Archives for October 21, 2003

‘Dick Vermeil is 3-0 vs. the Bills, making them the only team he has faced three or more times and has never lost against…Bills QB Drew Bledsoe is 0-3 in his three previous visits to Arrowhead Stadium…’.

‘If Buffalo is a playoff team, it has to win at either Kansas City or Dallas, then take three of the next four.’

‘Buffalo might not be back on track for the season, but it’s not sunk, either. The Bills ran the ball effectively against the Redskins, a first this season. They grabbed an early lead, the way they did against New England and Jacksonville. They dominated the line of scrimmage, unlike their games against Miami, Philadelphia and the Jets.’

‘Hall of Fame Coach Marv Levy has been signed to be an analyst for the signature show on the NFL Network that will premiere on DIRECTV on Nov. 4.’

‘Mostly, though, the Bills said they discovered something very important about themselves: They’re not good enough to win on talent alone.’

‘The Drew Factor is huge here. He’s 1-6 in his last seven road games. Can this guy win a big game on the road? I have my doubts.’

‘The Bills offense will be playing against a somewhat suspect defense, but it will have to do so in one of the noisiest stadiums in the NFL.’

‘The Bills took advantage of overly aggressive pursuit by the Redskins’ linebackers to beat them with draws and delays. Travis Henry not only strung out the front seven, then turned the corner and ran through tacklers, he also moved well between the tackles. Very little pressure was put on quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Cornerback Champ Bailey had a rare off day and looked as if his broken wrist was getting worse, especially on tackles, instead of better. The Redskins also bit on a play-action, rollout pass and the result was a 10-year touchdown pass for Bledsoe. Those who do not remember their history are doomed to repeat it.’

‘”I think so,” cornerback Antoine Winfield said when asked if the team was going through a confidence crisis. “I think it started in the second half of the Miami game. After that, the last three or four games, we’ve just been in a lull. This game got us back on track.”‘

Coaching: A — Kevin Gilbride recognized that the Redskins were not particularly stout up front against the run, and that WR Eric Moulds wasn’t going to play again, so he worked hard on making the running game work, and he succeeded. He used a variety of packages that utilized not only FB Sam Gash in the backfield, but tight ends Dave Moore and Ryan Neufeld. Late in the game there were even some three-tight end formations for additional blocking. It was the way to attack the Redskins, and the Bills made it work. On defense the Bills sent a variety of blitzes at Patrick Ramsey in an attempt to take advantage of Washington’s suspect pass protection. The plan was to either sack Ramsey or force the second-year quarterback into hurrying throws and it worked. He completed just nine of 26 passes.’

‘KR Antonio Brown continues to struggle in his rookie season. He had six punt returns and averaged just 2.2 yards. He is ranked last in the league among regular punt returners.’

‘”You need more than one good back in this league,” Donahoe said. “The good teams always have another good back because it’s hard for anybody to carry the ball 28, 30 times a game over 16 games.”‘

‘The reason everybody looks smarter and better, is that a successful running game does a whole lot of other good things for both the offense and defense. It helps make Bledsoe’s play action passes so much more effective, and helps run the clock while keeping the defense off the field.’

Gregg Williams coached a great game Sunday, didn’t he? The offense had balance, the defense played with fire, the Bills dominated the game. That’s great coaching , right? Well if you want to rip the guy when things go so poorly (i.e. the Jets game) then give the guy some credit when it all comes together.

Washington Redskins RB Ladell Betts has a broken left forearm and most likely will miss at least one game. Betts’ arm was hit by a helmet while he was carrying the ball during the first half of Washington’s 24-7 loss at Buffalo.