Archives for September 2004

‘Sept. 23, 1979: In his first three games, Bills rookie receiver Jerry Butler, hampered by a shoulder separation, had 11 catches for 162 yards and no touchdowns. However, during the fourth game of the year, at home against the division rival Jets, he nearly doubled his season total of receptions. And only two weeks after halfback Roland Hooks had found the endzone four times against Cincinnati, Butler did the same against New York, as Buffalo beat the Jets, 46-31.’

‘Can this team led by incompetent GM Donahoe, rookie head coach Mike Mularkey, and now “Iron Legs” Bledsoe possibly be digging themselves a deeper hole? I ask the question in all sincerity. Is it possible? I am not sure that it is.’

‘The question is: Can Bledsoe and his teammates do the right things on the field and channel their conviction into a victory?’

‘”I haven’t even thought about that route yet,” Mularkey said of using Matthews. “I think our best chance to win right now is Drew Bledsoe. He has to be surrounded by a bunch of guys who are playing at a high level, too, to help him out. It’s not him alone. That would be the easy way out, to make (a switch), but that’s not the way we would go.”‘

‘Optimistic note for Bills fans: Buffalo is 10-5 coming off bye weeks. Pessimistic note: New England’s Bill Belichick and his brilliant staff also will have an extra week to prepare.’

‘”Our guys know that, players on the team know that, the coaches know that and that’s just simply the way it is. If there was a situation where Mike (Mularkey) felt we’d be (more) effective with somebody else, he would make that change, but that’s not the case.”‘

‘Everybody heals differently and the Bills are putting no timetable on Milloy. But the St. Louis Rams said CB Travis Fisher, who has the same injury, would miss 10-12 weeks. If that proves to be the case with Milloy, he won’t return until after Halloween, or about seven games total.’

‘Two costly holding penalties that wiped out big returns in the kicking game won’t turn Buffalo’s coverage men gun shy, linebacker Mario Haggan said. Haggan was whistled for holding in the Raiders game to wipe out a 63-yard punt return by Nate Clements. Earlier, Angelo Crowell was flagged for holding to nullify an 88-yard kickoff return by Terrence McGee. “Personally, I think it was a bad call but I’m not going to blame the referees,” Haggan said. “I’ve got to live with it and keep playing hard. They will not take away the integrity and the toughness we have on special teams. If we’re going to be physical and beat teams up on special teams, we’re just going to have to play through those types of calls.”

‘”Any time you start 0-2 or 0-3 or whatever you start, I think you have to come out and work a little bit harder to see where you got to do to get better,” wide receiver Eric Moulds explained. “We haven’t scored many points the first couple of games and work is what we need and so that’s what we got to do.”‘

”’I’m the quarterback here. And I’m going to be the quarterback here,” Bledsoe said after practice Wednesday. ”The players on the team know that. The coaches know that. And that’s just simply the way it is.”’

‘Levy used to post plus-minus trends on the locker room walls in Buffalo. One of his favorites was when teams had a plus-two edge in turnovers in a game, they won about 90 percent of the time. This season, teams with a plus-2 edge in games are 15-2, or 88.2 percent. "If you play well, you win the turnover battle," Levy said. "We’d stress that. But we didn’t want to get them too uptight about it, either. You don’t want them to be too careful or conservative. They have to be able to execute. So you don’t talk too much about them, either."’

‘"We’ve definitely squandered some opportunities," Mularkey said. "I explained to them that, offensively, it’s the inconsistency. We have moved the ball. We do have good drives and then all of a sudden we get down to the red zone. . . . Do we need to score more points? No question about it. But at least we’re getting down in the area to put ourselves in that position."’

‘Bledsoe is the kind of player that even sportswriters root for, and, believe me, that’s saying a lot given the depth of cynicism in my profession. Sadly, being a good guy doesn’t put any points on the scoreboard.’

‘Johnson doesn’t buy into the thinking that this might be Bledsoe’s last hurrah. “No way,” Johnson said. “Drew has a lot of pride. He’s an amazing competitor, a great leader, a prideful person, and his legacy means a lot to him. He wants to be remembered as a premier quarterback in this league. None of us, especially Drew, wants to leave on a down note. If his body lets him play, there’s no doubt he has a lot left.”‘

‘Sam “Wicky Wacky” Wyche is comin’ to tahn.’