Archives for September 8, 2002

‘Bledsoe, acquired to spark the Bills offense in a deal with New England last April, almost capped a dramatic debut. He forced overtime when he threw his first TD pass of the game with 26 seconds remaining — a 29-yarder to Eric Moulds.’

‘Chad Morton stole the spotlight from Drew Bledsoe.’

Van Miller is in his 36th season as the team's play-by-play radio announcer. The Dunkirk native has broadcast over 700 Bills' games including preseason, regular season and postseason games since 1960.

Wide receiver Eric Moulds begins his seventh season with the Bills and his first catching passes from Drew Bledsoe. Moulds has 11 catches for 244 yards and one touchdown in the team's last two home games vs. the Jets. He also has 295 receiving yards on 18 catches (16.4 average) in the last four season openers.

‘How quickly the Bills can get their offensive talent to jell remains a giant question. Will four of their first five drives be derailed by penalties and sacks?’

‘"I know people are talking about us going to the Super Bowl or the playoffs, but I just want to get back to winning."’

‘If today’s game is anything close to the two matchups last year, fans would be advised to stick around to the end.’

‘Bledsoe began the trek to greatness several times when he was a Patriot. He could complete that journey in Buffalo.’

‘Twenty-six of the 53 men who made the final roster were not with the Bills last year when this once-proud franchise sank to the depths of the NFL with a 3-13 record.’

‘"Remember the Indy game last year? Six TDs on six straight possessions by Peyton Manning. The Jets averaged 25.3 points per game in the preseason so I’d say Vinny has gotten the hang of the West Coast offense. As the Bills try to stop Martin with eight men in the box, Winfield and Clements are going to see a lot of single coverage today against Coles, Chrebet and Moss."’

‘Though he turns 32 next month, he doesn’t believe he is on the downside of his career. He is confident his ability to stop the run and pressure the passer, plus dole out veteran advice, is just what the Bills’ young and inexperienced defensive line needs.’

‘[Q:] What is your favorite food? [A:] ”Man, I don’t have a favorite food. That one has always plagued me. I really don’t have one. I eat nutritional food (laughs with his tongue firmly implanted in his cheek).”

‘”But we’re working hard and we have a good game plan. Our package is narrowed down a little bit from what we tried to do throughout the pre-season, where we had everything available from every game.”‘

‘”I’ve heard these fans … Buffalo Bills’ fans are crazy,” Bledsoe said. “I’ve said it before, coming in here as an opponent was an extremely difficult proposition because they’re so loud. They stand by their team. I would expect the reception we get when we come out will be crazy. Quite honestly we need them. We need that help and that huge home field advantage that the Bills have had historically. It has to continue, and I expect that it will.”‘

‘Final score: Jets 24, Bills 16.’