Archives for November 21, 2004

‘The Bills defense was amazing against one of the best offenses in the league, especially in the second half. Buffalo held St. Louis to just 35 yards on 20 rushes, and only one yard rushing in the second half. Marshall Faulk was shut down with 13 carries for only 6 yards.’

‘For about one half of football Sunday, Buffalo and St. Louis appeared evenly matched. Then, the third quarter started.’

It was fitting that the day Jim Richter was inducted onto the Wall of Fame the Bills would put together a victory that was vintage of the good old days. A 37 point explosion in the 2nd and third quarters, that was a combined effort of all three units, led the Bills to a 37-17 victory over the Rams.

‘It was a dominating effort by a Buffalo team (4-6) that has won four straight at home, but was coming off its worst outing of the season, a 29-6 loss at New England.’

‘Mark Campbell enjoyed a special day. Special teams were pretty special as well for the Buffalo Bills.’

‘Campbell, who didn’t have a reception in the previous three contests, finished with four catches for 37 yards, as the Bills have won three of four. Willis McGahee added 100 yards rushing for Buffalo (4-6), which used strong special teams in the second half to capture its fourth straight win at home.’

‘"I was totally flabbergasted," Ritcher said. "At first, just for a second, I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, I wonder if they want me to come back and play?’ That didn’t last very long. Then he told me the vote had come and what they had decided. I just couldn’t believe it. It was absolutely the farthest thing from my mind that he could have been calling me about. Like I said, I was flabbergasted and honored at the same time. Ever since then, I’ve been looking forward to getting up there and seeing some old friends and being part of the weekend."’

‘Bills’ offense wakes up from seasonlong slumber and outscores Rams, 27-21.’

‘Only two players – Andre Reed and Bruce Smith – played more seasons and in more games for the Bills than Ritcher.’

‘The combination of the Williams firing and the quarterback situation is forcing the Bills, in Year Four of the Donahoe regime, to start over to a large degree. Mike Mularkey brought a new system this season, and J.P. Losman probably will take over at quarterback next season, barring a giant recovery by Bledsoe.’

‘I applauded Mularkey when he hired a solid, experienced staff. That’s what Williams didn’t do and it put him in a deep hole from the start. Mularkey served under two successful coaches, Bill Cowher and Sam Wyche. The expectation was that he learned plenty from them. There are seven games left. Maybe Mike will at least equal Williams’ goodbye record of 6-10 in 2003. That is if he doesn’t keep making bizarre decisions.’

‘"I am extremely proud of our son, prouder today than just about any time in his career because he has not wavered a bit in his character," Mac Bledsoe said by phone last week. "He’s never allowed a situation to make him do what I would have done, which is get mad and lose control. It takes 10 times more courage, more fortitude, to play on a team that’s not going well."’

‘Clements has seen fewer passes thrown his way this season as opponents size up the strengths of the Buffalo secondary and plot accordingly. It used to be that playing the Bills was picking your poison, challenging either Clements or Antoine Winfield, who after last season left for Minnesota in free agency.’

‘But before you start screaming, “Oh, no, not another Rob Johnson!” listen to some of the people who know Losman well. They’ll tell you that the Bills rookie quarterback and Johnson are about as similar as Desperate Housewives and Sponge Bob Square Pants. They’ll tell you to bag that SoCal, surfer dude stereotype. It doesn’t fit.’