Archives for December 2002

Mike Doser and Lary Bump should be there.

The crowd greeted Flutie with cheers and boos. The people who were booing were probably just nervous that the QB would come back and haunt his old team the way he did in San Diego last season, running for the game-winning score with one minute, 10 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately, Flutie couldn’t rally his team this time. Of course, next week it’s back to the bench; fun while it lasted.

"Let’s set the record straight," Flutie said. "Drew is the starter of this team and he is the guy."

It’s important because it gives Buffalo a chance to finish the season by winning two of its last three games, which would be a nice bounce going into next season.

It’s important because the defense, the anchor which was pulling back the entire team for most of the season, had a large part in this victory. There may be hope for some of these guys, yet.

It’s important since it gives Gregg Williams some breathing room in his quest to stay a head coach for at least another year.

‘Except for offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who each have at least a year left on their respective contracts, the contracts of the remaining position coaches are up at the end of the season. That includes defensive line coach John Levra, who already has announced he is retiring at the end of the year.’

‘Jason Bostic, who has emerged as the Buffalo Bills’ third cornerback, tore ligaments in his right knee and will likely miss the rest of the season.’

The Ft. Lauderdale, FL-based Sports Fans of America Association, Inc. has awarded its 2002 NFL Sports Fan’s Quality Award to the Buffalo Bills as the league’s “Fan Friendliest” team.

But I'm here to say that video has killed a lot more than just the radio star.

It's killed quarterbacks.

Take Sunday, for instance. With eight minutes remaining and his Chargers tied at 13 with the Buffalo Bills, Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer pulled aside his second-year quarterback, Drew Brees, and told him to take a break.

‘On a day when Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe endured one of his worst passing days as a pro, Travis Henry reaffirmed his position among the NFL’s elite running backs and the Bills’ maligned defense stepped up.’

‘”It was fun, it really was. It was fun to hear it from the crowd a little bit and to step into the situation where we’re behind and we have the opportunity to go win the ball game and make a couple of plays. We didn’t follow through on it, but it felt good.”‘

‘Fletcher was credited with a game-high 13 tackles, including nine solos. Seau topped the Chargers with 10 stops.’

‘…Buffalo’s defense deserves the credit for this one. They didn’t force any turnovers, but forced eight San Diego punts and stopped six drives without allowing a first down.’

‘The award is based on responses to questions regarding entertainment and fan activities, improvements on and off the field, fan issues involving tickets, concessions, parking and tailgating, fan loyalty issues and community relations.’

On Tuesday, December 17, from 5:00-6:30 PM, the Bills and the Tops Rookie Club rookie club will celebrate the holiday season with 80 kids from the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club of Buffalo and Gateway-Longview.

Action photos from Sunday's 20-13 Bills victory.

Action photos of the Jills.