Archives for September 2004

‘The blueprint for success drawn up by new coach Mike Mularkey in many ways was followed to the letter. The Bills held the ball more than seven minutes longer than the Jaguars. Travis Henry outrushed Fred Taylor, 75 yards to 61. Drew Bledsoe was sacked only once. The Bills converted 50 percent of their third downs. They didn’t lose the turnover battle. They still lost.’

‘Clements appeared to have position to make a play on the long pass, but Smith made a move inside and was able to rip the ball from Clements’ grasp. "I was right there," he said. "I had two hands on it. I should have made the play."’

‘And the play is called? "Catch it," Leftwich said. "I mean we have some guys running some routes and he was out there. The guy can jump out of the gym. The guy is a basketball player, playing football."’

‘Mularkey said the Jags had 11 men at the line of scrimmage on third-and-goal from the 1. Which was it? Was it scripted, or was it the 11 men at the line? What about living up to your supposed identity as a running team? Run the ball and let the world know you mean business.’

‘But here’s what resonates: The Bills, by choice, put the ball in Bledsoe’s hands on third and goal from the Jacksonville 1 with just more than 10 minutes remaining. He froze, surrendering a sack, taking a fourth-down touchdown try out of the equation. Jacksonville, out of necessity, put its trust in Leftwich on the final drive and came away with a victory, a vital victory considering the next three weeks on the schedule read: Denver, Tennessee, Indianapolis.’

‘”I felt good about it,” said running back Travis Henry. “We had been playing good in the preseason. Everybody wants to run the ball. We ran it good sometimes, but there were sometimes where we got negative plays. But for the most part, I though we stuck with it and did a good job.”‘

‘Team isn’t good enough to overcome missed FG by Lindell.’

‘Zebra Report: The men in black and white were rather busy in this one, calling 16 penalties for 128 yards.’

‘There have been some gut-wrenching defeats in the 45-year history of the Bills franchise, but this 13-10 loss to the Jaguars zoomed right into top-10 territory.’

‘But if you’re going to play your cards close to the vest, you’d better employ players who don’t swallow hard at gut-check time.’

‘”We had guys in position, but he wound up making a big play and we didn’t,” said Reese, who ended a 43-game interception drought by Bills safeties with a fourth-quarter pick that set up a 25-yard field goal by Rian Lindell. “They had tried that play earlier in the game, and although it didn’t work, we thought it was a possibility they would come back to it again.”‘

‘This was a game the Bills expected to win. It was a game they should have won. Yet they lost, and the reason was simple: While Mularkey has a talented bunch to work with, they don’t know how to win, and that’s an intangible that is paramount to success in a league where the majority of games are decided by a touchdown or less.’

‘How Wilford was able to make the catch with three Bills surrounding him is a nightmare the Bills won’t easily forget, but they have to, and fast.’

‘Coaching, D+: The effort was there, but Mike Mularkey’s regular-season debut was marred by the turnovers and penalties that plagued his team during the preseason.’

‘Linebacker Takeo Spikes, who was among the defenders draped all over Wilford: “It was a helluva catch. (Pause.) A helluva catch. … I didn’t believe he caught it. Then, more so, I didn’t believe he’d stayed in bounds.”‘