Archives for November 12, 2004

‘Bills, 20-17.’

‘Patriots 23, Bills 13.’

‘"I knew that Willis had explosiveness and speed, that he’s shifty and hard to tackle," Bledsoe said after he and the Bills had defeated Martin and the New York Jets, 22-17, at Ralph Wilson Stadium last Sunday afternoon. "What I didn’t know is how tough he can be in short-yardage situations."’

‘Buffalo Bills President/GM Tom Donahoe, Head Coach Mike Mularkey, quarterback Drew Bledsoe and NFL Senior Director of Youth Football Cedric Jones will be among the guests at the unveiling of the Buffalo Bills Youth Football Field on Friday, November 12 in Orchard Park, NY. Representatives from the Western New York Youth Tackle Football Federation and other Bills players will take part in the ceremony that will begin at 2:30 PM ET.’

‘I remember my second season in Buffalo when Marv Levy replaced Hank Bullough as the Bills head coach midway through the year. That was a tough transition to make, but when you’re losing, you look forward to any type of change. I think that’s the attitude the Dolphins need to have right now. If they can turn their 1-8 record into 6-10 or so by the end of the year, they’ll have something to build on heading into the off-season. Having a new coach around may rally the team. We’ll have to wait and see how they respond.’

‘I watch the opposing kickers during pregame warm-ups as well, which helps me determine where to place Nate Clements on punt returns.’

‘Really Drew Bledsoe has played pretty good all year. We’ve had some miscues at times that were really not his fault. The thing he’s done better this year compared to last year is that he’s moving around the pocket better and avoiding people within the pocket while still being able to throw down the field. He has taken off a couple of times and run the ball, which is good. The play last week against the Jets, when he ran for 17 yards, was a big first down. It kept our drive going and we were able to get a touchdown out of that drive. Everything is not going to be the way that you draw it up on paper when you go play the game and sometimes the quarterback has to make a play out of nothing and if Drew can continue to do that it will be very helpful.’

‘Patriots 20, Bills 17.’

‘Are they the new and improved Buffalo Bills? Has Drew Bledsoe really regained the magic touch? Is Willis McGahee the difference? Or is it all Bills head coach Mike Mularkey?’

‘"We seem more happier and happier every day," said McGahee, who will be playing his first NFL game in prime time. "We want to keep that feeling.’

‘New England has become the competitive standard.’

‘The average age of the 53 players on the Bills’ active roster is 26.4 years, which is tied for 12th youngest in the 32-team league.’

‘But if history is the teacher, expect a long night Sunday when the Bills face the New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium. This will be Buffalo’s 13th road game against a defending Super Bowl champion and the first dozen have been mostly horrid.’

‘I don’t look upon all-purpose yards as a very significant statistic. Yards from scrimmage are more important because rushing and receiving yards are much harder earned than kick return yards.’

‘Patriots 17 Bills 10.’