Archives for October 17, 2004

Drew Bledsoe was finally able to hand a gameball to Coach Mike Mularkey as the Bills pulled off their first win of the year 20-13 to make the Dolphins the last winless team in the league. It wasn’t easy though as the Bills had to come from behind in the second half and use the running of Willis McGahee to run out the clock in the final minutes.

Well they finally put it all together. The offense had their best half of football of the season in the second half and the defense played tough down the stretch as the Bills pulled out their first win of the season with a solid team effort 20-13. Here are our winning position by position grades:

‘Aaron Schobel had 2 1/2 sacks and Ron Edwards added two, leading a strong defensive effort in which the Bills limited Miami to just 212 yards net offense.’

‘McGahee rushed for 111 yards on 26 carries to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 20-13 victory over the Dolphins in an AFC East battle matching the lone remaining winless teams in the NFL.’

‘With the win, the Bills (1-4) avoided their first 0-5 start in 19 years and handed head coach Mike Mularkey his first victory. Miami (0-6) is now the only winless team in the NFL, opening the season with six straight losses for the first time in franchise history.’

‘Despite an encouraging preseason, McGahee has been used sparingly in backing up Henry through four games this season. He has 19 carries for 79 yards, including a season-high 42 yards filling in after Henry was hurt in the first quarter of Buffalo’s 16-14 loss to the New York Jets last weekend.’

‘McGahee, who was a first-round draft pick of the Bills in 2003, will fill in for Travis Henry.’

‘Taylor has 14.5 career sacks against the Bills. He might face the Bills’ No. 3 tackle, Marcus Price. Jonas Jennings has a sore ankle and wasn’t able to practice all week. The Bills were going to wait until this morning before deciding on Jennings.’

‘Defenses will keep the game close, but Bills have more offensive weapons and will collect their first win, 17-10.’

‘"Everybody’s made adjustments," Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said. "I don’t think it’s affected a single team. When they make a point of emphasis, they make us make an adjustment. You see more guys probably playing off or playing closer."’

‘How does this make us better?’

‘Kelsay is taking his brother’s lessons and making his presence felt with the Bills. He’s sharing left defensive end with Ryan Denney, the subject that sends his eyes adrift, but Kelsay started last week against the New York Jets and received virtually the same amount of snaps as Denney. "It’s still one of those deals where I feel that I should be the starter and I’m sure Ryan does, too," Kelsay said. "It’s just something that we’re going to keep finding out until somebody makes a point to show to the coaches and organization that we deserve to be the starter."’

‘It’s not asking too much. This Buffalo-Miami game is like a re-enactment of the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac, those two Civil War ironclads that were precursors to modern battleships. They moved glacially and had short and unhappy futures. Just like the 2004 Bills and Dolphins.’

‘”You can either be unhappy about it, or you can take advantage of it,” Matwijow said of the location.’

‘"When I was drafted by Miami, you were instantly born to hate the red, white and blue and vice versa when you come here," said Vincent, who after eight seasons in Philadelphia got up the nerve to sign with Buffalo as a free agent. "But I don’t think a lot of the young guys now know the significance or the history of this rivalry."’