Archives for September 20, 2004

‘Another mistake-filled 13-10 loss, the same score the Bills fell to Jacksonville by in Week 1, the only difference being that instead of a dramatic last-play ending, this one was a slow but sure death.’

‘But forget all that speculation. This is why it was the right call: Mularkey knew his offense wasn’t going to have a better opportunity to score a touchdown. After watching Drew Bledsoe and his mates stumble around for two games, Mularkey knew he needed to take his shot right there.’

‘Sadly for the Bills, it wasn’t only young players who flunked this test, it was also veterans, led by (cue up the broken record) quarterback Drew Bledsoe. With seven sacks, an interception and too little too late, Bledsoe couldn’t secure the road win he desperately needed to get the critics off his back.’

‘Unfortunately for members of the Bills defense, they don’t have the luxury of ever failing. They have to play an almost perfect game to give this offensively challenged team a chance to win.’

‘Quarterback: F.’

‘Gregg Williams was fired because this club was not mentally tough, but after two games there’s been absolutely no improvement in that area.’

‘Drew Bledsoe was sacked seven times, and Travis Henry was stopped short on a fourth and goal at the Raiders one yard line with the Bills trailing 10-3 early in the fourth quarter.’

Two games into the Mike Mularkey era and everything seems eerily familiar to the old Gregg Williams era. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A pathetic performance by the offense and untimely penalties by the special teams was too much to overcome. Another valiant effort by the defense went to waste as the Bills fell to 0-2 with a 13-10 loss in Oakland.

The Bills struggled mightily offensively for a second straight week, actually maybe it is 16 straight weeks dating back to the third game of last season. The special teams made one big play but had three called back because of penalties. The defense single handedly, as a unit, kept the team in the game before they tired down the stretch. Here are our position by position grades:

‘”We didn’t shut down the big plays and we had too many penalties,” Adams said. “Once we’re able to solve these problems we’ll be a better football team.”‘

‘Drew Bledsoe’s first career game in Oakland wasn’t much fun, either. Playing before Raider Nation for the first time in his 12th season, Bledsoe was sacked seven times and struggled for the second straight week to take advantage of good field position.’

‘”It’s tough having to think about the 0-2 record going into the bye week,” Moulds said. “They have a solid D and played a lot more cover-two than I thought they would.”‘

‘”We’re a better offense than what we showed,” said Bledsoe. “We have to execute better. There were some glaring mistakes.”‘