Archives for November 20, 2003

‘”We get the ball inside the red zone, we’ve got to put some damn points on the board,” said defensive tackle Pat Williams. “We were in the red zone three times. C’mon now. We got to come out with some points.”‘

‘So far, all six home games in 2003 have sold out by the blackout deadline.’

Tucker had great experiences in both high school and college but like many he has had his own struggles to get to where he is today. "I’m 24 and I’ve been fired twice."

‘”Guys are extremely angry and very disappointed. I don’t think anybody anticipated that this is where we’d be this point in the season, especially after the first two games. With that, the attitude is still moving forward. Guys are still looking to find that edge that we need to start scoring points offensively. Alex (Van Pelt) and I spent a ton of time (watching film). We watched three or four games already in preparation for this week. We’re trying to go forward, that’s the only thing that you can do. You look at what you did and try to correct the mistakes and go forward. I think that even though guys are disappointed with what we produced and very frustrated with what we’ve done, we’re moving forward and trying to correct the mistakes and put some points on the board this week.”‘

‘”When you have a big-time quarterback like we have, he can make a lot of things happen and make up for a lot of deficiencies,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said.’

‘”We all know Travis is a warrior,” said Henry’s agent, Greg Johnson. “He wants to play all the time regardless of the situation. But we don’t want him to do anything that will jeopardize his career.” Johnson would prefer to see Henry sit out this week.’

‘I think the ball should be in Travis Henry’s hands as much as possible (as long as he’s healthy). Mike Williams is 370 pounds, and while he has disappointed in pass protection, he can be a good run blocker. Play to his strength.’

‘In his three playoff games, Manning has completed barely 50 percent of his passes for 558 yards with just 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He knows he will ultimately be judged on his performances on the biggest stages, and it is his mission to rectify his sorry post-season record. “It’s just a fact, you can’t hide from it,” Manning said of his post-season struggles. “Three out of the past four years we’ve fought and scratched and found a way to get into the playoffs, and we’ve lost and it’s been disappointing, but at the same time it doesn’t mean we’re a bad football team.”‘

‘Agent Greg Johnson said Henry “desperately” wants to play because he feels the Bills still have a shot at making the playoffs. Johnson said he has been assured by general manager Tom Donahoe that the club won’t jeopardize Henry’s long-term future by playing him unless it was absolutely medically OK. That doesn’t ease Johnson’s worries.’

‘”I think he just likes the spotlight, he enjoys the moment of the big kick, the pressure being on him,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said of Vanderjagt yesterday in a conference call.’

‘”There aren’t too many people that would do something like that.”‘

‘”When a guy doesn’t have to worry about getting hit from the blind side all the time . . . his job is a lot easier,” center Jeff Saturday said.’

‘”I like guys I’ve had some sort of connection with,” Manning said Wednesday afternoon. “(Dawson) is a guy I’ve worked out with basically every summer for the past six or seven years.”‘

‘”When Travis puts weight on his ankle, there’s not a lot of stress, but we don’t know what’s going to happen when he starts running and cutting,” Johnson said. “He’s dying to play but that’s the big dilemma. We’re afraid of him going back out there and getting hurt, but he’s insistent.”‘

‘Even if RB Travis Henry can play against the Colts with his broken leg, the Bills are likely to take it easy with him and will have to spread the load around. The Colts rank 24th in run defense and Buffalo can’t give up on the ground game if Henry is bottled up. That’s where distributing the ball to Joe Burns, Sammy Morris and even FB Sam Gash can come into play.’