Archives for November 22, 2004

‘The Bills defense held the Rams to one yard rushing in the second half. Marc Bulger was intercepted three times.’

‘"It happened so fast," wide receiver Torry Holt said.’

‘"We have guys that love being on special teams," Bills punt returner Nate Clements said. "When you have guys that will block for you … it’s effective."’

‘"He made the plays and we didn’t. I don’t know what else to say," Coady said. "Me personally, I didn’t play well enough for us to win. And I’m sure a lot of other guys feel like that."’

‘When someone asked him why April was suddenly so successful in Buffalo after so many troubled days in St. Louis, Martz sort of snarled a bit. "They just have good people," he said.’

‘”Absolutely, they’re doing it intentionally,” Martz said. “They’re trying to blow somebody’s knee out. There’s no question about it. And it worked. They got two of our corners. I asked the officials to protect our players, and they were fairly indignant about it.”‘

‘As unhappy as Rams coach Mike Martz was with his team’s performance, he was livid with what he called cheap shots by the Bills. The Rams lost three cornerbacks to injuries: starter Travis Fisher and backup DeJuan Groce to knee injuries in the first half, and backup Kevin Garrett to a concussion in the third quarter. Rams receiver Torry Holt also accused Bills cornerback Nate Clements of trying to hurt him by going after his knees during a tackle in the third quarter. Clements also hurt the Rams with an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter.’

‘April’s return men racked up 141 yards in the third quarter, including an 86-yard punt return by Nate Clements.’

Kicked when they’re down (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Victory is special for Buffalo’s April (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

TE puts Rams in tight spot (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Former scapegoat April earns vindication (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Martz says Rams’ knees were targets (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Football fans look forward to Monday after woeful weekend (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Report Card (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Rams suffer a breakdown in Buffalo (Belleville News Democrat)

Poor special teams play has Martz seeing red (Belleville News Democrat)

Bills Special Effort Beats Rams (StLouisRams.com)

Game Photos (StLouisRams.com)

‘“The way two of them were lost was a little upsetting,” Martz said, accusing Bills players of cutting Groce and Fisher at the knees. “Yes, absolutely, they were doing it intentionally. And they were trying to blow someone’s knee out. There’s no question about it.”’

‘”The hurry-up offense was made for me because I was lighter than some of the defensive linemen,” Ritcher said.’

‘"It’s a real team effort," said April. "The head coach made it a priority when we first got here. We worked on it in the off-season and never cheated it and never cut corners on it."’

‘"We knew that they were going to be fundamentally sound," Campbell said of the Rams defense. "We knew there was going to be good spacing in between them so we felt like we could find ourselves somewhere in those spaces. Going into this game, I told my wife, Michel, that I thought there was a good chance I was going to have a good day."’

‘"This week we took it personal," Campbell said. "What happened last Sunday night was embarrassing. We had a bad taste in our mouth and wanted to do something about it today."’

‘The Bills scored on an 86-yard punt return. Their 53-yard punt return set up an earlier touchdown. Their recovery of a fumbled kickoff led to a field goal.’