is a universal problem with Kris Jenkins in terms of the league in general. Nose tackles of that size and that ability give everybody problems. We struggled some up front. We've played inconsistently, but in his case I wouldn't just say he's giving us problems, that's for sure.
On DE Aaron Schobel returning the lineup…
Aaron was another guy that did not participate in practice today. We'll just have to go day-to-day with all of these guys and see how they come out at the end of the week.
On game-planning for RB Leon Washington on special teams…
A lot of it is execution. There is nothing that we can do that probably already hasn't been tried. Everybody in the league that faces the Jets and their special teams and their return game has the same issues. He continues to excel. Everybody has tried about everything that you can do, everybody will continue to try it, but he's a very special player.
On what he has noticed about the Jets offense over the past couple of weeks…
We all know that the teams in this league, week in and week out, they can all beat you. They all have talent. You have to play at a really high level. Certainly, we have not accomplished that in our recent past.
In terms of the Jets' game, it's just a matter of a few plays here and there. Sometimes you catch an opponent when they're really hot. They're playing hot and your cycle is a little bit down. As hard as we work, and we all work at it to be consistent, it just doesn't necessarily work that way in our business. You play through some highs and, in our case, a lot of lows recently. In the Jets case just a few of them. They're still right at the top and they're playing at a level that we're going to have to elevate our game tremendously to stay in the game with them.
On if taking away the short passes will stop the Jets' passing game…
They certainly do a great job with those in terms of when they call them, how they call them and how effective they are, but it certainly is not the only part of their passing game. They scare you with it. You spend a lot of time preparing for a part of their passing game. They're effective in other areas, too.
On if he has seen a difference in the Jets' offensive approach when QB Chad Pennington was at QB…
I haven't thought about that. I wouldn't respond to it and compare what they're doing now with when Chad was there. I have a lot of respect for Brett [Favre] and Chad also when he was there. Both of them, this year, are doing a tremendous job with both of their new teams.
On if he feels he has to respect Favre's ability to stretch the field more than Pennington's...
I don't know why I would make a comparison between those two guys. Every quarterback you play in this league throws it good enough to get it down the field. You can't generally squat on anything in our business. The guy wouldn't be in the league if he couldn't get it over your head if you're doing that for him. Both of them are outstanding players.
On the Jets' pass defense…
I emphasize the abilities of teams. They gave us problems. They are strong up front, big on the outside and put pressure on you. Their corners do an excellent job. They have added a very experienced corner [Ty Law] since we last played them. In the safety position I thought they were very active.
As it always does, it will come down to execution on game day. You have to prepare and you have to execute. What we try to do, if we're going to have any success, we're going to have to execute very well. On tape, and when you go back and look at their whole body of work, they are a very talented group and very productive.
On if the Bills' current losing streak is a result of injuries…
We have had a number of losses in our last seven games. There are a number of different things. I would not only attribute it to injury. We've had our share just like everybody else in the league. You have injuries, but you have to be able to play through it.
We went through a string where we turned the ball over so much and we're not getting any takeaways. We were losing that takeaway/giveaway ratio by a good margin. When that happens you lose a lot of games in our league, probably in any league, but certainly in our league you do. That has been a big factor. We have to get that under control if we're going to have a chance to win any more games.
QB J.P. LOSMAN
On if he will start against the Jets…
I'm not sure. I'm preparing like I'm starting. They haven't really officially told me or anything like that.
On how he played against the Dolphins…
Other than the interception in the red zone, which is inexcusable, I thought I played all right. I thought I looked pretty good. To under throw a fade route in the end zone, you just can't do it, especially right there at that time.
On why the Bills are having trouble scoring…
That's an answer that we've been looking for the last few weeks. We've been trying some new things and are trying to figure out who's good at what routes. We've been trying to figure out if teams are going to play the run or they are going to play the pass. That's just a question that we've been trying to figure out. Obviously, we haven't figured it out yet.
On if they'll score against a Jets defense that is giving up points…
Stats are stats. I've never really been into that type of thing. In this league, you have to be prepared every week. Every week each team is very, very good. It's going to be a very big challenge for us. We'll just take it as that.
On the mindset of his team…
Guys are excited. Today we were running around and flying around, we had a great practice. Then again, we had a great practice last week as well. When it came down to gametime, maybe we were a little dead or a little flat. I don't know if it was the atmosphere. I don't know what it was. We had a great practice last week, all week. We had a great practice to start this week. We're just going to try to carry this enthusiasm into the game and see where it takes us.
On the experience of playing against the Dolphins in Toronto…
It was tough. It's a good idea, it's a good concept. It was a tough environment to play in. It wasn't your typical Bills game. It wasn't that loud, it wasn't that packed as far as seats being taken up. From that standpoint, it made the game tough.
On the psyche of the team…
It's been a disappointing year. It's not like we're just barely starting to get disappointed right now. We've had some troubles the last few weeks. We've had some time to digest that our season isn't going as well as we had planned it.
With that said, we had a chance there to win four in a row to make it to the playoffs. Now we're down to three games. It's a tough situation for us right now. We just have to find out what kind of character guys we have to keep this season going and end on a positive note.
On if they'd like to play the role of spoiler against the Jets…
For me, personally, it's a great opportunity for me. I'm excited to play. I want to play well for my teammates. Like I said, we're down to three games, we have a three-game season. Regardless if we've been successful against these guys in the past, that's irrelevant at this point in time.
We'll want to go up there and put a good showing on to show our fans what kind of people we are and what kind of character guys we have. We want to show ourselves what kind of guys we have. After these three weeks, we're going to get in a good off-season. We want to end up on a positive note.
On his opinion of who is the better team among the Dolphins, Patriots and Jets…
I can't say that [laughs]. No matter what I say I'm going to eat my words on that one. All three are very, very good teams and I wish them all luck.
On if he'd like to see Brett Favre in the playoffs…
I've always been a Brett Favre fan, ever since I've been little growing up. I'd like to see him go out on top. If this is his last year ... I don't see how it can be because he's having too much fun, it looks like he's having too much fun. That would be special for him to make that transition and to be able to go to the playoffs. It would also be good to see a new team in the AFC East win the division and go to the playoffs and do well.
On if he is rooting for the Dolphins…
Like I said, it's good to see a new team win [laughs]. The Patriots have had their share of winning over the last few years. They have done extremely well. They're a very, very good team. I hope it's a new team this year.
