Archives for August 2004

‘Incumbent FS Izelle Reese has responded to the presence of Coy Wire competing for his starting job and remains No. 1 on the depth chart.’

‘The Bills have been rained off of their grass practice fields at St. John Fisher College twice so far yet have still managed to practice outside thanks to an arrangement with a nearby high school. East Rochester High School, located just a mile down the street, has the same artificial synthetic playing surface on its football field as used at Ralph Wilson Stadium. “It (sheds) the water very well,” coach Mike Mularkey said. “The players like it because their joints and knees feel better working on it.”‘

‘Can they keep both backs happy all season long? No. Does that matter? Not really.’

‘There is an area where the starters feel they must improve and that’s senseless penalties. "We got two illegal formation penalties and that’s something that Coach emphasised to us this week," wide receiver Josh Reed said. "Especially the receivers knowing who’s on the ball and who’s off the ball. That’s something I’m sure we’re going to have to hear about when we get back."’

‘"The only thing he (Mularkey) told me was, ‘this play we’re about to call J.P., you’ll remember for the rest of your life,’" Losman said. "I didn’t know what they were going to call, and they ended up calling quarterback draw. We started laughing because I kind of knew it was going to be that play."’

‘"I think that we showed what our mentality is going to be," Bledsoe said. "We showed that we are going to be hard-headed in the running game and that we are going to continue to pound it on people. . . . Eventually, we will get plays to open up because of that."’

‘It starts, of course, with the woeful offensive line, which looks even worse than last year’s unit. Ruben Brown might have been overrated, but he’s a lot better than Mike Pucillo, the turnstile at left guard. Some experts regard Chris Villarrial, the new right guard, as the best lineman on the squad. He didn’t show me anything against the Broncos.’

‘Although Davis thought McGahee did some good things, Davis doesn’t believe McGahee is back to where he was before the knee injury. "Just watching him, he looks good, but right now he’s not 100 percent," said Davis, who was a color commentator on the NFL Network’s broadcast. "You can tell everybody that you’re 100 percent, but you’re not 100 percent, especially after you tore up a knee as bad as he did. It’s going to take awhile for him to really get a feel for whether he’s back all the way or not."’

‘”He was making some good runs,” coach Mike Mularkey said. “He’s a hard and physical runner. Right down there (on the goal line) is when you need it, and he put it in there.”‘

‘OK, it was against the Broncos’ second team. Think anybody cared?’

‘”It’s been fine,” said Murray Brandes, an Alpine Drive resident for 36 years. “There hasn’t been any excessive congestion or noise for me. I think a lot of people in the neighborhood were quite apprehensive. It didn’t turn out that way at all.”‘

‘"It’s getting better all of the time, and I’m just waiting for the time when it all starts clicking," -McGahee said. "It was really good to hear all those cheers (Sunday night). It means a lot."’

‘The cheers went up when McGahee first took the field, lining up beside Henry late in the first quarter. And the crowd was already on its feet in anticipation before McGahee followed two blockers into the end zone, putting the Bills ahead 10-3 with 4:37 left in the second quarter.’

‘Gibson, a nine-year NFL veteran, was competing for a backup job. He spent the last five seasons with Cincinnati, where he was a four-year starter.’

‘Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, the 13th overall pick, did not catch a pass.’