Archives for November 2003

‘Quarterbacks: Feeling bad that he played poorly only on the road, Drew Bledsoe returned to The Ralph and gave the home fans something to boo. For a third consecutive game, couldn’t produce a touchdown and his sack/fumble with 1:51 left to seal the deal was his third such turnover in as many weeks. Repeatedly checked out of called runs on third-and-short and wound up 1 of 6 passing on such plays. D’

‘In losing to to the second-year Texans, the Bills may have approached a new low.’

‘Ralph Wilson Stadium yesterday resembled nothing so much as a bowl of confusion, a weird recipe of missed field goals, untimely penalties, dropped passes, repeated failures to protect the quarterback and questionable play-calling that will keep the radio talk show guys fuming.’

‘Meanwhile, the rest of the Bills appeared to be in a daze. Afterward, their locker room was reduced to a quiet rubble, with what few players remained milling about but saying little.’

‘”I certainly didn’t do my job,” Lindell said. “You add six points to that score and we win. It’s frustrating. It’s embarrassing. That’s my job. That’s all I do. I don’t work at the grocery store, I kick field goals, and when that doesn’t happen it’s embarrassing.”‘

‘The Texans entered Sunday’s game ranked at or near the bottom of the league in nearly every defensive category, and while they surrendered 335 total yards to the Bills, they did not allow a touchdown for only the second time in their 26-game history. Pittsburgh didn’t get into the end zone in a 24-6 loss to the Texans last season.’

‘It is part true grit and part simple determination that is swept up off the floor and mixed in with the tough gristly pieces to eventually produce something tasty. It is as much attitude as it is aptitude that makes what they have served up so far easy to swallow.’

‘But big plays in clutch situations by Orr and Faggins, both of whom were promoted from the Texans’ practice squad in the last 10 days, played a critical role in the win.’

‘With the Texans trailing 5-0 and 1:22 remaining in the first half, Johnson caught a pass from backup quarterback Tony Banks on a slant route across the middle. Johnson broke loose from the grasp of three Bills at the Buffalo 35 and finished off a 46-yard touchdown catch, the longest of his career.’

‘Banks, who did not play last season for the first time in his eight-year career, engineered a victory for the second time this season. In his only start, he rallied the Texans for a 14-10 upset of Carolina.’

‘Sunday against the Texans, Bledsoe and the Bills rolled up 335 yards and ran 15 plays inside the Houston 20-yard line. For their efforts, they came away with one successful field goal attempt in three tries, a 12-10 loss and round upon round of questions about 12 quarters and change of unbroken futility.’

‘Capers declined to specify which rule was violated, but sources said the players were suspended for being late to multiple team meetings, including Saturday’s. Peek confirmed that he was suspended for tardiness, but Coleman said through a representative that he wouldn’t speak publicly about the matter until he had a chance to address it privately with his teammates.’

‘Travis Henry is stopped for a one-yard loss by Eric Brown near the goal line on third down, forcing the Bills to settle for a field goal.’

‘With two safeties recorded Sunday, the Bills have three for the season and are hot on the heels of the NFL record of four held by five teams, most recently the 1999 Titans.’

‘The bottom line:

The Bills are struggling mightily on offense and were playing without top receiver Eric Moulds, but if the Texans play defensive as aggressively as they did against the Bills, they’ll cause problems for a lot of teams. This was the attacking style of defense for which Dom Capers and Vic Fangio are known.’