Archives for September 2004

‘The first order of business should be to fire who ever is in the booth in charge of telling Mularkey when to challenge a call. Mularkey said his coaches told him they didn’t get a good enough view if Travis Henry got in on fourth and goal. I have a VCR in my house. This team has a lot of money. Why can’t they invest in one.’

‘As I see it, you can sure put a lot of the blame for the Bills putrid offensive start on #11, but not all of it. Not by a longshot.’

‘Over the last 16 games, the Bills have one of the worst records in football. Their offense is more lackluster than it was in the dark days of the mid-1980s.’

‘The good news is that they have two weeks to try to figure out what is going wrong. The bad news is the Patriots have two weeks to come up with a defensive game plan. Will it really take that long?’

‘Well, I’m a sucker for punishment, so let’s go through another epic masterpiece from those football artists known as the Buffalo Bills.’

‘Bills Defense: Currently ranked 6th in the NFL (5th rush, 7th pass), 4th in the AFC (1st rush, 4th pass)…has allowed only 156 yards rushing in the first two games combined and has not allowed more than 200 yards net passing in either game.’

‘Coach Tim Bergan of Ellicottville Central High School has been named the Buffalo Bills high school football “Coach of the Week” for the third weekend of the 2004 season (Sept. 17-18).’

‘After two games, the Bills’ defense is fourth in the AFC and 6th in the NFL in fewest yards surrendered. It leads the conference in fewest rushing yards surrendered at 78 a game.’

‘Am I suggesting the Bills consider benching Bledsoe in place of a younger, faster, more mobile quarterback with less experience and a weaker arm? Absolutely. In two weeks.’

‘"I’m confident we can get it turned around," Bledsoe said. "I’m confident in our style of offense. We are committed to the running game."’

‘Yes, it really has been that bad.’

‘The Jags have produced 22 first downs in two games, eight fewer than the Bills. They’ve scored 20 points, same number as the Bills. The Jags are 2-0 and luxuriating in possibilities. The Bills are being lathered with barbecue sauce.’

‘The criticism, and the problem, runs deeper than Bledsoe, though. President and GM Tom Donahoe is being accused of failing to address the team’s larger personnel problems and new coach Mike Mularkey is being criticized for being too conservative and low risk in his play calling.’

‘Despite the coaching staff change and eight months to prepare, the Bills look startlingly similar to the club that finished 6-10 in Gregg Williams’ final season. The offense can’t score, the defense is vulnerable against the pass because of a meager pass rush, and special teams are erratic.’

‘How can a team win when half its games are played on the road where crowd noise is such a huge factor and opponents know all they have to do is stuff the run and blitz Bledsoe with abandon? The Raiders were laughing about how easy a target Bledsoe was. It’s become an embarrassment for the Bills.’