Archives for September 12, 2004

‘Following three unsuccessful attempts into the end zone, Leftwich lofted a pass to the back of the end zone that was caught by Wilford in the midst of three Buffalo defenders. Jimmy Smith made a tough 45-yard reception earlier on the 80-yard drive, saving the Jaguars on a 4th-and-14 situation.’

‘The touchdown ruined coach Mike Mularkey’s debut with Buffalo, and placed the blame squarely on a Drew Bledsoe-led offense that bumbled, coming away with 10 points despite three trips into the red zone.’

‘Rookie Ernest Wilford made his first NFL catch a memorable one.’

‘Financial terms of the deal were not released and under the agreement and the Bills cannot re-sign him until after the 10th week of the season.’

‘The Buffalo Bills reached an injury settlement with Travis Brown on Sunday that makes the quarterback a free agent.’

‘Mularkey said he wants to experience the highs and lows of football. There’s no doubt he’ll get to experience plenty of both while coaching the Bills.’

‘Prediction: The Bills’ defense comes up with another solid effort while Bledsoe and Co. do enough to make Mularkey’s debut a successful one. Bills 17-13.’

‘Close, edge-of-your-seat football is the forecast for Mularkey’s Bills. "That’s the identity of an offense that’s controlling the football and a (strong) defense," Mularkey said. "With a team that complements each other, there are going to be close games."’

‘So how does this 6-10 team improve enough to make the long-delayed journey to the playoffs? It says here that its best hope is Mularkey and the impressive teaching staff he put together.’

‘So don’t be surprised if the Bills rank in the bottom third of the league in yards-per-attempt at the midpoint of the season.’

‘"I think he had mixed emotions," one of McNally’s two daughters, Jenny Gardner, said by phone from Cincinnati. "But ever since he’s been there he’s been excited. He really feels at home there. We haven’t talked in a week, which is really unusual, which means he’s working his butt off right now. The fact I haven’t gotten a call from him in a week tells me he’s very, very focused, probably excited and nervous."’

‘But this year, Tops hopes to make better use of its affiliation by increasing its in-store promotions, Dobbs said. "We felt we wanted to see how we could push the envelope on this," he said.’

‘Prediction: 10-6, second in AFC East.’

‘”Last year was one of the hardest for me to shake during the off-season,” Bledsoe said. “I can’t claim that I’ve worked any harder than I have in past years, but during the off-season, I spent a lot more time thinking about football because I was so frustrated by what happened last year. “I do have a sense this year is an opportunity for us.”‘

‘”That’s what you want to hear,” Henry said. “It shows they are really committed to running the ball. It may start off looking ugly but it will eventually loosen up and those 3-yard runs become 5- and 6- yards later in the game. It’s the mindset I’m taking. It’s nice to know that commitment is there this year.”‘