Early in the second quarter of Sunday's opening game of the Buffalo Bills' 2005 season, a lone voice cut through the otherwise quiet men's room at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The coolly efficient beginning to J.P. Losman's career as Buffalo's starting quarterback and the early 9-0 lead it helped create had put one young man in a musical mood.
"Iiiiiiii've got a feeeeling," he sang, leaving the last note hanging, awaiting the time-honored response.
But, nothing.
So he tried again.
"Iiiiii've got a feeeeeling," just a bit more insistently, this time.
This time, another fan properly completed the weirdly atonal expression of blind optimism that's served as the soundtrack for the franchise's more hopeful moments for three decades.
"Buffalo's going to the Super Bowl!"
A few whoops ensued, along with a "yeah!" or two and even a little applause from those with two free hands. It was enough of a reaction to trigger an encore of the call and response, then another, a few more voices joining in each time. You almost expected the whole room to burst out, maybe with a little choreography thrown in.
But before the men's room went all 1930s Hollywood musical on us, another voice chimed in with a hearty helping of the spiteful glee that feeds much of the Bills Nation.
"(Expletive deleted) Bledsoe!" he yelled.
Losman completed on eight of his first nine passes, converted his first third-down situation and directed Buffalo to points on its first five possessions.
Mix in a gorgeous late-summer day and the best-looking uniforms the Bills have worn since, well, the last time they wore them back during the Nixon administration and premature giddiness wasn't tough to come by.
The offseason doubts about the young starter and the questions about whether or not a talented team that barely missed the playoffs last year might not be better off with the flawed veteran he replaced vanished as quickly as the smoke left by the pre-game fireworks. Losman kept his composure, making crisp throws and using his mobility to keep Buffalo moving forward, rather than to perpetrate the disorganized retreats that terrified the faithful during the exhibition season.
He succeeded in large part because the Bills put him in ideal position to do so, executing the blueprint laid out by Buffalo's high command almost perfectly.
The defense thoroughly stifled Houston, limiting the Texans to 120 total yards while forcing five turnovers, three of which plunked Buffalo's offense in field goal range.
Thanks to five sacks of David Carr, who entered his fourth pro season looking very much like he still hasn't figured things out, Buffalo gave up only 25 net passing yards, a total better suited to a freezing rainstorm in November than a glimmering September afternoon.
After Losman's early array of short tosses forced Houston to ease off the line of scrimmage a bit, Willis McGahee pounded away steadily, helping Buffalo maintain crucial advantages in field position and time of possession.
And Rian Lindell, who made 24 of his 28 field goal attempts in 2005, yet somehow became an arch-villain in some eyes, nailed all five tries on Sunday.
Even Gary, who generously hosted the BillStuff coverage team with visitor-side seats on the 48-yard line and prides himself on having pegged Rob Johnson as a loser before Buffalo's last quarterback raised in Southern California had even started a game, couldn't find much to fault after the 22-7 win.
"They need to score touchdowns when they get in the red zone," was about the best Gary -- who insists that Losman be referred to by his last name, and not J.P., as it conjures Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi, a frequent target of his angst -- could muster.
Well, yeah. But some of the best elements of Losman's play involved other things he didn't do. He got away with one when a seemingly sure interception was dropped by Houston's Antwan Peek, but that misfire was his only real mistake of the day. He didn't force throws, flinging it away when nothing was open, instead of holding the ball and wandering around until he got sacked, like certain other quarterbacks we could mention.
If Losman was nervous, it didn't show on his first drive. He completed a short pass to Josh Reed in the right flat for a 6-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. After McGahee got stuffed on his first carry, he threw an 8-yard strike to Eric Moulds to pick up the first down and keep the drive going.
A 42-yard strike to Lee Evans put Buffalo at Houston's 16-yard line, but a holding penalty on new left tackle Mike Gandy stalled the march, setting up Lindell's first field goal. Such a minor setback might have stalled other Bills teams of recent vintage for a quarter or more. Losman, though, coolly guided Buffalo to Houston's 3-yard line and another field goal on the next possession, hitting three of four passes and scrambling for a 7-yard gain early in the drive.
Even after settling for field goals on four possessions, he didn't press or get rattled. Instead, he took the Bills on an 11-play, 61-yard drive to the first touchdown of the Losman Era, capped by a perfectly executed tackle-eligible throw to Jason Peters, who might just be BillStuff's favorite backup lineman.
The day ended as well as it began for Losman. Fans around the tunnel leading to the locker rooms chanted "Losman, Losman" as he left the field, which certainly beats getting cursed while having beer chucked at you.
Next week in Tampa could be a very different story. The Buccaneers' defense forced one of the National Football League's top quarterbacks, Daunte Culpepper, into five turnovers in a 24-13 win Sunday. And Losman won't have 72,000 sun-drenched supporters cheering him on.
There's plenty of time, though, for reality to set in. For now, the Bills and their new quarterback have their fans singing in the restroom.
BILLS MVP: It's easy to overestimate the value of a quarterback, especially when his supporting cast plays so well. But Losman couldn't have done much better in his first outing. And the sort of performance some feared after the exhibition season could have easily turned a dream debut into a nightmare.
BILLS MVP NOT NAMED LOSMAN: Troy Vincent's first interception set up a field goal. His second, late in the third quarter, came after the Texans moved to Buffalo's 45, briefly threatening to make a game of it. They never crossed midfield again.
THE OTHER GUYS' MVP: You gain 120 net yards, don't force any turnovers and then want
awards? Ha. PURPLE HEART (OR ANKLE) AWARD: During pre-game festivities at an unnamed motel near the stadium, a group of high-school cheerleaders pom-pommed their way through the parking lot. Appropriately enough, Pommie, a longtime BS contributor, got in the spirit of things with an enthusiastic leap, but missed the concrete step upon which he was standing on the way down and twisted his ankle.
But being a gamer, he iced the injury before hobbling to the stadium in time for the opening kickoff.
BS STORY OF THE WEEK: In the week leading up to the game and in the parking lot beforehand, there were those already insisting that the Bills should replace Losman with Kelly Holcomb at the first sign of trouble. That never materialized on Sunday, but it will be interesting to see how quickly the newfound patience he earned evaporates after an interception or two.
ADMIRABLE RESTRAINT AWARD: To be honest, BS was sort of dreading the NFL-sanctioned pre-game festivities commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, since such productions tend to invoke the sort of spectacle you see in documentaries about German rallies in the 1930s. But we were pleasantly surprised by the rather brief ceremonies carried out around the league, and the single-plane flyover in Orchard Park. Jessica Simpson was another story. Did someone at the NFL office really think it was a good idea to have her wildly over-emote ÒGod Bless AmericaÓ while alleged husband Nick Lachey proved once again that his vocal range makes Sonny Bono sound like Enrico Caruso? At least they didnÕt let her sister anywhere near a microphone.
WING REVIEW: Alas, wings can be difficult to come by when attending a game in person. The burgers grilled by Joe Fortuna of Fortuna's Restaurant in Niagara Falls were terrific, though, and the shrimp salad he created was absolutely sublime.
BS FAN OF THE WEEK: Gary generously provided great seats -- it was the first time I'd sat on the visitor's side of the stadium since the 1970s, which was a bit disorienting after scores of Sundays in the press box and a few in the seats on the home side or end zone -- and a perfect parking spot. And he didn't mention Holcomb's name once. It is, however, a long season.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Sept. 13 2005 |